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Press Digest - New York Times business news - June 4

Posted by J.S.

June 4, 2008

June 4 - The following were the top stories in the New York Times business pages on Wednesday.

* With no end in sight for elevated gas prices, General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) announced drastic cuts in production of sport utility vehicles and pickups on Tuesday and stepped up plans for smaller cars and engines.

* General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Chrysler combined for a record low market share of 44.4 percent, compared with 48.1 percent for 10 Asian brands, according to the Autodata Corporation, the industry statistics firm.

* Under fire for the high ratings they awarded to subprime mortgage securities, three large credit rating firms are close to announcing a broad deal with the New York attorney general to reform some of their core business practices, according to people briefed on the investigation.

* Resolving the global food crisis could cost as much as $30 billion a year and wealthier nations are doing little to help the developing world, United Nations officials said.

* The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, signaled on Tuesday that further interest rate cuts were unlikely because of concerns about inflation.

* The billionaire investor Carl Icahn stepped up the pressure on Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Tuesday, vowing to remove Jerry Yang, its chief executive, if he succeeds in replacing the company’s board with his own slate of directors.

* MSN said that it had signed an agreement with BermanBraun, a Los Angeles production company, to develop and maintain an entertainment-focused Web site.

* Toll Brothers Inc (TOL.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the builder of luxury homes, reported a second-quarter loss on Tuesday, still hurt by plunging home prices and a weakened economy.

* Orders for manufactured goods posted a surprisingly strong increase in April as demand rose across a number of industries. The Commerce Department report on Tuesday said that orders were up 1.1 percent in April after a 1.5 percent increase in March.