Financial News (Site: Yahoo! Finance: Stocks News)

• [$$] Financials Help Stocks Scratch Out Gains (at The Wall Street Journal)
  Financials Help Stocks Scratch Out Gains Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase rose as data on U.S. wholesale inventories showed improving demand.
• Greed Is Good. So Are Cannes Film Awards. (at New York Times)
  Gordon Gekko appears unlikely to return to Wall Street until the fall. Variety reported Wednesday that 20th Century Fox was delaying the release of Oliver Stone s Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps on hopes that it would be included in the Cannes Film Festival in May.
• Stocks to Watch: Stocks in focus for Thursday (at MarketWatch)
  Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Thursday s session are National Semiconductor, Smithfield Foods and Aeropostale.
• Financials Lead Stocks Higher (at The Wall Street Journal)
  Financials Lead Stocks Higher Stocks edged higher thanks to a rally in the financial sector led by AIG and Citigroup, which conducted a successful offering of $2 billion in securities.
• Summary Box: Stocks rise after inventories fall (AP)
  GOOD NEWS, MODEST MOVES: The Dow Jones industrial average tacked on only 3 points Wednesday after the government said that inventories at wholesalers fell in January while sales rose.
• Stocks rise after inventories fall and sales gain (AP)
  Scant buying lifted stocks for a second day Wednesday after the government reported a drop in companies inventories. The Dow Jones industrials rose only 3 points as the market remained in a lull that began on Monday.
• How the major stock indexes fared on Wednesday (AP)
  Scant buying lifted stocks for a second day Wednesday after the government reported a drop in companies inventories. The Dow Jones industrials rose only 3 points as the market remained in a lull that began on Monday.
• US STOCKS-Bets on economy lift Wall Street; banks, tech lead (at Reuters)
  * KBW bank stock index at highest since November 2008 * Nasdaq Composite rises for fifth straight day * Abbott Labs to buy Facet Biotech for $27 per share * Dow up 0.03 pct, S&P 500 up 0.45 pct, Nasdaq up 0.78 pct
• US STOCKS-Wall St up on economy bets; banks, tech lead (at Reuters)
  * KBW bank stock index at highest since November 2008 * Nasdaq Composite rises for fifth straight day * Abbott Labs to buy Facet Biotech for $27 per share * Dow up 0.03 pct, S&P 500 up 0.45 pct, Nasdaq up 0.78 pct
• U.S. stocks end up as inventories fall (at MarketWatch)
  U.S. stocks added to their gains on Wednesday after the government said inventories fell in January. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 2.95 points to 10,567.33. The S&P 500 Index rose 5.16 points to 1,145.61.
• US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall Street boosted by banks, tech (at Reuters)
  Bank and technology shares lifted Wall Street on Wednesday on hopes a revival in business demand will boost corporate profits.
• Sector roundup: Bailed-out cos., airlines (AP)
  Among the sector activity stories for Wednesday, March 10, from AP Financial News: -- Four big financial companies that received major government bailouts and are still partly government-owned rose sharply for a second straight day.
• Stocks in focus for Thursday (at MarketWatch)
  Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Thursday?s session are National Semiconductor, Smithfield Foods and Aeropostale.
• US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Dow turns lower; S&P, Nasdaq pare gains (at Reuters)
  The Dow slipped into negative territory at midday on Wednesday, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 pared gains as a rise in financial shares was offset by declines in energy shares.
• Stocks trim advance as equities stay in range (at MarketWatch)
  U.S. stocks pared their gains Wednesday, as investors reverted to the indecisive trading pattern of recent days. Don t be surprised by a range the next few days as the market consolidates recent gains, said Nick Kalivas, vice president of financial research at MF Global.
• U.S. stocks gain as investors bid up banks (at MarketWatch)
  U.S. stocks edge higher for a second straight day thanks to a rally in the financial sector led by American International Group and Citigroup, which conducted a successful offering of $2 billion in securities.
• US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall St opens higher as M&A heats up (at Reuters)
  Wall Street rose at the open on Wednesday as a slew of new corporate deals and a surge in bailed out U.S. financial stocks boosted investor sentiment.
• U.S. stocks open modestly up as financials advance (at MarketWatch)
  U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Wednesday, with financial shares including Citigroup Inc. and American International Group Inc. paving the way. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 14.36 points to 10,578.74.
• Energy stocks flat-to-higher ahead of supply data (at MarketWatch)
  Energy stocks traded flat-to-higher on Wedneseday ahead of key weekly inventory data. The NYSE Arca Oil Index rose 0.2% to 1,065 points. The NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index rose fractionally to 553 points.
• US stocks eke out gains; Citi jumps, Cisco skids (at CNBC)
  Stocks eked out a modest gain Tuesday as this one-year anniversary of the March 2009 lows brought a mix of profit-taking and optimism.
• Wall Street Wrap (at CNBC)
  US Stocks Eke Out Gains; Citi Jumps, Cisco Skids
• Summary Box: Gains slow after big year for stocks (AP)
  A YEAR LATER: The Dow Jones industrial average is up 61.4 percent since it closed at a 12-year low of 6,547 on March 9, 2009. On paper, U.S. stocks have gained about $5.7 trillion but are still down about $5.5 trillion from the peak in October 2007.
• MarketWatch First Take: Economic worries loom for investors (at MarketWatch)
  If Wall Street climbs the proverbial wall of worry, investors are digging in for a stronger toehold.
• US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Market ends up slightly; telecoms help (at Reuters)
  U.S. stocks ended slightly higher on Tuesday, helped by gains in the telecom and industrial sectors, though the advance was limited by falling commodity prices that pressured materials shares.
• U.S. stocks reconsider gains in low volume (at MarketWatch)
  U.S. stocks erased the bulk of their gains Tuesday to turn nearly neutral late in the session. On the one-year anniversary of the bear market lows, investors certainly seem to be in a better mood.
• Stocks Could Climb Further; Double-Dip Less Likely: Cohen (at CNBC)
  Stock prices still have room to rise further, and recent economic reports show there is less chance of a double-dip recession, well-known market guru Abby Joseph Cohen told CNBC.