WASHINGTON (AP) -- Worker productivity surged in the summer at the fastest pace in four years while wage pressures eased.

The Labor Department reported that productivity -- the amount of output per hour of work -- jumped at an annual rate of 4.9 percent in the July-September quarter. That was more than twice the 2.2 percent rise in the second quarter and was the fastest surge in worker efficiency since 2003.

At the same time, wage pressures eased. Unit labor costs dropped at an annual rate of 0.2 percent, the best showing in more than a year.

Both outcomes were far better than expected and should relieve some concerns that a surge in productivity that began in the mid-1990s was in danger of being reversed.

The slight drop in wage pressures was especially welcome after hefty increases over the past four quarters. Rising wages are good for workers. But if higher wages are not accompanied by strong productivity gains, they raise concerns among Fed policymakers about inflation.

The 0.2 percent decline in unit labor costs in the third quarter followed a 2.2 percent increase in the

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Nasdaq Stock Market's agreement to buy the Philadelphia Stock Exchange for $652 million in cash gives the largest U.S. electronic stock market a foothold in the fast-growing options market.

The deal, unveiled Wednesday, comes as many of the world's exchanges are succumbing to a wave of consolidation aimed at boosting market share and protecting profits as competition mounts from electronic upstarts.

Nasdaq said it expects the acquisition of the nation's oldest stock exchange and its third largest options market to close in the first quarter and start to add to Nasdaq's bottom line in 2009.

Nasdaq plans to maintain the Philadelphia Exchange's structure -- operating the electronic options trading platform alongside the options trading floor in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Exchange, which was founded in 1790, hired financial advisory services firm Greenhill and Co. in August to outline its options, including a possible sale.

"This transaction will add immediate exposure to a fast-growing options space. It allows us to diversify our products and services to best serve our customers," Nasdaq President and Chief Executive Bob Greifeld

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices stalled in their climb toward $100 a barrel Wednesday after a government report said oil inventories fell less than expected last week while refinery utilization remained flat.

Oil investors largely viewed the report as neutral in that it confirmed a view that oil supplies are falling, but offered no real surprises. A larger than expected drop would most certainly have propelled oil past $100 a barrel for the first time.

Crude inventories did fall at the closely watched New York Mercantile Exchange delivery terminal in Cushing, Okla., but that did not appear to be enough to propel prices higher.

"We got kind of a mixed reaction," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell 33 cents to settle at $96.37 a barrel on the Nymex. Before the report's release, prices rose as high as $98.62, a new record. Trading was volatile, with futures falling by nearly $2 a barrel at times in afternoon trading.

At the pump, meanwhile, the national average price of a gallon of gas rose 1.9 cents overnight to $3.043, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Prices are up nearly 29 cents since mid-October

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Cisco Systems Inc.'s first-quarter profit jumped 37 percent, edging the world's largest networking supplier past Wall Street's estimate Wednesday as demand continued rising for sophisticated Internet machinery.

But shares plunged 9 percent on fears that sudden sluggishness in orders from large U.S. corporations could portend a wider slowdown, an interpretation of the results that Cisco refuted.

Net income was $2.2 billion, or 35 cents per share for the three months ended Oct. 27. That compares with $1.6 billion in profit, or 26 cents per share in the year-ago period.

Stripping out one-time charges, the San Jose-based company reported earning 40 cents per share, four cents more than the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

Cisco makes routers and switches that direct Internet traffic. It competes with Alcatel-Lucent SA, Nortel Networks Corp. and Juniper Networks Inc.

Cisco's strong sales in the first quarter helped it slightly beat analysts' forecasts. Cisco rang up $9.55 billion in sales during the period, a 17 percent jump over the $8.2 billion recorded last year. Analysts were