AP Top Stories 10.12.08

Bush meets with finance ministers to work on economy; Hurricane Norbert comes ashore in Mexico; Accused marine fighting extradition; Tampa Bay evens series with Red Sox.

AP Top Stories 10.11.08

Bush meets with G7 finance ministers; Investigation finds Palin abused power; Report suggests GM and Chrysler may merge; Red Sox beat Tampa Bay.

Reports: Chrysler, GM discuss merger, acquisition

DETROIT - General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC have held preliminary talks about a merger or an acquisition of Chrysler by GM, according to published reports.

The Wall Street Journal, citing people it described as familiar with the discussions, reported that Cerberus Capital Management, the private equity firm that owns 80.1 percent of Chrysler and 51 percent of GMAC Financial Services, proposed trading Chrysler's automotive operations to GM. The Journal said Cerberus would receive GM's remaining 49 percent stake in GMAC.

The New York Times, also citing people familiar with the talks, reported that the automakers were discussing a merger. The Times did not mention GMAC, a traditional auto lender hit hard by the housing market downturn.

Reports: Chrysler, GM discuss merger, acquisition....

Apple's stock hit by Web rumor

By Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Apple shares fell sharply Friday morning after an erroneous Web report saying founder and CEO Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack. Shares quickly recovered after it became clear the rumor was not true.

The posting, made on iReport, a user-generated content site run by CNN, said, "Jobs was rushed to the ER just a few hours ago after suffering a major heart attack," according to Silicon Alley Insider, a blog that took a screen shot of the posting.

Apple's stock fell 10% in 10 minutes, then recovered to trade flat most of the session before closing 3% lower.

Apple's stock hit by Web rumor....

Citigroup Girds for Wachovia Takeover Battle With Wells Fargo

By David Mildenberg and Josh Fineman

Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc., hobbled by $61 billion of subprime-related losses, now faces its biggest takeover battle in a fight with Wells Fargo & Co. for control of Wachovia Corp.

Citigroup fell as much as 21 percent yesterday in New York trading after Wells Fargo, the biggest U.S. bank on the West Coast, agreed to acquire all of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Wachovia for $15.1 billion. The bid trumped Citigroup's government-backed offer of $2.16 billion for Wachovia's banking operations.

``The taxpayer doesn't pay a penny'' for the Wells Fargo deal, Wells Chairman Richard Kovacevich, 64, said yesterday in an interview. His company's bid is superior to Citigroup's also because it's a higher price and the combining banks ``share similar cultures and values.''

Citigroup Girds for Wachovia Takeover Battle With Wells Fargo....

Bush Signs Bank Rescue to End `Threat to Economy'

By Christopher Stern and Laura Litvan

Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. President George W. Bush signed a $700 billion financial-market rescue plan into law, calling it a ``decisive action to ease the credit crunch that is now threatening our economy.''

The bipartisan legislation was sent yesterday to Bush after it was approved by the House, reversing its Sept. 29 rejection of the measure, which had sent global stock markets plunging. The bill, approved on Oct. 1 by the Senate with $149 billion in tax breaks to attract House votes, authorizes the government to buy troubled assets from financial institutions reeling from record home foreclosures. It also affirms regulators' power to suspend asset-valuing rules that companies blame for fueling the crisis.

``This was a difficult vote for many members of the House and Senate, but voting for it was the right choice for America's economy and for taxpayers like you,'' Bush said in his weekly radio address today. ``I appreciate their efforts to help stop the crisis in our financial markets from spreading to our entire economy.''

Bush Signs Bank Rescue to End `Threat to Economy'....

Auto sales plunge as credit crunch hits

By Kevin Krolicki

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Major automakers reported plunging U.S. sales for September -- led by a 34 percent slide at Ford Motor Co -- as an escalating credit crisis hit the slumping industry and raised new doubts about when the world's largest auto market would stabilize.

The 26-percent drop in industry-wide auto sales was sharper than expected and coincided with a crisis on Wall Street that automakers said rocked consumer confidence and made it harder for remaining shoppers to finance vehicles.

Sales were down 24 percent at Honda Motor Co, 32 percent at Toyota Motor Corp and 37 percent at Nissan Motor Co. Chrysler LLC sales were down 33 percent.

Auto sales plunge as credit crunch hits....