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PRE-HOLIDAY SPECIALS

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Tuesday unveiled weekly savings starting Saturday on popular toys and video games that it is pitching as comparable to the sales blitz the day after Thanksgiving. Wal-Mart and other retailers, including Sears, have started to hawk deep sales usually reserved for the big sales day known as "Black Friday" in hopes of attracting more shoppers early. Wal-Mart said Tuesday that some of the toys that will be discounted starting Saturday through Nov. 27 are EZ Bake Oven, Disney Princess Scooter and Nerf N-Strike Vulcan. The discounts are up to 60 percent. Customers buying certain gaming packages such as "Band Hero" and "DJ Hero" will receive a $40 Wal-Mart gift card while supplies last. Among the deals the store will be pushing the day after Thanksgiving are 50-inch Sanyo plasma HDTVs for $598 and $3 children's sleepwear.

ECONOMY REMAINS WEAK

A decline in factory production in October signals that consumers and businesses remain cautious in their spending. At the same time, the weak economy is taming inflation. Wholesale prices rose less than expected last month, giving the Federal Reserve more leeway to keep interest rates low to try to prompt a stronger economic rebound. Industrial production edged up 0.1 percent last month, the Fed reported Tuesday. It was the poorest showing since output fell 0.4 percent in June. Since then, industrial output had posted strong gains, helped by a rebound in auto production. Auto output slipped 1.7 percent last month. That helped drag down total factory output.

CASINO REVENUES ARE OFF

U.S. commercial casinos took in $7.94 billion in revenue during the third quarter, 5.5 percent less than a year earlier, the head of the American Gaming Association said Tuesday at a top industry conference in Las Vegas. Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., president and chief executive officer of the industry group, said that while economists believe the country is moving beyond the recession, that's not a practical reality for many casinos or their customers. "Main Street is still feeling the heart," Fahrenkopf said. "The same has to be said very clearly for the gaming industry. I don't think there's any doubt that this has been the most challenging year that the industry has faced."

CHIPOTLE EYES LONDON

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. plans to open a restaurant in London. The Denver-based chain said Tuesday that the restaurant is scheduled to open in April. Chipotle also is looking at sites in Paris and Munich but expects most of its growth next year to be in the United States.

VERIZON LAYOFFS

The largest union for Verizon Communications Inc. workers said the phone company is laying off more than 1,000 employees in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Verizon spokesman Alberto Canal said the layoffs are part of the already announced plan to cut 8,000 jobs before the end of the year.

GOLD HOLDS ONTO GAINS

A stronger dollar is keeping a lid on metals prices.

Gold prices finished the day roughly flat, settling at $1,139.40 an ounce, up 20 cents from Monday's close.

December silver dipped 1.3 cents to $18.387 an ounce. December copper futures inched up less than a half-cent to $3.133 a pound. December platinum jumped $17.90 to $1,459.30 an ounce.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery added 24 cents to $79.14 a barrel. Gasoline futures rose 1.81 cents to $2.0049 a gallon. Heating oil futures rose 2.65 cents to $2.0585 a gallon.

March wheat futures rose 12.75 cents to $5.965 a bushel. January soybeans rose 19.5 cents to $10.295 a bushel. March corn was unchanged at $4.175 a bushel.