Oil up at $76 after BP shuts largest U.S. oil field
Prudhoe Bay, Alaska: Crude oil went up 1.7 per cent to $76 a barrel after BP Plc shut Alaska's Prudhoe Bay field, the largest in the U.S., because of corrosion in a pipeline. London-based BP said in a statement that an inspection done in July had found a leak in a pipeline. The BP-operated Prudhoe Bay field produces 400,000 barrels a day, about 8 per cent of U.S. production.

A pipeline leak led to a spill, now contained, of about four to five barrels. According to a company spokesman, the shutdown will take ``days'' to complete.

On back of the news, crude oil for September delivery rose as much as $1.24, or 1.7 per cent, to $76 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract traded at $75.97 at 11:08 a.m. in Singapore.

In London, Brent crude oil for September settlement gained $1, or 1.3 percent, to $77.17 in electronic tracing on the ICE Futures exchange.

The Prudhoe Bay field will be closed gradually and take ``days'' to be completely shut, company spokesman Ronnie Chappell said.
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Google and AP settle copyright dispute, in new payment deal
San Francisco: Google Inc. will pay The Associated Press for stories and photographs, by way of settling a dispute with this provider of copyrighted news. Both Google and AP disclosed the business relationship last week without divulging financial terms or other details because of a nondisclosure agreement.

Google indicated AP's content will serve as the basis for a new product that will be introduced in the coming months which will complement its Google News service.

Another news organization, Agence France Presse, had sued Google in federal court last year, seeking at least $17.5 million in damages for alleged copyright infringement. Google has denied AFP's allegations, citing its fair use arguments.

For the first half of this year, Google has distributed $1.5 billion to thousands of partners participating in the ad network that generates virtually all the search engine's profits. Google has argued that news providers benefit from their stories being highlighted in its searches since it drives traffic to their Web sites, where they can earn per-click advertising revenue. However, AP does not have a news site of its own and its stories typically are accessed through the sites of newspapers, broadcasters and other customers.

The AP, a not-for-profit organization owned by U.S. news companies, had revenues of $654 million in 2005. Google, a publicly owned company, reported $6.1 billion in revenue last year and is on a pace to exceed $9 billion this year.
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Toyota Q1 earnings surge 39 per cent
Tokyo: Toyota Motor Corp. has reported a 39-per cent jump in income for the first quarter of its new fiscal year.

According to Toyota officials, the results, which included a 13-per cent increase in revenue from the same period a year ago, indicated substantial increases in both revenues and profits, both of which were at record levels.

Toyota's outlook for the full fiscal year ending March 2007 remains unchanged as it expects profits of $11.4 billion on sales of $194 billion. It also maintained its vehicle sales forecast for fiscal 2006 at 8.45 million vehicles, up from 7.97 million Toyotas sold in the fiscal year ended March 31.

Toyota officials said that first-quarter profits have come despite a small decrease in sales in Japan, its home market, where it is traditionally the dominant brand. The decrease in Japan was more than offset by a strong showing in the U.S. and a relatively good quarter in Europe. Toyota reported a 14-per cent increase in revenue in Japan, a 19-per cent increase North America, and 24-per cent jump in Europe.

According to market observers, Toyota is slated to overtake GM as the world's top automaker well before the end of the decade, despite GM's recent sales success in China. Toyota has also benefited from favorable exchange rates in Europe and North America, adding $871 million to the company's net income of $3.2 billion.

In July, Toyota for the first time beat Ford Motor Co. in U.S. vehicle market share, outselling Ford to be number two in American sales after GM.

In addition, Toyota also has embarked on ambitious plans to increase production in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and China, where Toyota recently rolled out its first Camry. The company also is expanding in Thailand and Russia.

Toyota sold 2.09 million vehicles around the world in the latest quarter, up from 1.95 million the same period a year earlier. General Motors continues to outsell Toyota, selling 2.4 million vehicles globally in the latest quarter.
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