Stocks fall

US stocks fell as investors took a defensive posture before Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s much-awaited speech today. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.81 percent to 13,000.71. The S&P 500 fell 0.78 percent to 1,399.48, while the Nasdaq slipped 1.05 percent to 3,048.71.

ETrade deal

ETrade Financial agreed to pay $100,000 and implement an antitrust compliance policy and training program under a deal with states probing the retail brokerage industry.

Carlyle leads

Carlyle Group has become the most active US private-equity buyer this year. It has agreed to buy at least $16 billion of assets in 2012, more than double Blackstone Group and Apollo Global Management,.

Buffett pledge

Warren Buffett pledged another $3 billion of Berkshire Hathaway shares to his three children’s foundations.

Jobless claims

Jobless claims were little changed at 374,000 in the week ended Aug. 25, matching the upwardly revised figure from the prior week, the Labor Department said.