Business Today: For Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, boring is beautiful

	Click to View in Browser 04/17/2014 For Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, boring is beautiful (Reuters) - Investment banks Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Thursday, helped by gains in merger advisory and stock underwriting. S&P 500, Nasdaq rise after strong results NEW YORK (Reuters) - The major U.S. stock indexes ended a holiday-shortened week with mostly gains on Thursday, giving the S&P 500 its biggest weekly advance since July as Morgan Stanley and General Electric rallied after strong results. Jobless claims, factory data put some shine on economy WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New claims for jobless benefits hovered near their pre-recession levels last week and manufacturing in the Mid-Atlantic region accelerated in April, suggesting an upswing in economic activity after a brutally cold winter. U.S. judge declines to order 'park it now' notices for GM cars (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday rejected a bid to compel General Motors Co to tell customers to stop driving millions of cars that have been recalled for defective ignition switches. Ex-Goldman director Gupta to surrender June 17 in insider case NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc director Rajat Gupta is expected to begin his two-year prison term on June 17 for insider trading. GE industrial profit boost underscores strategy, shares up (Reuters) - General Electric Co posted a 12 percent rise in overall industrial profits on Thursday, as strength in its businesses selling gas turbines, jet engines and oil industry equipment offset weakness in healthcare and transportation. Snack sales help PepsiCo beat profit estimates; soda steadies (Reuters) - PepsiCo Inc beat profit expectations on Thursday as a booming snacks unit added pep to sales and its struggling North American soda business did better than expected, sending shares up more than 2 percent in premarket trading. Ex-BP employee settles SEC insider-trading oil spill case WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former 20-year veteran of BP plc who oversaw the company's cleanup efforts from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill will pay more than $224,000 to settle civil charges alleging he used non-public information about the disaster to commit insider-trading, U.S. regulators said on Thursday. BlackRock's quarterly profit climbs as investors pile into funds NEW YORK (Reuters) - BlackRock Inc, the world's largest money manager, said on Thursday first-quarter profit rose 20 percent, boosted by strong performance fees and strength in its retail business as investors poured money into long-term funds. DuPont expects farm business to pick up after severe winter (Reuters) - Chemicals maker DuPont expects its agriculture business to grow this quarter as farmers buy seeds and insecticides after a delayed start to planting season in North America, which hurt the company's revenue in the first quarter. Related Video Business frustrates sanctions calls Micro-organs to shape the future of personalised medicine Economic News Jobless claims, factory data put some shine on economy U.S.-focused stock funds worldwide post $7.1 billion outflow: BofA 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