European Stocks Rise As Greece Backs Down from Debt Writedown Call

European stocks rose on Tuesday, as the new Greek government appeared to retreat from a confrontation with euro-area leaders on a Greek debt writedown. In London, BP rose after posing a lower than expected decline in underlying fourth-quarter profit and announcing plans to trim $6 billion from 2015 capital expenditures to around $20 billion. The picture was less rosy at oil and gas company BG, which wrote down the value of its business by $5.9 billion in the fourth quarter as quarterly profits fell 36% over a year ago. But BG insists it’s well-placed to manage the downturn and will continue to add production this year from Brazil and Australia. In Stockholm, Swedish engineering firm Alfa Laval AB got a boost after raising its dividend and posting better-than-expected quarterly results.