Business Briefs

Stocks recede, end up after quick start

NEW YORK -- Stocks ended higher but well off their best levels of the day as volatility continued to tug at the market. Stocks jumped early Monday after strong reports on manufacturing and housing but were fluctuating by the afternoon.

The seesaw trade came after the Institute for Supply Management reported that manufacturing activity grew in October at the fastest pace since April 2006.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors said pending home sales increased for the eighth straight month in September.

Airlines larding on new holiday fees

DALLAS -- If you plan to travel around the upcoming holidays, prepare to pay a little more -- again. Several of the largest U.S. airlines have increased a surcharge for travel on the busiest travel days to $20 each way, up from $10.

The surcharges apply to a large number of flights within the U.S. on more than a dozen peak days around holidays, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.

Delta, American, United, US Airways and Northwest all boosted their surcharges on some routes, said Tom Parsons of the discount travel site Bestfares.com.

GAO: Feds unlikely to recoup car loans

WASHINGTON -- Taxpayers are unlikely to recover their full investment in General Motors or Chrysler, government investigators said Monday in the latest review to cast doubts that the government will recoup the $80 billion it poured into the automakers.

The Government Accountability Office concluded that GM and Chrysler likely won't be valuable enough for the Treasury Department to break even since the automakers would have to reach valuations they didn't approach even when they were healthier.

Black & Decker to be sold to Stanley

CHICAGO -- Stanley Works tool company is buying rival Black & Decker Corp. for $4.5 billion in stock, the two companies said Monday, bringing together two of their industry's mammoth brands.

Stanley shareholders will own about 50.5 percent of the combined company, which would be the nation's largest tool maker and be named Stanley Black & Decker. Stanley Chairman John F. Lundgren will be president and chief executive officer. Executives said the deal will cut costs $350 million, possibly including job cuts, and grow earnings per share by $1 within three years.

Rule would affect airline, rail unions

WASHINGTON -- Workers at U.S. airlines and railroads would have an easier time forming unions under a rule proposed by the National Mediation Board.

The rule would allow employees to organize if a majority of those voting favor a union. Current rules require a majority of an entire work group to vote for a union in order for it to be certified. That means a worker choosing not to vote at all is effectively casting a "no" vote.

The issue lies at the center of a dispute at Delta Air Lines. Unions representing workers who worked for Northwest Airlines before it was bought by Delta want the new rules to cover elections for workers at the combined carrier.