Friday Evening Business Brief

• Without a rally today to help stem the losses, stocks have suffered their worst week since early June. The Dow gained two points to close at 13,329. Each of the key averages were down 2 percent or more.
• The news is mixed on the huge federal deficit. The government says the federal spending gap topped $1 trillion for a fourth straight year. But the deficit for the just-completed budget year is $207 billion lower than last year, helped by rising tax revenues.
• If you find a better deal online, Best Buy is giving its store staffers more flexibility in matching those prices when shopping in the store. A spokeswoman for the retailer says store staffers will have discretion "when asked" on prices involving appliances and electronics.
• A new plan approved by Interior Department officials will set aside 285,000 acres of public land in the West for the development of large-scale solar power plants. The new approach comes after years of delays and false starts with an earlier program that provided first-come, first served approvals on solar projects. Most of the land is in Southern California.
• Crude oil futures prices ended lower on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Near-month benchmark crude was down 21 cents, settling at $91.86 a barrel.

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