AP Executive Morning Briefing

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Wednesday, May 30, 2007:

Chinese Shares Plunge 6.5 Percent

BEIJING (AP) _ Chinese stocks plunged Wednesday after the government raised a tax on share trades, trying to cool a market boom amid growing concerns about a possible bubble. The main Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 6.5 percent at 4,071.27 after hitting a record high on Tuesday. The Shenzhen Composite Index for China's smaller second market fell even more, closing down 7.2 percent at 1,199.45.

___

Stocks Poised to Open Lower

NEW YORK (AP) _ Stocks pointed to a lower opening Wednesday as investors responded to a plunge in Chinese stocks and grew increasingly wary ahead of the Federal Reserve's release of minutes from its latest meeting. On May 9, after keeping interest rates steady, the Fed stated that curbing inflation remains its top priority. Most on Wall Street are hoping the Fed minutes, scheduled to be released at 2 p.m., will indicate that policy makers are not leaning toward a rate hike, and instead are more likely to lower rates by the end of the year.

___

Borders Group 1Q Loss Widens

DETROIT (AP) _ Losses are growing for the book retailer Borders Group Inc. as it faces a difficult sales environment and a shortage of exciting new releases. The company said it lost $35.9 million, or 61 cents per share, in its fiscal first quarter ending May 5, compared with a loss of $20.2 million, or 31 cents per share, in the prior year quarter.

___

Bush to Name Zoellick to Lead World Bank

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Robert Zoellick, a Goldman Sachs executive who has built contacts around the globe as President Bush's trade chief and as the country's No. 2 diplomat, is the White House's choice to be the next World Bank president. Bush was to announce the decision Wednesday, according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of Bush's announcement.

___

CDW Agrees to Be Acquired in $7.3B Deal

VERNON HILLS, Ill. (AP) _ CDW Corp. on Tuesday announced that the distributor of hardware, software and technology accessories has agreed to be acquired by a private equity company in a $7.3 billion deal. Under the agreement with Chicago's Madison Dearborn Partners LLC, CDW shareholders will receive $87.75 in cash for each share of common stock, CDW said in a news release issued after the close of business.

___

Oil Prices Rebound in Asian Trading

SINGAPORE (AP) _ Oil prices rebounded Wednesday after plunging by more than $2 a barrel overnight as developments in major oil producers Iran and Nigeria eased geopolitical concerns. Traders were eyeing the release Thursday of the U.S. government's weekly fuel supply snapshot, which was expected to show higher gasoline stockpiles.

___

Homebuilder Pulte to Cut 1,900 Jobs

DETROIT (AP) _ Facing a grim housing market, Pulte Homes Inc. said Tuesday that it is cutting about 16 percent of its work force, or about 1,900 jobs, as part of a restructuring. Pulte, one of the nation's leading homebuilders, said the restructuring will save an estimated $200 million a year before taxes.

___

Tishman, Lehman to Buy Archstone-Smith

NEW YORK (AP) _ Archstone-Smith, a major owner of apartment buildings, said Tuesday it had agreed to a Tishman Speyer-led buyout valuing the company at about $15.5 billion, but investors indicated they were expecting a higher bid. Tishman Speyer, owner of New York's Rockefeller Center and the Chrysler building, was joined by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in the friendly takeover bid, which would turn one of the largest publicly traded real estate trusts over to private investors.

___

VeriSign CEO Sclavos Suddenly Resigns

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) _ VeriSign Inc., which manages the ".com" and ".net" domain names registry, said Tuesday that Chief Executive Stratton Sclavos has resigned for undisclosed reasons. Analysts were startled by the abrupt departure. The company gave little information about the reason for Sclavos' exit after 12 years as CEO. Nevertheless, the stock rose about 2.5 percent on the news, gaining 69 cents to close at $27.94 during regular-session trading Tuesday.

___

RBS Launches $95.5B Hostile Bid for ABN

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) _ ABN Amro received an industry record takeover bid of 71.1 billion euros ($95.5 billion) Tuesday from a group led by Royal Bank of Scotland PLC, but its shares fell as the Dutch bank's earlier decision to sell its U.S. arm to Bank of America still clouded prospects for a quick deal. The offer by the RBS-led consortium of 38.40 euros ($51.59) per share, about 10 percent higher than the bid on the table from Britain-based Barclays PLC, is contingent on the LaSalle sale not going forward, and also sets aside around 1.85 billion euros ($2.49 billion) to pay potential claims or a settlement to BofA.

___

Gold Prices

HONG KONG (AP) _ Gold closed at $658.05 an ounce on Wednesday in Hong Kong, up .90 cents an ounce from Tuesday's close of $657.15.

___

Japan Markets

TOKYO (AP) _ Japanese stocks declined modestly Wednesday on concerns about a plunge in the Chinese stock market. But shares trimmed losses as traders shrugged off early jitters and kept their focus on Wall Street, which eked out gains overnight.

___

Dollar-Yen

TOKYO (AP) _ The dollar was little changed in Asia Wednesday as players eyed declines in Chinese and Japanese stocks, which prompted some traders to unwind so-called yen-carry trades.

A service of The Associated Press. Copyright 2007 All rights reserved.