AP
Business Highlights
Tuesday September 9, 6:26 pm ET

Wall Street ends lower on concerns over Lehman

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks tumbled Tuesday, nearly erasing the previous session's big gains, after fresh concerns about the stability of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. punctured a sense of optimism about the financial sector. Each of the major indexes lost more than 2 percent. The Dow Jones industrials fell nearly 300 points.

Meanwhile, bond prices jumped as investors sought the safety of government debt.

Wall Street's pullback came one day after the biggest single-session rally in a month in the Dow so some retrenchment was to be expected.

Lehman stock plunges as Street waits for next move

NEW YORK (AP) -- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. shares plunged to their lowest level in more than a decade Tuesday amid investor concerns that the battered investment bank is running out of options to raise capital.

The nation's fourth-largest securities firm is scrambling to raise enough money to survive the global credit crisis. Lehman has been trying to find a major investor, and could possibly sell part of its investment management or real estate holdings for a quick infusion of cash.

However, word that high-level talks with state-owned Korea Development Bank broke down caused already anxious investors to dump shares of the embattled investment bank.

OPEC suggests production will be left untouched

VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- OPEC oil ministers will likely decide to keep output at present levels, the group's president said Tuesday, suggesting that most members could accept prices at $100 a barrel.

Ministers of the 13-nation organization are expected to make a formal decision late in the day or early Wednesday on what to do about production amid rapidly falling prices.

Oil prices closed below $104 a barrel Tuesday, a 30 percent decline from July.

OPEC President Chakib Khelil suggested most members would rather accept lower-priced crude than see a broader destruction of demand that has occurred over the last several months as oil set one price record after another.

Apple unveils new iPods but shares slip

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs took the wraps off a revamped line of iPods on Tuesday and trumpeted a truce with NBC Universal that means the TV network will begin selling programs again on iTunes.

The iPod announcements were largely expected, and investors were less than energized, sending Apple's shares down $6.24, 4 percent, to close at $151.68.

The iPod upgrades Jobs revealed Tuesday in a theater in San Francisco include two slick new Nano models, oval-shaped devices that Jobs said are the thinnest iPods Apple has ever made. They are less than a quarter-inch thick.

Pending home sales fall 3.2 percent

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Pending U.S. home sales fell more than expected in July as the housing market's struggles continued, an industry group said Tuesday.

The National Association of Realtors said its seasonally adjusted index of pending sales for existing homes fell 3.2 percent to a reading of 86.5 from an upwardly revised June reading of 89.4. The index was 6.8 percent below year-ago levels.

New York AG: 8 student lenders adopt new code

NEW YORK (AP) -- Eight student loan companies agreed to adopt a code of conduct that bans deceptive marketing practices following an investigation by the state of New York, the state attorney general said Tuesday.

Seven direct-to-student lenders agreed to pay a combined $1.4 million to settle the probe, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said. These companies employed bait-and-switch tactics, pushed higher-interest private loans and marketed products so they appeared to be federal loans, he said.

Billions to be shared by Enron shareholders

HOUSTON (AP) -- Enron Corp. shareholders and investors will split about $7 billion from financial institutions accused of participating in the fraud that caused the once-mighty energy company to collapse.

The settlement amount was listed at $7.2 billion, a sum that has been accruing interest since 2002 and includes $688 million plus interest in attorneys fees.

The deal, approved late Monday by U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon, and the attorneys fees are the largest in history in a U.S. securities fraud case.

Feds warns Ford owners about recalled vehicles

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government is urging owners of 5 million recalled Ford vehicles to bring them to dealerships to repair a cruise control switch system that has been tied to engine fires.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday issued a second consumer advisory to owners of certain unrepaired Ford, Lincoln and Mercury sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks, vans and passenger cars who have not responded to previous recalls.

NHTSA said about 12 million vehicles have been part of the recall and nearly 5 million still have not been fixed. A similar warning was issued in February but officials said the rate of the vehicles being repaired has declined.

Reynolds American to cut 570 jobs, realign brands

NEW YORK (AP) -- Reynolds American Inc. and its tobacco unit, R.J. Reynolds, said Tuesday they would cut about 570 jobs, or 10 percent of their American work force, as cigarette sellers prepare to compete more aggressively for sales of smokeless tobacco products.

The company expects the job cuts at its headquarters in Winston-Salem, N.C., to save $100 million by the end of 2010 and $55 million a year after that. Employees will begin losing their jobs in the third quarter, but some cuts will take until the end of 2009.

Reynolds' move comes after its bigger rival, Philip Morris USA owner Altria Group Inc., said Monday it would buy UST Inc., the maker of Skoal and Copenhagen, for $10.4 billion.

By The Associated Press

The Dow fell 280.01, or 2.43 percent, to 11,230.73.

Broader indexes also fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 43.28, or 3.41 percent, to 1,224.51, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 59.95, or 2.64 percent, to 2,209.81.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell $3.08 to settle at $103.26 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement price since April 1.

In London, October Brent crude fell as low as $98.94 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange, slipping below $100 for the first time since April 2. The contract later settled $3.10 lower at $100.34 a barrel.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell 8.84 cents to settle at $2.9247 a gallon, while gasoline prices dropped 9.77 cents to settle at $2.6526 a gallon. Natural gas for October delivery inched up almost a penny to settle at $7.535 per 1,000 cubic feet.