IN BRIEF

Liquor, gaming permits extended for Oasis

The Mesquite City Council has extended the Oasis' liquor and gaming permits through July.

The continuance allows the property to keep its bars closed and run reduced hotel operations without losing its licenses.

The council granted a 180-day extension on Tuesday, beginning from Feb. 1, meaning the city permits now will run through July 31 before the hotel's owner, Black Gaming, will need to request another extension.

Black Gaming closed the Oasis' table game operations, company-owned restaurants and a nightclub Dec. 19, under a bank agreement that has been since updated three times. The current agreement is scheduled to expire today.

Marty Rapson, Black Gaming's vice president of marketing, said the extension gives the company more time to evaluate the property's options.

The extension doesn't mean the property will stay closed through July if demand returns before then.

"It's quite capable at any time, if demand is there, to reopen," Rapson said.

U.S. trade deficit slims less than expected

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed less than expected in December to the smallest in almost six years as the recession pushed oil prices and consumer spending lower, reducing imports.

The gap between imports and exports shrank 4 percent to $39.9 billion, the lowest since February 2003, from a revised $41.6 billion deficit in November that was wider than previously estimated, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Imports fell to the lowest since 2005.

Economists polled by Bloomberg News expected the trade gap to narrow to $35.7 billion from an initially reported $40.4 billion in November.

WASHINGTON

Justice Department will look into merger

The Justice Department will investigate the proposed merger of ticketing giant Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. with Live Nation Inc. to see if the combined company would create an unfair monopoly in the ticket-selling business.

Federal antitrust lawyers are "committed to vigorous enforcement of the merger antitrust laws and will conduct a thorough investigation of the proposed Ticketmaster/Live Nation transaction," Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona said.

The deal would match the world's dominant ticket seller, Ticketmaster, with Live Nation, which was once it's biggest client and is the world's No. 1 concert promoter.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D.

Inventory evidence sends oil prices down

Oil prices plummeted below $36 Wednesday on more evidence that U.S. storage facilities are bulging with unused crude.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell $1.61 to settle at $35.94 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

A weekly report from the Energy Information Administration showed that crude inventories jumped by 4.7 million barrels for the week ended Feb. 6. That easily surpassed the expectations of analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., who expected a boost of 3.4 million barrels.

HOUSTON

Former Halliburton unit pleads guilty to bribery

A former Halliburton Co. subsidiary pleaded guilty Wednesday to bribing Nigerian government officials to obtain contracts valued at more than $6 billion.

Kellogg, Brown & Root LLC pleaded guilty to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by authorizing and paying bribes from 1995 to 2004 for contracts to build liquefied natural gas facilities on Bonny Island, Nigeria. The company agreed to pay a $402 million fine.

Toll Bros. posts dip in homebuilding revenue

Luxury homebuilder Toll Bros. Inc. on Wednesday reported a 51 percent plunge in homebuilding revenue and a sharp drop in net signed contracts in the first quarter, as falling home prices, the deteriorating economy and rising unemployment kept many would-be homebuyers on the sidelines.

For the period ended Jan. 31, Toll Bros.' homebuilding revenue was about $409.3 million, down from $842.3 million, a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected revenue of $442.6 million.

NEW YORK

After notes auction, Treasury prices rise

Longer-term government debt rose Wednesday after the Treasury Department managed to auction a record $21 billion in 10-year notes.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 0.38 points to 108.38, and its yield fell to 2.76 percent from 2.84 percent.

The 30-year bond rose 0.66 points to 119.25. Its yield fell to 3.45 percent from 3.50 percent.