Big stock advance fades by end of day

Wall Street gave up a big early advance as the price of oil rose Thursday, with stocks closing moderately higher but also demonstrating how anxious investors are about inflation and the overall health of the economy.

The Dow rose 57.81, or 0.48 percent, to 12,141.58 after being up as much as 185 points earlier.

Word late in the session that Yahoo Inc. called off talks of any deal with Microsoft Corp. gave investors one more reason to rein in the enthusiasm that drove the day's early rally.

A buyout bid for Anheuser-Busch Cos. also lifted stocks.

But the turnaround in oil set off renewed worries about inflation and its effect on the economy. And a management shakeup at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. drew fresh attention to troubles in the financial sector. Lehman, which earlier this week said it would report a quarterly loss of $2.8 billion, on Thursday ousted its chief financial officer and chief operating officer. Lehman fell $1.05, or 4.4 percent, to $22.70.

Politicians oppose brewer InBev's offer

Belgian brewer InBev is offering a big payday to shareholders of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., but its bid to create the world's largest beer company is facing a major obstacle: U.S. election-year politics.

InBev SA, whose brands include Beck's and Stella Artois, delivered an unsolicited all-cash bid of $46 billion, or $65 a share, for Anheuser-Busch, which makes Budweiser, Michelob and Bud Light.

The bid, disclosed after the markets closed Wednesday, was a premium of about 11 percent over the St. Louis-based company's share price of $61.40.

InBev would use the Budweiser brand to boost business in European and Asian countries, where Budweiser is now a niche player, Brito said.

But politicians and activists are already lining up against the deal, saying it could cost jobs in the United States and send ownership of an iconic American company overseas. With economic concerns at the front of voters' minds, the opposition could cause a headache for InBev.

Exxon Mobil to sell 820 gas stations

Exxon Mobil is getting out of the retail gasoline business, a market where profits have gotten tougher because of high crude oil prices.

The world's largest publicly traded oil company said it will sell its 820-company owned stations and another 1,400 outlets operated by dealers to gasoline distributors across the U.S.

US Airways making cuts, adding charge

US Airways says it plans to cut domestic capacity, shrink its fleet, slash 1,700 jobs and charge passengers to check their first bag.

Fliers will now pay $15 to stow just one bag. US Airways is the third major carrier to add the charge.

Teamsters still talking to car hauler

Talks between the Teamsters and Performance Transportation Services Inc. that the car hauler deemed critical to its survival continued Thursday with each side offering proposals to end a four-day strike.

The two sides met for 31/2 hours in Cleveland as the union continued its walkout at the car hauler's 24 facilities in 15 states.

National City stock goes up 22 percent

National City Corp. rose the most in almost a quarter-century after Sandler O'Neill & Partners LP upgraded the stock to ''buy'' because the lender's recent $7 billion infusion gives it enough money to survive ''even a very severe credit cycle.''

National City, Ohio's largest bank, rose 22 percent, or 94 cents, to $5.28, the biggest one-day gain since at least January 1984. The Cleveland-based bank is still the worst-performing stock in the KBW Bank Index this year after dropping 68 percent.

Mortgage rates hit eight-month high

Rates on 30-year mortgages jumped to the highest level in nearly eight months.

Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.32 percent this week.