DETROIT — General Motors Co. CEO Frederick "Fritz" Henderson stepped down yesterday after the board determined that the company wasn't changing quickly enough.

Chairman Ed Whitacre Jr. said at a hastily called news conference that he will serve as interim CEO, and an international search for a new CEO and president is planned.

Whitacre thanked Henderson for his work during a period of challenge and change, but said it is time to accelerate rebuilding the largest U.S. automaker.

The resignation comes just eight months after Henderson, 51, replaced former chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner, who was ousted March 29 by the Obama administration's government's auto task force.

Henderson has been with GM his entire career and was the government's choice to run the beleaguered company after Wagoner left. Whitacre, picked by the government in June to be chairman of the new GM, is considered an industry outsider, having run AT&T Inc. for 17 years.

GE MOVE CLEARS WAY FOR COMCAST DEAL

PHILADELPHIA — General Electric Co.'s agreement to buy out the portion of NBC Universal it doesn't already own paves the way for the sale of a controlling stake to Comcast Corp. in a deal that promises to reshape the entertainment industry.

GE has reached a tentative agreement to buy out French media conglomerate Vivendi SA's 20 percent stake in NBC Universal, a person with knowledge of the talks told The Associated Press late yesterday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations were private and the companies' agreement has not yet been formalized.

The news lessens the uncertainty surrounding GE's planned sale of a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal to Comcast, the largest U.S. cable provider.

That deal would make Comcast one of the nation's largest entertainment firms, rivaling the heft of its former takeover target, The Walt Disney Co.

VEHICLE SALES FLAT FOR NOVEMBER

Auto sales showed signs of stability in November, but the sluggish U.S. economy continued to weigh on car shoppers.

Overall, vehicle sales were flat last month, compared with November last year. The 746,928 cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. amounted to just 139 more than the number sold in the same month last year, according to figures compiled by research company Autodata Corp.

"It appears that the economy and auto sales have stabilized and the worst is behind us," said Ken Czubay, the U.S. sales chief for Ford Motor Co.

Among the major U.S. automakers, Ford saw sales dip fractionally last month from a year earlier, and General Motors Co. saw year-over-year sales fall 1.5 percent. Chrysler Group sales sank 25.5 percent.