BUSINESS BRIEFS
U.S. automakers tout fuel-friendly vehicles at show
Associated Press
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DETROIT — Just weeks after ending a year marked by dismal sales and a federal bailout of General Motors and Chrysler, U.S. automakers yesterday touted new products with a focus on fuel efficiency that they say will help ensure that their cars and trucks will roll off assembly lines for years to come.
At the North American International Auto Show, General Motors Corp. announced plans to build a 40-mile-per-gallon minicar for the U.S. market, and it unveiled an electric-powered Cadillac concept car. Ford Motor Co. said that by 2011, it will sell an electric car that can go up to 100 miles on a single charge.
And Chrysler LLC's chief executive told reporters the Auburn Hills automaker expects to survive 2009 and remain an independent company.
Late last month, the Bush administration approved $17.4 billion in short-term loans for GM and Chrysler after both automakers warned that they could run out of cash soon without federal help.
CHANGES COMING IN BANKING SECTOR
NEW YORK — The anticipated combination of brokerage units at Citigroup and Morgan Stanley is seen by analysts as the likely start of a fresh wave of consolidation in the troubled and thinning banking industry.
The potential deal between Citi and Morgan Stanley, which could be announced as early as today, underscores the problems still facing the industry after a year in which several well-known financial firms toppled under the weight of rising losses tied to bad mortgages.
Analysts generally expect 2009 to be another year of multibillion-dollar losses for banks as the forecast for a turnaround in the economy remains cloudy at best.
CLOROX PROFITS FROM GOING GREEN
NEW YORK — One year after bleach maker Clorox started selling a line of natural cleaning products, it has reached the top of the market for eco-friendly cleaners.
The company plans to announce today that its Greenworks cleaners, made without bleach, have become the top-sellers among natural cleaners. Clorox now has 42 percent of the total $200 million-a-year market.
Oakland, Calif.-based Clorox Co. launched the Greenworks line in December 2007. It has used its distribution network and lower prices to attract shoppers away from competitors such as Method and Seventh Generation.
