NEW YORK

Stocks end mixed on roller-coaster ride

NEW YORK — Stocks finished a back-and-forth session mixed Thursday as investors grappled with weaker-than-expected economic data and weighed the chances of the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is expected to speak today at the central bank's annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and said in a letter Wednesday to Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., that Fed policymakers are "prepared to act as needed" if the market's turmoil damages the economy.

The Fed's next meeting is Sept. 18, but some on Wall Street expect that the central bank could act sooner.

The Commerce Department said second-quarter gross domestic product grew 4.0 percent — its fastest pace in more than a year. The report also suggested that business investment, not consumer spending, was the main driver of growth.

The Dow fell 50.56, or 0.38 percent, to 13,238.73 after dropping about 100 points early in the session.

Broader stock indicators finished mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 6.12, or 0.42 percent, to 1,457.64, while the Nasdaq rose 2.14, or 0.08 percent, to 2,565.30.

Toys R' Us recalls wooden coloring cases

NEW YORK — Toys "R" Us has recalled 27,000 crayon and paint sets made in China because the packaging of the wooden box contains lead, as do some of the watercolor paint within, company and government officials said Thursday.

No injuries have been reported from the use of the Imaginarium Wooden Coloring Cases, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Toys "R" Us sold the case nationwide from October through this month for about $20.

Consumers are asked to return cases to the nearest Toys "R" Us store for credit, the commission said.

Hedge fund bankruptcy protection denied

NEW YORK — A federal judge Thursday denied Bear Stearns Cos. bankruptcy protection for two failed hedge funds that it managed, but granted the investment bank 30 days to refile before investors can seize assets.

Judge Burton Lifland of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan denied Bear Stearns' Chapter 15 request, which would allow the funds to seek bankruptcy protection in the U.S. while liquidating in the Cayman Islands.

The nation's fifth-largest investment bank must now petition under either Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code to protect it from investors in the U.S.

CALIFORNIA

Tribune to sell historic studio complex

LOS ANGELES — Tribune Co. is selling its historic Hollywood studio complex, where Warner Bros. filmed "The Jazz Singer," the first movie with sound.

The Sunset Boulevard property now serves as home for Tribune Entertainment and Tribune Studios. Also on the lot is Tribune-owned local TV station KTLA.

Tribune, which has owned the facility since 1986, did not say how much it was hoping to get.

ILLINOIS

Sears Holdings profits drop 40 percent

CHICAGO — Sears Holdings Corp. posted its lowest profit in nearly two years Thursday after another round of weak sales at Kmart and Sears stores sent the retailer's net income tumbling 40 percent.

Net income for the period that ended Aug. 4 fell to $176 million, or $1.17 per share, from $294 million, or $1.88 per share, a year earlier, when the company was helped by a one-time gain. Revenue dipped 4 percent to $12.24 billion.

TEXAS

Dell says quarterly earnings up 46 percent

DALLAS — Dell Inc. said Thursday that preliminary second-quarter earnings jumped 46 percent on stronger sales of enterprise products and services, improved average selling prices and favorable component costs.

The computer maker said it earned $733 million, or 32 cents per share, in the three months that ended Aug. 3, compared with $502 million, or 22 cents per share, a year ago. Sales rose 4 percent to $14.8 billion.