The Dow pared its gains in the final hour of trading after banking analyst Meredith Whitney said the recent market rally is not rooted in fundamentals and the U.S. economy is likely to fall back into a recession next year.

Stocks opened higher Monday, building on two weeks of gains, as a weak dollar boosted commodity stocks and a government report showed retail sales rose in October.

Stocks opened higher Monday, building on two weeks of gains, as a weak dollar boosted commodity stocks and a government report showed retail sales rose in October.

Stock index futures are pointing to a higher open Monday after data showed that Japan's economy grew nearly twice as much as expected in the third quarter.

France's Vivendi SA said Tuesday it has issued euro1.2 billion ($1.8 billion) in bonds.

Struggling movie studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is looking for a buyer.

General Electric and Vivendi are making slow progress in talks for the French media company to shed its 20 percent stake in NBC Universal, but a deal is still expected in the next 10 days, sources told CNBC.

Comcast and General Electric have agreed to make NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker the head of their proposed joint venture, but the structure of a new board is still being negotiated, sources familiar with the matter said.

Comcast's quarterly profit rose a better-than-expected 22 percent, as it sold more phone and Internet subscriptions, helping to fight competition from phone and satellite companies.

General Electric and the cable giant Comcast have moved closer to a deal giving control of NBC Universal to Comcast, and a formal announcement could be made sometime next week, people briefed on the talks said Sunday.

The deal between General Electric and Comcast over the sale of a majority stake in NBC Universal is still on track, and it could be completed with the next two weeks, according to sources close to the deal.

Of the world’s biggest media companies, the one that might seem in the best position to ride out the recession is Vivendi, whose headquarters in the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe oversees a sprawling empire of music, pay television, video game and mobile phone businesses.

With Democrats in charge in Washington, supporters of so-called "net neutrality" rules seem poised to finally push through requirements that high-speed Internet providers give equal treatment to all data flowing over their networks.

With Democrats in charge in Washington, supporters of so-called "net neutrality" rules seem poised to finally push through requirements that high-speed Internet providers give equal treatment to all data flowing over their networks.

General Electric Co.'s troubled financial unit dragged down third-quarter earnings 44 percent, overshadowing gains in other divisions.