BRIEFCASE.Byline: -- Staff and Wire Services Oil prices fall to 17-month low WASHINGTON -- Oil prices tumbled to a 17-month low below $56 a barrel on Friday, after a $2.50 sell-off the previous day prompted by mild autumn weather, ample winter fuel supplies and doubts about OPEC's willingness to carry out a recently announced production cut. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), multinational organization (est. 1960, formally constituted 1961) that coordinates petroleum policies and economic aid among oil-producing nations. , which is scheduled to meet in Nigeria next month, announced an output cut of 1.2 million barrels a day last month. But traders have been skeptical that the Vienna-based cartel will stick to its pledge at a time of historically high prices. Light sweet crude for December delivery declined by 45 cents on the New York Mercantile Exchange New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) The world's largest physical commodity futures exchange. , settling and expiring at $55.81 a barrel. It was the lowest settlement for the front-month crude contract since June 15, 2005. However, January crude futures, which become the front-month contract on Monday, climbed 40 cents to settle at $58.97 a barrel. Mercantile IPO (Initial Public Offering) The first time a company offers shares of stock to the public. While not a computer term per se, many founders, employees and insiders of computer companies have found this acronym more exciting than any tech term they ever heard. sees stock surge NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- New York Mercantile Exchange's stock more than doubled in value in its first day of public trading Friday as investors eagerly snapped up the commodity futures exchange's initial public offering. Nymex Holdings Inc. closed at $132.99 a share after being sold at a higher than expected $59 late Thursday. The stock opened at $120 on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. and rose as high as $152. The company, whose market is famous for its raucous, open-outcry trading of oil and gold futures, sold 6.5 million shares, raising $293.1 million after underwriting discounts and commissions, but before expenses. Selling stockholders made about $65.5 million on the IPO. At $132.99 a share, it has a market capitalization Market Capitalization A measure of a public company's size. Market capitalization is the total dollar value of all outstanding shares. It's calculated by multiplying the number of shares times the current market price. This term is often referred to as market cap. of about $11.59 billion. Two Enron execs get smaller terms HOUSTON -- Two Enron executives received sharply reduced sentences Friday after cooperating with prosecutors to help convict the architects of the biggest scandal in U.S. corporate history. Michael Kopper, once the top lieutenant to former Enron Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow Andrew Stuart Fastow (born 22 December 1961) was the chief financial officer of Enron Corporation until the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission opened an investigation into his conduct in 2001. , was sentenced to three years and one month in prison. An hour later, Mark Koenig Mark Koenig (July 19, 1904 - April 22, 1993) is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball. He played for 12 seasons from 1925-1936. He was the starting shortstop for the New York Yankees 1927 Murderers' Row team, and was the last survivng member of that legendary team. , the company's former investor relations Investor relations The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors. chief, received an 18-month sentence. The men were also fined $50,000 that will be sent to a fund for victims of Enron's collapse, and each will be on probation for two years after they are released from prison. Both men will remain free on bond. Wal-Mart eases attendance policy NEW YORK -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has softened its stance on its attendance policy only weeks after the nation's largest private employer implemented changes that made hourly workers more accountable for excessive unexcused absences. Union-backed WakeUpWalMart.com, which had been blasting Wal-Mart's moves as ``antifamily,'' immediately took credit for the changes, which appear to restore some flexibility to store managers and expand the list of authorized absences. But it said the changes fall short. John Simley, a Wal-Mart spokesman, downplayed the revisions, saying that Wal-Mart was simply clarifying some terms and said emphatically that the move was not in response to attacks by such critics as WakeUpWalMart.com, which has been on a campaign to change the world's largest retailer. |
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