AP Executive Morning Briefing

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Friday, June 22, 2007:

Senate Passes Pro-Renewables Energy Bill

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Democrats celebrated a step toward reducing U.S. dependence on oil as the Senate approved a bill calling for more ethanol and the first boost in gas mileage in decades. Now the House plans to follow suit, perhaps as early as next week.

___

Blackstone Shares Begin Trading on NYSE

NEW YORK (AP) _ Blackstone Group LP debuts Friday on the New York Stock Exchange in the most talked-about IPO to sweep Wall Street since Google. The path to the public market was not an easy one, though. It had to dodge multiple attempts by powerful members of Congress to delay or block the deal amid heavy scrutiny of the lavish lifestyles of top executives.

___

Jim Press Gets OK to Join Toyota's Board

TOKYO (AP) _ Jim Press, the top man of Toyota's North American operations, got the go-ahead from shareholders Friday to become the first non-Japanese member of the automaker's board of directors. Press, 60, a 37-year veteran at Toyota Motor Corp., was appointed to the board in April, the latest step in Toyota's efforts to bolster its standing as an international company.

___

Oil Prices Unaffected by Nigerian Strike

SINGAPORE (AP) _ Oil prices edged lower in Asian trading Friday, largely unaffected by failed talks between the Nigerian government and labor union officials to end a general labor strike in Africa's largest crude producer. Light, sweet crude for August delivery dropped 11 cents to $68.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange midmorning in Singapore.

___

H&R Block Reports $85.6 Million 4Q Loss

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ Trouble in H&R Block Inc.'s subprime lending unit led the company Thursday to report fourth-quarter and full-year losses and predict smaller 2008 earnings than those expected by Wall Street. For the three months ended April 30, the Kansas City-based company said it lost $85.5 million, or 26 cents per share, compared with earnings of $587.5 million, or $1.79, a year earlier. The latest quarter included $676.8 million in losses from discontinued operations, mostly tied to its Option One Mortgage Inc. subsidiary.

___

Bob Evans Founder Dies at 89

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) _ Bob Evans, whose quest for quality sausage to serve the truckers who filled his 12-stool, 24-hour-a-day steakhouse in southeast Ohio led to the creation of a restaurant chain that bears his name, died Thursday, Bob Evans Farms Inc. announced. He was 89. Evans died at the Cleveland Clinic, Evans' family told the company. The clinic said he died of complications from pneumonia.

___

China Arrests 2 for Links to Slave Labor

BEIJING (AP) _ China has arrested two labor bureau officials for their alleged links to slave labor in brick kilns, amid reports Friday that kiln bosses were hiding child laborers and charging ransoms for their release. The pair are the first officials arrested in connection with the enslaving of hundreds of children and adults at brick factories where they were forced to work long hours in grueling conditions without pay.

___

Japanese Stocks Decline; Dollar Rises

TOKYO (AP) _ Japanese stocks fell Friday, breaking a six-session rally, as investors took profits after the market reached a seven-year high the previous day. The Nikkei 225 index shed 51.67 points, or 0.28 percent, on the Tokyo Stock Exchange to 18,188.63 points. Over the previous six sessions, the index had gained 2.86 percent.

___

GE, Pearson Abandon Talks With Dow Jones

NEW YORK (AP) _ General Electric Co. said Thursday it has abandoned talks with Financial Times publisher Pearson PLC about a possible bid for Dow Jones & Co., removing a potential rival to a $5 billion offer from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. GE said it held "exploratory discussions" with London-based Pearson about combining GE's CNBC business news cable channel, Pearson's Financial Times newspaper and Dow Jones, which publishes The Wall Street Journal, Barron's and Dow Jones Newswires, but decided not to proceed.

___

American Greetings Profit Nearly Doubles

CLEVELAND (AP) _ American Greetings Corp. said Thursday that its first quarter profit nearly doubled from a year ago on strong sales of greeting cards designed to be more personal. Its shares rose $1.86, or 7.4 percent, to $26.99 Thursday, after setting a one-year high of $27.79 earlier in the day. The shares have been as low as $20.65 in the past year.

___

Gold Prices

LONDON (AP) _ Gold bullion opened Friday at a bid price of $651.30 a troy ounce, down slightly from $651.50 late Thursday.

___

Dollar-Yen

TOKYO (AP) _ The dollar rose to a new four-and-half year high versus the yen in Asia Friday, nearing the 124-yen mark due to strong demand from Japanese investors.

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