AP Executive Morning Briefing

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Friday, June 15, 2007:

Hertz, Avis Plan to Boost Hybrid Fleets

NEW YORK (AP) _ The increased demand for "green" vehicles is spilling over to the rental car counter, where many more drivers will soon be able to choose a hybrid vehicle. Hertz Global Holdings Inc. said Thursday it will spend $68 million to add 3,400 Toyota Prius hybrids to its fleets by 2008. And Avis Budget Group Inc. said this week it plans to make 1,000 hybrid Prius vehicles available for rent as early as next week. Brian Chee, an automotive analyst for Autobytel.com's soon to be launched Web site MyRide.com, said that even with the fleet expansions, hybrid vehicles still represent a small part of rental car fleets.

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Family Sues Over Tainted Peanut Butter

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ When Krystina Brugh fell ill in January, her parents thought it was the stomach flu. They fed her crackers and her favorite sandwich, peanut butter and marshmallow fluff, to give her strength. She didn't get better. Soon, the 11-year-old couldn't even keep down water, and her kidneys started to fail. Krystina's parents believe they know the cause of her illness _ salmonella-contaminated peanut butter _ and on Thursday, they filed a federal lawsuit against foodmaker ConAgra Foods Inc. They are seeking unspecified damages.

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Ill. Slaughterhouse Can Stay Open Longer

CHICAGO (AP) _ A federal judge on Thursday extended an order allowing the nation's last operating horse slaughterhouse to remain in business while it challenges a state law that would force it to close. Cavel International Inc.'s site in DeKalb slaughters horses for human consumption by overseas diners, except for a portion sold to U.S. zoos. In late May, Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed a law banning the import, export, possession and slaughter of horses for human consumption.

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Super Rich Seek New Heights in Pampering

NEW YORK (AP) _ Forget about the $350 stilettos. Shoes with status these days come with $1,000 price tags. And $600 handbags have become so bourgeois. A-listers don't want to be seen with anything costing less than $5,000. It's no secret that luxury sales have been booming over the past six years. But at a time when the average American is grousing about meager wage growth and feeling strapped by a 30-cent spike in the price of gas, splurging by the wealthy has risen to gaudy proportions as the super rich seek new heights in pampering, price tags and one-of-a-kind items that set them apart.

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Oil Prices Steady Above $67 a Barrel

SINGAPORE (AP) _ Oil prices were little changed Friday after rising overnight to a nine-month-high finish on worries the U.S. refining industry can't meet peak summer gasoline demand. Light, sweet crude for July delivery was down 10 cents at $67.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, mid-afternoon in Singapore.

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Federal Reserve Weighs Mortgage Options

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Proof of income from borrowers. No penalties for early mortgage payments. And a guarantee that property taxes and insurance bills are covered. The Federal Reserve is considering these and other measures as a way to remedy the troubled market for high-risk, or subprime, mortgages. The central bank held an all-day hearing on the matter Thursday. Lawmakers are pushing the Fed to act as late payments and new foreclosures on adjustable-rate home mortgages made to people with spotty credit climbed to all-time highs in the first three months of the year.

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Worst of Drought Spreading Across South

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) _ The choking drought that's killing crops and turning streams into dusty trails across the Southeast is expanding. Previously limited to the northern half of Alabama, the drought classified as exceptional has grown like an ink blot to extend from eastern Mississippi across Alabama into southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia, government meteorologists said Thursday. They classify conditions in the region as being worse than even those in southern Florida, where Lake Okeechobee is drying up, and the perennially dry West.

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BOJ Chief: Rate Hike Is Not Imminent

TOKYO (AP) _ The Bank of Japan decided Friday to keep a benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.5 percent and the central bank's governor hinted that a rate hike may come later than July, quashing speculation for an imminent move. Gov. Toshihiko Fukui's comments helped lift the dollar to a 4 1/2-year high against the yen.

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China Hopes HK Lifts Toothpaste Recall

BEIJING (AP) _ China is urging Hong Kong to resume the sale of three brands of Chinese toothpaste containing a chemical found in antifreeze, saying the small amounts involved were harmless to people. Hong Kong's ban was the latest in a slew of recalls and warnings linked to Chinese toothpaste. The United States, New Zealand, Singapore, Panama and several other Latin American and Caribbean countries have taken similar actions.

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Texas Water Marketers See Future Demand

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) _ In the five years since billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens started trying to sell water from beneath the vast empty spaces of West Texas, he hasn't had any customers. Not one city or agency has signed on, even after years of drought conditions and soaring water use by Texas' booming population, which is expected to more than double by 2060.

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Gold Prices

LONDON (AP) _ Gold bullion opened Friday at a bid price of $650.70 a troy ounce, down from $650.90 late Thursday.

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Dollar-Yen

TOKYO (AP) _ The dollar rose to its highest in 4 1/2 years versus the yen Friday after the Bank of Japan governor hinted that an interest rate hike may come later than July.

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