Media Digest (12/15/2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT

Banking, finance, and taxes

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: December 15, 2011 4:35 am

Last Updated: December 15, 2011 6:35 am

Olympus may hire its former CEO, Michael Woodford, in the midst of an accounting scandal. (Reuters)

Foreign investment in China drops for the first time in 28 months. (Reuters)

Holiday sales continue to tick higher, according to the National Retail Federation. (Reuters)

Sony (NYSE: SNE) confirms its 2011 and 2012 targets for PS3 sales. (Reuters)

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) shares lose 2011 gains because of concerns about margins. (Reuters)

Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX) to buy Novellus Systems (NASDAQ: NVLS) for $3.3 billion. (Reuters)

The SEC will try to appeal a federal ruling that blocked a settlement with Citigroup (NYSE: C) over toxic mortgage debt. (WSJ)

Wage increases in China cause the costs of its exports to the U.S. to rise. (WSJ)

Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) is under pressure to replace senior management. (WSJ)

Shares of Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN) fall as research firms cut ratings. (WSJ)

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) returns to the U.S. with a $50 smartphone with T-Mobile service. (WSJ)

E-book prices rise quickly. (WSJ)

EU leaders continue to move away from the solid front they had last week. (WSJ)

The NFL signs new nine-year deals with Fox, NBC and CBS, which will pay an average of 65% more than their previous arrangements. (WSJ)

More oil companies seek leases for Gulf of Mexico drilling. (WSJ)

Brazil will try to shutter the operations of Chevron (NYSE: CVX) and Transocean (NYSE: RIG) as the government attempts to collect $11 billion over leak damages. (WSJ)

First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) sharply cuts forecasts. (WSJ)

LightSquared’s high-speed internet would hurt GPS signals, according to the federal government. (WSJ)

Credit Agricole sharply cuts expenses in the face of the EU crisis. (WSJ)

Detroit sells $484 million in bonds but at very high rates. (WSJ)

Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW) and E*Trade Financial (NASDAQ: ETFC) are hurt by drops in trading volume. (WSJ)

China puts tariffs on U.S. cars with large engines. (NYT)

OPEC increases output levels. (NYT)

IBM (NYSE: IBM) settles an antitrust case with the EU. (NYT)

Foreign-owned banks in the U.S. are losing deposits on a flight to safety. (FT)

Douglas A. McIntyre

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