BRIEFCASE.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

Free Wi-Fi offer for Google town

SAN FRANCISCO -- Google Inc. plans to offer free, high-speed Internet access to everyone in its Silicon Valley hometown today -- a hospitable gesture that the online search leader hopes to see spread to other parts of the country.

The new wireless, or Wi-Fi, network, is believed to establish Mountain View, Calif., as the largest U.S. city with totally free Internet access available throughout the entire community, according to both Google and city officials.

St. Cloud, Fla., a suburb of Orlando with a population of about 28,000, had claimed that mantle earlier this year after it launched a free Wi-Fi network.

House committee sets BP review

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A congressional committee has scheduled a Sept. 7 hearing to examine the management of the nation's largest oil field by British operator BP PLC.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee will look at BP's corrosion-control practices for its oil-transit lines at Alaska's Prudhoe Bay, such as those involved in two spills this year before the partial shutdown last week of the sprawling oil field near the edge of the Arctic Ocean.

The London-based company launched a complete shutdown after leaks and corrosion were found Aug. 6 during an inspection of a transit line. BP ultimately decided to keep the western half of the field open after reviews of ultrasound pipeline inspections and discussions with federal and state regulators. As of Tuesday, daily production was 150,000 barrels of crude and natural gas, with the eventual goal of 200,000 barrels, or half of normal production.

Sales of homes fall in 28 states

WASHINGTON -- The nation's once-booming housing market slumped even further in the spring with sales declining in 28 states, led by big drops in the formerly red-hot areas of Arizona, Florida and California.

Sales of previously owned homes fell nationwide to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.693 million units in the April-June quarter, down by 7.5 percent from the record rate of 7.193 million units in the spring of 2005, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday.

And in further evidence that the boom is over for housing, the National Association of Home Builders said its monthly survey of builder sentiment fell to its lowest level in more than 15 years.

Delphi's 1st half: $2.6 billion loss

TROY, Mich. -- Delphi Corp., the nation's largest auto supplier, said Tuesday it lost $2.6 billion in the first half of 2006, due largely to the cost of employee buyout and early retirement packages that are key to the company's bankruptcy reorganization.

The loss was more than three times the $741 million that Delphi lost in the first half of 2005.

The company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October, said revenues increased slightly to $14 billion from $13.9 billion last year.

Delphi, a former arm of General Motors Corp., reported progress in diversifying its sales, with non-GM revenue increasing 9 percent to $7.7 billion compared with $7.1 billion in the first half of 2005.