Media Digest (3.16.2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg

Portugal’s debt was cut two levels by Moody’s (MarketWatch)

Radiation levels rose at a reactor in Japan (Reuters)

Nasdaq (NASDAQ: NDAQ) will have a hard time taking over NYSE; Euronext (NYSE: NYX)

The watchdog overseeing TARP said that program helped extend the notions that banks are “too big to fail” (Reuters)

The yen was near a record high compared to the dollar (Reuters)

Comments by the Federal Reserve that showed its policies unchanged help keep the market from falling more after bad news from Japan (Reuters)

Chip prices rose on concern trouble in Japan could hurt supply (Reuters)

Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) hired an executive from Time Warner’s (NYSE: TWX) Time unit to run part of its content business (Reuters)

KKR will raise more money for a buyout fund (Reuters)

Apollo priced its IPO (Reuters)

ATM fees across the country are higher (WSJ)

Aluminum has begun to replace steel in many cars (WSJ)

The FDIC described what its role would be in the event of a large bank failure (WSJ)

Nuclear plants in the EU will be tested for weaknesses (WSJ)

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) will set partnerships for online payment systems (WSJ)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPad 2 tablets sell for double the price of what they do in the US (WSJ)

Verizon Wireless will sell a 4G phone (WSJ)

The crisis in Japan may undermine the global recovery (WSJ)

The costs of US imports rose 1.4% in February on inflation of some goods (WSJ)

The use of food stamps rose in the western US (WSJ)

The House of Representatives approves large budget cuts as Congress tried to extended funding for the government (WSJ)

The head of the ECB said plans to support the debt of EU nations was not enough (WSJ)

Obama’s plan to increase the use of nuclear energy may be in trouble (WSJ)

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) may distribute its own original content (WSJ)

Chevron (NYSE CVX) will expand its Gorgon LNG site (WSJ)

The FCC is about to approve the CenturyLink merger with Qwest (NYSE: Q)

Blackstone (NYSE: BSX) may sell its piece of an Orlando facility to NBCU (WSJ)

Deutsche Bank holds $17 billion in risky euro zone debt (WSJ)

A number of junk bond debt deals were put on hold (WSJ)

The $100 billion in probable losses due to the Japanese disaster will probably be born by the Japanese government (NYT)

Germany shuttered seven electric power plants (NYT)

Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) will try to sell its mortgage business (FT)

The energy shortage in Japan could have Asia-wide effects according to S&P (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre