Market Minute: Popular Board Games Go Mobile; Big Banks Face New Regs

A makeover for some popular games, and some of the nation's biggest banks face more regulation. Those and more are what's making news in stocks Wednesday.

The Dow industrials (^DJI) fell 42 points Tuesday, while the S&P 500 (^GPSC) and Nasdaq (^IXIC) ended just slightly lower.

Trading volume is expected to be very light in Wednesday's abbreviated session, but that can lead to added volatility.

Some famous board games from several generations ago are getting a 21st century makeover. Electronics Arts (EA) is expanding its partnership with toy-maker Hasbro (HAS) to make mobile versions of games such as Monopoly, Scrabble, Battleship and Yahtzee.

Dell Inc. (DELL) shareholders vote in two weeks on CEO Michael Dell's 24-billion dollar bid to take the company private. But reports this morning say a special committee of the company's board is pushing him to raise the offer price.

Eight of the largest U.S. banks could face a new round of rules on their debt and capital ratios. The intent is to prevent another 2008-like credit crisis by giving officials more tools to dismantle failing banks.

Meanwhile, Standard & Poor's has lowered its rating on several leading European banks, and that could put pressure on major domestic banks.

Mead Johnson Nutrition (MJN) and Abbott Laboratories (ABT) could decline for a second straight day after China launched a price fixing investigation into baby food makers.

Tyco International (TYC) could owe more than 1-billion dollars in taxes and interest, after the IRS disallowed deductions the company took from 1997 through 2000. Those deductions involved businesses that have since been spun off to create ADT Corp. (ADT) and a unit that later merged with Pentair. Tyco says it plans to appeal the IRS ruling in Tax Court.

And Toyota (TM) warns that sales of its Prius hybrid could fall short of the company's target for the year. For the first half of the year, Prius sales declined 5 percent from a year ago.

Remember, today is an abbreviated trading day. The market closes at 1 p.m. Eastern time, and won't reopen until Friday morning.

-Produced by Drew Trachtenberg.

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