AP Executive Morning Briefing

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Friday, Jan. 4, 2008:

WGA Says Leno Violated Union Rules

NEW YORK (AP) — The striking writers union told member Jay Leno on Thursday that he violated its rules by penning and delivering punch lines in his first "Tonight Show" monologue in two months on NBC the night before. NBC quickly fired back, alleging Leno was right and the Writers Guild of America was wrong.

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Japan Stocks Fall to 1 1/2 Year Low

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese stock prices plunged Friday to their lowest finish since July 2006, losing ground after jittery trading on Wall Street amid concerns about the U.S. economy and rising oil prices. Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index lost 616.37 points, or 4.03 percent, to finish Friday's half-day session at 14,691.41 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The close was the index's lowest since it posted 14,500.26 points on July 19, 2006.

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Oil Prices Steady Above $99 in Asia

SINGAPORE (AP) — Oil prices rose slightly Friday from the previous session's close after setting a record above $100 a barrel overnight on a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude stockpiles. The U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said Thursday that crude inventories fell 4 million barrels last week, more than the 1.7 million barrel decline analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires, on average, had expected.

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Housing Glut Could Help War Wounded

CIBOLO, Texas (AP) — The glut of unsold houses pocking the nation's newer neighborhoods may be just what the doctor ordered for thousands of wounded servicemembers facing homelessness and serious financial hardships since returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan, advocates say. Operation Homefront, a nonprofit that aids the families of deployed and wounded servicemembers, has launched what it says is a first of its kind effort to match wounded soldiers with lenders and homebuilders to help them buy homes at prices they can afford in communities near Veterans Administration medical facilities.

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Congestion Causes Text Message Slowdown

NEW YORK (AP) — Geeta Citygirl just figured something was wrong with her phone when she realized the greetings she was sending as the ball dropped New Year's Eve weren't getting through. In Los Angeles, a half-dozen New Year's text messages bounced back to Reggie Cameron on Wednesday, more than 24 hours after he thought he sent them out. In fact, so many people tried to send text messages on New Year's Eve that networks got jam-packed and many of the missives arrived hours later — or not at all.

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Startup Aims for Free Wi-Fi in Frisco

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A Silicon Valley startup is promising to blanket San Francisco with free wireless Internet service, reviving a crusade that crumbled last year after two much larger companies, EarthLink Inc. and Google Inc., scrapped their plans to build a high-speed network for Web surfing. Meraki Networks Inc., whose financial backers include Google, hopes to complete the ambitious project within the next year by persuading thousands of San Francisco residents to set up free radio repeaters on their rooftops and in their homes. The 21-month-old company is to announce its plans Friday.

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Ecofashion Wins on Runway, Helps Farms

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — In a workshop in the city's Mission District, Ally Beran's team of fashion designers is sprawled out over buttons and spools of thread, hoping to stem global warming by stitching new outfits from thrift store finds. A brown lace applique from a scrap bin could make last year's castoff cashmere pop, Beran muses. Or, she reckons, swatches from a tattered leather jacket could double as chic epaulettes on a high-end used sweater. Designers of so-called sustainable fashion are not only dominating New York catwalks and urban boutique racks this winter, many also are providing farmers with new markets for their crops. As with the movement for locally harvested food, ecofashion's devotees seek to lower their toll on the earth by buying clothes made of recycled materials and sustainably harvested, homegrown fibers.

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Ex-Analyst Sentenced for Insider Trading

NEW YORK (AP) — A former Goldman Sachs analyst was sentenced Thursday to nearly five years in prison for his role in an insider trading operation that used illegal tips from a grand juror and leaked copies of a market-moving magazine to make millions of dollars. Eugene Plotkin, 28, apologized before he was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Holwell in Manhattan. He was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and to forfeit up to $6.7 million, the amount of the scam's illegal profits.

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Flurries in Fla., but No Crop Damage

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Flurries fell across the Sunshine State on Thursday, but it appeared that growers were spared the deep freeze they feared would devastate the nation's citrus supply. Meanwhile, California was preparing for a trio of storms expected to unleash heavy rain and snow through the weekend.

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Toyota Overtakes Ford in US Market

DETROIT (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. overtook Ford Motor Co. to become the No. 2 automaker by U.S. sales in 2007, using new products and relentless strategy to break Ford's 75-year lock on the position. Toyota sold 2.62 million cars and trucks in 2007, which amounted to 48,226 more than Ford, according to sales figures released Thursday. Toyota's sales were up 3 percent for the year, buoyed by new products like the Toyota Tundra pickup, which saw sales jump 57 percent. Ford's sales fell 12 percent to 2.572 million vehicles.

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Gold Prices

LONDON (AP) — Gold bullion opened Friday at a bid price of $861.55 a troy ounce, down from $862.00 late Thursday.

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Japan Markets

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese stock prices plunged Friday to their lowest finish since July 2006, losing ground after jittery trade on Wall Street amid concerns about the U.S. economy and rising oil prices. The Nikkei stock index lost 616.37 points, or 4.03 percent, to finish the half-day session at 14,691.41 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The close was the index's lowest since it posted 14,500.26 on July 19, 2006.

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Dollar-Yen

TOKYO (AP) — The dollar rose against the yen in Asia Friday on short-term investor buying, recovering from an early steep decline caused by a plunge in Japanese stocks that prompted risk-averse players to sell the greenback. The U.S. dollar was trading at 109.20 yen at 4:50 p.m., down from 109.33 yen late Thursday in New York.

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