INVESTMENT

Stocks erased early gains on Wednesday, with the Dow and S&P well off their highs and the Nasdaq negative, on caution over a European summit to resolve the debt crisis and the economic outlook.

Rajat Gupta, a former director of Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Procter & Gamble, was arrested on Wednesday on insider trading charges, making him the most prominent executive to be accused in a broad U.S. crackdown on illegal leaks of corporate secrets.

Shares of Amazon.com, the world’s biggest e-retailer, plunged 12 percent in the first hour of trading, wiping out $9 billion in value, after the company reported disappointing third-quarter results.

Demand for a range of long- lasting manufactured goods recorded their largest gain in six months in September, cementing views of a step-up in economic growth in the third quarter and suggesting the year's final quarter started with some momentum.

Ford Motor Co. posted lower third-quarter earnings after misjudging the threat of higher commodity costs and writing down the value of hedge positions.

Shares of Amazon.com, the world’s biggest e-retailer, plunged 12 percent in pre-market trading, wiping out $9 billion in value, after the company reported disappointing third-quarter results.

Precious metals miner Claude Resources increased its offer for the rest of St. Eugene Mining Corp. in a stock deal that now values the smaller gold exploration company at $18.7 million, the Canada-based company said.

During a CNBC interview on Tuesday, Gov. Rick Perry said the huge tax breaks to the wealthy offered under his new flat-tax plan is necessary for job creation.

Gold prices headed for a fourth consecutive daily gain Wednesday as investors returned to the yellow metal for protection from the ongoing risks to the European economy and weakness in the U.S. economy.

Olympus Corp Chairman and President Tsuyoshi Kikukawa stepped down on Wednesday in response to a widening scandal over dubious acquisition deals, as sources said Japan's securities watchdog was looking into the 92-year-old firm's past dealings.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open for equities on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500, for the Dow Jones and for the Nasdaq 100 up 0.6 to 0.8 percent.

Olympus Corp announced Wednesday that its chairman and president Tsuyoshi Kikukawa had stepped down over media reports of a widening scandal, as sources said Japan's main securities watchdog was looking into the 92-year-old firm's dubious acquisition deals.

The top after market NYSE Losers on Tuesday were: DeVry, Lincoln National, Las Vegas Sands, Discover Financial, FMC Technologies, Radioshack, MetLife, Interpublic Group of Companies, Alcoa and Capital One Financial Corp.

Investors stayed cautious ahead of a summit expected to deliver pledges to tackle the euro zone's debt crisis rather than firm commitments, keeping the euro above $1.39 as stocks markets traded little changed.

Spot gold rose nearly 1 percent on Wednesday to its highest level in more than a month, as safe-haven demand returned on growing doubts over a resolution to the Eurozone debt crisis ahead of a key European Union summit later in the day.

Many small investors in China have turned to gold as high inflation threatens to erode wealth in the world's second-largest economy, leading to small gold exchanges springing up all over the country.

Brazil on Tuesday rejected the idea of buying European bonds to help ease the euro zone's debt crisis, casting doubt on a plan for major emerging market economies to offer fresh funds for the continent's rescue.

Nomura Holdings , Japan's largest investment bank, is planning major cost cuts that will like have the biggest impact on its loss-making European operations, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Rajat Gupta, former Goldman Sachs director and former head of McKinsey & Co, will surrender to the FBI on Wednesday to face criminal insider trading-related charges, a person familiar with the investigation said.

Amazon.com Inc shocked investors with a far weaker-than-expected outlook for the crucial holiday season quarter as it spent heavily on its new Kindle Fire tablet computer.

Because there's plenty of time to be slutty after the costume party.