AP Executive Morning Briefing

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Thursday, September 20, 2007:

Nasdaq to Acquire OMX in Borse Dubai Deal

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) _ Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. and Borse Dubai have reached a deal under which Nasdaq will take over Nordic bourse operator OMX AB, while Borse Dubai acquires just under 20 percent of Nasdaq and 28 percent of the London stock exchange. The deal announced Thursday would resolve a takeover battle between Nasdaq and Borse Dubai for Stockholm-based OMX, but could face scrutiny in the United States, where a Dubai-owned company's plan to manage some U.S. ports previously raised an uproar.

___

Stocks Futures Point Lower

NEW YORK (AP) _ U.S. stocks pointed toward a lower opening Thursday as Wall Street paused in its rally ahead of testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and the release of unemployment data and more investment bank earnings. Bernanke, along with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, is scheduled to testify at 10 a.m. EDT about the mortgage and credit markets before the House Financial Services Committee. After the Fed's big half-point cut in its target fed funds rate, which lifted the Dow Jones industrials about 400 points over the past two days, investors will be listening for hints of further cuts.

___

Health Costs Are Key to GM-UAW Talks

DETROIT (AP) _ The United Auto Workers would become one of the nation's largest consumers of health care if it takes over retiree obligations from Detroit's automakers, a huge responsibility that would test the union's ability to control rising health care costs. Health care is at the heart of bargaining between the UAW and General Motors Corp., which was set to continue Thursday. The union's contract with GM has been extended hour by hour since Friday.

___

Paulson Considering Mortgage Change

WASHINGTON (AP) _ As Congress weighs remedies for the mortgage-market crisis, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is signaling that the Bush administration would consider allowing the big mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to temporarily buy, bundle and sell as securities loans exceeding $417,000. The idea, which represents a policy change for the administration, is portrayed as a way to inject liquidity into the stretched mortgage market.

___

Students to Protest Halliburton Visit

MADISON, Wis. (AP) _ A 1967 visit to the University of Wisconsin-Madison by a recruiter from Dow Chemical Co., which made napalm, sparked a bloody clash between police and protesting students and galvanized anti-war sentiment on campus. A new generation of student activists are summoning memories of the 40-year-old demonstration with their vows to demonstate Thursday against Halliburton, another company they see as profiteering from war.

___

Chinese Government Freezes Some Prices

BEIJING (AP) _ China's government has ordered some prices frozen and told officials to closely monitor others in its most drastic step yet to contain a surge in inflation. The order, issued by six government agencies late Wednesday, came after inflation rose to 6.5 percent in August _ its highest monthly rate in 11 years _ propelled by a double-digit rise in food prices, including pork, the country's staple meat.

___

Oil Prices Slip From Record Close

SINGAPORE (AP) _ Oil prices dipped on profit-taking Thursday after reaching record highs in the previous session on U.S. refinery outages and declines in U.S. oil inventories. The decline was limited by worries over a potential tropical storm threat to oil and gas installations in the Gulf of Mexico, analysts said.

___

Morgan Stanley 3Q Profit Tumbles 17 Pct.

NEW YORK (AP) _ Morgan Stanley on Wednesday said third-quarter profit sank 17 percent, as the No. 2 U.S. investment bank was forced to write down nearly $1 billion worth of loans amid the summer's global credit crisis. The investment bank, like others on Wall Street, was squeezed as borrowers with poor credit histories defaulted on home-loan payments at an alarming rate. This curbed investor appetite for everything from mortgage-backed bonds to loans for corporate buyouts.

___

Home Depot to Shut 11 Landscape Stores

ATLANTA (AP) _ The Home Depot Inc., the world's largest home improvement store chain, plans to close its 11 Landscape Supply stores within the next two months, a company official said Wednesday. The closures of the five stores in the Atlanta area and six stores in the Dallas area are part of Home Depot's efforts to focus more resources on its core retail business, spokesman Ron DeFeo said.

___

Trade Group: Holiday Sales to Grow Slow

NEW YORK (AP) _ Holiday sales are expected to grow at the slowest pace in five years as shoppers fret about jobs, tight credit and slumping home prices, according to a forecast from the world's largest retail trade group. That could mean lower prices and big pre-Thanksgiving sales blitzes as merchants compete for a piece of the holiday budget.

___

Gold Prices

HONG KONG (AP) _ Gold closes at $729.35 in Hong Kong, up $4.25 an ounce from Wednesday.

___

Japan Markets

TOKYO (AP) _ Japanese stocks finished mixed Thursday, as gains in steel and trading house shares played off against a drop in consumer credit stocks following reports of restructuring at a major domestic player.

___

Dollar-Yen

TOKYO (AP) _ The dollar fell versus the yen in Asia Thursday as Japanese exporters sold the greenback in thin trade and other players awaited the Federal Reserve chairman's testimony to the U.S. Congress on mortgage market issues.

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