On Friday July 9, 2010, 6:12 pm EDT
China renews Google license despite
censorship row
BEIJING (AP) -- China renewed Google's
license to operate a website, preserving the search giant's toehold in the
world's most populous country after the company gave up an attempt to skirt
Beijing's censorship practices.
Google said Friday that Chinese
officials had approved its Internet content provider, or ICP, license but gave
no details of what services it would offer.
Renewal had been in question after
Google began automatically redirecting users in China to an uncensored Hong
Kong search site. But the company dismantled the virtual bridge to Hong Kong
last week after regulators objected to the sleight of hand and threatened to
revoke its Internet license.
FDA review spotlights heart risk of
diabetes pill
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal health
scientists have panned a GlaxoSmithKline study that the company used to defend
the safety of its embattled diabetes drug Avandia, a once blockbuster-seller
that fallen out of favor because of potential ties to heart attacks.
The Food and Drug Administration posted
an exhaustive 700-page review of Avandia on Friday ahead of a meeting next week
to decide whether the drug should stay on the market.
The FDA finds itself in a difficult position
that's all too familiar: reviewing a drug approved a decade ago that now
appears tied to deadly side effects. Experts say the FDA's predicament is a
result of shifting standards for the agency: increased scrutiny on safety and
stepped-up pressure from Capitol Hill.
Wholesale inventories rise in May,
sales fall
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Inventories held by
wholesalers rose for a fifth consecutive month in May but sales fell for the
first time in more than a year, sending a cautionary signal about the strength
of the recovery.
Wholesale inventories increased 0.5
percent while sales dropped 0.3 percent, the Commerce Department said Friday.
It was the first decline for sales since March of 2009.
The May sales decline is the latest
sign that the economic recovery could be losing momentum in the second half of
the year. Weakness in sales could discourage businesses from boosting their
orders. That would translate into a slowdown in factory production.
Stocks climb after Google wins license
from China
NEW YORK (AP) -- The stock market ended
its best week in a year with another gain Friday as investors placed their last
bets before the start of second-quarter earnings reports.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose
59 points, or 0.6 percent. That gave the Dow its biggest weekly advance in a
year, 5.3 percent. Broader indexes posted bigger gains. Trading volume was
light, signaling that many investors were staying out of the market. But those
who were trading appeared optimistic about the company reports that will be announced
starting next week.
Friday's modest moves weren't
surprising. Traders often avoid making big bets just before earnings releases
because the reports provide a good picture of how companies are performing.
Feds say new cap could contain Gulf
leak by Monday
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The BP oil leak
could be completely contained as early as Monday if a new, tighter cap can be
fitted over the blown-out well, the government official in charge of the crisis
said Friday in some of the most encouraging news to come out of the Gulf in the
2 1/2 months since the disaster struck.
Crews using remote-controlled
submarines plan to swap out the cap over the weekend, taking advantage of a
window of good weather following weeks of delays caused by choppy seas.
Two relief wells are still being
drilled deep below the seafloor to intercept the ruptured well and seal it up
permanently with mud and cement, a job that may not be completed until
mid-August.
One more round, perhaps, for Boeing and
EADS
WASHINGTON (AP) -- For the companies
vying over the last decade for the Air Force's troubled $35 billion refueling
plane contract, it is try, try and try again.
Rival planemakers Boeing and the
European defense contractor EADS submitted bids this week, Boeing on Friday,
for the chance to build the new refueling plane.
It is the latest round in a tussle that
has yet to produce a winner and has forced the Air Force to keep up its fleet
of planes, some of which are more than 50 years old. And while the Pentagon has
said it plans to award a contract in November, the history behind the tanker
project shows there are no guarantees.
Patent holder sues smart phone makers
over patents
NEW YORK (AP) -- The patent-holding
company that won a settlement of more than $600 million from the maker of the
BlackBerry said Friday it has sued six other companies in the smart phone
industry.
Patent company NTP Inc. is suing Apple
Inc., Google Inc., Microsoft Corp., HTC Corp., Motorola Inc. and LG Electronics
Inc., claiming infringement of the same patents that were at issue in its case
against BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd.
The lawsuit against RIM ended with a
$612.5 million settlement in 2006. However, changes in court practices have
reduced NTP's power to win large settlements, and if NTP prevails, it's likely
to receive much less from each defendant this time.
Anadarko tells BP it won't help pay for
oil spill
NEW YORK(AP) -- Anadarko Petroleum
Corp. says it won't help BP pay for the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
The Houston company, which owns 25
percent of BP's blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico, said Friday it has
refused to send the $272 million contribution that BP requested in June.
As part owner, Anadarko was on the hook
to help pay to corral and clean up the spill. The company believes it should be
excused from payments because of BP's reckless handling of the failed deepwater
operation.
BP says it is disappointed by the
announcement and will evaluate its options about what to do next.
Pump prices end the week lower, oil
higher
NEW YORK (AP) -- Drives to the beach
and summer road trips will cost less this weekend, with average gasoline pump
prices around the country more than four cents lower than a week ago.
A gallon of unleaded regular costs $2.713,
according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. A year ago
the average was $2.58 a gallon. Most analysts think gas prices have peaked for
the summer and will be generally lower over the next couple of months. Demand
remains weak with many consumers concerned about high unemployment numbers and
the strength of the economic recovery.
Toyota chief hopes to lead company past
crisis
NAGOYA, Japan (AP) -- The president of
Toyota Motor Corp. said he has spent the last year apologizing for the
automaker's missteps and now hopes to lead the company past its recall crisis
and restore confidence in its vehicles.
Akio Toyoda, speaking to U.S. reporters
on Friday, also reiterated the company's commitment to fuel-efficient vehicles
and said the automaker is testing an electric car prototype with technology
from Tesla Motors Inc.
Toyoda said he has spent much of his
year-long tenure at the helm of the world's largest automaker apologizing for
its mistakes. He said he now hopes to win back the confidence of customers and
move past the crisis that has battered its vaunted reputation for quality.
By The Associated Press
The Dow rose 59.04, or 0.6 percent, to
10,198.03.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index
rose 7.71, or 0.7 percent, to 1,077.96, while the technology-focused Nasdaq
composite index rose 21.05, or 1 percent, to 2,196.45.
Crude oil rose 65 cents to $76.09 per
barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil
rose 2.04 cents to settle at $2.0257 a gallon, and gasoline gained 1.89 cents
to settle at $2.0700 a gallon.
In London, Brent crude picked up 71
cents to settle at $75.42 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.