NEW YORK — CIT Group Inc., one of the nation's biggest lenders to small and mid-sized businesses, said yesterday that a judge approved its reorganization plan and it plans to emerge from bankruptcy protection tomorrow.

CIT Group filed for bankruptcy protection on Nov. 1 after it failed to restructure outstanding debt to alleviate a cash crunch. The reorganization plan, which was approved by key bondholders in advance, reduces CIT's total debt by $10.5 billion. It also defers debt maturities for three years.

CIT, based in New York, had continued to operate while working through bankruptcy proceedings.

Reducing and delaying debt repayments gives CIT more time to repair its finances, which were hammered by the collapsing credit markets late last year and rising loan defaults among its customers.

GE EXPECTS DELAY IN PROFIT IMPROVEMENT

WASHINGTON — General Electric Co. says profits at its lending arm will start improving by 2011, but first it will have to slog through another year of big losses on loans gone bad in areas like commercial real estate.

The conglomerate told analysts yesterday that profit is expected to be flat next year, ranging between $2 billion to $2.5 billion, and then rise in 2011. GE is ahead of schedule with plans to shrink the size of GE Capital, which once provided nearly half of the company's overall profits. And GE says credit markets are improving, making it easier and cheaper to borrow money.

MCDONALD'S SALES SLIP FOR 2ND MONTH

CHICAGO — The supersized recession that was a boon for business last year caught up further with McDonald's Corp. in November, as high unemployment ate into sales.

While the world's largest burger chain is still faring better than its competitors, who've increasingly been pushing value menus and discounts of their own, the restaurant's fortunes likely won't improve unless the U.S. economy does.

Yesterday, McDonald's said sales at restaurants open at least a year fell 0.6 percent in the U.S. It was the second consecutive monthly decline for the measure, an important indicator of a restaurant chain's health, and a steeper fall than October's 0.1 percent.

JOB COMPETITION TO REMAIN FIERCE

WASHINGTON — Few employers plan to ramp up hiring early next year, two surveys show — evidence that the economic recovery isn't likely to create many jobs anytime soon.

That will mean fierce competition for job openings that do exist. Nearly 6.3 unemployed workers, on average, are vying for each opening, government figures released yesterday show. When the recession began, only 1.7 jobless workers were competing for each opening.

More of America's largest companies will shrink their staffs than will hire in the next six months, according to a quarterly survey from the Business Roundtable, a group of large-company CEOs released yesterday.

MORGAN STANLEY SHUFFLES LEADERSHIP

NEW YORK — Morgan Stanley elevated its chief financial officer to a new role as co-chief of investment banking and global securities trading yesterday as part of a management shake-up ahead of James Gorman's assumption of the CEO role on Jan. 1.

Gorman, who is 51, succeeds John Mack, 65, who will remain as chairman.

Colm Kelleher, who had been chief financial officer, will run Morgan Stanley's institutional securities business along with Paul Taubman, who had been head of investment banking. Kelleher is 52, and Taubman is 48.

With Kelleher moving to a new position, Ruth Porat will take over as chief financial officer. Porat, 52, was previously the global head of Morgan Stanley's financial institutions group.