AP Executive Morning Briefing

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By ASSOCIATED PRESS

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Thursday, March 19, 2009:

House sets up vote on taxing AIG bonuses

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Venting their outrage, lawmakers are preparing to slap heavy taxes on employee bonuses at insurance giant AIG and at other companies that have received large bailout packages from the government. The House was scheduled to vote Thursday on a bill that would levy a 90 percent tax on bonuses paid to employees with family incomes above $250,000 at companies that have received at least $5 billion in government bailout money.

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Asia markets mixed after Fed's $1.2 trillion plan

HONG KONG (AP) _ Asian stock markets were mixed Thursday as investors digested the U.S. Federal Reserve's massive $1.2 trillion spending plan to revive growth in the world's largest economy. Japanese exporters got whacked as the dollar tumbled against the yen. Most of the region's other markets posted small gains, buoyed after Wall Street gained for a sixth time in seven days on optimism over the Fed's announcement. Banks in several markets helped lead the way, while commodity firms rose on stronger prices for crude and metals.

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Microsoft adds shortcuts, security to new browser

SEATTLE (AP) _ Microsoft Corp. will release a new version of Internet Explorer Thursday, adding features meant to speed up common Web surfing tasks and bringing the browser's security measures in line with those of major competitors. The number of browsers has grown to a dizzying array, from Internet Explorer and Mozilla's Firefox, the two most popular, to Apple Inc.'s Safari, Google Inc.'s Chrome, the Norwegian entrant Opera and others. Each is using speed, security enhancements and new features to fight for a share of Web surfers' growing time online. Microsoft remains the dominant player, but Firefox's influence is growing.

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