IN BRIEF
Genting Singapore opening on track
Genting Singapore Plc, partly owned by Asia's biggest casino operator, said its S$6.6 billion ($4.5 billion) resort in Singapore is on track to open in early 2010.
Resorts World, the Genting Singapore unit building the casino, is targeting to open the first phase in February or March, Michael Chin, executive vice president of projects at the subsidiary, told reporters Friday on Sentosa island near Singapore.
About 60 percent of the project will be ready for the so-called "soft opening" early next year, the company said in a statement.
It is one of two resorts the government has allowed to be built in the city-state as part of its goal to lure 17 million tourists and triple annual tourism revenue to S$30 billion by 2015. Las Vegas Sands is building the other.
WASHINGTON
Treasury maps plan for rebuy of warrants
The Obama administration on Friday established its process for pricing billions of dollars worth of warrants that large banks must repurchase to exit the $700 billion bailout program.
The Treasury Department said the banks will make the first offer for the warrants. Treasury will then decide to sell at that price or make a counteroffer. If the government and a bank cannot agree on a fair price for the warrants, the two sides will have the right to use private appraisers.
Treasury also could auction to private bidders warrants from banks that choose not to repurchase them.
The banking industry immediately endorsed the plan, while critics said it could shortchange taxpayers in the long-run.
SPRING HILL, Tenn.
Soon-to-be-idled plant's workers watch, wait
Workers at General Motors' soon-to-be-idled assembly plant in Tennessee held out hope for a reprieve, but now it's back to the waiting game.
GM's decision Friday to build a new small car at a Michigan plant allowed that economically battered state to rejoice, while the announcement is likely a death knell for the third of the finalists in Janesville, Wis.
Officials in Tennessee now hope that the Spring Hill plant on the outskirts of Nashville will be assigned a new product before it is mothballed.
HOUSTON
Release on bond put off for accused financier
Texas financier R. Allen Stanford, facing trial on charges he swindled investors out of $7 billion, will spend the weekend behind bars after a federal judge Friday ruled to delay his release on bond.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner granted a prosecution request to delay a magistrate's order granting Stanford a $500,000 bond. Prosecutors say they believe Stanford, who holds Antiguan citizenship and was once considered one of the richest men in America, is a flight risk.
Hittner ordered a hearing for Monday to hear arguments on whether Stanford's bond should be revoked. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on Hittner's decision.
LOS ANGELES
New orders surge in quarter for KB Home
Going into its second quarter, KB Home had everyone wondering whether the homebuilder could duplicate the standout performance of its first quarter -- posting a 26 percent year-over-year increase in new orders for the first time in more than three years.
The builder didn't even come close. On Friday, KB said new orders in the second quarter were 31 percent below the second quarter last year. The comparison to the first quarter fared far better, however, increasing by 59 percent.
Still, Wall Street appeared less than impressed, and the builder's shares tumbled $1.35, or 9.1 percent, to close at $13.42 in trading Friday.
NEW YORK
Qantas cancels, delays orders for Boeing 787s
Qantas Airways Ltd. said Friday it has canceled orders for some Boeing 787s and delayed delivery of others as the recession slows air travel and tight credit hampers purchases of new aircraft.
Like other airlines, Qantas is struggling to fill seats and said two months ago that it was renegotiating the delivery of 787s ordered in 2005.
The "operating environment for the world's airlines has clearly changed dramatically since then," said Qantas CEO Alan Joyce.
Besides empty airline seats, carriers are struggling with a global credit crunch.
NEW YORK
National gasoline prices ease off summer peak
National pump prices fell every day this week, easing off a summer peak near $2.70 a gallon as U.S. storage facilities swelled with unused gasoline.
The national average for gasoline dropped less than a penny Friday to $2.658 a gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service.
Benchmark crude for August delivery fell $1.07 cents to settle at $69.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent prices fell 86 cents to settle at $68.92 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
In Las Vegas, prices for a gallon of self-serve regular unleaded averaged $2.718 on Friday, AAA said in its Daily Fuel Gauge report.
That's up 12.4 percent from $2.418 a month ago, but down 36.4 percent from $4.273 a year ago, AAA said.
SAN JOSE, Calif.
IBM can't block ex-exec from working for Dell
IBM Corp. won't be able to block its former mergers and acquisitions chief from working at rival Dell Inc. while a lawsuit against the executive works its way through the courts.
A federal judge on Friday rejected IBM's request for a preliminary injunction against the executive, David Johnson.
IBM is suing Johnson, claiming he violated a noncompete agreement by taking the job at Dell. IBM argues that Johnson has trade secrets of IBM's that he could use to help Dell.
Johnson spent 27 years at IBM before joining Dell earlier this year. He has disputed IBM's characterizations about the amount of trade secrets he possesses.
Amazon, state cut ties over plan on sales tax
Amazon.com Inc., the largest Internet retailer, cut ties with business affiliates in North Carolina after the state drafted legislation that would force the company to collect sales tax.
The company sent a notice to affiliates last night, said Patty Smith, a spokeswoman for the company. If enacted, the law could take effect as soon as tomorrow, she said.
Amazon.com also is fighting tax proposals in at least five other states, including California and Hawaii, calling the efforts unconstitutional. The company has sent letters to government leaders in those two states, though Amazon.com hasn't moved to cut off affiliates, Smith said. The North Carolina legislation posed an immediate threat, she said.
NEW YORK
NYC skyscraper secures nearly $1.3 billion loan
Developers of one of the city's tallest new skyscrapers said Friday they had lined up a nearly $1.3 billion loan, sealing what experts called one of the biggest real estate financing deals since the economic crisis began last fall.
Coming amid the worst commercial real estate market in decades, the refinancing package for the Bank of America tower drew congratulations from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. David Paterson. Real estate experts hailed the deal as a sign that the moribund market might be reviving.
NEW YORK
After report, prices for Treasurys increase
Treasury prices were modestly higher Friday, buoyed by a report suggesting consumers are still afraid to spend.
The 10-year Treasury note's price was up 0.09 points at 96.63, and its yield was down at 3.50 percent from 3.54 percent late Thursday.
The 30-year bond's yield was up slightly to 4.31 percent from 4.33 percent. Its price was flat at 98.53.
