AP Business

If holiday travelers on the same plane compare what they paid to fly, they're likely to find quite a spread, depending on when they bought their tickets. Fares for travel around the holidays have been rising since late summer. Christmas fares are now running 4 percent below a year ago, and the gap is likely to disappear soon. Contrast that with a year ago, when the airlines essentially put the holiday travel season on sale. With the recession in full force, airlines used discounting to fill seats. People who waited to book holiday fares last year saved money. This year, holding off could cost ... Read Full Story

With the technology industry looking on, the Supreme Court on Monday will explore what types of inventions should be eligible for a patent in a pivotal case that could undermine such legal protections for software. A ruling that sides with the Patent Office could bar patents on processes and methods of doing business, such as online shopping techniques, medical diagnostic tests and procedures for executing trades on Wall Street. And it might even undercut patents on software. In a worst-case scenario for the high-tech industry, the ruling could invalidate many existing software patents or at least make them more difficult to defend in lawsuits. ... Read Full Story

The clock is ticking on a Monday deadline for Kraft Foods Inc. to make a formal offer for British candy maker Cadbury PLC. Kraft, which makes Oreo cookies, Nabisco crackers and its namesake cheese, on Tuesday told investors to keep an eye on its filings — a clue that a bid may be right around the corner. Monday is the last day permitted for Kraft to "put up or shut up," according to U.K. regulators. If Kraft doesn't make a formal bid by then, it must walk away for six months. Cadbury spurned Kraft's cash-and-stock offer in September. It was then worth $16.7 billion. ... Read Full Story

Airline stocks rose Friday as oil prices tumbled, easing the carriers' fears over jet fuel costs. The broader market also gained, as investors shrugged off another rise in the national unemployment rate, which the government said Friday broke above 10 percent last month for the first time in 26 years. The Dow Jones industrial average inched higher by 17.46, to 10,023.42. But airline stocks may have gained more from the drop in oil prices. Benchmark crude for December delivery dropped by $2.19, to $77.43 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The Amex Airline Index rose 4.4 percent, with all 13 of its ... Read Full Story

Hedge fund and private equity firm The Blackstone Group LP on Friday posted a narrower loss for the third quarter, as its private equity holdings gained value and its real estate investments stabilized. Adjusted results topped expectations, and positive comments from its CEO helped lift the stock in afternoon trading. Blackstone said its loss after paying preferred dividends fell to $176.2 million, or 91 cents per common unit, from $340.3 million, or $1.56 per unit in the 2008 third quarter. Adjusted to exclude initial public offering and acquisition-related charges, the firm reported a profit of $275.3 million, or 25 cents per share, compared with ... Read Full Story