AUTOMOTIVE

GM widens worker discounts

General Motors Corp. is extending its employee-discount program to a wider group of non-employees. GM spokeswoman Susan Garontakos said Friday that the company will allow employees to offer the discount to their friends and extended family through July 31. Meanwhile, at a function at GM's new research center, Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said U.S. sales in July are "feeling a lot like" June'S, when purchases of new cars and light trucks fell 18 percent.

Toyota to increase Prius prices 2.2%

Toyota Motor Corp., running short of Prius hybrids after being caught off guard by rising gasoline prices, is increasing U.S. prices for the cars. The 2009 Prius will cost an average of $500, or 2.2 percent, more than current versions, Toyota spokesman Bill Kwong said Friday. The boost to a range of $22,000 to $24,270 for starting prices reflects higher production costs, he said.

Chrysler to leave leasing business

Detroit —- Chrysler LLC said Friday that its financial arm will get out of the auto leasing business by the end of the month because economic conditions have made leasing more expensive than buying, for both consumers and the company. The move comes as Chrysler Financial is in the process of renewing a $30 billion credit line with banks amid a startling drop in values for leased trucks and sport utility vehicles that are coming back to automakers as leases end. Chrysler Vice Chairman and President Jim Press said the company wants to allocate limited resources to retail incentives and financing, which make up 80 percent of the market, instead of leasing, which is 20 percent of the U.S. market.

DEALS

Houchens buys Tampico Beverages

Louisville, Ky. —- Houchens Industries Inc. on Friday completed its acquisition of Tampico Beverages Inc., part of an aggressive expansion that has included adding a brokerage firm and an optical chain to the employee-owned company. Houchens did not disclose terms of the cash deal to acquire Tampico, a brand sold in more than 36 countries. It produces refrigerated juice drinks and is a supplier of juice drink concentrates. Houchens said Tampico Beverage will retain its name, employees and management team based in Chicago.

Blackstone to buy security company

Private equity firm Blackstone Group is buying AlliedBarton Security Services. Terms were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in August, pending regulatory and other approvals. AlliedBarton, based in King of Prussia, Pa., is privately held and employs more than 50,000.

Cleveland-Cliffs shareholder balks

Cleveland-Cliffs' largest shareholder may attempt to scuttle a proposed $8 billion buyout of coal company Alpha Natural Resources Inc. Hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners owns 18.4 percent of the iron ore producer's stock, giving it enough weight to put any deal in jeopardy. In a regulatory filing that followed the announced buyout last week, Harbinger Capital chief Phil Falcone said the proposal was not in the best interests of shareholders. The Wall Street Journal reported that Falcone is pushing for the sale of Cleveland-Cliffs. Cleveland-Cliffs needs affirmative votes from the holders of two-thirds of all shares for the deal to go forward under Ohio law.

FOOD / BEVERAGE

Triarc appoints Wendy's managers

Triarc Cos. Inc., which owns the Arby's fast-food chain and is buying Wendy's International Inc., on Friday announced the new management team for Wendy's. J. David Karam will become president of the chain and Stephen D. Farrar will serve as chief operating officer. Karam is taking over from current President and Chief Executive Kerrii Anderson. Triarc announced in April that its CEO, Roland Smith, will become the new CEO of Wendy's. Atlanta-based Triarc, owned by billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, said in April it would buy Wendy's for about $2.34 billion, or $26.78 per share, in an all-stock deal.

LEGAL

Maker of Bratz asks for mistrial

Los Angeles —- The maker of Bratz dolls said Friday that he will seek a mistrial over an ethnic slur made by a juror who has been dismissed from the copyright infringement case brought by Mattel Inc. The juror made the remark about CEO Isaac Larian during jury deliberations in the first phase of the federal trial in Riverside, said attorney Thomas Nolan, who represents MGA Entertainment Inc. That phase ended on July 18 when jurors found the designer of Bratz characters conceived the idea for the dolls while working for Mattel. The jury was considering possible damages during a separate proceeding that began Wednesday when the judge halted the case. The jury also ruled previously that Los Angeles-based MGA and Larian were liable for converting Mattel property for their own use. Nolan said the juror, a woman, was dismissed after another member of the panel accused her of making inappropriate comments about Larian's ethnic background. He is Iranian.

Abbott reveals probe of stents

Abbott Laboratories said Friday that it received a subpoena last month from the Justice Department in connection with the sales and marketing of its biliary stents. The government is investigating whether the company violated civil or criminal laws in connection with Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements paid to third parties, Abbott said in a regulatory filing.

MANUFACTURING

InnoWare Plastics to expand in Ga.

Alpharetta-based manufacturer InnoWare Plastics is adding 45 jobs and investing $9.7 million in a new production line at its Thomaston plant, the company said Friday. The company, which makes plastic takeout containers for restaurants, employs 134 people at the Thomaston plant. InnoWare officials said a rail spur recently built out to the plant has allowed the company to keep the facility open and retain those jobs —- plus add more. The spur was built with a $500,000 grant from the state and Thomaston and Upson counties.

GE realigns into four main units

General Electric Co. realigned into four main divisions from six, reflecting Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt's decision to shed slow-growing businesses in a bid to revive a stock trading near a five-year low. The main divisions will now be GE Technology Infrastructure, GE Energy Infrastructure, GE Capital and NBC Universal, the Fairfield, Conn.-based company said in a statement Friday. GE is "well-positioned to capitalize on some of the major growth themes of this era," Immelt said.

MEDIA

Death Row deal delayed

The winner of the auction of Death Row Records Inc., the bankrupt rap label, has been given more time to close the $24 million sale after alleging that death threats from a former partner caused him to lose his funding, his lawyer said. Global Music Group Inc.'s president, Anthony Marotta, told a bankruptcy court this week that a lender backed out after Marotta and his associates were threatened by Ronald Goldman, a former partner. Goldman, who through his lawyer denied making threats, has accused Marotta and others of cutting him out of the deal. "The deadline has been extended by agreement with the trustees," Kathleen March, an attorney representing Global Music Group, said Friday. "We expect the sale to close despite the challenges we've faced."

REAL ESTATE

Houses for sale decline sharply

The number of new houses for sale in the United States dropped by the most in four decades in June, indicating that cutbacks in construction are starting to make a dent in the property glut. There were 426,000 homes for sale at an annualized pace at the end of June, the fewest since 2004 and down from 543,000 a year ago, the Commerce Department said Friday in its new-home sales report. The 5.3 percent drop is the biggest since November 1963 and marks the 14th straight monthly decline.

REGULATORY

HP-EDS deal wins approval in Europe

Brussels, Belgium —- European Union antitrust regulators have approved Hewlett-Packard Co.'s proposed $13.2 billion purchase of technology services provider Electronic Data Systems Corp.

SEC probes GE on muni bidding

General Electric Co. said Friday that it may face regulatory claims stemming from an industrywide probe into whether banks rigged the bidding on investments and derivatives sold to municipal governments. The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a so-called Wells notice this week to the company's Funding Capital Market Services business, advising that investigators plan to recommend a civil complaint, GE said in a regulatory filing. GE's financial services division previously disclosed that two subsidiaries were cooperating with inquiries by the SEC and the Justice Department into the business of selling derivatives and investment products to state and local governments that raise money in the municipal bond market. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., UBS AG and Dexia SA's Financial Security Assurance Holdings Ltd. have also said the SEC may press related civil claims against them.

TECHNOLOGY

AOL to close data-storage sites

New York —- AOL is shutting three data-storage services, including one of the Internet's earliest photo-sharing sites, as it seeks to cut costs and focus resources on advertising opportunities. AOL Pictures, the year-old media-sharing site BlueString and the online backup service Xdrive will likely shut down by year-end, though the company is looking to sell at least Xdrive, which AOL bought in 2005 for an undisclosed price. Company officials denied speculation that the closures are meant to prime AOL for a sale.

TRANSPORTATION

Frontier Airlines finds investor

Denver —- Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc. said Friday that investment firm Perseus LLC will be able to buy a controlling stake in the airline as it emerges from bankruptcy. Frontier said Washington-based Perseus has committed to a $75 million debtor-in-possession loan and will be able to buy 79.9 percent of the equity in Frontier for $100 million once it reorganizes.

UTILITIES / ENERGY

Oil futures hit seven-week low

Crude oil fell to a seven-week low Friday after a report showed OPEC is producing more as consumption drops. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries increased output by 200,000 barrels a day in July, PetroLogistics Ltd. said Friday in preliminary estimates. The report "points to further increases in supply," said Tim Evans, an energy analyst for Citi Futures Perspective in New York. "The U.S. gasoline market is about as weak as I've ever seen during the summer months." Crude oil for September delivery fell $2.23 to settle at $123.26 a barrel in New York. The contract is down more than $24 from the $147.27 record.