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.

Groupon's growth looks good
Daily-deal site Groupon (Nasdaq: GRPN) saw strong growth in its fourth quarter. The company's gross earnings for October totaled $176 million, up 22% from a month earlier. The increase in billings was helped by Groupon's new discount travel business with Expedia (Nasdaq: EXPE). Read the full story at Yahoo! Finance. 

Shares of Yahoo! up on news of buyout
A possible buyout bid from Alibaba Group had shares of media company Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) climbing higher at the open this morning. Reports suggest that a deal could value the company at more than $20 a share due to potential tax savings from its interests in Alibaba and Yahoo! Japan. Read the full story at Bloomberg.

BMW teams up with Toyota
Automakers BMW and Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM) have formed an alliance toward developing green technologies. Under the agreement, BMW will supply Toyota with diesel engines, and the two will work on making next-generation lithium-ion batteries used in electric cars. Read the full story at The New York Times.

HP pushes software in hopes of increasing revenue
Computer company Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) is hoping to double or triple its software revenue. Although reports last month suggested that HP was looking to sell its Palm webOS mobile software platform, HP CEO Meg Whitman said that the company hasn't made a final decision on Palm's fate. Read the full story at Yahoo! Finance.

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