WRAL.com - AP Business News

Stocks fall sharply on consumer spending worries

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:08:06 -0500

Investors usettled about the holiday shopping season Monday gave back some of Wall Street's recent gains, sending the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 400 points.

Manufacturing index drops to 26-year low

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:49:12 -0500

A measure of U.S. manufacturing activity fell to a 26-year low in November as new orders dropped for the twelfth consecutive month, a trade group said Monday.

Pilgrim's Pride files for bankruptcy protection

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:09:22 -0500

Chicken producer Pilgrim's Pride is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Ford weighs selling Volvo amid industry downturn

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:16:15 -0500

Ford Motor Co. is considering selling Volvo Car Corp. as the struggling U.S. automaker seeks to raise cash and weather a global automotive sales crisis.

Oil tumbles on more weak economic signals

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:25:39 -0500

Oil prices tumbled Monday as manufacturing activity in the U.S. hit a 26-year low, a showing that was much worse than expected.

Johnson & Johnson buying Mentor for $1.07B

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:09:15 -0500

Health care products company Johnson & Johnson said Monday it will buy cosmetic-product and breast-implant maker Mentor Corp. for $1.07 billion in a move to boost its presence in cosmetic and reconstructive medicine.

Holiday shopping season off to a modest start

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:13:18 -0500

The Thanksgiving shopping weekend may not have been the disaster some had feared, but unprecedented discounts and tempered buying likely resulted in overall soft sales as a buying binge on Friday quickly fizzled. Now, online retailers are ramping up deals to turn skittish shoppers into "Cyber Monday" spenders.

Sacyr Vallehermoso in $10B deal with Citi fund

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:16:15 -0500

Debt-laden Spanish construction company Sacyr Vallehermoso said Monday it has agreed to sell its highway-operating unit, Itinere, to a Citigroup Inc. fund in a deal valued at nearly euro7.9 billion ($10 billion).

AP IMPACT: Under pressure, US eased lending rules

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:23:15 -0500

The Bush administration backed off proposed crackdowns on no-money-down, interest-only mortgages years before the economy collapsed, buckling to pressure from some of the same banks that have now failed. It ignored remarkably prescient warnings that foretold the financial meltdown, according to an Associated Press review of regulatory documents.