WASHINGTON (AP) --
Chris Gerdes, director of Stanford
University's Center for Automotive Research, and a consulting firm, Exponent
Inc., said the professor had tampered with wiring to create electronic glitches
that could never occur on the road.
AIG sells Alico unit to
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- American
International Group Inc. said Monday that it will sell its American
The purchase expands
It also moves AIG closer to repaying
taxpayers. As of Dec. 31, the company owed the Treasury and the
Stocks trade flat after more corporate
dealmaking
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks ended mixed
after a new round of mergers and acquisitions raised some hope for the economy.
Financial shares rose after insurer
American International Group Inc. reached a deal to sell one of its major
foreign divisions to
The modest moves in the overall market
follow a jump in stocks Friday. The government's February jobs report was
stronger than expected. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 13.68, or 0.1
percent, to 10,552.52.
Arrow Energy gets $3 billion takeover
bid
SYDNEY, (AP) -- Arrow Energy Ltd., a
major owner of natural gas assets in northern Australia, said Monday that a
company jointly owned by
Nearly half of Shell's production of
oil and equivalents comes from gas, so Arrow is a natural target for Europe's
largest oil company -- and Shell already owns a 10 percent stake of Arrow's
operations outside Australia.
Shell confirmed it was considering
acquiring the Australian company, and said talks were in an early stage.
Fed expands eligibility for repurchase
program
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
The move is intended to make the
program, under which the
The New York Fed said Monday that
domestic money market mutual funds with net assets of $20 billion are eligible
for the transactions, known as "reverse repurchase agreements."
That's when the Fed sells securities from its portfolio with an agreement to
buy them back later.
H&R Block 3Q profit rises despite
fewer returns
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- H&R Block
Inc. says its fiscal third quarter profit rose 7 percent, as lower costs offset
a revenue drop that stemmed from handling fewer returns.
For the three months ended Jan. 31, the
nation's largest tax preparer earned $50.6 million, or 15 cents per share,
compared with $47.4 million, or 14 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.
Revenue fell 6 percent to $934.9
million from $993.4 million last year.
Wall Street was expecting profit of 14
cents per share, on revenue of $949.6 million.
ABC returns to Cablevision, but talks
go on
NEW YORK (AP) -- Cablevision and ABC
were negotiating a deal Monday that tentatively ended a dispute over fees and
restored millions of viewers' access to the Academy Awards telecast in New
York, New Jersey and Connecticut shortly after the broadcast began.
The two sides, who had been hammering
at each other for days in the media, said a deal had been reached Sunday night,
nearly 15 minutes into the Oscar awards broadcast.
Neither side released details about the
deal, and it was unclear how permanent it would be.
McDonald's key sales figure rises in
February
OAK BROOK, Ill. (AP) -- Strong overseas
growth for McDonald's Corp. in February outweighed U.S. sales that barely
nudged upward as the world's largest fast-food chain posted a 4.8 percent
increase in sales at restaurants open at least a year.
The results come on the heels of
January's 2.6 percent rise and were a welcome return to steady growth after
back-to-back months of declines in the key sales figure late last year.
Sales at restaurants open at least a
year are a key indicator of performance because they measure growth at existing
locations rather than newly opened ones.
UK agency probes Kraft-Cadbury deal
LONDON (AP) -- Campaigners to save
British jobs at Cadbury have made a complaint to regulators that Kraft Inc.
misled employees during its takeover of the chocolate maker after it
backtracked on plans to keep a factory open.
Amoree Radford, who led a campaign to
preserve the Keynsham factory in Somerdale, western England, said she had
lodged an official protest with the Takeover Panel.
The Takeover Panel, which regulates
mergers and acquisitions in Britain, declined to comment on whether it had
opened an investigation.
Retail gasoline prices match 2010 high
Motorists are well down the road to
higher pump prices as warmer weather and the driving season approach.
Average retail gasoline prices,
continuing a surge that started last month, have now matched their 2010 high on
the way to prices that many analysts believe will top $3 per gallon this
spring.
The nationwide average retail gasoline
price rose 0.6 cents Monday to $2.753 per gallon, virtually identical to the
high water mark of $2.7583 reached on Jan. 14, according to AAA, Wright Express
and Oil Price Information Service.
Prices have risen 9.2 cents in the last
month and are now 80.6 cents higher than levels of a year ago.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial average fell
13.68, or 0.1 percent, to 10,552.52. The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped
0.20, or less than 0.1 percent, to 1,138.50. That breaks a streak of six
straight advances.
The
Benchmark crude for April delivery rose
37 cents to settle at $81.87 a barrel on the Nymex. Earlier in the session, it
peaked at $82.41.
In other trading in April contracts,
heating oil rose 0.81 cent to settle at $2.1055 a gallon. Natural gas fell 6.6
cents to settle at $4.527 per 1,000 cubic feet. During the trading day, natural
gas touched a new 52-week low at $4.458 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude gained 58 cents
to settle at $80.47 on the ICE futures exchange.