How the major stock indexes fared on Thursday (AP)
AP – A rally in financial stocks Thursday helped the market extend its grind higher to a third day.

Steve Ballmer: Microsoft Is “Betting Our Company” On The Cloud
Speaking to a gathering of hundreds of students at the University of Washington, Ballmer said: “I’ll know we’ve succeeded with this aspect of the cloud the day we all agree that the virtual interaction through the cloud is as good as being here.”

Ex-New York Pension Fund Investment Chief Pleads Guilty
The former chief investment officer for New York State’s comptroller Wednesday pleaded guilty to helping favored firms gain access to the state’s $129 billion pension fund.

SEC to Beef Up Its New York Office in 2010
The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to expand its New York office by about 8 percent this year as the financial regulator focuses more heavily on catching cheaters at hedge funds and brokerages.

Wall Street nearly flat after mixed economic data (Reuters)

Reuters – U.S. stocks barely changed

TSI Launches First Fully Automated Distressed Loan Settlement Platform
The new platform streamlines the process of trading and settling distressed loans, creating substantial time and cost efficiencies for all market participants, according to the vendor.