Canton, Mass. -- Dunkin' Brands said Wednesday that Nigel Travis, formerly of Papa John's International, has been hired to be its next chief executive officer.

Papa John's said last week that Travis would be departing and that John Schnatter, the pizza chain's founder, would serve as an interim CEO.

Dunkin Brands, owner of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, includes 14,000 outlets in 44 countries, the Louisville, Ky., Courier-Journal reported.

In a Dunkin' Brands statement, Travis was touted as helping Papa John's triple its online sales between 2005 and 2008.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.

Detroit -- Reducing labor costs for U.S. automakers to match foreign rivals would bring production costs per car down $800 an independent analyst said.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that leveling the playing field on labor costs between U.S. automakers and foreign companies making cars on U.S. soil may not be enough to alter the long-term viability of U.S. car companies.

The International Motor Vehicle Program reported U.S. companies already sell cars equivalent to Japanese rivals at about $2,500 less per car, the Times said.

The headline-grabbing number of $73 per hour in labor costs is accurate, but not entirely relevant, the Times said.

Of that figure, $15 an hour goes to retirees, not because their benefits are generous, but because the companies have long histories, meaning they have a lot more retirees than transplant car companies, the Times said.

Honolulu -- A spokesman for the Gap said eight boxes of women's undergarments bound for the store apparently fell off of a truck and covered a Hawaii highway.

The ladies' undergarments were first reported by motorists on the H-1 Freeway in Honolulu during commuting hours Monday morning, KITV-Honolulu reported Wednesday.

A Gap store manager at the Pearlridge shopping center initially speculated the items might be related to a theft two weeks ago at the location.

However, company officials said they later discovered eight boxes of merchandise were missing from a Monday morning shipment and may have fallen from the delivery truck.

A spokesman for the delivery company employed by the store said the matter is being investigated.

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Chicago -- Grains closed sharply higher on the Chicago Board of Trade Wednesday a day ahead of a critical U.S. Department of Agriculture Supply/Demand Report.

Corn was up 14 1/4 to 14 1/2, soybeans were up 16 1/4 to 16 3/4, wheat was up 19 3/4 to up 20 1/4 and oats were up 2.

Corn closed higher with dry weather in Brazil expected to cut corn yields there. South Korea bought 55,000 metric tons Wednesday. Soybean prices rallied as traders expect a small inventory decline in Thursday's Supply/Demand Report.

The prices:

Corn: Dec 3.26 3/4, up 14 1/2; Mar 3.42, up 14 1/4; May 3.52 3/4, up 14 1/4; Jul 3.63, up 14 1/2.

Soybeans: Jan 8.29 1/2, up 16 1/2; Mar 8.34 3/4, up 16 1/2; May 8.44 1/2, up 16 3/4; Jul 8.54, up 16 1/4.

Wheat: Dec 4.92 1/2, up 20 1/4; Mar 5.09 1/2, up 20; May 5.22 1/2, up 19 3/4; Jul 5.35, up 19 3/4.

New York -- Crude oil prices rose on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday, with investors concerned about a Dec. 17 producers' meeting.

Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are set to meet in Algeria to discuss production cuts to prop up prices.

Crude oil prices gained $1.59 to $43.99 per barrel. Heating oil prices fell slightly, down 0.032 cents to $1.4116 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline rose 0.0377 cents to 98.12 cents per gallon. Natural gas prices rose 0.052 cents to $5.702 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline fell to $1.683 Wednesday, from Tuesday's $1.698 a gallon, AAA said.

Copyright 2008 by United Pre

New York -- A day of wild ups and downs ended with U.S. markets in positive territory Wednesday as lawmakers in Washington moved forward with help for automakers.

By close, the Dow Jones industrial average, down as late as 3 p.m., was up 0.81 percent, 70.09 points, to 8,761.42. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 1.19 percent, or 10.57 points, to 899.24. The Nasdaq composite index was up 18.14 points, 1.17 percent, to 1,565.48.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 2,177 stocks advanced and 952 declined on volume of 6.6 billion shares traded.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond fell 14/32 to yield 2.696 percent.

The dollar was mixed. The euro rose to $1.3019, compared to Tuesday's $1.2929. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar rose to 92.63 yen, up from Tuesday's 92.12 yen.

Tallahassee, Fla. -- A state legislator in Florida said the state's proposal to buy 181,000 acres from U.S. Sugar to support Everglades restoration was "a corporate bailout."

In a letter to the South Florida Water Management District, Miami-Dade County Rep. Juan Zapata said the $1.34 billion deal, touted as a huge environmental coup, "appears to be nothing more than a corporate bailout."

State lawmakers were "extremely concerned" about the deal, Zapata wrote.

U.S. Sugar's board approved the deal, but the South Florida Water District has yet to vote on the proposal. The deadline for a Water District vote is next Tuesday.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.

Charlotte, N.C. -- DirecTV says it will not offer the "Hot Pass" pay-per-view package to NASCAR fans across the United States next season.

A NASCAR spokesman confirmed the TV move, saying league fans should expect continued NASCAR coverage despite the demise of the "Hot Pass" option, the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer said Wednesday.

"The produced package as it exists today will change," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said. "There will be no more large production pieces but we are confident DirecTV will have NASCAR content next season."

"Hot Pass" debuted last season during the 2007 Daytona 500, giving NASCAR fans up to 10 DirecTV channels of auto racing to chose from, the Observer reported.

Poston told the newspaper the new coverage options from DirecTV could potentially be more accessible to NASCAR fans when compared with "Hot Pass."

Washington -- An emergency loan to help U.S. automakers would come with strict guidelines to ensure they make progress towards profitability, a Washington official said.

The White House and congressional Democrats Tuesday agreed "in concept" to provide $15 billion to automakers as early as next week. The measure is scheduled for a vote in the House today, The Washington Post reported.

The bill requires President George Bush to name a "car czar" to ensure Detroit's Big Three take steps to restructure debt, trim operating costs and obtain concessions from the United Auto Workers labor union by March 31. By then, the companies are to report a "positive net present value" or they would be cut off from further federal assistance, the Post said.

The car czar would be mandated to revoke the loan and help the car companies find other options, including bankruptcy, if they do not report progress toward long-term survival.

Chicago -- Grains closed lower on the Chicago Board of Trade Tuesday as oil and stocks fell in New York.

Corn was off 1 3/4 to off 2 1/4 , soybeans were off 7 1/4 to off 7 3/4, wheat was off 3/4 to off 1 1/2 and oats were unchanged.

Corn trading was light with the demand projection expected to decline in the next U.S. Department of Agriculture Supply/Demand Report. The projection on wheat's demand is expected to hold relatively steady in the report. Soybeans demand may rise slightly in the report, traders said.

The prices:

Corn: Dec 3.12 1/4, off 2; Mar 3.27 3/4, off 2 1/4; May 3.38 1/2, off 2; Jul 3.48 1/2, off 1 3/4.

Soybeans: Jan 8.13, off 7 1/2; Mar 8.18 1/4, off 7 1/4; May 8.27 3/4, off 7 1/4; Jul 8.37 3/4, off 7 3/4.