C hevron Corp. CVX-N said Friday its fourth-quarter profit fell 37 per cent as higher crude prices led to huge losses in its refining business.

S tories Report on Business is following today : Economies show signs of life The Canadian and U.S. economies are rebounding from the deep recession. Statistics Canada said this morning the economy expanded by 0.4 per cent in November from October, marking the third consecutive month of growth.

C orus Entertainment CJR.B-T announced Friday it was closing two of its Montreal radio stations in a move that will cost 10 employees their jobs. The media company said AM Info 690 and AM940 were not profitable or viable in the current economic climate and would cease operations at 7 p.m. Friday

W ith Warren Buffett about as close as a capitalist can come to being canonized by the markets, Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B-N can’t exactly fly under the radar. Still, one of the most unique aspects of Berkshire Hathaway is that, unlike other marquee securities within the U.S.

S pain will cut spending by nearly €50-billion ($70-billion U.S.) to rein in a deficit that has swelled to an outsized 11.4 per cent of gross domestic product as the country struggles with recession, officials said Friday. Finance Minister Elena Salgado said the government’s goal with the four-year austerity plan is to trim the deficit to the EU limit of three per cent of GDP in 2013. Spain’s finances have come under scrutiny by ratings agencies and international investors worried about the possibility of another debt crisis like the one in Greece, which has shaken the European Union and pushed down the euro

A federal judge ordered Detroit Pistons guard Ben Gordon’s former financial advisors to pay him more than $1.3 million in a dispute over a loan but found there was no breach of their fiduciary duty. Judge Charles Kocoras handed down the decision Wednesday in a suit Gordon, a former Chicago Bull, filed against California-based Larry Harmon & Associates.

GunnAllen Financial Inc. has reached an agreement to be acquired by a West Coast asset manager, Progressive Asset Management Inc., which also controls a broker-dealer.