Business

Business briefs

Oil off

US crude oil for February delivery fell 52 cents to $82.66 a barrel, off Wednesday’s 15-month high of $83.52 on the stronger dollar and signs of tighter monetary policy in China.

Games stop

GameStop Corp., the biggest US video game retailer, cut its fourth-quarter profit forecast to $1.25 to $1.29 a share from $1.47 to $1.67 and analysts’ average view of $1.57 a share. Shares fell $3.57, or 15 percent, to $20.46.

Correction

In our Jan. 4 paper, we referred to Nikki Finke’s reporting as sometimes “horribly wrongfooted.” In fact, we were wrongfooted in saying this and regret the error.

BofA bonuses

Bank of America Corp. investment bankers are likely to get bonuses close to 2007 levels, as it tries to stem defections after its takeover of Merrill Lynch, and reflecting Merrill’s recovery, The Wall Street Journal reported. Merrill contributed profit of $2.2 billion through the first three quarters of last year.

Sears sale

Sears Holdings Corp. said it will allow third parties, including some rivals, to sell items on its Web site.