Business Today: S&P 500 ends six days of gains on "cliff" worries

	Click to View in Browser 12/13/2012 S&P 500 ends six days of gains on "cliff" worries NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended its six-day winning streak on Thursday, retreating as worries intensified that Washington's "fiscal cliff" negotiations were dragging on with little progress. Mercedes sees record U.S. sales, won't win luxury race DETROIT (Reuters) - Mercedes-Benz expects to lose its lead in the U.S. luxury market to German rival BMW , which is expected to be aggressive in its incentive strategy this month. Jury says Apple iPhone violated three patents, damages unclear (Reuters) - A U.S. jury on Thursday found that Apple's iPhone infringed three patents owned by holding company MobileMedia Ideas, though damages have not yet been determined. UBS faces $1 billion fine for Libor rigging: source LONDON (Reuters) - Swiss bank UBS faces a fine of about $1 billion next week to settle charges of rigging the Libor interest rate benchmark, a person familiar with the situation said on Thursday. Exclusive: VeriFone to pull back from small merchants SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - VeriFone Systems Inc is set to pull back from the hot business of signing up small merchants to accept credit cards payments, reducing competition for start-up Square Inc and other companies that jumped into the space recently, according to two people familiar with the situation. Wal-Mart, Kroger among Hostess bidders: report (Reuters) - Hostess Brands Inc, the bankrupt Twinkie and Wonder Bread maker, has received bids for assets being sold by about two dozen parties including Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Kroger Co , according to a media report on Thursday. New pickups are GM's biggest test since bankruptcy PONTIAC, Michigan (Reuters) - General Motors Co is counting on muscled-up, more refined versions of its lucrative Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickup trucks to show investors and car buyers that the No. 1 U.S. automaker is back on track. iPhone 5 hits China, as Apple market share slips SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The China release of its iPhone 5 on Friday should win Apple Inc some respite from a recent slide in its share of what is likely already the world's biggest smartphone market, but its longer-term hopes may depend on new technology being tested by China's top telecoms carrier. Exclusive: Barclays loses three top technology bankers - sources NEW YORK (Reuters) - Barclays Plc has lost three of its top technology investment bankers in New York this week to a rival, according to people familiar with the matter. Sprint offers $2.1 billion to buy rest of Clearwire (Reuters) - Sprint Nextel Corp, the majority owner of Clearwire Corp, has offered $2.1 billion to buy the rest of the wireless service provider but it will likely have to offer more money in order to secure a deal. Related Video Queen inspects BoE gold stash Trading at Noon: Clearwire surges as Sprint comes calling Economic News Labor market brightens, consumers step up spending Boehner: White House willing to "slow-walk" up to "fiscal cliff" 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