"Wallstreet" Reader

"Wallstreet" Reader

Asian Shares Mixed

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 07:14 PM PDT

Asian shares were mixed on Thursday, with a weaker yen supporting the Japanese market while oil plays fell following crude oil's 4.1% drop Wednesday. The Nikkei Stock Average was flat.

Servicer Ocwen Tries Hand at Lending

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 05:49 PM PDT

Ocwen Financial, whose knack for profiting on Wall Street's mortgage castoffs has made it a stock-market darling, now aims to beat the banks at their own game with a foray into home lending.

Sprint's Missed Opportunity

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 07:29 PM PDT

Sprint may have blown its chance to better compete against industry giants AT&T and Verizon Wireless after the carrier lost out to T-Mobile USA on the MetroPCS deal.

EADS-Bae Merger Tests Loyalty to Europe

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 04:58 PM PDT

Defense deal would require France and Germany to back Europe over jobs at home.

Housing Market's New Buyers: Private Equity

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 07:16 PM PDT

Buyout giant Blackstone Group has spent $1 billion to become the biggest U.S. investor in single-family rental homes, a sign of how bets on a housing-market recovery are gaining legitimacy among private-equity firms.

Court Accepts Peregrine Financial CEO's Guilty Plea

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 02:45 PM PDT

A federal court in Iowa formally accepted a guilty plea by the chief executive of Peregrine Financial Group Inc., charged with defrauding his customers in a nearly 20-year scheme.

McDonald's Files Coffee Trademark

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 06:02 PM PDT

McDonald's Corp. filed a trademark using its name for ground and whole-bean coffee, signaling that the fast-food giant might follow in the footsteps of Dunkin' Donuts by selling bagged coffee under its own brand.

Muscular Dystrophy Drug Helps Patients Walk Farther

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 11:09 AM PDT

Sarepta Therapeutics Inc.'s treatment for a rare and terminal form of muscular dystrophy helped patients to walk about a football field farther during a six-minute test.

FDA Withdraws Approval of a Generic Version of Wellbutrin

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 04:06 PM PDT

The FDA is withdrawing approval of the highest-strength generic version of the antidepressant Wellbutrin, marketed by a unit of Teva Pharmaceuticals, after tests showed it didn't work as well as the brand-name drug.

Oil Tumbles 4.1% on China Fears

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 04:59 PM PDT

Crude-oil futures fell by the largest percentage since mid-December, as data on China showed slowing economic growth and added a new worry to investors' concerns about global fuel demand.

Best Buy Hires E-Commerce President

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 11:56 AM PDT

Best Buy named an e-commerce president, tapping Scott Durchslag who has worked at Expedia, Skype and McKinsey.

BHP Pursuing Bid for Petrobras Gulf Stake

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 12:18 PM PDT

BHP Billiton is among those in talks to acquire a multibillion-dollar stake in Petrobras's U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil fields.

Temasek Seeks Change at Standard Chartered

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 04:56 PM PDT

Singapore state investment company Temasek, the biggest shareholder of Standard Chartered, has criticized the U.K. bank's governance and is pressuring it to appoint more independent directors.

Greece, Troika Remain Apart on Cuts

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 10:59 AM PDT

Greece's efforts to clinch a deal with its international creditors on a package of cuts by the end of this week are under threat, with the government saying Wednesday a "fairly big" gap still separates the country from its lenders, while a fresh dispute emerged over proposed labor-market changes.

Canada Faces Pressure on Cnooc-Nexen Deal

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 07:43 PM PDT

Canadian officials are under pressure to exact better terms from Cnooc in exchange for approval of its proposed $15.1 billion takeover of Canadian energy firm Nexen.

ETFs Seen Moving Market

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 10:56 AM PDT

When midsize stocks unusually fell earlier this week while both large- and small-stock indexes rose, it underscored the rising influence of exchange-traded funds on the market.

Waypoint Secures $245 Million Loan From Citigroup

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 12:09 PM PDT

Waypoint Real Estate Group, one of the biggest investors in U.S. foreclosed homes, secured a $245 million loan from Citigroup to help beef up its portfolio of properties to rent out.

Physical-Oil Oversight Won't Change

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 03:20 PM PDT

A two-year investigation into whether the unregulated physical oil market is vulnerable to manipulation and needs tighter supervision looks set to end this week with a report that effectively endorses the current system.

H-P Shares Punished for Grim Outlook

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 05:53 PM PDT

H-P warned profit and revenue will decline in the coming year before CEO Meg Whitman's turnaround effort gains traction. The bleak forecast sent the tech giant's shares sharply lower.

'Dark Pool' and SEC Settle Over Client Data

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 04:47 PM PDT

A stock-trading "dark pool" backed by some of Wall Street's biggest banks agreed to settle a regulator's allegations that it improperly shared confidential client-trading information with a unit of Citigroup, one of its investors.