IN BRIEF

DETROIT

General Motors stops unplanned overtime

General Motors Corp. has told local union officials at two factories that make its hotter-selling small and midsize cars that it will not allow any more unscheduled overtime, a move seen as a way to further cut costs.

GM is burning through about $1 billion in cash per month and has promised to raise $10 billion through cost cuts and another $5 billion through asset sales and borrowing as it tries to outlast a U.S. auto sales slump that could run into 2010.

Union officials at factories in Orion Township, Mich., which make the Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac G6 midsize cars, and Lordstown, Ohio, where GM makes the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5, each said they were told of the overtime ban Friday.

The officials did not know if the ban affected just their plants or if it was companywide.

NV Energy completes deal for Bighorn plant

The electric utility serving Southern Nevada on Monday said it completed its $510 million purchase of the 598-megawatt Bighorn Generating Facility at Primm from Reliant Energy.

Nevada Power Co., which does business as NV Energy, used cash on hand and borrowings under a revolving credit line.

COLUMBUS, Ohio

Exelon bids $6.2 billion to acquire rival NRG

Nuclear power giant and utility operator Exelon late Sunday night made an unsolicited $6.2 billion all-stock bid for NRG in a proposal that would create the nation's largest power company.

The combined Exelon and NRG would be big enough to power nearly 45 million homes with 47,000 megawatts, Chicago-based Exelon said. It would have a diverse power mix and a market capitalization of $40 billion.

Under the proposal, Exelon would exchange 0.485 Exelon shares for each NRG share. NRG shares that cost $43.95 on July 2 had fallen to $19.33 on Friday.

The transaction is valued at $26.43 per share, based on Exelon's closing price of $54.50 on Friday -- a 37 percent premium over NRG's closing price on Friday.

CHICAGO

Report: Circuit City may close some shops

Shares of beleaguered electronics retailer Circuit City Stores Inc. slid Monday after a report said the chain may close at least 20 percent of its stores to shore up its finances and avoid filing for bankruptcy protection.

Citing unnamed sources, The Wall Street Journal said the nation's second-largest consumer electronics chain was considering closing at least 150 locations and slashing thousands of jobs to avert a Chapter 11 filing.

Closing dozens of stores would let the retailer liquidate $350 million in inventory that could be used to pay real estate costs, including leases on abandoned sites.

Circuit City spokesman Jim Babb said the chain wouldn't comment on the details of the report or "rumors."

Circuit City shares fell 4 cents, or 10.26 percent, Monday to close at 35 cents on the New York Stock Exchange.

WASHINGTON

Interest rates increase in Treasury auction

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction with six-month rates climbing to the highest level since early September.

The Treasury Department auctioned $25 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.25 percent, up from 0.5 percent last week. Another $26 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 1.800 percent, up from 1.1 percent last week.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,968.40 while a six-month bill sold for $9,909.00.

Treasury prices rise as stocks head higher

Treasury prices rose Monday even as stock indexes climbed.

The 10-year note rose 0.25 points to 101.06 and yielded 3.87 percent, down from 3.97 percent.

The 30-year bond rose 1.25 points to 4.26 percent, down from 4.34 percent.