Media Digest (2/1/2013) Reuters, WSJ, FT, Bloomberg

PMI data from Asia shows the slowing of economies there. (Reuters)

A private equity buyout of Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) may be only week away. (Reuters)

The cost of beef has squeezed McDonald's Corp.'s (NYSE: MCD) margins. (Reuters)

A decline in car sales in France is particularly difficult for Volkswagen, General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F). (Reuters)

Rumors suggest Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) will soon launch PS4. (Reuters)

The costs of many unpaid home mortgages in Europe could hurt consumer spending for a long period. (WSJ)

The Justice Department will try to block the Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A./N.V. (NYSE: BUD) buyout of Grupo Modelo. (WSJ)

Crédit Agricole says a good will impairment will cost it $3.4 billion in its fourth quarter. (WSJ)

AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) will deepen their work on diabetes drugs. (WSJ)

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) will close stores in Canada. (WSJ)

Mortgage write-offs have begun to eat into profits at large U.S. banks. (FT)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) stays atop the tablet sales industry, according to IDC, but Samsung sales doubled in the fourth quarter. (Bloomberg)

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Press Digest Tagged: AAPL, AZN, BBY, BMY, BUD, DELL, F, GM, MCD, SNE