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AP Business NewsBrief at 12:28 a.m. EDT
[May 10, 2009]

AP Business NewsBrief at 12:28 a.m. EDT


(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Swine flu is windfall for some top tourism spotsThe cruise Zenaiva Cervantes booked was to stop in sun-drenched beach cities on the Mexican Riviera. The cruise she took? That landed her in Seattle, where she pulled her arms tightly to her chest as she debarked on a damp, 50-degree morning. "We wanted to relax in the warmth," the 61-year-old Tijuana, Mexico, resident said in Spanish Thursday. "If someone had told me I'd be in Seattle eight days ago, I wouldn't have believed them." Obama: Send me credit card legislation this monthWASHINGTON (AP) _ Send me a bill that stops credit card companies from taking advantage of consumers, and do it by month's end, President Barack Obama is demanding of Congress. But there's no guarantee lawmakers will deliver by Memorial Day, and the banking industry is fighting back.



LCH.Clearnet receives takeover bid from consortiumNEW YORK (AP) _ London-based LCH.Clearnet Group Ltd., a key European trading securities clearing house, has received a takeover bid for as much as $1.2 billion from a consortium of banks, including J.P. Morgan Chase Co., according to online media reports including The Wall Street Journal. LCH.Clearnet spokeswoman Andrea Schlaepfer, reached by telephone, confirmed Saturday that the company had received a takeover offer late Friday from a "consortium of ICAP plus some banks" but declined to comment on the financial details of the offer.

Germany sees open questions in Opel bidsBERLIN (AP) _ Germany's economy minister was quoted as saying Saturday that questions remain over plans by both Fiat SpA and auto parts maker Magna International Inc. to invest in General Motors' main European unit, Opel, and stressed that he is equally open to both suitors. Fiat's chief executive, Sergio Marchionne, has visited Germany twice in the past week to present officials his plan to make GM Europe, including German-based Adam Opel GmbH, part of a global powerhouse also including Chrysler.


Hicks' loan default casts shadow on Rangers, StarsDALLAS (AP) _ Tom Hicks owns the Texas Rangers and the Dallas Stars because he's been a pro at turning borrowed money into handsome profits. Few could match the tall Texan's ability in the world of leveraged corporate buyouts, and he used that wealth to become a force in the world of professional sports. He's not just the owner of both Major League Baseball and NHL franchises in a big U.S. market, but also half-owner of the top-tier English soccer club Liverpool.

Money or tradition: Ind. Amish face uneasy dilemmaTOPEKA, Ind. (AP) _ A part-time construction job sturdied Orva Fry's financial foundation after he was laid off from an RV factory. It also kept the 41-year-old Amish father of two on steady spiritual ground. Another way to make ends meet that Fry briefly considered _ unemployment checks _ went against his faith, which shuns all forms of government assistance.

AP Sources: Obama wants Fed to be finance supercopWASHINGTON (AP) _ The Federal Reserve could become the supercop for "too big to fail" companies capable of causing another financial meltdown under a proposal being seriously considered by the White House. The Obama administration told industry officials on Friday that it was leaning toward making such a recommendation, according to officials who attended a private one-hour meeting between President Barack Obama's economic advisers and representatives from about a dozen banks, hedge funds and other financial groups.

Judge refers lawyer for prosecution in Dole fraudLOS ANGELES (AP) _ A judge said Friday that she's referring a Los Angeles lawyer to federal prosecutors and the State Bar over his involvement in lawsuits that she found were part of a massive fraud by purported Nicaraguan banana workers against U.S. food giant Dole. Superior Court Judge Victoria Chaney said that attorney Juan Dominguez, an attorney for the plaintiffs in the lawsuits against Dole, would be subject to charges of perjury, obstruction of justice, defrauding a court, conspiring to extort a United States company and possibly federal racketeering violations. She also ordered Dominguez to appear in her courtroom on June 15 for a hearing on sanctions for alleged contempt of court.

NYC mayor, NY speaker call for ground zero summitNEW YORK (AP) _ The mayor and a top state lawmaker on Friday called for a meeting to resolve a power struggle at ground zero, with growing momentum to build fewer skyscrapers than planned in an uncertain economy. Mayor Michael Bloomberg invited the governors of New York and New Jersey, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, the agency that owns ground zero and trade center developer Larry Silverstein to a meeting at his mansion next week.

UN: Treaty expanded by 9 more dangerous chemicalsGENEVA (AP) _ A U.N.-sponsored treaty to combat highly dangerous chemicals has been expanded to include nine more substances that are used in pesticides, electronics and other products, U.N. officials said Saturday. The additions include one called PFOS worth billions of dollars in a wide range of uses from making semiconductor chips to fighting fires. Another is lindane, a pesticide widely used in combatting head lice.

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