AP Executive Morning Briefing

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Friday, Nov. 28, 2008:

Black Friday deals await holiday shoppers

CHICAGO (AP) — The nation's retailers are set to usher in the holiday shopping season Friday with pre-dawn openings, deep discounts and a downright dismal economic outlook that threatens to keep shoppers' credit cards securely in their wallets. Stores are extending their hours — some opening at midnight — and preparing for a surge of shoppers searching for discounts that promise to be even deeper than a year ago. But the question remains whether anyone will be spending much money as a recession nears, credit markets remain frozen, layoffs loom and consumer spending shrinks.

___

RBS says British government to buy bank majority

LONDON (AP) — The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC said Friday the British government will take majority control of the bank — buying close to a 60 percent stake — after its shareholders shunned a stock offering. RBS, which has indicated it could post its first ever annual loss this year, said investors bought just 0.2 percent of shares offered to them in a 20 billion pound ($31 billion) government plan to recapitalize the bank. The offer, issued last month, expired on Friday.

___

Asian markets rise; Indian stocks dip after attack

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Most Asian stock markets rose Friday as investors bought beaten-down shares on hopes that China's big interest rate cut will stimulate growth and optimism over Wall Street's four-day rally. Indian stocks edged lower after a one-day suspension of trading due to terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the country's financial center, that left at least 119 people dead. The benchmark Sensex index opened 1 percent lower and then fluctuated in and out of postive territory. In late morning trading, it was down 0.2 percent at 9,011.

___

Meltdown far from over, new mortgage crisis looms

WASHINGTON (AP) — Black Friday's retail shoppers hunting for holiday bargains won't be enough to stave off what's likely to become the next economic crisis. Malls from Michigan to Georgia are entering foreclosure, commercial victims of the same events poisoning the housing market. Hotels in Tucson, Ariz., and Hilton Head, S.C., also are about to default on their mortgages.

___

Oil falls below $54 in Asia ahead of OPEC meeting

SINGAPORE (AP) — Oil prices fell below $54 a barrel Friday in Asia as a gloomy outlook for global crude demand overshadowed hopes OPEC will announce a production cut this weekend. Light, sweet crude for January delivery was down 95 cents to $53.45 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by late afternoon in Singapore. Trading was closed Thursday in the U.S. for the Thanksgiving holiday.

___

Bangkok airports shutdown ripples through region

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — The severing of air links with Thailand's capital — a vital air hub that handles 3 percent of world air cargo and 100,000 travelers a day — rippled through the region with airlines scrambling to reroute passengers and freight as hopes for a quick resolution to the crisis faded. Thailand's embattled government Friday backed away from a threat to use force to disperse the protesters who have shut down Bangkok's two commercial airports, setting the scene for a prolonged disruption to transport across the region and a massive blow to the kingdom's economy.

___

Online retailers ramp up deals to capture dollars

NEW YORK (AP) — Online retailers are ramping up heavy-duty deals to turn skittish shoppers into buyers during the crucial Thanksgiving weekend and "Cyber Monday" — but even so, online sales are expected to be fairly flat after years of strong growth. Free shipping is virtually a given, and many are offering financing options such as no payments for 90 days and deals like $10 off purchases of $50 or more, along with traditional discounts on products.

___

From Bust to Broom: Foreclosure cleanups bustling

FORT EDWARD, N.Y. (AP) — Several men wordlessly carry out furniture, broken computers and boxes of garbage from a large blue house on a quiet upstate street on a brisk autumn morning. Rusting bikes and an old grill lay discarded in the overgrown backyard which is spotted with empty beer cans and crushed milk cartons. The mood is oddly serene as the men unload the remnants of what was one someone's home. Todd Drake, manager of Empire Real Estate Management in Latham, is overseeing yet another eviction. The home's former owner has long gone, leaving just debris and an old phone number in his stead. After a county sheriff's deputy checks to make sure no one is inside, crews head in to change the locks and clean out the refuse — also known as a "trashout." Drake is stoic as he watches his crew.

___

Aa food prices climb, industry ponder trash

Experts in the food industry are thinking a lot about trash these days. Food waste has been a chronic problem for restaurants and grocery stores — with millions of tons being lost along the way as crops are hauled hundreds of miles, stored for weeks in refrigerators and prepared on hectic restaurant assembly lines. But the historically high price of commodities is making it an even bigger drag on the bottom line.

___

VW building Tenn. assembly plant during hard times

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — With huge dirt movers shaping the site of Volkswagen's $1 billion assembly plant at Chattanooga, Europe's largest automaker says it has no regrets about announcing its arrival as an American employer in hard times. "We have stuck with our goals of growing our sales in the U.S. market," Volkswagen AG spokeswoman Jill Bratina said. "This plant is critical to that."

___

Japan Markets

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese stocks rose Friday amid growing investor optimism that economy-boosting steps by governments around the world would help ward off a deep global recession. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average gained 138.88 points, or 1.66 percent, to 8,512.27. The broader Topix index rose 0.7 percent to 834.82. During the week, the Nikkei index jumped 7.6 percent.

___

Dollar-Yen

TOKYO (AP) — In currencies, the dollar stood at 95.27 yen Friday from 95.41 yen late Thursday.

___

A service of The Associated Press. Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

Back To Top

	Stocks end short session with 5th straight gain	Associated Press	Mon Nov 24	44
	Government plans massive Citigroup rescue effort	Associated Press	Fri Nov 21	4
	Asian markets tumble after Wall Street plunge	Associated Press	Mon Nov 24	4
	Wall Street braces for another pivotal week	Associated Press	Sun Nov 23	0