AUTOMOTIVE: Parts strike hits more GM plants

Detroit —- The increasingly bitter monthlong strike at auto parts maker American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. is starting to hit General Motors Corp. where it hurts. Two more GM factories that make cars in Michigan and Ohio soon will be affected by the strike, which already has fully or partially shut down 28 GM plants in the United States and Canada.

DEALS: Texas judge backs Clear Channel

San Antonio —- A Texas judge on Thursday issued a temporary restraining order barring banks from interferring with or thwarting the closing of the proposed $19.5 billion buyout of Clear Channel Communications Inc., the nation's largest radio station operator. The order by Bexar County Judge John D. Gabriel was issued hours after Clear Channel and the private equity buyers, led by Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners, filed suit in Texas and New York to force the banks to lend money promised in the deal first proposed 18 months ago. If the deal closes, the banks could have to take $3 billion to $4 billion in write-downs. They are likely to have trouble reselling the debt.

AmEx to buy GE credit card unit

American Express Co. agreed to buy General Electric Co.'s corporate charge card unit for $1.1 billion in cash. AmEx Chief Executive Kenneth Chenault is seeking to add business clients as U.S. consumers struggle to repay debt of all kinds. Fourth-quarter profit fell 9.9 percent after the firm more than doubled the amount set aside for soured U.S. credit card loans to $1.14 billion.

States try to derail satellite radio deal

Eleven states urged the Federal Communications Commission to consider imposing conditions on Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.'s proposed $4.59 billion takeover of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.

FINANCIAL: Investment banks hit Fed window

Washington —- Big Wall Street investment companies are taking advantage of the Federal Reserve's unprecedented offer to secure emergency loans, the central bank said Thursday. Those firms averaged $32.9 billion in daily borrowing over the past week from the new lending facility, compared with $13.4 billion the previous week.

ConAgra to sell trading group

Omaha, Neb. —- ConAgra Foods Inc. is selling its commodities trading group for $2.1 billion even as it reported the division was a big reason why its third-quarter profit climbed 60 percent, beating Wall Street estimates. The owner of brands such as Healthy Choice, Chef Boyardee and Peter Pan also increased its earnings outlook for the full year. ConAgra plans to sell the commodities trading group to the Ospraie Special Opportunities fund for $1.6 billion in cash and $525 million in debt securities. In the fiscal third quarter ended Feb. 24, ConAgra reported net income of $309.1 million, or 63 cents per share. That's up from $192.6 million, or 38 cents per share, a year ago when results were depressed by a recall of Peter Pan peanut butter. Revenue rose to $3.53 billion, up from $2.9 billion a year ago.

Lennar swings to quarterly loss

Miami —- Lennar Corp., one of the nation's largest home builders, said Thursday that it swung to a loss in the first quarter as it absorbed charges to adjust land values at the same time new home sales and prices sank. "There is a growing consensus that the deterioration of the housing market has likely led us into recession, and the stabilization and recovery of the housing market will likely lead us out," Chief Executive Stuart Miller said in Lennar's earnings release. "Accordingly, we expect that some of these initiatives and the many that are being discussed will lead to a bottom and recovery." Lennar reported a loss of $88.2 million, or 56 cents a share, in the three months ended Feb. 29, compared with a profit of $68.6 million, or 43 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.

Bear Stearns chief dumps stock

New York —- Bear Stearns Cos. Chairman James Cayne on Thursday dumped his entire stake in the embattled investment bank for $61 million as it appears closer to a takeover by JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cayne sold 5.66 million shares for $10.84 a share on Tuesday, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. His stake was once valued at about $1 billion.

HEALTH CARE: Wyeth to cut 1,200 U.S. sales reps

Trenton, N.J. —- About 1,200 U.S. sales representatives at Wyeth have been told their positions are being eliminated as of Monday, the drug maker said. The move is part of a companywide program, announced nine weeks ago, to cut jobs and other costs and redesign the business of Madison, N.J.-based Wyeth, which is struggling with increased competition and fewer new drugs, like most rival pharmaceutical companies.

LEGAL: AIG sues former chief executive

American International Group Inc., the world's largest insurer by assets, sued the company's former chief executive, Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, claiming he "misappropriated" AIG shares worth $20 billion. AIG claims Greenberg and six other former executives, including former Chief Financial Officer Howard Smith, took over company stock held by an AIG affiliate, Starr International Co., or SICO, in 2005. Starr is AIG's largest shareholder. AIG claims the defendants put themselves on Starr's board and converted the stock into a private investment vehicle for their benefit. "Greenberg engineered a coup d'etat to usurp full control of SICO's board of directors," AIG said in a complaint filed Wednesday in New York state court in Manhattan.

REGULATORY: TJX settles data breach case

Washington —- More than a year after millions of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls customers found out their credit card information had been hacked into, the discount stores' operator agreed to have its information audited but avoided paying federal fines. TJX Cos. was one of three firms that agreed to settle charges that each "failed to provide reasonable and appropriate security for sensitive consumer information," federal regulators said Thursday in two unrelated data-breach decisions. Data broker Reed Elsevier PLC and its Seisint subsidiary also avoided fines but have agreed to obtain third-party audits biennially for 20 years under a separate settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. The agreements, which will be finalized after a 30-day public comment period, also require the companies to implement comprehensive information security programs.

TELECOM: Ex-Sprint chief's pay $21.8 million

Kansas City, Mo. —- Gary Forsee, who stepped down in October as chairman and chief executive of Sprint Nextel Corp., received a pay package valued at $21.8 million in 2007, a 47 percent increase over the previous year even as the wireless carrier continued to hemorrhage customers and profits. In a regulatory filing Thursday, the company said it paid Forsee $1.5 million in salary, $1.5 million in non-equity incentive payments and $8.3 million in other compensation, mostly severance benefits. Forsee is a former executive at BellSouth.

TRADE: Avon recalls Chinese-made toy

Avon Products Inc. has recalled Chinese-made toy bears with a microwavable pouch inside after six people reported minor burns. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a statement Thursday that Avon sold about 113,000 of the "warming bears" between July 2007 and February 2008.

TRANSPORTATION: Early snags hit Heathrow terminal

London —- Heathrow Airport opened a gleaming new terminal Thursday in an effort to ease congestion and brighten up the aging hub near London, but initial delays left passengers less than enthusiastic. "It's almost open," Jeff Bryan joked, after he and his wife spent 90 minutes disembarking from an overnight flight from Miami and collecting their luggage. "We didn't mind because we're not in a rush, but a lot of people were." Terminal 5, a large space flooded with light and with an open view of the airfield and nearby countryside, was built to ease congestion and brighten up the busy but increasingly run down and cramped London airport.