NEW YORK (AP) Stock prices gained ground. The Dow rose 184 points, while the S&P surged 21 and the Nasdaq advanced 40 points.

NEW YORK (AP) Armed with $5 billion in federal aid, GMAC pledges to loosen tight lending standards that have made loans harder to get for would-be buyers of GM vehicles. It's the first time that a financial institution has said it will use money from the $700 billion bank bailout to offer more credit to consumers.

Washington (AP) The Federal Reserve says it will begin purchasing up to $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities early next month in an effort to bolster the Housing Market. The Fed had announced the plans in late November, but did not say when the purchases would begin.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) oil prices ended lower. Light, sweet crude for February delivery settled down 99 cents to $39.03 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in very light trading.

NEW YORK (AP) There weren't enough degrees of separation from Bernard Madoff for actor Kevin Bacon. He and wife Kyra Sedgwick are among the many victims of the massive Ponzi scheme run by the disgraced New York money manager, according to Bacon's publicist.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 12-30-08 1637CST | save this article / add to your favorites list