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Anheuser-Busch criticizes InBev board move
ST. LOUIS -- Anheuser-Busch Cos. says InBev's plan to remove its board is an attempt by the Belgian beer maker to buy the company at a price that is too low. InBev said earlier it will file a preliminary consent solicitation asking Anheuser's board to consult shareholders about replacing Anheuser's board. The move is part of its hostile $46 billion bid for St. Louis-based Anheuser, which Anheuser rejected two weeks ago. Oil drops sharply as supply worries subside NEW YORK -- Oil prices tumbled nearly $4 a barrel Monday, erasing many of last week's record gains in a single session as concerns about potential supply disruptions eased. Light, sweet crude fell $3.92, or about 2.7 percent, to settle at $141.37 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the contract sank $5.79 below Thursday's settlement price. Traders drove prices higher at the end of last week as they bet that conflict with Iran or some other event could cut supplies. As concerns about supply disruptions subsided, many traders on Monday sold off contracts they had bought as insurance last week. Crisis wipes $1 trillion from stocks NEW YORK -- U.S. financial companies have lost more than $1 trillion in value this year, and yet another decline on Monday shows concerns aren't going away soon. The financial sector was hit with a confluence of troubles on Monday: cautious remarks from a Federal Reserve official and new capital concerns at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The drop in names like Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch caused the financial section of the Standard Poor's 500 index to lose almost $150 billion in value on Monday, according to the rating agency. That means S P 500's 85 financial components have lost some $1.3 trillion since the sector reached a high last October. Even more startling is that shares of 35 of the companies, which include insurers, have lost more than half their value so far this year. The financial sector used to be the index's main driver, and many economists believe that the broader market will rise or fall on their health. ------ McCain, Obama duel on economic fix-it plans DENVER (AP) -- Barack Obama and John McCain agree on this much: The economy is staggering under the Bush administration, and Americans are hurting. But who's to blame and how best to fix it? Well, they part ways on that, as they made clear in dueling economic speeches Monday on the issue that has taken center stage in their presidential contest. Obama said that McCain offers a third term of President Bush's policies. McCain has been forced into a more defensive crouch because his party has held the White House while jobs, home values, stock prices and consumer confidence have tumbled. While calling Obama's plans expensive and unwise on Monday, he tried to distance himself from President Bush where he could. ------ US airlines report fewer delays in May NEW YORK (AP) -- Domestic airlines improved their on-time arrival rates in May, although more than one in five flights still failed to get passengers to their destination as scheduled, according to government data released Monday. A total of 21 percent of commercial flights in the U.S. arrived at least 15 minutes late, were canceled or diverted in May, according to the Transportation Department's Bureau of Transportation Statistics. That is down from more than 22 percent of late flights in the same month last year and in April 2008. The previous month's figure was higher in part because AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, the nation's largest carrier, was forced to ground thousands of flights amid tighter government scrutiny of maintenance issues. For the third month in a row, American ranked last in on-time service. Passengers on just over two-thirds of the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier's flights -- 67.3 percent -- got to their destinations on time in May. ------ Despite economic uncertainties, many Americans still traveling PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- High gas prices may mean fewer families will be headed to the beach or the mountains this summer, but rising prices likely won't be keeping wealthy people from missing out on vacation. Although their stock portfolios may be in decline, wealthy Americans who are less likely to feel the impact of a slowing economy and rising energy and food prices are largely going ahead with their vacation plans even though consumer confidence is at a 16-year low. Households earning $100,000 or more have been taking a larger share of hotel rooms since 2000 and now account for about a third of hotel stays, according to D.K. Shifflet Associates in McLean, Va. "If you think about the high-income folks in the U.S., the CEOs and others who make a lot of money and have been doing well over the last eight years, they can afford to do that. And they're doing it while they can," said Doug Shifflet, chairman and CEO of the travel research firm. ------ By The Associated Press The Dow fell 56.58, or 0.50 percent, to 11,231.96. Over the course of the day, the blue chips rallied, tumbled, rebounded, and then fell once more. The Dow fell as much as 167.80 to 11,120.74 -- its lowest trading level since Aug. 15, 2006 -- but was also up more than 100 in early trading. Broader stock indicators also declined. The Standard Poor's 500 index fell 10.59, or 0.84 percent, to 1,252.31, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 2.06, or 0.09 percent, to 2,243.32. Light, sweet crude for August delivery fell $3.92, or about 2.7 percent, to settle at $141.37 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the contract sank as low as $139.50, or $5.79 below Thursday's settlement price. In other Nymex trade, heating oil futures fell by 13.64 cents to settle at $3.9696 a gallon while gasoline futures sank 8.83 cents to settle at $3.4827 a gallon. Natural gas futures fell 60 cents to settle at 12.977 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, August Brent crude fell $2.55 to settle at $141.87 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. |
