TOP STORIES
U.S. STOCKS CLOSE HIGHER
U.S. stocks eked out record highs, as investors continued to
cheer easy-money policies globally. The DJIA added eight points to
17818, while the S&P tacked on six points to 2069, both closing
highs. The Nasdaq rose 42 points to 4755.
HAGEL RESIGNS AS DEFENSE SECRETARY
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will step down from his position,
President Barack Obama announced, as the administration grapples
with multiple military and foreign-policy challenges.
UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CEO ABRUPTLY STEPS DOWN
United Technologies Chief Executive Louis Chenevert abruptly
stepped down, startling people inside and outside the industrial
conglomerate he led for six years.
TEXAS ACCIDENT LINKED TO FAULTY GM IGNITION SWITCH
A Texas woman who pleaded guilty to criminal negligent homicide
had her conviction overturned hours after General Motors confirmed
the vehicle she was driving was among those recalled for a faulty
ignition switch.
HONDA SAYS IT UNDERREPORTED SERIOUS ACCIDENTS
Honda Motor said it failed to report 1,729 death and injury
incidents involving its vehicles to U.S. regulators in an 11-year
period starting in July 2003. The auto maker attributed the lapse
in reporting to data-collecting errors and problems with its
programming code.
IRAN NUCLEAR TALKS EXTENDED
Iran and six world powers missed a second deadline to resolve a
decade-long dispute over Tehran's nuclear program, extending talks
until the end of June in a move that will buy diplomats more time
but that could also threaten the diplomacy.
FINRA FINES CITIGROUP $15 MILLION
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined Citigroup $15
million for failing to prevent its equity-research staff from
committing communications breaches related to nonpublic
information.
FERGUSON GRAND JURY FINISHES ITS WORK IN BROWN CASE
A spokeswoman for the St. Louis County executive confirmed that
the grand jury looking into the shooting death of unarmed black
teenager Michael Brown by white Ferguson police officer Darren
Wilson has "finished its work."
WAL-MART ADDS FORMER AMERICAN AIRLINES CEO HORTON TO BOARD
Wal-Mart has added Tom Horton, the former chief executive of
American Airlines, to the retailer's board, bringing its size to 16
directors.
AEREO SEEKS BUYER IN CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY
Aereo has no intention of reviving its heavily litigated online
broadcast streaming business through bankruptcy, an attorney for
the company said, though it does hope to find a buyer interested in
its technology.
BIOMARIN TO PAY UP TO $840 MILLION FOR PROSENSA
BioMarin Pharmaceutical, a drug maker focused on rare diseases,
said it has agreed to pay up to $840 million to acquire Prosensa
Holding, a Dutch biopharmaceutical company with no marketed
products. Prosensa shares jump 61%; BioMarin rise 1%.
======= DOW JONES NEWSWIRES ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARIES =======
Ahead of the Tape
H-P'S NEW KIND OF AUTONOMY
Autonomy is no longer a dirty word at Hewlett-Packard. Sure, the
disastrous purchase of the British software firm bearing that name
remains a sore point. But the common noun is suddenly all the
rage.
The Wall Street Journal
SWISS MUSEUM ACCEPTS ART FROM LATE DEALER GURLITT
A Swiss art museum accepted a vast trove of artworks bequeathed
to it by the son of one of Hitler's main art dealers, pledging to
return all Nazi-looted items to their rightful owners even as a
last-minute claim to the estate raised questions about the timing
of the restitution.