AUTOMOTIVE: Chrysler to close minivan plant

Chrysler LLC said Monday that it will close one Missouri plant indefinitely this fall and cut production at another because of slumping demand for trucks and other large vehicles. Officials said the automaker will shutter the St. Louis South plant, which makes minivans, effective Oct. 31. The St. Louis North plant, which makes full-size pickup trucks, will reduce operations from two shifts to one. "We see no need for the capacity in the future," Chrysler President and Vice Chairman Tom LaSorda said. The moves affect 2,400 jobs. LaSorda also denied rumors that Chrysler's new owners, Cerberus Capital Management LP, plans to sell the company in pieces. "Hogwash —- absolutely not being considered at all," he said. Chrysler had an operating loss of about $300 million in the first four months of the year, less than projected by Cerberus Capital, according to documents provided to investors.

DEALS: Group to buy Graham Packaging

Dallas —- An investment fund led by financier Thomas O. Hicks has agreed to buy Graham Packaging Holdings Co. and take the maker of plastic juice and beer bottles public for $700 million, plus the assumption of $2.29 billion in debt and other costs. Hicks Acquisition Company I Inc. said it believed the deal was the largest ever between a special-purpose acquisition company and an industrial company. Graham is based in York, Pa., and lost $206 million on sales of $2.49 billion last year.

ECONOMY: Euro-zone inflation rises to record 4%

Brussels, Belgium —- Yearly inflation in euro nations hit a record 4 percent in June, the EU statistics agency Eurostat said Monday, adding pressure on the European Central Bank to raise borrowing costs. ECB officials have signaled that they may boost their key interest rate on Thursday from 4 percent to 4.25 percent to try to cool prices —- although that would raise costs for home buyers and companies seeking credit, further slowing the economy.

FINANCIAL: Rates mixed in Treasury auction

Washington —- Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills were mixed in Monday's auction, with yields on three-month bills rising while six-month bills declined. The Treasury Department auctioned $23 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.900 percent, up from 1.855 percent last week. Another $22 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 2.135 percent, down from 2.255 percent last week. Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable-rate mortgages, fell to 2.46 percent last week from 2.57 percent.

FOOD / BEVERAGE: Burger King to try new meal for kids

Burger King Corp. is launching a new marketing and promotional campaign. "A large part of our customer base is parents with children," said Russ Klein, president of global strategy, marketing and innovation. "As a parent, the challenge is always trying to get the kinds of things you want to but have some dimension of fun." The centerpiece of the effort, Klein said, is a new kids meal featuring a 4-ounce serving of Kraft macaroni and cheese, lowfat milk and the company's "Fresh Apple Fries," which are uncooked apple slices shaped like french fries and served with low-fat caramel dipping sauce. The meal will go on sale Monday for $3.49 and will be a permanent fixture on Burger King's menu.

Deal to establish MillerCoors done

Denver —- SABMiller PLC and Molson Coors Brewing Co. said Monday that they closed on their transaction combining their U.S. and Puerto Rico operations into MillerCoors. The companies said MillerCoors will begin operating as a combined entity today. They have not said where the headquarters will be. SABMiller, headquartered in London, and Molson Coors, based in Golden, Colo., announced in October that they would form a joint venture to market and distribute beer in the United States and Puerto Rico. The deal is aimed at helping the companies compete against Anheuser-Busch Cos., which has about half the U.S. market.

HEALTH CARE: Drugstore data systems to merge

Washington —- The drugstore and pharmacy benefit management industries today will announce a combination of their information systems in order to boost electronic prescribing by physicians. The merger combines the RxHub network, operated by CVS Caremark Corp., Express Scripts Inc. and MedcoHealth Solutions Inc., with Surescripts, which is run by the drugstore industry's two main trade groups. "This merger sets aside historic economic and political differences to do what is necessary to advance paperless prescribing and the secure exchange of critical information," said John Driscoll, president for new markets with MedcoHealth Solutions.

HOSPITALITY: Cuba tourism law sparks lawsuits

Miami —- Dozens of Florida-based travel agencies have sued the state trying to block a new law that would make it harder to book trips to Cuba. In the lawsuit filed Monday in Miami federal court, the agencies argue the measure could drive up costs and put them out of business. The law would force the agencies to put up a $250,000 state bond in some cases if they book tours to Cuba. The bond pays for investigating the agencies to make sure they don't violate federal law.

LEGAL: Court orders eBay to pay LVMH

Paris —- A French court on Monday ordered online auction giant eBay to pay 38.6 million euros, or $61 million, in damages to French luxury goods company LVMH in the latest round in a long-running legal battle over the sale of counterfeit goods on the Internet. LVMH, a maker of high-end leather goods, perfumes and other fashion and luxury products, successfully challenged eBay for a second time in the French court, arguing that 90 percent of the Louis Vuitton bags and Dior perfumes sold on eBay are fakes. The court ruled that eBay, which earns a commission on the sales, was not doing enough to stamp out counterfeit sales. EBay vowed to appeal the ruling.

State of Florida sues Countrywide

Countrywide Financial Corp. was sued by the state of Florida for fraudulently making loans to homeowners who couldn't afford to repay. In a complaint filed Monday in a state court, Attorney General Bill McCollum said the company and its founder, Angelo Mozilo, violated the state's deceptive-trade-practices law. "Subprime loans were approved for borrowers who were not qualified and could not afford such loans," McCollum said in the complaint, which seeks unspecified damages.

MANUFACTURING: Boeing to pay $3 million fine

Chicago —- Boeing has agreed to pay a $3 million fine for exceeding value limits on the purchases of parts from foreign suppliers for its military products. Boeing spokesman Tim Neale said Monday that the company discovered the violations and reported them to the State Department. The airplane manufacturer violated manufacturing license agreements required under federal regulations governing international arms sales. The suppliers were in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria.

REAL ESTATE: Wachovia to end short-pay loans

Charlotte —- Wachovia Corp. will quit offering a mortgage payment option that allows borrowers to pay less each month than the bank charges in interest. The choice to pay less was one of the options of Wachovia's controversial Pick-A-Payment mortgages, which offer customers four different payment options each month. Wachovia told The Associated Press on Monday that it will no longer offer the less-than-full interest payment option on all new home loans. Critics have said such paying less than the amount of interest charged can lead to negative amortization, in which the borrower owes more than the value of their home.

TRANSPORTATION: CSX loses challenge to rates

CSX Corp., the third-largest U.S. railroad, must reduce shipping rates it charges DuPont Co., a federal regulator said in the first finding under new rules that make such challenges easier. The Surface Transportation Board announced the decision against Jacksonville-based CSX on Monday in an e-mailed statement. The finding that CSX charged "unreasonably high rail rates" may mean more shippers will challenge charges to the board, which regulates some railroad rates.

Mesa Air hopes to settle with Delta

Mesa Air Group Inc. hopes to reach an "amicable solution" with Delta Air Lines Inc. over Delta's intent to cancel a contract for regional flights, Mesa Chief Executive Jonathan Ornstein said. A federal judge in May ordered Delta to resume the flights by Mesa's Freedom Airlines unit pending a trial. Ornstein made the comments on a conference call with analysts Monday.

UTILITIES / ENERGY: Tone somber at oil convention

Madrid, Spain —- Top oil industry executives and a senior European Union official on Monday urged the world to pull together in the face of skyrocketing energy prices, while acknowledging that —- even if it does —- costly crude is here to stay for years. The comments to the World Petroleum Congress by EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and the heads of Shell, BP and Spanish Repsol reflected a key theme of the four-day meeting —- how to bring order into volatile and ever pricier oil and related energy markets. Oil's new peak underscored the somber tone of the conference's opening session. While speakers expressed hope that prices will stabilize after more than tripling over the past three years, they agreed that they are unlikely to return to their 2005 levels.

WORKPLACE: Eli Lilly settles EEOC complaint

Indianapolis —- Drug maker Eli Lilly and Co. will pay $64,400 to settle a lawsuit accusing the company of withholding severance pay to force a longtime employee to withdraw a discrimination charge. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accused Lilly of violating federal anti-discrimination law by retaliating against employee Starr E. Johnson after she filed a discrimination charge. "A company may not condition receipt of benefits, such as severance benefits, on an employee's promise not to cooperate with the EEOC," lawyer Laurie Young said in a statement released by the EEOC. Young is the regional attorney for the commission's Indianapolis office.