http://www.ft.com/markets/ushttp://www.ft.com/rss/markets/usFT.com - US Equities Market Dataen© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2008. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times.support@ft.comThu, 15 May 2008 22:35 BSTThu, 15 May 2008 22:37:59 BSTNewspapers60http://news.ft.com/cms/d1f3ce1a-6bbe-11da-bb53-0000779e2340.gifhttp://www.ft.com/markets/us(PICS-1.1 "http://www.classify.org/safesurf/" L gen true for "http://www.ft.com/" r (SS~~000 1))http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/18c9fa20-2275-11dd-93a9-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/18c9fa20-2275-11dd-93a9-000077b07658.htmlUS stocks extended recent gains as investors shrugged off new data giving mixed signals about the health of the US economy while strong performances in the information technology sector bolstered the leading indicesThu, 15 May 2008 21:44 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1b424856-22a8-11dd-93a9-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1b424856-22a8-11dd-93a9-000077b07658.htmlBlackstone, which made big profits last year by flipping commercial properties at the height of the market, is considering buying back into some of those assets at distressed prices as part of an effort to cash in on the credit crisisThu, 15 May 2008 22:35 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0c75c33a-22a7-11dd-93a9-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0c75c33a-22a7-11dd-93a9-000077b07658.htmlWal-Mart said it is to pursue a "passion for fresh and delicious food" and "the highest level of customer service" in new small grocery stores that will be competing head-on with Tesco's fledgling Fresh & Easy US storesThu, 15 May 2008 22:03 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7d82fea6-229f-11dd-93a9-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7d82fea6-229f-11dd-93a9-000077b07658.htmlThe Federal Reserve should have acted faster to stabilise financial markets and lessen the damage of the credit crisis, according to Chip Mason, chairman of Legg Mason, one of the world's largest money managersThu, 15 May 2008 21:36 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/02a1c460-2286-11dd-93a9-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/02a1c460-2286-11dd-93a9-000077b07658.htmlUS industrial production fell sharply in April and the number of first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose, but, although weak, the data only added to the fog surrounding the question of whether the economy has fallen into recessionThu, 15 May 2008 20:23 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bb224a2e-2271-11dd-93a9-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bb224a2e-2271-11dd-93a9-000077b07658.htmlThe US broadcaster agrees to buy the owner of popular US websites like ZDNet, News.com and GameSpot.com, extending its reach online Thu, 15 May 2008 20:17 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e5777aa6-229e-11dd-93a9-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e5777aa6-229e-11dd-93a9-000077b07658.htmlCappuccino-drinkers and milk lovers will soon be paying for a sharp drop in the share price of Italy's Parmalat dairy group, which reported an 18 per cent drop in first-quarter profitsThu, 15 May 2008 19:30 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/14872048-21e2-11dd-a50a-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/14872048-21e2-11dd-a50a-000077b07658.htmlBanks will be less willing to finance leveraged buy-outs as a consequence of a revised deal to buy Clear Channel bankers and private equity executives saidThu, 15 May 2008 00:17 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1b34bca8-21ff-11dd-a50a-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1b34bca8-21ff-11dd-a50a-000077b07658.htmlGeneral Electric is considering putting its appliances unit up for sale in a move that could raise some $7bn and sever century-old links with one of GE's original businessesThu, 15 May 2008 00:11 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/adb1dbdc-21ab-11dd-a50a-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/adb1dbdc-21ab-11dd-a50a-000077b07658.htmlShares in Freddie Mac rose more than 9 per cent after the government-sponsored mortgage financier was granted greater flexibility to support the US housing marketWed, 14 May 2008 19:13 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/52be9f1e-213b-11dd-a0e6-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/52be9f1e-213b-11dd-a0e6-000077b07658.htmlBarry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp and its controlling shareholder, John Malone's Liberty Media, have reached an agreement on spinning off four of IAC's largest businesses, putting to rest a dispute that took the two top executives to courtTue, 13 May 2008 23:38 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3b1bb122-211c-11dd-a0e6-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3b1bb122-211c-11dd-a0e6-000077b07658.htmlShares of Hewlett-Packard fell 7 per cent, adding to a slide of 5 per cent on Monday after the world's biggest information technology group agreed to pay $13.9bn for Electronic Data Systems, the IT services companyTue, 13 May 2008 23:01 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c44bc2d8-2113-11dd-a0e6-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c44bc2d8-2113-11dd-a0e6-000077b07658.htmlJPMorgan Chase is to take a charge of about $9bn to clean up Bear Stearns' balance sheet and pay for redundancies and litigation arising from its cut-price takeover of the investment bankTue, 13 May 2008 22:39 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/58b9ef02-20e8-11dd-a0e6-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/58b9ef02-20e8-11dd-a0e6-000077b07658.htmlUS stocks put in a mixed performance with financials under pressure from a variety of sourcesTue, 13 May 2008 21:42 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/dcbc7a78-20ec-11dd-a0e6-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/dcbc7a78-20ec-11dd-a0e6-000077b07658.htmlThe world's largest retailer saw its sales boosted by increasingly frugal shoppers during its first quarter as the world's largest retailer reaped greater efficiencies from management efforts to transform its US businessTue, 13 May 2008 18:42 BST