NEW YORK — Stocks rose slightly in early trading ahead of a report on factory orders that could give another glimpse of how the economy is faring.

The Commerce Department is expected to report that factory orders slowed in May due to shrinking demand. The report, due at 10 a.m. Eastern time, is expected to show orders rose by 0.6 percent, according to a consensus of Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson Financial.

The concern in the market is that slowing orders will provide further evidence that higher energy prices are eroding consumer demand for discretionary items — everything from big screen televisions to clothing. Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy.

Oil ticked higher. A barrel of light sweet crude rose 9 cents to $141.06 in premarket trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange amid concerns about tight supply and tensions in the Middle East.

for more go to http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5867459.html

Michelin & Cie., the world's second- largest tiremaker, is raising U.S. prices as much as 12 percent on replacement tires for cars and light trucks because of higher costs for raw materials, energy and transportation.

Prices also will increase up to 8 percent for commercial- truck replacement tires, the Clermont-Ferrand, France-based company's North American unit said today in a statement on its Web site. The revisions take effect Sept. 1, Michelin said.

The tiremaker's announcement comes less than two months after Chief Financial Officer Jean-Dominique Senard said at the annual shareholders meeting that Michelin would increase prices "when we judge it opportune." In those May 16 remarks, he blamed a "very severe" rise in raw-material costs.

for more go to http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5865699.html

SAN FRANCISCO — Del Monte will sell its seafood business, which includes the StarKist brand, to a South Korean company for $363 million as it focuses on higher margin produce and pet foods.

Del Monte Foods Co., which operates brands such as Contadina, Kibbles 'n Bits and 9Lives, said the divestiture will improve margins, eliminate a source of earnings volatility and reduce debt. In fiscal 2008, the seafood business generated about $560 million in sales.

"Given the unique dynamics of our seafood business, including its heavy dependence on a single input cost and participation in a comparatively lower growth category, StarKist was no longer an ideal fit for Del Monte, given our sharpened strategic focus going forward," said Rick Wolford, chairman and chief executive.

For more go to http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5863551.html

General Motors, the world's largest automaker, will begin manufacturing Chevrolet-brand Lacetti compact cars at its new Russian plant by July next year, adding to production set to start in the second half of 2008.

GM will initially assemble Chevrolet Captiva sport-utility vehicles and the Opel Astra at the $300-million plant near St. Petersburg, which will start with an annual capacity of 15,000 units when it opens Nov. 5, said Kseniya Komyagina, purchasing manager for GM's Russian unit. The company plans to make 45,000 Lacettis a year there.

Detroit-based GM will shift production to the new facility from the Arsenal factory in St. Petersburg, where it began producing the Astra in February, Komyagina said today at an industry conference in St. Petersburg.

for more go to http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5855230.html

NEW YORK (AP) - Singapore-based electronics manufacturer Flextronics International Ltd. said Tuesday its computing segment was picked by Hewlett-Packard Co. to design and manufacture a consumer notebook computer.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Flextronics' shares fell 1 cent to $9.80 in afternoon trading.