Signs of life in stores as holiday shopping begins
The nation's shoppers took
advantage of deals on toys and TVs with some renewed vigor in stores and online
on Black Friday after a year of concentrating their spending on basic
necessities.
Though the first numbers
won't be available until Saturday, early reports indicated bigger crowds than
last year, with people buying more and even throwing in some items for
themselves.
It was an encouraging sign
for retailers, which have suffered through a year of sales declines, and
perhaps also for the broader economy, which could use a kickstart from consumer
spending.
Dubai crisis jolts markets,
but early fears ease
NEW YORK (AP) -- Dubai's
debt crisis rattled world financial markets Friday, raising concerns that some
banks could further tighten lending and stall the global economic recovery.
Stock and commodity markets
tumbled in New York, London and Asia as investors flocked to the U.S. dollar as
a safe haven. But earlier concerns that the crisis might trigger another
financial meltdown seemed to ease after some analysts downplayed the risks for
U.S. banks, which are thought to have little exposure to the Middle Eastern
city-state.
U.S. stocks fell sharply but
rebounded from their lows as investors concluded that the damage might be
contained. The Dow Jones industrial average lost about 155 points, or roughly
1.5 percent, in a shortened trading day, and other stock averages also sank.
Crude prices fall on Dubai
debt jitters
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shades of
the roiling energy markets that were set off last year by the crisis on Wall
Street emerged again Friday with crude seeing the largest percentage drop in
prices since January.
The sell-off this time
followed troubling news from Dubai, which asked lenders for a six-month
reprieve on payments for about $60 billion in debt.
Benchmark crude prices
plunged by 7 percent in early trading, though those declines eased as investors
weighed the chances that Dubai's problems would spread to Europe, Asia and the
United States. It was partly the fear of frozen credit markets last year that
sent crude prices from $147 per barrel in July to about $32 by December.
Dollar falls briefly against
the yen but rallies against euro
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
dollar fell briefly to its lowest level in 14 years against the Japanese yen
Friday but rallied against the euro and other currencies as Dubai's debt
problems roiled currency markets.
Analysts said they expected
the dollar's recent strengthening against some major currencies to be
short-lived. They noted the immense borrowing needs of the U.S. government,
which relies heavily on foreigners to finance budget deficits exceeding $1.4
trillion annually.
Further declines in the
dollar would help boost U.S. exports on global markets. But they won't bolster
the confidence of foreign investors who are needed to buy billions in federal
government debt.
GM: Opel to launch new
models in break-even plan
FRANKFURT (AP) -- General
Motors Co.'s top European official said Friday that a plan for Opel to be
unveiled next month will include a schedule to launch new models and a
financial break-even target.
Nick Reilly's comments in an
official GM blog came as the U.S. automaker finalizes its restructuring plan
for Opel and British sister brand Vauxhall, a program it has said will result
in about 9,000 job cuts across the continent.
GM is currently in
consultations with European government officials and employee representatives.
Reilly said this week that
the up to 60 percent of the job cuts could come from Germany, and that the future
of an Opel plant in Antwerp, Belgium is "uncertain."
FAA transcripts show efforts
to reach Flight 188
After a Northwest Airlines
plane flew past Minneapolis last month, air traffic controllers asked the
pilots repeatedly for explanations about why they didn't heed radio calls,
according to transcripts released on Friday.
The Oct. 21 flight had been
out of contact for 77 minutes before the pilots responded. The pilots told
controllers right away that they had been distracted, but didn't give details,
according to the transcript of their radio conversations released by the
Federal Aviation Administration.
Air traffic controllers
ultimately had the pilots perform several turns to verify that they were in
control of the plane. It landed safely in Minneapolis, and was met at the gate
by police.
Saab: New buyers emerge
after Koenigsegg collapse
STOCKHOLM (AP) -- A
spokeswoman for General Motors' Saab unit says several potential buyers have
expressed interest in the Swedish brand after specialty car maker pulled out of
a deal to acquire it.
On Tuesday, a group led by
Sweden's Koenigsegg Automotive AB dropped out of a deal to buy Saab that had
been in the works since June.
Saab spokeswoman Gunilla
Gustavs says a few potential buyers have approached Saab after the deal fell
through. She didn't identify the potential suitors Friday but said Saab was in
close contact with more than one.
A person briefed on GM's
plans said Wednesday that it hasn't talked to any potential buyers. Saab has
been in a court-protected restructuring since Feb. 20.
Canada high court rules for
Wal-Mart in union case
TORONTO (AP) -- The Supreme
Court of Canada said Friday that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was entitled to close a
store in Quebec in 2005, seven months after workers voted to become the first
Wal-Mart in North America to unionize.
The highest court in Canada
ruled in a 6-3 margin that the multinational had the right to shut down the
outlet in Jonquiere, Quebec, and lay off 190 employees.
A Wal-Mart Canada spokesman
said the ruling is consistent with previous decisions from a Quebec labor
commission and the Quebec Superior Court and Quebec Court of Appeal.
Government delays new ban on
Internet gambling
WASHINGTON (AP) --The
Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve are giving U.S. financial
institutions an additional six months to comply with regulations designed to
ban Internet gambling.
The two agencies said Friday
that the new rules, which were to take effect on Dec. 1, would be delayed until
June 1 of next year.
A key Democratic opponent of
the ban on online gambling praised the action and said it would give Congress
time to overturn a law passed in 2006 when Republicans controlled Congress.
The delayed rules would curb
online gambling by prohibiting financial institutions from accepting payments
from credit cards, checks or electronic fund transfers to settle online wagers.
Deflation, surging yen
threaten Japan's recovery
TOKYO (AP) -- Japan got word
Friday that prices fell again in October, just as a surging yen threatens to
worsen the deflation that is undermining the country's fragile economy.
The core consumer price
index, which excludes volatile fresh food, retreated at a near-record pace of
2.2 percent from a year earlier, the government said. Prices have now fallen
for eight straight months -- a trend that the government highlighted last week
for the first time in three years.
The news came amid
heightened concern over the Japanese currency, which hit a new 14-year high
against the dollar. A strong yen and deflation represent a perilous combination
for the world's second-biggest economy.
By The Associated Press
The Dow fell 154.48, or 1.5
percent, to 10,309.92. It was the Dow's biggest drop since Oct. 30.
The broader Standard &
Poor's 500 index fell 19.14, or 1.7 percent, to 1,091.49, and the Nasdaq
composite index fell 37.61, or 1.7 percent, to 2,138.44.
Benchmark crude for January
delivery fell $1.91 to settle at $76.05 on Nymex.
In other Nymex trading,
heating oil fell 2.79 cents to $1.9622 a gallon. Gasoline for December delivery
dropped 7.14 cents to settle at $1.9262 a gallon. Natural gas for January
delivery climbed 2.9 cents to close at $5.192 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude for
January delivery rose 19 cents to settle at $77.18 on the ICE Futures exchange.