Business Today: Wall Street ends flat after late fade; S&P up for fourth month

	Click to View in Browser 02/28/2013 Wall Street ends flat after late fade; S&P up for fourth month NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks ended flat on Thursday, giving up modest gains late in the session, denying the Dow a chance to inch closer to all-time highs. Economy barely expands in fourth quarter, brighter days ahead WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The economy barely grew in the fourth quarter as the military slashed spending and companies restocked their shelves with less gusto, but growth already appears to be picking up. Analysis: U.S. deal has Brazil's Embraer flying high in defense SAO PAULO (Reuters) - With its first-ever U.S. military contract in hand, the defense unit of Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA has finally hit the big time, establishing itself as a global player while the rest of the industry struggles with shrinking budgets. Groupon replaces CEO Andrew Mason, looks for new chief SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Groupon Inc replaced CEO Andrew Mason at the helm on Thursday, a day after posting a dismal set of quarterly results, and appointed co-founder Eric Lefkofsky and board member Ted Leonsis as interim chief executives. Blame game gets louder as budget cuts look inevitable WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A day before sweeping budget cuts begin, the White House and Republicans blamed each other on Thursday for failure to prevent a fiscal crisis which the International Monetary Fund warned could slow the U.S. and world economies. Walmart says price cuts helped shoppers save billions on produce (Reuters) - Walmart shoppers have saved $2.3 billion by buying produce at its stores in the first two years of its push to sell more healthful fare and more of it, the largest U.S. grocer said on Thursday. Pershing Square's Bill Ackman has a two aspirin kind of day BOSTON (Reuters) - Noted stock picker William Ackman had a decidedly gloomy day on Thursday: Two of his most high-profile bets were moving fast, but in the wrong direction for the hedge fund manager and investors in his $12 billion Pershing Square Capital Management. Hedge fund in "Whale" trade tried to poach JPM employees: sources NEW YORK (Reuters) - BlueMountain Capital, a hedge fund involved in JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s $6.2 billion trading loss last year, tried to recruit several employees in the bank's chief investment office in the months before the losses, according to two people familiar with the matter. JPMorgan says London Whale didn't cause Lehman bankruptcy NEW YORK (Reuters) - The former JPMorgan Chase & Co trader known as the "London Whale" was not responsible for Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc's bankruptcy and should not be dragged into an $8.6 billion lawsuit accusing the largest U.S. bank of causing it, JPMorgan said. Peregrine boss Wasendorf starts serving 50-year jail term (Reuters) - Russell Wasendorf Sr., the former chief executive of Peregrine Financial Group, has begun serving a 50-year sentence at a federal prison in Indiana for bilking $215 million from customers of the failed futures brokerage. Related Video Techquity: Narrowing niche for Nook, Facebook falling Underwater phone wows mobile show Economic News Blame game gets louder as budget cuts look inevitable Regulators move forward on foreclosure relief A daily digest of breaking business news, coverage of the US economy, major corporate news and the financial markets. Register Today   The latest Reuters articles on M&A, IPOs, private equity, hedge funds and regulatory updates delivered to your inbox each day. Register Today   » MORE NEWSLETTERS - 3 Times Square New York, NY 10036 USA © Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters Ensure delivery of Reuters Newsmails, add mail@nl.reuters.com to your address book. Details Subscribe to other Reuters newsletters. Unsubscribe from this newsletter. Follow us on Twitter Friend us on Facebook Forward to a friend