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Two former managers of the Bear Stearns hedge funds that imploded last year surrendered to the FBI on Thursday and are expected to be charged with securities fraud by US prosecutors.

More than 400 real estate industry players have been indicted since March — including dozens over the last two days — in a Justice Department crackdown on incidents of mortgage fraud nationwide that have contributed to the country’s housing crisis.

Ford Motor (F) lowered its hopes further, saying its 2008 automotive results will be worse than 2007 and it will be difficult to break even on an operating basis next year. The auto maker also cut its production targets and said it will delay its new F-150 pickup.

Corning (GLW) continues to see strength in LCD TV sales

Boeing (BA) achieves 787 power on, company repositioned for major air tanker contract after government terminated previous award to Northrop Grumman for inaccurate accounting done by Air Force during selection process.

As gasoline prices continue climbing, demand has been waining. So far this year, Americans have used less gasoline than they did in 2007, with demand since January dropping 1% from last year, according to the Department of Energy. WSJ.

The low-fare airlines aren’t so low anymore. Jet fuel costs Euro” up more than 80% over last year Euro” are forcing the airlines to sharply raise some fares, and reinvent themselves to appeal to not just bargain hunters, but also the briefcase crowd that generally pays more for last-minute tickets. NYT.

The world’s population will reach 7 billion in 2012, even as the global community struggles to satisfy its appetite for natural resources, according to a new government projection. There are 6.7 billion people in the world today. The United States ranks third, with 304 million, behind China and India, according to projections released Thursday by the Census Bureau.

China raised its base price for gasoline by 17%, a move that global oil traders concluded would diminish the country’s appetite for fuel; benchmark crude fell 3.5%. The decision marks Beijing’s largest increase in fuel prices in four years.