Friday, July 20, 2007


Jul. 20, 2007 (AP Online delivered by Newstex) -- The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Friday, July 20, 2007:

China Bans Firms From Exporting Goods

BEIJING (AP) _ China said Friday it had shut down several firms at the heart of food and drug safety scares, its latest move to clean up those industries and salvage its reputation as a reliable exporter. Li Changjiang, head of the General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, said officials were focusing on stricter market access requirements for companies, conducting random checks and beefing up product testing.

___

GM Tops Toyota in 2Q Global Sales

DETROIT (AP) _ General Motors Corp. (NYSE:BGM) pulled ahead of Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM) in global sales for the second quarter of 2007 but remained No. 2 for the first half of the year, according to preliminary figures released by the rival automakers. GM said Thursday it sold 2.41 million vehicles worldwide in the April-June period, while Toyota said it sold 2.37 million.

___

US Meat Labels to Note Country of Origin

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The House Agriculture Committee voted Thursday night to require country of origin labels on meats beginning next year, striking a compromise as reports of tainted food from China raise consumer awareness about imported food safety. After days of negotiations between both sides, the committee agreed to allow the mandatory labels but soften penalties and burdensome record-keeping requirements that had concerned many food retailers and meatpackers who opposed the law. The committee adopted by voice vote the labeling changes just before it approved a five-year farm law that would govern agriculture programs.

___

Consumer Bankruptcy Rate Up in 3 States

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Almost two years after lawmakers amended the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to reduce filing rates, several regions in the Southeast continue to see elevated numbers of consumer bankruptcy cases, a phenomenon some experts attribute in part to local culture. Bankruptcy numbers over the past few months appear to be slowing down or leveling off in many regions. More than 73 percent of the nation's federal court districts saw bankruptcy filings drop between May and June, according to Jupiter eSources, a company that tracks bankruptcy data. But bankruptcies continue to climb or remain elevated in the three highest-filing states in the country _ Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama.

___

Senate Passes Bill to Boost Student Aid

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Senate passed a bill early Friday to increase aid to college students. The bill would give more money to Pell grant recipients, who are among the poorest. They get a maximum award of $4,310 annually now, but that would be bumped up to $5,400 by 2011. To pay for the proposal, lawmakers would cut roughly $18 billion in federal subsidies to banks that issue government-backed student loans.

___

Oil Prices Retreat in Thin Asian Trading

SINGAPORE (AP) _ Oil prices retreated Friday amid thin trading as traders repositioned themselves before the expiration of the front-month crude futures contract at the end of the session. Light, sweet crude for August delivery fell 12 cents to $75.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, midmorning in Singapore.

___

Google's 2Q Profit Disappoints Investors

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page have always told Wall Street that positioning the Internet search leader to realize its long-term ambitions is more important to them than meeting the earnings expectations of shortsighted investors. Just in case anyone forgot, the company punctuated the point with its second-quarter results. Propelled by the online advertising boom, Google said Thursday that revenue surged to $3.87 billion, up 58 percent from the same time last year _ a gain that was slightly above analyst estimates.

___

Japanese Stocks Climb; Dollar Up vs. Yen

TOKYO (AP) _ Japanese stocks rose a second straight day Friday, lifted by steel companies with strong earnings expectations. The Nikkei 225 index added 41.36 points, or 0.23 percent, on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, to 18,157.93 points. The index rose 0.56 percent Thursday.

___

Lawyers Square Off in Pesticide Case

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Central American banana workers were left sterile after being exposed to a dangerous pesticide that was improperly applied and used in amounts exceeding guidelines, an attorney said Thursday during his opening statement in a civil trial. 'Some of them were sleeping in hammocks and at night they would breathe those vapors,' attorney Duane Miller said.

___

UAW, Chrysler to Hold Contract Talks

DETROIT (AP) _ With handshakes and smiles, negotiators from Chrysler Group (NYSE:DCX) and the United Auto Workers formally begin contract talks Friday that many consider to be crucial to the survival of Detroit's three automakers. In reality, talks between the UAW, Chrysler, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F PRS) (NYSE:F PRA) (NYSE:F) and General Motors Corp. have been under way for months because there are so many issues to address.

___

Gold Prices

LONDON (AP) _ Gold bullion opened Friday at a bid price of $676.50 a troy ounce, up from $673.70 late Thursday.

___

Dollar-Yen

TOKYO (AP) _ The dollar edged higher against the yen Friday in Asia on buying by Japanese trust funds and importers.

A service of The Associated Press. Copyright 2007 All rights reserved.

Newstex ID: AP-0001-18279060


Delivered by Newstex LLC
via theFinancials.com