At The Motley Fool, we know our readers like to be informed. So we have scouted out today's most relevant news items and brought them to you all in one page. We hope you find this midday edition informative and useful.

Research In Motion to cut jobs
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) is losing ground as sales of its smartphone line drop. To deal with the sagging demand, the company is reducing its global workforce by almost 11%, or 2,000 jobs.

The company, which has had problems for a while now, cut its earnings outlook for June and projected a fiscal-year profit of $5.25 to $6.00 per share, well below the original forecast of $7.50. The job cuts were described as a way to optimize operations and eliminate duplicate positions.

In addition to the cuts, the company announced that Chief Operating Officer Don Morrison, who was on medical leave, will retire after more than 10 years with the company. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.

Apple's problem in China
Technology giant Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has encountered a problem that competitors wish they had. A year after opening its flagship store in Shanghai, the 16,000-square-foot space is too small. With crowds of mostly young Chinese pouring into its stores, two in Shanghai and two in Beijing, Apple is planning to open an even larger Shanghai store.

Chinese stores are the most visited and sales are larger than in any U.S. store, meaning Apple has been able to position itself as a major company in China, when many other multinationals have failed. But recent discoveries of fake Apple stores may push the company to be stricter with its Chinese operations or perhaps reconsider them. Read more at The New York Times.

BP's breakup could unlock $100 billion
Some BP (NYSE: BP) investors are wondering if the company could benefit by following a new trend of splitting the refinery portions of oil companies from their exploration and production arms. The latest to do so was ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP). After the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, BP has been struggling to keep up with competitors despite sky-high oil prices. Investment banks like JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) think BP's divisions are dramatically undervalued and that a breakup could unlock a better strategy. Marathon Oil Corp. went down the same path; since it announced the split on Jan. 13, its stock has gained 23%. BP has said it has no plans to divide its operations. Read more at Bloomberg.

E*TRADE pressed to sell
Citadel LLC, E*TRADE's (Nasdaq: ETFC) largest shareholder, has demanded a shareholder meeting to pressure the online broker to find a buyer. The letter demanding the meeting is the second sent by the hedge fund, which owns 9.8% of E*TRADE's stock. The letter demanded the meeting be held not sooner than 10 days and not later than 60 days. It also demanded the hiring of an investment bank to review the company's strategic alternatives and the replacement of two current executives.

E*TRADE shares rose in the morning after news of the letter was reported and talk of a possible bid by TD AMERITRADE (Nasdaq: AMTD) was bandied about. Charles Schwab could be another possible buyer. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.

So there you have it, the top financial stories for this afternoon. Check Fool.com throughout the day for commentary on these and other stories. Also, follow us on Twitter, on Facebook, or through our email digests.