AP Executive Morning Briefing

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Thursday, March 29, 2007:

TJX: At Least 45.7M Card Numbers Stolen

BOSTON (AP) _ More than two months after first disclosing that hackers accessed customers' financial data from its computers, discount retailer TJX Cos. has revealed that information from at least 45.7 million credit and debit cards was stolen over an 18-month period. In a regulatory filing that gives the first detailed account of the breach initially disclosed in January, the owner of T.J. Maxx, Marshall's and other stores in North America and the United Kingdom also said another 455,000 customers who returned merchandise without receipts had their personal data stolen, including driver's license numbers.

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Ex-Qwest CEO Accused of Concealing $90M

DENVER (AP) _ Former Qwest Communications chief executive Joe Nacchio, on trial for insider trading, attempted to hide $90 million in assets by transferring stock into accounts held solely by his wife, according to a prosecution motion made public Wednesday. In the motion filed late Tuesday outside the jury's presence, prosecutor Kevin Traskas asked for permission to introduce evidence about the February 2002 transfer to counter the defense's contention that Nacchio did not sell personal shares of Qwest Communications from 2001 through 2002.

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State Farm Settles Miss. Katrina Lawsuit

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) _ State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. has reached another settlement with a Mississippi Gulf Coast couple who sued the insurer over damage to their home from Hurricane Katrina. State Farm spokesman Phil Supple told The Associated Press the settlement with Virginia and John Roper Sr. was reached Wednesday, but had no other details and terms weren't disclosed.

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Upscale Restaurants Shun Bottled Water

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) _ Bye-bye bottled water. Hello eau de tap. A new trend is in the pipeline, with some upscale restaurants ditching packaged H2O in the name of conservation. The bottled water backlash, which recently spread to the venerable Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, is spurred by environmental concerns over the energy used in transportation as well as the disposal of all those containers.

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McDonald's, KFC Probed for Wage Abuses

SHANGHAI, China (AP) _ Labor officials in China's southern province of Guangdong said Thursday they are investigating reports that fast-food chains like McDonald's and KFC pay their part-time workers less than the minimum wage of about $1 an hour. McDonald's and Yum Brands Inc. spokesmen in China responded by saying their companies abided by the law but were seeking clarification about regulations for part-time workers, especially for students.

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2 Fined for Hiring Illegal Immigrants

SAN DIEGO (AP) _ Two executives at a company that once helped build a fence to keep illegal immigrants from crossing the Mexican border were sentenced Wednesday to six months of home confinement for hiring undocumented workers. Mel Kay, founder, chairman and president of Golden State Fence Co., and manager Michael McLaughlin had pleaded guilty in federal court to knowingly hiring illegal aliens. U.S. District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz ordered each to serve 1,040 hours of community service and spend three years on probation.

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Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $64 a Barrel

SINGAPORE (AP) _ Oil prices dipped below $64 a barrel Thursday amid heightened tension in the Middle East as Iran's detention of 15 British navy personnel approached the one-week mark. Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, is located along the Strait of Hormuz, through which about two-fifths of the world's oil is transported. Traders worry that oil supplies could be disrupted if unrest escalates there.

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Japanese Stocks End Flat in Thin Trading

TOKYO (AP) _ Japanese stocks ended flat Thursday in relatively thin trading amid concerns about the outlook for the U.S. economy, a major export market. Investors were also reluctant to make big bets ahead of Friday, the fiscal year-end, when most companies close their books.

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U.S. Beef Returns to Japanese Market

TOKYO (AP) _ U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer ate free samples of American beef Thursday at the first major Japanese supermarket to sell the meat after the lifting of a nearly three-year ban over worries about possible health hazards. "Good," he said, after popping a slice of grilled steak into his mouth at a Seiyu, a supermarket chain owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

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2 Plead Guilty in Grenada Bank Scam

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) _ The last two defendants in a multimillion-dollar offshore bank and insurance scam have pleaded guilty in federal court, prosecutors said Wednesday. Sentencing will be June 11 for Douglas Ferguson, 74, who pleaded guilty March 19 to conspiracy to launder money, and Laurent Barnabe, also known as Larry Barnabe, Assistant U.S. Attorney Claire Fay told The Associated Press. Both had earlier pleaded not guilty.

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Gold Prices

LONDON (AP) _ Gold bullion opened Wednesday at a bid price of $665.90 a troy ounce, up from $664.00 late Tuesday.

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Dollar-Yen

TOKYO (AP) _ The dollar rose versus the yen Thursday in Asia on buying by Japanese importers to settle accounts ahead of the fiscal year-end this week.

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