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Byline: -- Staff and Wire Services

Google to unveil payment service SAN FRANCISCO -- Google Inc. today will unveil a much-anticipated payment service that aims to make online shopping more convenient and give advertisers another reason to pour more money into the Internet search leader.

As Google attempts to boost its already lofty profits and become an even more prominent player in e-commerce, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company risks alienating one of its biggest advertisers -- online auctioneer eBay Inc., which runs the Internet's leading payment service, PayPal.

Although Google doesn't view its service as a PayPal competitor, there is no question it poses a long-term threat to eBay, said Internet market analyst Greg Sterling.

New Honda plant set for Indiana

GREENSBURG, Ind. -- A $550 million Honda Motor Co. assembly plant will help the Japanese automaker meet a growing North American hunger for its cars and help invigorate a state hit hard by manufacturing job losses, officials and analysts said.

The southeastern Indiana plant -- part of a $1.18 billion global expansion -- eventually will produce 200,000 vehicles annually, increasing Honda's North American production to 1.6 million a year.

In 2005, American Honda sold 1.5 million Honda and Acura cars and light trucks, and the continent accounts for about half Honda's annual global sales, the company said.

BP is accused in propane plot

WASHINGTON -- Federal investigators said Wednesday that traders at BP PLC cornered the U.S. propane market in the winter of 2004 to manipulate prices, driving heating costs higher for rural consumers.

In a lawsuit filed against the company's BP Products North America Inc. unit, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said that BP traders -- with the consent of senior management -- ``purchased enormous quantities of propane to establish a dominant'' position in the market. They then withheld fuel from the market to drive prices higher, with the intent of reaping as much as $20 million in profits.

The civil lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Penske, Smart car to team up

DETROIT -- DaimlerChrysler AG will team with former auto racer and businessman Roger Penske to sell its funky two-seat Smart car in the U.S. starting early in 2008, the automaker's CEO said Wednesday.

The decision -- announced by DaimlerChrysler Chairman Dieter Zetsche during an appearance in Detroit -- is a watershed moment for Smart, which has not posted a profit since it was formed in 1998.

Penske's United Auto Group Inc. will be responsible for picking potential dealers and developing and maintaining a Smart vehicle dealership network throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. It will focus mainly on highly populated areas and have 30 to 50 dealerships, Penske said.

Smart will sell the next generation of its ``fortwo'' model, which has been popular in Europe. It gets an average of 40 mph in combined city-highway driving and will sell for less than $15,000.

Bills to end fed tax on local calls

WASHINGTON -- Federal taxes on local telephone calls would disappear, and new state and local taxes on Internet connections and cell phones could not appear, under bills that advanced in the Senate Wednesday.

Ending the tax on local telephone calls would save consumers, individuals and businesses, more than $7 billion over the next decade.

Consumers can already expect a refund for three years of taxes paid on long-distance calls. The Treasury Department agreed to stop levying those telephone services at the end of July and to return as much as $13 billion to consumers.

S&P has lowered Ford credit rating

NEW YORK -- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said Wednesday that it has lowered its corporate credit rating on Ford Motor Co., saying that 2006 will be a more difficult year for the nation's second-largest automaker than previously expected.

The ratings service lowered Ford's corporate credit rating to ``B+'' from ``BB-,'' and also affirmed Ford's ``B-2'' short-term rating. The ratings were removed from CreditWatch, where they were placed on May 25 with negative implications. The outlook is negative.

Ford shares fell 18 cents, or 2.8 percent, to close at $6.36 on the New York Stock Exchange.

ConAgra receives good reviews

OMAHA, Neb. -- ConAgra Foods Inc.'s three-year restructuring plan drew positive reviews Wednesday after the packaged-food company reported that fourth-quarter profit improved nearly 7 percent.

The money ConAgra received from selling its ham and seafood businesses boosted profit despite a dip in revenue, and that let the company meet Wall Street's expectations.

ConAgra announced its restructuring plan in March, but Citigroup Inc. analyst David Driscoll said in a research note that he was impressed with the productivity and pricing improvements that have shown up already.

ConAgra posted net income of $108.5 million, or 21 cents per share, on sales of $2.97 billion in the latest quarter.