AP Executive Morning Briefing
Friday, 03 October 2008 09:19:19
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The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Friday, Oct. 3, 2008:
House plans second vote on $700 billion bailout
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Rejected once amid public fury about bailing out reckless financiers, a $700 billion rescue package is getting a second chance in the House as voters anxiously ponder an economic meltdown that could wipe out their ability to borrow, plunder their savings and put them out of work. Republicans and Democrats were jumping aboard the bailout as the House sped toward a make-or-break vote _ a much-anticipated do-over after the plan met with a stunning defeat Monday, triggering a historic stock market plunge.
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Reports: Mitsubishi UFJ, Morgan eye Japan merger
TOKYO (AP) _ Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley are weighing a merger of their brokerage units in Japan, media reports said Friday. Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported plans for the merger but did not provide details or cite sources.
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Asian stocks fall on fears of US-led slowdown
SINGAPORE (AP) _ Asian markets fell Friday in the wake of another plunge on Wall Street amid doubts that Washington's bank bailout plan will prevent a recession in the U.S. and an economic slump around the world. Dismal data on the U.S. economy _ a vital export market _ helped send Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average skidding 216.62 points, or 1.94 percent, to 10,938.14, the lowest since May 18, 2005.
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Manhattan apartment sales drop further
NEW YORK (AP) _ With the troubles on Wall Street looming over the city's real estate market, Manhattan apartment sales have dropped for the third consecutive quarter, according to two reports released Friday. Sales fell 24 percent in the third quarter from the same period in 2007, with nearly 35 percent more units on the market than a year earlier, said real estate firm Prudential Douglas Elliman.
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Oil steady at $93 as market awaits US bailout vote
SINGAPORE (AP) _ Oil prices were steady above $93 a barrel Friday in Asia as investors waited to see if a reworked $700 billion bailout package will pass the U.S. Congress and help stabilize the economy of the world's biggest crude consumer. Light, sweet crude for November delivery was down 35 cents to $93.62 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore. Prices fell overnight $4.56 to settle at $93.97, the lowest level since Sept. 16.
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Tax breaks big and small sweeten financial bailout
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Wind power developers, disaster victims, college students, teachers and millions of taxpayers and businesses stand to see substantial benefits from the tax relief package that lawmakers added to the huge financial rescue plan. So will more narrowly focused groups, including motor sports racetrack owners, film producers and bicycle commuters.
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Lawmaker goes home, comes back supporting bailout
WASHINGTON (AP) _ For Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, it was a day to let the world know she'd changed her mind on the mammoth $700 billion measure for reeling financial firms. One of the first to hear was a television reporter who walked into her Capitol Hill office Thursday and said she wanted to interview her about the bailout legislation.
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Japan's Norinchukin buys stake in Credit Agricole
TOKYO (AP) _ Japan's Norinchukin Bank said Friday it has acquired a 0.5 percent stake worth about about 30 billion yen, or $286 million, in France's Credit Agricole SA, which has been shoring up its capital base after being hit by U.S. credit-related losses. Norinchukin's stake in one of Europe's largest financial institutions, for 12.7 million common shares in Credit Agricole, is an extension of a longtime partnership with the French bank, Norinchukin spokesman Yasushi Seko said.
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Column: Bailout won't cure economic stress
NEW YORK (AP) _ Once the government decides it will spend $700 billion to get the economy started again, don't expect immediate results. It's a little bit like those ads for protein drinks that show skinny milquetoasts turning into Schwarzeneggers in 60 days _ you want it to be true, but you know in your heart it will take months or years of sweating in the gym to pack on that kind of muscle.
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CEO, 5 other Washington Mutual executives leaving
WASHINGTON (AP) _ The CEO of failed Washington Mutual Inc. and five other senior executives of the largest U.S. thrift, now owned by JPMorgan Chase & Co., are leaving their positions soon. Employees of Seattle-based WaMu were told Thursday that Chief Executive Officer Alan H. Fishman and the other executives are departing. A memo to employees from Charlie Scharf, CEO of JPMorgan Chase's retail financial services, said the combination of the two companies made their positions redundant.
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Japan Markets
TOKYO (AP) _ Japan's stock market fell to its lowest level in more than three years on growing fears that even a passage of the proposed U.S. financial bailout package can't stop the American economy from slipping into a recession. A spate of dismal U.S. economic data also helped send the benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average skidding 216.62 points, or 1.94 percent, to 10,938.14 _ the index's first finish below the 11,000 level since May 18, 2005. The broader Topix index lost 2.69 percent to 1,047.97.
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Dollar-Yen
TOKYO (AP) _ The dollar edged up Friday to 105.26 yen from 104.97 yen late Thursday.
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