NEW YORK — Priceline.com came close to becoming the first stock in the Standard & Poor's 500 index to cross $1,000.

Investors jumped onboard after the travel booking company reported better than expected second-quarter earnings. The stock rose to almost $995 before leveling off. The stock closed at $969.89.

The company's stock hasn't been this high since it had an adjusted closing price of $974.27 on April 30, 1999, a month after going public in the heady days of the dotcom boom. The stock dropped below $10 just two years later.

NEW YORK — A judge refused a request by Apple to temporarily suspend her ruling that it violated antitrust laws by conspiring with publishers to raise electronic book prices in 2010. Judge Denise Cote, ruling from the bench in Manhattan federal court, declined to withdraw the effect of last month's ruling while Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple appeals.The maker of iPods, iPads and iPhones continues to fight what it calls “false accusations.”The judge ruled last month that Apple had conspired with publishers to spoil the $9.99 e-book price Amazon.com had established.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said that he's still considering a range of candidates to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve and that whoever gets the job will need to focus in the near term on reducing unemployment.Obama said during a White House news conference that former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers and current Fed Vice Chairman Janet Yellen are both highly qualified for the job, and that he's also considering others. He said he'll make his decision in the fall.

WICHITA, Kan. — Tyson Foods told cattle feeders this week it will no longer buy animals fed a supplement that’s designed to bulk them up before slaughter, citing experts who suggest the drug may be causing cattle to become lame.The decision has raised concerns that less beef will be available, which would drive up consumer prices. The growth-inducing drugs are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and help feed yards get roughly 25 more pounds of beef from each carcass.