2011, September | featured news

Consumers paid more for food and gas last month, although inflation outside those volatile categories was tame. The Labor Department says the Consumer Price Index rose 0.3 percent in September, below a 0.4 percent rise in August. Excluding food and energy, so-called core prices increased 0.1 percent, the smallest rise since March.

Consumer sentiment inched up in early September, but Americans remained gloomy about the future with a gauge of expectations falling to the lowest level since 1980, a survey released on Friday showed.

Oprah Winfrey's coming cable channel, OWN, will announce Thursday that the queen of talk will host an evening interview show. The show, called "Oprah's Next Chapter," will place Ms. Winfrey in prime time when it begins after her current talk show ends in September 2011.

Oprah Winfrey will announce Friday that she is ending her talk show, said a spokesman for Harpo Productions. The final show will air in September 2011.