The Traderszone Network

The European Central Bank faces resistance from Germany to allowing any extra emergency lending for Greek banks, people familiar with the matter said, increasing pressure on Athens to sign up to an extended aid-for-reform program. After talks between Greece and euro zone creditors broke down acrimoniously on Monday, the ECB’s policymaking governing council will review on Wednesday how far the country may support its weak banks, which face rising deposit outflows.

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There’s something a little eerie about watching equity markets on Wall Street or in Frankfurt and London wend their way to new records or multi-year highs against a backdrop of smoldering conflict in Ukraine, a real risk of Greece leaving the euro and angst about consumer price deflation worldwide. Others decry the asset inflation as a pernicious side-effect of central bank money printing that merely exacerbates the gulf between the ‘super-rich’ and the rest of the population.

CNBC takes a look at eight ways to make your homes greener, cleaner — and even cheaper — places to live.

Crude-oil futures ease in Asian trade, but stick to year-to-date highs as investors focus on rising inventories.
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The Greek government said it would request a loan extension from its creditors on Wednesday, expected to be for up to six months with conditions yet to be negotiated, and the European Central Bank will announce it won’t cut off emergency funding for Greek banks, a source told Reuters.

Several of the biggest hedge fund managers slashed or dissolved their stake in China’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd at the end of last year, taking a prescient bet ahead of the company’s surprise revenue miss last quarter that sent shares plunging in late January. Among the institutional investors that dissolved their stake were Leon Cooperman’s Omega Advisors, David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management and Barry Rosenstein’s Jana Partners LLC, according to U.S. regulatory filings released late Friday and Tuesday.

Bolstered by investors’ faith in its restructuring, Sony Corp is set to announce a new strategy highlighting the potential of its image sensors, PlayStation and entertainment businesses to help it return to growth after years of losses. Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai is due to detail his multi-year plan for Sony from around 0600 GMT (1.00 a.m. EST) on Wednesday. Sony shares have risen over 80 percent over the past year as investors applauded the restructuring, which accelerated since Hirai appointed Kenichiro Yoshida as his chief strategy officer in late 2013.

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