Sony PlayStation 3 Misses U.S. Target, Loses to Wii Bloomberg
The PlayStation 3, introduced in the U.S. on Nov. 17, sold 197,000 units, falling short of Sony's 400,000 goal. Nintendo Co.'s Wii, which made its debut two days after the PlayStation 3, sold 476,000 units, Port Washington, New York-based NPD said in an e-mail yesterday.

Funds Consider New Way To Pay for Research WSJ 
Spending on "soft dollars" -- the Wall Street term for bundling research payments with trading commissions -- commissions on research is expected to total $10.8 billion, according to consultants Greenwich Associates.

Employers boosted payrolls by 132,000 AP 
Employers boosted payrolls by a respectable 132,000 in November, but the unemployment rate edged up to 4.5 percent as jobseekers streamed into the labor market by the thousands with the onrushing holidays.

What a Difference a Year Has Made For Once-Highflying Satellite Radio WSJ 
Sirius cut its subscriber projections for this year by at least 200,000 to a range between 5.9 million and 6.1 million subscribers, blaming weaker-than-anticipated retail sales since the Thanksgiving holiday. XM has been trimming its forecasts all year, most recently telling investors it will end the year with between 7.7 million and 7.9 million subscribers.

BMW Is on Track to Keep Top Slot In Auto Sales' Premium Category WSJ 
BMW overtook Mercedes premium brand as the world's leading premium car maker last year. BMW Group yesterday posted a 0.3% rise in global deliveries in November to 114,321 vehicles. In the first 11 months of the year, deliveries -- which mirror sales -- rose 2.8% to 1.24 million cars. The company said the biggest growth in November was in Asia, led by sales in China.

Consumers Less Cheery As Holidays Near - AP 
Consumer confidence dipped in December, suggesting Americans are feeling less cheery -- but are not downright gloomy -- as they hit the malls during the holiday season. The RBC Cash Index, based on the results of the international polling firm Ipsos, showed that confidence came in at 86.9. That was down from 92.4 in November and was the lowest reading since October.

Home Depot's $200 Million Error BusinessWeek
The Home Depot Inc. announced that its incorrect accounting of stock options over the past 26 years resulted in around $200 million of unrecorded expense. But the Atlanta home improvement retailer also concluded that none of its managers had meant to do wrong.

Money-Fund Assets Rise in Week WSJ
Money-market mutual-fund assets increased $28.6 billion to $2.358 trillion for the week ended Wednesday, from $2.33 trillion the previous week, according to the Investment Company Institute.