AP Executive Morning Briefing

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Wednesday, July 18, 2007:

Dow Jones Board OKs Deal With Murdoch

NEW YORK (AP) _ The fate of Dow Jones & Co. now rests with the Bancroft family, the company's longtime controlling shareholders, who must decide whether to sell the publisher of The Wall Street Journal to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., a global media conglomerate that owns Twentieth Century Fox and the Fox News Channel. The board of Dow Jones said late Tuesday it was ready to sign off on Murdoch's proposal to buy the company for $5 billion. However, the key remains with the Bancroft family, whose three dozen members have been deeply divided over whether to sell to Murdoch. The are expected to meet Monday to discuss the deal.

___

U.S. Stocks Head for Lower Open

NEW YORK (AP) _ U.S. stocks headed for a lower open Wednesday amid renewed concerns that soured subprime loans will wreak financial havoc and upend the recent run-up on Wall Street. The latest concerns follow word that two Bear Stearns hedge funds were left essentially worthless by bad bets on subprime loans, which are made to those with poor credit. A weaker housing market has made it more difficult for borrowers who get behind on payments to refinance and pay off debts.

___

11 Food, Drink Firms Restrict Child Ads

NEW YORK (AP) _ Eleven of the nation's biggest food and drink companies will adopt new rules to limit advertising to children under the age of 12, a move that restricts ads for products such as McDonald's Happy Meals and the use of popular cartoon characters. The companies, including Campbell Soup Co., General Mills Inc. and PepsiCo Inc., announced their new rules ahead of a Federal Trade Commission hearing Wednesday that steps up pressure on the companies to help curb the growing child obesity problem through more responsible marketing.

___

Pfizer 2Q Profit Falls 48 Percent

NEW YORK (AP) _ Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. said Wednesday its second-quarter profit fell 48 percent year-over-year, hurt by the loss of patent exclusivity for its Zoloft and Norvasc drugs and by sluggish sales of blockbuster cholesterol drug, Lipitor, in the U.S. Despite that, Pfizer reaffirmed its guidance for 2007 and 2008 financial results.

___

JPMorgan 2Q Profit Rises 20 Percent

NEW YORK (AP) _ JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Wednesday said its profit jumped 20 percent in the second quarter, as the nation's third-largest bank benefited from a surge in investment banking fees. The New York-based bank said net income totaled $4.2 billion, or $1.20 a share, in the April to June period, up from $3.5 billion, or 99 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier.

___

Financial Malaise Continues at Yahoo

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Yahoo Inc. has shuffled chief executives, upgraded its online advertising platform and forged several promising partnerships during the past year, yet the Internet icon still doesn't seem close to pulling out of a slump that has battered its stock. Even Yahoo's new CEO, co-founder Jerry Yang, acknowledged Tuesday there is still plenty of hard work to be done.

___

Intel 2Q Profit Jumps 44 Percent

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) _ Intel Corp.'s second-quarter profit jumped 44 percent on strong sales of microprocessors, but the company's shares fell amid signs that fierce competition continues to push chip prices lower. Intel's stock price had risen 29 percent since the start of the year, hitting a new 52-week high of $26.33 before the earnings were released Tuesday. The stock fell nearly 5 percent to $25.05 in after-hours trading.

___

Senate Panel to Take Up Cigarette Bill

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Tobacco would be placed under federal regulation under legislation being readied for a Senate committee vote over objections from lawmakers who call the bill a misguided effort to reduce the dangers of smoking. The bill, matched by identical House legislation, would give the Food and Drug Administration the same authority over cigarettes and other tobacco products that the regulatory agency now has over drugs, food, medical devices and other consumer products.

___

Honda to Boost North American Production

TOKYO (AP) _ Honda Motor Co. is increasing production capacity in North America and elsewhere to keep up with growing demand for its fuel-efficient cars and to maintain the momentum for global growth, the company's president said Wednesday. Annual production in North America will reach 1.62 million vehicles by the fall of 2008 from the current 1.4 million, President Takeo Fukui told reporters.

___

Oil Prices Mixed in European Trading

VIENNA, Austria (AP) _ Oil prices were mixed Wednesday ahead of the release of U.S. government fuel stocks data that were expected to show the country's supplies of crude fell last week. Despite that prognosis, forecasts that the report would show an increase in gasoline supplies _ a key focus of trader interest during the high-demand U.S. driving season _ weighed on Nymex benchmark crude prices, even as Brent traded higher on London's ICE Futures exchange.

___

Gold Prices

LONDON (AP) _ Gold bullion opened Wednesday at a bid price of $669.20 a troy ounce, up from $665.50 late Tuesday.

___

Japan Markets

TOKYO (AP) _ Japanese stocks declined for a second straight session Wednesday, dragged down by utilities and technology shares like Tokyo Electron.

___

Dollar-Yen

TOKYO (AP) _ The euro hit a record high against the dollar Wednesday in Asia amid renewed speculation U.S. subprime loan woes could further dent the value of the American currency.

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