Feb. 8 at 12:41 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos
By Reuters
A row of Toyota Prius cars at a sales lot in Daly City, Calif., Feb. 3, 2010. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
A U.S. government investigation showed no link between electronic throttles and unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles, a victory for the world’s top automaker battered by recalls over runaway vehicles.
The encouraging result for Toyota stems from a 10-month probe ordered by Congress following recalls of nearly 8 million of its best-selling models in the United States over defective floor mats and accelerator pedals that hurt its reputation for quality.
Some safety advocates and congressional investigators questioned whether software-driven throttles also played a role in unintended acceleration complaints. Get the full story »
Feb. 8 at 12:36 p.m.
Filed under:
Commercial real estate,
Real estate
From The La Salle NewsTribune | A building that housed one of the branches of failed bank Amcore is up for bids. The sale is being handled by CB Richard Ellis, and the building, located in Peru, Ill., is being sold by sealed bids due March 9.
Feb. 8 at 11:48 a.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Jobs/employment,
Litigation
By CNN
A Connecticut ambulance service that fired an employee for posting negative Facebook comments about her boss has settled with the former worker, resolving a case that was poised to test new legal ground in labor law.
In October, National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against American Medical Response of Connecticut over the firing of Dawnmarie Souza. A hearing had been scheduled for this week. Get the full story »
By Associated Press
Government regulators are planning to overhaul the $8 billion federal program that subsidizes telephone service in poor and rural areas to pay for high-speed Internet connections.
The Federal Communications Commission voted 5-0 Tuesday to begin drafting a blueprint to bring the federal program, the Universal Service Fund, into the digital age. Get the full story »
Feb. 8 at 11:22 a.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Earnings
By Reuters
Toyota Motor Corp. lifted its annual forecasts beyond market expectations as cost cuts and sales exceeded its plans, but a heavy reliance on exports will keep it a laggard as long as the yen stays strong.
The world’s top automaker posted a smaller-than-expected decline in third-quarter profit and raised its sales forecast for the year to March 31 by 70,000 vehicles to 7.48 million, thanks to better-than-expected sales in Asia, Japan and Russia. Get the full story »
Feb. 8 at 11:13 a.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Government,
Recalls,
Technology
By Los Angeles Times
An investigation into sudden acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles by the nation’s space agency is expected to report Tuesday that no significant electronic defects have been found, though the issue requires continued monitoring, according to automotive electronics and safety experts.
The NASA report was commissioned by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after thousands of owners complained that their Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles accelerated unexpectedly, causing dozens of deaths.
The study was launched in March in the wake of three congressional investigations. It is scheduled to be made public at a press conference in Washington.
Feb. 8 at 11:07 a.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Housing,
Mortgages,
Real estate
By Reuters
The White House budget proposal to be unveiled next week includes an increase in borrowing costs for loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, industry sources said Tuesday.
The move is part of a broader revamp of the U.S. housing finance system to reduce the role of the government in the mortgage market, including a gradual wind-down of government-controlled mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Feb. 8 at 10:56 a.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Jobs/employment,
Layoffs
By Reuters
U.S. job openings slipped in December, a government report showed Tuesday, but a decline in layoffs supported views of a gradual labor market recovery.
Job openings, a measure of labor demand, eased 139,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.1 million, the Labor Department said in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. Get the full story »
Feb. 8 at 10:30 a.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food
By Reuters
J.M. Smucker Co., the top U.S. packaged coffeemaker, raised prices for most of its coffee products, including Folgers, in a widely expected move as the cost of beans has soared 85 percent in eight months.
Though this was the third price increase in less than a year by the company known as the trendsetter, many in the industry have wondered how the company managed to wait so long as tight supplies of washed arabica coffee beans have continued to fuel the price rally. Get the full story »
Feb. 8 at 10:21 a.m.
Filed under:
Energy,
Environment,
Jobs/employment
By Reuters
Looming U.S. rules that power utilities face on air pollution could create nearly 1.5 million jobs in the next five years, according to a report.
Engineering, construction and pipefitting are some of the professions that could see a rise in jobs as Environmental Protection Agency rules push utilities to invest in new capacity and pollution controls, said the report “New Jobs — Cleaner Air,” commissioned by Ceres, a coalition of environmentalists and institutional investors. Get the full story »
Feb. 8 at 10:15 a.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Taxes
By Dow Jones Newswires
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said he plans a series of hearings to lay the groundwork for a tax code overhaul.
A Senate aide said Baucus has tentatively blocked off every Tuesday the Senate is in session in March and April, for the hearings. Get the full story »
Feb. 8 at 10:03 a.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Energy,
Technology
By Wailin Wong
Argonne National Laboratory will be using a new IBM supercomputer that can run 10 quadrillion calculations per second. Yes, quadrillion.
By way of comparison, IBM said that if every man, woman and child in the U.S. performed one calculation each second, they would need almost one year to run as many calculations as the new “Mira” computer can do in one second. Get the full story »
Feb. 8 at 9:04 a.m.
Filed under:
Investigations
By Reuters
U.S. prosecutors said they plan to announce insider-trading charges against three hedge fund managers and a hedge fund analyst. Get the full story »
Feb. 8 at 5:52 a.m.
Filed under:
China,
International
By Reuters
China’s central bank raised interest rates on Tuesday, its second increase in just over a month, intensifying its fight against stubbornly high inflation. Get the full story »
Feb. 8 at 5:48 a.m.
Filed under:
Hotels,
Travel
From The Triangle Business Journal | Chicago-based online travel agency Orbitz and four other online travel sites have filed suit against recent changes in North Carolina law designed to close a loophole that has allowed such companies to avoid paying millions in hotel occupancy taxes.
