AP Executive Morning Briefing

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Tuesday, July 17, 2007:

Report: News Corp., Dow Jones Reach Deal

NEW YORK (AP) _ Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has reached a tentative agreement to buy Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, the Journal reported on its Web site. Negotiators from the two companies on Monday reached an agreement in principle for the original $5 billion that Murdoch had offered, and it will go to Dow Jones' board Tuesday for its approval, the Journal said, citing unnamed people familiar with the situation.

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Private Labels Changing Food Industry

NEW YORK (AP) _ Ralcorp Holdings Inc. of St. Louis has seen sales surge close to 60 percent over the last few years, thanks to steady sales of its cereal, crackers, cookies and jellies. But don't look for the Ralcorp brand name on your supermarket shelves.

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Wells Fargo Unveils Money Transfer Program

NEW YORK (AP) _ Wells Fargo & Co. is introducing a new money transfer program designed to make it easier for customers to send money to family members living in Mexico, India and other foreign countries. The service, Wells Fargo ExpressSend, which begins operation Tuesday, will provide people sending the money with more information on fees while making it easier for recipients to get the money that's transmitted.

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Dow Hits Record on Possible Verizon Deal

NEW YORK (AP) _ Blue chip stocks rose Monday as news of a potential big telecom deal involving Verizon pushed the Dow Jones industrials to a new record close, and put the index closer to 14,000. Overall, stocks traded were mixed as investors digested the market's huge gains of last week. While broader market indexes showed slight declines, the notion of a Verizon deal appeared to inject Wall Street with fresh optimism and helped stocks mostly hold last week's sizable gains because buyout activity has been a big driver for the stock market in the past year.

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IHOP to Buy Applebee's for About $1.9B

NEW YORK (AP) _ IHOP's CEO Julia Stewart has been making bold moves to revitalize the 45-year-old chain best known for its breakfast fare and blue-tiled roofs. With a $1.9 billion bid for the bar-and-grill chain Applebee's made on Monday, she may be taking her biggest risk yet. The move comes as Wall Street analysts anticipate a difficult second-quarter earnings season in the restaurant sector as soaring commodity costs hurt profits and consumers worried over high gas prices ate out less frequently.

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Oil Prices Flat Above $74 a Barrel

SINGAPORE (AP) _ Oil prices were little changed in Asian trading Tuesday after rising to settle above $74 a barrel in the previous session on reports that U.S. refineries and a pipeline were returning to service quickly after unexpected problems. Oil has risen on concerns that more operating refineries in the U.S. will increase demand for crude oil.

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Lear Shareholders Reject Icahn Deal

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) _ Lear Corp. shareholders rejected a $2.9 billion buyout offer Monday from a firm led by billionaire investor Carl Icahn, mounting enough opposition amid concerns that the bid undervalued the auto supplier. Icahn's American Real Estate Partners LP had improved its offer in the past week to $37.25 a share, but some shareholders said Lear was worth far more and questioned whether the deal was in their best interest.

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Judge in Tax Case Drops Several Charges

NEW YORK (AP) _ A judge threw out charges Monday against 13 former KPMG employees who were accused of participating in a fraud that helped the wealthy escape $2.5 billion in taxes. The ruling essentially guts what the government once called the largest criminal tax case in U.S. history. U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said he dismissed the charges because prosecutors blocked the defendants from putting on a defense. He said the government coerced KPMG to limit and then cut off its payment of the employees' legal fees, meaning the defendants were effectively stripped of their constitutional right to legal representation in what was sure to be a long, expensive trial.

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Mattel 2Q Profit Rises 15 Percent

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Mattel Inc. reported a 15 percent increase in its second-quarter profit Monday with strong sales of toy cars, although Barbie revenue in the U.S. fell for the second consecutive quarter. The toy maker posted net income of $43.1 million, or 11 cents per share, compared with $37.4 million, or 10 cents per share, a year ago.

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McDonald's Expects to Post 2Q Loss

CHICAGO (AP) _ McDonald's Corp. said Monday it expects to post its second quarterly loss in more than 50 years because of a hefty one-time charge on the sale of some Latin American operations. But the world's biggest fast food restaurant chain said its business is growing because of momentum from its popular breakfast menu. McDonald's said it expects to report a net loss of 60 cents per share when it releases second-quarter earnings July 24.

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Gold Prices

Hong Kong (AP) _ Gold closed at $664.95 an ounce on Tuesday in Hong Kong, down $2.50 an ounce from Monday's close of $667.45.

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Japan Markets

TOKYO (AP) _ Japanese stocks slipped modestly Tuesday, with as concerns about the previous day's earthquake hitting utilities and casualty insurance companies like Sompo Japan.

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Dollar-Yen

TOKYO (AP) _ The U.S. dollar was trading at 121.82 yen at 4:50 p.m. Tuesday, unchanged from late Monday in New York.

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