Today's Top Stories 10-18-11

BLOOMBERG

Republican presidential contender Herman Cain used campaign funds to buy his own books from his motivational speaking company, Federal Election Commission records show.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is under more pressure than at any point in three decades over Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s efforts to jumpstart the economy, and the criticism threatens to undermine support for the central bank.

President Obama called on Congress to pass elements of his jobs proposal and attacked Republican alternatives, saying his plan is the “real Americans Jobs Act.”

Wholesale prices in the U.S. rose 0.8 percent, more than forecast in September, boosted by gasoline, food and trucks, indicating inflationary pressures continue to bubble up the production line.

China’s economy grew 9.1 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, the slowest pace since 2009, driving stocks lower on concern that Europe’s debt crisis is dragging on the global recovery.

Japan is preparing to ease restrictions on U.S. beef imports as concerns about mad cow disease receded and domestic cattle production fell after the nation’s worst nuclear disaster since World War II.

AP Top Stories

A local NBC affiliate in Richmond, Virginia reports that thieves stole a truck carrying hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment that travels with President Obama, including his Teleprompters.

Sea piracy worldwide has surged this year, with Somali pirates intensifying their attacks and Benin emerging as a new hotspot, a global maritime watchdog said Tuesday.

Doubt cast on France's triple-A credit rating by Moody's raised uncertainty over Europe's hopes of drawing a line under its sovereign debt crisis, five days before a crucial EU summit.

Bank of America earned $6.2 billion in the third quarter, following a big loss in the same period a year ago.

The earnings mostly came from accounting gains and the sale of a stake in a Chinese bank. Bank of America is also no longer the largest bank in the U.S. by assets, which fell to $2.21 trillion in the quarter. The Charlotte, North Carolina, bank ceded that title to rival JPMorgan Chase & Co. which reported total assets of $2.28 trillion.

Goldman Sachs reported a third-quarter loss of $428 million as revenue from underwriting stocks and bonds plunged. It was only the second quarterly loss for the investment bank since it went public 12 years ago.

President Obama plans to sign trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia on Friday, capping years of negotiations and completing U.S. action on the biggest trade deal since the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993.