AP Executive Morning Briefing

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Monday, August 6, 2007:

Ex-Home Depot Boss at Chrysler Helm

DETROIT (AP) _ Chrysler's new private owners say they have picked former Home Depot boss Bob Nardelli to head the No. 3 U.S. automaker in its effort to return to financial health. The board of the reorganized Chrysler LLC elected Nardelli as chairman and chief executive, the company said in a news release Sunday night.

___

Stock Futures Rise Following Dow's Drop

NEW YORK (AP) _ Stock futures rose Monday, pointing toward an opening rebound after concerns about the credit market sent the Dow Jones industrials down more than 2 percent Friday. Wall Street was looking for signs of encouragement after last week's fractious trading. In a day devoid of economic news and withi few earnings reports, investors were expected to be cautious, especially with the Federal Reserve's meeting on interest rates scheduled for Tuesday. Policy makers are widely expected to hold the benchmark rate steady at 5.25 percent; as usual, the greater concern is with the Fed's economic assessment statement.

___

Delphi Reaches Labor Deal With Union

DETROIT (AP) _ Delphi Corp. cleared another hurdle in its efforts to emerge from bankruptcy proceedings when a key union ended a strike threat and tentatively agreed to a four-year contract. The two sides reached the revised labor agreement about 10 p.m. Sunday, the Communications Workers union said in a news release.

___

UAW, Automakers Enter New Contract Talks

DETROIT (AP) _ As bargainers for the United Auto Workers and the domestic automakers try to reach a new contract, Kenneth Cooksey is one of many workers who doesn't understand why the companies are so focused on the cost of labor. By most accounts, labor expenses for General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC amount to about 10 percent of the price of a new vehicle, including wages, benefits and "legacy" costs for retiree pensions and health care.

___

Bear Stearns Co-President, Co-COO Quits

NEW YORK (AP) _ Bear Stearns Cos. said Sunday that co-President and co-Chief Operating Officer Warren Spector has resigned following the meltdown of two hedge funds that invested in risky mortgage-backed securities. Alan Schwartz, who had been Bear Stearns' other co-president and co-COO, will become the sole president effective immediately, and Samuel Molinaro Jr. will assume the role of chief operating officer in addition to his current duties as chief financial officer, the firm said in a statement Sunday afternoon. Jeffrey Mayer, co-head of the fixed income division, will take Spector's seat on Bear Stearns' executive committee, the firm said.

___

Oil Prices Decline Further in Asia

SINGAPORE (AP) _ Oil prices fell Monday in Asia, extending a decline prompted at the close of last week by news of a cooling U.S. job market. Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell $1.10 to $74.38 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, late afternoon in Singapore.

___

UK Focuses on Foot-And-Mouth Lab Link

PIRBRIGHT, England (AP) _ A vaccine laboratory at the center of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease said Monday it had found no evidence of a breach in biosecurity, as government officials assessed links between the facility and infected cattle. Veterinary experts matched a strain found last week in cattle on a farm outside Wanborough, 30 miles southwest of London, to a laboratory close by, which is used to produce vaccine against the disease.

___

House Approves Taxes on Oil Companies

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Declaring a new direction in energy policy, the House on Saturday approved $16 billion in taxes on oil companies, while providing billions of dollars in tax breaks and incentives for renewable energy and conservation efforts. Republican opponents said the legislation ignored the need to produce more domestic oil, natural gas and coal. One GOP lawmaker bemoaned "the pure venom ... against the oil and gas industry."

___

Bloggers Consider Forming Labor Union

CHICAGO (AP) _ Do bloggers need their own Norma Rae? In a move that might make some people scratch their heads, a loosely formed coalition of left-leaning bloggers are trying to band together to form a labor union they hope will help them receive health insurance, conduct collective bargaining or even set professional standards.

___

Northwest Airlines Pilots Approve Deal

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ The union for pilots at Northwest Airlines approved an agreement on Saturday aimed at stopping the end-of-the-month cancellations that have riled the airline's passengers. The agreement will pay pilots time-and-a-half for flying over 80 hours in a month. Their old cap of 80 hours per month was raised to 90 hours under concessions the airline won in bankruptcy court.

___

Gold Prices

LONDON (AP) _ Gold bullion opened Monday at a bid price of $673.40 a troy ounce, up from $669.50 late Friday.

___

Japan Markets

TOKYO (AP) _ Japanese stocks fell Monday for a second straight session amid renewed credit concerns, with financial shares and steelmakers leading the decline.

___

Dollar-Yen

TOKYO (AP) _ The dollar fell versus the yen Monday in Asian trading on continued subprime loan worries, although it recouped some of its early losses as Japanese importers bought dollars to settle their accounts.

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