Trial of ex-P&G, Goldman board member starts in NY

Rajat Gupta enters a federal courthouse in New York, Monday, May 21, 2012. Prosecutors will try to convince a jury that an intercepted call shows Gupta was providing inside tips that gave Raj Rajaratnam an illegal edge in massive stock maneuvers. Defense lawyers say they'll argue Gupta was a straight-shooter who only shared public information with the billionaire hedge fund boss, as devoted to raising money for charity as to Goldman's bottom line. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in federal court in Manhattan. The trial is scheduled to last up to four weeks. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)A federal prosecutor accused former Goldman Sachs board member Rajat Gupta on Monday of feeding inside investment tips to a corrupt hedge fund manager, while Gupta's lawyer told a jury the relationship between the Wall Street heavyweights was above board.



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Market breaks losing streak, with China's help

In a May 7, 2012 photo trader Richard Newman works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. A weekend summit in Washington among leaders of the world's most powerful nations provided little in the way of encouragement for investors already nervous about the political turmoil in Greece. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)Forget Facebook. This is still Apple's stock market.



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Early Facebook mutual fund buyers still in money

(Reuters) - Fidelity Investments and other big mutual fund families that were early backers of Facebook Inc are likely still winners despite the social network's troubled stock market debut. Facebook shares were priced at $38 per share in its initial public offering on Thursday. Despite an initial bump in their market debut on Friday, the shares fell on Monday, closing down 11 percent at $34.03. The decline prompted much hand-wringing among technology investors who had expected a bigger boost for the widely used social networking service. ...
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Facebook Growing Up, Losing Hype

COMMENTARY | According to the Associated Press and CNN, Facebook's stock has not performed as hoped following its release. The stock began to slide shortly after its IPO release Friday, peaking briefly before falling below its $38 IPO price. Investors and the public are wondering what the weak stock market start means for the world's most popular social networking site, which was begun eight years ago in a Harvard dorm room by Mark Zuckerberg.
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Wall Street rebounds, but investors dump Facebook

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock ExchangeNEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose more than 1 percent on Monday, with the S&P 500 snapping a six-day losing streak in a rebound from equities' biggest weekly drop in almost six months, but Facebook slumped in its second session after a disappointing debut. Tech shares were among the day's biggest gainers, with an S&P sector index surging 2.8 percent on the strength of Apple Inc . Shares of Apple climbed 5.8 percent to $561.28, leading the Nasdaq to its biggest one-day percentage gain since December 2011. ...



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Treasurys slide as stocks break a losing streak

Treasury prices eased Monday as investors become more comfortable shifting money back into the stock market.
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Apple's Cook top-paid US CEO in 2011: report

Apple CEO Tim CookApple chief executive Tim Cook topped the list of the best-paid CEOs in the US in 2011 thanks to stock options that put him more than $300 million above his next rival, a Wall Street Journal survey showed Monday.



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Exclusive: U.S. lets China bypass Wall Street for Treasury orders

A bank clerk counts U.S. dollar banknotes on bundles of 100 Chinese yuan banknotes at a branch of a bank in HuaibeiNEW YORK (Reuters) - China can now bypass Wall Street when buying U.S. government debt and go straight to the U.S. Treasury, in what is the Treasury's first-ever direct relationship with a foreign government, according to documents viewed by Reuters. The relationship means the People's Bank of China buys U.S. debt using a different method than any other central bank in the world. The other central banks, including the Bank of Japan, which has a large appetite for Treasuries, place orders for U.S. debt with major Wall Street banks designated by the government as primary dealers. ...



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Stock market breaks losing streak; Facebook falls

In a May 7, 2012 photo trader Richard Newman works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. A weekend summit in Washington among leaders of the world's most powerful nations provided little in the way of encouragement for investors already nervous about the political turmoil in Greece. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)After three weeks of dumping stocks, investors finally found something to be hopeful about.



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Insider trading trial starts for ex-Goldman director

Former Goldman Sachs Director Rajat GuptaThe trial of the biggest suspect in a big US crackdown on Wall Street insider trading, former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta, started Monday in New York.



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Stocks gain on Wall Street; Facebook falls

In a May 7, 2012 photo trader Richard Newman works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. A weekend summit in Washington among leaders of the world's most powerful nations provided little in the way of encouragement for investors already nervous about the political turmoil in Greece. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)After a weekend that brought both fresh concerns about Europe and hopeful signs about China, investors decided to focus on the latter.



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First Person: Debt Ceiling Debate 2.0 Will Likely Hurt My Finances Further

COMMENTARY | It seems like only yesterday that both sides of the political isle were debating and arguing over raising the debt ceiling. The end result was the debt ceiling being raised to $16.4 trillion, but the political fighting went on for so long that the stock market suffered as a result. Add to that the fact that the United States then had its credit rating reduced from its perfect AAA status by Standard & Poor's and the results were made even worse. ...
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CORRECTED - Facebook investors left guessing after Nasdaq glitch

(Corrects delay in Facebook trading to 30 minutes, not 45, in second paragraph) (Reuters) - Individual investors were left in the dark for hours on Friday about whether their buy and sell orders for newly issued Facebook shares had actually been executed, in the latest of a series high-profile exchange glitches in recent years. Massive demand for the social networking giant's initial public offering, which set a trading volume record for U.S. market debuts, led to a 30 -minute delay in the start of trading in the stock. ...
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Lowe's cuts profit outlook as demand weakens

A Lowe's logo is seen in South San Francisco(Reuters) - Lowe's Cos Inc , the world's No. 2 home improvement chain, cut its fiscal-year earnings outlook and said demand slowed toward the end of the traditionally strong first quarter, sending its shares down nearly 10 percent. The lackluster forecast came just days after larger rival Home Depot Inc missed Wall Street's quarterly sales estimates as demand weakened in April following a jump in home improvement projects earlier in the year because of a warm winter. ...



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Facebook investors left guessing after Nasdaq glitch

(Reuters) - Individual investors were left in the dark for hours on Friday about whether their buy and sell orders for newly issued Facebook shares had actually been executed, in the latest of a series high-profile exchange glitches in recent years. Massive demand for the social networking giant's initial public offering, which set a trading volume record for U.S. market debuts, led to a 30-minute delay in the start of trading in the stock. But it was what happened after trading started that had some on Wall Street fuming. ...
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Nasdaq alters IPO procedures after Facebook glitch

A monitor shows a welcoming message for Facebook's listing on the NASDAQ Marketsite prior to the opening bell in New YorkNEW YORK (Reuters) - Nasdaq OMX Group Inc said it is changing its initial public offering trading procedures following glitches in Facebook Inc's market debut that left some traders unsure if their orders for shares had been completed. The exchange operator said in a statement on Monday that modifications to its IPO procedures would prevent a repetition of the Friday problems with Facebook. Nasdaq Chief Executive Robert Greifeld said in a conference call with reporters on Sunday that there had been a malfunction in the trading system's design for processing order cancellations. ...



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Facebook sinks as Nasdaq scrambles to square trades

Facebook logo is seen on a screen inside at the Nasdaq Marekstsite in New YorkREUTERS - Facebook shares sank on Monday in the first day of trading without the full support of the company's underwriters, leaving some investors down 25 percent from where they were Friday afternoon. Facebook's debut was beset by problems, so much so that Nasdaq said on Monday it was changing its IPO procedures. That may comfort companies considering a listing but does little for Facebook, whose lead underwriter Morgan Stanley had to step in and defend the $38 offering price on the open market. Without that same level of defense, its shares fell $4.50 to $33. ...



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Nasdaq alters IPO procedures after Facebook glitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nasdaq OMX Group Inc said it is changing its initial public offering trading procedures following glitches in Facebook Inc's market debut that left some traders unsure if their orders for shares had been completed. The exchange operator said in a statement on Monday that modifications to its IPO procedures would prevent a repetition of the Friday problems with Facebook. Nasdaq Chief Executive Robert Greifeld said in a conference call with reporters on Sunday that there had been a malfunction in the trading system's design for processing order cancellations. ...
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Nasdaq announces plan for unfilled Facebook orders

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nasdaq has engaged federal regulators to untangle the problems that occurred at the opening of Facebook Inc's initial public offering on Friday that could eventually result in financial restitution for investors who did not get shares at the desired price. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority will review requests from investors whose orders were not filled at the opening cross price of $42 or were filled at an inferior price, the Nasdaq said in a statement. FINRA will report on the total value of investor claims to Nasdaq. ...
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Nasdaq, S&P 500 gain 1 percent

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Monday, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 up 1 percent as markets recovered from their worst weekly decline for the year after world leaders expressed support for Greece to stay in the euro zone. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 80.15 points, or 0.65 percent, to 12,449.53. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 12.03 points, or 0.93 percent, to 1,307.25. The Nasdaq Composite gained 34.44 points, or 1.24 percent, to 2,813.23.
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Stocks open higher on Wall Street; Facebook falls

In a May 7, 2012 photo trader Richard Newman works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. A weekend summit in Washington among leaders of the world's most powerful nations provided little in the way of encouragement for investors already nervous about the political turmoil in Greece. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)Stocks rose Monday morning as investors latched onto a survey suggesting that economists are more optimistic about housing and unemployment.



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Nasdaq alters IPO procedures after Facebook glitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nasdaq OMX Group Inc said on Monday it is changing its initial public offering trading procedures following glitches in Facebook Inc's market debut at the end of last week that prevented some traders from knowing for hours whether their orders for shares had been completed. The exchange operator said in a note to traders that modifications to its IPO and halt cross application would prevent the problems that occurred on Friday from recurring. (Reporting By John McCrank; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
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Wall St rises at open after worst week of year

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock ExchangeNEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street edged higher at the open on Monday, rebounding from its worst weekly decline for the year, on assurances that world powers want debt-laden Greece to remain in the euro zone. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 29.71 points, or 0.24 percent, to 12,399.09. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 2.73 points, or 0.21 percent, to 1,297.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 4.26 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,783.05. (Reporting By Chuck Mikolajczak, editing by Dave Zimmerman)



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Nasdaq alters IPO procedures after Facebook glitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nasdaq OMX Group Inc said on Monday it is changing its initial public offering trading procedures following glitches in Facebook Inc's market debut at the end of last week that prevented some traders from knowing for hours whether their orders for shares had been completed. The exchange operator said in a note to traders that modifications to its IPO and halt cross application would prevent the problems that occurred on Friday from recurring. (Reporting By John McCrank; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
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Global shares edge higher but Greek fears linger

The trading floor and the DAX board is pictured at Frankfurt stock exchangeLONDON (Reuters) - World shares edged higher and commodities gained on Monday as investors' fears that Greece could leave the euro were partly soothed by promises from China and the Group of Eight leaders at the weekend to support growth. U.S. stock index futures also pointed to a higher open on Wall Street. But the gains follow a torrid week, which saw many riskier assets touch their lows for the year, and sentiment is weak with no concrete new plans in place to deal with the problems in Greece or Spain. ...



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