NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are ending lower, breaking a four-day winning streak, as a drop in the price of oil dragged energy companies lower. The energy sector in the S&P 500 sank 1.7 percent, The index fell 14 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,927. The Dow Jones industrial average gave up 153 points, or 0.9 percent, to 16,461. The Nasdaq fell about 36 1/2 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,382.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil is really down today. It fell sharply after the Energy Department reported an increase in oil inventories that was far larger than analysts expected. The benchmark U.S. crude contract fell $1.97 to $80.52 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell $1.51 to close at $84.71 in London.
FOSTER CITY, Calif. (AP) — Visa says it’ll increase its quarterly dividend by 20 percent. The global payments firm says it will pay a quarterly dividend of 48 cents per share on Dec. 2 to its class A shareholders of record as of Nov. 14. That’s up from its most recent dividend payment of 40 cents per share. The increase raises the annual dividend rate from $1.60 per share to $1.92 per share.
NEW YORK (AP) — AT&T says it gained 2 million wireless subscribers in the latest quarter. Most were from non-phone services such as tablets and Internet-connected cars. Phones are still a lucrative business for wireless carriers, but the rise of tablets and other devices give carriers additional revenue sources. AT&T faces pricing pressure from smaller rivals in the competitive phone business.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge is fining a California company $25 million for misleading 110,000 people to buy into a work-at-home scheme that almost never paid off. The judge also banned The Zaken Corp. from advertising or selling work-at-home business opportunities in the future. According to the judge, fewer than 1 percent of its customers earned any income.
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