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U.S. stocks ended flat Tuesday, after turning sharply lower during the final hour of trading amid fears that Greece will leave the eurozone.

About an hour before the closing bell, reports surfaced that former Greek prime minister Lucas Papademos told Dow Jones Newswires that Greece is considering making preparations to leave the eurozone.

The euro sank on the news, falling more than 1% against the dollar, and pulled stocks down with it.

Earlier, strong U.S. housing data boosted stocks.

"Investors were able to concentrate on what was happening in the U.S., said Kim Forrest, senior equity analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group. "But I guess Greece came back with a vengeance."

Greece: Top 3 risks facing U.S.

After being up almost 1% earlier in the day, the S&P 500 () sank as much as 0.5%. The broad index managed to recover by the closing bell, finishing the day up less than 1 point, or 0.1%.

The Dow Jones industrial average () and Nasdaq () also tumbled following the Greek news. Both indexes bounced back from their lowest levels of the day but still finished in the red. The Dow slipped 2 points for the day, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 8 points, or 0.3%.

Investors will continue to focus on developments out of Europe.

The region’s leaders are due to meet Wednesday in an ad hoc summit to address the latest problems with European sovereign debt, worries that Greece is moving closer to leaving the eurozone, and the contagion effects an exit might have on other economies.

U.S. stocks bounced back from their worst week of the year Monday, on renewed optimism that European leaders would find a way out of the sovereign debt crisis.

Economy: Following the opening bell, the National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales rose 3.4% in April to an annual rate of 4.62 million, up 10% year-over-year. Home affordability also came in at record levels.

"These sales levels are still relatively low, but a home is a big ticket item, and to see improvement in the housing market is always good," said Forrest. "It shows that buyers think their prospects are solid enough to agree to a mortgage."

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cut its forecasts for the eurozone economy to a decline of 0.1% this year, and warned that sovereign debt problems pose a risk to the global economic recovery.

World markets: A report showing ebbing inflation in the United Kingdom raised hopes that lower price pressures might allow leaders to move toward more stimulus to respond to economic weakness.

European stocks ended higher. Britain’s FTSE 100 () rose 1.9%, while the DAX () in Germany gained 1.7% and France’s CAC 40 () jumped 2.2%.

Fitch downgraded Japan, the world’s No. 3 economy, and suggested further downgrades could be coming.

Asian markets ended before the Japan downgrade was announced. The Shanghai Composite () rose 1.0%, the Hang Seng () in Hong Kong gained 0.6% and Japan’s Nikkei () climbed 1.1%.

Companies: Bank stocks were among the biggest gainers Tuesday, with shares of JPMorgan Chase (, Fortune 500) rising almost 5%. Bank of America (, Fortune 500) and Citigroup (, Fortune 500) rose more than 2%, while Morgan Stanley (, Fortune 500) and Goldman Sachs (, Fortune 500) added about 1%.

Best Buy (, Fortune 500), which has been hit by a scandal that cost the CEO his job, along with store closings during the most recent quarter, reported solid earnings even as same-store sales fell 5.3%. The retailer also reaffirmed its earnings guidance of $3.50 to $3.80 a share, excluding restructuring charges. Analysts are only looking for earnings of $3.58 a share this year.

AutoZone (, Fortune 500) also reported better than expected earnings of $6.28 a share, but weaker than expected revenue sent its shares lower.

Williams Sonoma () reported earnings per share of 34 cents excluding special items, which came in better than forecasts and year-earlier results. The retailer raised its earnings guidance for 2012.

Shares of Urban Outfitters () popped after the retailer topped earnings expectations.

Polo Ralph Lauren’s (, Fortune 500) stock also edged up after the company’s profit rose 29% on strong revenue and same-store sales growth. The company also doubled its quarterly dividend. But the company’s revenue guidance for fiscal 2013 came in below expectations.

Shares of Dell (, Fortune 500) tumbled in after-hours trading Tuesday after the computer maker posted a profit that was below Wall Street’s expectations, and also issued a disappointing forecast for the second quarter, amid weak PC sales.

Currencies and commodities: The euro sank on the Greek news, falling more than 1% against the dollar. Earlier it was only off between 0.5% and 0.7%.

Oil for July delivery fell $1.38 to settle at $91.48 a barrel.

Gold futures for June delivery fell $22.10 to settle at $1,566.60 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury slid, pushing the yield up to 1.79% from 1.74% late Monday.  

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Originally conceived as a photo-sharing site, the year-old company became a Silicon Valley punchline after its disasterously overhyped launch. Major investors like Sequoia Capital and Bain Capital flung $41 million at the startup, only to see it implode within days of going live. Color’s top product executives quickly headed out the door.

Nguyen shrugged and pivoted. He’s got plenty of cash in the bank to experiment with, and no shortage of ideas guaranteed personal loan approval. The video market is exactly the kind of wide-open fiend that Nguyen, a serial entrepreneur who sold his last venture to Apple (, Fortune 500), loves to play in.

"We want to give people a glimpse of the future and deliver it as fast as possible," he says. 

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Oil is now below $100 per barrel following a disappointing U.S. jobs report and warnings of a weakening world economy.

It’s the first time oil has dropped below $100 since February 13. Benchmark crude hit $99.99 in morning trading.

Prices are falling as Western nations plan talks with Iran over its nuclear program, easing fears of a protracted standoff in the Middle East.

Economists are also increasingly focused on weakening oil demand. American oil consumption has dropped 5.3 percent in the first quarter. World oil supplies are also growing.

Oil has crossed the $100 mark 21 times during the past year. It rose as high as $113.93 per barrel last April and fell as low as $75.67 per barrel on Oct. 4.

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Denmark’s finance minister says she and her European Union counterparts are close to a deal to force banks to build up bigger capital cushions against financial shocks.

Early Thursday, after more than 15 hours of debate, Margrethe Vestager said only a few “technical issues” needed to be ironed out before the ministers’ next meeting in two weeks.

The EU is in the process of writing an international agreement on capital defenses for banks into European law that regulators hope will prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis.

The so-called Basel III deal would force lenders to increase their highest-quality capital gradually from 2 percent of the risky assets they hold to 7 percent by 2019. An additional 2.5 percent would have to be built up during good times.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

BRUSSELS (AP) _ European finance ministers were divided Wednesday on how the region’s banks can protect themselves from future financial shocks.

The European Union is in the process to writing an international agreement on capital defences for banks into European law. This would determine the level of risk Europe’s banks can take and what regulators can do to ensure that financial crises like the one brought on by the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008 do not happen again.

The so-called Basel III deal would force banks gradually to increase their highest-quality capital _ such as equity and reserves _ from 2 percent of the risky assets they hold to 7 percent by 2019. An additional 2.5 percent would have to be built up during good times.

But several countries, including the U.K. and Sweden, want to require their banks to build up even higher defenses without having to go to the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm in Brussels, for approval. There was also some disagreement over what should count as capital. Some countries are warning that Europe could be seen as softening banking rules at a time when it is already under close scrutiny from international investors.

“If we duck the challenge of implementing Basel we could face very important challenges to confidence in Europe this year,” warned George Osborne, the U.K.’s Treasury chief.

Basel III was agreed by the world’s leading economies after the 2008 financial crisis demonstrated that many banks did not have enough of a capital cushion to absorb sudden losses on loans and other risky activities. Once agreed, the new rules would apply to more than 8,300 banks in Europe, forcing them to build up billions in extra capital by selling shares or assets or reining in bonuses and dividends.

The 2008 financial panic that followed Lehman’s collapse hit Europe hard. Between 2008 and 2010, governments across the 27-country-bloc spent (EURO)4.6 trillion ($6.1 trillion) propping up struggling banks instant credit report.

What complicated efforts even more was that the open borders in the EU allow banks to operate freely across the bloc, but when lenders ran into trouble it was national governments _ and taxpayers _ who had to foot the bill. While the EU is now striving for a single set of banking rules, there is still no pan-European bank resolution fund that could relieve national governments.

The U.K., which had to save three major banks, has seen its debt load almost double since 2007. Meanwhile much smaller Ireland had to seek an international bailout to help stem the losses of its domestic lenders. And many economists fear that the economic recession in Spain may soon reveal massive bank losses there.

Now, the U.K. is leading a group of countries that want to be able to force their own banks to have bigger defenses than the ones prescribed by the pan-European rules without first getting approval from Brussels.

“We should make it clear that the crisis did not originate exclusively from weak fiscal policy. It originated also from insufficiently strong banks,” said Polish Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski. “So therefore a group of countries including Poland, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the United Kingdom are very determined to see that banking systems in the future should be as healthy as we expect the fiscal side, the budgetary side, to be kept.”

That demand is opposed by France and the Commission, which fear that jacking up capital requirements in one country could force banks based there to cut down lending by their foreign subsidiaries. That, they argue, could hurt small states that don’t have a big domestic banking system.

To bridge the divide between the two camps, Denmark, which currently holds the EU presidency, has proposed a compromise that would allow national regulators to require an extra capital buffer of 3 percent. Anything beyond that would have to be approved by the Commission in Brussels, which would examine not only the level of risk in the home state but also the potential impact in neighboring countries.

After several hours of public discussion, finance ministers retreated into bilateral talks. A possible compromise could include requiring not the Commission, but another European supervisor _ the European Systemic Risk Board, which is led by the European Central Bank President Mario Draghi _ to approve higher national buffers.

If they cannot find agreement Wednesday, several ministers said they hoped a deal could be struck at their next meeting in two weeks. Once finance ministers have struck a deal, they have to negotiate a final agreement with the European Parliament.

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Don Melvin contributed to this story.

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U.K. house prices rose in April for a second month, according to Hometrack Ltd., which said gains may not be sustained as demand fails to keep up with supply.

Values rose 0.1 percent from March, when they increased 0.2 percent, the London-based property research company said in an e-mailed report today. An indicator of demand rose at half the pace seen in the previous month.

The property market received a temporary boost this year as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of a tax holiday on some homes before it expired on March 24. Demand may be undermined by Britain

The Coca-Cola Co. is continuing to expand its reach worldwide and turning to a variety of smaller drink sizes to boost profits and keep rising commodity costs in check.

The world’s biggest soda maker on Tuesday reported better-than-expected profit for its first quarter as it sold more of its drinks around the globe.

Although the volume growth came from all regions, the world’s largest soda maker said increases were far greater in emerging markets. In the region encompassing Russia, India, the Middle East and Africa, for example, volume grew 9 percent, compared with a 2 percent increase in North America.

The Atlanta-based company, which has more than 500 brands including Fanta, Sprite and Minute Maid, also had strong growth beyond its sodas as consumers have become more concerned about consuming too many empty calories. Global volume for bottled water grew 15 percent in the quarter, while volume for energy drinks rose 25 percent. That surpassed the volume gains in the company’s namesake Coca-Cola soda, which increased 4 percent.

Even the slight bump in volume in North America was driven largely by the company’s Powerade energy drinks, Dasani bottled water and zero-calorie vitaminwater.

Despite the competition and market saturation at home, CEO Muhtar Kent said: “We believe North America is a growth market for our business.”

Total revenue was $11.14 billion for the three months ended March 30, up 6 percent from $10.52 billion a year ago. Analysts expected revenue of $10.82 billion for the latest quarter.

Coke has managed to offset rising commodity costs in recent years by offering drinks in smaller packages that bring bigger profits. Just four years ago, for example, the company offered only one size for on-the-go occasions in the U.S. _ a 20-ounce bottle.

Since then, Coke has rolled out drinks in 14-ounce, 12-ounce and 12.5-ounce bottles, as well as a 7.5-ounce “mini-can.”

“Moms buy the mini-cans. They love if for their kids,” Kent said.

In addition to improving margins, Kent said those smaller sizes are desired by consumers concerned about reducing their sugar intake.

Although Coco-Cola does not break out price increases, the company said such pricing models helped drive up revenue by 3 percent.

For the quarter, Coke said it earned $2.05 billion, or 89 cents per share, which was a penny per share more than what analysts polled by FactSet expected. In the year-ago period, it had net income of $1.9 billion, or 82 cents per share.

The company also said that the cost-cutting program it began in the quarter is on track. When completed, the measures are expected to save up to $650 million annually by 2015.

Coke is looking to trim costs wherever possible as another way to offset rising prices for ingredients, which continue to eat into profits for food and drink makers industry-wide. Coke said its cost of goods rose 10 percent in the quarter.

Kent also noted that Coke’s global marketing campaign for the summer Olympics in London is set to strengthen its brands by “tapping into emotional passion points like sports and music.”

Shares of Coca-Cola closed up $1.51, or 2 percent, at $73.95.

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Private companies continued to add jobs in March, albeit at a slightly slower pace than in February.

Businesses added 209,000 jobs in March, according to a report issued Wednesday by payroll-processing company ADP. Those job gains were slightly lower than forecasts for 217,000, and marked a slowdown from 230,000 private sector jobs added in February.

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Obama battles job crisis

Before Obama even took office, America had lost 4.4 million jobs. Track his progress since then.

Strong jobs data throughout the winter has been partially attributed to unseasonably warm weather, which allows some firms — in construction, for example — to remain fully operational during colder months. Once that effect fades, economists are bracing for weaker job creation.

But Wednesday’s report showed no sign of a sharp slowdown.

"Today’s number doesn’t show such a weakening," said Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers payday advance. "It’s pretty much in line with the last several months of increases."

The economy needs about 125,000 new jobs each month just to keep the unemployment rate steady. To fully dig out of the jobs hole left by the financial crisis, it needs far more.

Will we ever see 5% unemployment again?

Prakken forecasts that it could take another three or four years for the unemployment rate to fall back to a pre-recession level of around 5%.

"I’m pleased with today’s number, but I’m left with this concern that we aren’t stepping up to the next level," Prakken said. "We would need 300,000 or 400,000 in order to push the unemployment rate down as people jump back into the labor force."

Small businesses continued to drive job growth in March, according to ADP.

Companies with fewer than 50 employees made up about half of all private sector job gains, hiring 100,000 people.

Large companies with 500 or more employees hired 22,000 new workers, and medium-sized businesses added 87,000 to their payrolls.

Check the unemployment rate in your state

The ADP report typically sets the tone for the government’s highly anticipated monthly jobs report, due Friday. While the reports tend to show the same trends over the long term, their figures can diverge from month to month.

Economists surveyed by CNNMoney expect the Labor Department’s data to show 200,000 jobs added in March, including 210,000 from the private sector and a loss of 10,000 government jobs. 

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A credit card hack attack on Global Payments is hitting the headlines. Here are answers to some of the key questions it raises.

What happened in the Global Payments breach?

Global Payments, a company that processes card transactions, discovered an unauthorized intrusion into its servers in early March. The company says it "promptly" notified others in the industry. It didn’t publicly announce the breach until Friday.

The breach affects all major credit and debit card brands, because Global Payments is one link in the long chain involved in card transactions.

When a customer swipes a credit card, the data is sent to a payment processor like Global Payments, which coordinates the steps involved in authorizing the charge and submitting the transaction details to card networks like Visa (, Fortune 500) and MasterCard (, Fortune 500). It’s a quick but complicated process, with lots of players in the mix.

What kind of information was stolen? What can the hackers do with it?

Global Payments () released a statement late Sunday saying that around 1.5 million card numbers may have been compromised. That’s a big breach, but the odds are good that your card wasn’t among them. There are more than 1 billion credit and debit cards currently in circulation in the U.S., according to the Nilson Report, an industry trade publication.

Card numbers were stolen, but that’s all the thieves got fast cash online. Cardholder names, addresses and Social Security numbers were not affected, according to Global Payments.

That’s good news. Stolen numbers can be used create to fraudulent cards, but they’re not enough for full-fledged identity theft.

Global Payments is still investigating how the breach happened. The U.S. Secret Service has launched its own inquiry.

What does this mean for me? Should I be worried?

While the threat of a compromised card is upsetting, customers should sit tight. If your card issuer thinks your account may have been compromised, they’ll contact you. Some may need to reissue credit cards or take other steps to contain the damage.

No matter what, you’re not liable for unauthorized charges made on your account.

As Visa (, Fortune 500) put it in a response to the Global Payments debacle: "It’s important for U.S. Visa consumer cardholders to know they are protected against fraudulent purchases with Visa’s zero liability fraud protection policy, which exceeds federal safeguards. As always, Visa encourages cardholders to regularly monitor their accounts and to notify their issuing financial institution promptly of any unusual activity." 

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Global stock markets drifted lower in lackluster trading Monday as investors saw few optimistic indicators to weigh against the prospects of a global economic slowdown.

Benchmark oil remained above $106 per barrel while the dollar rose against the euro and the yen.

In early European trading, Germany’s DAX slid 0.2 percent to 6,981.43 while France’s CAC-40 retreated 0.3 percent to 3,466.11. The FTSE 100 index of leading British companies edged up 0.1 percent to 5,862.13.

U.S. stocks were poised to fall. Dow futures were marginally lower at 13,029 while broader S&P 500 futures lost less than 0.1 percent to 1,393.20.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose less than 0.1 percent to end at 10,018.24 as the yen slipped against the dollar, helping the country’s powerhouse export sector. Markets elsewhere had a tepid start to the week after reports in China and Europe last week pointed to a likely slowdown in those economies.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index finished unchanged at 20,668.86 but property companies rebounded as investors shook off worries that the social reform policies promised by the city’s next leader would hurt home prices.

South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.4 percent to 2,019.19. Australia’s S&P ASX/200 shed 0.2 percent to 4,262.80. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia also fell. New Zealand was higher.

“The market is still lacking positive catalysts,” said Jackson Wong, a vice president at Tanrich Securities, who noted that investors are hanging back as they await market-moving news.

Germany is set to release later Monday its monthly index of business confidence, a closely watched indicator for Europe’s biggest economy. Earnings reports by Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., controlled by Hong Kong’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, are due Thursday.

Mainland Chinese shares were flat. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was less then 0.1 percent higher at 2,350.60 while the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index was unchanged at 952 paydayloans.76.

Real estate- and media-related companies weakened. China Vanke, the country’s biggest real estate developer, lost 1.2 percent while No. 2 Poly Real Estate lost 0.8 percent.

“Investors worry GDP data in the first quarter might be 7 to 7.5 percent instead of the earlier 7.5 to 8 percent” that’s been forecast, said Peng Yunliang, an analyst based in Shanghai.

Shares of Qantas Airways Ltd. rose 2 percent in Sydney after it announced plans to set up a Hong Kong-based discount airline with China Eastern Airlines Co.

Chinese auto and battery maker BYD Co. fell 4.8 percent in Hong Kong after it reported 2011 profit fell by nearly half as the country’s booming auto sales slowed and competition intensified.

Shares of China Construction Bank, one of China’s four major state-owned lenders, fell 1 percent in Hong Kong even after reporting 2011 profit rose 25.5 percent despite government-imposed credit curbs and slowing economic growth.

Big Hong Kong property developers rebounded on hopes that social reform policies espoused by Leung Chun-ying, who was selected Sunday to be Hong Kong’s next chief executive and pledged to expand public housing, would not bring down house prices. New World Development Co. rose 3.8 percent, Sino Land Co. was up 3.8 percent and Henderson Land Co. climbed 2.1 percent.

“We reiterate our view that general property prices will not fall substantially on the simple theme of Leung taking office,” Citigroup analysts said in a report.

Benchmark oil for May delivery was down 46 cents to $106.41 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract was up $1.52 to end at $106.87 per barrel in New York on Friday.

The euro weakened to $1.3205 from $1.3263 late Friday in New York. The dollar rose to 82.88 yen from 82.49 yen.

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Asian stock markets fell Friday, dragged down by reports of a manufacturing slowdown in China and a deepening economic malaise in Europe.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 1 percent to 10,027.72 as the country’s formidable export sector faded amid fears of slowing overseas demand.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.9 percent to 20,712.70 and South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.3 percent to 2,019.79.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2 percent to 4,264.50 as the country’s mining and resource shares took a pounding over worries of reduced demand from China, the world’s biggest consumer of raw materials.

BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, lost 1.3 percent in Sydney. Steel makers also took a hit. South Korea’s POSCO lost 0.9 percent while Japan’s JFE Holdings dropped 2.2 percent.

On Thursday, data showed China’s manufacturing is contracting. An index compiled by HSBC fell to 48.1 in March from 49.6 in February. Figures below 50 indicate that manufacturing is shrinking.

That’s a negative sign because growth in China has played a key role in shoring up the global economy since the financial crisis of 2008.

And in another sign of cooling growth in the world’s No. 2 economy, new home prices dropped in 45 Chinese cities in February as the government implemented measures to cool property speculation.

Worries about China’s deceleration were compounded by a survey Thursday showing slower growth in Europe. An index of economic activity from financial information company Markit fell to 48.8 in March from 49.3 a month earlier. The index combines both the services and manufacturing.

Japanese exporters whose fortunes are closely linked with European demand came under pressure. Honda Motor Corp. lost 2.3 percent and Mazda Motor Corp. shed 2.1 percent. Sharp Corp. slid 2.9 percent and Sony Corp. lost 2.6 percent.

A rare gainer was Japanese food processor Yukiguni Maitake Co., which rose 0.6 percent a day after announcing a study showed that maitake mushrooms might help fight obesity, Kyodo News reported.

Benchmark oil for May delivery was up 17 cents to $105.52 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.92 to finish at $105.35 per barrel on the Nymex on Thursday.

In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3198 from $1.3181 late Thursday in New York. The dollar rose to 82.88 yen from 82.59 yen.

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