At The Motley Fool, we know our readers like to be informed. 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.

AMR profits don't take off
Rising fuel prices have once again widened the loss for AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR), the parent of American Airlines. The stock has fallen 28% over the past year mainly because of a continuing loss on profit. The company reported a loss of $286 million for the second quarter compared with an $11 million loss the previous year. In hopes of improving its losses, the company decided to spin off American Eagle, its regional branch.

American has also announced it would update its fleet by ordering 460 narrowbody aircraft from Boeing (NYSE: BA) and European rival Airbus. This would be in addition to the 35 Boeing 737s due to arrive over the next two years. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.

Apple scores a home run ... again
Strong sales in emerging markets and a new $6 billion business for its iPad, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) reported a stellar performance Tuesday. Though it did not release any major products, the company was able to double profits and increase revenue by 82%.

Mac computers continued to grow even as their competitors struggle to sell PCs. Another big growth factor was how Apple products have become integrated in businesses. The company announced that many multinationals have embraced its products for everyday operations. Apple does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon, hinting during the conference call that there may be disruption from the introduction of a new product, believed to be the iPhone 5. Read more at The New York Times.

Icahn not letting go
Activist investor Carl Icahn, known for buying majorities in companies and later pushing change, has boosted his offer on Clorox (NYSE: CLX) up to $10.7 billion. After having a $10.2 billion offer rejected, alleging it undervalued the company, the Wall Street magnate is now offering $80 per share, about $8 higher than the trading price.

Icahn's plan is to buy the company and urge the company to sell to strategic buyers including Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) and Kimberly-Clark. Read more at Bloomberg.

Google reinventing itself
Everyone remembers a young and wild startup called Google (Nasdaq: GOOG). After a decade of being around, Google feels the need to get its edge back and is betting $200 million on it. Ramping up Google Ventures, the company is investing in startups in which it sees potential. Unlike many venture capitalists who say investing is more of an art, Google says it has an algorithm that will help them determine if a company could be a success. Read more at The New York Times.

Zillow's IPO doubles
It has become unsurprising that a technology company gets valued at millions or billions of dollars. In this case, it was unprofitable real estate website Zillow (Nasdaq: Z). On its first day of trading, the company's stock doubled giving it a valuation of more than $1 billion.

The website features real estate listings, mortgage information, real estate agents, and tools to check home values. But most of the website is free and working on an advertisement model. It does offer a premium service mostly for agents who will subscribe for between six to 12 months. The company has warned that its costs may increase as it expands its business. 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.