BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

WASHINGTON (AP) Crude oil futures jumped 4 percent Friday after a thwarted attack on a massive oil facility in Saudi Arabia rattled a market already jittery about supply disruptions in Nigeria and Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil producer, with output of about 9.5 million barrels per day, or 11 percent of global consumption. The target of the attack, the Abqaiq oil complex in eastern Saudi Arabia, processes about two-thirds of the country's oil before it is exported.

Suicide bombers in explosives packed cars attacked the heavily guarded facility but were foiled when guards opened fire, detonating the vehicles and killing the attackers, Interior Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Mansour al-Turki told The Associated Press. The vehicles exploded outside the first of three fences around the sprawling complex, al-Turki said.

Saudi oil minister Ali Naimi said the attack caused "a small fire" that was brought under control and that operations were not affected. But the incident heightened supply fears on world oil markets.

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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ BlackBerry owners will have to wait longer to learn the fate of their wireless e-mail devices: A federal judge ended a hearing Friday without making a ruling on an injunction request.

Shares of BlackBerry's maker, Research In Motion Ltd. of Waterloo, Ontario, got a lift in afternoon trading following the court news as well as the second favorable decision this week from the U.S. patent office.

NTP Inc., a small patentholding firm that successfully sued RIM for patent infringement, asked U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer to impose an injunction on the service with a 30-day grace period for the parties to work out the details.

The Arlington company also recommended that the judge immediately enjoin sales of new BlackBerry devices and award it an initial $126 million in damages. RIM has deposited at least $250 million in escrow, and NTP says that pot of money should be reserved just in case newer BlackBerry models infringe on its patents.

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WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House on Friday praised as helpful the offer by a United Arab Emirates company to postpone indefinitely its takeover of significant operations at six major U.S. seaports. The delay gives President Bush time to convince skeptical lawmakers the deal poses no increased risks from terrorism.

Lawsuits to upset the $6.8 billion transaction were filed Friday in New Jersey and London.

The White House said it still supports the agreement and said that Bush will continue to oppose any effort by lawmakers to block it.

The company's surprise concession, offered late Thursday, cools the standoff building between the Congress and the president over his administration's previous approval of the deal. In early reaction, lawmakers praised the temporary hold. But some critics pressed anew for an intensive examination of the deal's risks.

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NEW YORK (AP) – Ted Turner, the mercurial media visionary who founded CNN, said Friday that he wouldn't seek re-election to the board of Time Warner Inc.

Turner, who is 67, became a director of Time Warner in 1996 when the media conglomerate bought his cable networks company Turner Broadcasting Systems. He long held a prominent role in guiding Time Warner's affairs, but in recent years complained of being sidelined.

Turner has increasingly turned his time and energy toward philanthropic efforts, which include overseeing an eponymous environmental foundation and his large land holdings. At 1.7 million acres, these make him the largest individual property owner in the United States.

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BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) – After watching its sales momentum surge over the past four decades, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. now finds it has to work harder to grow – with 3,900 stores nearly saturating the U.S. market, it's the company's sales strategy, not new retail outlets, that will determine Wal-Mart's future.

Analysts are optimistic the nation's largest retailer will get the job done – even if the company isn't so sure itself. WalMart is offering a broader selection of high-end items and sprucing up its stores to make happier customers, but has set a yearly earnings target below that of people who watch the world's largest retailer.

In a world where most Americans already live near a WalMart, Chief Executive Lee Scott is betting that trendier merchandise and a more appealing shopping environment will boost sales faster than simply opening new Supercenters can accomplish.