Business News - AP

NEW YORK - Investors halted stocks' three-day losing streak Monday, buying across the market on a range of factors including the weaker dollar and better-than-expected home sales numbers.

WASHINGTON - A lot more Americans are feeling stressed out by debt this holiday season, raising the glum likelihood they'll behave like Scrooge rather than Santa.

MILWAUKEE - Tyson Foods Inc. said Monday a hefty impairment charge in its beef business left it with a loss for the fourth quarter, but said its sales rose and its chicken business was profitable for the second straight quarter.

Economists expect the joblessness that has weighed down the nation's economic recovery will start to slowly abate in 2010, but they predict consumers will continue to keep a tight rein on spending, according to a new survey.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The federal government said Monday that it has found a "strong association" between problematic imported Chinese drywall and corrosion of pipes and wires, a conclusion that supports complaints by thousands of homeowners over the last year.

Retail gasoline prices headed downward to begin one of the country's busiest travel weeks, with more than 33 million people expected to hit the road for the Thanksgiving holiday.

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. - Price-conscious grocery shoppers are being choosy about what they buy to cook at home, even from the value-oriented Campbell Soup Co.

NEW YORK - Consumers continue to take control of their debt as the delinquency rate on credit cards heads toward 1 percent.

LONDON - Shares in British chocolate maker Cadbury PLC hit their highest level in at least five years Monday on reports that another rival, Switzerland's Nestle SA, may make a takeover bid.

NEW YORK - Television retailer QVC has made aggressive plans to keep shoppers watching — instead of mall-hopping — on Black Friday, an event it has traditionally ignored.

BRUSSELS - General Motors Co. on Monday asked European governments to help pay most of the euro3.3 billion ($4.9 billion) it needs to restructure its struggling European operations.

The Associated Press-GfK Poll on debt, stress and holiday spending was conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media from Nov. 5-9, 2009. It was based on landline and cell phone telephone interviews with a nationally representative random sample of 1,006 adults. Interviews were conducted with 806 respondents on landline telephones and 200 on cellular phones.

WASHINGTON - Home sales surged for the second month in a row in October, climbing to the highest level in 2 1/2 years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of an expiring tax credit.

LONDON - The international economy is still fragile and vulnerable to shocks despite recent improvements in financial markets, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund said Monday.

Oil prices rose above $78 a barrel Monday as Iran's war games, aimed at protecting its nuclear plants, deepened tensions in the oil-rich region.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - A cutting-edge French warship sailed into St. Petersburg Monday to show off its capabilities to potential buyers in the Russian navy, whose pursuit of an amphibious assault capacity is frightening some neighboring countries.

LONDON - World markets rose sharply Monday amid further hopeful signs about the global economic recovery. Commodity stocks led the charge, particularly in London, after gold hit another record high.

PARIS - Seventeen executives at Airbus parent company EADS went on trial Monday for allegedly making millions in profits on the back of their company's troubles with the delayed A380 superjumbo project.

FRANKFURT - Germany warned fellow European governments on Monday against offering financial aid to General Motors Europe in exchange for job guarantees, hours ahead of a meeting in Brussels to discuss the future of the company.