The Traderszone Network

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras won backing from lawmakers on Saturday for painful reform proposals aimed at obtaining a new international bailout, but he faced a rebellion in his own party that could threaten his majority in parliament. The measures, which received an initial nod from European Union and International Monetary Fund officials before a meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Saturday, were passed with the support of pro-European opposition parties.

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As companies in the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 begin to release lackluster second quarter results, rich valuations threaten to keep the U.S. stock market spinning in place. At 16.5 times forward estimates, the S&P 500, up less than 2 percent for the year to date through midday Friday, is about 10 percent more expensive than its historic average of 15, according to Thomson Reuters estimates.

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Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen on Friday said she expects the Fed to raise interest rates at some point this year, but pointed strongly to her concerns that U.S. labor markets remain weak and that more workers could be encouraged back into the job market with stronger growth. In her speech Yellen gave no direct hint about whether she anticipates more than one rate hike over the Fed’s four remaining meetings of 2015.

Ellen Pao resigned as acting chief executive of Reddit Friday in the latest sign of turmoil at the site, recently roiled by the firing of a popular employee and ongoing tensions over the limits of free speech on its social-news platform. Reddit co-founder Steve Huffman, also a co-founder of travel site Hipmunk, will become chief executive. Alexis Ohanian, another co-founder who has been working as executive chairman of reddit, will work “alongside” Huffman, said Reddit board head Sam Altman in a statement on Friday.

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. insurance regulators and state attorneys general are lining up to scrutinize Aetna Inc’s proposed $33 billion takeover of rival Humana Inc for potential harm to consumers, complicating what is already expected to be a tough and lengthy review by federal antitrust authorities.

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United Technologies last month announced it was exiting the helicopter area and would either sell Sikorsky or spin it off, following a review of strategic alternatives. Reuters reported on Wednesday that Lockheed and Textron Inc (TXT.N) had emerged as final contenders to buy Sikorsky, with a decision possible by the end of the month. United Tech could still instead seek to spin off the business, the sources said.

At least five former traders are under investigation for their role in rigging the U.S. dollar version of the interest-rate benchmark, Bloomberg said. Spokesmen from the Justice Department and Deutsche Bank declined to comment.