U.S. stocks snap losing run on Alcoa surprise

MARKETWATCH FRONT PAGE

Major indexes advance, bouncing back after a five-session losing run, with aluminum maker Alcoa�s unexpected profit cheering investors. See full story.

Apple, book publishers accused of price-fixing

The Justice Department files an antitrust suit against Apple and five major publishers over the pricing of e-books. See full story.

Apple�s e-book business gets bitten

Apple Inc. is one of the companies that is playing the heavy in the nation�s fast-expanding e-book market, according to the United States government. See full story.

Nokia shares drop 15% after profit warning

Nokia Corp. Wednesday warned that intense competition in fast-growing markets--formerly its stronghold--would hit its performance in the first half of this year, underscoring the depth of the challenges it faces as it switches to Microsoft Corp.�s Windows software for its handsets. See full story.

A slowly healing housing market

Encouraging reports on the housing market are stirring up optimism about this year�s home buying and selling season. See full story.

MARKETWATCH COMMENTARY

Instead of acknowledging that banks have become a part of government, we keep pretending they are private institutions, writes David Weidner. See full story.

MARKETWATCH PERSONAL FINANCE

Is the state that you have designs on retiring to tax friendly or not? And the basic questions to answer are these: How does the state tax your income? How does it tax your property and your consumption? And what�s the overall tax burden? See full story.