Business

NEW YORK - Electronics sellers and online merchants thrived in November, particularly the start of the holiday shopping season, but clothing and luxury merchants struggled, according to estimates released Wednesday. Full Story »

DETROIT - U.S. auto sales struggled to gain ground in November and big improvements aren't expected until people stop worrying about losing their jobs. Full Story »

NEW YORK - The economic recovery seems on track for slow but steady gains after new reports Tuesday showed growth in manufacturing activity, construction spending and contracts to buy homes. Full Story »

DUBAI (AFP) - The Dubai and Abu Dhabi stock markets plunged on Tuesday by 6.25 percent and 5.91 percent respectively in early trade, adding to the previous day's heavy losses amid continuing concern over Dubai's debt woes. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - The Treasury Department said Tuesday it will begin auctioning warrants of Capital One Financial Corp., marking the latest government effort to rein in emergency rescue programs set up during the height of the financial crisis last year. Full Story »

Among the earnings stories for Tuesday, Dec. 1, from AP Financial News: Full Story »

LONDON (AFP) - Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling has warned the EU's new financial overseer against meddling with London's banking hub, saying mis-calculated reforms could drive financial services out of Europe. Full Story »

Of all the villains responsible for the Great Economic Wipeout, the Federal Reserve is pretty far down the list. It's certainly behind members of Congress who deregulated the banks in 1999, allowing once staid institutions to gamble recklessly. Then there are notorious CEOs like Martin Sullivan of AIG, Angelo Mozilo of Countrywide Financial, and Richard Fuld of Lehman Brothers whose greed and hubris wrecked their companies. Crooked mortgage brokers, rapacious Wall Street traders, and millions of irresponsible homeowners were key supporting actors in the revolting drama, too. Full Story »

MINNEAPOLIS - BestBuy.com, the electronics retailer's Web site, said Tuesday it will offer 99-cent standard shipping on most products, except those that require a scheduled delivery. Full Story »

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A bursting bubble in housing prices combined with one of the nation's worst financial meltdowns since the Great Depression likely caused a recession in Rhode Island that has been longer and deeper than most of the country, a federal official said Tuesday. Full Story »

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Public Service Commission set 10-year energy conservation goals Tuesday that are significantly stronger than Florida's major electric utilities had proposed but well short of what environmentalists wanted. Full Story »

(Bloomberg) The U.S. Treasury Dept. will begin taking action against lenders that aren't doing enough to ease mortgage payments for troubled homeowners as part of the Obama Administration's $75 billion pledge to curb foreclosures. Lenders> The> The> "We> Seriously>The> The> Eligible> Mortgage> The> A>Robert> One> The> Bank> "As> The> Full Story »

NEW YORK - Shares of homebuilders ticked higher Tuesday as contracts to buy previously occupied homes rose for a ninth straight month. Full Story »