business

Convenience store operator 7-Eleven Inc. is the mystery bidder for Casey's General Stores Inc. that is trying to top a Canadian rival, the Wall Street Journal reported. Casey's, based in Ankeny, Iowa, operates a chain of convenience stores in the Midwest. It has rejected several offers by Canadian company Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., including the latest bid of $38.50, which it shot down Tuesday. At that time, Casey's also said it had received a higher bid at $40 from an unnamed party. 7-Eleven and Casey's declined to comment.

Toys 'R' Us plans to invade the mall this holiday season, opening 600 temporary "Express" stores in malls and other shopping centers around the country, more than six times last year's count, and hiring 10,000 seasonal workers. The move is the latest in Toys 'R' Us' attempt to capture more holiday dollars amid tough competition from online retailers and mass merchants such as Wal-Mart and Target. It also fills a gap in shopping malls created when KB Toys, which had been the largest mall-based toy seller, went out of business in 2008. Toys 'R' Us opened 90 pop-up stores last holiday season.

Consumer borrowing fell again in July as households cut back on their credit card use for a 23rd consecutive month, adding more drag on an economy struggling to mount a sustained rebound. Borrowing dropped at an annual rate of $3.6 billion in July, the Federal Reserve reported. That marked the 17th drop in credit in the past 18 months. Americans did boost borrowing for auto loans in July, but this gain was offset by further reductions in the category that includes credit cards.

Job openings are rising modestly, a sign that employers may step up hiring soon. But rising openings in the past year haven't reduced unemployment, heightening concerns that the unemployed might lack the skills to fill the jobs that are coming available. The number of jobs advertised rose 6.2 percent to 3.04 million in July, according to the Labor Department's latest data. That's the highest total since April, when temporary census hiring inflated that month's figure.

Plans by Delta Air Lines and affiliates of Virgin Blue Group to collaborate on flights between the U.S. and Australia suffered a setback when the U.S. Transportation Department said it expects to deny their request. Delta currently flies only between Sydney and Los Angeles. United Airlines and Australian carrier Qantas currently dominate the flight schedule between the two countries. Delta and Australian budget airline Virgin Blue wanted permission to coordinate fares and schedules, and to share money from the flights.

Lockheed Martin Corp., the world's largest defense company, said about 25 percent of its executives opted for a voluntary retirement program designed to cut costs as defense spending slows. More than 600 vice presidents and directors applied for the program offered in July, Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed said.

Canada's central bank raised an interest rate for the third consecutive time. The Bank of Canada increased its benchmark rate by a quarter point to 1 percent. In June, Canada became the first Group of Seven nation to raise interest rates since the global economic crisis. It raised rates again in July. The bank said further increases will need to be carefully considered in light of the uncertainty surrounding the outlook.

Ireland plans to split its most troubled financial institution, Anglo Irish Bank, in two as part of wider efforts to reassure international lenders that the Irish are taking control of their debt crisis. Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said that dividing Anglo -- nationalized in early 2009 when it teetered on the edge of insolvency -- into "good" and "bad" banks would represent the least costly outcome to Irish taxpayers.

FROM NEWS SERVICES