Friday Afternoon Business Brief

Stock prices are treading lower as investors prepare to close out the trading week. The key averages have been little changed over the course of this week.

• Declining gasoline prices helped keep a lid on inflation last month. The Labor Department's Consumer Price Index dropped 0.3 percent in November.
• Best Buy shares were down 15 percent at midday. The struggling electronics retailer said it was extending the time for co-founder Richard Schulze to make a possible buyout offer until after the holiday season.
• Southwest Airlines says it will soon charge a fee for passengers who fail to use their ticket if they don't cancel first. Southwest also plans to increase fees it already charges, such as for early check-in and overweight bags.
• The Federal Reserve says industrial production rose 1.1 percent in November.  Part of the reason was a resumption of output after Superstorm Sandy.