AP Executive Morning Briefing

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Thursday, May 31, 2007:

China Stocks Rebound After 1-Day Plunge

BEIJING (AP) _ Chinese stocks rebounded Thursday after a one-day plunge following government efforts to cool a market boom that economists worry could cause a price bubble. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.4 percent to close at 4,109.65 points after tumbling 6.5 percent a day earlier. The Shenzhen Composite Index for the country's smaller second market, however, ended down 1 percent at 1,187.51 after a 7 percent the previous day.

___

Oil Prices Fall Ahead of U.S. Fuel Data

SINGAPORE (AP) _ Oil prices dipped Thursday ahead of the release of a report expected to show U.S. crude and gasoline supplies rose last week. Light, sweet crude for July delivery dropped 13 cents to $63.36 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, midmorning in Singapore. The contract on Wednesday rose 34 cents to settle at $63.49 a barrel.

___

S&P 500 Index Closes at Record High

NEW YORK (AP) _ Wall Street shot higher Wednesday, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 index to its first record close in more than seven years, as investors grew more confident that the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates in the second half of 2007. The Dow Jones industrials also reached a new high close. The S&P 500, considered by traders as the best barometer of U.S. stocks, surpassed the record of 1,527.46, set March 24, 2000, at the peak of the dot-com boom, closing at 1,530.23, up 12.12, or 0.80 percent.

___

Nike Releases Factory Auditing Tools

BEAVERTON, Ore. (AP) _ Nike Inc. released its third corporate responsibility report Thursday with a bit less punch than in years past. The company's initial report in 2001 was intended to show how it had handled complaints by labor rights and student groups who want to see better conditions at contract factories worldwide.

___

Costly Convertibles Aren't Always Safest

WASHINGTON (AP) _ When it comes to buying a new convertible, a hefty price tag doesn't always buy safety. Test scores being released Thursday by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found several affordable convertibles that offer better crash protection than their more expensive competitors. Conducting tests on 10 new midsize convertibles for the first time, the Institute gave its top scores to two expensive convertibles _ the 2007 Saab 9-3 and 2007 Volvo C70. Both vehicles, which start at nearly $40,000, received the highest scores on front, side-impact and rear crash protection tests.

___

Northwest Exits Bankruptcy Protection

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Northwest Airlines Corp. is emerging from Chapter 11 a little smaller, a lot more efficient, and with some of the lowest costs among the major carriers. Northwest shares were set to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday morning, with CEO Doug Steenland ringing the opening bell, marking the end of a wave of airline bankruptcies that began after the Sept. 11 attacks.

___

Japan Argues to Hunt Minke Whales

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) _ Japan said Wednesday that the International Whaling Commission should allow four of its coastal communities to hunt minke whales because the tradition is so old that it qualifies as subsistence hunting. Japan's proposal at the annual meeting of the 77-nation commission started a long and contentious debate Wednesday, a day after the body allowed Alaska Natives to continue the subsistence hunts of bowhead whales through 2012. The issue is scheduled to be decided Thursday, the final day of the meeting.

___

Japanese Stocks Climb; Dollar Down

TOKYO (AP) _ Japanese stocks rallied to a three-month high Thursday, lifted by gains in export-sensitive shipping and machinery shares after Wall Street rose to new records overnight. The Nikkei 225 index rose 287.49 points, or 1.64 percent, to finish at 17,875.75 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange _ the index's highest close since Feb. 27. On Wednesday, the average fell 0.48 percent on concern about a drop in Chinese stocks.

___

Drought Hinders Hay Production in Ky.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) _ Kentucky's normally lush spring has taken on a brownish tinge this year amid a dry spell causing concern among farmers. The bluegrass and southeastern regions are in a moderate drought and the rest of the state is in a mild drought, Tom Priddy, a University of Kentucky extension agricultural meteorologist, said Wednesday. "It's about as dry as we ever see it on the first of June here, which is a little scary knowing that we're going into ... our drier months," said Steve Moore, Henry County agricultural extension agent.

___

Motorola to Cut 4,000 More Jobs

CHICAGO (AP) _ Cell phone maker Motorola Inc. said Wednesday it will cut another 4,000 jobs as part of a plan to improve sagging financial and operational results. The latest round of cuts means the world's No. 2 handset maker has announced plans to eliminate more than 10 percent of its work force since the start of 2007, when it became clear that two years of strong momentum behind the popular Razr phone had collapsed.

___

Zoellick Must Restore Calm at World Bank

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Robert Zoellick has dealt with the Cold War, the killing in Darfur, China's rise as an economic colossus. His next challenge: to restore confidence at the badly shaken World Bank. "We need to put yesterday's discord behind us and to focus on the future together," Zoellick declared after President Bush chose him Wednesday to run the poverty-fighting institution and heal wounds left behind by outgoing president Paul Wolfowitz.

___

Gold Prices

LONDON (AP) _ Gold bullion opened Thursday at a bid price of $655.00 a troy ounce, up from $652.45 late Wednesday.

___

Dollar-Yen

TOKYO (AP) _ The dollar slipped in Asia Thursday as volatility in Chinese stocks fueled speculation that global investors may trim risk positions, including bets that the yen will weaken.

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