Wednesday Afternoon Business Brief

• Stocks have lost ground again today on Wall Street. The Dow has been down more than 100 points.
• Speaking at a news conference today, President Barack Obama said the economy cannot afford a tax increase on all Americans. He called on congressional Republicans to support an extension of existing tax rates for households earning $250,000 or less. He expressed confidence that an agreement can be reached with Congress to avoid the "fiscal cliff."
• The Federal Reserve's latest meeting minutes, just released, indicate the central bank will likely launch a new bond-buying program in December. The current program, to sell short-term Treasurys to buy longer-term securities, is set to expire at year-end.
• Americans sent retail sales lower last month, amid mixed impacts from Superstorm Sandy. The Commerce Department says sales were down 0.3 percent after three months of gains.
• Facebook has defied expectations for a decline today as more than 850 million additional shares in the company were freed up for potential sale. The stock was recently up 10 percent on the day.

Read more business stories on the Back To Business page.