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AP Business NewsBrief at 4:32 a.m. EDT
(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oil drops to near $112 as storm threat easesKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) _ Oil prices fell to near $112 a barrel Tuesday in Asia, extending an overnight decline as Tropical Storm Fay avoided oil-producing infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico. Analysts also said oil pricing is likely to remain suppressed amid concerns that a global economic slowdown may further dampen world oil demand. But intermittent supply concerns due to the hurricane season and ongoing conflicts such as that between Russia and Georgia are likely to halt any sharp slide in pricing.
Chinese hurdler's pullout a blow to advertisersBEIJING (AP) _ Hurdler Liu Xiang's surprise departure from the Olympics was a blow to advertisers including Coca Cola and Nike that made the 25-year-old hurdler a star of campaigns aimed at Chinese consumers. "His marketing value has been seriously diminished," said Chris Renner, president for China of sports marketing agency Helios Partners.
Car buyers' satisfaction with US brands stumblesNEW YORK (AP) _ U.S. car buyers are growing less satisfied with their purchases from domestic automakers while their Asian and European competitors continue to improve, according to a recent survey. Consumer satisfaction with U.S. auto brands slipped as Lexus and BMW tied for first place, followed by Toyota and Honda, according to the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index released Tuesday.
Obama book falls victim to booksellers' rivalryNEW YORK (AP) _ A new book about Sen. Barack Obama has intensified a rivalry between two powerful competitors: Barnes & Noble, Inc. and Amazon.com. Chelsea Green Publishing, a small, liberal publisher based in Vermont, is releasing Robert Kuttner's "Obama's Challenge," a call for Obama to enact a bold, progressive economic agenda. It plans to distribute copies at next week's Democratic National Convention, where Obama is expected to get the party's presidential nomination.
Venezuela seizes control of cement companiesCARACAS, Venezuela (AP) _ Venezuelan government officials backed by National Guard troops seized control of cement plants owned by Mexico's Cemex SAB after failing to reach a deal on terms for nationalizing them. As a deadline for talks expired at the stroke of midnight Monday, Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez raised a fist in the air while flag-waving workers cheered at a Cemex plant.
AP: Mexican peppers posed problem before outbreakFRESNO, Calif. (AP) _ Federal inspectors at U.S. border crossings repeatedly turned back filthy, disease-ridden shipments of peppers from Mexico in the months before a salmonella outbreak that sickened 1,400 people was finally traced to Mexican chilies. Yet no larger action was taken. Food and Drug Administration officials insisted as recently as last week that they were surprised by the outbreak because Mexican peppers had not been spotted as a problem before.
This year's Calif. table olive crop is the pitsFRESNO, Calif. (AP) _ Extra olives with your martini? Bartenders soon may think twice about that, with table olive prices expected to go up as California growers face their second-lightest harvest in more than a decade. State and federal agriculture officials have predicted that the table olive crop is down by half this year because of harsh spring weather. And that's only half the bad news: Farmers say sparse fruit means it's not practical to pick the fruit from many trees, reducing supply and driving up prices.
Wall Street pulls back as financials fallNEW YORK (AP) _ Wall Street retreated Monday after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fell to their lowest levels in nearly 20 years on concerns that the government might need to bail out the mortgage financiers. Weakness in the overall financial sector sent the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 175 points. Investors were again uneasy about the health of financial companies after media reports of further problems in the sector. Barron's said the U.S. Treasury might have to bail out government-chartered Fannie and Freddie, which, the weekly noted, would likely wipe out shareholders' equity in the companies.
SoCal home sales climb in July, prices fallSAN DIEGO (AP) _ Southern California home sales surged to a 16-month high in July as prices kept falling and bargain-hunters snapped up foreclosed properties, a research firm said Monday. A total of 20,329 homes and condos _ including new and existing models _ were sold during July in the six-county region, up 13.8 percent from July 2007 and up 16.7 percent from June, MDA DataQuick said.
Fannie, Freddie fall on renewed bailout fearsWASHINGTON (AP) _ Whether or not the government is actually on the verge of taking over mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, investor fears that a bailout is imminent could turn such a worst-case scenario into reality. Amid renewed concern that shareholders will wind up with nothing if the government intervenes to bail out the troubled companies, shares in the mortgage finance giants tumbled Monday to the lowest levels in nearly two decades.
Copyright ? 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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