AP Executive Morning Briefing

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Friday, Nov. 2, 2007:

Hollywood Writers Going on Strike

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood writers who have long complained of being underpaid and getting little respect said Thursday they would go on strike for the first time in nearly 20 years to fight for a bigger piece of the television and movie industry action. Writers Guild of America President Patric Verrone made the announcement in a closed-door session, drawing loud cheers from the crowd, several writers told The Associated Press.

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Shock Jock Don Imus Returns to Airwaves

NEW YORK (AP) — A little more than six months ago, Don Imus' career seemed doomed. The shock jock had been fired over a racist and sexist remark that ignited an uproar over the limits of taste and tolerance. But the cantankerous Imus has clambered back from the professional brink before, and the Rasputin of radio is poised to do it again. Citadel Broadcasting Corp. announced Thursday that Imus would return to radio Dec. 3., confirming long-rumored reports that he was coming back to morning drive time on WABC-AM, based in New York — the same city where he was banished from the airwaves last spring.

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Asian Shares Slide Following Wall Street

TOKYO (AP) — Markets across Asia slumped Friday, tracking losses on Wall Street overnight as investors worried about a possible end to U.S. interest rate cuts and a slowing American economy — a vital market for Asia exporters. Hong Kong's benchmark index plunged over 3 percent and markets in Japan, China, South Korea and Singapore fell more than 2 percent.

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Kroger Avoids Cincinnati Region Strike

CINCINNATI (AP) — A union representing nearly 11,000 grocery workers says its tentative three-year contract with Kroger Co. provides employees with quality health insurance, wage increases and no benefits cuts. The agreement, announced late Thursday, avoided a last-minute strike at 79 stores in the Cincinnati region. Kroger, the nation's largest traditional grocer, hasn't had a strike in its hometown since 1971.

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Stocks Plunge; Dow Drops More Than 360

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street plunged Thursday, pulling the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 360 points as investors found themselves confronted by two uncomfortable prospects: an end to interest rate cuts and a slowing economy. Mindful of a warning from the Federal Reserve Wednesday about inflation, the market nervously watched the price of oil, which passed $96 a barrel overnight for the first time before dipping on profit-taking. The Fed, which cut interest rates a quarter point, said in a statement that inflation remained a concern, and oil's ascent to another record raised the possibility not only that the Fed might stop cutting rates, but that it might even consider raising them if inflation accelerates.

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Adelson Loses Billions on Sands Shares

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Billionaire Sheldon Adelson is worth about $6 billion less than he was a day ago after shares in Las Vegas Sands Corp. plunged following the announcement of a surprise third-quarter loss. The company, which is spending billions to transform Macau's Cotai Strip into a gambling resort destination, reported a $48.5 million loss, or 14 cents per share, despite a revenue increase of 19.5 percent from a year ago to $661.0 million.

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Electronic Arts Posts 2Q Net Loss

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Video-game software publisher Electronic Arts Inc. swung to a fiscal second-quarter net loss, hurt by an accounting change, but shares climbed 5 percent after the company outlined a promising product lineup and said it expected to see a "great" holiday season. The company also said Thursday it would shut down one of its development studios in England and trim its work force by about 4 percent, laying off about 350 employees.

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GM Sales Up 3 Percent in October

DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. auto market is likely to remain sluggish until year-end discounting starts in December, but there were still bright spots in October for General Motors Corp. and its Asian rivals. GM's sales were up 3 percent over last October, fueled by a 6 percent increase in sales of the automaker's new trucks and sport utility vehicles. Toyota Motor Corp. managed a 4.5 percent sales increase despite wildfires in its home market of California, while Nissan Motor Co. reported a whopping 13 percent increase due to several hot sellers.

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Oil Rises to Near $94 in Asian Trading

SINGAPORE (AP) — Oil prices rose Friday in Asian trading after the previous session's decline prompted fresh buying amid expectations that crude futures will continue to test new records because of tight supplies. Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose 9 cents to $93.58 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore.

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Chrysler to Cut Up to 12,000 Jobs

DETROIT (AP) — Chrysler's U.S. hourly workers, worried about job security, barely passed a new four-year contract with the automaker in votes that concluded last weekend. It turns out their fears were well-founded: The company now plans to cut 12,000 jobs. Chrysler said Thursday it will cut 8,500 to 10,000 hourly jobs and 2,100 salaried jobs through 2008, or about 15 percent of its work force. The cuts come on top of 13,000 Chrysler layoffs that were announced in February.

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Gold Prices

LONDON (AP) — Gold bullion opened Friday at a bid price of $788.85 a troy ounce, down from $791.50 late Thursday.

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Japan Markets

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's benchmark stock index plunged more than 350 points Friday following large losses on Wall Street overnight because of concerns over a possible end to interest rate cuts and a slowing U.S. economy. The Nikkei 225 average fell 352.92 points, or 2.09 percent, on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, to finish at 16,517.48.

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Dollar-Yen

TOKYO (AP) — The dollar fell against the yen in Asian trading Friday as traders remained jittery over the course of the U.S. economy. The dollar was trading at 114.54 yen at 4:50 p.m. Friday, down from 114.92 yen late Thursday in New York.

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