LOCAL BUSINESS
Medical career fair in Stow
The Stow campus of National College (www.national-college.edu) at 3855 Fishcreek Road said it will host a medical career fair from 4-6 p.m. today The event is free to the public.
The college said participating employers will include Workplace Staffing, Hattie Larlham, Your Independence and Home Instead Senior Care. Candidates are encouraged to bring resumes.
More information is available from Career Center Director Maxine O’Mara at 330-676-1351.
RETAIL
Penney shareholder cuts stake
One of J.C. Penney’s biggest shareholders confirmed that it has sold more than 40 percent of its stake. Vornado Realty Trust’s move is perhaps the biggest indicator yet that investors are losing patience with a turnaround strategy that has failed to win over shoppers.
The stock has lost about two-thirds of its value in the past 12 months. According to documents filed late Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Vornado sold 10 million shares at $16.03 to Deutsche Bank on Monday. That price is 9 percent lower than Penney’s closing price of $17.69 on Friday. Vornado, which owns and manages commercial real estate such as office buildings and malls, still holds 13.4 million shares, or 6.1 percent, of Penney’s stock. Vornado’s chairman and incoming CEO Steven Roth is a member of Plano, Texas-based Penney’s board.
AUTO INDUSTRY
Toyota changes executives
In a move to give more autonomy to the regions where Toyota Motor Corp. sells cars and bring a new generation of leadership to the company’s top management, the automaker announced sweeping executive changes.
Among the moves, Toyota appointed the engineer who brought the successful Prius hybrid as chairman of the company and named its first outsider, and first former General Motors executive, to its board of directors.
Additionally, the automaker handed control of all of its North American operations, including manufacturing and vehicle development, to James Lentz, the Torrance, Calif.-based executive who headed Toyota’s sales and marketing in the United States.
Akio Toyoda, grandson of the founder, will remain president and a member of the board. Toyota’s board chairman, Fujio Cho, will resign and be replaced by another board member, Takeshi Uchiyamada. Uchiyamada brought the Prius hybrid to market.
Mark Hogan, a former General Motors Co. executive will join the board. Toyota knew Hogan from the days when he managed a Toyota-GM joint venture plant in Fremont, Calif. The venture ended and the plant was closed three years ago.
GM electric car to go farther
General Motors is working on developing an electric car that has a range of as much as 200 miles, Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson said.
“There will be breakthroughs in battery technology, they’re on the horizon,” Akerson said during a presentation at the IHS CERA Week energy conference. “We’re actually developing a car today which is really anathema to the way the auto industry works: We’re running a dual play on the technology to see which one will succeed. One will result in” a 100-mile range, “the other will be a 200-mile range.”
The CEO reiterated GM’s plans to have about 500,000 vehicles on the road by 2017 with some form of electrification, including the Chevrolet Volt, which can go 38 miles on battery power, and he also pointed to work the Detroit automaker is doing with diesel and compressed-natural gas, according to prepared remarks.
GM is bringing out an all-electric version of the Chevrolet Spark subcompact and a diesel version of the compact Chevrolet Cruze this year as two of about 20 new vehicles the company is introducing in the U.S. Akerson is looking to boost market share in the country after it fell to an 88-year-low in 2012. The Spark will have an electric range of 75 miles to 80 miles, he said.
ENTERTAINMENT
Original shows at Amazon
Amazon.com Inc. is continuing its push into producing original children’s series, ordering its sixth pilot of shows aimed at kids. The online retailer announced it will make a test pilot for Sara Solves It, an animated math-focused mystery developed by WGBH and Out of the Blue Enterprises. The show is the sixth pilot geared for kids by Amazon Studios, the retailer’s original movie and series production arm. Launched in 2010, Amazon Studios is moving toward presenting its pilots on its Prime Instant Video service. Amazon says it will choose which series to move ahead for a full season based on viewer reaction. The pilots are expected to be posted this spring. Amazon also has comedy pilots and movies in development.
Compiled from staff and wire reports