• Global stocks are mostly lower with the European DJ Stoxx 50 Index down -0.46% and June S&Ps down -4.30 points. The dollar and Treasuries are higher and most commodities are lower, with copper falling to a 1-1/2 week low. The euro fell against the dollar after the German and French finance ministers damped speculation over the weekend that there will be a decision on aid for Greece at a 2-day meeting of European finance ministers that starts today. Q4 Euro-Zone employment fell -0.2% q/q and -2.0% y/y manufacturers and builders continued to cut jobs, helping to send European employment lower for the sixth consecutive quarter. Also undercutting European stock prices is the 1.0% fall in Deutsche Telekom after Europe's biggest phone company was downgraded to "underperform" from "neutral" at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch Global Research which said "challenging times" lie ahead for the company's T-Mobile USA unit and its German fixed-line business. European solar stocks rallied after Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported that Germany would postpone cuts in solar-power subsidies for ground-based systems by three months to Oct 1.

• The Asian markets today closed mostly lower with Japan up +0.01%, Hong Kong -0.62%, China -1.54%, Taiwan -1.46%, Australia -0.71%, Singapore -0.24%, South Korea -0.86%, India -0.01%. Japanese stocks rose to a 1-3/4 month high after the government raised its assessment of the economy for the first time in eight months, saying the recovery is beginning to spur profits, home building and consumer spending. Chinese stocks slipped to a 2-week low after Premier Wen Jiabao said that ballooning sovereign debt and high unemployment worldwide could send the global economy into a "double dip" slump. The Chinese Premier also risks worsening trade relations with other countries after he rebuffed calls for the yuan to appreciate saying, "I don't think the renminbi is undervalued." Chinese stocks were also undercut after Morgan Stanley predicted "multiple" increases in China's bank-reserve ratio requirements with the next one "imminent." Morgan Stanley also predicts the PBOC may begin raising interest rates as soon as next month.

• June S&Ps this morning are trading down -4.30 points. The US stock market last Friday erased an early rally and finished mixed (Dow Jones +0.12%, S&P 500 -0.02%, Nasdaq Composite -0.03%). The S&P 500 rose to a 17-1/2 month high, the Dow Jones climbed to a 1-3/4 month high and the Nasdaq moved up to a 1-1/2 year high. Bullish factors for stocks included (1) carry-over support from a rally in European stocks after the Kurier newspaper reported that the European Union will offer Greece a 55 billion-euro ($75 billion) bailout, which reduces sovereign debt concerns, along with the larger-than-expected increase in Jan Euro-Zone industrial production, which rose +1.7% m/m, its biggest gain in more than two decades, (2) strength in retailers after the unexpected increase in Feb US retail sales (+0.3% and +0.8% less autos versus expectations of -0.2% and +0.1% less autos), which indicates consumer spending may help sustain the expansion, (3) the Jan US business inventories report of unchanged (versus expectations of +0.1%), as an increase in sales caused the inventory-to-sales ratio to fall to 1.25 months, the lowest level in more than two years, and a sign that factories may need to increase production in order to restock empty store shelves, and (4) the prediction by Morgan Stanley that US payrolls will expand by +300,000 this month.

• Bearish factors for stocks included (1) the unexpected decline in Mar US University of Michigan consumer confidence (-1.1 to 72.5 versus expectations of +0.4 to 74.0), (2) long-liquidation pressures after S&P stock index futures rose for 11 straight days, the longest advance in 28 years, which raised concern that stock prices were overextended, and (3) the jump in yield on the 10-year T-note to a 2-1/2 week high of 3.77%, which raises the cost of capital for consumers and businesses.

• Wal-Mart (WMT) gained nearly 1.0% in pre-market trading after Citigroup raised its recommendation on the stock to "buy" from "hold," saying the retailer is set to win market share with its price cuts.

• Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold (FAU) slipped 0.8% and Alcoa (AA) lost 0.3 % in European trading after the prices of most metals fell.

Earnings reports (confirmed releases, sorted by mkt cap) CIT-CIT Group (BEST earnings consensus (-$8.06), SPWRA-Sunpower (0.47), GSM-Globe Specialty Metals (0.10), ESC-Emeritus (-0.24), SSW-Seaspan (0.24), CAAS-China Automotive Systems (0.20), APWR-A-Power Energy Generation System (0.39), RINO-RINO International (0.56).

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