Top 10 News Items 7/11-7/15: Fed's Latest Minutes Hint at QE3; Google Issues Blowout Q2 Earnings; Moody's, S&P Place US AAA Rating on Watch for Downgrade

Here is a recap of the top news items from this week on Wall Street:

1. US stocks moved lower this week as the minutes of the latest FOMC meeting hinted at QE3, a mixed signal for traders as the nod eludes to continued economic weakness, however hope that the government may step in with more aid. Gold made a sharp move higher as traders searched for protection. Some key points from the Fed minutes: Participants also discussed the medium-term outlook for monetary policy. Some participants noted that if economic growth remained too slow to make satisfactory progress toward reducing the unemployment rate and if inflation returned to relatively low levels after the effects of recent transitory shocks dissipated, it would be appropriate to provide additional monetary policy accommodation. Also On the one hand, a few members noted that, depending on how economic conditions evolve, the Committee might have to consider providing additional monetary policy stimulus, especially if economic growth remained too slow to meaningfully reduce the unemployment rate in the medium run.

2. Shares of Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) rose $70 Friday after blowout Q2 results: EPS of $8.74, $0.88 better than the analyst estimate of $7.86. Revenue for the quarter came in at $6.92 billion versus the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion.

3. Both Moody's and Standard & Poors placed the US's AAA credit rating on watch for a downgrade this week amid continued concerns related to the debt ceiling debate. Here is the Moody's report and here is the Standard & Poor's note.

4. News that BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) offered to acquire Petrohawk (NYSE: HK) in a $12.1 billion deal got the entire Oil & Gas group on the move Friday. BHP's bid was made at $38.75 per share. Petrohawk shares rallied nearly 63 percent to close this week's session.

5. Aloca (NYSE: AA) unofficially kicked off the Q2 earnings season this week with mixed results: EPS from continuing operations of $0.32, $0.02 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.34. Revenue for the quarter came in at $6.59 billion versus the consensus estimate of $6.32 billion. Elsewhere on the earnings front: Citi (NYSE: C) and JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) also reported.

6. Gold rose more than 3 percent this week, hitting a fresh all-time high $1,592.80 per ounce. As noted in #1, traders jumped into the metal following a hint at QE3 in the latest Fed minutes and indications from Ben Bernanke the Fed is "prepared to respond" if stimulus is needed. The SPDR Gold Trust ETF (NYSE: GLD) was up 3.3 percent this week.

7.ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) reported Thursday it Board has approved pursuing the separation of the company’s Refining & Marketing and Exploration & Production businesses into two stand-alone, publicly traded corporations via a tax-free spin of the refining and marketing business to ConocoPhillips shareholders.

8. Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) users felt outrage this week as the company announced a 60 percent price hike. The combined service offering both streaming and mail rentals will now cost users $15.98 per month. Despite the public outrage, the price hike received strong analyst reception. After announcing the rate hike on Tuesday, the stock gained nearly 3 percent over the next two trading sessions, only to sell off by more than 4 percent on Thursday.

9. Shares of Clorox (NYSE: CLX) rallied to close up almost 9 percent Friday after activist investor Carl Icahn disclosed a $76.50 per share bid for the company. Check out Carl Icahn Doesn't Want Clorox (CLX), He Wants Procter & Gamble (PG) to Buy It for some interesting commentary on the news.

10. Following continued contagion-type fears across Euroland, regulators released stress test results for the EU on Friday of this week. A total of 8 banks failed this test, 5 coming from Spain, 2 coming from Greece and one in Austria.

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