AP
Business Highlights
Monday December 8, 6:42 pm ET

Tribune media company seeks bankruptcy protection

NEW YORK (AP) -- Media company Tribune Co., smothered by $13 billion in debt and a drop-off in advertising, on Monday became the first major newspaper publisher to seek bankruptcy protection since the Internet sent the industry into a tailspin.

Most of the company's debt comes from the complex transaction in which the company was taken private, with employee ownership, by real estate mogul Sam Zell last year.

Anheuser-Busch InBev to cut 1,400 US jobs

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Anheuser-Busch InBev announced Monday it would cut some 1,400 U.S. jobs -- or another 6 percent of its U.S. work force -- to help save the world's largest brewer at least $1.5 billion a year.

It said three-quarters of the jobs to disappear will go from Anheuser's North American headquarters in St. Louis, both at downtown offices and its Sunset Hills campus.

The job cuts go beyond plans Anheuser-Busch announced this summer to streamline costs, before it agreed to be taken over by Belgium-based InBev.

House speaker says talks continue on auto bailout

WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says negotiations are continuing with the White House on a $15 billion auto bailout that lawmakers are hoping to bring to a vote this week.

Pelosi says the idea is to create a viable auto industry and that will require concessions from management, labor, creditors and others.

The measure would rush bridge loans to Detroit's struggling Big Three but would also demand that the auto industry restructure itself in order to survive. It would put an overseer chosen by President George W. Bush in charge of monitoring that effort, according to a draft obtained by The Associated Press.

Wall Street extends big rally to 2nd session

NEW YORK (AP) -- A stock market gaining in confidence shot higher for a second straight session Monday as investors bet that President-elect Barack Obama's plans to increase spending on public works projects will help lift the economy back to health.

The major market indexes jumped more than 3 percent, and the Dow Jones industrials' nearly 300 point advance to 8,934.18 gave the blue chips their highest close in a month.

The rally, which gave the Dow a two-day gain of almost 560 points, extended a period of relative tranquility on Wall Street.

Dow Chemical to slash 5,000 jobs, shut 20 plants

NEW YORK (AP) -- Dow Chemical Co. said Monday it will slash 5,000 full-time jobs -- about 11 percent of its total work force -- close 20 plants and sell several businesses to rein in costs amid the economic recession.

The company, one of the largest chemical makers in the world, expects the plan to save about $700 million per year by 2010. Dow also will temporarily idle 180 plants and prune 6,000 contractors from its payroll.

3M cuts 2008 profit outlook, jobs on weak economy

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- 3M Co., which makes everything from Post-It Notes to Scotch Tape, on Monday lowered its 2008 earnings outlook and forecast 2009 profit below Wall Street expectations, citing slowing revenue in the weakening economy.

3M also said it cut nearly 1,800 positions in the fourth quarter, mainly in the U.S., Western Europe and Japan. The cuts are expected to save $170 million in 2009, and are in addition to the 1,000 jobs eliminated in the third quarter ended Sept. 30.

The manufacturer now expects earnings per share for 2008 will range between $5.10 and $5.15, down sharply from its previous estimate of $5.40 to $5.48 and well below Wall Street's $5.43 average forecast, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Texas Instruments lowers 4Q outlook

DALLAS (AP) -- Chip maker Texas Instruments Inc. said Monday that its fourth-quarter earnings and revenue will fall significantly below earlier forecasts, as the global market for semiconductors continues to weaken.

The Dallas-based company said it now expects to earn 10 to 16 cents per share, down from the prior forecast of 30 to 36 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting a profit of 31 cents per share, on average.

Oil rebounds from 4-year lows to above $43

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- Oil prices rebounded from four-year lows and shot above $43 a barrel Monday as OPEC floated the possibility of a "severe" production cut and several countries announced new measures to boost their economies.

Chakib Khelil, president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said Saturday that the cartel could announce a "severe" reduction of output quotas at its next meeting on Dec. 17 in Algeria.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery gained $2.90 to settle at $43.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

H&R Block reports smaller 2Q loss

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- H&R Block Inc. said Monday its fiscal second-quarter loss shrank as improvement in its off-season tax service was offset by losses in its banking division.

The nation's largest tax preparer on Monday reported losing $135.9 million, or 41 cents per share, during the quarter ended Oct. 31. By comparison, the Kansas City-based company lost $502.3 million, or $1.55 per share, a year ago.

McDonald's same-store sales jump in November

NEW YORK (AP) -- Consumers hungry for cheap meals boosted worldwide sales at McDonald's Corp.'s established locations by 7.7 percent in November, more proof of how the fast-food leader is thriving in a downturn that has eaten into sales at its competitors.

Even recession-weary consumers in the U.S. were enticed by the Golden Arches during the month. U.S. same-store sales -- or sales at locations open at least a year -- rose 4.5 percent from the same month a year earlier, the company said Monday.

By The Associated Press

The Dow rose 298.76, or 3.46 percent, to 8,934.18.

Broader indexes also rose. The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 33.63, or 3.84 percent, to 909.70; and the Nasdaq composite index jumped 62.43, or 4.14 percent, to 1,571.74.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks rose 20.29, or 4.40 percent, to 481.38.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery gained $2.90 to settle at $43.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In other Nymex trading, natural gas for January delivery slid 17.6 cents to settle at $5.566 per 1,000 cubic feet. Gasoline futures rose 9.62 cents to settle at 96.18 cents a gallon. Heating oil gained 6.4 cents to $1.49 a gallon.

In London, January Brent crude jumped $3.68 to $43.42 a barrel.