AP Executive Morning Briefing

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Monday, October 1, 2007:

GM May Close 2 More Plants Under Deal

DETROIT (AP) _ The tentative contract between General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers would allow GM to close a plant each in Michigan and Indiana and possibly shut down several other facilities, according to a detailed copy of the agreement. The moves are the downside of job security pledges that the UAW won in the negotiations, including commitments for new products at 16 plants. About 74,000 hourly GM workers will vote on the pact starting this week, with a final tally to be done by Oct. 10.

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U.S. Stock Futures Indicate Higher Open

NEW YORK (AP) _ Investors nudged U.S. stock futures modestly higher Monday ahead of the first trading session of the fourth quarter and key data on the health of the manufacturing sector. On Monday, the Institute for Supply Management is expected to report that manufacturing activity grew at roughly the same rate in September as in August, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Financial. Later in the week, investors will watch for readings on the health of the service sector and employment.

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UBS Forecasts Up to $690M 3Q Pretax Loss

ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) _ UBS will post a loss of up to $690 million in the third quarter from losses linked to the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis, cut 1,500 jobs and replace some top executives, the Swiss banker said Monday. The 800 million Swiss franc-loss will force UBS to shed nearly 2 percent of its global work force by the end of this year, Chief Executive Marcel Rohner said in a conference call.

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High-Priced Student Loans Spell Trouble

The near doubling in the cost of a college degree the past decade has produced an explosion in high-priced student loans that could haunt the U.S. economy for years. While scholarship, grant money and government-backed student loans _ whose interest rates are capped _ have taken up some of the slack, many families and individual students have turned to private loans, which carry fees and interest rates that are often variable and up to 20 percent.

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Trump Casinos: the Art of the Comeback?

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) _ For months, a tusk on one of the elephants outside the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort was missing, probably snapped off by a vandal. It was one small repair on a long list of things Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. had to do to spruce up its three casinos in the battle against a growing list of better-financed, newer, flashier casinos changing the face of Atlantic City.

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Poor Smokers Would Pay for Health Bill

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Congressional Democrats have chosen an unlikely source to pay for the bulk of their proposed $35 billion increase in children's health coverage: people with relatively little money and education. The program expansion passed by the House and Senate last week would be financed with a 156 percent increase in the federal cigarette tax, taking it to $1 per pack from the current 39 cents. Low-income people smoke more heavily than do wealthier people in the United States, making cigarette taxes a regressive form of revenue.

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Oil Prices Inch Lower to $81.63 a Barrel

SINGAPORE (AP) _ Oil prices inched lower Monday in Asia, following a flurry of late selling Friday on concerns oil market fundamentals do not support recent high prices. Light, sweet crude for November delivery slipped 3 cents to $81.63 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore.

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Mich. Lawmakers Try to Avoid Shutdown

LANSING, Mich. (AP) _ With only hours left before the new fiscal year, legislators scrambled to reach a budget deal that would plug a $1.75 billion deficit and avert a partial government shutdown. The Legislature needs create a spending plan in time for the fiscal year to start on Monday or most state government operations will cease, including food safety and gas pump inspections, liquor deliveries, lottery ticket sales, the issuance of driver's licenses, and road construction.

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UPS, Teamsters Reach Tentative Agreement

ATLANTA (AP) _ United Parcel Service Inc. and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters reached a tentative agreement Sunday on a new 5-year contract that will raise wages annually and increase funds that provide pension, health and welfare benefits to members, officials on both sides of the deal said. The contract would go into effect next Aug. 1 if approved by the approximate 240,000 full and part-time UPS union employees in the U.S.

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Hollywood Sending Mixed Climate Messages

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ From "green carpets" at awards shows to organic fruit served to actors on sets, Hollywood is going all out to promote itself as being environmentally hip. But is it all just show? No amount of public service announcements or celebrities driving hybrid cars can mask the fact that movie and TV production is a gritty industrial operation, consuming enormous amounts of power to feed bright lights, run sophisticated cameras, and feed a cast of thousands.

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Gold Prices

LONDON (AP) _ Gold bullion opened Monday at a bid price of $743.00 a troy ounce, down from $743.20 late Friday.

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Japan Markets

TOKYO (AP) _ Japanese stocks were mixed Monday, as a better-than-expected corporate sentiment index lifted auto and bank stocks. But real estate firms and house builders fell.

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Dollar-Yen

TOKYO (AP) _ The dollar rose against the yen Monday in Asia despite better-than-expected Bank of Japan "tankan" data, as the yen-carry trade emerged again and strengthened the greenback.

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