Questions follow Mattel's Bratz verdict

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- The $100 million jury award in the three-month legal battle between Mattel Inc. and Bratz-maker MGA Entertainment Inc. left one key issue unresolved.

A judge must now decide whether MGA can continue to market the popular Bratz doll line and if it can, if it will have to pay Mattel royalties for some of those dolls.

Mattel attorneys said after Tuesday's verdict that they intend to file an injunction to stop MGA from making more Bratz dolls.

"The jury found that at some point the dolls infringed, but the question is, was it the earlier dolls or the later dolls or all of them?" said Oren Warshavsky, an intellectual property attorney who has followed the case closely. "Without a special verdict form, it's difficult to see how an injunction would be styled."

Fannie Mae shakes up management team

WASHINGTON -- Mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae shook up its executive ranks Wednesday, after shares in it and sibling company Freddie Mac rose for a third straight day as investors appeared less certain a government bailout of the two troubled companies is imminent.

Fannie Mae, the largest buyer and backer of U.S. home mortgages, said its chief financial officer and two other top executives are leaving the company. Three current executives were promoted to replace them.

Fannie Chairman Stephen B. Ashley said in a statement that board members remain "firmly committed" to Chief Executive Daniel Mudd.

Oil ends higher as Gustav spins toward Gulf

NEW YORK -- Oil prices climbed for a third day Wednesday as fears deepened that Tropical Storm Gustav could enter the Gulf of Mexico as a powerful hurricane and disrupt oil and natural gas production.

On its current trajectory, Gustav could also damage fuel refineries along the vulnerable Gulf Coast and push gasoline prices higher at the pump in time for Labor Day weekend.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery rose $1.88 to settle at $118.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier spiking as high as $119.63. Crude has tacked more than $3 onto its price since Friday as worries over Gustav at least temporarily halt oil's steep, monthlong slide from July's record price above $147 a barrel.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC said it's evacuating some 300 workers from offshore Gulf rigs, while BP PLC was also removing personnel from the region that's home to about a quarter of U.S. crude production and much of its natural gas.

The storm also boosted natural gas prices, which gained 11.6 cents to settle at $8.394 per 1,000 cubic feet.

US thrifts 2Q loss is second largest ever

WASHINGTON -- U.S. thrifts lost $5.4 billion in the second quarter and set aside a record amount to cover losses from bad mortgages and other loans.

Data from the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision released Wednesday show federally-insured savings and loan institutions posted their second-largest quarterly loss ever in the April-June period, after the $8.8 billion loss in the fourth quarter of last year. Heavily focused on mortgage lending, thrifts have been stung by mounting home-loan defaults.

The $5.4 billion quarterly loss compared with net profits of $3.8 billion in the year-ago period, and a loss of $627 million in the first quarter.

The 829 thrifts also set aside a record $14 billion to cover losses from bad mortgages and other loans. Thrifts differ from banks in that, by law, they are required to have at least 65 percent of their lending in mortgages and other consumer loans -- making them particularly vulnerable to the persistent housing downturn.

SEC proposes international accounting plan

WASHINGTON --Federal regulators on Wednesday proposed a plan to allow public companies to begin using international accounting standards for reporting financial results in two years, and may require them to do so starting in 2014.

The push by the Securities and Exchange Commission toward acceptance of a single, global accounting standard has raised objections from some investor advocates and key lawmakers. Supporters of the change say it makes sense in an era of increasingly globalized financial markets and would help lure foreign companies to U.S. markets.

The SEC could formally adopt the proposal sometime after a 60-day public comment period.

ConocoPhillips sells remainder of gas stations

NEW YORK -- ConocoPhillips will sell the remainder of its gas stations in the United States, the company said Wednesday, though Conoco, Phillips 66 and 76 will continue to operate under those familiar signs.

The 600 or so stations are being sold to Pacific Convenience & Fuel LLC, a subsidiary of PetroSun Fuel.

The deal is "in the ballpark" of $800 million, said Sam Hirbod, chairman and chief executive of PetroSun and Pacific Convenience.

Part of the deal includes a long-term contract in which ConocoPhillips would provide fuel for the stations.

"If our brand is at that site, we will be supplying the gas," ConocoPhillips spokeswoman Terry Hunt said in a phone interview.

The purchase will help boost Pacific Convenience's presence in major West Coast urban areas, Hirbod said.