VENTURE CAPITAL POST

The U.S. government said on Wednesday it will start keeping more cash on hand for when it can't tap debt markets, a measure that could help it pay bills during a natural disaster or a cyber attack.

U.S. stocks ended weaker on Wednesday after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen warned of high valuations, adding to anxiety about future interest rates and a global bond rout.

Most U.S. companies so far this earnings season have managed to beat Wall Street profit forecasts despite weak sales, but investors hoping corporate headwinds have died down may need to temper their enthusiasm.

Wall Street ended sharply higher on Monday after China moved to stimulate its slowing economy while investors bought up technology stocks on cautious optimism on upcoming earnings reports.

Equities in major markets slipped on Monday, weighed down by Wall Street on trepidation over first-quarter earnings, while crude prices added to last week's gains on concern about Middle East tensions.

With earnings season underway, Wall Street is temporarily putting the U.S. Federal Reserve and macroeconomic policy on the back burner in favor of a focus on individual company results and forecasts for a pulse on the economy's health.

World stocks marched higher again on Thursday, drawing support from European auto sales and German trade data, while expectations that the first U.S. interest rate increase will come in the latter part of the year continue to grow.

Wall Street is greeting what is expected to be the worst earnings season since 2009 with a gigantic shrug. Though there has been some selling in recent weeks, there's been no panic dumping of stocks, even though forecasts for S&P 500 first-quarter earnings have tumbled since Jan. 1, thanks to the surging dollar, falling oil prices and another severe winter. The earnings season unofficially kicks off Wednesday with results from aluminum company Alcoa (AA.N).

Some top shareholders of IBM, disappointed by 11 straight quarters of falling revenues, are seeking help from activist investors to shake up the company, but have been turned down by both Bill Ackman's Pershing Square and Jeffrey Ubben's ValueAct, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Wall Street investors may find little reason to make big moves next week as they await monthly U.S. jobs data and any news that could change expectations for the first interest rate hike in almost a decade.

The southern California city of San Bernardino has defaulted on nearly $10 million in payments on its privately placed pension bond debt since it declared bankruptcy in 2012, according to documents seen by Reuters.

Corporate America's profit engine may be running out of steam. Wall Street analysts, expecting two quarters of declining earnings, are banking on a second-half recovery to keep 2015 from becoming the worst year for profits since the last recession.

Whiting Petroleum Corp (WLL.N), North Dakota's largest oil producer, is seeking a possible buyer, according to the Wall Street Journal, but a person familiar with the board's thinking told Reuters he was not aware of any such plan.

The largest U.S. banks and their foreign rivals are facing a tough two-step check-up of their financial health by the Federal Reserve, forcing the firms to get a far better grip on how they measure risk.

The Obama administration is battling Wall Street to win the support of dozens of Democrat lawmakers over rules that could rein in brokers who handle trillions of dollars in retirement accounts.