NEW YORK (AP) — A day after Dow 13,000, investors took a break. Stocks closed lower Wednesday for the first time in four trading days. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 27.02 points to finish at 12,938.67. The day before, it briefly passed 13,000 for the first time since May 2008. Some investors worried about the details of a bailout deal reached for Greece this week. But analysts said investors... 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Wednesday proposed a lower corporate tax rate and an end to dozens of loopholes he said helps U.S. companies move jobs and profits overseas. “It’s not right and it needs to change,” he said. The president wants to lower the U.S. corporate tax rate from the current 35 percent, the highest in the world after Japan. Under his plan, manufacturers... 

Mortgage rates are the lowest on record. But by a key historical measure, they should be even lower. Over the past year, a wide gap ripped open between the mortgage rates house hunters see and a benchmark interest rate investors demand to buy bonds backed by home loans. In normal times, this obscure metric would only be of interest to bankers, brokers and traders of mortgage-backed securities. But... 

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Fitch ratings agency says it has downgraded Greece further into junk status, from ‘CCC’ to ‘C’ following the announcement of the details of the country’s debt swap deal with private creditors. The agency said Wednesday the downgrade indicated “that default is highly likely in the near term.” In June, the agency had said it would... 

By Tatiana Fragou ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek unions, the unemployed and communists will protest on Wednesday against spending cuts introduced to secure a multi-billion-euro bailout, and lawmakers will debate a debt swap to avoid imminent bankruptcy. Motorcycle groups and striking journalists are also expected to converge on the capital’s central Syntagma square in front of parliament at 4... 

By Mayumi Negishi and James Topham TOKYO (Reuters) – Mazda Motor Corp (:7261.T) is looking to raise up to billion in a bigger-than-expected public share offering, a regulatory filing showed on Wednesday, which would cause a massive 69 percent dilution of its existing shares. The share offering eclipsed expectations of 100 billion yen that had been flagged by financial sources. If the overallotment... 

By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks ended little changed on Tuesday, paring gains after the Dow topped 13,000 for the first time since May 2008, and as higher oil prices damped prospects for the economy. Greece’s securing a bailout to avoid a disorderly default provided some support to stocks, but investors said the news had mostly been priced in to the market. Fresh highs... 

By Poornima Gupta SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook is in an enviable position – market leading products, a billion warchest and a seemingly gravity-defying stock price. But as he gears up for the annual face-to-face meeting with shareholders, a few issues may be causing him angst. Chief among them are in China, where poor labor conditions are in the spotlight... 

By Jessica Wohl (Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc‘s price cuts hurt its fourth-quarter profit, reminding investors that steps the world’s largest retailer is taking to bring back shoppers do come at a cost. Wal-Mart‘s quarterly profit and sales fell short of Wall Street expectations and its forecasts suggest that results in this quarter and fiscal year may again disappoint analysts. “Everything... 

By Jessica Wohl (Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc‘s price cuts hurt its fourth-quarter profit, reminding investors that steps the world’s largest retailer is taking to bring back shoppers do come at a cost. Wal-Mart‘s quarterly profit and sales fell short of Wall Street expectations and its forecasts suggest that results in this quarter and fiscal year may again disappoint analysts. “Everything...