Briefly

Gasoline prices expected to dip soon

NEW YORK -- U.S. drivers could start seeing lower prices at the pump as early as this weekend, thanks to the cascading price of crude oil and a seasonal dip in gasoline, analysts say. A gallon of regular unleaded gasoline costs an average of $2.325 across the country, according to the AAA. Gasoline prices typically fall in January amid weaker demand, Kloza said, before perking back up around Valentine's Day and rising through the summer. Also helping to temper gasoline prices is the recent slide in crude oil prices. Light, sweet crude for February delivery dropped as low as $54.90 Friday -- the lowest price in 19 months -- before climbing back to settle at $56.31, up 72 cents on the New York Mercantile Exchange. After sharp drops on Wednesday and Thursday, crude prices fell nearly 8 percent for the week, the biggest one-week drop since April 2005.

Electronics sellers post good December

MINNEAPOLIS -- The nation's two biggest consumer electronics sellers, Best Buy and Circuit City, reported strong December sales Friday, a bright spot in a month that was weak for many other retailers. Best Buy Co., the largest U.S. consumer electronics retailer, said sales for December rose 7 percent at stores open at least 14 months, better than it had expected. It credited "high double-digit" increases in high-end televisions, and employees who increased the number of customers who bought products during store visits. Rival Circuit City Stores Inc. said sales grew 4.2 percent for the month at its stores open at least a year. Such measures, called same-store or comparable-store sales, are key retail indicators. Best Buy said its overall December revenue grew 15 percent to $6.6 billion. Circuit City said total sales grew 5.9 percent to $2.1 billion. On Thursday, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. both reported strong electronics sales during December.

Motorola reports disappointing sales

CHICAGO -- Motorola Inc.'s two-year, Razr-fueled resurgence in the global cell phone market was in trouble Friday after the company warned of disappointing sales and earnings from the key holiday selling season. Investors sent the company's stock down sharply amid a consensus that the trendsetting Razr has lost its buzz in the marketplace and Motorola's efforts to come up with a new killer product have so far not paid off, hindered by stiffening competition. Motorola's announcement Thursday night of worse-than-anticipated fourth-quarter results made it two straight quarters that the company has fallen short of Wall Street expectations. It also threatens to end eight consecutive quarters of market-share gains for a company that, despite improving to a 22 percent share from 16 percent in 2004, remains far short of its goal of recapturing the lead it held in the 1990s from Finland's Nokia Corp.

Merrill Lynch analyst gets prison sentence

NEW YORK -- A former analyst at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. who pleaded guilty to insider trading was sentenced Friday to three years and a month in prison for his part in a scheme that used gabby investment bankers and leaked copies of a market-moving magazine. Stanislav Shpigelman, 24, of Brooklyn, had admitted tipping other participants who made more than $6.7 million from October 2004 to August 2005. At the time, he worked in Merrill Lynch's mergers and acquisitions division. In a plea deal he signed with prosecutors, Shpigelman admitted to a single count of conspiracy to commit insider trading in return for a recommendation that he serve from three to four years in prison.

XM Satellite falls short of forecasts

NEW YORK -- XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. reported a year-end subscriber tally Friday that fell short of its earlier forecasts, which had already been lowered twice. XM, the larger of the nation's two satellite radio broadcasters, said it ended 2006 with 7.63 million subscribers. That was up almost 1.7 million from a year ago but came short of its most recent prediction of 7.7 million to 7.9 million. A year ago, XM was forecasting 9 million subscribers at the end of 2006. It cut its forecast in May and again in July.

Feds say sales of flood insurance up

WASHINGTON -- Sales of federal flood insurance rose sharply across the country last year as homeowners saw the devastation from Hurricane Katrina and realized that typical policies didn't cover many losses. In the 12 months beginning in November 2005, the number of federal policies jumped more than 13 percent, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Participation in coastal and other vulnerable areas spiked dramatically. In Mississippi, the number of policies rose 61 percent. Strong increases were reported as far away as Northeastern and Western states, as well. Idaho had a 24 percent increase, and Rhode Island 21 percent. The numbers are a welcome trend for the federal government, which has struggled to gain more participation in the National Flood Insurance Program.

-- From wire reports