Business briefs

NATION

Wal-Mart cuts layaway fee

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it will lower the fee shoppers pay for its "interest-free" pay-over-time program it's resurrecting for the winter holidays. The fee to open up a layaway account will be $5 instead of $15, the world's largest retailer said Tuesday. Wal-Mart says the fee cut is in response to customer feedback since announcing last month it would bring back its layaway program for Christmas. The program runs from Sept. 15 to Dec. 14. -- AP

U.S. debt over $16 trillion

The national debt has topped $16 trillion as chronic government deficits have piled more than $50,000 worth of debt onto federal ledgers for every man, woman and child in the United States. Barack Obama's GOP rivals used the grim but expected news to blast the president for what they called the government's dreadful fiscal performance in his term. He has presided over four years of trillion-dollar-plus deficits after inheriting a weak economy from his predecessor, George W. Bush. The spiraling debt means lawmakers and whoever wins the White House in November will have to pass legislation to raise the government's borrowing cap from the current $16.4 trillion. Passing such legislation last year proved enormously difficult and the nation's credit rating suffered. -- AP

Zuckerberg not selling now

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg won't sell his stock in the company for at least a year, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Facebook's shares have been marking record lows since the first lockup on share sales by insiders expired in August. Zuckerberg is facing investor concerns about how the world's largest social-networking service can generate more revenue from its growing user base. Directors Marc Andreessen and Donald Graham also said they won't be selling shares in Facebook, other than to settle tax obligations. Shares dipped to $17.73 at the close in New York, the lowest since the Menlo Park, Calif.-based company went public at $38 a share on May 17.

-- Bloomberg News

Airline can cancel pilots pact

AMR Corp.'s American Airlines won court approval to cancel its labor agreement with pilots and impose cost cuts after revising a proposal that was rejected by the judge overseeing its bankruptcy case. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane in Manhattan said at a court hearing yesterday that American's renewed request to reject the contract was granted. American sought approval to reject the pilots' collective bargaining agreement as part of an effort to cut labor expenses. The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline blamed its November bankruptcy on labor costs that it said exceeded competitors' by as much as $800 million a year. American asked for approval to impose cuts after Lane denied an earlier request in August, saying two provisions in its proposal for the pilots union weren't justified.

-- Bloomberg NewsWORLD

Vegetarian Mickey D's in India

McDonald's Corp., the fast-food chain that brought the beef hamburger to the world, is opening what may be its first vegetarian-only restaurants. The world's biggest hamburger chain says the locations in India will serve only vegetarian food because of customer preferences in the region. The company could not immediately say when the restaurants would open or how many there would be. McDonald's says its kitchens in India are already separated into sections for cooking vegetarian and non-vegetarian food and restaurants there do not sell any beef or pork. They also have menu items that cater to local tastes, such as the Maharaja Mac, which is a Big Mac made with chicken patties. McDonald's says local franchises in India and other regions may already serve only vegetarian food. -- AP