Business Highlights

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)--Beleaguered consumer bank Wachovia Corp. said Monday it will quit offering a mortgage payment option that allows borrowers to pay less each month than the bank charges in interest.

The choice to pay less was one of the options of Wachovia's controversial Pick-A-Payment mortgages, which offer customers four different payment options each month. Wachovia said it will no longer offer the less-than-full interest payment option on all new home loans.

Wachovia also said it is waiving all prepayment fees associated with its Pick-A-Payment mortgages.

Critics have said paying less than the amount of interest charged can lead to negative amortization. That means the borrower owes more than the value of their home, increasing the chance of foreclosure.

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Oil prices end down after topping $143 a barrel

NEW YORK (AP)--The price of crude oil hit yet another record on the last day of a tumultuous first half, spurting past $143 a barrel before ending lower on demand fears and a resilient dollar. Crude has shot up nearly 50 percent since the start of the year, in large part on the dollar's troubles, and analysts expect that trend to remain intact as the second half of 2008 begins.

A government report lowering oil and gasoline demand estimates and a dollar hanging tough nullified investor concerns over supply, a fragile global economy and continued tensions in the Middle East.

Administration reported that oil usage in April was lower than previously estimated, falling to 4.2 percent to 19.768 million barrels per day from 20.631 million. That was 3.9 percent lower than in April 2007 and the lowest level for the month in six years.