AP Executive Morning Briefing

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Thursday, June 12, 2008:

Politics may block InBev's Anheuser-Busch bid

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Belgian Brewer InBev is offering a big payday to shareholders of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., but its bid to create the world's largest beer company is already facing a major obstacle — U.S. election-year politics. InBev SA, whose brands include Beck's and Stella Artois, delivered an unsolicited all-cash bid of $65 a share for Anheuser-Busch, which makes Budweiser, Michelob and Bud Light. That's well above the St. Louis-based company's closing share price of $58.35 Wednesday.

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Monster Cable goes wireless with HD kit

NEW YORK (AP) — Monster Cable Products Inc., the company that's synonymous with expensive video and audio cables, is going wireless. On Thursday, Monster is introducing a set of two boxes: a receiver that plugs into the back of a high-definition TV and a transmitter that connects to a DVD player or other components of a home entertainment center.

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Oil edges lower in Asia as dollar gains

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Oil prices fell in Asian trading Thursday as the dollar climbed, but traders said the outlook was for further gains amid worries about global supplies. Midday in Singapore, light, sweet crude for July delivery was down 91 cents at $135.47 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Dems to try again to extend unemployment benefits

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats came so close to a veto-proof margin for their proposal to give the unemployed an extra three months of benefits. Taking another shot on the same measure, the goal for Thursday was to pass it by just a majority, not the two-thirds it would take to overcome a presidential veto. The idea is to speed the bill to the White House.

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G-8 finance chiefs to tackle oil, food

TOKYO (AP) — Runaway oil prices will be a focus of finance ministers from the Group of Eight industrialized nations meeting this week in Japan who are hoping to calm global jitters about a series of looming economic problems. Soaring crude oil costs and rising food prices have created inflationary risks not seen in years.

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South Korea minister to visit US over beef dispute

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's top trade official said Thursday he would travel to the United States to seek restrictions on American beef shipped to his country in a bid to soothe anti-government protesters who oppose the resumption of imports. But the organizers of the demonstrations rejected the plan, saying they would continue to protest to demand a complete renegotiation of the beef deal over fears of mad cow disease. Meanwhile, the top U.S. diplomat in Seoul warned that the uproar could damage relations between the longtime allies.

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Asia markets track Wall Street's losses

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stock markets retreated Thursday after Wall Street's overnight loss, as high oil prices aggravated worries about inflation and the possibility of higher interest rates. The Shanghai Composite Index suffered its seventh day of declines, falling 2.3 percent to 2,955.22 by midafternoon. The benchmark has dropped more than 15.4 percent since June 2.

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Stocks tumble as oil prices surge; Dow falls 205

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street tumbled Wednesday as oil prices rebounded, fanning concerns that inflation will further pinch consumers and lead central banks to raise interest rates. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 200 points to its lowest close since mid-March. Investors are uneasy about oil prices, which on Wednesday traded as high as $138.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before settling up $5.07 at $136.38. Having breached $139 a barrel last week, record-high crude has increasingly posed both an inflationary risk and a threat to growth.

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Fed: High energy, food prices keep economy weak

WASHINGTON (AP) — The economy remained "generally weak" heading into summer as rising costs for energy and food pounded consumers and forced some companies to push their own prices higher. The Federal Reserve's new snapshot of business conditions, released Wednesday, underscored two big sore spots for the country: listless economic activity coupled with high energy and food prices. Those rising prices carry the risk of both spreading inflation and putting another drag on overall economic growth.

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Month-long Asarco mining trial comes to close

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Lawyers for a century-old Arizona-based mining company are set to make their closing arguments in a month-long trial over whether its Mexican parent illegally stripped it of its most valuable asset, leaving the company to flounder into bankruptcy. Asarco LLC is asking a federal judge in Brownsville to order Americas Mining Corp. to return that asset — a controlling stake in two Peruvian copper mines — and the dividends it has provided. The combined value is estimated to exceed $10 billion.

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Japan Markets

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese shares tumbled Thursday as selling spread across the board amid growing fears over accelerating inflation. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 294.88 points, or 2.1 percent, to 13,888.60.

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Dollar-Yen

TOKYO (AP) — The dollar rose against the yen Thursday amid mounting speculation over a hike in U.S. interest rates. The greenback was quoted at 107.26 yen midafternoon in Tokyo, up from 106.98 yen in New York late Wednesday.

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