NATION

NATION
Apple shares drop at newsof federal probe of options
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Shares of Apple Computer Inc. fell Thursday after new details of a federal investigation into the company's stock options practices raised questions about the role of its charismatic CEO, Steve Jobs.
Citing unidentified people familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reported that Jobs received 7.5 million stock options in 2001 without the required board authorization and that documents were later falsified to indicate otherwise.
Shares of the iPod and Macintosh computer maker shed 65 cents, or 0.8 percent, to 80.87 Thursday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Trucking shipmentsdown nearly 9% in Nov.
WASHINGTON -- In a potentially worrisome sign for the U.S. economy, domestic trucking shipments declined by almost 9 percent in November, marking the largest year-over-year decrease in almost six years, the industry's largest trade association said.
The American Trucking Associations said in a monthly report released late Wednesday that its seasonally adjusted truck tonnage index stands at its lowest level since late 2003, after an 8.8 percent decline versus the same month a year ago.
The index fell 3.6 percent from the prior month.
Because more than two-thirds of all manufactured and retail goods in the U.S. are carried by truck, the industry is considered an important economic bellwether.
Associated Press