Cyprus proposed a one-time tax on all bank deposits in order to pay for a bailout of their troubled financial sector. The markets closed lower with the Dow dropping 62 points to 14,452 while Nasdaq fell 11 points to 3237.
On the upside
Wall Street Journal reported that Liberty Media (Nasdaq: LMCA) was finalizing a deal to pay approximately $2.5 billion to acquire a 25% stake in Charter Communications (Nasdaq: CHTR).
RAIT Financial Trust (NYSE: RAS) will pay a higher first quarter dividend of 12 cents per common share on April 30, 2013 to shareholders of record April 3, 2013.
Swisher Hygiene (Nasdaq: SWSH) reported a wider loss for the third quarter but revenue rose.
On the downside
Three Ambow Education Holding (NYSE: AMBO) directors resigned citing disagreements with management.
LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) director Liangbao Zhu resigned.
Shares of Parkervision (NYSE: PRKR) fell ahead of its earnings release after market close.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index fell 8 points to 1552.