BRIEFCASE.

Byline: -- Staff and Wire Services

L.A. Auto Show has lots to offer

More than 40 cars and trucks will debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show from Nov. 16 through Nov. 25.

Luxury vehicles such as the $1.4 million Lamborghini Reventon, billed as the most powerful and expensive Lamborghini ever built, will be on display. Ferrari's new lightweight 430 Scuderia will be showcased as will Bentley's new version of its Continental GT Speed. Porsche will debut its most powerful 911 yet, the GT2.

Green Car Journal will announce the Green Car of the Year on Nov. 15. Also at the show, Hyundai will share first glimpses of a sports car concept, Nissan will debut a midsize Murano crossover vehicle and Volkswagen will premiere a mini concept car. New hybrids and vehicles that are use environmentally friendly technologies will also debut.

For more information, visit www.LAautoshow.com.

Service economy slows, but grows

The shriveled housing market might be a drag on U.S. business activity, but it hasn't stopped it. The nation's service economy, like its manufacturing sector, slowed in September but still saw growth.

The service sector hasn't seen a month of contraction in 4 1/2 years, according to the Institute for Supply Management's monthly report.

The ISM's index gauging the health of nonmanufacturing industries registered at 54.8 in September. That's down from 55.8 in August and below the 12-month high of 60.7 reached in June, but above 50 -- the threshold between expansion and contraction.

The trade group's index, now at its lowest point since March, was in line with economist estimates.

Dow index drops below 14,000

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 79.26, or 0.56 percent, to 13,968.05. The Dow moved back above 14,000 on Monday after spending 2 1/2 months below that level amid concerns about soured mortgages, tighter access to credit and the housing market slump.

Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 7.04, or 0.46 percent, to 1,539.59, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 17.68, or 0.64 percent, to 2,729.43.

Another problem for Airbus parent

Just as Airbus began selling its oft-delayed superjumbo as a success story, a report of "massive insider trading" at parent company EADS was leaked to the media Wednesday -- raising the question of whether the beleaguered company can ever get ahead of its problems.

The preliminary report by the stock market regulator, suggesting that EADS executives sold shares and exercised stock options after learning about significant delays to the A380, came less than two weeks before a glitzy ceremony marking the delivery of the first superjumbo to Singapore Airlines.

Deutsche Bank sees Q3 gains

Deutsche Bank AG said Wednesday that it will write off about $3.12 billion in losses from the U.S. mortgage morass, but that gains from asset sales and tax credits will allow Germany's biggest bank to report a third-quarter profit of about $1.98 billion.

In the face of the 2.2 billion euro write-down, the latest to hit major banks in the United States and Europe, Chief Executive Josef Ackermann remained upbeat about the bank's future and the industry.

Bear Stearns announces cuts

Bear Stearns Cos. said Wednesday that it is laying off 310 workers and fusing its two mortgage businesses, after turmoil in the home-loan industry contributed to a dramatic slide in the investment bank's profit this summer.

The news came only hours after Credit Suisse Group said problems in the mortgage market will linger as long as 18 months. It announced a fresh round of layoffs in its commercial mortgage-backed securities division, mostly in New York.

Refinancing help could have flaw

Efforts in Congress to let mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac refinance more at-risk loans could have a key flaw: many of those loans were made with such loose standards that borrowers are likely to default anyway, analysts said.

Top Democrats in the House and Senate on Wednesday urged the White House to do more to help borrowers struggling to repay loans resetting at higher rates. They advocated further raising the caps that limit how much money the two government-sponsored mortgage companies can invest in home loans and securities backed by them.

Judge increases Wal-Mart penalty

Wal-Mart workers in Pennsylvania who previously won a $78.5 million class-action award for working off the clock will share an additional $62.3 million in damages, a judge ruled Wednesday.

About 125,000 people will receive $500 each in damages under a state law invoked when a company, without cause, withholds pay for more than 30 days.

A Philadelphia jury last year awarded the workers the exact amount they had sought, rejecting Wal-Mart's claim that some people chose to work through breaks or that a few minutes of extra work here and there was insignificant.

15 GM factories remain in limbo

In the document that spells out the tentative pact between General Motors Corp. and the UAW, their futures are listed as: "demand and business case dependent," "no future product allocation" or even possible sale or closure.

Fifteen factories in places such as Orion Township; Wentzville, Mo.; and Wilmington, Del.; have been left on shaky ground by the pact that the United Auto Workers hailed as having won unprecedented job security from GM.