NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are mostly lower in afternoon trading, while the price of oil is down another dollar and trading at its lowest level since January. The slump in oil prices has energy stocks leading the declines on the New York Stock Exchange. Seven of the 10 biggest decliners in the S&P 500 are energy companies, primarily smaller oil exploration companies.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is telling casinos and racetracks in his state that they can immediately offer sports betting without fear of criminal or civil liability. But his action is likely to be challenged in court by the professional and collegiate sports leagues that fought New Jersey’s efforts to overturn a ban on sports betting in all but four states. That effort ended with the U.S. Supreme Court declining to hear the case.
NEW YORK (AP) — Marriott says it plans to add 1,300 hotels by the end of 2017 to capitalize on economic growth and the expanding middle class overseas. Its focus will be on Asia. Marriott says it will gain 200,000 to 235,000 rooms, which could add $450 million to its annual revenue. And it says that by the end of 2017 its goal is to at least double the 150 hotels in Asia.
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon has slashed the price of its Fire smartphone today, a day before Apple is expected to unveil its latest version of the iPhone. The online retailer says the Fire with 32 gigabytes of memory will now cost 99 cents when customers sign a two-year contract with AT&T. That’s down from $199. The phone with 64 gigabytes of memory will now cost $99 with a two-year contract, down from $299.
NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Trade Commission is suing drugmakers AbbVie and Teva, saying they conspired to keep generic versions of AbbVie’s low-testosterone drug AndroGel off the market. The FTC says AbbVie and its partner and Besins Healthcare filed baseless patent infringement lawsuits against Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Perrigo Co. to delay the approval and sale of the generic. AbbVie then struck a deal with Teva that allows Teva to sell a generic at a later date. The FTC alleges the deal included illegal payments to Teva.
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