Weekly Roundup: MarketWatch's top 10 stories, Oct. 22 - 26

	Weekly Roundup OCTOBER 26, 2012 MarketWatch's top 10 stories, Oct. 22 - 26 The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all post weekly losses By Sue Chang, MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Apple Inc. has a tendency to dominate and generate buzz like very few companies in the world can. The launch of iPad mini and the release of its quarterly earnings this week kicked the news cycle into high gear and set Twitter on fire, proving that the iPhone maker's starpower has not faded even though Steve Jobs is no longer there to mesmerize the public. For those suffering from Apple fatigue, there was plenty of other corporate news to digest, including earnings from other big players such as Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) and Yahoo Inc. (YHOO)  On the whole, company earnings failed to impress and the stock market suffered. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) finished the week down 1.8% while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) shed 1.5%. The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) lost 0.6% for the week. Read MarketWatch's stock market report Check back this weekend as MarketWatch provides coverage of Hurricane Sandy as it bears down on the East Coast. In the meantime, here a quick look at what to expect next week.  MarketWatch's Week Ahead: October Unemployment  Europe's Week Ahead: U.S. Data, Barclays — Sue Chang Obama vs Romney President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney jabbedon Iran's nuclear ambitions, the U.S. commitment to Afghanistan and trade with China in a 90-minute debate Monday night that also repeatedly turned back to the No. 1 issue for many Americans: the U.S. economy. Read Obama and Romney trade foreign policy jabs Frankenstorm Hurricane Sandy is already being billed as a possible "Frankenstorm" for its potential to wreak havoc on U.S. financial centers as well as the travel infrastructure in New York, with heavy winds and rain expected on the East Coast early next week. Wall Street and New York currently lie in the path of Sandy. Read Frankenstorm has financial centers on edge Apple's double dose of disappointment Apple unveiled iPad mini on Tuesday. The stock closed down 3.3%. Apple announced fourth-quarter results that fell short of analysts' estimates. The stock fell another 1.2%, bringing its weekly loss to 1%. Read Apple reports lower-than-expected Q4 earnings The Fed The Federal Reserve held its monetary policy meeting without the usual fanfare. The central bank, however, continued to express concern about the U.S. economy and maintained its ultra-easy policy stance. Read the Fed sticks to QE3 U.S. economy picks up pace in Q3 U.S. economic growth picked up pace in the third quarter to 2% compared with 1.3% in the second quarter as consumers and the federal government boosted spending and home construction accelerated. Yet business investment fell by the largest amount in three years, signaling that a political stalemate in Washington is acting as a drag on the economy. Business leaders are increasingly worried that sales and investment could plummet unless Washington forestalls big spending cuts and tax increases set to take effect at the start of 2013. Read U.S. GDP grows 2% in Q3 Microsoft hopes to reclaim past glory with Windows 8 Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) on Friday introduced Windows 8, considered the most critical version of its operating system, as smartphones and tablets increasingly encroach on PC's territory. Read Is Windows 8 a game changer? Yahoo's Mayer takes charge Yahoo made a huge splash on Monday when the Internet company reported its third-quarter profit surged to $3.16 billion, or $2.64 a share, from $298.3 million or 23 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Chief Executive Marissa Mayer also led her first earnings call since being named CEO in July. Read Yahoo's profit jumps on Alibaba sale Citi fined $2 million, analysts fired over Facebook IPO Unauthorized disclosures to media of non-public information related to Facebook Inc.'s (FB) initial public offering have cost two Citigroup (C) analysts their jobs. One of them was the prominent Internet analyst Mark Mahaney, according to The Wall Street Journal. Read Citi analysts fired over Facebook disclosures Five 'fiscal cliff' scenarios The U.S. has a little more than two months to avoid falling off the fiscal cliff. MarketWatch explores five "fiscal cliff" scenarios that varies from plunging over the cliff "Thelma & Louise" style to reaching a new deal. Read: Of 5 fiscal cliff outcomes only 1 is disaster Tepid Q3 earnings point to weak Q4 results Everything the market has seen so far of third-quarter earnings season point to a tepid fourth-quarter results. But analysts have been slow to react due to a lack of clarity with U.S. elections looming in November. Read As earnings falter, prospects for Q4 grow worse Get the latest news on our mobile site: http://www.marketwatch.com/m MarketWatch has sent you this newsletter because you signed up to receive it. To ensure you receive this newsletter in the future, please add marketwatchmail.com to your list of approved senders. Sent to: kumaresan.selva.blogger@gmail.com Unsubscribe | Subscribe Copyright 2012 MarketWatch, Inc. All rights reserved. MarketWatch, the MarketWatch logo, and BigCharts are registered trademarks of MarketWatch, Inc. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy (updated 6/26/07). MarketWatch - Attn: Customer Service, 201 California St., San Francisco, CA 94111