[June 01, 2008]

AP Business NewsBrief at 3:18 p.m. EDT

(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Inflation Watch continues this week on Wall StreetNEW YORK (AP) _ Investors examine the same key economic reports at the start of every month _ on manufacturing, the service sector and employment. This week, they'll be looking at these indicators for inflation clues as much as they will for insight into economic growth. Inflationary pressures have overtaken recession as Wall Street's primary concern. At least for now.

Booksellers talk big, act quietly at conventionLOS ANGELES (AP) _ They spoke of revolution this weekend at BookExpo America, of changing how we read and how we shop. But the biggest noise happened miles away from the Los Angeles Convention Center, at the Beverly Hills mansion of Prince.

US Treasury chief: no 'quick fix' on oilDOHA, Qatar (AP) _ U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Sunday that there was no quick fix to high oil prices, which he called an issue of supply and demand. Paulson said inflation in the Gulf is "significant" but suggested that Gulf countries pegging their currencies to the weak dollar was not the only reason for it. He said it was a "sovereign decision" by each country whether it wants to de-peg its currency from the dollar.

Blu-ray DVD format may not dominate for yearsLOS ANGELES (AP) _ Blu-ray stomped HD DVD to become the standard format for high-definition movie discs, but years may pass before it can claim victory over the good old DVD. Noemi Velazquez, a 44-year-old warehouse worker, can explain why. She took one look at the $399 price tag of a Blu-ray player at a Best Buy store in Glendale, Calif., and kept going.

Heating oil sticker shock to hit New EnglandPORTLAND, Maine (AP) _ While people in most of the country may be worried about their summer air conditioning bills, many residents in the Northeast are way beyond that: They're already thinking ahead to next winter's heating bills. And what those who heat their houses with oil are seeing is giving them sticker shock.

Despite strains, sponsors look for Olympic boostBEIJING (AP) _ As protests flared along the Olympic torch route, games sponsor BHP Billiton Ltd. set up a very different clash of its own: A basketball game against one of the Australian miner's key Chinese customers. The match was part of a family day with 800 children of Maanshan Iron & Steel Co. employees, one of a series of Olympic-themed BHP events meant to nurture ties with Chinese customers and officials.

Economic cost drives Senate climate debateWASHINGTON (AP) _ The possible economic cost of confronting global warming _ from higher electricity bills to more expensive gasoline _ is driving the debate as climate change takes center stage in Congress. The Senate will begin considering legislation Monday that would mandate a reduction in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from power plants, refineries, factories and transportation, cutting heat-trapping pollution by two-thirds by mid-century.

Britain may tighten cigarette rules, ban brandingLONDON (AP) _ Britain's Department of Health has proposed banning tobacco companies from putting any logos or branding on cigarette packs. One proposal for preventing young people from smoking is to sell cigarettes in plain black-and-white boxes with nothing on them but health warnings.

Pension fund pulls out of cluster bombsSTOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) _ Swedish pension fund AP7 said Sunday it will sell all its holdings in companies making cluster bombs and nuclear weapons, including Airbus parent EADS and U.S.-based Lockheed Martin Corp. and General Dynamics Corp. The fund's chief executive, Richard Grottheim, told The Associated Press the decision would affect the fund's holdings in about 10 companies.

Clashes mark South Korean beef protestSEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ South Korean President Lee Myung-bak showed no signs Sunday of dropping a plan to resume U.S. beef imports, despite nearly 40,000 people holding an anti-government protest marked by clashes between police and demonstrators. Scattered rallies and marches continued after police fired water cannons in the pre-dawn hours and detained more than 200 people who took part in the demonstration that began Saturday night.

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