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NEW YORK (AP) — Mounting signs of weakness in the global economy and a poor start to the holiday shopping season knocked the stock market lower today. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 14.12 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 2,053.44. The losses were widespread: General Electric and other industrial companies led eight of the 10 sectors in the index down. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 51.44 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,776.80, while the Nasdaq composite fell 64.28 points, or 1.3 percent, to 4,727.35.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — After nearly a decade in legal wrangling, a billion-dollar class-action lawsuit over Apple's iPod music players heads to trial tomorrow in a California federal court. Attorneys for consumers and electronics retailers claim Apple Inc. used software in its iTunes store that forced would-be song buyers to use iPods instead of cheaper music players made by rivals. The software is no longer used, but the plaintiffs argue that it inflated the prices of millions of iPods sold between 2006 and 2009 — to the tune of $350 million.
NEW YORK (AP) — Chip maker Cypress Semiconductor is buying flash memory product maker Spansion in an all-stock deal worth $1.59 billion. Spansion stockholders will get 2.457 shares of Cypress stock for every Spansion share they own. Shareholders of each side will own about 50 percent of the new company, which will keep the name Cypress Semiconductor Corp.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The FBI has confirmed it is investigating a recent hacking attack at Sony Pictures Entertainment, which reportedly caused major internal computer problems at the film studio last week. Sony's corporate email and other internal systems were knocked offline, according to reports by Variety and other trade publications. Sony workers reportedly saw a message appear on their computer screens that said "Hacked by #GOP," which may be the initials of a group calling itself Guardians of Peace.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it's investigating whether Graco took too long to report a safety defect in its child car seats. Graco Children's Products Inc., a division of Atlanta-based Newell Rubbermaid Inc., recalled 6.1 million car seats this year because the buckles could get stuck. That could put a child's life at risk in an emergency. It is the largest child seat recall in U.S. history.
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