Market Round-up (C, BAC, BRK.A, XTO, XOM, ACL, NVS, AAPL, MSFT, GOOG)

Losses are widespread today, with more than 90% of the S&P 500 declining. Volume is heavy in Citigroup (NYSE: C) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and the financial stocks are performing the "least badly," with advancers and decliners nearly split. At midday, the Dow had slipped 1.8% to 10,532, the S&P 500 had lost 1.7% to 1,131 and the NASDAQ had dropped 2% to 2,275. Read more about BAC here.

Treasury yields drop to the lowest in a month. While the 30-year yield lost 0.06 to 4.53%, 10-year moved down 0.05 to 3.64%, 5-year slipped 0.05 to 2.40% and 2-year fell 0.02 to 0.87%. The dollar is rallying against all major currencies.

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) shareholders have approved the 50-for-1 split of Class B shares. These shares will begin trading tomorrow. Read more about BRK.A here.

The $30 billion purchase of XTO Energy (NYSE: XTO) by Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) is drawing concerns from House lawmakers. The lawmakers are concerned about reduced competition and a possible increase in the controversial hydraulic fracturing technique which is crucial for the successful completion of the deal. Read more about XOM here.

Directors at Alcon (NYSE: ACL) reject the offer by Novartis (NYSE: NVS) to buy the remaining shares of ACL, terming it as "grossly inadequate" and "offensive." NVS had made a proposal of $39.3 billion for the 75% stake in ACL that it does not already own. Read more about this deal.

Sources confirm that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is in talks with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to replace Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) as the default search engine in its iPhones. The news indicates intensifying rivalry between AAPL and GOOG. Read more about AAPL and GOOG here.

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