AP State Business News

If activist investor Carl Icahn is going to profit from his $1.8 billion bet on Yahoo Inc., the billionaire needs the struggling Internet company's stock to more than double in value.

Mary Jurkonis is leaving her job as publisher of the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza in Incline Village to become the publisher of the Tahoe Daily Tribune in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.

Pouty-lipped Bratz will stay on store shelves until after the holidays, but their fate after that - and that of their parent, MGA Entertainment Inc. - was uncertain Thursday after a federal court ruling banning MGA from making the saucy Barbie alternative.

Nine toy companies, including giant Mattel Inc., agreed to pay a total of nearly $1.8 million to settle a lawsuit over Chinese-made toys tainted with lead, state and local officials said Thursday.

A once-high-flying Silicon Valley financier and former co-owner of the NHL's Nashville Predators was charged Thursday with fraud for allegedly bilking investors out of more than $100 million.

Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. says the vice chairman of its board of directors plans to retire Dec. 19, after about 30 years with the company.

Mary Jurkonis is leaving her job as publisher of the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza in Incline Village to become the publisher of the Tahoe Daily Tribune in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.

Internet giant Google has opened an office in Madison.

Broadcom Corp. has fired a senior executive after reviewing allegations that he falsely claimed to have degrees from University of California, Irvine.

The rowdy Bratz dolls have been evicted. Barbie has regained control of the dollhouse, and shares of toy giant Mattel shot up Thursday.

Adobe Systems Inc. released better-than-expected preliminary earnings for the fourth quarter late Wednesday, but said it will cut 600 jobs, or 8 percent of its work force, because of slower revenue growth.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday he won't allow an Energy secretary through the Senate who supports building a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain.

An annual conference focusing on Nevada's tourism industry - the lifeline of the state's visitor-driven economy - has been canceled abruptly because of the financial crisis.

Black Gaming says it plans to suspend casino operations at one of its Mesquite resorts and lay off 500 workers Friday.

Yahoo Inc. is plugging its Internet radio service into CBS Corp.'s webcasting network in a move driven by dramatically higher fees for airing music online.

Yahoo Inc.'s stock rallied Tuesday on a report that AOL's former chief executive believes he can raise enough money in a worsening recession to buy the struggling Internet company for as much as $30 billion.

A Danish adventurer is first in line to ride aboard a privately funded, two-seat rocket ship designed by a California rocket maker to fly about 37 miles above Earth.

A lawyer for environmentalists and tribal activists told a federal judge Monday that the government's approval of a big gold mine was flawed and would prohibit the Western Shoshone from practicing religious rites on a mountain in northern Nevada.

Billionaire media mogul Sumner Redstone and his holding companies have sold his family's 80.3 million shares in Midway Games Inc. for less than a penny each, according to a Monday securities filing.

Federal land managers said Monday they will gather public comment and assess the potential environmental impacts of a proposal to build dozens of wind-power turbines on the mountains north of Carson City and west of Virginia City.

A federal jury on Monday cleared Chevron Corp. of responsibility for any human rights abuses during a violent protest on a company oil platform in Nigeria a decade ago.

A Las Vegas casino company is facing financial difficulties that could delay a $250 million Madera casino planned in partnership with a Sierra foothills tribe.

Hollywood's studio heads, stuck in a standoff with the Screen Actors Guild, are making their plea to the rest of the industry in a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times as the threat of a strike looms.

Northstar and Heavenly have received the lowest grades for their environmental practices among Lake Tahoe ski resorts in a coalition's annual scorecard.

A Lake Tahoe development project was put on hold by regulators after two conservation groups raised concerns over how much land structures will cover.

November was another downward slide for gambling stocks.

A storm dropped a few inches of snow around Lake Tahoe, but it was not enough to allow skiers and snowboarders to hit the slopes in full force yet.

In a move likely to fuel speculation over Yahoo Inc.'s search for a new chief executive, activist investor Carl Icahn has bought up close to 7 million additional shares of the Internet company, according to regulatory filings.

A Malaysian technology conglomerate has repaid $900,000 to Bruce Willis after the actor filed a lawsuit demanding a refund of his investment.

Axl Rose and the band are bubbling over with anger at Dr Pepper's botched soda giveaway.

MGM Mirage Inc. said Wednesday that its outgoing chairman and chief executive is withdrawing from its board, severing all formal ties with the casino operator he led for 13-plus years as he faces increased scrutiny over whether he misrepresented his academic credentials.

A Placer County tribe says the declining economy has forced it to stop construction on a hotel that was planned to complement its casino.

The Screen Actors Guild says it will hold its strike vote next month.

Scott Fuchs will spend Thanksgiving with his family in Florida like he's done for 20 years or so. But like thousands of other Americans, his brother is staying home - travel isn't possible after he was laid off from his job in Maryland.

A group of American Indians and environmental supporters has asked a federal court to block a big gold mining project they say will desecrate sacred Western Shoshone religious sites in northern Nevada.

Cisco Systems Inc. will close most of its U.S. and Canadian offices for 4 days over the holidays as part of a plan to cut $1 billion in costs in the current fiscal year, the company said Tuesday.

Even as its fourth-quarter profit beat Wall Street expectations, Warner Music Group Corp. Chief Executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. said Tuesday the company was keeping a tight rein on CD shipments ahead of what could be a rocky Christmas season.

Even in troubled times, Hewlett-Packard Co. has managed to stack up some impressive gains.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will knock $3 off the price when a California customer discovers a problem with its price-scanners, authorities said Monday.

With timing made for the movies, the Hollywood writers union now claims studios are stiffing them for work used on the Internet - just as the Screen Actors Guild plans to ask its members for a vote to strike over Internet payments.

Casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. says one of its board members has resigned because of increased demands on his "personal business interests," prompting the company to replace him on its audit committee to satisfy requirements of the New York Stock Exchange.

The Orange County Register has agreed to a multimillion-dollar class-action settlement with its newspaper carriers after a years-long dispute.

Hewlett-Packard Co. edged past Wall Street's forecast for the latest quarter, showing some resilience in troubled times, as strong laptop sales helped offset falling printer orders and weakness in some server lines.

Facebook has a won $873 million judgment against a Canadian man who bombarded the popular online hangout with sexually explicit "spam" messages.

Internet criminals have been getting more "professional" for years, trying to run their businesses like Big Business to get better and more profitable at selling stolen data online. Now the bad guys of the cyber-underworld are exhibiting other unexpected traits: remarkable patience and restraint in stalking their victims.

In a Nov. 23 story about gas prices, The Associated Press reported an incorrect amount for the lowest price in the country as determined by the Lundberg Survey. The price in St. Louis was $1.61 for a gallon of regular Friday at self-serve stations, not $1.89 a gallon, according to Trilby Lundberg, an oil industry analyst.

Audiences found the vampire romance "Twilight" infectious in its opening weekend, pushing the movie to a take of $70.6 million.

Word of mouth is one of the most common ways homebuyers and sellers find a real estate agent. Now, there are several Web sites that tout a more scientific approach: ranking agents based on criteria such as years of experience, how many sales they've closed, and the number of positive testimonials from past clients.

Maybe there's something to face-to-face interaction after all.