At The Motley Fool, we know our readers like to be informed. Here's a quick look at today's most relevant financial news, boiled down to what you need to know.

Telefonica reports first loss in nine years
Spanish telecom titan Telefonica (NYSE: TEF) reported the company's first quarterly loss in almost nine years, with a 429 million euro loss in the third quarter. The loss comes on the heels of a 2.7 billion euro restructuring cost. Read the full story at Bloomberg and Reuters.   

E*TRADE is off the market
After a strategic review, online brokerage firm E*TRADE Financial (Nasdaq: ETFC) has decided it will not be for sale. The company's advisor on the review, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), recommended to the board that E*TRADE continue to execute its business plan accordingly. Read the full story at BusinessWeek.  

Dillard's posts strong earnings
Discount retailer Dillard's (NYSE: DDS) reported an 85% jump in profit for its third quarter, earning $26.6 million, or $0.50 a share. Revenue and earnings both beat analyst estimates. Full details at MarketWatch.

Citigroup sells EMI to highest bidders
EMI Group, which Citigroup (NYSE: C) owns, continued to sell off assets. French telecommunications and media company Vivendi will acquire EMI Group's music division in a deal valued at $1.9 billion, while the music publishing business of EMI will be sold to a group led by Sony's (NYSE: SNE) music division for $2.2 billion. Read the full story at The Wall Street Journal (subscription required).

That's a wrap
So there you have it -- the top financial stories for this afternoon. If you are interested in getting all the news and commentary on these stocks, sign up to My Watchlist here --it's free!