Precious metals stepped lower Thursday as the U.S. dollar showed some strength and oil prices tumbled below $36 a barrel for the first time since the middle of 2004. New York silver, gold and platinum futures fell 2.6 percent, 0.9 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

New York State must be the leader in clever, snarky names for taxes. First, facing a huge budget deficit and noting just how sales to e-tailers was siphoning off sales tax, they imposed an "Amazon Tax," named after Amazon.com. Now it is apparently looking at a possible "iPod tax," to plug the huge budgbet deficit gap it has.

Chrysler LLC, awaiting word on a federal bailout, said Wednesday it will idle all of its 30 plants for at least a month in an effort to bring output closer in line with plunging demand for new cars and trucks.

OPEC oil ministers agreed their deepest output cut ever on Wednesday, cutting 2.2 million barrels per day from oil markets in a race to balance supply with rapidly crumbling demand for fuel.

Gold gained Wednesday as weakness in the U.S. dollar continued, and despite plunging oil prices. New York silver, gold and platinum futures rose 6.7 percent, 3.1 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.

Analysis and Discussion with Jamie Jackson of RiverSource Investments

Motorola Inc. on Wednesday said it will permanently freeze its U.S. pension plans and temporarily suspend all company matching contributions to the company's 401 plan.

Anurag Dikshit of PartyGaming, a U.K.-based online gambling company, will pay U.S. authorities $300 million for violating the 1961 Federal Wire Act.

Mortgage giant Fannie Mae announced Monday that it is in the final stages of a plan to allow renters to continue living in properties that are in danger of foreclosure.

It's the end of an era. The 2009 edition of Macworld will be its last, Apple announced on Tuesday.

Gold gained Tuesday as the U.S. dollar weakened further following the Federal Reserve’s extra surprise in delivering its key interest rate cut. New York gold and platinum futures rose 0.7 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively. Silver dropped 0.8 percent.

The Federal Reserve aggressively lowered its benchmark federal funds rate to a range of between zero percent and 0.25%, and said it would "employ all available tools to promote the resumption of sustainable economic growth."

What happens when interest rates are lowered, and after a reasonable period of time businesses don’t expand, employment doesn’t increase, consumer confidence doesn’t go up, and consumers don’t spend more money? There are other options.

Inflation for consumer products plummeted again during November as prices were pushed down again by free-falling energy costs. Consumer prices declined by a record level for the second consecutive month, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The annual inflation rate is at 1.1% compared to the 3.7% increase in October.

German industrial conglomerate Evonik and carmaker Daimler have joined forces to develop and build advanced batteries for electric cars, the partners said on Monday.

A report in the Sunday Times of London accuses Amazon UK of forcing to employees to work under sweatshop conditions. The report states that Amazon UK is "making its staff work seven days a week and threatening them with the sack if they take time off sick."

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Chrysler is pinning a huge part of its future on a plan to produce a full line of electric vehicles, at a reasonable cost to both the carmaker and the consumer.

Bernard L. Madoff is facing a fraud charge for an alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme at his investment firm.

Greatly reduced inflation pressures and a desire to spark some life into the economy has almost everyone expecting the Federal Reserve to cut its benchmark overnight interest rate from 1% to 0.50%, marking the lowest level on records dating to July 1954.