STOCK OPTIONS

STOCK OPTIONS

Apple's Down-and-Back Day

After falling as much as 5.8 percent, shares of Apple Computer bounced back to close up 1 cent to $81.52, as investors apparently discounted the possibility that chief executive Steve Jobs may be implicated in an investigation of stock-option grants.

Apple is one of almost 200 companies under investigation for backdating grants. The company began examining its option grants in June and in October said it had serious concerns about the actions of two former executives. Apple said this month that it will restate results to reflect the costs of option grants.

World Air Accounting Was Flawed

World Air Holdings, parent of the largest charter airline for transporting U.S. military troops, said it improperly accounted for employee stock options.

An internal investigation of option grants dating to 1995 showed that World Air used some incorrect measurement dates. The company said it wasn't able to file third-quarter results while the matter is being studied and reported tentatively that profit rose 9 percent, to $5.94 million, from the comparable period a year earlier.

ECONOMY

New-Home Sales Exceed Forecast

Sales of new homes rose more than forecast last month as lower mortgage rates and more incentives helped builders reduce inventory.

The 3.4 percent increase to an annual pace of 1.047 million in November followed a 1.013 million rate in October, the Commerce Department said.

Economists had forecast a 1.6 percent rise.

The median price of a new home rose 5.8 percent in November to $251,700 from $237,900 a year earlier, the report showed, the biggest year-over-year increase since June.

PHARMACEUTICAL

FDA Approves Generic Zofran

GlaxoSmithKline's anti-nausea drug Zofran will face competition from at least four generic versions recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Zofran had sales of $1.6 billion last year, according to GlaxoSmithKline. The drug is given to cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.