Morning Market Roundup: Greek Leadership Is Stalling, Zynga Earnings, Apple’s Cash

Here’s what’s important in the financial world this morning:

EU: After cancelling Wednesday’s euro zone finance ministers meeting to discuss Greece’s €130 billion ($170 billion) deal, Greek conservative leader Antonis Samaras has now said a letter of commitment will be sent for the EU/IMF bailout deal within the next day, according to MarketWatch.

Fingers have been pointed at Samaras for not creating written pledges and suggesting doubt on the country’s promised austerity measures.  He is seen as the country’s likely next Prime Minister when elections are held in April.

Over in Italy, the country entered into a recession in the fourth quarter as its GDP fell 0.7 percent on top of its third quarter 0.2 percent decline. For the euro zone, it fell 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter, representing its first contraction since the second quarter of 2009. Germany also saw its economy shrink in the quarter while France provided a bright spot with 0.2 percent growth.

Tech: On Tuesday at a technology conference, Apple Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said the company is discussing with its board on what to do with its growing mound of cash and securities, giving hope that it will declare a dividend. He noted that with the iPad tablet success, he sees the tablet eventually moving past the personal computer market in unit sales.

Zynga reported its fourth quarter earnings after hours on Tuesday, the first report since its public offering in December. The quarter beat estimates with an adjusted earnings per share of $0.05 and a $37 million profit while revenues rose 59 percent to $311.2 million. The company did see a $435 million net loss from a $510 million expense from stock-based compensation, according to The New York Times. The company notes its user base and those users paying for virtual goods rose but R&D costs also jumped nine-times on Zynga’s expanded game developments.

[Editor’s note: above is a cross post that originally appeared on Wall St. Cheat Sheet.]