Four-dollar-a-gallon gas is good for business _ if you run a bike shop. Commuters around the country are dusting off their old two-wheelers _ or buying new ones _ to cope with rising fuel prices, bicycle dealers say.

When Maulit Shelat heard about the Bush administration's plan to pump up the economy by sending out stimulus checks, he sat down with his wife and drew up a list of priorities: first up, remodeling the bathroom.

After slashing inventory and cutting expenses, the retail industry is still bracing for the largest overall quarterly profit decline in at least nine years when merchants report their first-quarter earnings this week.

With millions of stimulus checks going out to taxpayers, Wall Street wants to know where that money will be spent _ and this week's data could help investors gauge the mind-set of the average consumer.

News Corp., the media conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch, has withdrawn its bid to purchase the Long Island paper Newsday, a News Corp. spokeswoman said Saturday.