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AP Business NewsBrief at 1:14 a.m. EDT
(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Boeing workers back strike; pact extended 2 daysSEATTLE (AP) _ Boeing Co. aircraft assembly workers voted overwhelming to reject the company's contract offer and strike for an unprecedented second time in three years. Their walkout was set to begin at 12:01 a.m. PDT Thursday but was put on hold after their expiring contract _ covering more than 27,000 workers _ was extended 48 hours at the request of Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire and a federal mediator.
Oil steady in Asia ahead of US inventory reportSINGAPORE (AP) _ Oil prices were steady Thursday in Asia above $109 a barrel as investors waited for a weekly U.S. crude inventory report for evidence that slowing economic growth has cut demand. Light, sweet crude for October delivery was up 19 cents to $109.54 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange midday in Singapore. The contract overnight fell 36 cents to settle at $109.35.
Cablevision completes first phase of WiFi buildoutCablevision Systems Corp. said Thursday it has finished the first phase of its wireless network buildout in New York and remains on track to complete the project in two years. The diversified cable operator is offering the WiFi service at no charge to its 2.4 million Internet customers at speeds of up to 1.5 Megabits per second, similar to DSL at home.
Study: Workers to pay more for health careNEW YORK (AP) _ Get ready for another hike in copays and deductibles. A survey being released Thursday by the Mercer consulting firm found 59 percent of companies intend to keep down rising health care costs in 2009 by raising workers' deductibles, copays or out-of-pocket spending limits.
ECB, BoE expected to leave interest rates steadyFRANKFURT, Germany (AP) _ The European Central Bank and Bank of England will likely leave interest rates unchanged on Thursday as they face mounting inflation and slowing growth. The ECB in July moved to cool inflation by increasing borrowing costs for the first time in a year to 4.25 percent for the 15 countries that use the euro.
Lehman rises on reports of capital injectionsNEW YORK (AP) _ Shares of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. rose Wednesday as investors weighed reports that the embattled investment bank might find a fresh source of capital. The Chosun Ilbo, South Korea's largest mass-circulation daily newspaper, reported that state-owned Korea Development Bank (KDB) proposed to buy a 25 percent stake in Lehman by forming a consortium with other South Korean banks. The offer is reportedly worth as much as $5.3 billion.
Argentina's Senate approves airline takeoverBUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) _ Argentina's Senate approved the nationalization of Aerolineas Argentinas and its subsidiary on Wednesday, moving to return the financially troubled Spanish-owned airlines to state hands. The 46-21 vote in favor of the takeover of Aerolineas Argentinas and Austral airlines was the final step in making the nationalization law. Argentina's lower house in August approved the measure, which requires the state hold a majority of company shares.
Remnants of Gustav slow attempts to restore powerBEAUMONT, Texas (AP) _ Torrential rains and the threat of tornadoes in the wake of Hurricane Gustav slowed attempts to rebuild Louisiana's broken transmission and distribution systems even as hundreds of thousands of residents who had fled the storm return to homes that may be without power for weeks. Oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico that had been shut down last month before the hurricane resumed in limited volumes, U.S. Minerals Management Service said Wednesday afternoon. And the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, which handles about 12 percent of the nation's crude imports and is tied by pipeline to about half the nation's refining capacity, does not appear to have been damaged by Gustav.
Wall Street mixed on global economic worriesNEW YORK (AP) _ Wall Street finished mixed in fickle trading Wednesday, with investors unsettled about the economy ahead of Friday's employment report and only somewhat relieved about sliding commodities prices. The Commerce Department gave the market just modest comfort when it said orders for manufactured products rose by 1.3 percent in July. The figure was higher than the 0.8 percent predicted by economists polled by Thomson Financial/IFR; the department also upwardly revised its June reading to an increase of 2.1 percent.
August auto sales fall but some say worst is overDETROIT (AP) _ Nearly every major automaker saw its U.S. sales drop in August, but many are seeing signs that the worst slump in recent history may have bottomed out. Most upbeat were executives from General Motors Corp., which posted a 20.3 percent sales decline from a year ago but a 31 percent improvement over July's dismal totals.
Copyright ? 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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