Morning Market Roundup: RIM Gets Less Transparent, Dunkin Brands Investors Dumping More Shares

Here’s what’s important in the financial world this morning:

Research in Motion: After Thursday’s close, Research in Motion reported its fiscal fourth quarter earnings and saw a loss. The company came in below analyst estimates and the stock fell close to nine percent in after-hours trading. RIM also said to investors that it plans to stop giving quarterly forecasts.

Dunkin’ Brands: The coffee and donut merchants have announced a rise is the number of its public offering of shares to 26.4 million shares, up from 22 million shares. This will come from a group of private equity firms and private investors. The stock allotment has been priced $29.50 per share.

EU: The euro zone finance ministers agreed to increase its emergency “firewall” to about €800 billion ($1.1 trillion). The money will come from €500 billion in new money from the ESM. The EFSF has committed €200 billion and some additional money will come from creative math with the Greek loans, according to Reuters. The rise comes in lower than the €940 billion that had been discussed in the last few days.

Japan: Japan’s cabinet has approved a bill to increase the country’s sales tax by 2015. It will raise the five percent tax in two phases with an eight percent increase by 2014 and 10 percent by 2015. Now the bill has to pass parliament where it is expected for opposition lawmakers to challenge it. The plan also does not have the public’s support and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s Democratic Party of Japan.

[Editor’s note the above is across post that originally appeared on Wall St. Cheat Sheet.]