Tuesday Evening Business Brief

• Stocks have ended the day mostly higher after a rally in retail stocks offset tensions over the country's borrowing limit. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 27 points after being down more than 60. The S&P 500 rose a point to just above the five-year high it reached on Thursday. The Nasdaq fell six points, dragged down by Apple's slumping stock, which hit an 11-month low.
• Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the government has begun borrowing from the federal employee pension fund to keep operating without surpassing its debt limit. Geithner says the move will free up $156 billion in borrowing authority while Congress debates increasing the $16.4 trillion debt limit. The government reached borrowing limit on Dec. 31, but began using bookkeeping maneuvers to keep from surpassing it.
• General Motors says it expects only a modest increase in pretax profits this year, as it rolls out many new cars and trucks worldwide. The company also expects global auto sales to grow modestly this year, driven by the U.S. and China.
• Customer-service agents at American Airlines have narrowly rejected a union's bid to represent them in collective bargaining with the company. The workers voted against representation by the Communications Workers of America by a margin of 51 percent to 49 percent. American went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in a failed bid to have the election blocked.
• A New York native who built one of the world's top public relations companies has died. Daniel J. Edelman was 92. The company he started more than 60 years ago with two people now employs more than 4,000 in 65 offices worldwide. The firm's clients include Microsoft, Pfizer, Wal-Mart and Royal Dutch Shell.

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