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AP Business NewsBrief at 7:21 a.m. EST(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Car dealers try to survive as economy, sales dropNEW ORLEANS (AP) _ At this year's version of the National Automobile Dealers Association convention, survival has passed maximizing profits as the focus of the annual event. So as thousands of dealers from across the U.S. gathered Saturday in New Orleans, they were greeted by workshops entitled "Selling up in a down economy: Taking the bull by the horns" and "Tough times, tougher dealers: Saving your dealership's assets." 2 Price Waterhouse employees arrested in IndiaHYDERABAD, India (AP) _ Police in India have arrested two employees of Price Waterhouse, the auditors of the troubled Indian outsourcing giant Satyam Computer Services Ltd. S. Gopalakrishnan and T. Srinivas of the auditing firm are being investigated for fraud and criminal breach of trust, senior police official A. Siva Narayana said late Saturday. Credit Suisse compensates its Lehman investorsZURICH, Switzerland (AP) _ Credit Suisse Group said Sunday it has paid around 100 million Swiss francs ($86.7 million) in compensation to 2,000 clients who lost money in collapsed U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers. Most of the beneficiaries received the money in the third quarter, said spokesman Jan Vonder Muehll, confirming reports by the weeklies NZZ am Sonntag and Sonntagszeitung. Iraq's oil exports raise in DecemberBAGDHAD (AP) _ The Iraqi Oil Ministry says the country's oil exports in December reached 56.2 million barrels. It says that's a 3.4 million barrel increase from previous month although revenues dropped due to the slide in global oil prices. Obama touts aid plan's impact on average AmericansWASHINGTON (AP) _ President Barack Obama met with his economic advisers Saturday after he asked Americans to support his economic package as a way to better schools, lower electricity bills and health coverage for millions who lose insurance. The two-hour session in the Roosevelt Room focused the proposed $825 billion economic stimulus package that Congress is considering. The group also discussed the upcoming federal budget, Obama's first chance to shape the country's spending amid a recession that lost 2.6 million jobs last year, the most in a single year since World War II. Chrysler exec sees automaker viable by springNEW ORLEANS (AP) _ A top Chrysler LLC executive says the automaker should be viable by springtime because of its restructuring, introduction of new and improved vehicles, and higher sales due to loosened credit and sweetened incentives for buyers. Vice Chairman and President Jim Press defined "viable" as remaining solvent and continuing to invest in new products, with an ability in the future to repay government loans. Air Canada cuts 375 jobsTORONTO (AP) _ Air Canada has announced plans to cut another 345 jobs as it copes with a decrease in demand. Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said Saturday that the cuts will mostly affect its 5,700 flight attendants, beginning March 2. Colombia, Venezuela form $200M fund to boost tradeBOGOTA, Colombia (AP) _ The presidents of Colombia and Venezuela pledged Saturday to invest $100 million each in a special fund in hopes of boosting cross-border trade as the world economic crisis slashes global demand for their exports. The cash will help create small businesses and should finance infrastructure projects along the border, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said after four hours of talks in the Caribbean port of Cartagena with his Colombian counterpart, Alvaro Uribe. College financial aid system facing stiff testCHICAGO (AP) _ Finding financial aid for college this year promises to be tougher than any final exam. The quest for money that begins for students and parents every January has taken on new urgency in 2009 amid fears that loans and grants will be scarcer than in the past due to the recession. "The financing system for college is in real crisis," said Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers. "Every one of the participants in the system is experiencing hardship _ higher education institutions, states, aid donors and families all are cash-strapped." China dismisses US remark on currency manipulationBEIJING (AP) _ A top official at China's central bank has dismissed U.S. Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner's comment that President Barack Obama believes Beijing is "manipulating" its currency, state media said Saturday. Su Ning, a deputy governor of China's central bank, was cited as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency that the remarks were "not in line with the facts." Copyright ? 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |