IN BRIEF

LOS ANGELES

Smart USA unveils new, sportier fortwo

Smart USA unveiled a sportier, lower-sitting version of its fortwo model at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Thursday, as the quirky carmaker continues its push into the small-car market.

The Smart fortwo Brabus is a partnership between Smart and the German aftermarket tuning company Brabus, Smart said.

Smart will start the coupe version of the fortwo Brabus at $17,990 and the cabriolet version at $20,990.

JACKSON, Miss.

Mississippi casino revenue rises in month

Mississippi's casino revenues rebounded by $9 million in October from a hurricane-plagued September but are down nearly 3 percent from a year earlier amid the national economic malaise.

Mississippi casinos took in $211.1 million in October, up more than 4 percent from September, according to figures from the State Tax Commission.

That is 2.7 percent less than in October a year ago, when revenues totaled $217.1 million, and down 4 percent for the first 10 months of this year at $2.3 billion, compared to $2.4 billion from January through October 2007.

The Mississippi River casinos took in $114.2 million, up about $7 million from September. The coastal market took in $98.8 million, up $12 million from September.

Agencies' foreclosures to halt over holidays

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage-finance companies seized by the U.S. government, will suspend foreclosures and evictions over the holidays.

The six-week halt will begin Nov. 26, a day before the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, and last through Jan. 9, the companies said in separate statements Thursday. The hiatus is designed to give servicers more time to implement a streamlined loan modification program for struggling borrowers.

Harrah's debt plans don't impress Moody's

Moody's Investors Service reacted negatively Thursday to Harrah's Entertainment's plans to offer a private exchange for some near-term debt, stating the casino company's "credit metrics would remain weak" even if the exchange succeeds.

Moody's, a New York-based credit rating firm, downgraded nearly $16 billion worth of Harrah's debt from B3, or highly speculative, to Caa1, which reflects a substantial risk of default for bondholders.

In a note to investors, Moody's credit analysts wrote that the downgrade reflects the firm's view that "gaming demand will fall for a more prolonged period of time" than first believed "given deteriorating macroeconomic conditions," that is, the global economic downturn.

Moody's also lowered Harrah's probability of default rating from B3 to Ca, or extremely speculative.

The casino company said Nov. 14 that it hopes to issue $2.1 billion of 10 percent notes due 2015 and 2018, pushing current maturity dates back at least five years. Harrah's will also offer up to $325 million in cash for near-term maturities instead of notes.

NEW YORK

Decline puts Citigroup shares at 15-year low

Citigroup Inc. shares tumbled below $5 a share Thursday to their lowest level in more than 15 years, a sign that a Saudi prince's decision to boost his stake in the bank has failed to galvanize confidence among increasingly anxious investors.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a longtime investor in Citigroup, said he plans to increase his stake in the bank to 5 percent from less than 4 percent. He also expressed "his full and complete support" of the bank's management -- including Vikram Pandit, who has been chief executive for less than a year.

Citigroup shares fell $1.69, or 26.41 percent, Thursday to close at $4.71 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Galaxy Entertainment will delay Macau resort

Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd., the Macau gambling operator part owned by Permira Advisers LLP, will delay opening its resort near Macau's Cotai Strip to 2010, as the global economic recession curbed tourists' spending.

Galaxy will complete building the two hotel towers and other construction works by the fourth quarter of 2009, it said in an e-mailed statement Thursday. The 2,200-room Galaxy Mega Resort was previously set to open in the third quarter of 2009.

COLUMBUS, Ohio

Economic news sends oil below $50 a barrel

Oil prices on Thursday hit levels not seen in more than three years and retail gasoline prices are now below $2 across nearly half of the country on dour economic reports suggesting a painful economic pullback.

Benchmark crude fell as low as $48.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, levels last seen on May 18, 2005, when oil hit $46.80 a barrel.

Meanwhile, prices at the pump fell again overnight nationally close to $2 a gallon, with the average price in 23 states even less than that.

Light, sweet crude for fell $4.68 to settle at $49.42 in Nymex trading.

NEW YORK

Bonds higher on fears of carmaker collapse

Investors flooded into government debt again on Thursday, launching the 30-year Treasury bond to a huge one-day gain as worries mounted about an auto industry collapse.

The Treasury's benchmark 10-year bill rose 1.78, to 103.63, and the yield, which moves in the opposite direction from the price, was at 3.14 percent, down from 3.38 percent late Tuesday.

The 30-year bond rose more than 9 points, hurtling its yield down to 3.46 percent -- the lowest level since the government started issuing the bond in 1977 -- from 3.91 percent Wednesday.