George Lamb appeals the District Court’s 1 dismissal of his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging that defendants defamed and libeled him in various ways, and that they conspired to prevent him from obtaining a loan to repair a building he owned so he would be forced to sell the building.

Upon careful de novo review, see Alexander v. Peffer, 993 F.2d 1348, 1349 (8th Cir. 1993), we conclude that the complaint did not state a claim under Federal Rule *552 of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), because Lamb failed to allege the deprivation of a right guaranteed under the Constitution or federal law, see Wade v. Goodwin, 843 F.2d 1150, 1151-52 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 854, 109 S.Ct. 142, 102 L.Ed.2d 114 (1988), or to allege sufficiently a meeting of the minds on the part of defendants, see Manis v. Sterling, 862 F.2d 679, 681 (8th Cir. 1988).

Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the District Court, and we deny Lamb’s pending “petition for a writ of mandamus.” See 8th Cir. R. 47B.