Nyse, Deutsche Boerse In Advanced Merger Talks

Retailers report modest gains for April

According to internal documents obtained by the website TechCrunch, Microsoft has offered $1 billion for the digital assets of Nook Media, Barnes & Noble's digital book venture.According to internal documents obtained by the website TechCrunch, Microsoft has offered $1 billion for the digital assets of Nook Media, Barnes & Noble's digital book venture. The deal would give Microsoft Barnes & Noble's e-books, homegrown games and of course its Nook e-readers and tablets. But perhaps not for long: Nook plans to discontinue its Android-based tablet business by the end of 2014, according to the documents. Instead, the company will transition to having Nook content available solely on third-party devices, perhaps ones made by Microsoft, if the purchase goes through.

LinkedIn's surging share price cooled Friday as the social network projected slower revenue growth next quarter following a decision to lower the number of display ads that the website shows.

A big gain in the job market is lifting the stock market to new milestones. The Dow Jones industrial average crossed 15,000 for the first time early Friday, and the Standard and Poor's 500 index, a broader market measure, broke through 1,600 for the first time.

Empire State Building IPO clears NY legal hurdle Associated Press Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 1:53 pm, Tuesday, April 30, 2013 NEW YORK (AP) — A legal challenge to an ambitious plan to let the public buy shares in one of New York City's most famous landmarks — the Empire State Building — was cast aside on Tuesday in a ruling by a Manhattan judge. The ruling stems from a long-running dispute over plans by real estate magnates Peter Malkin and his son Anthony to offer the public shares in their holdings in Manhattan and Connecticut, including the 102-story Empire State Building. The Empire State Building's controlling investors have said they are close to getting approval of 80 percent of the smaller shareholders for the public offering — the percentage needed to go forward.