STOCKS RISE: Here's What You Need To Know

Dow: 16,937.45, +22.38, +0.13%
S&P: 1,966.96, +2.28, +0.12%
NASDAQ: 4,413, +17.89, +0.41%

And now the top stories.

1) Wells Fargo reported earnings in-line with expectations but said mortgage revenue dropped 39% in the quarter on flagging demand. Shares closed down 0.6%.

2) Lorillard confirmed they were in talks to get bought out by Reynolds. An acquisition would reshape the tobacco industry and create a powerful rival to No. 1 cigarette maker Altria, the Wall Street Journal said. Lorillard shares climbed nearly 5%.

3) The U.S. posted its first four-month net surplus since 2007, and its lowest fiscal-year deficit since 2008.

4) The SEC halted over-the-counter trading in Cynk, an Internet company that saw its value rise more than 20,000% this week, citing irregularities.

5) Mobile games maker Glu Mobile climbed more than 10% on the strength of a game branded by Kim Kardashian about how to make it in Hollywood. "The Kardashian game takes users inside Hollywood, guided by a virtual Kim who offers advice on how to become an A-list celebrity, starting from the so-called E-list," Bloomberg's Caitlin McCabe reported. "Dating famous people will get you more fans, too," instructs Kardashian according to McCabe.

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