AP
Business Highlights
Monday November 24, 6:16 pm ET

Government plans massive Citigroup rescue effort

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rushing to rescue Citigroup, the government agreed to shoulder hundreds of billions of dollars in possible losses at the stricken bank and to plow a fresh $20 billion into the company.

Regulators hope the dramatic action will bolster badly shaken confidence in the once-mighty banking giant as well as the nation's financial system, a goal that so far has been elusive despite a flurry of government interventions to battle the worst global crisis since the 1930s.

Obama asks urgent action on 'historic' econ crisis

CHICAGO (AP) -- Citing an "economic crisis of historic proportions," President-elect Barack Obama urged Congress to pass a costly, job-creating stimulus bill as quickly as possible, a rare pre-inaugural call to action delivered as the outgoing Bush administration approved fresh billions to bail out one of the nation's largest banks.

He blended criticism of Detroit's beleaguered Big Three automakers -- General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC -- with a pledge of support for government aid to help them survive.

Stocks soar after government bailout of Citigroup

NEW YORK (AP) -- The government's latest bailout of a big financial company -- this time, Citigroup Inc. -- sent Wall Street soaring Monday for the second straight session as investors bet that the worst of the financial industry's problems might finally be over. The Dow Jones industrials soared nearly 400 points to 8,443.39, while all the major indexes jumped more than 4.5 percent.

The surge gave the market its first two-day advance since the end of October and the Dow its biggest two-day percentage gain since October 1987, the month of the Black Monday crash. The Dow's 891-point rise over the two sessions also wiped out the 872-point plunge it suffered over the course of Wednesday and Thursday.

US home prices at 2004 levels, sales off 3.1 pct

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nationwide sales of existing homes fell more than expected last month, as economic fears made buyers leery even though prices plunged to the lowest level in more than four years. And the decline is expected to get worse because October's results reflect sales contracts signed before Wall Street's nosedive.

The National Association of Realtors said Monday that sales of existing homes fell 3.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.98 million units in October, from a downwardly revised pace of 5.14 million in September. Sales had been expected to fall to a rate of 5.05 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Oil spikes 9 pct on another Wall Street bailout

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- Oil prices jumped 9 percent Monday, pulled along by a surging Wall Street that reacted to news of a U.S. government bailout for Citigroup.

OPEC President Chakib Khelil said Monday in Vienna, Austria, that if the organization met today, a cut of 1 million barrels would not be enough to support oil prices.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery rose $4.57, to close at $54.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices hit $55.30 at one point.

Oil futures have followed stock markets recently, using equities as a proxy for economic outlook and investor sentiment.

Edmunds sees uptick in Nov. sales over last month

NEW YORK (AP) -- The auto Web site Edmunds.com said it expects a slight improvement in November vehicle sales compared with last month partly due to record-high sales incentives, but volumes will still be sharply lower from a year ago.

Edmunds estimates new-vehicle sales in November of 850,000 units, up 1.9 percent from October's dismal volumes. The figure, however, is down 27.6 percent from sales in November 2007.

HP 4Q results beat views but printer sales fall

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. edged past Wall Street's forecast for the latest quarter, showing some resilience in troubled times, as strong laptop sales helped offset falling printer orders and weakness in some server lines.

Profit slipped 2 percent while revenue grew 19 percent, helped by a huge acquisition.

Electronic Data Systems Corp., which HP bought for $13.9 billion, added $3.9 billion in revenue.

Campbell Soup 1Q earnings down 3.7 percent

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Campbell Soup Co.'s higher soup sales were watered down by commodity hedging losses in its first fiscal quarter, as the soupmaker said Monday that profits fell 3.7 percent even as more cash-strapped consumers reached for its brands.

Shares of the Camden, N.J.-based company tumbled 8 percent as investors worried about the nation's largest soupmaker's ability to keep ahead of currency fluctuations and to translate a bigger thirst for soup into higher earnings.

King Pharma's $1.6B offer wins over Alpharma

NEW YORK (AP) -- Alpharma Inc. has finally agreed to King Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s $1.6 billion cash takeover offer, ending the drugmakers' months-long battle.

On Monday, Bristol, Tenn.-based King said it agreed to pay $37 per share for Alpharma, representing a 54 percent premium to the Bridgewater, N.J.-based company's closing stock price on Aug. 21, the last trading day before King's initial $33-per-share bid.

After Alpharma rejected the original $1.4 billion offer, King raised its bid and said it would take the offer directly to shareholders.

Siemens' Feldmayer to get 2 years probation, fine

NUREMBURG, Germany (AP) -- A state court convicted a former Siemens AG executive and former independent labor leader Monday for involvement in a 30.3 million euros ($38 million) scheme to manipulate union influence over Germany's largest industrial company.

Johannes Feldmayer, 52, a former Siemens board member, was sentenced to two years probation and fined 229,000 euros ($291,000) for breach of trust and tax evasion. Prosecutors had sought a three-and-a-half year prison sentence.

By The Associated Press

The Dow rose 396.97, or 4.93 percent, to 8,443.39.

Broader stock indicators also jumped. The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 51.78, or 6.47 percent, to 851.81, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 87.67, or 6.33 percent, to 1,472.02.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 30.25, or 7.44 percent, to 436.79.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery rose $4.57, to close at $54.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures rose 7.8 cents to settle at $1.1425 a gallon. Heating oil rose 8.48 cents to settle at $1.784 a gallon while natural gas for December delivery jumped 40.8 cents to settle at $6.888 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, January Brent crude rose $4.14 to $53.93 on the ICE Futures exchange.