Yahoo! News: Business

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• Stocks could sputter with Black Friday eyed (Reuters)

  Reuters - U.S. stocks could sputter next week as volumes dry up in holiday-shortened trading and with a slew of economic reports likely to illustrate the recovery is still fragile.

  
  
• Hershey mulls $17 billion solo bid for Cadbury: source (Reuters)

  Reuters - U.S. chocolate maker Hershey Co is considering launching a bid of at least $17 billion for British chocolatier Cadbury Plc as it seeks to trump a hostile offer by Kraft Foods Inc, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.

  
  
• Bank of America CEO Lewis may delay retiring: report (Reuters) Reuters - Bank of America Corp Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis has said he would consider postponing his retirement if directors need more time to find a successor or smooth the transition to the next CEO, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
• GE-Vivendi talks over NBC Universal stalled: report (Reuters)

  Reuters - Talks between General Electric and Vivendi over the future of NBC Universal have stalled, the New York Times reported on Friday night.

  
  
• Time Warner, News Corp reported interested in MGM (Reuters) Reuters - News Corp, Time Warner Inc and Qualia Capital LLC are interested in buying Hollywood's Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio, home of the James Bond movies, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.
• U.S. lawmakers urged to drop clearinghouse owner cap (Reuters) Reuters - NYSE Euronext , LCH.Clearnet, BATS Global Markets and other firms partnered with banks have urged two U.S. legislators to drop a proposed "rigid" cap on dealer ownership of clearinghouses, according to a letter sent this week.
• New Hampshire AG seeks bankruptcy for mortgage co. (AP) AP - The New Hampshire attorney general's office wants to force a mortgage company that closed suddenly into bankruptcy.
• Ohio AG sues credit agencies for public pensions (AP) AP - The three major credit ratings agencies gave mortgage-backed securities unjustifiably high ratings in return for lucrative fees, losing at least $457 million for five Ohio public employee pension and retirement funds, the state's attorney general alleged in a lawsuit filed Friday.
• Barnes & Noble Nook E-Reader Will Arrive After Christmas (NewsFactor) NewsFactor - In what may remind many consumers of the Amazon Kindle's early days, Barnes & Noble expects shipments of its nook e-book reader to be delayed. On Friday, the giant book retailer said it has sold out its first batch of nooks amid high demand -- and new shipments won't be available until after the holiday shopping season ends.