RadioShack to sell Xbox 360, "Halo 3"

RadioShack, whose sales have declined for the past four quarters, will start selling Microsoft's Xbox 360 video-game consoles and its "Halo 3" title at some locations, two analysts said.

The news boosted the stock of the third-largest U.S. consumer-electronics retailer by $1.60, or 7.3 percent, to $23.66. Investors are betting the video games may spur December holiday sales, Rick Weinhart, an analyst with BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a research note Friday. "We think this enthusiasm is a mistake," he added.

Evan Wilson, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, and Arvind Bhatia, an analyst with Sterne Agee & Leach, said Friday that the retailer would stock the game and console. "Halo 3" will be released Sept. 25.

A RadioShack spokesman couldn't be reached for comment.

E. & J. Gallo

Rare vintage from Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart has given you the recipes, the linen and the china, the floral arrangements and seating plans. Now all that's left is a bottle of wine.

"Martha Stewart Vintage," bottled by E. & J. Gallo Winery, will go on sale at $15 a bottle in January, the Modesto, Calif., vintner said Friday.

The wine will be a rare vintage — only 15,000 cases will be produced, and sales will be limited to six cities: Portland; Atlanta; Boston; Phoenix; Charlotte, N.C.; and Denver. The grapes will be bottled as chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon and merlot, the winery said.

United Airlines

U.S. ticket prices boosted by $6

United Airlines boosted round-trip ticket prices by $6 in the U.S. to combat rising fuel costs.

United followed recent price increases by carriers including Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines as ticket sales slow after the summer travel season. Jet fuel has risen 16 percent since Aug. 6.

"They do need to offset rising oil prices, and they will continue to try to raise fares," said Jim Corridore, an analyst with Standard & Poor's in New York.

Apple

Credit for iPhones excludes iTunes

Apple, offering $100 in credit to early iPhone buyers after cutting the price, excluded one of its most popular items from the rebate: iTunes music.

Customers can buy "just about anything sold by Apple" if they submit a rebate claim by Nov. 30, the company said Friday.

Chief Executive Steve Jobs offered the rebate after cutting the iPhone's price last week by $200 to $399, angering buyers who purchased the combination iPod media player and phone. The decision to exclude songs may prompt people to spend 20 to 50 percent more, as they buy products costing more than $100, an analyst said.

"People will get their $100 and they'll find lots of other gadgets to buy," Andy Hargreaves of Pacific Crest Securities in Portland. He rates the shares "outperform" and owns some. "You'll get people buying new iPods or another iPhone."

Ameritrade

Hackers steal customers' info

Online brokerage TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. said Friday one of its databases was hacked and contact information for its more than 6.3 million customers was stolen.

A spokeswoman for the Omaha, Neb., company said more sensitive information in the same database, including Social Security numbers and account numbers, does not appear to have been taken.

The company would not share many details because of the continuing investigation.

SCO Group

Software maker files for bankruptcy

SCO Group, the software maker that sued IBM for copyright infringement, filed for bankruptcy 10 days after conceding that much of the case should be dropped.

The company listed $14.8 million in assets and $7.5 million in debt in a petition filed Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

"We want to assure our customers and partners that they can continue to rely on SCO products," Chief Executive Darl McBride said. The company plans to use its present cash flow to stay in business while it reorganizes.

SCO accused IBM of inserting Unix code into Linux. SCO, based in Utah, sued IBM for copyright infringement and breach of contract in 2003.

Federal Trade Commission

Infomercial star faces federal charge

Federal regulators on Friday charged infomercial star Kevin Trudeau with misrepresenting the contents of his latest book, "The Weight Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want You to Know About."

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said he "deceptively claimed" that the weight-loss plan outlined in his book is "easy to do, can be done at home, and ultimately allows readers to eat whatever they want." The infomercials began airing in December 2006.

After purchasing the book, however, the FTC alleged that consumers discover it "requires severe dieting," daily injections of a prescription drug not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for weight loss and "lifelong dietary restrictions."

Compiled from The Associated Press and Bloomberg News