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Digest

Framework for Open-Skies pact sought by may

By TIMES WIRES
Published April 14, 2007

BEIJING

The United States is discussing a deal with China to liberalize air travel and hopes for a framework "open-skies" agreement by May, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said Friday. Washington hopes to produce a formal agreement by the end of this year, said Peters, who was in Beijing to discuss the possible agreement with Chinese officials. "We want to at least have the basic framework in place by May," Peters said. The number of airline flights between China and the United States is sharply limited by international agreement, despite rapidly rising tourist and business travel that has left aircraft packed.

WASHINGTON

Wholesale prices rise for gas, food

Wholesale prices shot up by 1 percent in March, mostly reflecting more expensive gasoline and food. However, when those volatile energy and food prices are removed, all other prices were flat in March, suggesting that inflation is not spreading throughout a wider range of goods in the economy, according to a Labor Department report released Friday. The 1 percent increase in the Producer Price Index, which measures the costs of goods before they reach stores shelves, came after a 1.3 percent spike in February. The flat reading on "core" prices marked an improvement from a 0.4 percent rise in the previous month.

Trade deficit falls on low oil imports

The U.S. trade deficit improved for a second consecutive month as oil imports fell sharply and the politically sensitive deficit with China narrowed to its lowest point in nine months. The gap between what America sells abroad and what the country imports dipped by 0.7 percent, to $58.4-billion, in February, the smallest imbalance since November, the Commerce Department reported Friday. The improvement came even though exports fell by $2.8-billion during the month, reflecting lower sales of a variety of manufactured goods from computer accessories to industrial machinery and civilian aircraft.

JACKSONVILLE

Citigroup closing mortgage firm

A mortgage company owned by Citigroup Inc. will close by the end of the year, affecting 550 employees, the company said. ABN AMRO Mortgage Group was purchased by Citigroup in a deal that closed March 1. Citigroup said it has been working since then to integrate the mortgage company's services - primarily customer service and call processing - with those provided through its own CitiMortgage subsidiary, said Mark Rodgers, a company spokesman in New York.

RALEIGH, N.C.

Nail gun injuries jump dramatically

Unsafe nail guns in the hands of novice do-it-yourselfers are to blame for a three-fold rise in the number of nail gun injuries since the early 1990s, according to a report released Friday. An estimated 13,400 consumers sought hospital treatment in 2005 for a nail gun injury, up from 4,200 in 1991, the report found. The study blamed both layman laborers and unsafe nail guns for the rise.

[Last modified April 13, 2007, 23:59:34]