Business Today: Futures point to losses at end of strong quarter

		Click to View in Browser 09/28/2012 Futures point to losses at end of strong quarter NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Friday as investors locked in gains at the end of a strong quarter for equities and amid uncertainty ahead of the result of stress tests on Spanish banks. High gasoline prices lift consumer spending in August WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer spending rose in August by the most in six months as households stretched to pay for higher gasoline prices, according to a government report on Friday that pointed to lackluster economic growth in the third quarter. France taxes rich and business to slash deficit PARIS (Reuters) - President Francois Hollande's Socialist government unveiled sharp tax hikes on business and the rich on Friday in a 2013 budget aimed at showing France has the fiscal rigor to remain at the core of the euro zone. Energy fuels euro inflation but ECB rate cut still on BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone inflation accelerated in September as energy costs soared but core prices stayed low, likely leaving the European Central Bank on track to cut interest rates soon. BofA settles Merrill Lynch lawsuit, to pay $2.43 billion (Reuters) - Bank of America said it settled a class action lawsuit with investors who purchased or held Bank of America securities at the time the company announced plans to acquire Merrill Lynch. Spain's bank audit to offer launchpad for aid request MADRID (Reuters) - An independent audit on Spanish banks, which along with an austerity budget appears to prepare the way for a government bailout, is likely to show on Friday that troubled lenders need around 60 billion euros ($77 billion) to return to health. Smiles hide the strains between Europe's carmakers PARIS (Reuters) - Fiat and Volkswagen patched up some of their differences on Friday, with the Italian firm's boss staying on as head of the European carmakers' association, though tensions over pricing and capacity continue to simmer in a struggling car market. G4S backs CEO over Olympic fiasco LONDON (Reuters) - G4S stood by its chief executive Nick Buckles but said two other senior executives would go following its probe into an embarrassing Olympic contract blunder. T-Mobile USA inks $2.4 billion tower deal with Crown Castle NEW YORK (Reuters) - T-Mobile USA, the No. 4 U.S. mobile provider, has agreed to sell the rights to 7,200 of its wireless broadcast towers to Crown Castle International Corp for $2.4 billion. Powertrain deals expand Renault-Nissan-Daimler pact PARIS (Reuters) - Renault and affiliate Nissan unveiled plans to share gearboxes with Mercedes and develop compact engines with its parent Daimler , expanding their partnership with the German luxury automaker. Related Video Breakingviews: Legal Libor profit McLaren hypercar no vanity project Economic News Greece's 2013 budget to deepens cuts, sustain recession Weak orders point to sharp slowdown in manufacturing 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