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- Stocks are little changed in afternoon trading on Wall Street. They've been flipping between slight gains and losses as traders digest a series of earnings reports, an encouraging U.S. jobs report, renewed worries about Europe's economy and an agreement by American Airlines and U.S. Airways to merge into the world's largest airline.
- Toyota says it will pay $29 million to 29 states and American Samoa as part of a settlement related to its safety recalls. State attorneys general sued Toyota after it recalled 14 million vehicles globally in 2009 and 2010 for accelerating without warning. The lawsuit accused Toyota of failing to notify customers promptly about the problems. As part of the settlement, Toyota says it will deal more quickly with complaints. It will also pay some restitution to owners.
- Chrysler is recalling 278,000 pickup trucks and SUVs to fix a problem that can cause the rear axles to lock up unexpectedly. The recall covers many Ram 1500 pickups from the 2009 through 2012 model years, as well as Dodge Dakota pickups from 2009 through 2011 and Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango SUVs from 2009. It's the second recall for the same problem. Last October the company recalled about 44,000 Rams and Dakotas.
- Online retailer Amazon says it will investigate reports that temporary staff at its logistics centers in Germany were subjected to a climate of intimidation. A documentary aired on German television yesterday told of grim conditions for staff hired by temp agencies on Amazon's behalf. Temporary staffers told ARD public television they were paid less than promised, faced constant searches and were intimidated by security staff wearing clothes linked to Germany's neo-Nazi scene.
- Secretary of State John Kerry's financial portfolio could grow by hundreds of thousands of dollars from today's $23 billion deal between billionaire Warren Buffett and a Brazilian-owned investment firm to buy the H.J. Heinz Co. Kerry will divest dozens of holdings, but 2010 financial disclosure forms show at least $3 million in Heinz stock in family trusts retained by his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry.
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