TOP STORIES
U.S. STOCK FUTURES SINK ON EUROPEAN JITTERS
U.S. stock futures fall as investors await the start of a two-day summit meeting of European leaders amid declining expectations policy makers will overcome differences to stem a long-running euro-zone debt crisis that poses a growing threat to Spain and Italy.
NEWS CORP. BOARD UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES SPLIT
News Corp.'s board unanimously approves a plan to separate its entertainment operations from its publishing business, a person familiar with the situation tells The Wall Street Journal.
EURO-ZONE CONFIDENCE WEAKENS, 'CORE' HIT HARDEST
Businesses and consumers in the euro zone are more pessimistic about their prospects in June as the currency area's fiscal and banking crisis deepens, with sentiment weakening significantly in France, Germany and the Netherlands.
MERKEL SEES 'CONTROVERSIAL' SUMMIT
European leaders embark on talks Thursday over steps they hope will begin to lift doubts about the survival of the euro, amid skepticism that they can achieve a breakthrough.
BARCLAYS DIAMOND FACES PRESSURE AFTER LIBOR SCANDAL
Pressure mounts on Barclays Chief Executive Bob Diamond as politicians and investors rounded on him following revelations that the bank had attempted to manipulate inter-bank lending rates.
NASDAQ TO DETAIL FACEBOOK IPO COMPENSATION TO SEC
NASDAQ OMX will tell the Securities and Exchange Commission next week how it plans to compensate market makers who lost money during the troubled Facebook trading debut, Reuters reports.
OIL TRACKS SLUMPING EURO AS HOPES FADE OF SUMMIT SUCCESS
Crude oil futures prices are lower tracking the slumping euro ahead of the European Union's two-day summit starting later in Brussels, as concerns grow that the meeting is unlikely to produce a solution to the region's festering debt crisis.
JPMORGAN DERIVATIVES TRADING LOSSES MAY REACH $9B
J.P. Morgan Chase's derivatives losses may reach $9 billion, more than four times higher than initially estimated, the New York Times reports, citing unnamed sources.
HOUSE COMMITTEE SANCTIONS HOLDER WITH CONTEMPT
A House committee voted to sanction Attorney General Eric Holder with contempt of Congress, escalating a standoff between Republicans and the Obama administration over documents about the government's botched "Fast and Furious" gun-trafficking operation.
AMR PILOTS TO VOTE ON LAST CONTRACT OFFER
The union representing pilots at AMR's American Airlines says it agreed to put AMR's final concessionary contract offer out to a membership ratification vote.
OXYCONTIN MAKER SEEKS EXCLUSIVITY
Purdue Pharma is trying to extend its exclusive rights to OxyContin, as if fends off generic drug makers Watson Pharmaceuticals and Teva, saying a new version it developed might substantially curtail abuse.
======= DOW JONES NEWSWIRES ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARIES =======
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============ U.S. MARKETS ACTION ===========
DJIA 12,627.01 from Wednesday
NASDAQ 2,875.32 from Wednesday
S&P 500 1,331.85 from Wednesday
10-year T-note 101 10/32 at 1.6034 yield
NYMEX Crude up $0.13 at $80.35/bbl
Dollar/Euro down 0.0037 at 1.2431
