TOP STORIES 
 
AT&T POSTS HIGHER REVENUE

AT&T said its first-quarter profit dropped slightly to $3.65 billion, or 70c a share, though the telecommunication giant added more wireless subscribers. Its adjusted profit climbed to 71c a share and revenue grew to $32.5 billion.

 
U.S. STOCKS END HIGHER

Big pharmaceutical deals and strong quarterly results pushed the S&P 500 higher for a sixth straight day and pulled the other indexes closer to positive territory for the year. The Dow industrials advanced 65 points to 16514.

 
NOVARTIS IN DEALS WORTH $25 BILLION

Novartis said it will acquire the oncology unit of GlaxoSmithKline for about $14.5 billion and sell its vaccines unit to GSK for $5.25 billion. Novartis also said it is selling its animal health unit to Eli Lilly for around $5.4 billion.

 
VALEANT, ACKMAN PROPOSE ALLERGAN DEAL

Activist investor William Ackman and Valeant Pharmaceuticals revealed their offer to acquire Allergan, valuing the maker of the wrinkle fighter Botox at about $46 billion. Allergan shares rose 15%.

 
GILEAD SCIENCES' RESULTS BOOSTED BY HEPATITIS C DRUG

Gilead Sciences said sales of its new treatment for hepatitis C infections soared in the first quarter as the company posted a profit of $2.23 billion and per-share earnings jumped to $1.33.

 
AMGEN PROFIT FALLS 25%

Amgen said its first-quarter earnings fell 25% to $1.07 billion, or $1.40 a share on higher costs that masked the biopharmaceutical company's revenue growth. Revenue increased 6.7% to $4.52 billion.

 
DISCOVER PROFIT SLIPS BUT STILL BEATS ESTIMATES

Discover Financial Services said its first-quarter profit slipped 6.2% to $618 million, or $1.31 a share, as the credit-card company recorded higher expenses, masking an increase in total loan growth.

 
CITIGROUP SHAREHOLDERS APPROVE LEADERS' PAY

Citigroup shareholders voted to approve the pay packages for the bank's top executives, giving the company's management a shot of confidence in a year in which it has struggled to stay in the good graces of regulators and investors.

 
COMCAST 1Q PROFIT RISES 30%

Comcast earned $1.87 billion, or 71c a share, as it continued to add video subscribers and saw strong growth in its NBCUniversal entertainment arm, thanks to the Winter Olympics. Comcast's Class A shares rose 2%.

 
SUPREME COURT CONFLICTED ON AEREO SERVICE

Supreme Court justices expressed unease with online-video startup Aereo, but they also voiced concerns about the consequences of ruling for the broadcasters that are challenging the legality of the service.

 
GREENLIGHT CAPITAL LOSES 1.5% IN 1ST QUARTER

David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital lost 1.5% in the first quarter, the New York hedge fund said in an investor letter, in which it warned about "our second tech bubble in 15 years."

 
 
 
 
  ======= DOW JONES NEWSWIRES ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARIES ======= 
 
 
The Wall Street Journal 
FED LOOKS LIKELY TO STICK TO POLICY PATH

Fed officials are on track to reduce their monthly bond buying to $45 billion and stick with a communications approach that leaves investors with a little uncertainty about when the central bank will start raising rates, Jon Hilsenrath writes.

 
Analysis 
WAVE OF PHARMA M&A COULD JUMP-START ANOTHER

The flurry of deal news in the health-products industry could touch off a wave of more activity as companies take stock of a changing landscape and seek to stay ahead of it.