AP Executive Morning Briefing

The Associated Press

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Tuesday, May 13, 2008:

Lawmakers want to end oil shipments to US reserve

WASHINGTON (AP)- Amid daily bipartisan sniping over high gas prices, Democrats and Republicans appear to agree on at least one thing: With oil over $120 a barrel, President Bush ought to stop buying crude for the government emergency reserve. Both the House and Senate are expected to approve, with bipartisan support, legislation Tuesday directing Bush to temporarily halt the shipment of about 70,000 barrels of oil a day to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

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Airbus announces new delays to A380

PARIS (AP) - Airbus on Tuesday announced new delays on deliveries of the superjumbo A380, already almost two years late, saying the company is behind schedule switching to automated production. The European aircraft maker said in a statement that it will deliver 12 planes in 2008 instead of 13, and 21 planes in 2009 instead of 25. Executives will talk to customers about deliveries for 2010 - originally foreseen at 45 - in the coming weeks.

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Oil below $124 a barrel as eyes turn to China

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Oil prices dropped below $124 a barrel on profit-taking Tuesday after hitting another trading record in the previous session. Monday's mark of $126.40 a barrel was the sixth trading record in six trading sessions, and analysts said the market was due for a correction following the seemingly relentless climb upward.

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Australia's St. George Bank agrees to Westpac bid

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - St. George Bank on Tuesday agreed to an 18.6 billion Australian dollar ($17.5 billion) takeover offer from Westpac Banking Corp. that would create Australia's biggest bank and be one of the country's largest corporate deals. The two lenders said in a joint statement Tuesday that Westpac was offering 1.31 of its own shares for each St. George Bank share.

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Chinese bourses suspend quake zone firms

SHANGHAI, China (AP) - Chinese shares fell Tuesday and the country's two stock exchanges suspended trading in 66 companies based in the region hit by a major earthquake in an effort to minimize potential disruptions to financial markets. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was down 2.6 percent at 3,533.55 by midday, after dropping as much as 3.3 percent in early trade. The Shenzhen Composite Index, of China's second, smaller bourse, fell 1.3 percent by midday to 1,097.26.

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Nissan 4Q profit rises; outlook poor

TOKYO (AP) - Nissan reported a big jump in fiscal fourth quarter profit Tuesday compared with the previous year. But like other Japanese automakers pinched by a strong yen and soaring oil and material costs, it forecast a tough year ahead. Nissan Motor Co.'s January-March profit rose 67 percent to 137.6 billion yen ($1.3 billion) from 82.2 billion yen in the same period the previous year.

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Stocks up as oil price drop eases inflation fears

NEW YORK (AP) - Wall Street rallied Monday as oil prices fell back and alleviated some of investors' concerns about accelerating inflation. The Dow Jones industrials gained 130 points. Oil's retreat helped soothe some of Wall Street's worries about inflation's impact on consumer spending. Crude briefly reached a new trading high of $126.40, but investors seemed shy, for the time being at least, to add to oil's huge gain of nearly $10 last week. Light, sweet crude oil fell $1.73 to settle at $124.23 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Old gas pumps can't handle ever-rising prices

REARDAN, Wash. (AP) - Mom-and-pop service stations are running into a problem as gasoline marches toward $4 a gallon: Thousands of old-fashioned pumps can't register more than $3.99 on their spinning mechanical dials. The pumps, throwbacks to a bygone era on the American road, are difficult and expensive to upgrade, and replacing them is often out of the question for station owners who are still just scraping by.

--- Tribune's Newsday deal is one step in easing debt

NEW YORK (AP) - Tribune Co.'s $650 million sale of Newsday is an important step toward alleviating its debt burden - for this year. Now the Chicago company needs to move on its next big asset sales, including the Chicago Cubs baseball team and Wrigley Field, in order to meet its obligations to creditors looming in 2009.

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HP has eye on IBM as it discusses EDS acquisition

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Having seized the lead in personal computer sales worldwide, Hewlett-Packard Co. is stalking the technology services market for its next conquest. In what could turn into its biggest deal in six years, HP hopes to buy Electronic Data Systems Corp., which pioneered the concept of running data centers and providing other high-tech help for large companies and government agencies.

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Gold Prices

LONDON (AP) - Gold opened in London at $878.80 an ounce, down from $882.10 late Monday.

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Japan Markets

TOKYO (AP)- Japanese shares rose Tuesday on growing optimism over the U.S. market following a rally on Wall Street, with investors unfazed by the earthquake in China.

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Dollar-Yen

TOKYO (AP) - The dollar slipped against the yen in Asia Tuesday on selling from Japanese exporters and moved in a narrow range amid lingering worries about the U.S. credit crunch.

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