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AP Business NewsBrief at 7:41 a.m. EDT(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oil giant ConocoPhillips to split into 2 companiesNEW YORK (AP) _ ConocoPhillips, the nation's third-largest oil company, said Thursday that it will split itself into two separate publicly traded companies and its CEO and Chairman Jim Mulva plans to retire once the transaction is complete. Its shares jumped $3.60, or 4.8 percent, to $78 in premarket trading. Murdochs summoned to testify in phone hack inquiryLONDON (AP) _ British lawmakers say News International chief Rebekah Brooks has agreed to testify before a parliamentary committee investigating phone hacking. Rupert and James Murdoch have been issued a summons after they declined to appear. Parliament's Culture, Media and Sport Committee will hold hearings next week about the scandal that has destroyed one Murdoch newspaper and wrecked the mogul's bid to buy broadcaster BSkyB. JPMorgan Chase's income rises 13 percent in 2QNEW YORK (AP) _ JPMorgan Chase & Co. says its second-quarter income rose 13 percent as the bank collected higher fees from equity and debt underwriting in its investment banking business. The bank also cut losses in its credit card portfolio. The New York bank earned $5.4 billion, or $1.27 per share. It earned $4.8 billion, or $1.09 per share, in the same quarter last year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast the bank would earn $1.22 per share. Study at Samsung says cancers unrelated to workYONGIN, South Korea (AP) _ A study commissioned by Samsung into cancers among six of its semiconductor workers found they were unrelated to exposure to chemicals on the job but the electronics giant is not yet releasing the full results. U.S.-based Environ International Corp. on Thursday announced the broad findings of a study it conducted over the past year of several Samsung chip manufacturing facilities. Austria says Greece may have to reschedule debtsVIENNA (AP) _ Austria's finance minister says Greece may have to reschedule its mountain of debts. Maria Fekter's comments to the Austrian Press agency Thursday come a day after the Fitch agency slashed its credit rating on Greece further into junk status and to only one above a default rating. Moody's US warning weighs on stocksLONDON (AP) _ A warning that the U.S. may lose its cherished triple A credit rating and concerns over Europe's debt problems weighed on stock markets Thursday, though an indication that the Federal Reserve could provide more monetary stimulus limited losses. Moody's warned late Wednesday that it may downgrade its view on the U.S. because of the failure of the White House and Congress to raise the $14.3 trillion borrowing limit and avoid a default. Foreclosure activity slowed in first half of 2011LOS ANGELES (AP) _ The number of homes taken back by lenders in the first half of this year fell 30 percent compared with the same 2010 period, the result of delays in foreclosure processing that threaten to stall a U.S. housing recovery. Banks seized 421,212 homes in the first six months of the year, down from 529,633 between January and June last year, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday. 'Enough is enough,' Obama says, calling for dealWASHINGTON (AP) _ Amid new warnings and fresh signs of strain, President Barack Obama and congressional leaders are entering a perilous debt-limit endgame. The president, declaring "enough is enough," is demanding that budget negotiators find common ground by week's end even as the Senate's top Republican gained followers for his own last-ditch scheme to avoid a government default. The continuing impasse was unsettling Wall Street, which up to now had performed as if an increase in the debt ceiling was not in doubt. And the looming Aug. 2 cutoff for action was creating new tensions between the president and Republican leaders. Oil above $98 as investors eye US stimulus, debtSINGAPORE (AP) _ Oil prices hovered above $98 a barrel Thursday in Asia amid speculation about a possible new round of U.S. monetary stimulus while a rating agency put the country's credit rating under review for a downgrade. Benchmark oil for August delivery was up 12 cents to $98.17 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude rose 62 cents to settle at $98.05 on Wednesday. China to keep tight controls on property marketSHANGHAI (AP) _ China's premier says the government will keep controls on property deals in place to help fend off a speculative bubble, reflecting top-level unease over limited progress in cooling the overheated market. Wen Jiabao urged local governments to abide by efforts to cool the property market and to meet targets for building more affordable public housing. Such housing is meant to accommodate ordinary families unable to afford commercial property due to surging prices. (c) 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |