The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

Scottsdale, Arizona—Tiger Woods helped attract a record, raucous crowd to the Phoenix Open on Thursday, the first big event in a week that concludes with the Super Bowl.

Taekwondo fans will have another chance to see the world’s top jins showcase their skills anew should the Philippines gets to host the Olympics qualifying event for the second time since 2000.

SCOTLAND-—Paisley, a historic region in the lowlands of this country was flooded with 10,000 car enthusiasts last week as the Monte Carlo Classic Rally revved into town for the second time.

Shanghai—A total of 23.72 million automobiles were produced and 23.49 million sold in China last year according to figures released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

MINNEAPOLIS— A Toyota Motor Corp. lawyer has told a Minnesota jury deciding whether the automaker is responsible for a crash that killed three people that the car couldn’t have accelerated so quickly if the driver hit the brakes as he claimed.

Alexandra Olson / The Associated Press NEW YORK—Global freedom has suffered a disturbing decline with 60 percent of the world’s population, or 2.6 billion people, living in countries that are not completely free, according to a report released Wednesday.

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria—Nigerian troops Sunday repelled Islamic extremists who attacked from four fronts on Maiduguri, the biggest city in northeast Nigeria, with several civilians killed by aerial bombs and grenades and mortar shells on the ground.

TOKYO—The Japanese, who inhabit one of the safest countries in the world, have been reminded in brutal fashion that the world is a dangerous place.

Nightlife is fascinating in Legazpi City, which has lively places where one could go to, like videoke bars, music lounges and night clubs, most of which are found along a major highway in Barangay Bogtong, on the outskirts of the commercial center.

Brandon Bailey / The Associated Press Apple said sales of Macintosh computers were up 9 percent in the last quarter. The company increased its share of the personal-computer (PC) market at a time when overall PC sales were declining. Apple no longer reports separate numbers for its iPod music players.