Stocks recover from lows...oil prices slip...Motorola gets new exec

NEW YORK (AP) Stocks have pulled off their lows after a big drop in oil prices offset some investor concerns about a government report on inflation. The price of crude plunged after Tropical Storm Edouard appeared unlikely to threaten oil and natural gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. The Dow industrial average is down about 9 points, the Nasdaq is down 19 and the S&P 500 is down about 7.

NEW YORK (AP) Oil prices have plunged in a massive selloff, falling briefly below $120 a barrel for the first time since early May. Traders responded as Tropical Storm Edouard appeared unlikely to threaten oil and natural gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.

Also weighing on prices was a report by the Commerce Department that consumer spending fell in June, signaling traders that a U.S.

economic slowdown is forcing Americans to cut back on energy use.

NEW YORK (AP) Motorola has snagged Sanjay Jha, the chief operating officer of Qualcomm and a star of the wireless industry.

Jha will head Motorola's handset division as that unit prepares to become an independent company.

NEW YORK (AP) The board of ImClone Systems isn't thrilled with a 4.5 billion-dollar buyout offer from cancer drug partner Bristol-Myers Squibb. The ImClone board says it "substantially undervalues" the company, and chairman Carl Icahn is personally against the deal. But ImClone says its board has formed a committee to weigh the offer anyway.

READING, Pa. (AP) Boscov's Department Store has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The troubled retail chain is the latest victim of a harsh consumer spending environment. Boscov's says it also will close 10 of its 49 stores. It blames credit issues, acknowledging that some of its suppliers have stopped shipping merchandise to the company.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 08-04-08 1318CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list