Local San Diego News From Around The County

Public distrust of government is limiting the push for tighter federal regulations even in the wake of regulatory lapses that contributed to the financial meltdown, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and April's deadly coal mine explosion.

Motorola Inc. has named Daniel M. Moloney president of its Motorola Mobility business, the cell phone unit it plans to spin off early next year, the company said on Monday.

Molson Coors Brewing Co., maker of Coors Light and Blue Moon, reports its second-quarter results before the market opens Tuesday.

A severe drought destroyed one-fifth of the wheat crop in Russia, the world's third-largest exporter, and now wildfires are sweeping in to finish off some of the fields that remained.

Williams Partners LP said Monday the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved plans for a $36-million expansion of its Transco natural gas pipeline in the Southeast.

THE RESULTS: BNP Paribas SA, the eurozone's largest banking group by deposits, says second-quarter profit surged 31 percent as steep retail banking gains in France and the Benelux region offset declines in its investment banking operations.

The stock market began August with a huge rally after economic and earnings reports from around the world revived investors' faith in the global recovery.

The blame game swung into full fervor Monday as Massachusetts politicians tried to position themselves amid a stalemate over legislation proposing to bring casino gambling to the state.

MEDICARE'S ADVANTAGE: Double-digit enrollment growth in lucrative Medicare Advantage plans helped lift Humana Inc.'s second-quarter profit 21 percent and the insurer raised its full-year outlook.

Online travel company Expedia Inc. said Monday it plans to sell senior unsecured notes in a private offering.

The Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal cannot make public the confidential business documents he obtains through a subpoena, siding with a Florida insurance company that sued to prevent disclosure of the information.

PROFIT BOOM: HSBC Holdings PLC, Europe's largest bank in terms of deposits, says its net income more than doubled in the first half to $6.76 billion as it set aside sharply less money to cover bad debt.

Freddie Mac on Monday named a company insider, Jerry Weiss, to its newly created position of chief administrative officer.

Plans by BP to begin drilling for oil off Britain's Shetland isles and the Libyan coast within weeks are facing growing opposition in the wake of the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

HITTING THE BRAKES: Auto sales growth in China, the world's biggest market, slowed in July. Sales rose 17.2 percent to 1.05 million units, down from 19.4 percent growth in June. The state report said August sales are likely to weaken further.

CBS and Comcast say they have reached a deal that will allow Comcast to continue carrying CBS programming for another decade.

The new health overhaul law is starting to produce savings for Medicare and will eventually add more than a decade of solvency to the program's trust fund, the Obama administration said in an upbeat report released Monday.

DONE DEAL: Geely Holding Group completes its $1.5 billion purchase of Ford Motor Co.'s Volvo unit. The small-but-ambitious Chinese automaker is gaining a foothold in Europe along with huge management challenges.

Up to 9,000 people will be eligible for money from a $100 million fund set up by BP to help oil workers idled by a federal moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Lending to small businesses is good for the economy, says Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.