Austin City Council member and mayor pro tem Brewster McCracken plans to officially launch his mayoral campaign on Monday Dec. 8.

Nearly half of chief executive officers in the United States expect their companies' sales to decline over the next six months, according to a fourth-quarter survey conducted last month by the Business Roundtable.

Austin-based Bury + Partners has formed a new Mechanical, Engineering and Plumbing practice and hired Doran McMahon as principal of the new service.

WASHINGTON — Desperate U.S. automakers ran into fresh obstacles from skeptical lawmakers Thursday as they appealed with rising urgency — and a new dose of humility — for a $34 billion bailout. Without help, one senator said, "we're looking at a death sentence."

As with many companies, 2008 hasn't been the best year for Whole Foods Market.

A round of more than 15,000 layoffs announced Thursday by AT&T Inc., DuPont and Viacom Inc. suggests a yearlong wave of job cuts is accelerating, just as the government is expected to report a higher unemployment rate for November today. Swiss bank Credit Suisse Group also announced 5,300 job cuts, but it's unclear how many will be in the U.S.

GLOBAL ECONOMY

Wal-Mart backs Hispanic institute

COMPUTER MAKERS

Investors unloaded shares of Austin's Cirrus Logic Inc. on Thursday after the chipmaker warned that its revenue for the current quarter will fall substantially below its original estimate.