National business briefs

Oil rises, then falls on Saudi vow to boost output Crude oil futures rose to a record Monday, then tumbled as investors wrestled with whether they should put stock in Saudi Arabia's promise to boost production. Retail gas prices rose to a record $4.08 a gallon. Light, sweet crude for July delivery fell 25 cents to settle at $134.61 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier soaring to a trading record of $139.89. Earlier, they dropped as low as $132.84.

Newspaper giant McClatchy cutting 1,400 jobs McClatchy Co., the No. 3 newspaper company in the country, said Monday it is slashing 1,400 jobs in the latest effort to cut costs amid rapidly dwindling advertising revenues. The cuts represent about 10 percent of the company's workforce. McClatchy, which publishes 30 daily newspapers including the Miami Herald, also reported a 15.4 percent decline in advertising revenues in the first five months of the year on Monday. The cuts at McClatchy, former owner of the Star Tribune, come amid a broad retrenchment in the U.S. newspaper industry.

Ford to idle plant due to low demand for SUVs Sagging demand for large sport-utility vehicles has forced Ford Motor Co. to close a Michigan factory for nine weeks starting June 23. The Michigan Truck Plant in Wayne, west of Detroit, makes the Lincoln Navigator and Ford Expedition. It will be idled until Aug. 25, Ford spokeswoman Angie Kozleski said Monday.

Broadcom co-founder pleads not guilty Co-founder Henry T. Nicholas III of Broadcom Inc. pleaded not guilty in Santa Ana, Calif., on Monday to federal drug and securities fraud charges alleging wrongdoing inside and outside the microprocessor company. The 48-year-old billionaire entered the pleas to 25 counts contained in two indictments unsealed June 5. One indictment details 21 charges in what authorities say was one of the largest cases ever involving improper accounting for stock-option backdating. The other accuses him of slipping ecstasy into drinks of business associates, maintaining a drug warehouse and concealing illegal conduct with bribes and death threats. Former Broadcom CFO William J. Ruehle pleaded not guilty to 21 securities fraud charges at the same hearing Monday. A trial date was set for July 29. Nicholas and Ruehle remain free on bond.

DuPont announces better Kevlar body armor New Kevlar technology will allow the production of body armor that provides better bullet-stopping power at a lighter weight, the DuPont Co. said Monday. Using a new woven fabric technology, coupled with a new coating process, the Dover, Del.-based company said it has found a way to deliver improved ballistic performance using its existing Kevlar aramid fiber. According to DuPont, Kevlar XP can stop bullets within the first three layers of an 11-layer body armor vest, allowing the remaining layers to absorb the energy of a bullet. Outhous said a typical vest in use now would have 20 to 40 layers of material, with a minimum of nine layers needed to stop the bullet.

Euro zone inflation hits new high of 3.7 percent Annual inflation in the euro zone rose to a new high of 3.7 percent in May, according to data released Monday that reflects surging food, fuel and housing prices across the 15-nation currency bloc. The annual inflation rate was up from 3.3 percent in April and from 1.9 percent in May last year, according to figures from the European Union's statistics agency. Inflation in the euro zone is now running at the highest level since Eurostat started keeping records for each nation in 1996. Across the whole 27-nation EU, inflation was at 3.9 percent, up from 3.6 percent in April and 2.1 percent in May 2007.