Today's Primer - W/Katy Barnato, November 27, 2012

TODAYS PRIMER                             
*CNBC.com 

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a flat open on Wall Street on Tuesday as worries about the lack of progress on the U.S. “fiscal cliff” dampened a stock market rally in Europe and Asia. The gains in Europe and Asia were spurred by news that Greece’s international lenders had struck a deal to release an emergency aid package for the near-bankrupt country.


At a meeting in Brussels on Monday, Greece’s creditors agreed to a plan to reduce its debt burden by around 40 billion euros ($51.9 billion), and eased its 2020 debt target from 120 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to 124 percent. Jean-Claude Juncker, the head of the Eurogroup of finance ministers, said Greece would receive a tranche of 34.4 billion euros of aid on December 13, for which it has been waiting since June.


However investors in the U.S. will remain focused on politicians’ efforts to resolve the $600 billion “fiscal cliff” of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to hit the U.S. economy at the end of the year. Negotiations are expected to resume this week as policymakers return to Washington from the Thanksgiving holiday. Democratic and Republican lawmakers have been trying to convince the public that they are willing to compromise and can reach a deal before year-end.


Several macroeconomic reports are due to be released on Tuesday, including durable orders data for October at 8:30 a.m. New York time. Economists polled by Reuters forecast a fall in orders of 0.3 percent, versus a 9.8 percent gain in September.


The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index for September will be released at 9 a.m. New York time. Analysts polled by Briefing.com forecast a 2.5 percent rise year-on-year, following a 2 percent uptick in August.


The Conference Board will release its consumer confidence index for at 10 a.m. Analysts polled by Reuters forecast a jump to 73 in November from 72.2 in the prior month.


Two retail sales indices are also out on Tuesday. The first, at 7:45 a.m., is the ICSC-Goldman Sachs Chain Store Sales Index for the week ending November 24. In the prior week, sales fell by 0.3 percent.


In a quiet day for earnings, home security firm ADT [ADT] and food manufacturer Ralcorp [RAH] will report earnings before the start of the U.S. trading session. Green Mountain [GMCR] will post earnings after the closing bell.
— By CNBC.com's Katy Barnato