Stocks Slide as German Auction Weighs

U.S. stocks on Wednesday finished steeply lower, after a poorly received German debt sale again pushed up European bond yields. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 236.17 points, or 2.1%, to close at 11,257.55. The S&P 500 declined 26.25 points, or 2.2%, to 1,161.79. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 61.20 points to 2,460.08.

A “disastrous” German bond sale on Wednesday sparked fears that Europe’s debt crisis was starting to threaten even Berlin, with the leaders of the euro zone’s two biggest economies still at odds over a longer-term structural solution.

Brazil’s National Oil Regulator (Toronto:ANP.TO) said on Wednesday that it is suspending the drilling rights of U.S. oil major Chevron in national territory until it clarifies conditions of the recent oil spill in its Frade field. The ANP also said it has denied Chevron’s request to drill into ultra-deep subsalt areas, which hold huge deposits of oil off Brazil’s coast.

J.P. Morgan (NYSE:JPM) has agreed to buy all of defunct U.S. brokerage MF Global’s (Other OTC:MFGLQ.PK) shareholding in the London Metal Exchange after a competitive bidding process, KPMG, the administrators for MF Global’s UK unit, said on Wednesday.

Moody’s Investors Service on Wednesday warned that its top credit rating for the United States could be in jeopardy if lawmakers backtrack on $1.2 trillion in deficit cuts planned over 10 years.

A consortium led by private equity firm KKR & Co (NYSE:KKR) clinched a deal to buy oil and gas group Samson Investment Co for $7.2 billion, KKR said on Wednesday.