Manhattan is in the dark, or part of it anyway, and businesses will be shuttered today. Sandy hit Atlantic City around 8 p.m., at 80 miles per hour. Even the guy who takes care of the Statue of Liberty decamped for his mom's house in New Jersey. A crane is dangling precipitously in Manhattan, tunnels are flooded, electricity is out downtown, and also to tens of thousands in storm-path states. LaGuardia is a duck pond. Subways were shut down from Boston to Washington, as were Amtrak and the commuter rail lines. About 1,000 flights were canceled at each of the …

Yes, it's pink. The auto industry has traditionally been male-dominated, but Honda has rolled out a new model it claims to have specifically designed with women in mind. The new "Honda Fit She's" is meant to appeal to women with things like a windshield designed to block skin-wrinkling ultraviolet rays. But previous feminine offerings, such as the old Dodge LaFemme, met with little more than indifference and, in some cases, outright hostility. The car is available only in the Japanese market now, and the company hasn't decided whether to take it elsewhere.

Nando's, perhaps South Africa's most famous food export, started from one outlet in Rosettenville, Johannesburg, now has 1,010 stores around the globe, in places as far flung as Pakistan, Malaysia, Fiji and Bahrain. There are 300 in South Africa alone. Co-founder Robbie Brozin said it sells not only chicken but also the spirit of South Africa and Africa. To take the chain to the next level, the company hired London-based David Niven as CEO to create some order. Ads, for example, have backfired in some countries.

The dispute between the NHL and NHL Players Association has, to date, cost the league all its preseason games and all regular season games through Nov. 30. Next to fall could be the Bridgestone Winter Classic, scheduled for Jan. 1 at the University of Michigan Stadium between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs (to air on NBC); and the All-Star Game, scheduled for Jan. 27 in Columbus. The NHL could decide on the Winter Classic as early as today, although league executives headquartered in New York might hold off due to the impact of Hurricane Sandy hitting the …

Toyota has once again taken the lead over General Motors as top-selling auto brand in the world, now that it has recovered from last year's disasters. The company said Friday it sold 7.4 million vehicles globally in the first nine months of this year - 450,000 more than General Motors. While Toyota's sales rose 28% in that period, GM's rose 2.5% to 6.95 million cars and light-duty trucks. Toyota will have to work to keep that up because the territorial dispute with China has chilled sales there.

Cash from Crossroads and the Kochs isn't everything. The White House and Democrats are holding their own in the ad-spend war. Over the last month, the pro-Obama forces have run more ads and, more critically, have reached audiences in roughly the same numbers as Mitt Romney and the group of well-financed conservative super PACs working to elect him per data from the last 30 days from Kantar Media/CMAG.

With New York City on lockdown for Frankenstorm, the U.S. stock and options markets will be closed on Monday, and possibly Tuesday. The decision to just shutter shut the stock market followed a less drastic plan to open for business on Monday with limited staffing, with key employees booking hotel rooms and leaning on offices in other cities. Bond markets will remain open, but will close at noon, a trade group said. Nasdaq, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will also be closed. Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Citigroup Inc. activated their emergency plans, which many firms put in place …

Hurricane Sandy will ground some 6,800 commercial flights, including all departures and arrivals at metropolitan New York's three major airports. New York's airports together were key to U.S. travel for some 52 million departing passengers last year and outstripping the world's busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta. The good news is it's not tourist season said Rick Seaney, CEO of Farecompare: "If this was happening during Thanksgiving week, it would just be a nightmare." But it will freeze business travel and hurt earnings for United Continental Holdings Inc., American and Delta. Heathrow cancelled 59 flights today. Air France-KLM (AF) Group, Europe's …

Apple’s 4Q profit missed estimates on fewer iPad sales. CEO Tim Cook said the company has been struggling to meet demand for the iPhone 5, but that Apple still expects to sell it in 100 markets this quarter — including putting it on sale China in December. Cook also said Microsoft’s new Surface tablet is a “fairly compromised, confusing product.” 

Best Buy is removing the senior-most layer of the U.S. operation toward having a "leaner structure intended to improve the company's agility," per the company. Starting in January Best Buy's operations in the U.S. will be structured around online and retail, wit the former overseen by Stephen Gillett, president of digital and marketing, while Shawn Score is appointed to lead the U.S. retail channel. There will be three business groups -- Connectivity, Home and Services with Jude Buckley is promoted to head the Connectivity Business Group.