(Reuters) - Stocks rose on Tuesday, with the Dow briefly topping 13,000 for the first time since May 2008 after Greece secured a bailout to avoid a March default, but gains were limited as investors had priced in expectations of a deal. Signs of improvement in the economy and stabilization of Europe's debt crisis have driven the Dow more than 20 percent since late last year, while the S&P has climbed more than 8 percent so far this year.

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(Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers agreed a 130-billion-euro ($172 billion) rescue for Greece on Tuesday to avert an imminent chaotic default after forcing Athens to commit to unpopular cuts and private bondholders to take bigger losses. The complex deal wrought in overnight negotiations buys time to stabilize the 17-nation currency bloc and strengthen its financial firewalls, but it leaves deep doubts about Greece's ability to recover and avoid default in the longer term.

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(Reuters) - The European Central Bank wants its second offer of cheap ultra-long funds next week to be its last, putting the onus back on governments to secure the euro zone's longer-term future. Powerful members of the central bank's 23-man governing council are privately hoping demand at the February 29 auction will fall well short of the 1 trillion euros some expect, backing their view that it should be the last.

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(Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc's price cuts hurt its fourth-quarter profit and it plans to trim prices further in the coming months, a move that is expected to keep shrinking margins. The company's shares, up more than 29 percent since August, fell 4.2 percent in early trading, erasing the gains seen so far in 2012.

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(Reuters) - The regulator of housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Tuesday outlined a new strategic plan to Congress on how it will oversee the two firms more than three years after they were taken over by the federal government. Absent any clear direction from lawmakers, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said the primary three goals going forward include: building a new infrastructure for the secondary mortgage market, reducing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's role in the market, and maintaining anti-foreclosure efforts.

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(Reuters) - Stocks edged up slightly Friday, but investors were wary of making big bets heading into a holiday weekend when Greece's bailout plan is expected to be approved. The rise in the S&P 500 continued after the index posted its best daily gain in two weeks on Thursday, touching a 9-month high.

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(Reuters) - Gasoline prices jumped 0.9 percent in January, pushing overall consumer prices up and offering a reminder of the risks energy costs pose to the economic recovery. The 0.2 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index reported by the Labor Department on Friday shows inflation remains largely under control, but a reading of underlying price pressures could reinforce caution at the Federal Reserve as it mulls further measures to help the economy.

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(Reuters) - Italian police said on Friday they had seized about $6 trillion of fake U.S. Treasury bonds in Switzerland, and issued arrest warrants for eight people accused of international fraud and other financial crimes. The operation, co-ordinated by prosecutors from the southern Italian city of Potenza, was carried out by Italian and Swiss authorities after a year-long investigation, an Italian police source said.

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(Reuters) - Canada's finance minister sounded upbeat that Europe will resolve the Greek debt crisis next week following a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on Friday. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty met with Monti in Rome, where the two discussed issues on the agenda for a meeting of finance ministers from the G20 industrialized and emerging economies in Mexico City Feb 25-26.

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(Reuters) - HJ Heinz Co (HNZ.N) and Campbell Soup Co (CPB.N) posted better-than-expected quarterly profits, even as price increases meant to offset higher commodity costs hurt sales volume, and shares of both food makers rose in morning trade. "Campbell Soup and Heinz results were not all that great, but were better than expected," said Edward Jones analyst Jack Russo. "Expectations were quite low."

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