Weekly Roundup: MarketWatch's top 10 stories of the week

Weekly Roundup FEBRUARY 24, 2012 MarketWatch's top 10 stories of the week Feb. 20–24: Stops in Athens, Cupertino and Madison Square Garden By MarketWatch The Dow industrials' luck failed in a run at 13,000, with the blue-chip index proving unable to secure its first close atop that mark since May 2008, despite several breaches. Still, the holiday-abbreviated week was not a total loss, as all three of the most closely watched stock indexes notched weekly gains. The S&P 500, in fact, closed the week at its highest point since June 2008. Mark Hulbert in The Tell: Forget Dow 13,000; the real story is the Wilshire 5,000 .   To achieve that, the S&P (SPX) nosed 0.3% higher, a move-up matched by the Dow industrials (DJIA) and narrowly outstripped by the Nasdaq Composite's (COMP) 0.4% weekly rise. Stay tuned to MarketWatch this weekend for coverage of breaking news and developing stories as well as a feature on Russia's stirring comeback from the depths of the global financial crisis — and some factors to consider before trying to make money in Moscow. Weekend Investor: Russia could be a gusher for daring investors . Also on the weekend's docket is Warren Buffett's annual letter (nominally) to Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) (BRK.B) investors. The Tell: What to look for in Warren Buffett's annual letter to investors .   As you gear up for next week, or seek respite from Oscars hoopla (but do, by all means, check out our Academy Awards page ), take a moment to watch our weekly preview videos:  U.S. week ahead: ISM data and Fed's Bernanke in focus .  Europe's week ahead: Eyes on G-20 meeting and corporate earnings .  Asia's week ahead: China data, Australian politics . — Tim Rostan, managing editor Greek CDS fear fades Not long ago, the thought of triggering payouts on credit-default swaps on Greek government debt met with more than a little discomfort among European authorities. But by Friday, Greece was formally launching its offer for a long-awaited bond swap that's at the center of its second international rescue in less than two years, a "credit event," a term of art describing the conditions that trigger a CDS payout, is seen as increasingly likely. See full story: Greek CDS worries fade ahead of debt swap . Apple and the frightful cash hoard As the date of Apple's annual shareholder meeting, this Thursday, drew near, clamoring for a sharing out of the company's often-noted — or notorious — $100 billion cash heap grew ever louder. The company, in the end, passed on its chance to promise a special dividend to mollify investors. But, notes Mark Hulbert, danger remains that the company's (AAPL) post–Steve Jobs management may feel compelled, or even be compelled, to do something ill-considered to allocate some proportion of those funds. Read column: Apple's cash creates dangerous temptation . Johnson's Penney has much to do, and to prove On one business-news cable channel, J.C. Penney (JCP) was described, at characteristic volume and on consecutive days, of being all at sea in the early days of the Ron Johnson regime and, within 24 hours, as eating the lunch, market-share-wise, of rival midrange department-store chain Kohl's (KSS). Probably the truth, skirting a trip out either of those limbs, lies somewhere in between. Penney, under the leadership of Apple and Target alumnus Johnson, needs a rethink and a revamp, and then it needs to execute. It looks like it'll take some time. See full story: J.C. Penney has to show new strategy works . NBA hasn't skipped a beat ReutersNew York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin drives on Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague this week.Sure, the emergence of Jeremy Lin has been a nice surprise for not only the New York Knicks and Madison Square Garden (MSG) but the NBA as a whole, but even the months-long labor impasse is looking more and more as if it couldn't have gone better, being resolved just in time for marquee matchups on the biggest regular-season-TV-viewership date and becoming all but something of a footnote, as any lingering acrimony has been minimal and as the league, by most objective standards, has gone on only to build on last year's strong momentum. Full story: NBA enjoying a post-lockout bounce . Get your head around the headphone market For decades, one needed only know a few names — Klipsch, Sennheiser, Shure among them — to know a substantial portion of all that was to be known about the stereo-headphone business. Then along came Apple's iPod and other devices, and rival units from other gadget manufacturers, and suddenly not only were there millions more prospective consumers with no allegiance to the old-school names and a preference for something a little flashier, and often either endorsed by or developed with such recording-industry notables as Dr. Dre, 50 Cent and the family of Bob Marley. The business has been thrown wide open. See Dan Gallagher's report: Headphone makers battle over form and function . Salesforce, software and democracy Salesforce.com's (CRM) quarterly financials highlighted optimism about the future of the software-as-a-service market, and the stock soared 9% in response, returning to within striking distance of an all-time high hit last year. Commentary by John Shinal: Salesforce and H-P show where software goes . Watchmakers case wary eye on Asia The Swiss watch industry, world leader in the production of luxury timepieces, is unlikely to continue enjoying the phenomenal growth it has witnessed over the past couple of years, say analysts and watchmakers. Demand will probably slow from China and Hong Kong, which now account for more than a quarter of all watch exports from the Alpine country. Some say it already has. See: Swiss watchmakers fear Asia slowdown. The Qnexa big thing? Vivus shares (VVUS) doubled after a federal advisory panel overwhelmingly backed the weight-loss drug Qnexa, clearing the way for U.S. approval of the first prescription diet drug in more than a decade. Vivus shares soar as diet drug gets FDA nod. See: Vivus shares double on FDA nod. Don't bring your politics to work You may have tremendously insightful views on the coming presidential election, or about politics in general, but share those opinions sparingly, if at all, at work, career experts advise. Election 2012: Don't bring it to work. How to ruin a retirement A slew of tax rules are waiting to trip you up when it comes time to move money or cash out your retirement savings — and getting it wrong will cost you. Tax mistakes that can wreck your retirement . Get the latest news on our mobile site: http://www.marketwatch.com/m MarketWatch has sent you this newsletter because you signed up to receive it. 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