However, Ali Naimi left open the possibility that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will agree to increase output during a meeting in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, next month.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell $1.70 to settle at $94.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after falling as low as $93.54 earlier.

———

BOSTON — IBM Corp. is making its largest acquisition ever, a deal announced Monday to buy Cognos Inc. for $5 billion in cash in hopes of keeping up with rivals in "business intelligence" software.

The acquisition would follow similar moves in the same market this year.

Cognos shares had soared recently on expectations that it, too, would be acquired. They leaped another 8 percent on Monday's news.

———

NEW YORK — Wall Street ratcheted its way through a fractious session Monday before finally closing lower on expectations of further fallout from the ongoing credit crisis.

The Dow Jones industrials, up more than 100 points during the day, ended below 13,000 for the first time since August.

Stocks lost ground for the fourth straight session.

The Nasdaq composite index was the biggest decliner among the major indexes as investors sold technology stocks.

News stories kept the subprime contagion in focus.

———

NEW YORK — Blackstone Group LP President and Chief Operating Officer Hamilton James said Monday the slumping private-equity market might not fully rebound until major Wall Street banks get a better handle on the credit crisis.

James said the banks — pressured by massive writedowns from losses linked to subprime mortgages — will keep lending standards tight for the time being.

He believes the market for leveraged loans, which buyout funds use to finance deals, appears to be picking up after a crippling summer.

Blackstone's third-quarter loss was pinned on charges related to its initial public offering and lower real-estate fees.

———

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Tyson Foods Inc., the world's largest meat company, announced Monday it plans to expand its foreign business.

The news came as the company reported a return to profit for its fourth quarter but forecast earnings for this year below what analysts were expecting.

Tyson shares fell almost 3 percent Monday.

The company cited cost-cutting for the improved performance in the July-September period but said cost pressures will rise this fiscal year.

———

BEIJING — China's trade surplus jumped to a new all-time monthly high in October, according to official data released Monday, despite government pledges to restrain export growth and adding to pressure for action on trade barriers and currency.

The report comes amid demands by some U.S. lawmakers for sanctions if Beijing fails to ease currency controls. The European Union says it also will press China for action at a summit this month.

China's trade surplus for the first 10 months jumped a massive 59 percent to $212.4 billion, according to figures released by the General Administration of Customs. The annual surplus already has surpassed the full-year record of $177.5 billion set in 2006.

———

NEW YORK — Shares of online brokerage E-Trade Financial Corp. lost more than half their value Monday, with a Citigroup analyst saying customers were poised to flee and the company was at risk of bankruptcy.

Other analysts said the pictures was not as bleak, though, and the company said assets actually improved in October. It also moved to reassure customers that it could withstand a substantial writedown of assets and remain in business.

Shares of E-Trade tumbled 58.7 percent, or $5.04, to $3.55.

———

FAIRPORT, N.Y. — Constellation Brands Inc. is staking a bigger claim in the more profitable end of the U.S. wine market with a deal to add Clos du Bois to its collection of $8 to $11 wines led by Robert Mondavi Private Selection.

The world's biggest winemaker said Monday it is paying $885 million for the U.S. wine business of Fortune Brands Inc.

In addition to top-seller Clos du Bois, the buyout would give Constellation the Wild Horse and Geyser Peak brands, five California wineries and more than 1,500 acres of vineyards in the Napa, Sonoma and Los Carneros grape-growing regions.

———

WASHINGTON — The airline industry is urging Thanksgiving travelers to get to the airport extra early this year, and to expect longer-than-usual lines at security checkpoints, due to an anticipated 4 percent jump in passenger traffic.

Domestic carriers are expected to fly roughly 27 million passengers worldwide over 12 days beginning Nov. 16, with planes about 90 percent full, the Air Transport Association said Monday.

The anticipated uptick in demand comes as the industry struggles through a year of record-low punctuality.

———

MELBOURNE, Australia — BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's largest miner, unveiled Monday the cost cuts and profits it said it would achieve through its proposed takeover of rival Rio Tinto Ltd.

Rio Tinto last week rejected BHP Billiton's 3-for-1 share offer calculated to be worth as much as $149 billion.

BHP Billiton's justification of the deal — which it said would achieve $3.7 billion in savings and earnings — wasn't accompanied by any increase in the offer. In its statement to the Australian Securities Exchange, it said the deal is the most logical and compelling consolidation opportunity for both companies.

———

TOKYO — Asian markets fell sharply Monday after Wall Street declined at the end of last week on renewed concerns about U.S. mortgage problems. European markets, however, were mixed in early morning trade.

Major banks warned last week of further losses in their debt portfolios, raising investor concerns that the credit market slump isn't abating.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 2.5 percent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 3.9 percent. In South Korea, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, fell 3.4 percent.

———

SAN FRANCISCO — Al Gore announced Monday he's joining Silicon Valley's most prestigious venture capital firm to help the private sector take on global warming, and perhaps make himself some money.