AP Executive Morning Briefing

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Friday, December 22, 2006:

Consumer Spending Picks Up in November

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Showing some holiday cheer, consumers boosted their spending in November by the largest amount in four months, while the nation's manufacturers saw demand for big-ticket goods rebound. The latest snapshot of consumer and business activity was contained in a pair of reports released by the Commerce Department on Friday, with encouraging signs for the economy.

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More Fog Strands Thousands at Heathrow

LONDON (AP) _ Thick fog caused the cancellation of flights at London's Heathrow Airport for a fourth day Friday, forcing thousands of frustrated passengers to scrap or delay their Christmas travel plans. The fog was expected to continue through the weekend, causing more potential delays for passengers making connecting flights.

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Walgreen 1Q Profit Surges 25 Percent

DEERFIELD, Ill. (AP) _ Walgreen Co., the nation's largest drugstore chain by revenue, on Friday said fiscal first-quarter profit grew 25 percent as prescription sales rose. Net income for the quarter ended Nov. 30 totaled $431.7 million, or 43 cents per share, compared with a profit of $345.6 million, or 34 cents per share, during the same period last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a profit of 41 cents per share.

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Siemens Corruption Suspects Released

MUNICH, Germany (AP) _ Six suspects in a corruption probe of German electronics company Siemens AG have been released from custody after providing evidence that supports the allegations against them, prosecutors said Friday. Six current or former Siemens employees, including the ex-head of its telecommunications equipment unit, Thomas Ganswindt, were detained after Munich prosecutors ordered raids on company's offices across Germany in November.

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Korea Rejects U.S. Beef Shipment

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ South Korea has rejected the latest shipment of U.S. beef and asked Washington to explain why it contained unacceptible levels of the toxic chemical dioxin, a governent official said Friday. According to a statement issued late Thursday, the South Korean Agriculture and Forestry Ministry found 6.26 picograms of the toxic substance in one gram of fat, part of a 10.2-ton shipment of U.S. beef which arrived on Dec. 1.

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Toyota Announces 2007 Production Target

NAGOYA, Japan (AP) _ Toyota announced on Friday a global production target of 9.42 million vehicles for next year, increasing the odds that the Japanese manufacturer will surpass troubled General Motors Corp. as the world's No. 1 automaker. The latest figure, announced by Toyota in a release, marks a 4 percent increase over the 9.04 million vehicles the company expects to produce this year and easily clears the 9.2 million vehicles GM is estimated to have produced this year.

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Red Hat 3Q Profit Drops but Beats Views

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ Stock-compensation expenses cut into profits for the second consecutive quarter for Red Hat Inc., but the company again exceeded analysts' expectations. Red Hat, a leading provider of the open source Linux operating system and services, reported Thursday that its third-quarter profit sank 37 percent because of stock options expenses and tax provisions. The company's second-quarter profit dropped 34 percent on stock-compensation expenses.

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Oil Prices Inch Up a Day After Big Drop

VIENNA, Austria (AP) _ Oil prices rose Friday after falling more than $1 in the previous session as shipments returned to normal in the U.S. Gulf Coast region. Still, signs of an economic slowdown in the United States and forecasts of continued mild temperatures for the U.S. Northeast put a relatively low ceiling on prices.

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Thousands of Holiday Travelers Stranded

Two of the world's busiest airports, in London and Denver, were socked with bad weather on Thursday, spreading delays and cancellations to airports around the world and stranding tens of thousands of travelers during the pre-Christmas travel crunch. As flight after flight was canceled, the situation grew into a logistical horror for fliers, whose vacations were disrupted if not spoiled, and for airlines, who may lose much-needed revenue.

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Vodafone Eyes India Telecom Hutch Essar

LONDON (AP) _ Vodafone Group PLC, the world's largest mobile phone company, said Friday it is considering taking a controlling interest in Hutchison Essar Ltd., raising the possibility of a bidding war for the Indian mobile phone operator. Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd. confirmed it had been approached by a number of unnamed parties wanting to buy its 67 percent stake in Hutchison Essar, India's fourth-largest operator, but declined to give details. Indian oil and gas conglomerate Essar holds the other 33 percent.

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Gold Prices

LONDON (AP) _ Gold bullion opened Friday at a bid price of $619.70 a troy ounce, down from $620.64 late Thursday.

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Japan Markets

TOKYO (AP) _ Japanese stocks rose Friday to a fresh seven-month high, with Toyota surging to a new record after the automaker announced bullish production targets for next year. Steel and insurance shares also rose.

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Dollar-Yen

TOKYO (AP) _ The dollar slipped against the yen in Asia Friday in thin trading ahead of the Christmas and New Years' holidays.

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