AP Executive Morning Briefing

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Monday, May 7, 2007:

Stocks Head for Flat Opening

NEW YORK (AP) _ U.S. stocks appeared headed for a flat open Monday ahead of a series of big economic reports and the Federal Reserve's expected decision on interest rates. With little earnings data to go on, investors will be awaiting economic news to try to determine where stocks might be headed and whether Wall Street's record rally will continue.

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Survey: Gas Prices Reach Record Average

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) _ Gasoline prices have surged to a record nationwide average of $3.07 per gallon, nearly 20 cents higher than two weeks earlier, oil industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday. The previous record was $3.03 per gallon on Aug. 11, 2006. But despite inventory fears that have sent prices higher, there are signs that the rising prices at the pump may be peaking.

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Buffett Provides Some Succession Details

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) _ Billionaire Warren Buffett doesn't want to give up the throne at his holding company anytime soon, but the 76-year-old is preparing for that day. Many details remain secret, but the question of who might become Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s chief investment officer is getting a lot of attention because Buffett said in March he plans to hire one or more candidates for that position soon on a trial basis.

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Ottaway Against Murdoch's Dow Jones Bid

NEW YORK (AP) _ Rupert Murdoch's bid for Dow Jones & Co. ran into more resistance Sunday as a large Dow Jones shareholder said he strongly opposes News Corp.'s bid to take over the financial news publisher, which owns The Wall Street Journal. Jim Ottaway Jr., a former Dow Jones board member, said in a statement posted on the Journal's Web site that a Murdoch takeover would lead to the "loss of the independence and integrity of a leading national editorial voice."

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Survey Defines Split in Technology Use

NEW YORK (AP) _ A broad survey about the technology people have, how they use it, and what they think about it shatters assumptions and reveals where companies might be able to expand their audiences. The Pew Internet and American Life Project found that adult Americans are broadly divided into three groups: 31 percent are elite technology users, 20 percent are moderate users and the remainder have little or no usage of the Internet or cell phones.

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Bank of America Eliminates Closing Costs

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) _ Achieving the American dream of home ownership has never been as simple as just paying for the house itself. There are always the closings costs to pay for, too. But looking to further grow its mortgage business and expand its traditional retail banking operation, Bank of America Corp. is doing away with the collection of borrower, lender and third-party fees that typically add a few thousand dollars to the price of buying a home.

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Apple, Labels Focus on Copy Protection

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ The last time Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs took on major recording companies, he refused to budge on his 99-cent price for a song on iTunes. As a new round of talks ramp up this month, however, Jobs has opened the door to higher prices _ as long as music companies let Apple Inc. sell their songs without technology designed to stop unauthorized copying.

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Dell Signs on With Microsoft, Novell

SEATTLE (AP) _ Dell Inc. has agreed to work with Microsoft Corp. and Novell Inc. under an alliance the rival software makers formed last year to make it easier for the Windows operating system and the increasingly popular Linux system to work together, the companies said Sunday. Under the partnership announced in November, Microsoft said it would offer corporate customers a chance to license its Windows operating system as part of a package that includes maintenance and support for Novell's Suse Linux platform.

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Internet Is Driving Media Mating Dance

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch has a $5 billion crush on the owner of The Wall Street Journal, Thomson is eyeing Reuters and Microsoft apparently is flirting again with Internet icon Yahoo. The media mating dance that broke out this week is part of a mad scramble not to just provide the content, but to find the right mix of technology and business savvy to remain relevant and profitable amid the upheaval wrought by the rise of the Web.

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Airbus A380 Makes 1st Landing in India

NEW DELHI (AP) _ The world's largest passenger plane _ the Airbus A380 _ made its first landing in India on Sunday, amid hopes by its maker that more Indian airlines will buy the super jumbo as the country's rapid globalization drives demand for long-haul flights. Onlookers cheered as the A380 circled twice over New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport before landing. At 148 feet, the runway was not wide enough for the behemoth double-decker, but airport officials cleaned up the grass shoulders along the sides to make way for the jet's wings, which span nearly a football field.

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Gold Prices

Hong Kong (AP) _ Gold closed at $689.25 an ounce on Monday in Hong Kong, up $8.0 an ounce from Friday's close of $681.25.

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Japan Markets

TOKYO (AP) _ Japanese stocks rose Monday, lifted by steelmakers and real estate shares with sound earnings outlooks, as the post-holiday market was bolstered up by Wall Street's record close on Friday.

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Dollar-Yen

TOKYO (AP) _ The dollar fell in Asia Monday as weak U.S. jobs data released late last week raised expectations of lower U.S. interest rates.

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