• FINANCIAL & BUSINESS NEWS

Last Update on November 20, 2009 13:01 EST

Stocks fall for 3rd day as dollar strengthens

NEW YORK (AP) -- The stock market is losing ground for a third straight day as investors grow uneasy about a rising dollar and spiking demand for the safest government debt.

A disappointing earnings report from computer maker Dell is weighing on technology shares and hurting the Nasdaq composite index.

Demand for safe havens is higher after European Central Bank president said the ECB plans to start reining in some of its stimulus programs. That could help keep inflation in check but also slow improvement in the economy.

At midday, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 41 at 10,291. The S&P was down 6 at 1,089. And the Nasdaq was down 17 at 2,139.

Winfrey: Show will end in 2011 after 25 seasons

CHICAGO (AP) -- Oprah Winfrey says her powerhouse daytime television show will end its run in 2011 after 25 seasons on the air.

Winfrey says her decision to end "The Oprah Winfrey Show" came "after much prayer and careful thought."

Winfrey held back tears as she talked to the studio audience today. She thanked viewers who invited her into their living rooms over the years.

The 55-year-old Winfrey says that when the show started in 1986, she was nervous.

She says she never could have imagined the "yellow brick road of blessings" that led her to this moment.

Ohio AG sues credit agencies for public pensions

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio's attorney general has sued the three credit ratings agencies alleging that they gave unjustifiably high ratings to mortgage-backed securities that lost at least $457 million for five Ohio public pension funds.

Attorney General Richard Cordray filed the suit today in U.S. District Court in Ohio. He says that Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service, and Fitch Ratings assured the pension funds that mortgage-backed securities had the highest ratings and lowest risk.

The securities then plummeted in value as the housing market nose-dived over the past few years. Cordray alleges in the lawsuit that the agencies slapped the high rating on securities in return for high fees paid by those they were rating.

Messages seeking comment were left with the three agencies.

Valero shuts refinery as conditions worsen

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) -- Valero Energy says it is permanently closing its Delaware oil refinery, where 550 workers will lose their jobs.

The company says it must close the Delaware City refinery because of poor economic conditions.

Demand for fuel has been falling for some time and the recession has made things worse, squeezing profit margins for companies like Valero.

The company tried to sell the refinery but found no buyers.

The state says it will try to help those who are losing jobs. Valero cut 150 jobs at the refinery in September.

D.R. Horton fiscal 4th-quarter loss narrows

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- D.R. Horton says its loss in its fiscal fourth quarter narrowed despite a plunge in revenue as the homebuilder wrote down fewer costs.

The loss for the quarter ended in September was $231.9 million, or 73 cents per share, compared with a loss of $799.9 million, or $2.53 per share, a year earlier.

Inventory writedown costs and other expenses totaled $192.6 million pretax in the latest quarter, versus $1.1 billion in 2008.

Revenue fell 42 percent to $1.01 billion.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters forecast a quarterly loss of 30 cents per share on revenue of $1.11 billion.

D.R. Horton says sales orders during the quarter rose 26 percent from last year, but more foreclosures, high inventories and rising unemployment remain a challenge for the industry.