AP Executive Morning Briefing

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Friday, Oct. 12, 2007:

Live Nation's $120M Deal Lures Madonna

NEW YORK (AP) _ Madonna's $120 million recording and touring contract with Live Nation Inc. gives the concert promoter the opportunity to tap into concert, recording, merchandising and other lucrative revenue streams. But don't discount the role that lowly ticket fees play. The pop superstar's deal to abandon Warner Music shows how far Live Nation is willing to go to break the hammerlock Barry Diller's Ticketmaster has on online concert and sporting ticket sales.

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Mobile Phones Boost Samsung's Profit

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ Samsung Electronics Co., one of the world's top technology companies, announced its first net profit gain in four quarters Friday, led by record sales in its mobile phone division. Samsung said it earned 2.19 trillion won ($2.4 billion) in the three months ended Sept. 30, a gain of 1 percent from the same period last year. The gain, which surprised analysts, snapped three straight quarters of profit decline.

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Alcoa Awarded Fighter Jet Parts Deal

PITTSBURGH (AP) _ Aluminum maker Alcoa Inc. has been awarded a $360 million contract by the defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. to supply parts for new stealth fighter jets that will replace aging military planes. Alcoa's forged and cast products division in Cleveland will produce alloy aluminum die forgings for the F-35 Lightning II fighter jet, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter, over the next 10 years, the company said.

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Nissan Technology Makes Parking a Cinch

TOKYO (AP) _ Parking in tight spaces is a cinch with a new display from Nissan showing a panoramic bird's-eye-view of what's surrounding a car _ a feature that the Japanese automaker says is a first for commercially mass-produced vehicles. Using digital cameras, Around View Monitor displays an aerial view of the car on a dashboard screen.

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Washington State Farmers Have Good Year

YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) _ The value of Washington state's agricultural production hit a new high at nearly $7 billion, and farmers set records on everything from blueberries to hay in 2006, according to the federal government. The total value of the state's crops last year was $6.87 billion, a 6 percent increase from the 2005 revised figure of $6.46 billion, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

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CEO Says Wal-Mart Needs Low-Cost Imports

ROGERS, Ark. (AP) _ Chief Executive Lee Scott defended Wal-Mart's reliance on low-cost imports Thursday against what he called emerging economic nationalism. Scott told a retailing conference he would like to stock more American-made goods but that Wal-Mart's business model is based on offering the lowest price for consumers who cannot afford to spend more. Scott was answering a question from an audience member who wanted to know if Wal-Mart would buy more U.S.-made products to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of global transport and to bring manufacturing jobs back from places like China.

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Infant Cold Medicines Pulled Off Market

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Drug makers pulled cold medicines targeted for babies and toddlers off the market Thursday, leaving parents to find alternatives for hacking coughs and runny little noses just as fall sniffles get in full swing. The move represented a pre-emptive strike by over-the-counter drug manufacturers _ a week before government advisers were to debate the medicines' fate. But it doesn't end concern about the safety of these remedies for youngsters.

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China's Trade Surplus Swells in Sept.

BEIJING (AP) _ China's trade surplus soared to its fourth-highest monthly level on record in September amid strong demand for its exports, the government said Friday, adding to pressure on Beijing to take action on market barriers and loosening currency controls. The $23.9 billion surplus, reported by the Commerce Ministry, was an increase of 56 percent over the September 2006 gap of $15.3 billion.

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Oil Prices Dip, Hold Above $83

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ Oil prices dipped Friday in Asia after an unexpected decline in U.S. crude oil inventories pushed crude futures back above $83 a barrel. Prices were also supported overnight by an International Energy Agency report concluding oil inventories held by the world's largest industrialized countries have fallen below a five-year average, and by concerns that clashes between Turkish forces and Kurdish rebels could affect Iraqi oil supplies.

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Citigroup Combines Investment Units

NEW YORK (AP) _ Citigroup Inc. said Thursday that it is combining its investment banking and alternative investments units into one division led by a former Morgan Stanley executive. The new Institutional Clients Group will be led by Vikram Pandit, who has been in charge of Citi's alternative investments unit since joining the company earlier this year.

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Gold Prices

LONDON (AP) _ Gold bullion opened Friday at a bid price of $746.80 a troy ounce, down from $748.80 late Thursday.

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Japan Markets

TOKYO (AP) _ Japanese stocks fell Friday after a three-day advance, as investors took profits in real estate and exporter shares. The Nikkei 225 average declined 127.81 points, or 0.73 percent, to 17,331.17 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The index has gained 2.3 percent over the previous three days, including Thursday's gain of 1.64 percent.

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Dollar-Yen

TOKYO (AP) _ The dollar slipped against the yen Friday in Asia after initially rising moderately on the back of recent strong U.S. economic data and stable stocks prices. The dollar was trading at 117.28 yen at 4:50 p.m. Friday, up from 117.21 yen late Thursday in New York.

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