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WALL STREET
US stocks close higher for third day in a row
UNDATED (AP) — Investors are encouraged by a crop of solid corporate earnings and reassuring U.S. and Chinese economic data. Those factors together drove stock prices to their highest level in a week.
Major U.S. stock indexes notched their third day of gains in a row yesterday, after a steep drop at the end of last week.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 19 points, or 1.1 percent, to 1,862. All 10 industry sectors in the S&P 500 increased.
The Dow Jones industrial average added 162 points, or 1 percent, to 16,424. The Nasdaq composite rose 52 points, or 1.3 percent, to 4,086.
WORLD MARKETS
Asia stocks fail to match Wall Street gains
HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stock markets were mostly lower today, with Japan's Nikkei leading the retreat as investors locked in profits after a strong rally.
Profit taking set in following a sharp rise in Tokyo the day before and as comments from the country's central bank governor left investors unimpressed.
Other regional benchmarks were unable to find direction in spite of optimism in the U.S., where major benchmarks closed at least 1 percent higher, and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the central bank would continue to provide stimulus for the job market.
Trading in some markets such as Hong Kong and Australia was subdued ahead of a long weekend.
Benchmark crude oil rose above $104 a barrel.
The dollar slipped against the euro and the yen.
ECONOMY-THE DAY AHEAD
Major business and economic reports scheduled today
WASHINGTON — Investors today will be taking a close look at the government's weekly jobless claims report.
Also due out is Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage rate report.
There are a slew of companies set to report their quarterly financial results today. All results will be released before the bell.
Among the major companies reporting are industrial giants DuPont and General Electric.
Two big investment banks, Goldman Sachs; and Morgan Stanley, will report earnings.
Also set to release quarterly results today are PepsiCo, Philip Morris International, Union Pacific, Mattel, UnitedHealth and Chipotle Mexican Grill.
FAST TRADING-SUBPOENAS
Official: 6 subpoenas in NY stock trade probe
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — An official familiar with the investigation says the New York Attorney General's Office has issued subpoenas to six firms and sent a letter to another for details about split-second stock trading and any unfair advantages.
The official tells The Associated Press the subpoenas went last week to trading firms including Chicago-based Jump Trading LLC and Chopper Trading LLC and Tower Research Capital in New York. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the subpoenas.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has said advantages in computer hardware and placement enable some traders to get millisecond timing advances on trades.
His office, with New York authority to investigate securities fraud, is seeking details about trading strategies and special arrangements with trading venues.
DISNEY-SECURITIES FRAUD
Man to plead guilty in Disney insider info case
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man will plead guilty to securities fraud and pay regulators around $801,000 for using insider information to profit from Disney's $4 billion acquisition of Marvel Entertainment in 2009.
According to the deal filed in Los Angeles federal court Wednesday, Toby Scammell learned from his then-girlfriend, a Disney corporate strategy employee, that Disney would acquire a well-known company she didn't name.
Scammell learned from his consulting company that Disney had previously wanted to acquire Marvel. He bought call options in Marvel stock for around $5,500, and later sold them for $192,000 in profit.
Last month, Scammell agreed to settle a parallel civil case and pay $801,000 to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which will be credited to his fine in the criminal case. He also faces prison time.
VOLKSWAGEN-UNION
2 House Dems pressing inquiry into Tenn. VW vote
WASHINGTON (AP) — The fight over whether workers at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee can unionize is moving to Washington.
Two House Democrats said Wednesday they will investigate whether Republicans in that state may have violated "or otherwise run afoul" of any federal laws ahead of a February vote in which workers narrowly opted against joining the United Auto Workers.
Congressmen George Miller of California and John Tierney of Massachusetts say they want to know if any Tennessee Republicans attached any inappropriate strings to the state's $300 million incentive package to get VW to expand the Chattanooga plant.
The union claims the election was tainted by Republicans including U.S. Sen. Bob Corker.
Corker and others have denied doing anything inappropriate.
A hearing on the UAW's complaint is set for Monday in Chattanooga.
YAHOO SEVERANCE
Fired Yahoo exec gets $58M for 15 months of work
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Yahoo's recently fired chief operating officer, Henrique de Castro, left the Internet company with a severance package of $58 million even though he lasted just 15 months on the job.
The disclosure in a regulatory filing may lead to more second-guessing of Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer's decision to hire de Castro as her second-in-command in October 2012.
Mayer dumped de Castro in January after concluding he wasn't executing on her plan for reviving Yahoo's lackluster ad growth. De Castro had been in charge of ad sales.
Yahoo Inc. previously disclosed de Castro would be getting a severance package, but didn't reveal the amount until Wednesday.
The company's board said most of the severance stemmed from the costs of luring de Castro from his previous job at Google Inc.
CONNECTICUT REAL ESTATE
Sales of homes for more than $10 million increase
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut's Gold Coast is living up to its name, with a record $120 million sale of a waterfront estate in Greenwich (GREN'-ich) leading an increase in sales of homes for more than $10 million.
The assessor's office in Greenwich says five homes sold this year for more than $10 million.
Berkshire Hathaway sales executive Mark Pruner says another home just sold and another four listed above $10 million are under contract this year. That's compared with only one under contract by this time last year and none sold.
Pruner attributes the rise in sales to the jump in the stock market and bonuses. He also says it could stem from concerns by buyers taxes will go up on the wealthy in nearby New York City.
CANADA-INTERNET SECURITY THREAT
Police charge Canadian in Internet privacy breach
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Police have charged a 19-year-old Canadian man in connection with the loss of taxpayer data from Canada's tax agency website.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Wednesday that Stephen Arthuro Solis-Reyes was arrested at his residence Tuesday and is charged with unauthorized use of a computer and mischief in relation to data.
A search of the residence resulted in the seizure of computer equipment.
Solis-Reyes is a computer science student at Western University, a spokesman for the university said.
The Canada Revenue Agency was forced to shut down its publicly accessible website Friday as the world learned about the Heartbleed computer bug, a previously undiscovered global Internet security vulnerability. On Monday, the agency said 900 social insurance numbers had been compromised.
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