Online traffic stalls Wal-Mart's Web site

High traffic disrupted Wal-Mart's Web site for much of Friday, one of the year's busiest shopping days.

The Walt Disney Co. also had problems handling the rush of online activity Friday, while Amazon.com's site had brief disruptions a day earlier due to a Thanksgiving Day sale on Microsoft's Xbox 360 video game machines.

For much of Friday morning, attempts to open Walmart.com resulted in blank pages, delays or other problems. By early afternoon, visitors were simply told to come back later.

The site appeared to be back to normal by midafternoon Friday, after frustrating countless potential shoppers.

Carlyle Group

Firm in talks over acquisition

Private equity firm Carlyle Group said Friday that it is in talks to acquire Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, which tests and assembles computer chips, for $5.46 billion.

Carlyle said it is leading a group of investors that wants to make an all-cash acquisition of Taiwan-based Advanced Semiconductor for $5.94 per American depositary receipt (ADR). The offer represents a 13 percent premium over the Wednesday closing price of Advanced Semiconductor's shares.

The company's ADRs soared on news of the offer, up 80 cents, or 15.21 percent, to close at $6.06.

Auto industry

November likely lousy for Chrysler

Auto industry analysts are divided on how November's sales are shaping up, but they agree on one thing: The month is likely to be a lousy one for Chrysler.

Jesse Toprak, chief economist for Edmunds.com, a research site for car buyers, estimates that based on preliminary data from dealers, industrywide sales will be 6 percent higher compared with November 2005, with all of the top six manufacturers reporting gains except for DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group.

But judging from the slow traffic at the Web site of Kelley Blue Book, which tracks auto pricing, that firm predicts a down month compared to a year earlier. Through the first three weeks of November, inquiries dropped even for Toyota, which has posted sales gains all year, said Jack Nerad, executive market analyst.

Although he was reluctant to make specific predictions, Nerad said traffic on his company's Web site generally corresponds to sales data when it is released by the automakers.

November, he said, traditionally is a low sales month, and this year, traffic has been lower for nearly all manufacturers.

Compiled from The Associated Press