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Fuel costs seen cutting holiday spending

The number of consumers expecting to cut holiday spending is at its highest level in recent years, with most citing high gasoline and home heating costs, according to an industry survey released on Monday. But fewer consumers are saying they are concerned about making monthly payments on mortgage and consumer loans, despite a widespread subprime mortgage crisis that has resulted in a credit crunch.

Lowe's posts lower profit

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Retailer Lowe's Cos Inc said on Monday its third-quarter profit fell 10 percent and it cut its full-year forecast as the U.S. housing slump hurt sales, sending its shares down more than 5 percent. Results at home improvement retailers have weakened as slowing home sales, lower home prices and tightening of credit standards hurt consumer spending on big-ticket projects such as kitchen renovations.

Oil rises on weaker dollar, OPEC

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Oil rose on Monday on the weakening U.S. dollar and concerns over whether OPEC will ramp up production next month to ease supply worries. U.S. crude traded 10 cents higher at $93.94 by 1:49 p.m. EST, after striking $95.15 earlier. London Brent crude rose 12 cents to $91.74.
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Chavez in Tehran: Empire of dollar is crashing

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Monday the empire of the dollar is crashing, a day after his country and anti-U.S. ally Iran advocated action over the weakening U.S. currency during an OPEC summit in Riyadh.
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Oil above $94 as dollar concerns persist

Oil edged higher to stand above $94 a barrel on Monday, supported by a weak dollar and after some OPEC members pushed for action to stem their declining purchasing power.
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Wall Street falls as Citi drags financials

Stocks fell on Monday as a downgrade of Citigroup, the No. 1 U.S. bank, fueled a sell-off in shares of financial services companies on renewed worry about mounting credit losses.
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Toyota says aims for 46 pct rise in 08 china sales

Toyota Motor Corp said on Monday it aimed to sell 700,000 vehicles in China next year, up 46 percent from the year before, after raising its China sales target for 2007 by nearly 12 percent, buoyed by hot-selling models.
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Credit worries hit stocks and lift yen

World stock markets fell on Monday, with European shares slipping into losing territory for the year in another tremor over the credit crunch, while Japan's yen gained as investors cut back on their riskier holdings.
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Fed's Stern: Foreclosures in housing to rise

Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Gary Stern said on Monday he expected the U.S. housing market to weaken further because of a large pool of unsold homes. But employment and incomes were still rising, Stern said, and that would underpin consumption.
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PayPal offers secure way to shop non-PayPal sites

PayPal, the payments service arm of online auction leader eBay Inc, is set to release on Tuesday a convenient way for its customers to make payments on Web sites that don't accept PayPal directly.
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Citigroup faces $15 billion writeoff: Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs & Co analysts downgraded Citigroup to sell and said the largest U.S. bank may have to write off $15 billion for debt losses over the next two quarters, and it placed it on Americas Sell List. The report came after Citigroup's own chief strategist upgraded the nation's banking sector, calling selling pressure overdone.
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Bangladesh cyclone toll tops 2,300

Grieving survivors and rescuers picked through the rubble left in the wake of a cyclone that battered Bangladesh as the death toll reached over 2,300 on Sunday and a government official declared the disaster a national calamity.
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AT&T may bid for EchoStar by year's end: Barron's

AT&T Inc is trying to put together a bid for EchoStar Communications Corp before the end of the year, whetted by the satellite operator's recent stock dip, according to Barron's financial newspaper.
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OPEC summit ends in division over weak dollar

An OPEC summit ended on Sunday in sharp political division over whether to take action over the weak dollar, as heads of state vowed to keep providing Western consumers with an adequate supply of oil.
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Auto sales could hit 15-year low

Three top investors in the automotive industry painted a grim picture on Sunday for the sector in 2008, with one executive predicting a possible slump in U.S. sales to levels not seen in 15 years. The weakest forecast is for a possible 9.4 percent decline. But all three -- Jerry York, an adviser to billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian; financier Wilbur Ross; and Thomas Stallkamp, a former Chrysler president -- were more pessimistic than many in the battered industry.
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US STOCKS-Tech, energy push Wall Street to strong close

NEW YORK, Nov 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Friday after a day of sharp price swings, helping the S&P 500 narrowly avert a third straight week of losses as bargain-hunting lifted the beaten-down technology sector while shares of oil companies advanced on buoyant crude prices.
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Volatility, thin trade seen due to holiday

U.S. stocks are likely to be volatile next week in trade thinned by the Thanksgiving holiday, with investors focused on an expanded look at the Federal Reserve's view of interest rates and the economy.

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