Business notebook

Cuffed: Canton-based men's clothing retailer Casual Male Retail Group says its fiscal second-quarter profit fell 27 percent, as higher costs offset revenue growth. For the quarter ended Aug. 4, earnings were $2.5 million, compared with $3.4 million for the year-ago period. Revenue rose 2.2 percent; same-store sales rose 3.9 percent.

It's magic: Barnes & Noble Inc. said second-quarter earnings rose 9 percent, boosted by sales of J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

Going together: General Motors Corp. wants to share more parts with rivals to improve quality and save money, purchasing chief Bo Andersson said.

Energetic: Oil and gasoline prices rebounded from sharp losses this week, as a more stable stock market alleviated traders' worries about an economic slump dampening demand. Light, sweet crude for October delivery rose 57 cents to settle at $69.83 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. September gasoline rose 3.42 cents to $1.9232 a gallon.

With Verve: Ford Motor Co. next month will unveil a prototype of a small car, part of an effort to diversify its product lineup and lessen reliance on trucks. The Verve will be smaller than the Focus, Ford's main compact model, and the company is planning a rollout next year.

Don't toy with them: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it will ask all toy suppliers to resubmit testing documentation in the wake of Mattel Inc.'s recalls.

Spousal support: News Corp., the media company controlled by Rupert Murdoch, paid his wife, Wendi, $83,333 in the year ended June 30 for her advice in the development of the MySpace social-networking website in China.

Game on: US sales of video games and hardware rose 37 percent in July to $925.5 million, compared with $675.6 million a year earlier.

Craps: Casinos Resorts Atlantic City and Atlantic City Hilton, blaming increased competition and a partial smoking ban for sinking profits, are offering buyouts to managers to avoid layoffs, according to the Star-Ledger of Newark.

Rough start: The Dubai stock exchange broke a law on takeovers in its efforts to acquire Nordic bourse operator OMX AB, Sweden's top financial regulator ruled, but did not impose any sanctions. Borse Dubai is pitted against Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. in a takeover battle for OMX.

Singing a new tune: SoundExchange, which collects royalties from webcasters and distributes them to artists and record labels, said it would limit fees -- at $50,000 a year -- for online radio station companies that offer more than 100 channels to customers.

(Globe wire services)