Worries that Dubai washing its hands of debt woes
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates
(AP) -- If global investors were looking for reassurances from Dubai that it
would stand behind its massive, debt-swamped investment conglomerate, they got
none Monday. Instead, the Gulf city-state seemed to wash its hands of the
financial woes that have rattled world markets.
The muddled message from
Dubai has fueled worries over a possible default by the conglomerate. Many
investors are hoping that Dubai World will either openly discuss restructuring
of some $60 billion in debt with its creditors, or that Dubai's larger,
oil-rich neighbor, Abu Dhabi, will step in to restore confidence by promising
to foot any bills.
Online retailers rev up
deals to keep up momentum
NEW YORK (AP) -- Retail Web
sites kept amping up the deals Monday, the first day after Thanksgiving
weekend's strong online sales, to try to maintain the momentum.
Meanwhile, a research firm
that tracks business at stores reported tepid sales and customer traffic for
Friday and Saturday that confirmed a so-so start to the season for the
bricks-and-mortar world.
Though the Web is only about
10 percent of the holiday shopping pie, it's seen most of the growth so far
this year -- an encouraging sign after last year's first online sales decline.
Stocks turn higher to extend
month's big gains
NEW YORK (AP) -- The stock
market closed out its best month since the summer, posting big gains for
November even as investors worried about the strength of the holiday shopping
season.
Stocks fluctuated through
the day Monday, but finished modestly higher as traders ultimately were not
deterred by reports that retail sales were overall uninspiring during the
Thanksgiving weekend. Retailers including Macy's Inc. and Saks Inc. fell
sharply but online merchants like Amazon.com Inc. shot higher on reports of
strong Internet sales.
Despite the tepid finish,
the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose
more than 5 percent in November, their biggest monthly advance since July.
Gov't increases pressure on
mortgage industry
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Faced
with sluggish progress in its foreclosure-prevention effort, the Obama
administration will spend the coming weeks cracking down on mortgage companies
that aren't doing enough to help borrowers at risk of losing their homes.
Treasury Department
officials said Monday they will step up pressure on the 71 companies
participating in the government's $75 billion effort to stem the foreclosure
crisis. The will start this week by sending three person "SWAT teams"
to monitor the eight largest companies' work and requesting twice-daily reports
on their progress.
The mortgage companies, also
known as loan servicers, have had a hard time getting borrowers to complete the
needed paperwork for the administration's loan modification program.
Oil prices spike after Iran
seizes yacht
Oil prices jumped Monday
after Britain said a racing yacht was seized by Iran in the Persian Gulf and
that five U.K. nationals were being held.
Crude quickly climbed $1.23
and settled at $77.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The yacht may have strayed
inadvertently into Iranian waters when it was stopped last Wednesday, British
officials said.
The jump in prices comes as
the gap between what drivers are paying for gasoline in the U.S. compared with
a year ago is widening. That gap will likely grow through December, largely
because prices were in freefall last year at this time.
Fed moves to drain some
money out of economy
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
Federal Reserve is fine-tuning a strategy to reel in some of the unprecedented
amount of money that's been pumped into the economy during the financial
crisis.
The Federal Reserve Bank of
New York said Monday that investors and others shouldn't conclude anything about
when the central bank will reverse course and start boosting interest rates and
removing other supports to fend off inflation.
The upcoming operations will
involve so-called reverse repurchase agreements. That's when the Fed sells
securities from its portfolio, with an agreement to buy them back later.
Reverse repos are one tool
the Fed can use to drain some money it has plowed into the economy to ease
financial troubles.
Don't bet newspapers will
get rich shunning Google
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --
There's an intriguing idea floating around the media: Microsoft Corp. wants to
undercut Google so badly in Internet search that it might pay newspapers to
withhold their content from Google. Just don't count on that turning into a
lucrative plan for newspapers.
The unorthodox strategy
faces stumbling blocks, starting with this one: Microsoft is unlikely to fund a
Google boycott, according to three people familiar with Microsoft's discussions
with a variety of publishers. These people spoke on condition of anonymity because
the talks are still in early stages.
Court hears Vioxx lawsuit
arguments
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Lawyers
for Merck & Co. told the Supreme Court Monday that investors waited too
late and didn't do all of the necessary investigations to sue the drug maker over
whether it properly warned about the risks of its blockbuster painkiller Vioxx.
Whether the high court
agrees with the drug maker will help clarify the legal standards for
determining exactly when the clock starts running for the two-year window to sue
a company accused of defrauding investors.
Merck wants the high court
to overturn a decision by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that will let
proceed a class-action securities lawsuit related to the tens of billions of
dollars in shareholder value lost overnight after Merck pulled Vioxx off the
market.
eBay fined in France for
selling upscale perfumes
PARIS (AP) -- Online auction
site eBay Inc. was fined euro1.7 million ($2.5 million) by a Paris court on
Monday for failing to stop the sale of famous perfume brands like Christian
Dior, Guerlain, Givenchy and Kenzo -- all of which are owned by luxury group
LVMH.
The decision follows a
ruling last year against eBay for not respecting the system championed by brand
owners such as LVMH and Richemont SA, the Swiss maker of Cartier watches, which
is called selective distribution.
The brand owners argue that
luxury goods are valuable when they are exclusive and available in selected
outlets -- and not in an online free-for-all.
EBay, meanwhile, has been
calling for a change in European antitrust rules that allow luxury
manufacturers to choose who can sell their branded goods online.
Court won't disturb $82.6M
award in SUV rollover
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme
Court has left in place an $82.6 million award to a woman who was paralyzed
after her Ford Explorer rolled over.
The justices on Monday
rejected Ford Motor Co.'s challenge to the portion of the award, $55 million,
that was intended as punitive damages. Ford argued that it should not be
punished because its design of the vehicle met federal safety standards.
A California state appeals
court earlier rejected Ford's contention and upheld the award to Benetta
Buell-Wilson.
She was driving on an
interstate east of San Diego in January 2002 when she swerved to avoid a metal
object and lost control of her 1997 Explorer, which rolled 4 1/2 times. The
mother of two was paralyzed from the waist down when the roof collapsed on her
neck, severing her spine.
By The Associated Press
The Dow rose 34.92, or 0.3
percent, to 10,344.84.
The broader S&P 500
index rose 4.14, or 0.4 percent, to 1,095.63, and the Nasdaq composite index
rose 6.16, or 0.3 percent, to 2,144.60.
Crude quickly climbed $1.23
and settled at $77.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In other Nymex trading,
heating oil for December delivery added 5.6 cents to settle at $2.0181 a
gallon. Gasoline added 7.46 cents to settle just above $2 a gallon. Natural gas
shed nearly 7 percent, or 34.4 cents to settle at $4.848 per 1,000 cubic feet
In London, Brent crude for
January delivery rose $1.29 to settle at $78.47 on the ICE Futures exchange.