The markets opened on a sour note with more questions about European sovereign debt and whether Euro-zone countries would bail Greece out of its debt troubles. Europe's stock markets mostly recovered to close in positive territory on Monday, but the U.S. markets struggled. The Dow lost 103 points to close below the 10,000 mark for the first time since November 2009, with 28 of its 30 components lower; the S&P 500 lost 9; and the Nasdaq was lower by 15. Decliners led advancers by three to two on the NYSE and the Nasdaq. The prices of Treasuries weakened. Gold futures recovered from their recent slide, jumping $13.20 to close at $1,066.00 an ounce, while the price of crude oil rose 46 cents to settle at $71.65 a barrel.

In Earnings News

- CVS Caremark reported 10% higher fourth-quarter profit on strong revenue. The pharmacy chain showed a profit of $1.05 billion, or 74 cents a share, compared to last year's $953 million, or 65 cents a share. Excluding charges and tax benefits, the company made 78 cents a share, which was in line with analysts' estimates. Sales at its pharmacy-benefits business increased 15%. CVS Caremark's shares (CVS) gained 5%.

- Hasbro's fourth-quarter earnings came in ahead of estimates. The toy-maker's fourth-quarter net income rose to $165.6 million, or $1.09 a share, against last year's $93.6 million, or 62 cents a share, easily beating the average analyst estimate of 81 cents a share. Hasbro's shares (HAS) surged 12%.

In Other Business News

- Merrill Lynch Ex-CEO John Thain today became the new CEO of struggling CIT Group. Thain presided over Merrill's downfall and eventual sale to Bank of America. CIT, for its part, emerged from bankruptcy last December after a period of losses related to subprime mortgages and student loans. Thain's salary will be $500,000 a year, and he will receive restricted shares currently worth $5.5 million. CIT Group's shares (CIT) lost 0.46%.

- A threatened strike by civil servants in Greece over proposed austerity measures further jolted the world markets today, raising concerns that the Greek government will have a hard political case to make in order to get a handle on its sovereign debt. Spain faces protests as well, due to the government's plans to raise the retirement age.

- At a weekend retreat in Iqaluit, Nunavat, a small Arctic town accessible only by plane during the winter and thus off-limits to most potential protesters, G7 representatives of the world's leading industrialized nations agreed on the need to continue supporting their respective economies until the worldwide economy improves, but made little progress on reforming the financial system. The G7 also rejected a potential International Monetary Fund bailout of Greece's troubled sovereign debt.

- Serious delinquencies among jumbo mortgages inched higher for the 32nd straight month, according to Fitch Ratings. In January, 9.6% of jumbo mortgages were at least 60 days late, up from 9.2% in December. Jumbo mortgages are higher-dollar amount mortgages that cannot be guaranteed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae.

*****

George Orwell's 1984 gave us the Thought Police, Doublethink, and the haunting claim that "Big Brother is Watching You," and this was all without the benefit of Internet-based paranoia. Fun, uplifting stuff, to be sure. But it turns out that Big Brother doesn't need to spend a lot of effort watching us, because we're beginning to report our physical locations to anyone who wants to know, and we're doing so willingly and exuberantly on our Smartphones via a new generation of location-based cell phone apps.

I've got no problem with reporting my location, because I believe it's vitally important that everyone knows where I am at any given moment. Am I eating at a fantastically trendy restaurant? Why, yes, I am (as far as you know). Have I just moved on from the fancy restaurant to an equally fancy night club? Why, no, I haven't, but that's just because the bouncer made a mistake on the guest list. But thanks for your concern.

I know, of course, that you're not concerned, and that my current whereabouts are the last thing on your mind (which is understandable, because sometimes my current whereabouts are the last thing on my mind as well). But a growing number of companies are betting that people will want to broadcast their exact location to anyone who's interested. This isn't surprising in a world of Twitter and Facebook, where it's normal for people to post pretty much anything. According to BusinessWeek, the newest twist in the personal-broadcast saga is Smartphone apps that use GPS technology to tie your current location directly to a business. You can "check-in" at a restaurant, for example, to let all your friends know exactly where you are, as well as what you ordered. Apps like Foursquare even allow you to become "mayor" of a business (like a restaurant or club) by making the most visits. You get discounts or special promotions because of your mayor status, until you're overthrown by someone else who visits even more. Like Norm from Cheers. Good luck overthrowing him.

The move from instantly updating our thoughts on Twitter to instantly updating our physical location was probably inevitable, since we can bring along the necessary technology on our cell phones, and hey, we like to share. But would I really want everyone to know that I'm the "mayor" of my local sandwich shop? "There he goes for the fifth time this week," my Big Brother overlords might say. "And pastrami yet again. This guy needs to order a salad once in a while." I'm not too worried about an Orwellian future because, at least in my case, there's not much "thought" for the Thought Police to monitor.

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