AUTOMOTIVE

Plug-in hybrids get a Ford plug

Washington —- A top Ford Motor Co. executive has urged the government to make a greater commitment to the development of plug-in hybrids, warning that the United States is falling behind in developing the technology critical to the advanced vehicles. Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas, said Wednesday at a conference that bold incentives are needed to speed up the development of advanced batteries. "The governments of Japan, China, Korea and India are all significantly funding the research development and deployment of plug-in hybrid vehicle technologies. This is a race we absolutely must win," he said.

DEALS

GE Energy to buy utility tech firm

Fairfield, Conn. —- GE Energy said Wednesday it will buy a company that develops mapping and other technology for electric, gas and water utility employees working in the field. GE Energy, a unit of General Electric Co., said its purchase of MapFrame will expand its portfolio of utility transmission and distribution businesses.

TI to acquire chip developer

Dallas —- Semiconductor maker Texas Instruments Inc. is buying Innovative Design Solutions, a Florida company that develops analog chips. Financial terms are not being disclosed.

Staples wins scrap for Dutch company

Shares of Staples Inc. rose Wednesday after the retailer won Dutch company Corporate Express NV with a bid of $2.6 billion, ending four months of hostile takeover attempts. Staples raised its bid three times to acquire Amsterdam, Netherlands-based Corporate Express and become the world's largest distributor of office supplies to companies. Staples will more than double its sales to corporate clients.

InBev bids for Anheuser-Busch

InBev NV on Wednesday offered to buy Anheuser-Busch Cos. for $46.3 billion to gain half of the U.S. beer market and overtake SABMiller PLC as the world's biggest brewer by volume. St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch said its board will evaluate the proposal. The industry's largest takeover would put InBev's Stella Artois and Leffe brands together with Budweiser, the iconic lager first brewed 132 years ago. In a 20-year acquisition spree, InBev has grown from a collection of family-owned Flemish brands to become the top brewer by sales, dominating the Latin American market. InBev bid $65 for each share of Anheuser-Busch. The offer is 24 percent more than Anheuser-Busch's share price May 22, the day before reports said Belgium-based InBev was preparing a bid.

FINANCIAL

B of A: Deal for lender will happen

New York —- Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis said Wednesday that there are no plans to call off a $4 billion deal to acquire Countrywide Financial Corp., and that he believes charge-offs and delinquencies will peak in the third quarter. Lewis pointed out that B of A will control 20 percent to 25 percent of the home loan market once the Countrywide deal is completed. He believes there is still "a ways to go" before the credit crisis is over, but that the nationwide bank's business mix will help fuel earnings going forward. "I knew there would be adverse publicity" to the Countrywide deal, Lewis said. "But, nothing has happened in some form or fashion that would make us call off the deal."

FOOD / BEVERAGE

Commodities worry PepsiCo chief

New York —- PepsiCo Inc. Chief Executive Indra Nooyi said Wednesday that skyrocketing commodity prices are one of her biggest worries as head of the company that controls brands such as Quaker Oatmeal and Lay's potato chips, and she called on the government to intercede. Nooyi, speaking at a conference in New York, said she sees no end to the commodities rally that has sent energy and food prices to all-time highs. "It is very worrisome, and what really surprises me is that I've not seen anyone in Washington saying this crisis is the biggest we've had. I just don't see the leadership," she said.

Bottler, ex-drivers clash in Venezuela

Caracas, Venezuela —- The Venezuelan government is offering to help solve a dispute between a Coca-Cola bottler and former drivers. Former contractors of the Mexican bottling company have been blocking four plants and 26 distribution centers since Friday. More than 11,000 ex-contractors say Coca-Cola Femsa de Venezuela SA owes them money.

HEALTH CARE

GlaxoSmithKline to cut R&D staff

London —- GlaxoSmithKline PLC, the world's second-largest drug maker, said Wednesday that it is cutting 350 jobs, or around 2 percent of its research staff. Like other drug makers, Glaxo is facing declining earnings amid increasing generic competition, setbacks to products and a thinning pipeline of potential future drugs.

MEDIA

Stewart's company names co-CEOs

New York —- Susan Lyne, who rebuilt the Martha Stewart Living business in the aftermath of the namesake founder's legal woes, has stepped down as chief executive. The job is being split between two company executives. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. said Wednesday that Wenda Harris Millard, who is currently president of media at Martha Stewart, and Robin Marino, president of merchandising, would be co-CEOs.

REGULATORY

Credit-rating rules could be tightened

Washington —- Federal regulators on Wednesday proposed new rules designed to stem conflicts of interest, expand disclosure for Wall Street's credit-rating industry and flag the ratings of more complex securities. The Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking to make the ratings business more transparent while also encouraging new firms to enter. The three firms that dominate the $5 billion-a-year industry —- Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings —- have been widely criticized for failing to identify risks in subprime mortgage investments. The SEC's favorable votes opened the proposals to a public comment period of several months.

TECHNOLOGY

Google wants Yahoo independent

Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said Wednesday that an independent Yahoo will maintain the competitiveness of the online advertising market. "We think an independent Yahoo is better for competition," Schmidt said at an event in San Francisco. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is pushing Yahoo to sell itself to Microsoft, which dropped its $47.5 billion bid last month. Schmidt said that Google, owner of the most popular Internet search engine, is a "relatively small" part of the advertising world. Google handled almost two-thirds of Internet searches in the United States in April, according to research firm ComScore Inc. Later, Schmidt said the Internet search leader hopes its recently acquired advertising service DoubleClick will aid newspapers as they struggle to corral more online revenue.

TRANSPORTATION

US Airways chief cites 'severe time'

Tempe, Ariz. —- US Airways chief Doug Parker says fuel costs per passenger have doubled since 2007, and that the carrier will pay nearly $2 billion more in fuel in 2008. Parker told shareholders Wednesday that it's a "severe time" for the entire industry. He pointed out that the Tempe-based airline will try to recoup some of those costs with its recently announced fees for a second bag, choice seating and other service charges. Parker added that US Airways is well positioned for turbulent times, because it has a relatively large amount of cash on hand compared with rivals.

Continental says demand will fall off

Continental Airlines Inc. said Wednesday that travel demand will decline as the industry boosts fares to help recoup record fuel costs. "You'd expect that as we move into the fall that less people will fly," Chief Executive Larry Kellner said Wednesday at the company's annual meeting in Houston, its hometown. "As you have less flying, toughly, you need less people," he said, referring to Continental's plans to eliminate 3,000 jobs. Continental is "very comfortable" with its decision to remain a stand-alone carrier, Kellner told reporters after the meeting, which was picketed by the airline's pilots demanding better pay and benefits to make up for givebacks.

ATA Airlines sues FedEx

Indianapolis —- ATA Airlines is suing FedEx Corp. over its decision to drop the airline from its military charter team, a move ATA says forced it into bankruptcy protection. ATA said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court that FedEx broke contractual promises when it ousted ATA in January. The airline said charter flights of military personnel and their families generated more than $400 million in annual revenue and were ATA's most important profit base.

House approves Amtrak funding

Washington —- A nearly $15 billion Amtrak bill passed the House on Wednesday. The bipartisan bill, which passed by a veto-proof margin of 311-104, would authorize funding for the national passenger railroad over the next five years. Some of the money would go to a program of matching grants to help states set up or expand rail service. The White House has threatened a veto, saying the bill doesn't hold Amtrak accountable for its spending. But similar legislation has passed the Senate, also with enough support to override a veto.

WORKPLACE

Census Bureau to fingerprint workers

Washington —- The Census Bureau said Wednesday that it will fingerprint and conduct background checks on more than a half-million temporary workers who will go door to door for the 2010 count, at a cost that could exceed $300 million. Census Director Steven Murdock told a congressional committee the measures are necessary to ensure the federal government does not send criminals into the homes of the nation's residents. He said it would be "absolutely devastating to the census" if temporary workers used their government jobs to commit crimes. "We have a prime responsibility to ensure the safety of the American people," Murdock told the House Oversight Committee. The Census Bureau received a waiver for the 2000 census from the federal requirement to fingerprint government employees. Workers' names, however, were checked.