diana magnay, cnn, athens. >>> we head to the united states where the earnings season has begun. we'll have a look at the asian stock markets. the nikkei lost 0.4%, dragged down by exporters and auto stocks. the shanghai composite finished 0.75% lower. and weak performance in the banking sector also led sydney's asx 200 to a lower close. the stock market in hong kong was hit by sell-off and property stocks. wen jiabao said his government is committed to reigning in real estate prices. let's now go to the united states where the earnings season is winding down this week from cars to cartoons, the number of big companies still have to release their results. alison kosik has a look at what we can expect on wall street. >>> most big u.s. companies have already released their quarterly results but a few heavyweights have yet to report. i'm alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. more than 80% of the s&p 500 has posted results, now we're about to hear from dell components walt disney and cisco systems. analysts expect solid profits from disney but the outlook for cisco isn't so up

diana magnay, many thanks from berlin. andrew?e bottom line there is at least another two weeks of uncertainty in the euro markets by the sounds of it. >>> it's been a challenging year for japanese carmakers, but nissan is faring better. its ceo tells us how. let me tell you about a very important phone call i made. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you

diana magnay. you've been there for days.his impasse doesn't seem to be surmountable at the moment. is there a possibility that italy could have a new prime minister, a new government before greece does? >> reporter: well, i hope that's not the case, nina, otherwise we'll be here forever. every day there's a declaration of confidence by members of the party, the prime minister himself. by the ends of play that day we would have an announcement. no more so than on wednesday. and yet that simply hasn't happened. the local press call it an opereta. if you missed wednesday's act then here's a look huddled around a monitor outside the presidential palace, reporters strain to hear their prime minister address the nation one last night as he wished his successor well. >> i would like to wish every success to the new prime minister and, of course, the new government. i'll be next to them, i'll support them with every cent of mine within greece and abroad. >> reporter: address delivered, it was time for the short walk next door to the

cnn's diana magnay explains how it went down. >> reporter: it was a day of intense political wrangling in athens as the leaders of the two main parties fought tooth and nail over the formation of a new government. finally they came together in a late night meeting with the president. the reporters waited outside. after one and a half hour, a written statement delivered through the bars of the palace gate, a statement that a new government will be formed to tide the country through to elections. a new prime minister would be at the helm. >> at the heart of the greek crisis is the fear that a greek debt default would drag down larger european economies, especially those of italy and spain. that concern will be on the minds of euro zone finance ministers meeting in brussels today. here's how the markets reacted in asia, the nikkei, shanghai composite and hong kong's hang seng all closed down. on wall street, futures for the dow, s&p 500 and nasdaq also down. >>> later this morning, jurors return for day two of deliberations in the trial of michael jackson's doctor. they must decide whethe

diana magnay spoke to some people on the streets of milan in italy and here is what they had to say abouto themselves. >> reporter: do you believe in the euro? >> not really. mabel in the few years there will be a different kind of europe, you know, and the xhe economy is changing so italy is not so strong, and if a few years maybe we will get lira back. >> would that be okay for you to get the lira back? does the euro matter to you? >> no. because -- everyone has the idea of the future as a cosmopolitan universe, and it will be the best way to have just one money, but if we go back to the best, it's not so okay for us. >> do you feel the same? >> no. i think euro and europe is the only future we have in italy because we are not in a condition, and we cannot hope to go on without europe. i think this. >> reporter: how worried are you about your job prospects? sglt a serious problem to find a job in the future. an enormous problem. i don't know what to do. and i don't know what you think but enormous problem. >> reporter: would you leave? are any of you thinking of leaving? if so, where wo

diana magnay, thanks so much from athens. >>> all right.his country today, marks one year out from the presidential election. gop hopeful herman cain is still being dogged by sexual harassment allegations, but at last night's tea party debate in texas, it sounded like a love fest almost. listen to what his gop rival newt gingrich had to say. >> herman's role in turning around godfather pizza, which he was sent into when it was a very troubled company and the degree to which and enthusiastic, positive, solutions oriented leader, suddenly changes the team. >> all right. let's bring in will cane, cnn contributor and columnist with theblaze.com. the team, that's interesting. >> hi, fred. >> how are you? so was this a debate or was this kind of like a new alliance between gingrich and cain? >> no, i think it was a debate. it was a conversation that focused on substance and issues and the fact that they agree on many of those issues doesn't mean it wasn't a serious debate. beyond symbolizing somewhat of a team between these two guys i think there