IN BRIEF
NEW YORK
Demand forecasts send oil prices down
Oil prices that last week seemed on an inexorable path toward $100 a barrel slid more than $3 to the $91 level Tuesday after the International Energy Agency cut its demand forecasts and said crude supplies are rising.
Prices also fell after diplomats said Iran has handed over blueprints key to its nuclear program, meeting a central United Nations demand and potentially defusing the country's standoff with the West.
Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell $3.45 to settle at $91.17 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. As early ago as Thursday, crude prices traded as high as $98.62, a record, and appeared headed for $100.
WICHITA, Kan.
MGM Mirage joins Kansas casino drive
Casino giant MGM Mirage has become the latest player in the high-stakes game to put a hotel-casino in Sumner County near Wichita.
The company has partnered with Foxwood Development Co. of Connecticut, Chisholm Creek Ventures of Wichita and two American Indian tribes in a build the Chisholm Creek Casino Resort on 176 acres near the Mulvane interchange on the Kansas Turnpike. The site, south of Kansas Highway 53, is just across the county line separating Sedgwick and Sumner counties. While Sedgwick County voters rejected a casino, Sumner County voters approved one.
At least four other proposals -- one near the same site and three others near the Wellington interchange -- are expected for casinos in Sumner County.
Hondas, Volkswagens resell best, survey says
Car buyers looking for models with the best resale value would be wise to pick a Volkswagen or a Honda, a survey by Kelley Blue Book shows.
Volkswagen is the brand with the best residual value, while Honda has four vehicles that are tops in various categories, including the Honda Civic for best sedan and the Acura MDX for best sport utility vehicle, Kelley Blue Book said in the survey being released today at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The organization has been publishing its residual value guide since 1981.
Kelley Blue Book forecasts which vehicles are expected to retain the greatest proportion of their original value after five years. The organization considers market conditions, competition, future economic conditions and other factors.
DETROIT
Greektown, union agree on contract
The Greektown Casino in Detroit and its unionized workers have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract.
The deal covers about 1,500 workers whose unions are part of the Detroit Casino Council that represents the United Auto Workers, the Teamsters and other unions.
The UAW says details of the agreement will be provided to workers for their approval.
They're scheduled to vote Thursday on the deal.
ATLANTIC CITY
Tropicana wants union to stop scaring patrons
Days before a high-stakes showdown with state casino regulators over whether its license should be renewed, the Tropicana Casino and Resort asked a federal judge to order the casino's largest union to stop intimidating customers, spreading false information, and interfering with its business.
The casino's parent company sued Monday in U.S. District Court asking for a restraining order against UNITE HERE Local 54, whose criticism of Tropicana management the company estimates have cost it millions of dollars in lost revenue this year.
The company accuses the union of contacting prospective customers to encourage them to hold conventions or meetings elsewhere. It also cited a report the union issued to investors last month regarding staffing levels and sanitary conditions at the Tropicana as "false and misleading."
The union claims the nearly 900 jobs new Tropicana management has eliminated since taking over in January have left the hotel-casino understaffed, dirty and dangerous.
WASHINGTON
Interest rates decline in Treasury auction
Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Tuesday's auction with six-month bills dropping to the lowest level in more than two years.
The Treasury Department auctioned $20 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 3.43 percent, down from 3.55 percent last week. Another $19 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 3.625 percent, down from 3.78 percent last week.
RENO
Gasoline prices keep rising across Nevada
Gasoline prices continued their upward spiral in Nevada over the past month, keeping pace with soaring oil costs and flirting with record levels in the state's northern half.
Reno's average of $3.30 a gallon -- up 18 cents over the month -- was just a penny shy of the $3.31 record set in June, AAA Nevada reported on Tuesday.
In Southern Nevada, the $3.05 in Las Vegas was up 24 cents since mid-October, but shy of June's $3.21.
Statewide, a gallon of regular unleaded was going for $3.15, an increase of 23 cents in a month and up 66 cents in the past year. Filling up in Nevada cost 4 cents more than the national average, which jumped 35 cents.
SAN FRANCISCO
Yahoo settles lawsuit with jailed journalists
Yahoo on Tuesday settled a lawsuit with two Chinese journalists who were jailed after the company provided Chinese authorities with information about their online activities.
Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
The two journalists and a family member sued the Sunnyvale-based company earlier this year after Yahoo HK, Yahoo's wholly owned subsidiary based in Hong Kong, gave Chinese authorities e-mails containing pro-democracy literature. The jailed journalists alleged in the lawsuit that jailers have tortured them and that Yahoo was responsible.
The company has denied any responsibility and maintained it was complying with Chinese law when it ceded the e-mails.
NEW YORK
As investors hunt for bargains, Treasurys dip
Treasury prices dropped Tuesday as investors sought bargains in a stock market that has been badly bruised in recent weeks by credit and economic worries.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 0.44 points to 99.94 with a yield of 4.26 percent, up from 4.22 percent late Friday. Prices and yields move in opposite directions. The bond market was closed for Veterans Day on Monday.
