IN BRIEF

SIOUX FALLS, S.D.

Rally in crude stalls; prices fall to $68.09

Oil prices fell Monday as a four-month rally that has roughly doubled the price of crude lost some steam alongside the stock markets.

Benchmark crude for July delivery fell 35 cents to settle at $68.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices dropped as low as $66.78.

Crude prices have risen in tandem with stocks as gloom about the global economy eases.

The growing sentiment is that the run-up in oil is a bubble ready to pop. Higher prices and momentum have become the justification for prices to move higher still, said analyst and trader Stephen Schork.

"The only trick is, will it pop at $75, $147 or $200?" asked Schork in his daily report. "We don't know, but we do know it will pop."

DETROIT

GM to stop making medium-duty trucks

After unsuccessfully trying to find a buyer for four years, General Motors Corp. is giving up on its medium-duty truck business, saying that it will wind down manufacturing by the end of July.

That means GM will stop making the GMC Topkick and Chevrolet Kodiak commercial trucks at its Flint, Mich., Assembly Plant by July 31. The plant employs 2,100 people but also makes Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups.

Company spokesman Jim Hopson said 398 people work on the medium-duty assembly line, and GM is working with the United Auto Workers union to determine what happens to them.

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

World airlines to lose $9 billion in 2009

The world's airlines will collectively lose $9 billion this year -- nearly double the previous projections -- and face a slow recovery as the economic crisis saps air travel and cargo demand, an industry body warned Monday.

The International Air Transport Association, which represents 230 airlines worldwide, increased its loss estimate from the $4.7 billion it forecast in March, reflecting a "rapidly deteriorating revenue environment."

Weak consumer confidence, high business inventories and rising oil prices pose headwinds for future recovery, the association said during a two-day global aviation conference.

NEW YORK

Bond yields surge; more auctions slated

Yields on the 10-year Treasury notes rose to new highs for the year Monday as investors prepared for more government debt auctions.

The Treasury Department is scheduled to sell $65 billion in Treasurys this week.

In late trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was at 3.88 percent, up from 3.86 percent late Friday. The 10-year yield rose as high as 3.93 percent -- its highest level since last October. Its price fell 0.34 points to 93.78 points.

Late Monday, the yield on the 30-year bond was at 4.62 percent, down from 4.64 percent, as its price rose 0.25 points to 94.06 points.