News In Brief

MID-DAY UPDATE: BP asks partners for help, Google confident it will stay in China, and San Francisco debates pet sales

Daryl Paranada Jul 9, 2010
News In Brief

MID-DAY UPDATE: BP asks partners for help, Google confident it will stay in China, and San Francisco debates pet sales

Daryl Paranada Jul 9, 2010

The Mid-Day Update is a five-day-a-week podcast from the Marketplace Morning Report co-hosted by Bill Radke and Steve Chiotakis that wraps up the morning news in a fun little package. Listen here every day at 10 a.m. PT or download it to your iPod by subscribing to the Morning Report Podcast:

Stacey Vanek-Smith took the reins this morning while Bill Radke was out. Here’s the rundown:

BP has said it will pay for the oil disaster in the gulf, and it’s asking its partners to help. Anadarko Petroleum and Mitsui Oil Exploration own about one-third of the destroyed well, and BP says that means they should pay a third of the cost.

The Obama administration has stopped short of calling China a currency manipulator. The Treasury Department issued the report on China’s currency yesterday.

San Franciscans argued late into the night about whether to ban the sale of all pets — except fish — in the city limits. After five hours of heated testimony, the city’s Commission on Animal Control and Welfare decided to delay a vote on the issue.

In an effort to get their balance sheets back in the black, U.S. automakers have been scrapping some under-performing models. Among them, the Mercury. Ford has announced it will stop production of that model later this year.

A major European defense company has submitted a new bid to build expensive aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. EADS makes Airbus planes — and the company’s offer is just the latest in a big and bitter dispute over a $35 billion military contract.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt now says he’s “confident” the company will keep operating in China. So if you’re keeping score: First the company pulled its search engine out of China. Then it sought to keep its license to operate in the country.

Congress gets back together next week after a holiday recess. One of the top agenda items will be financial regulatory reform. Regulation has been in the news a lot lately. Not only with Wall Street, but with offshore drilling. Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich says over the years, deregulating certain industries has had its benefits and drawbacks.

Wealthy Americans are more likely to walk away from their homes than those of more modest means. A report out this morning in the New York Times says well-heeled homeowners are dumping expensive properties they can no longer afford.

The markets have had a very good week, both here and overseas. But we’ve gotten some mixed news about retail sales, jobs and other things. Chris Low, chief economist with FTN Financial, talks with Stacey Vanek-Smith about how we’re transitioning from a recovery to an expansion, and how the economy is doing.

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