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AP Business NewsBrief at 9:45 p.m. EST
[November 26, 2012]

AP Business NewsBrief at 9:45 p.m. EST


(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Schapiro's SEC successor likely to follow her leadWASHINGTON (AP) _ The leadership of the Securities and Exchange Commission will change next month. Its approach to regulation probably won't. Mary Schapiro will step down as chairwoman after a tumultuous tenure in which she helped lead the government's regulatory response to the 2008 financial crisis.



Cyber Monday likely to be busiest online sales dayNEW YORK (AP) _ Americans clicked away on their computers and smartphones for deals on Cyber Monday, which is expected to be the biggest online shopping day in history. Shoppers are expected to spend $1.5 billion on Cyber Monday, up 20 percent from last year, according to research firm comScore. That would not only make it the biggest online shopping day of the year, but the biggest since comScore started tracking shoppers' online buying habits in 2001.

Eurozone, IMF reach deal to reduce Greek debtBRUSSELS (AP) _ The 17 European Union nations that use the euro have struck an agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a program to reduce Greek debt and put Athens on the way to get the next installment of its much-needed bailout loans. The first disbursement is set to take place Dec. 13, said Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the eurogroup of finance ministers, after Tuesday's decision.


Despite talk of compromise, fiscal deal elusiveWASHINGTON (AP) _ Talk of compromise on a broad budget deal greeted returning lawmakers Monday, but agreement still seemed distant as the White House and congressional Republicans ceded little ground on a key sticking point: whether to raise revenue through higher tax rates or by limiting tax breaks and deductions. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, pressed his case for revenue derived by reducing tax loopholes rather than raising tax rates on wealthy taxpayers, as President Barack Obama insists.

Stocks end lower after a strong weekNEW YORK (AP) _ Wall Street came back to work after the Thanksgiving weekend and faced leftover worries about the "fiscal cliff" and the European debt crisis. Stocks retreated after one of their best weeks of the year. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 42.31 points to 12,967.37. The Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 2.86 to 1,406.29. And the Nasdaq composite index managed a 9.93-point increase to 2,976.78.

Wal-Mart distances itself from fire in BangladeshDHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) _ The garment factory in Bangladesh where a weekend fire killed at least 112 people had been making clothes for Wal-Mart without the giant U.S. retailer's knowledge, Wal-Mart said. Wal-Mart said the Tazreen Fashions Ltd. factory was no longer authorized to produce merchandise for Wal-Mart but that a supplier subcontracted work to it "in direct violation of our policies." AP IMPACT: NYC flood protection won't be easyNEW YORK (AP) _ Inside tunnels threading under a Houston medical campus, 100 submarine doors stand ready to block invading floodwaters. Before commuters in Bangkok can head down into the city's subways, they must first climb three feet of stairs to raised entrances, equipped with flood gates. In Washington, D.C., managers of a retail and apartment complex need just two hours to activate steel walls designed to hold back as much as a 17-foot rise in the Potomac River. If metropolitan New York is going to defend itself from surges like the one that overwhelmed the region during Superstorm Sandy, decision makers can start by studying how others have fought the threat of fast-rising water. And they must accept an unsettling reality: Limiting the damage caused by flooding will likely demand numerous changes, large and small, and yet even substantial protections will be far from absolute.

Intrade boots US customers after federal chargesWASHINGTON (AP) _ Intrade, the online prediction market that gained popularity as an informal oddsmaker for the presidential election, shut itself to U.S. customers Monday after regulators charged it with illegally facilitating bets on future economic data, the price of gold and even acts of war. Hours after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a complaint in federal court, Intrade posted in its user forum and on its news page that it could no longer allow U.S. residents to trade "due to legal and regulatory pressures." Yahoo's stock hits $19 for 1st time since 2010SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Yahoo's shares touched $19 Monday, the first time they have traded that high in more than two and half years. The latest gains extend a rally that has been gaining momentum in recent weeks as Yahoo Inc. buys back its own stock and more investors bet on CEO Marissa Mayer's ability to turn around the long-struggling company.

Nintendo says more than 400,000 Wii Us sold in USNEW YORK (AP) _ Nintendo has sold more than 400,000 of its new video game console, the Wii U, in its first week on sale in the U.S., the company said Monday. The Wii U launched on Nov. 18 in the U.S. at a starting price of $300. Nintendo said the sales figure, based on internal estimates, is through Saturday, or seven days later.

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