The markets closed down Thursday on Wall Street:
At the close: DJIA: -0.56%, S&P 500: -0.63%, Nasdaq: -0.72%.
On the commodities front, Oil (NYSE:USO) fell 0.58 percent to $86.27 per barrel. Precious metals were also down, with Gold (NYSE:GLD) falling 1.17 percent to $1,697.80 per ounce, and Silver (NYSE:SLV) falling 3.48 percent to $32.60 per ounce.
Here’s your Cheat Sheet to Thursday’s top stock stories:
Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE:S) has tendered an offer to take over Clearwire Corp (NASDAQ:CLWR) for $2.1 billion, or $2.90 per share, ending a four-year joint venture and possibly putting an end to billions in losses for the struggling smaller carrier… (Read more.)
SolarCity Corporation (NASDAQ:SCTY) is the latest addition to the Nasdaq, and it’s off with a bang. Shares hit the market priced at $8 and were bid up as much as 50 percent before closing up 47.38 percent for the day… (Read more.)
Catalysts are critical to discovering winning stocks. Check out our newest CHEAT SHEET stock picks now.
Apple Loses This One: A federal jury has ruled that Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone infringes on three patents owned by non-practicing entity MobileMedia Ideas. Apple earlier tried to get the case dismissed after citing prior art, but Judge Sue L. Robinson denied the iPhone maker’s request… (Read more.)
The Day Has Come! Nearly three months after the “great maps fiasco,” Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) has launched its much-expected native maps app for iOS. Reviews are positive, with TechCrunch saying its pretty much everything users have been waiting for. One downside: no biking directions yet. (Read more.)
Will November’s High Sales Fall Over the Cliff? As consumer confidence was at a 4-year high, it’s not a surprise that retail sales in November also rose. While some sectors — one in particular — did not help the sales rise as much, core retail sales rose 0.5 percent after a flat October. However, if auto, gasoline, and construction supply sales are included, sales rose only 0.3 percent, which is lower than economists had expected… (Read more.)
Santa Bernanke Delivers an Early Christmas: A “Santa Claus Rally” is known as a rise in stock prices during December, typically seen over the final week of trading before the new year. However, Christmas may have come early as Santa Ben Bernanke reached into his bag for another quantitative easing package… (Read more.)
A Minor Recovery: The United States Department of labor posted initial jobless claims that showed a 7.8 percent drop in the number of claims filed week over week, and a 6.6 percent drop in the four-week moving average… (Read more.)
Don’t Miss: Is This Labor Department Report a Sign of Recovery?