IN BRIEF
NEW YORK
Turkish troops leave Iraq; oil prices drop
Oil prices fell Tuesday after Kurdish officials said Turkish troops that entered Iraq early Tuesday have returned to Turkey, reducing worries that the conflict would cut oil supplies from the region.
Jamal Abdullah, a spokesman for the regional Kurdistan government, told The Associated Press that the Turkish troops had withdrawn. They had gone about 11/2 miles into northern Iraq in an operation against Kurdish rebels. The Iraqi government said it was an unacceptable action that would lead to "complicated problems."
The threat of just such a Turkish incursion into Iraq was one of the many factors behind oil's rise to near $100 a barrel in November. While oil futures have since retreated from those highs on a view that global supplies of crude are growing as demand is falling, concerns about supply disruptions remain high.
Light, sweet crude for January delivery fell 14 cents to settle at $90.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after trading as low as $88.88 when the Turkish withdrawal was announced. Analysts attributed some of Tuesday's price volatility to the January contract's expiration. February crude fell 97 cents to settle at $90.08 a barrel on the Nymex.
NEW YORK
Goldman Sachs gives wary outlook for 2008
Goldman Sachs Group on Tuesday gave a cautious outlook for Wall Street in 2008 because of the ongoing credit crisis, even as the world's largest investment bank chalked up another record-breaking year.
During the fiscal fourth quarter, Goldman's $3.17 billion profit was fueled by higher investment banking fees, one-time asset sales, and surprisingly strong debt trading results. Though quarterly results easily surpassed Wall Street's projections, for some analysts they lacked the kind of power and finesse investors have come to expect.
There had been wide hope that Goldman's cadre of top bankers would be able to take advantage of the market dislocation by scooping up distressed securities and locking in profit. Instead, Goldman said it faced one of the worst Novembers on record, which has only somewhat loosened this month.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.
Sprint Nextel selects new president-CEO
Sprint Nextel Corp. reached out to a familiar face Tuesday in its search for a leader to overcome disappointing subscriber numbers and make the nation's third-largest wireless provider competitive again.
The Reston, Va.-based company named Dan Hesse, chairman and chief executive of wireline company Embarq Corp., as its new president and chief executive officer.
Hesse, an almost 30-year telecommunications veteran who at one time ran AT&T Wireless, operated Sprint's local telephone division for a year before it was spun off to form Embarq last year. Both Embarq and Sprint's operational headquarters are based in Overland Park, Kan.
He replaces Gary Forsee, who was ousted from Sprint Nextel in October following several quarters of falling subscriber numbers and other operational troubles.
MATTOON, Ill.
Site chosen for new kind of coal plant
Residents celebrated when this central Illinois city was chosen Tuesday as the site of a futuristic power plant that would burn coal without emitting global warming gases, then got to work figuring out what comes next.
The $1.8 billion plant known as FutureGen, which would store carbon dioxide deep underground, is expected to bring hundreds of jobs to this central Illinois town and will be built on several hundred acres. Mattoon was chosen over nearby Tuscola and two Texas towns, Jewett and Penwell.
But hours later, the U.S. Department of Energy warned that projected cost overruns involving the plant "require a reassessment of FutureGen's design."
The FutureGen Alliance, a consortium of 12 U.S. and foreign energy companies, announced the site against the advice of the DOE, which had said it was not ready to sign off on the site.
Facebook to adopt text message rules
Facebook, owner of the second-most popular Internet social-networking site, agreed to adopt procedures designed to stop members' text messages from being sent and charged to recycled mobile phone numbers.
The policies resolve a lawsuit by an Indiana woman who claimed Facebook failed to remove from its files members' old mobile phone numbers. The practice caused mass numbers of text messages, including some with adult content, to be transmitted to users of recycled mobile numbers, including the woman. They were charged as much as 15 cents, a fee shared by carriers and Facebook.
Facebook agreed to notify recipients that the text messages are from Facebook, to tell recipients that they can stop such messages by replying "off," to get lists of recycled numbers from phone carriers so Facebook can remove them from files and to add language in customer agreements urging members to notify Facebook when they change phone numbers.
SAN FRANCISCO
Apple may bring iPhone to Japan
Apple is negotiating with Japan's top mobile phone carrier to launch the iPhone in Japan, though the cut of subscriber revenue that Apple wants has been a sticking point, a report published Tuesday said.
The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported Tuesday that Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs met recently with NTT DoCoMo President Masao Nakamura to discuss launching the iPhone in Japan.
Apple has said that it plans to launch the device in Asia in 2008 but has not provided details.
If a deal with NTT DoCoMo falls through, Apple is also talking with Softbank, according to the report.
NEW YORK
Treasury prices higher after liquidity injection
Treasury prices rose Tuesday after a massive liquidity injection by the European Central Bank lifted hopes that a global year-end lending crunch can be avoided.
The 10-year benchmark Treasury note rose 0.22 points to 101.06 with a yield of 4.12 percent, down from 4.15 percent late Monday. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The 30-year long bond advanced 0.63 points to 107.41 with a yield of 4.54 percent, down from 4.58 percent.
