Oil-Covered Legos Doom Toy Deal With Shell

(Photo Credit: GreenPeace/YouTube)

Morning Money Memo:

Lego will end its decades-long toy marketing partnership with Shell after facing a widely circulated campaign from the environmental group Greenpeace. A YouTube video protesting arctic drilling attracted millions of page views. The Greenpeace posting showed an arctic landscape with Lego pieces covered in oil. Toy sets are now distributed to Shell gas stations in nearly 30 countries. Lego CEO Joergen Vig Knudstorp says today that the protest "may have created misunderstandings among our stakeholders," adding Lego didn't want to be embroiled in the protest campaign. Lego had kept a low profile over the Greenpeace campaign until the announcement it would not renew its 2011 promotion deal with the oil company. Greenpeace described Lego's announcement as "fantastic news."

Condo prices and apartment rents are rising faster than the rest of the housing market. The real estate firm Trulia says September condo prices rose 7.3 percent compared with the year before, versus 6 percent for single-family homes. Condo rents increased 6.9 percent, well above the general inflation rate. But home price increases are the smallest in several years and "we are not close to being back to a bubble," Trulia Chief Economist Jed Kolko says. "Even though there've been big price increases over the past couple of years, today looks nothing like 2006, the height of the last housing bubble."

A subsidiary of telecom giant AT&T will pay a hefty $105 million to settle federal government charges that the company unlawfully billed wireless customers for tens of millions of dollars in bogus charges, a practice known as cramming. The settlement involving AT&T Mobility includes $80 million in customer refunds and $20 million in penalties and fees to 50 states and the District of Columbia. In its complaint, the Federal Trade Commission said AT&T billed millions of customers for charges from third-party companies for services customers never asked to receive or were duped into subscribing to - things like horoscope texts or flirting tips. The fees, usually $9.99 a month, were not easy for customers to find on their bills. A penalty of $5 million will be paid to the Federal Communications Commission. In a statement, company spokesman Fletcher Cook said the settlement resolves "claims that some of our wireless customers were billed for charges from third-parties that the customers did not authorize."

After a sharp drop on Tuesday the stock market had its strongest one-day gain of the year. The Dow Jones Index rose 275 points Wednesday or almost the same amount the average lost the day before. Investors gave a positive reaction to the latest minutes from the Federal Reserve. They eased concerns about an early interest rate hike. Fed policy makers expressed concerns that an economic slowdown overseas would have an impact on the US economy.

Timothy Geithner has defended terms of the government's bailout of AIG - American International Group - saying the insurance giant's exceptionally risky behavior caused losses that called for strict treatment. The former Treasury secretary, who headed the New York Federal Reserve when it extended a rescue loan in 2008, rejected the argument that the bailout was beyond the powers of the Fed. Geithner told a New York court that officials believed AIG's dire financial condition was "substantially" the result of its management taking on excessive risk. AIG's former chief executive, Maurice Greenberg, is suing the government over the terms of the bailout.

Shares of J.C. Penney fell nearly 11 percent after the retailer warned that its sales last month were weaker than expected. Penney is trying to recover from large losses and falling sales. The company kept its third-quarter and full-year earnings guidance unchanged. Separately, PepsiCo's third-quarter profit rose 5 percent thanks in part to strong overseas sales and the company boosted its outlook for the year, sending shares toward an all-time high before the market opened this morning. Also, Gap has announced that Glenn Murphy will resign as its chairman and chief executive on Feb. 1, and the retailer will promote its digital leader Art Peck to CEO.

Richard Davies Business Correspondent ABC News Radio abcnews.com Twitter: daviesnow