Friday, November 20, 2009 4:34 p.m.

Business*

Photo by ELISE AMENDOLA / AP

Shoppers leave a Kmart store Thursday in Somerville, Mass. The retailer reports strong sales of toys, home goods and shoes.

ADVERSTISMENT

Foreclosures on prime loans surge

Job losses seen overtaking risky lending as top cause of defaults

By DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE PRESS SERVICES
Posted: November 20, 2009 5:52 a.m.

Rising unemployment led to a spike in foreclosures on prime fixed-rate mortgage loans in the third quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday.
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Ruling allows utility to exit Entergy pact

Savings forecast for state; Louisiana appeal expected

By David Smith
Posted: November 20, 2009 5:50 a.m.

Entergy Arkansas Inc. can withdraw from the costly “system agreement” it shares with five other Entergy Corp. subsidiaries, federal regulators ruled Thursday.
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Sears Holdings trims quarterly loss

Kmart sales bump, cost-cutting help; retailer said to have long way to go

By ASHLEY M. HEHER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted: November 20, 2009 4:15 a.m.

Struggling retailer Sears Holdings Corp. posted a smaller third-quarter loss Thursday as it cut costs and was helped by the first positive sales performance at its Kmart division in more than four years.
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AOL offers buyouts to one-third of work force

By ANDREW VANACORE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted: November 20, 2009 4:14 a.m.

AOL LLC, the Internet company, is looking to shed more than a third of its work force as it prepares to spin off from Time Warner Inc. next month.
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Iberiabank in shape to grab failed banks

Recent takeovers double firm’s assets

By ALAN SAYRE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted: November 20, 2009 4:14 a.m.

A Louisiana banking company sees the worst rash of bank failures in two decades as fertile ground to expand well beyond the state line.
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2 Tyson veterans put into top jobs

Expect no big changes, 1 says

By Stacey Roberts
Posted: November 20, 2009 4:12 a.m.

Tyson Foods Inc. on Thursday promoted two division leaders to pilot the Springdale-based protein-processing company 11 months after it tapped a retired executive as interim chief.
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Utah auction draws few drillers

Difficulty obtaining leased land scares oil, gas firms, some say

By PAUL FOY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted: November 20, 2009 4:09 a.m.

Drillers say it’s getting so difficult to obtain an oil and-gas lease in the Rocky Mountains under the administration of President Barack Obama that many aren’t bothering to show up for auctions.
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House panel favors broad audits of Fed

By EDMUND L. ANDREWS THE NEW YORK TIMES
Posted: November 20, 2009 4:09 a.m.

A House panel voted Thursday to let Congress carry out extensive new oversights of the Federal Reserve’s policy decisions and operations.
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NEWS IN BRIEF

Posted: November 20, 2009 4:08 a.m.

Verizon lays off more Alltel workers Verizon Wireless on Thursday announced that it has laid off another round of former Alltel Corp. employees, but declined to say how many.
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Business news in brief

By DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE PRESS SERVICES
Posted: November 20, 2009 4:05 a.m.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “What you’re going to have is a void of decent size banks that can loan.” Michael Rose, industry analyst for Raymond James Article, 1D
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MARKET REPORT: Worrisome reports whack stocks

By SARA LEPRO AND TIM PARADIS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted: November 20, 2009 4:04 a.m.

Signs of a subdued economic recovery sent investors out of stocks Thursday and in search of safer assets.
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Dell profit falls 54%; firm loses No. 2 spot

By JORDAN ROBERTSON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted: November 20, 2009 4:04 a.m.

Dell Inc. said Thursday that its net income dropped 54 percent in the latest quarter amid signs the company isn’t fully benefiting from the computer industry’s fledgling recovery.
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U.S. pulls rule on investment advice

By DAVID PITT THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted: November 20, 2009 4:03 a.m.

The federal government has decided to abandon a Bush administration plan that would have permitted mutual fund companies and brokerage firms to offer investment advice to 401(k) customers.
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Offered Entergy alternative to coal plant, utility tells PSC

By Matthew S.L. Cate
Posted: November 19, 2009 5:50 a.m.

A Florida utility with a large but mostly idle gas-fired power plant at El Dorado has offered an alternative to Entergy Arkansas Inc.’s $780 million plan to upgrade one of its coal-fired plants.
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Tighter controls on market urged

By Alex Daniels
Posted: November 19, 2009 5:08 a.m.

Federal regulators should insist on stricter rules for companies trading in the derivatives market, said Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, in testimony Wednesday before the Senate Agriculture Committee.
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