News in 2 minutes: Glencore, Washington Corp. want to buy Asarco

LONDON—Switzerland-based Glencore International SA and Montana-based Washington Corporations jointly filed to buy most of the assets of bankrupt U.S. copper miner Asarco LLC, Glencore said Thursday.

"We can confirm that we have filed the papers with the court of Texas," Glencore spokeswoman Lottie Grenacher said. She declined to provide further details on the offer.

Officials at Phoenix-based Asarco and its parent company, Grupo Mexico SA de CV were unavailable for comment. The company has previously said it hoped to restructure its copper operations after selling off its zinc assets to Glencore last year.

But the filing doesn't mean the situation is a done deal _ talk that other copper producers could also be interested in acquiring the Asarco operations swirled Thursday.

Rio Tinto PLC, BHP Billiton Ltd. and Xstrata PLC all declined to comment, while U.S. producer Phelps Dodge Corp. _ currently under offer to be acquired by New Orleans-based Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc. _ couldn't be reached for comment.

Asarco filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. bankruptcy court in Corpus Christi, Texas on August 2005. The company was particularly badly hit by a long strike by unions at its copper operations that year and also said that despite the upturn in commodity prices, it hadn't recovered fully from a long bear run cycle.

The group is already involved in the copper business through Montana Resources, which operates an open pit copper and molybdenum mine in Butte, Mont.

Ford posts record losses for year
DEARBORN, Mich.—Ford Motor Co. lost $5.8 billion in the fourth quarter amid slumping sales and huge restructuring costs, pushing the automaker's deficit for the year to $12.7 billion, the largest in its 103-year history.

It was far from the largest quarterly or annual corporate loss on record _ Time Warner Inc. reported a $97.2 billion loss in 2002, largely due to new accounting rules about how to value assets. Ford could not rely on accounting rules, however, to explain its staggering total, which represented an average loss of $1,925 on each car or truck it sold in 2006.

California regulators ban buying dirty power
SAN FRANCISCO—California utility regulators banned power companies Thursday from buying electricity from high-polluting energy sources, including most out-of-state coal plants, to curb global warming.

The Public Utilities Commission voted 4-0 to adopt the "greenhouse gas emissions performance standard," which will prohibit utilities and other energy providers from entering long-term contracts with sources that emit more carbon dioxide than a modern natural gas plant.

Iraq prime minister vows no letup against terrorism
BAGHDAD, Iraq—Iraq prime minister Nouri al-Maliki insisted Thursday there will be "no safe place in Iraq for terrorists," hours before a suicide car bombing killed at least 26 people in the Shiite neighborhood of Karradah and two rockets slammed into the fortified Green Zone not far from the U.S. Embassy.

Angry Karradah residents took to the streets chanting "We want the Sunnis out!" after the blast, the second suicide bombing in three days in the neighborhood. The explosion destroyed three minivans, 11 cars and dozens of shops, as well as the local post office, according to a resident.

As the rockets fell and bombs exploded across the Tigris River, the public address system inside the Green Zone compound could be heard warning in English that people should take cover because "this is not a drill."

Hoover Dam bypass Target date now 2010
LAS VEGAS—The target date for completion of a bypass bridge at Hoover Dam is being pushed back to 2010 following the collapse of a construction crane in September, a project chief said Thursday. The delay also is expected to drive up the cost of completing the four-lane highway bridge spanning the Colorado River, said Dave Zanetell, a Federal Highway Administration engineer overseeing the project. A new cost estimate was not immediately available.

The project was originally budgeted to cost $234 million with a $6 million cushion and be completed in late 2008. It's now expected to cost the full $240 million.

The span is being built to carry U.S. Highway 93 traffic between Arizona and Nevada, bypassing a winding two-lane road across Hoover Dam. The road is a key route between Las Vegas and Phoenix.

Grand Canyon Railway deal accepted
FLAGSTAFF—The owners of the fabled Grand Canyon Railway have accepted a buyout offer from one of the nation's biggest national park contractors.

Xanterra Parks & Resorts will take over the assets of the railroad company, including the trains, rail route from Williams to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, an RV park, restaurant and several real estate parcels in Williams. The amount of the bid was not disclosed.

Xanterra runs lodges, restaurants and other concessions at national parks and state parks and resorts, including Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Crater Lake and Death Valley.