In early trade, European stocks dipped following strong increases in the previous session, as gains sparked by the pledge of the Federal Reserve of low interest rates gave way to worries about Portugal and uncertainty over Greek debt talks.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 22.33 points, or 0.18 percent, at 12,734.63. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index .SPX was down 7.60 points, or 0.57 percent, at 1,318.45. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was down 13.03 points, or 0.46 percent, at 2,805.28.

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The euro stood at $1.2637 and also lost ground against the Australian dollar and was hovering just above an all-time low at A$1.2250. Markets are worried that bailout fund of the eurozone might lose its AAA rating with S&P as well.

“EURUSD has traded south ever since S&P’s December 5 negative ratings watch announcement, and we suspect will remain subject to further downward pressure in the coming week,” analysts at BNP Paribas said.

“This may have less to do with the fact that the EFSF is now threatened with the loss of its AAA status … than worries over the fate of the Greek bond swap talks.”

Yahoo Inc

The new CEO of Yahoo, Scott Thompson, will receive a compensation package that could be worth as much as $27 million.

Thompson, the president of eBay online payment division PayPal, would be joining Yahoo as its new CEO and replaces Carol Bartz, who was fired from the top job at Yahoo four months ago.

Yahoo’s board that includes co-founder Jerry Yang and Chairman Roy Bostock has come under heavy criticism from several large shareholders.

Several nationally chartered banks have been contacted with DoJ to identify whether they might agree to terms similar to those in the proposed deal, the person said.

State and federal officials are nearing a settlement with the five largest mortgage servicers – Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Wells Fargo & Co, Citigroup Inc and Ally Financial Inc- for resolving allegations of misconduct in processing foreclosures and other issues. The banks will put behind them potential government lawsuits about improper foreclosures and abuses in originating and servicing the loans in exchange for between $20 billion to $25 billion in relief to distressed homeowners.

The broad S&P 500 index closed at its highest since late October as traders.

“There were some good economic numbers from outside the U.S., and people have cash to invest for the new year so that’s driving up prices,” said Giri Cherukuri, head trader at OakBrook Investments in Lisle, Illinois. “It’s a good start but we’ll have to wait and see for the trend.”

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 179.82 points, or 1.47 percent, to 12,397.38. The S&P 500 Index added 19.46 points, or 1.55 percent, to 1,277.06. The Nasdaq Composite index gained 43.57 points, or 1.67 percent, to 2,648.72.

“We all know that Europe has not been able to convince markets that its governance set-up and its measures against the crisis were enough,” Italian Deputy Economy Minister Vittorio Grilli said in a newspaper interview published on Sunday.

“More integration and more effective instruments are needed. We are not yet there,” he told Il Sole 24 Ore.

S&P presently rates Sears’ corporate credit at “B” that is five notches into “junk” bond territory.

“In our view, the company’s announcement of 100 to 120 store closures may do little to help its poor performance,” the ratings agency said in a statement. “We believe that one of the primary issues is that the company has underinvested in its stores base, especially when compared with its peers.”

Sears shares closed at $33.33 on Wednesday, down 0.2 percent for the day and 54.5 percent for the year and the stock closed at $45.85 on Friday, the last trading day before company’s store closure announcement.

During the next fiscal year, Seven & I will combine the e-commerce segments of Ito-Yokado Co, Seven-Eleven Japan Co, and baby goods purveyor Akachan Honpo Co into online retailer Seven Net Shopping Co for creating a one-stop shopping site for products ranging from books and music software to food, household items, and children’s products. The Nikkei said Seven & I will invest more than 10 billion yen to open the new fulfillment center with a floor space of about 15,000 square meters in Saitama Prefecture by fiscal 2012.

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