President Barack Obama is seen through the eyepiece of a video camera as he delivers remarks on health care reform at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania., March 8, 2010.

US banks: Standard & Poor's Ratings Services is maintaining its negative outlook for the U.S. banking industry based on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s (FDIC) recently released industry financial performance data as of fourth-quarter 2009, said a report released Monday for subscribers,  titled, "The Outlook For The US Banking Industry Remains Negative After The FDIC Releases Fourth-Quarter 2009 Performance Data."

Ratings downgrades began to outpace upgrades in the second half of 2007 in anticipation of the industry downturn, and the depth and length of the recession ended up exceeding S&P's initial expectations. "The stress on ratings has not entirely subsided yet, as we expect credit losses in banks' loan books should continue to rise, albeit more slowly," said Standard & Poor's credit  analyst Rodrigo Quintanilla. "We have renewed concerns that potential legislative and regulatory changes could put additional stress on ratings for US banks that currently benefit from government support. For the most part, our ratings already reflect our loss expectations. We have yet to examine our rated bank universe using year-end 2009 balance sheets."

The FDIC, the Great Depression era agency which guarantees bank deposits, said last month that US bank lending fell 7.5% in 2009, the largest annual decline since 1942. More than one in four institutions (29.5%) reported negative net income for the year, up from 24.8% in 2008. This is the highest proportion of unprofitable institutions in any year since at least 1984.

Economic View; Known unknowns in the UK economic recovery:Goodbody chief economist, Dermot O’Leary, commented today - - "Recent indicators suggest that the recovery in the UK housing market has hit a few speed-bumps. The latest piece of evidence comes this morning in the form of the latest survey from RICS. Its price expectations balance fell to +17 in February, down from +31 in January, and is now at a six month low. The scale of the rebound in prices in the UK over recent months did catch most commentators, including ourselves, unawares but was due to a low number of properties available for sale on the market. As prices have recovered, more potential sellers are joining in to try to take advantage, but this is having a dampening effect on price gains. This is also in the context of weakening mortgage approvals in December and January and also comes after both Halifax and Nationwide reported price declines in February for the first time in eight and ten months, respectively. The removal of temporary tax relief on house purchases is a further near term headwind. Low supply is still a structural underpinning for the UK housing market, but the biggest speed-bump on the road to recovery appears to be credit availability.

Meanwhile, the latest BRC sales monitor show UK retail sales values were up 4.5% yoy in February (+1.2% in January), while on a like for like basis, sales were ahead by a steady 2.2% yoy (-0.7% in January). Both of these numbers though are helped by poor base effects from February 2009. In the three months to February, like for like sales growth was 2.1% so that after a very weak January some ground has been recovered by UK consumers. Unsurprisingly food sales benefited more from the unseasonably cold weather, with food sales ahead 2.4% in the quarter to February (+1.9% for non-food spending). Fears have been expressed about the ability of UK consumers to continue to increase spending in what is still a very fragile recovery. These numbers won’t eradicate those fears but the latest evidence suggests that they have not rolled over just yet. The effect of likely fiscal consolidation in the second half of 2010 though is the big known unknown."

UK housing market weakening: Davy chief economist Rossa White commented -- "Sterling is under pressure, as many investors question the UK's fiscal sustainability. And it will not enjoy any respite after last night's data which show that the UK housing market is weakening fast. The RICS index net balance of respondents dipped fully 14 points to +17. That was the biggest drop for 22 months. More importantly, when the index turns, it does not usually provide a false signal. The recent bounce in UK housing-related stocks may well be reversed.

The RICS index is a net balance of chartered surveyors seeing house price rises minus those seeing house price falls. It moved relentlessly in a positive direction from February 2009 until last December. In that month it slipped only five points from the November high. Consolidation followed in January, before February's dive. The index is now at its lowest point since August 2009. Crucially, it rarely provides misleading signals. The only downtrend that was not sustained occurred due to a shock occurrence: from August to November 2001 the index dipped temporarily following the 9/11 attacks.

There are two questions: what has caused the reversal and how far will it extend? It is likely that some households will delay purchases until after May's general election. Further, sentiment has surely been buffeted by recent commentary about the UK's precarious fiscal position and the political vacuum created by the unwillingness of the government to deal with it this side of the election. Looking further ahead, any post-election bounce may be snuffed out by the prospect of rising interest rates. UK housing is not cheap, so the threat of a second significant correction in three years is real."

Californian highway patrol officers had to help stop a runaway Toyota Prius after its accelerator pedal got stuck. CNBC's Kaori Enjoji has more:

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed today.

The Nikkei 225 dropped 0.17%; the Shanghai Composite added 0.52%; Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.25%.

China reported that passenger car sales surged 55% in February from a year earlier, boosted by stimulus measures and buying for the Lunar New Year.

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In Europe, the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 has risen 0.03% Tuesday.

Eurotunnel today reported that profits plunged in 2009 as the business was hit by a tunnel fire and wintry weather.

The company, which operates the Channel Tunnel between the UK and France, reported profits of just €1.4m for 2009, down from €34m the previous year.

The ISEQ has dipped 0.20% in Dublin.

Aer Lingus is up %5 after issuing a trading statement for 2009 this morning  - - see link to story in Box above.

Elan fell 1.63% and INM gained 1.12%.

INM has announced Monday afternoon that it has disposed of 7.8% of its 13.5% stake in Indian media group Jagran Prakashan (JPL). The proceeds generated amounts to €42m (a 47% return on its investment four years ago), which will be used to pay down the group’s debt.

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