Thomas P. Joyce, senior vice president for operations at Public Service Enterprise Group's nuclear division for the past 16 months, was named Friday as president and chief nuclear officer of the unit. The appointment is effective on Monday.

Since June 2007, Joyce has been responsible for the operation of PSEG Nuclear's three generating stations in Salem County.

Prior to coming to PSEG in 2005, he was the site vice president of Exelon Nuclear's Braidwood station and held leadership positions at Exelon Corp.'s nuclear operations.

-- Kevin G. DeMarrais

*

Office vacancies rise to 13.6%

NEW YORK -- Vacancies in U.S. office buildings rose to 13.6 percent in the third quarter from 13.1 percent in the second, the biggest one-quarter jump since the second quarter of 2002, according to Reis Inc., the New York-based real estate research firm.

Asking rents rose 0.6 percent, the smallest gain since the second quarter of 2005, Reis said. Effective rents, or what tenants actually pay landlords, didn't grow at all last quarter. The last time office buildings failed to register rent gains was the fourth quarter of 2004.

-- Bloomberg News

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MARKET MOVERS

NEW YORK -- Stocks ended a volatile week with another sell-off Friday while credit markets remained strained after enthusiasm over the government's $700 billion financial rescue plan gave way to worries about obstacles still facing the economy.

Investors dumped stocks late in the session after a big intraday rally, repeating a defensive move seen throughout the yearlong market pullback. As lawmakers voted on the plan, which President Bush quickly signed into law, the Dow advanced more than 300 points. After it passed, the blue chips moved in and out of positive territory before ending down more than 150 points.

Investors had been anxious for resolution on the government's plan to buy up bad assets from banks and other institutions to shore up the financial industry and help resuscitate credit markets. Trading across markets was volatile throughout the week as investors tried to determine whether the plan would win approval and what effect it might have. On Monday, the House's rejection took Wall Street and Capitol Hill by surprise and handed stocks their biggest losses in years.

The Senate subsequently passed a sweetened version of the plan that added tax breaks and raised the limit on federal deposit insurance from $100,000 to $250,000.

The following had unusual price changes in U.S. trading.

Compass Minerals International Inc. rose 8.6 percent to $45.93. The producer of highway de-icing salt, fertilizer and food ingredients was raised to "overweight" from "neutral" by analyst David Silver at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. fell 27 percent to $20.15 for the steepest loss since its June 1994 initial public offering. The owner of industrial properties and warehouses cut its forecast for 2008 funds from operations because of "rapid deterioration in the capital markets."

Ford Motor Co. retreated 6.9 percent to $4.05, the lowest since July 1984. The second-biggest U.S. automaker plans to sell as much as $500 million in shares to retire debt of its consumer-finance unit.

-- From news service reports

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