(Reuters) - Stocks fell on Wednesday as traders cashed in after indexes hit multi-year highs on stronger-than-expected economic data. The Nasdaq topped 3,000 for the first time since mid-December 2000 before retreating. The Dow industrials and the S&P 500 initially added to the previous day's gains that catapulted them to 4-year highs.

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(Reuters) - The economy grew a bit faster than initially thought in the fourth quarter on slightly firmer consumer spending, further calming fears of a sharp slowdown in growth in early 2012. Gross domestic product expanded at a 3 percent annual rate, the quickest pace since the second quarter of 2010, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday in its second estimate.

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(Reuters) - The U.S. economy would have to strengthen to ensure that the unacceptably high jobless rate keeps dropping, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday, suggesting the option of further Fed bond buying remains on the table. "The job market is far from normal," Bernanke told a congressional panel. "Continued improvement ... is likely to require stronger growth in final demand and production."

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(Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co said it may face federal enforcement actions stemming from two investigations into mortgage-backed securities that went bad in the financial crisis. The largest U.S. bank, in a regulatory filing on Wednesday, said Securities and Exchange Commission staff told the company in January that they may recommend the commission bring cases against the company.

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(Reuters) - Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB), the biggest source of money for U.S. home loans, on Wednesday said it would seek $4.6 billion in additional federal aid after reporting a fourth-quarter loss. The government-controlled mortgage finance firm earlier Wednesday posted a loss of $2.4 billion for the quarter ended December 31. That pushed Fannie Mae's loss for 2011 to $16.9 billion from $14.0 billion a year earlier, the company said.

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(Reuters) - Stocks rose on Tuesday on strong U.S. consumer confidence data, but gains were capped after a report showed a drop in durable goods orders. Consumer confidence in the world's largest economy rose to a one-year high in February, according to a survey, as optimism about the labor market offset concerns over rising gasoline prices. The reading is key because consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.

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(Reuters) - New orders for long-lasting manufactured goods fell in January by the most in three years as demand slumped across the board, suggesting the economy started the year on weaker footing than expected. Other data on Tuesday cast doubt on the strength of an incipient housing market recovery as a separate report showed home prices falling sharply in December.

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(Reuters) - Consumer confidence scaled a one-year high in February as optimism about the labor market offset concerns over rising gasoline prices, an independent survey showed on Tuesday. The Conference Board said its index of consumer attitudes increased to 70.8 this month - the highest reading since February last year - from an upwardly revised 61.5 in January.

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(Reuters) - CME Group Inc received two subpoenas, including one for a criminal probe, in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of futures broker MF Global Holdings Ltd, the giant exchange operator said on Tuesday. MF Global, run by former Goldman Sachs Group Inc Chief Executive Jon Corzine, filed for bankruptcy on October 31 of last year, and regulators are still seeking roughly $1.6 billion of customer funds that went missing in the chaotic days before the firm's implosion.

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(Reuters) - Microsoft and several other firms have complained to EU antitrust regulators about Google's social networking tool, two people familiar with the matter said, in a move that may prompt the EU to broaden its ongoing investigation into Google. The complaint by Microsoft underlines the mounting rivalry between the two companies.

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