U.S. stocks mostly tilt up, led by financials; Nasdaq slips

Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:03:17 -0400
U.S. stocks mostly tilt up, led by financials; Nasdaq slips

U.S. stocks pull mainly higher, trying to extend a two-day rally, with
financials shares struggling to regain their footing after Citigroup
Inc. reported smaller-than-expected losses but Merrill Lynch & Co.
disappointed.

Citigroup swings to loss on $7.2 bln writedown

Citigroup, the largest U.S. bank by assets, says it lost money for the
third consecutive quarter after writing down $7.2 billion of investments
related to fixed-income weakness and consumer credit woes.

Israel's Teva to buy U.S. generics rival Barr for $7.4 billion

Teva Pharmaceutical agrees to buy smaller generics rival Barr
Pharmaceuticals for $7.46 billion plus about $1.5 billion in assumed
debt.

Microsoft profit is strong, but forecast is not

Microsoft Corp. reported quarterly double-digit profit growth for a
period that saw the software giant bid farewell to Bill Gates as it
girded for a costly battle in the Internet market against Google Inc.

Merrill reports $4.65 bln quarterly loss; sells Bloomberg stake

Merrill Lynch & Co. reports a $4.65 billion second-quarter net loss as
the brokerage firm is hit by more write-downs on large mortgage-related
exposures.