Career News 24/7: Business Today: Wall Street gains on Bernanke comments, S&P above 1,500

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Business Today: Wall Street gains on Bernanke comments, S&P above 1,500

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02/27/2013

Reuters Election 2012 Daily round-up of the day's top news from the campaign trail, the White House and all the politics in between

Wall Street gains on Bernanke comments, S&P above 1,500

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Wednesday, with major indexes posting their best daily gains since early January, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke remained steadfast in supporting the Fed's stimulus policy and data pointed to economic improvement.

U.S. business spending plans gauge hits one-year high

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A gauge of planned U.S. business spending recorded its largest increase in just over a year in January, suggesting businesses may be becoming more confident about expanding, while another report on Wednesday indicated the housing market is continuing to strengthen.

Groupon shares dive 24 percent on "underwhelming" forecast

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Groupon Inc lost a quarter of its market value on Wednesday after the largest daily deal company reported disappointing quarterly results and issued a weak forecast.

Exclusive: Flowers Foods to win Hostess' Wonder Bread - source

(Reuters) - Flowers Foods Inc is set to buy Wonder Bread and some other brands owned by Hostess Brands Inc for $360 million, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, giving the No. 2 U.S. baking company a bigger slice of the fast-consolidating bread business.

Blackstone drives India private equity shift from home to office

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Blackstone Group LP is driving the migration of private equity money into India's commercial real estate after the global financial crisis cooled the country's once-ardent residential segment and the number of unsold new homes surged.

GM paid $11.1 million to CEO Akerson in 2012: source

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co gave Chief Executive Dan Akerson an $11.1 million pay package last year, a GM official familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, after the CEO's salary came under scrutiny this week.

Analysis: China property curbs in focus ahead of parliament meet

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's property market is rife with speculation - both about rising house prices and about what the new government may do to curb them once it takes office next week.

J.C. Penney fourth-quarter same-store sales fall 31.7 percent

(Reuters) - J.C. Penney Co Inc on Wednesday reported that sales at stores open at least a year fell 31.7 percent in the fourth quarter, steeper than the 27.8 percent drop analysts were expecting.

Analysis: Schwab class-action win aids brokers, may hurt investors

(Reuters) - U.S. retail investors may be losing one of the most effective tools in their arsenal to make sure their brokerages treat them fairly: the threat of class-action lawsuits.

Target cautious after weak holiday quarter, shares fall

(Reuters) - Target Corp on Wednesday offered a cautious outlook for consumer spending in 2013 following a weak holiday quarter and said it was on track with its massive Canadian store opening plans this year.