Daily Data Flow: Stocks up after Last Week’s Drop; Crowdfunding Growing, Bank Lending Decreasing; Grecian Banks in Need of State Help

Stocks up after Last Week’s Drop (Bloomberg)
In the aftermath of 2013’s biggest weekly drop for the S&P 500, stocks rose today as investors anticipated the start of earnings season. Today’s rebound “continued a pattern, which has shown for quite some time now, which is any weakness is met with buying at some point of the day,” James Gaul, a portfolio manager at Boston Advisors LLC, said. “There are people who are afraid of missing out on further rallies.”

Crowdfunding Growing as Bank Lending Decreases (CNBC)
According to data released today, crowdfunding websites raised almost $3 billion from members of the public last year, a rise of over 80 percent from 2011. Meanwhile, bank lending, the traditional route of borrowing money, has been on the decline as of late thanks to increased regulatory examination and more exacting capital rules.

Grecian Banks Might Require State Help (Reuters)
After saying there was not a strong likelihood of raising enough cash, two of Greece’s largest banks, National Bank of Greece (NBG) and Eurobank, could face being nationalized. “We will mobilize and try to cover the required 10 percent from the market. I am not saying we will make it, but we will try,” a Eurobank executive said. He estimated the bank needs 580 million euros from the private sector.