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CHICAGO — “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” an iconic broadcast that grew over two decades into a daytime television powerhouse and the foundation of a multibillion-dollar media empire, will end its run in 2011 after 25 seasons on the air, Winfrey’s production company said tonight. Winfrey plans to announce the final date for her show during a live broadcast on Friday, Harpo Productions Inc. said, bringing an end to what has been television’s top-rated talk show for more than two decades, airing in 145 countries worldwide and watched by an estimated 42 million viewers a week in the U.S. alone.

Oprah Winfrey to announce Friday show will end in 2011

Foldcraft Co., Kenyon’s largest employer, has cut 25 of its 231 employees from plants in Kenyon and Bloomington, Minn. It has 200 employees in Kenyon, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Kenyon’s largest employer lays off 25 workers

Minnesota customers of Sprint Nextel Corp. who think their cell phone contracts were extended without their say-so can file for refunds of early termination fees under a legal settlement announced today. State Attorney General Lori Swanson said her office will accept claims through March 15. Swanson spokesman Ben Wogsland said about 400,000 Minnesota customers who signed contracts with Sprint Nextel since Sept. 26, 2001, are potentially eligible.

The agreement ends a two-year-old consumer protection lawsuit that started with Swanson seeking restitution and civil penalties of up to $25,000 per incident. She settled for an agreement with the cell phone giant to review claims of improper cancellation penalties and reverse or refund some of the fees.

Sprint Nextel settles Minnesota lawsuit over contracts

After operating at reduced capacity for months, Red Wing Shoe Co. has decided to downsize because of the prolonged recession. The restructuring process will see the manufacturing facility in Danville, Ken., closed and the second shift in the Red Wing plant eliminated. Approximately 200 workers will lose their job in the decision, including up to 60 in the Minnesota facility.

Red Wing Shoe to close 1 of 3 plants, lay off 200 workers

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — Intel Corp. is paying Silicon Valley rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. $1.25 billion to squash a legal battle over Intel’s sales tactics, a rift that led to antitrust charges against Intel in several countries and was headed toward a costly and nasty trial next year.

The settlement announced Thursday between Intel and AMD — which make essentially all the microprocessors that serve as the brains in today’s personal computers — doesn’t let Intel off the hook. It still has to deal with the antitrust charges that AMD pressed governments to file.

The Senate voted today to extend and expand a popular tax credit for homebuyers that was scheduled to expire Nov. 30. The House is expected to schedule a quick vote on the bill, part of a package that also extends unemployment benefits for people out of work more than a year.

Senate votes to extend homebuyer tax credit

Associated Press

NEW YORK — Spooked traders unraveled a rally in stocks late Wednesday as a downbeat assessment of a bank touched off fears that the market is getting overheated.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 92 points after having risen 78 points earlier in the day to a new high for the year.

Analysts pointed to a note on Wells Fargo & Co. from banking analyst Richard Bove as the source of the drop, but also said a mix of complacency and lingering concerns about the pace of the market’s climb in the past seven months left stocks ripe for a hit.

Joe Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading LLC, said the note was a reminder of troubles still in the economy and was enough to scare many traders.

“They all ran for the exits at the same time,” he said.

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — IBM Corp. put a top executive on leave Monday after he was charged in an insider trading scandal for allegedly leaking secrets about IBM’s earnings and financial dealings with corporate partners.

The company said Robert Moffat, a senior vice president and cost-cutting maven who was considered a possible candidate to succeed CEO Sam Palmisano, no longer serves as an officer of the company.

A woman who answered the phone at Moffat’s home in Connecticut said he would not comment. Kerry Lawrence, an attorney representing Moffat, said the government hasn’t accused Moffat of profiting from the alleged scheme.

“Not only have they not alleged that, but that definitely did not happen,” Lawrence said.