Price of oil drops to lowest since early August

Oil dropped to a six-week low after the Federal Reserve cited "significant downside risks" to the economy of the U.S., the world's biggest crude consuming nation. Futures declined 6.3 percent after the Fed said it will replace $400 billion of short-term debt with longer-term Treasuries to spur growth. Crude oil for November delivery fell $5.41 to $80.51 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement since Aug 9. It was the biggest one-day drop since Aug. 8. The contract touched $79.66. Prices are down 12 percent this year.

Kweku Adoboli, the UBS trader accused of costing the large Swiss bank $2.3 billion in losses, will remain in police custody until a hearing next month after his lawyer said in court that Adoboli would not seek bail. The British authorities, meanwhile, amended their charges against Adoboli, adding a second fraud charge for activities from October 2008 through 2010. Adoboli also faces two charges for false accounting. At the hearing, the prosecutor, David Levy, said that Adoboli had "carried out reckless and inappropriate trades which he hid."

American Airlines must continue to supply flight and fare information to Orbitz Worldwide Inc., the second-biggest U.S. online travel agency, an appellate court has ruled. The decision, handed down by a Chicago-based panel of the state's intermediate-level court of appeal, upholds a Chicago judge's June 1 order compelling American to reinstate Orbitz.com's ability to issue tickets for its flights.

U.S. derivatives regulators may pull back from a January proposal setting speculation limits that CME Group Inc. said would reduce spot trading on the world's largest futures exchange, Bloomberg News reported. The proposal, issued under the Dodd-Frank Act by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, aimed to curb speculation by limiting the portion of the derivatives market controlled by any one trader. CME objected to the rule's different treatment of the physical-delivered derivatives market, which it dominates, and the cash-settled derivatives market primarily controlled by its competitor, IntercontinentalExchange Inc.

Bank of America Corp., the lender divesting assets to raise capital, is in exclusive talks to sell its stake in the biggest U.S. Pizza Hut franchisee for more than $800 million, Bloomberg News reported. Two private-equity firms have teamed up to bid for NPC International Inc., which operates 1,140 Pizza Hut restaurants, Bloomberg said, citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the discussions. One hurdle in closing the transaction is lining up debt financing for Overland Park, Kan.-based NPC as credit markets tighten, Bloomberg said.

Harvard University, the world's richest school, said its investments rose 21 percent in the past year, outperforming benchmarks and extending the rebound from record losses in 2008. The value of the university's endowment climbed $4.4 billion to $32 billion as of June 30, according to a report by Harvard Management Co., which oversees the fund. The increase in value also reflects gifts from donors and distributions to help finance operations at the Cambridge, Mass., university. Jane Mendillo, who took over as chief executive of Harvard Management in July 2008, has overseen the fund's rebound from a 27 percent loss in the wake of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s collapse in September 2008.

FROM NEWS SERVICES