IN BRIEF
NEW YORK
Watchers worry bailout won't unfreeze credit
The credit markets finally got a bailout bill, but the stranglehold hasn't let up -- a troubling sign that lenders and investors believe the package will only be a baby step in the long road to economic recovery.
The credit markets, where companies go to get cash loans, have seized up since the bankruptcy of Lehman Bros. Holdings Inc. and in anticipation of the $700 billion plan initially voted down by the House. The House passed a revised version of it Friday following the Senate's approval earlier this week, but anxiety about its effectiveness kept demand for Treasury bills high and nearly nonexistent for other types of debt.
Overall, market participants have begun regarding the rescue plan as a medicine for what's ailing the financial system, but not a cure-all.
"At best, we can hope that it stems some of the more intense risk from the credit crisis. It prevents things from spiraling out of hand here," JPMorgan Chase economist Michael Feroli said.
On Friday, the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, for three-month dollar loans rose to 4.33 percent from 4.21 percent Thursday. That bank-to-bank lending rate has been rising all week, showing that banks are growing less and less willing to lend out their cash for longer than overnight.
HOUSTON
After plan's approval, oil prices head lower
Oil prices slipped in volatile trading Friday after Congress approved a historic $700 billion bailout of the nation's teetering financial industry as the long-term health of the global economy remained questionable.
Light, sweet crude for November delivery fell 9 cents to settle at $93.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
On Thursday, prices closed at their lowest level in two weeks, tumbling below $94 a barrel on doubts that a revamped bailout plan will be enough to avoid a protracted economic slump. Settling at $93.97 a barrel, the price was the lowest since Sept. 16.
SPRING HILL, Tenn.
General Motors starts producing Traverse
General Motors Corp. on Friday officially launched full-scale production of the its new Chevrolet Traverse at its overhauled former Saturn plant on the outskirts of Nashville.
Troy Clarke, president of GM North America, said the eight-seat crossover will appeal to drivers of large SUVs and trucks seeking better fuel economy.
"This is a vehicle that's got the interior space or utility of a Chevrolet Tahoe, but a much better fuel economy and a much tighter exterior package," Clarke told reporters after a launch ceremony at the plant.
NEW YORK
Dividend cuts cost investors $22.5 billion
Dividend cuts in the third quarter took $22.5 billion out of the pockets of investors during what one Standard & Poor's analyst called the worst September for dividends in more than 50 years.
Of the 7,000 or so publicly traded companies that report dividend information to S&P, 138 decreased their dividend during the third quarter of 2008 compared to 21 during the third quarter of 2007.
That marks the worst September for dividends since S&P started keeping such records in 1956, said senior index analyst Howard Silverblatt.
Plaza-versus-Plaza decision will wait
A jury deciding who has rights to the Plaza name in Las Vegas has gone home for the weekend and will continue deliberations on Monday.
They are trying to determine the validity of a lawsuit by the owners of the Plaza hotel-casino downtown that seeks to stop the development of a proposed resort on the Strip modeled after the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
Lawyers for Tamares Las Vegas Properties, owners of the downtown Plaza, say the name has been attached to their hotel since it opened in 1971. They also allege the prospect of a bigger, fancier Plaza on the Strip has paralyzed their plans for renovation. They seek $29 million in compensation.
Lawyers for Elad Group, the company that owns the Plaza Hotel in New York, say their claim to the name dates back to 1906 and add that it is unlikely consumers would confuse their proposed $6 billion luxury resort with the downtown Las Vegas Plaza.
SEATTLE
False report of Jobs' heart attack gets look
CNN-owned Web site iReport.com, which publishes reports written by ordinary citizens, said Friday it will give the Securities and Exchange Commission information about the author of an item that claimed Apple CEO Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack.
The early morning report, which Apple Inc. spokesman Steve Dowling said was not true, sent shares plummeting to their lowest point in a year. The stock recovered around the time the post was removed from iReport.com, but ended the day off 3.03 percent at $97.07 on the Nasdaq National Market amid a broader market slide.
An SEC spokesman declined to comment.
Jobs, who survived pancreatic cancer, has remained quiet about his health despite appearing extremely thin in recent public appearances.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.
Interstate Bakeries lays out recovery plan
Lawyers for Interstate Bakeries Corp. on Friday laid out an ambitious time line that could have the company exiting four years of bankruptcy in December.
Speaking before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jerry Venters, attorneys for the Kansas City-based maker of Hostess Twinkies and Wonder Bread said they planned to file a new reorganization plan this weekend and could send it to creditors for their review by the end of the month.
Interstate Bakeries operates a Wonder Bread-Hostess bakery in Henderson.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
Insurer AIG planning to sell off businesses
The insurer American International Group Inc. said Friday it plans to sell off a number of business units to pay off its massive government loan.
The announcement was expected by Wall Street. But it now leaves investors wondering how much AIG will be able to raise from the sales.
AIG, near failure last month, was bailed out when the government offered it an $85 billion loan. In return for the loan, the government received warrants to buy up to 79.9 percent of AIG.
As stock market sinks, Treasury prices rise
The stock market sank after the House passed the $700 billion bailout plan, sending investors back into longer-term Treasurys.
The 10-year note rose 0.22 points to 103.31, and yielded 3.60 percent, down from 3.64 percent.
The 30-year bond rose 1.09 to 107, and yielded 4.09 percent, down from 4.16 percent.
