AP
Business Highlights
Friday December 26, 6:06 pm ET

Stores cut prices to entice post-holiday shoppers

As stores offered rock-bottom prices and extended return policies, shoppers returned to the malls the day after Christmas. But many were on the hunt for big bargains on specific items or hoping to return unwanted gifts -- not looking to splurge.

Holiday sales -- which typically account for 30 percent to 50 percent of a retailer's annual total -- have been less than jolly. Job cuts, portfolio losses and other economic woes have led many Americans to cut back on their spending. Meanwhile, strong winter storms kept some would-be shoppers at home.

Stocks up after GMAC lifeline, retail sales dip

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street put together a moderate advance in light post-holiday trading Friday after the finance arm of General Motors got a government lifeline, but dreary holiday spending readings dimmed the chance of a big year-end rally. The major indexes finished the week with losses. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 47.07, or 0.56 percent, to 8,515.55.

Americans spent much less on gifts this season than they did last year, according to SpendingPulse, a division of MasterCard Advisors. Retail sales dropped between 5.5 percent and 8 percent compared with last year, the data showed, or between 2 percent and 4 percent after stripping out auto and gas sales.

Brother: Madoff suicide investor lost own money

PARIS (AP) -- The French financier who killed himself after losing more than $1 billion of his clients' investments to Bernard Madoff's alleged fraud also saw his own family's money disappear, his older brother told The Associated Press on Friday.

Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet and his business partner Patrick Littaye were "totally ruined," Bertrand Magon de la Villehuchet said in a telephone interview from his home on Paris' chic Place des Vosges.

Retail gasoline prices drift to 58-month low

Retail gasoline prices tumbled Friday to the lowest level in nearly four years. And while crude futures rose, analysts believed it was a temporary pause in an extended, downward arc as the recession spreads.

But cheap gas is bittersweet news for an economy that shed millions of jobs this year. Pump prices were driven down mostly because Americans are staying home more.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery rose $2.36, more than 6 percent, to close at $37.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Trading was closed Thursday for Christmas.

Amazon says 2008 holiday season was 'best ever'

SEATTLE (AP) -- Online retailer Amazon.com Inc. called this holiday season its "best ever," saying Friday that it saw a 17 percent increase in orders on its busiest day -- a rare piece of good news in a season that has been far from merry for most retailers, including online businesses.

Amazon customers ordered more than 6.3 million items on Dec. 15, compared with roughly 5.4 million on its peak day last year, the company said. It shipped more than 5.6 million products on its best day, a 44 percent rise over 2007, when it shipped about 3.9 million on its busiest day.

Some doubt GMAC move will help car buyers

Several analysts expressed skepticism Friday that the Federal Reserve's decision allowing GMAC Financial Services to become a bank holding company would spur many more people to buy cars.

The Fed approved GMAC's request Wednesday to become a bank holding company, authorizing it to apply for a portion of the Treasury's $700 billion bailout fund and receive emergency loans directly from the Fed.

Analysts had speculated that without financial help, GMAC would have had to file for bankruptcy protection or shut down, dealing a blow to General Motors' own chances for survival. The Fed cited "emergency conditions" in justifying its decision.

Japan factory output has biggest fall on record

TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's contracting economy got a slew of bad news Friday when government figures showed that industrial production plunged by its biggest margin on record in November, the jobless rate jumped and household spending fell.

Output at the nation's manufacturers tumbled 8.1 percent from October, the largest drop since Tokyo began measuring such data in 1953, as Japan's automakers and others slashed production to cope with slowing global demand. A government survey predicted further declines of 8 percent in December and 2.1 percent in January.

King must sell Kadian assets to buy Alpharma

BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) -- King Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Friday it will be allowed to buy Alpharma Inc. provided it sells some assets related to Alpharma's painkiller Kadian.

King said the Federal Trade Commission has ended a required waiting period for King's buyout of Alpharma, and is provisionally accepting a consent order for public comment. After three months of public wrangling, Alpharma accepted a buyout offer worth $1.6 billion, or $37 per share, from King in November.

6 Chinese go on trial for selling melamine

BEIJING (AP) -- Six Chinese suspects went on trial Friday accused of making and selling the industrial chemical at the center of a tainted milk scandal blamed for killing six children and sickening nearly 300,000 others.

Among those in court Friday was the owner of a workshop that was allegedly the country's largest source of melamine, the substance responsible for the health crisis that also saw Chinese food products pulled from stores worldwide, state media said.

Wal-Mart to start selling Apple's iPhone on Sunday

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- Wal-Mart will start selling Apple's popular iPhone on Sunday, the chain said, confirming earlier reports by employees.

Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will become the second independent retail chain after Best Buy Inc. to sell the phone. It is also sold at Apple Inc. and AT&T Inc. stores.

Wal-Mart will sell the phones for $2 less than the regular price with a two-year contract: $197 for the 8-gigabyte model, or $297 for the 16-gigabyte model. Best Buy is discounting the phone by $9.

By The Associated Press

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 47.07, or 0.56 percent, to 8,515.55.

Broader stock indicators also rose. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 4.65, or 0.54 percent, to 872.80, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 5.34, or 0.35 percent, to 1,530.24. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 6.28, or 1.33 percent, to 476.77.

For the week, the Dow ended down 0.74 percent, the S&P 500 fell 1.7 percent and the Nasdaq lost 2.1 percent.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery rose $2.36, more than 6 percent, to close at $37.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In London, February Brent crude rose $1.76 to settle at $38.45 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures rose 5.17 cents to settle at 88.4 cents a gallon. Heating oil gained 4.67 cents to settle at $1.245 a gallon while natural gas for January delivery fell 8.4 cents to settle at $5.826 per 1,000 cubic feet.