IN BRIEF

NEW YORK

October retail sales increase 2.1 percent, new tally shows

Stores are heading into the period with slashed inventories, determined not to have the fire sales that characterized last Christmas. But shoppers are still facing tight credit and a weak job market and might wait for fat discounts or not buy at all. That game of chicken will determine the holiday winners and losers.

Sales at stores open at least a year rose 2.1 percent in October, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs tally, compared with a 4.2 percent drop in October 2008. The October results beat estimates for a 1 percent gain and followed a surprising 0.6 percent increase in September.

WASHINGTON

Fannie Mae seeks $15 billion in aid after third-quarter loss

Fannie Mae is asking for an additional $15 billion in government aid after posting another big loss in the third quarter as the taxpayer bill from the housing market bust keeps rising.

The government-controlled company continued to see a dramatic surge of borrowers fall behind as the unemployment rate climbs. At the end of last month, about 4.7 percent of Fannie Mae's borrowers had missed at least three payments. That's nearly triple last year's level.

Fannie Mae posted a quarterly loss of $19.76 billion, or $3.47 per share. The loss includes $883 million in dividends paid to the Treasury Department and compares with a loss of $29.41 billion, or $13 per share, a year earlier.

The results were driven by $22 billion in credit losses as the company continued to build its reserves for sour mortgages.

NEW YORK

Hyatt Hotels, Ancestry.com jump in debuts on market

Two well-known companies shined in their market debuts Thursday despite what has recently been a difficult market for initial public offerings.

Shares of Hyatt Hotels Corp. (ticker: H) jumped 12 percent in their first day on the New York Stock Exchange, closing at $28, as markets appeared to dismiss concerns about infighting among its founder's heirs and tepid hotel reservations around the world.

Meanwhile, investors impressed by Ancestry.com's large subscriber base and growth story pushed the genealogy Web site's stock (ticker: ACOM) up as much as 21 percent on the Nasdaq National Market. The stock closed at $14.20.

Owners of property on Strip plan to file for bankruptcy

Owners of 18 acres on the Strip across from CityCenter plan to file a prepackaged bankruptcy on Nov. 16 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Nevada, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

New York-based FX Real Estate & Entertainment, which had planned an Elvis-themed resort before defaulting on $475 million loan, would file bankruptcy to facilitate an auction sale for at least $256 million, or a liquidation to creditors.

The land that stretches from the Harley-Davidson Cafe on the corner of Harmon Avenue and the Strip to the Smith & Wollensky building just north of the MGM Grand was acquired for $221.3 million between March 1998 and May 2005.

HOLLYWOOD

Wal-Mart pushes discounting, cuts price for upcoming DVDs

In an unprecedented discounting move that could signal a price war that would benefit the major movie studios and cash-strapped consumers, Wal-Mart has slashed the price of a number of the upcoming digital video discs of big-budget summer movies to $10 on its Web site.

That appears to be the lowest price ever offered by a major retailer on highly awaited new releases, people at studios' home entertainment divisions said.

Among the films on sale for $10 are "Star Trek," "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian," "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and "Terminator: Salvation."

The big discounts are only for the top 10 preordered movies on the site. Recently released hits like "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" cost $13.98 and up. In addition to the price cutting, Wal-Mart.com is also offering free shipping on all of its DVDs.