Business Today: Dow, S&P 500 drop for fourth straight day; Fed a concern

	Click to View in Browser 12/4/2013 Dow, S&P 500 drop for fourth straight day; Fed a concern NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Dow and the S&P 500 finished lower for the fourth consecutive session on Wednesday after investors found few reasons to make big moves, with uncertainty remaining over when the Federal Reserve will start to slow its stimulus. Upbeat U.S. data points to growth momentum WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. private-sector hiring rose in November at the fastest clip in a year, opening the door wider for the Federal Reserve to start trimming its bond purchases within the next few months. Billionaire investor Icahn steps up pressure on Apple SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Carl Icahn said on Wednesday that he has filed a shareholder proposal with Apple for a much smaller stock buyback plan than he has advocated previously, as he continued to pressure Apple to share more of its cash pile. Wall Street groups contest CFTC cross-border guidelines WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three Wall Street trade groups sued the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Wednesday to rescind tough overseas trading guidelines they fear could hurt markets and cut profits. Fifth Third settles SEC charges over financial crisis accounting (Reuters) - Fifth Third Bancorp, a large U.S. midwest regional bank, agreed to pay $6.5 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it accounted improperly for troubled commercial real estate loans during the 2008 financial crisis, reducing its reported loss. Barrick says Munk to step down, two other directors out TORONTO (Reuters) - Barrick Gold Corp confirmed on Wednesday that 86-year old chairman and founder Peter Munk will leave the board at the gold miner's next annual meeting in the spring, and announced two other departures from its board. Electronic filing by taxpayers hits new high: IRS WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A record-setting 122.5 million U.S. tax returns were filed electronically this year, up from 119.6 million last year, said the U.S. Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday. Exclusive: U.S. plans new bank fraud cases in early 2014 - attorney general WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department plans to bring mortgage fraud cases against several financial institutions early in 2014, using as a template the case that ended last month in JPMorgan Chase & Co's $13 billion settlement, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said on Wednesday. American Airlines launches repricing effort NEW YORK (Reuters) - American Airlines is seeking to reprice its $1.9 billion exit financing loan via lead arranger Deutsche Bank, sources told Thomson Reuters LPC. The company aims to reprice the loan to a spread of LIB+300-325, with a 1 percent Libor floor. Exclusive: Morgan Stanley, UBS hired to run Applus+ IPO - source LONDON/MADRID (Reuters) - The private equity owner of Applus+ has picked Morgan Stanley and UBS to oversee a stock market listing of the Spanish industrial testing firm, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Related Video Jellyfish-power prepares for lift-off Turning up the heat on British politics Economic News Upbeat U.S. data points to growth momentum Electronic filing by taxpayers hits new high: IRS 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