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Spain has agreed to commission an independent audit of its financial system, trying to dispel market concerns that a state-funded bank bailout, set to be approved by the cabinet, could strain public finances to breaking point.

5-10-12-The FT said that Facebook’s proposed acquisition of Instagram still faces a FTC probe. FTC has reportedly already begun its investigation of the competitiveness of Facebook’s $1 billion offer for Instagram, citing two unidentified sources familiar with the matter. The routine probe will take about 6-12 months, but the deal should ultimately be approved. However, the investigation could end up delaying the transaction beyond the second quarter projection of FB in its IPO documents. Facebook declined to comment.

When our network broke Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson’s plan to layoff 14% of the company’s workforce on Apr 4, we said it’s all about perception for Yahoo. At that time, we were referring to the company’s brand image in the sense that it doesn’t appeal to internet users in their 20’s and younger. Now it has a bigger problem to worry about. Scott Thompson apparently misrepresented his credential from Stonehill College and did not walked away from the Easton, Massachusetts campus with a degree in computer science.One of the largest investors in Yahoo stock, Third Point, demands the company to dismiss Thompson immediately. Third Point CEO Daniel Loeb said Stonehill College did not begin to offer computer science major until four years after Thompson graduated. Stonehill College spokesperson Martin McGovern verified that Thompson received a bachelor’s of science degree in business administration with a major in accounting on May 20th, 1979.How serious do you think this misrepresentation is? Thompson proved himself to the market when he was at PayPal, where he more than doubled its top line, but do you think his capability can offset this? Please send in your comments to our show or tweet me @juliasun_onair. I’m Julia Sun reporting for the Financial News Network in New York City.

Dollar Thrifty (NYSE:DTG) reported Q1 EPS of $1.35, inline with estimates. Revenues in the quarter came in at $356.3 million, beating estimates of $355.5 million. The company had reported preliminary Q1 EPS of $1.30 – $1.40 on April 23rd with EBITDA of $75 million – $80 million. Dollar Thrifty also reaffirmed its FY EPS outlook of $5.00 – $5.60 given on April 23rd and repurchased 64.2k shares at an average price of $78.19 in the quarter in addition to the previously reported 1.45 million.The company’s earnings did not impress investors this morning though. Currently, the company is down more than 1% to $79.61.

Agrium (NYSE:AGU) reported Q1 EPS of $1.32, surpassing estimates of $1.04. The company reported Q1 revenues of $3.63 billion, also well above estimates of $2.99 billion. The company sees first half EPS of $5.50 – $6.10, vs. estimates of $5.78, which may not be comparable, but also sees wholesale realized nutrient prices in the second quarter slightly higher for nitrogen, potash and slightly lower for phosphate vs. prices in the year-ago quarter. The company expects slightly lower wholesale fertilizer sales volumes in the second quarter, vs. year over year for nitrogen and potash.But, depute beating estimates, the fertilizer company still said its earnings were down 9%, making investors sell off. Currently, shares are down over 2 and a half percent to $82.43.

General Growth (GGP) was upgraded today by UBS (UBS) from neutral to buy with a price target of $20. The firm also increased estimates as it believes that there are several catalysts that will boost the stock price in the near term.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) announced its quarterly dividend of 27.5 cents per share, an increase of about 15% over its prior dividend in February of 24 cents. The dividend will be payable on June 8, 2012, to stockholders of record on May 25, 2012.

Tim Hortons (NYSE:THI) reported Q1 EPS of C$0.56, missing estimates of C$0.58. The company cited higher commodity costs which affected the its cost of sales for the miss. The company reported Q1 total revenues of C$721.3 million, vs. estimates of C$705.3 million. Tim Hortons also reported Q1 Canada comps rose 5.2% while US comp sales rose 8.5%. President and CEO Paul House is leaving the company, but will continue his role until early December 2013, or until the appointment of a new CEO whichever comes first.

Bargain hunters are wise to pay careful attention to insider buying, because although there are many various reasons for an insider to sell a stock, presumably the only reason they would use their hard-earned cash to make a purchase, is that they expect to make money. Today we look at two noteworthy recent insider buys.

In trading on Thursday, precious metals shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 2.4%. Leading the group were shares of Golden Star Resources Limited (GSS), up about 6.5% and shares of Banro (BAA) up about 5.5% on the day.