Not 1,500, not just yet. The S&P 500 failed to hold 1,500 on Thursday, but has now risen for seven days, its longest set of consecutive gains since October 2006. It closed at 1,494.82, dampened by the decline in Apple stock, post-earnings. Shares in Apple fell 12.4 per cent (Reuters). Microsoft's profits fell to $6.4bn in the fiscal second quarter, the first period to include sales of the Surface tablet and Windows 8. Earnings of 76 cents per share compared with $6.6bn (or 78 cents a share) in the previous quarter (Reuters), but were affected by $1.3bn of deferred revenues, ahead of a relaunch of its Office software. Microsoft also recognised $783m of previously-deferred revenues from pre-sales of Windows 8. Adjusted earnings were 81 cents per share (Wall Street Journal). Mary Jo White has been tapped to lead the SEC. Announcing his nomination of the former federal prosecutor at a White House press conference, President Barack Obama called on the Senate to confirm the appointment "as quickly as possible" (Wall Street Journal). White, who has not previously worked as a Wall Street regulator, served as US Attorney for the southern district of New York from 1993 to 2002, before turning to private practice (Reuters). Morgan Stanley's chief executive will take a pay cut for the second year in a row. James Gorman will be left with about $6m in deferred stock and cash, below the $8.5m he earned in stock and cash last year. The bank has already deferred 2012 bonuses for senior staff as part of its restructuring (Financial Times). Gorman will also receive a separate new long-term incentives package, but his total compensation will remain below the $10.5m he received in 2011 even including this (Bloomberg). The Federal Reserve's balance sheet rose above $3tn for the first time this week. Monthly purchases of MBS and Treasuries rose to $85bn in January as the central bank pursues an open-ended bond-buying policy (Bloomberg). AT&T earnings missed estimates after customers bought discounted smartphones in their droves. Excluding costs including pensions, net profit was 44 cents a share, below the average 45-cent forecast. AT&T added 780,000 contract customers in the quarter, compared to the 683,000 expected - and had already warned that its smartphone sales of 10.2m would hit profits (Bloomberg). The January 7 battery fire on a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 was an "unprecedented event" that needs further investigation, according to the head of the US National Transportation Safety Board. This is a very serious air safety concern," Deborah Hersman said. The cause of the blaze is "still a very open question," Hersman added. US-based Dreamliners have been grounded since a second incident involving smoke on an All Nippon Airlines 787 (Wall Street Journal, Financial Times). Freakonomics - the experimentation phase. On technical analysis: "We are in the pattern recognition business, one way or another." Another (excellent) Tim Geithner exit interview! Which Krugman tears apart. Why Apple is only going the way of all megacaps. Felix in praise of smart cars. Market Monetarism, the Kindle book. Here's the foreword.