AP
Business Highlights
Monday November 3, 7:35 pm ET

Auto sales drop to dire level as GM's fall 45 percent

DETROIT (AP) -- U.S. auto sales dropped to their lowest level in more than 17 years last month as consumers frightened by Wall Street turmoil stayed away from showrooms, prompting some auto company executives to predict dire consequences if the market doesn't improve.

By the time all automakers reported their numbers Monday, sales had dropped 32 percent to just over 838,156 vehicles, the lowest monthly sales figure since January 1991, according to Autodata Corp. and Ward's AutoInfoBank. GM's sales plunged 45 percent in October, the worst drop of any major automaker.

Manufacturing sector contracts in October

NEW YORK (AP) -- Manufacturers, already hit by mounting job losses, saw business plummet to the lowest level in 26 years in October. Sharply lower auto sales and shrinking construction spending, meanwhile, provided more evidence the U.S. has entered a recession that may be deep and prolonged.

The Institute for Supply Management said Monday its manufacturing index fell to 38.9, the lowest reading since September 1982, when the country was near the end of a 16-month recession. Any reading below 50 signals contraction.

Stocks end quiet session mixed ahead of election

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street ended the calmest session in recent memory with a narrowly mixed performance Monday as investors largely looked past a weak reading on the manufacturing sector and focused on the election.

Before finishing essentially flat, the Dow Jones industrials moved in a range of 155 points -- well below October's average daily swing of 594. While trading was quiet, including the often-volatile final hour, the calm doesn't necessarily mean the market has overcome all its worries; analysts said investors weren't making big moves ahead of the voting.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 5.18, or 0.06 percent, to 9,319.83, after rising as much as 86 and falling 70.

$900 billion in gov't borrowing seen through March

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government, raising cash to pay for the array of financial rescue packages, said Monday it plans to borrow $550 billion in the last three months of this year -- and that's just a down payment.

Treasury Department officials also projected the government would need to borrow $368 billion more in the first three months of 2009, meaning the next president will confront an ocean of red ink.

The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Budget estimates all the government economic and rescue initiatives, starting with the $168 billion in stimulus checks issued earlier this year, total even more -- an eye-popping $2.6 trillion.

Another economic report, another drop for oil

HOUSTON (AP) -- A worsening economic climate pushed crude futures downward and depressed gasoline futures even further Monday, one bit of good news for consumers amid a flurry of dour economic reports.

Gasoline futures tumbled nearly 9 percent with the release of the latest data suggesting to economists that the United States is in recession.

After trading above $69 per barrel, light, sweet crude for December delivery tumbled $3.87 to settle at $63.91 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Fed's latest survey finds tighter loan standards

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Banks tightened the spigots further on all sorts of lending, from home mortgages to credit cards and business loans, as the worst financial crisis in seven decades took a bigger toll on the economy.

The Federal Reserve said Monday that its latest quarterly survey of bank lending practices found high numbers of banks reporting tighter credit standards across a broad range of loan products. Nearly 60 percent of banks responding to the survey said they had tightened lending standards on credit card debt.

Circuit City to close 155 stores, cut US jobs

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Circuit City Stores Inc. said Monday it is closing about 20 percent of its U.S. stores -- cutting thousands of jobs -- in an effort to return to profitability as it finds consumers reluctant to spend and its vendors less eager to give it credit.

The nation's No. 2 consumer electronics retailer said it will shut 155 of its more than 700 stores and leave at least a dozen markets entirely, including Phoenix and Atlanta, by Dec. 31. It will lay off about 17 percent of its domestic work force, which could affect up to 7,300 people.

Goodyear 3Q profit falls, but beats view

AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. said Monday it sold fewer tires in the third quarter as the U.S. auto industry slowed down, but on average earned more for each tire and beat Wall Street's earnings expectations.

Earnings for the biggest U.S. tiremaker dropped sharply in the third quarter from a year ago, when it got a $517 million one-time lift from the sale of its Engineered Products unit. Goodyear earned $31 million, or 13 cents per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30, down from $668 million, or $2.75 per share, a year ago.

MasterCard reports 3Q loss on settlement charge

PURCHASE, N.Y. (AP) -- MasterCard said Monday that it swung to a loss in the third quarter, hurt by a hefty legal charge, but adjusted results beat Wall Street's expectations as volume and transactions both rose.

The Purchase, N.Y.-based credit card company lost $193.6 million, or $1.49 per share, in the July-to-September period. This compares with a profit of $314.5 million, or $2.31 per share, a year earlier.

As previously announced, MasterCard recorded an after-tax charge of $515.5 million during the quarter related to a settlement agreement with Discover Financial Services LLC.

S&P: Global markets lose record $5.79T in October

NEW YORK (AP) -- World equity markets lost an estimated $5.79 trillion during October, the biggest monthly loss ever, Standard & Poor's Index Services said Monday.

The October loss eclipsed the previous record, which was set just one month earlier, when 52 global equity markets lost a combined $4 trillion. Through the first 10 months of the year, world markets have lost about $16.22 trillion, according to S&P research.

Though U.S. markets accounted for nearly 40 percent of the losses during the month, they performed better than the average world market.

By The Associated Press

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 5.18, or 0.06 percent, to 9,319.83.

Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.45, or 0.25 percent, to 966.30, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 5.38, or 0.31 percent, to 1,726.33.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 0.98, or 0.18 percent, to 538.50.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery tumbled $3.87 to settle at $63.91 on the New York Mercantile Exchange after trading above $69 per barrel.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures slipped more than 13 cents to $1.36 a gallon. Heating oil fell 10 cents at $1.98 a gallon and natural gas for December delivery rose 5 cents to fetch $6.84 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, December Brent crude fell $4.84 to $60.48 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.