European shares dropped 0.5 percent in morning trade, as worries about Greece dragged after the mainstream conservatives failed to reach a coalition deal following Sunday's election. That gives the Left Coalition party, which opposes the country's EU/IMF bailout, a chance to form a government, with the prospect of fresh elections if it cannot do so.

Further monetary stimulus would not do much for a U.S. labor market that is plagued by longer-term, structural issues such as skills mismatches, Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Jeffrey Lacker said on Monday.

On the earnings front, investors awaited results from a raft of companies including Walt Disney (DIS.N), Direct TV (DTV.O) and Molson Coors Brewing Company (TAP.N).

First BanCorp (FBP.N) posted a narrower quarterly loss on a lower provision for loan and lease losses, and the private equity bank said it will buy a credit-card portfolio to re-enter the credit card business.

Yahoo Inc's (YHOO.O) board convened on Monday afternoon to discuss the mounting upset surrounding Chief Executive Scott Thompson, who has apologized to employees after being accused last week by activist investor Daniel Loeb of padding his resume, a source with knowledge of the matter said.

Facebook Inc (FB.O) CEO Mark Zuckerberg took questions about the No. 1 social network's slowing revenue growth and its $1 billion Instagram purchase, kicking off a roadshow on Monday to promote its $10 billion initial public offering.

General Electric Co (GE.N) is buying a 15 percent stake in Shanghai-listed China XD Electric Group (601179.SS) for about $535 million, giving the largest U.S. conglomerate a foothold in China's vast electrical infrastructure market and access to XD's technology.

Wynn Resorts (WYNN.O) posted quarterly results that lagged Wall Street targets after robust growth in Macau failed to make up for flagging Las Vegas revenue, underlining the incentive for CEO Steve Wynn to develop his business further in the bustling Chinese enclave.

Japan's leading chip maker Toshiba Corp (6502.T) said on Tuesday it expects a 45 percent jump in profits this business year on Tuesday, boosted by robust demand for its flash memory chips used in blockbuster Apple (AAPL.O) iPhones.

T-Mobile USA, the No. 4 U.S. mobile provider, has received a lot of interest in the wireless broadcast towers it is looking to sell but a top company executive said on Monday that the process could take "several months to pan out.

The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, one of Sprint Nextel Corp's (S.N) key investors with about a 4 percent stake, will vote against Chief Executive Dan Hesse's re-election to Sprint's board.

The S&P 500 rebounded from early losses to end nearly unchanged on Monday despite fresh doubts raised about the euro zone's ability to tackle its debt crisis by the election results in Greece and France.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI slipped 29.74 points, or 0.23 percent, to 13,008.53 at the close. But the Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX inched up just 0.48 of a point, or 0.04 percent, to 1,369.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC added 1.42 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,957.76.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Catherine Evans)

• A Permanent Economic Emergency