LOCAL BUSINESS
Journalism speech April 30
A national expert will discuss recent changes in the journalism industry and national and local models of online and print journalism emerging in the United States.
Michael Maness, vice president of journalism and media innovation for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, will present Journalism Disrupted on April 30.
The lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Akron/Fairlawn Hilton, 3180 W. Market St., requires reservations. The preferred method of making reservations by April 26 is through the website, https://kfakron-maness.eventbrite.com/. Phone reservations can also be made at 330-576-2919.
CARS AND TRUCKS
GM supports European plan
General Motors’ top executives reaffirmed the company’s commitment to Opel, its money-losing European subsidiary, during a visit to the company’s German headquarters.
GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson said at a news conference Wednesday that GM was “fully supportive of the Opel turnaround plan” and that the Detroit-based group “must have a strong presence in Europe and especially here in Germany.”
Akerson added that GM was committed to investing $5.22 billion in Europe by 2016 but did not announce any new plant closings or measures to improve earnings.
Chrysler recalls 247,000 SUVs
Chrysler Group LLC is recalling more than 247,000 SUVs and cars for several problems, including faulty gas tank hoses, broken drive shafts and air bag warning lights that illuminate when there’s no problem.
The largest of the recalls, posted Tuesday on the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website, covers about 139,000 Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger sedans from the 2011 and 2012 model years. The automaker says that faulty wiring can cause the air bag warning lights to illuminate.
Toyota disputes Ford claim
Toyota said its Corolla small car retained the global sales lead in 2012, contradicting Ford’s position that its Focus small car was No. 1.
Ford said it grabbed the title with 1.02 million Focus compact sales, citing data compiled by R.L. Polk & Co. Ford said that topped 872,774 for Corolla.
“Toyota sold 1.16 million Corolla nameplate vehicles globally in 2012,” Mike Michels, Toyota’s U.S. vice president of communications, said in an emailed statement. “Corolla registrations attributed to Polk come up short by nearly 300,000 units. This discrepancy is glaring and we have requested clarification.”
The difference in the counts by Toyota and Polk may be that Toyota includes sales of models with names such as Corolla Axio and Corolla Altis.
Investors sue truck maker
Navistar International Corp., an Illinois truck maker, was sued by investors who claimed executives made misleading statements about its ability to build engines that complied with U.S. emissions standards.
Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Ustian and current Chief Financial Officer Andrew Cederoth made the statements to conceal the company’s difficulty in perfecting an engine that burns off pollutants internally, the Norfolk County Retirement System of Massachusetts said in a complaint filed in federal court in Chicago.
The so-called Exhaust Gas Recirculation engine was needed to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards for 2010 model trucks, the complaint alleges.
WALL STREET
Dow, S&P set record highs
The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index both closed at all-time highs. Technology stocks rose 1.8 percent, the most of the 10 industry groups in the S&P. That’s a big change from tech’s weak performance this year. The group is up just 4.7 percent, trailing the S&P’s gain of 11.3 percent.
The Dow jumped 128.78 points, or 0.9 percent, to 14,802.24. It was the third straight gain for the blue-chip index and its biggest one-day rise in a month. The Dow surged in the first three months of the year and is still up 13 percent in 2013.
The Nasdaq composite, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, had the biggest percentage gain of the three main indexes Wednesday, rising 59.39 points, or 1.8 percent, to 3,297.25 The S&P rose 19.12 points, or 1.2 percent, to 1,587.73.
Investors saw positive news in the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting, which were released Wednesday. The minutes revealed that policy makers are becoming more confident that the U.S. economy can grow without the help of the bank’s stimulus program, said Brian Gendreau, a market strategist at Cetera Financial Group.
Compiled from staff and wire reports