Here's a quick look at a few of the headlines making news this afternoon.

Wal-Mart to ditch Kindle
Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) is going to stop selling Amazon Kindles, according to a report by Reuters. "We have recently made the business decision to not carry Amazon tablets and eReaders beyond our existing inventory and purchase commitments," Reuters quotes a Wal-Mart memo as saying. This follows Target's decision to stop selling the e-reader.

Nexen/CNOOC hookup moves forward
Energy company Nexen (NYSE: NXY) shareholders have OK'd a takeover by China's CNOOC (NYSE: CEO), according to The Globe and Mail. If the Canadian government signs off on the $15.1 billion deal, the companies expect to complete the transaction in the fourth quarter of 2012. The Globe and Mail noted that the deal must surmount the "net benefit" test that helped sink BHP Billiton's hostile takeover bid for PotashCorp in 2010.

CNOOC offered $27.50 per share for Calgary-based Nexen, which operates around the world. That price is a 61% premium to the closing price of Nexen's common shares before it was announced in July that the two companies had entered into a "definitive agreement."

Mediator sought in union talks with Southwest
Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) and the union representing some 8,500 ground workers have sought the intervention of a federal mediator, according to an Associated Press report. They have asked the National Mediation Board to help move forward negotiations. "After 14 months of negotiations, almost no progress has been made in reaching an agreement," the union said in a press release this week.