- Stocks lost ground today after the International Monetary Fund predicted weaker global economic growth. At the closing bell on Wall Street, the Dow dropped 110 points to 13,474. The S&P declined 14 points, while the Nasdaq lost 47.
- Aluminum manufacturer Alcoa says it lost $143 million in the third quarter due to charges, but the results otherwise topped Wall Street's forecasts. Alcoa is the first company in the Dow Jones industrial average to report earnings.
- Wal-Mart is testing a same-day delivery service in some areas for its customers buying during the holiday shopping season. The move comes as the world's largest retailer faces increasing competition from Amazon.com, which is itself testing same-day delivery service in 10 markets.
- The federal government has sued Wells Fargo Bank in New York, blaming the nation's largest originator of home mortgages for thousands of loan defaults over the last decade. A civil mortgage fraud lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan seeks to recover hundreds of millions of dollars that the Federal Housing Administration, which insured the loans, had to pay out after borrowers defaulted.
- Penske Media, owner of the edgy entertainment website Deadline, has purchased legendary show business publication Variety for $25 million. Variety has covered show business since 1905 and is still considered a major source of entertainment news. Parent Reed Elsevier had put Variety up for sale in March as part of an effort to move away from advertising reliant businesses.
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