AP Executive Morning Briefing

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Friday, Sept. 2007:

Consumers Could Face Higher Toy Prices

NEW YORK (AP) _ Someone is going to have to pay all the extra costs of making toys safer. For now, toy makers and retailers are sharing the burden, but that's only expected to last until the holiday season. Next year, American consumers will be facing price increases of up to 10 percent to pay for the industry's increased vigilance after more than 3 million lead-tainted toys from China were recalled worldwide since June.

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Consumer Confidence Tumbles in Sept.

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Consumer confidence tumbled to its lowest point in nearly 1 1/2 years as a deep housing slump and a credit crunch made people more worried about the country's economic health as well as their own. The RBC Cash Index showed consumer confidence clocking in at 71.1 in September, a sharp drop from August's reading of 89.3. It marked the worst showing since May 2006, when sticker shock from high gasoline prices rattled peoples' sense of economic well-being. The index is based on the results of the international polling firm Ipsos.

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GM Becomes UAW's Target in Labor Talks

DETROIT (AP) _ The United Auto Workers union likely chose General Motors Corp. as the lead company in labor talks with the Detroit Three because GM is considered the healthiest and the UAW wants to prevent the nation's largest automaker from moving more manufacturing overseas, industry analysts said. Two local union officials said they received notice Thursday afternoon that GM would be the lead company in the contract negotiations and the UAW's potential strike target. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private.

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At Wal-Mart, Subway Is Winning Turf War

NEW YORK (AP) _ Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is losing its taste for burgers and fries. Subway, the fast-food chain that likes to promote its sandwiches as a healthy alternative to traditional fried and grilled fare, began doing business with the world's largest retailer only three years ago. But from a lone restaurant inside a Wal-Mart in Ozark, Ala., Subway has quickly overtaken McDonald's Corp. as Wal-Mart's primary fast-food concessionaire across the United States.

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Oil Prices Drop Below $80 a Barrel

SINGAPORE (AP) _ Oil prices fell Friday amid profit taking after closing at a record high the previous session on supply concerns. Light, sweet crude for October delivery lost 46 cents to $79.63 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange in Singapore.

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Reports: Toyota Planning New Japan Plant

TOKYO (AP) _ Toyota Motor Corp. is planning to build its first new auto assembly plant in Japan in nearly two decades, Japanese media reports said Friday. The Japanese automaker said in a statement it's studying all such production possibilities, but no decision had been made.

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Global Coal Demand May Lift U.S. Cos.

NEW YORK (AP) _ There are signs of hope for U.S. coal miners that have endured a year of rising costs and depressed coal prices. Strong international demand appears likely to help tighten the U.S. coal market by the middle of next year, according to market participants.

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An 'Offal' Meal for Idaho Trout

BOISE, Idaho (AP) _ Cow manure and fish guts and maggots. It could all soon be dinner _ if you're an Idaho rainbow trout. University of Idaho and Idaho State University scientists are working on a new maggot-based feed capable of fattening rainbows for the dinner table, while simultaneously helping slash growing mounds of manure and fish entrails.

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Bank's Shanghai IPO to Net Up to $7.7B

SHANGHAI, China (AP) _ China Construction Bank Corp., the country's biggest property lender, has set a price range for an initial public offering in Shanghai that could net up to $7.7 billion _ making the sale the country's biggest IPO yet. The price range for the IPO is 6.15 yuan to 6.45 yuan (82 to 86 U.S. cents) per share, the bank said in notices carried Friday in the state-run Shanghai Securities News and other financial newspapers.

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Gold Prices

LONDON (AP) _ Gold bullion opened Friday at a bid price of $705.60 a troy ounce, down from $709.40 late Thursday.

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Japan Markets

TOKYO (AP) _ Japanese stocks rose sharply Friday fueled by Wall Street's climb overnight and a generally weaker yen. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 306.23 points, or 1.94 percent, to 16,127.42 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

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Dollar-Yen

TOKYO (AP) _ The dollar was trading at 115.12 yen at 4:50 p.m. Friday, down from 115.29 yen late Thursday in New York.

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