Business Today: Futures little changed heading into holiday; Microsoft eyed

		Click to View in Browser 07/3/2012 Futures little changed heading into holiday; Microsoft eyed NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures were little changed on Tuesday as investors aimed to head into the Independence Day holiday without making big positions in their portfolios. Microsoft takes $6.2 billion charge, slows Internet hopes SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp admitted its largest acquisition in the Internet sector was effectively worthless and wiped out any profit for the last quarter, as it announced a $6.2 billion charge to write down the value of an online advertising agency it bought five years ago. Barclays CEO Diamond quits over rate rigging LONDON (Reuters) - Barclays Plc Chief Executive Bob Diamond quit on Tuesday under a barrage of fire from politicians, the highest-profile casualty of an interest rate-rigging scandal that spans more than a dozen major banks across the world. ECB expected to cut, may take more to sustain markets FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates to a record low on Thursday but may need to do more to satisfy financial markets already starting to wonder about the solidity of last week's summit measures to tackle the euro zone crisis. Chrysler June sales up 20 percent (Reuters) - Chrysler Group LLC's June U.S. auto sales rose 20 percent to 144,811 vehicles, the company said on Tuesday, slightly topping analyst expectations. Samsung loses bid to lift ban on U.S. tablet sales (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Monday rejected a request by Samsung Electronics Co. to lift a ban on U.S. sales of its Galaxy Tab 10.1, dealing a third legal setback to the South Korean firm in just a week, as it braces for a make-or-break patent trial later this month with Apple Inc. Exclusive: U.S. probes Chesapeake, rival over possible collusion WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is probing Chesapeake Energy Corp and Encana Corp for possible collusion after a Reuters report showed that top executives of the two rivals plotted in 2010 to avoid bidding against each other in Michigan land deals, a source close to the probe said. Boeing hikes 20-year market forecast to $4.5 trillion LONDON (Reuters) - Planemaker Boeing Co hiked its 20-year market forecast, predicting demand for 34,000 new aircraft worth $4.5 trillion, on growth in emerging regions and as airlines seek efficient new planes to counter high fuel costs. E.ON ups 2012 outlook after Gazprom gas deal FRANKFURT (Reuters) - E.ON , Germany's biggest utility, raised its earnings forecasts for 2012 after the group reached a deal with Russia's Gazprom over long-term gas supply contracts. Insight: As banks deepen commodity deals, Volcker test likely NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The subtext of JPMorgan's landmark deal to buy crude and sell gasoline for the largest oil refinery on the U.S. East Coast was barely disguised. Related Video U.S. Morning Call: Microsoft computes a $6.2 bln hit Generating energy from the comfort of your living room Economic News Manufacturing shrinks, first time in nearly three years Fed won't let easy policy spark inflation: Williams A daily digest of breaking business news, coverage of the US economy, major corporate news and the financial markets. Register Today   The latest Reuters articles on M&A, IPOs, private equity, hedge funds and regulatory updates delivered to your inbox each day. Register Today   » MORE NEWSLETTERS - 3 Times Square New York, NY 10036 USA © Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters Ensure delivery of Reuters Newsmails, add mail@nl.reuters.com to your address book. Details Subscribe to other Reuters newsletters. Unsubscribe from this newsletter. Follow us on Twitter Friend us on Facebook Forward to a friend