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The New York Stock Exchange is to open for regular trading Wednesday after being shut down for two days because of Hurricane Sandy. In a statement, the NYSE said its building and trading floor are fully operational and that normal trading will resume at the usual starting time of 9:30 a.m eastern time.
- Disney is paying more than $4 billion to buy Lucasfilm, the company behind "Star Wars", from chairman and founder George Lucas. It also announced plans for a new "Star Wars" movie due for release in 2015 with episodes 8 and 9 following after that, completing Lucas' original vision for a nine-episode saga.
- One estimate suggests that Sandy will end up causing about $20 billion in property damages and between $10 billion to $30 billion more in lost business. Economists say the hit to the economy in the short run is made worse by the size of the population centers the storm hit.
- Eight oil refineries that comprise about 8 percent of U.S. refining capacity are in the area hit by Hurricane Sandy. Nearly all of them were affected by the superstorm. Most shut down or ran at reduced rates and are cranking up to normal operations. Two have no power and it's unclear when they will be back online.
- IBM says its board had added $5 billion to its stock buyback program. That brings IBM's total buyback plans to nearly $12 billion.
