AUTOMOTIVE

VW may add product in Tenn.

A Volkswagen spokeswoman says the company is already considering adding production of a second automobile to the plant it plans to build in Chattanooga. Spokeswoman Jill Bratina describes the addition as part of the German automaker's "volume-oriented, forward-looking strategy" in the United States. Volkswagen hopes to triple U.S. sales by 2018.

GM plans more white-collar cuts

Detroit —- General Motors Corp. plans to cut 15 percent of its U.S. and Canadian salaried work force —- or around 5,100 jobs —- by Nov. 1 as part of a plan to slash billions of dollars in costs, The Associated Press reported Wednesday. A GM official declined to confirm the specific numbers but indicated they were generally accurate. Word of the cuts came two days before GM plans to release its second-quarter earnings. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are predicting a loss of $2.63 per share amid plummeting truck and sport utility vehicle sales.

DEALS

Clear Channel finally goes private

San Antonio —- The long-delayed deal to take radio and billboard company Clear Channel Communications Inc. private closed Wednesday. Bain Capital Partners and Thomas H. Lee Partners bought the nation's largest radio station operator for $17.9 billion, paying investors $36 per share. The equity firms assumed another $5.9 billion in debt. The buyout was initially announced in November 2006 but was delayed by investors who wanted more money and a chance to continue owning a portion of the company. By the time they were satisfied, the credit market seized up and lenders were reluctant to fund the deal. Clear Channel owns about 900 stations and has about 1 million billboards and other outdoor signs worldwide.

FTC OKs purchase by McCormick

Sparks, Md. —- Spice maker McCormick & Co. Inc. said Wednesday that the Federal Trade Commission has given conditional approval to its $604 million buyout of marinade and seasoning maker Lawry's. According to the terms of the approval, McCormick will have to sell its Season-All business. The company said it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell the business to the Morton Salt Group, part of Morton International, for $15 million in cash. Sales of Season-All products are worth about $18 million a year. McCormick said in a news release that it expects to complete the Lawry's acquisition from consumer products maker Unilever in coming days.

FOOD / BEVERAGE

Chick-fil-A to open in Terminus 100

Chick-fil-A will open a store in the Terminus 100 building at 3280 Peachtree Street in Buckhead on Aug. 7, the company said Wednesday. As with other Chick-fil-A outlets, the first 100 adults will receive coupons for a one-year supply of Chick-fil-A meals. Doors will open at 6 a.m. that day. The line can begin forming at 6 p.m. on Aug. 6. Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A has more than 1,395 locations.

FINANCIAL

Moody's reviews SunTrust's debt

Moody's Investors Service said Wednesday that it is reviewing SunTrust Banks' debt for a possible downgrade, making it the second such credit rating firm to signal concern over the bank's problem loans and other issues. Moody's cited SunTrust's "comparatively modest profit" and "sizable" exposure to potential problems with its mortgage, home equity and other real-estate-related loans. A lower rating could increase SunTrust's borrowing costs. Last week, SunTrust said it had net income of $535 million in the second quarter, 20 percent lower than the year-earlier quarter. But much of the profits came from gains as the result of complicated transactions to raise capital from a large stake of Coca-Cola stock the bank owned. In February, Standard & Poor's shifted its credit outlook for SunTrust from "stable" to "negative," but so far no credit rating firm has lowered the bank's rating.

LEGAL

Connecticut sues credit rating firms

Hartford, Conn. —- Connecticut sued three of the nation's leading credit rating firms on Wednesday, alleging they gave artificially low marks to cities and towns across the state. State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said the alleged actions are costing taxpayers millions of dollars because of unnecessary bond insurance and higher interest rates. Moody's Corp., Fitch Inc. and McGraw-Hill Cos., the parent company of Standard & Poor's, were sued.

NYSE specialists' convictions tossed

New York —- A federal appeals court dealt what was likely to be the final blow to the ill-fated prosecution of 15 New York Stock Exchange specialists Wednesday by overturning the securities fraud convictions of two of the floor supervisors. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the convictions of Michael Hayward and Michael Stern, who were convicted in July 2006 and sentenced to six months in prison. Hayward, 57, and Stern, 55, who had worked for Van der Moolen Specialists, were the only specialists still facing prison time after convictions at trial. They had been accused of stealing $1 million apiece by skimming small amounts from stocks they oversaw. The ruling all but ended a prosecution in which the government accused the floor supervisors of using their positions to earn an estimated $20 million illegally for themselves and their firms.

Abbott settles suit over HIV medicine

Abbott Laboratories agreed to pay $10 million to $27.5 million to settle a suit over patient claims that it overcharged for the HIV medicine Norvir, a plaintiffs' lawyer said Wednesday. Lawyers for AIDS patients, third-party drug payers and the company said in a court filing that they had reached a settlement in principle. The exact amount Abbott will pay depends on resolution of issues in the lawsuit, said Michael Stocker, an attorney for the patients. Abbott still faces lawsuits by competitors and retailers over its 2003 decision to lift prices for the pills by 400 percent.

REAL ESTATE

Foreclosures outrace aid plans

Washington —- The mortgage industry says the pace of its efforts to help struggling borrowers rose in June but still is not keeping up with rising foreclosures. Hope Now, an industry group backed by the Bush administration, says about 181,000 home borrowers received some form of mortgage term workout in June, up from about 167,000 in May.

REGULATORY

Settlement costs E*Trade $1 million

Washington —- E*Trade Financial Corp. on Wednesday agreed to pay $1 million in a settlement with federal regulators who accused the retail brokerage firm of failing to verify more than 65,000 customers' identities to prevent money laundering. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the settlement with two divisions of the New York-based company. E*Trade neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing in the settlement.

Pax World settles with SEC

Pax World Management Corp. will pay a $500,000 penalty after regulators found that the firm failed to adequately screen investments in mutual funds promoted as being socially responsible. The Securities and Exchange Commission and New Hamphire-based Pax announced the settlement Wednesday. The SEC says it found that Pax violated its own restrictions by purchasing at least 10 securities that fund investment screening criteria prohibited. The agency says investors were told the funds would not buy securities linked to weapons, alcohol, tobacco or gambling products.

TECHNOLOGY

Yahoo to offer refunds on songs

Yahoo Inc. is offering coupons or refunds to users who find songs they bought inaccessible after Sept. 30, when the company shuts its music-download service. The decision to close the Yahoo Music Store added fuel to criticisms over copy-protection measures known as digital rights management, but Yahoo said Wednesday that it is offering coupons on request for people to buy songs again through Yahoo's new partner, Rhapsody. Those songs will be in the MP3 format, free of copy protection. Refunds are available for users who "have serious problems with this arrangement," Yahoo said.

EMS to acquire Maryland company

Norcross-based communications company EMS Technologies Inc. said Wednesday that it will buy a Maryland firm offering satellite voice and location-tracking service. The $15.5 million deal for Sky Connect LLC is expected to close this year, EMS said. Sky Connect products use the Iridium satellite network to provide telephone service to aircraft, ships and remote ground-based vehicles, as well as text messaging and services that allow remote tracking from anywhere in the world. The Takoma Park, Md., company's portfolio fits well with EMS' core business of providing communications gear for aircraft, EMS President and CEO Paul Domorski said in a statement. EMS also announced second quarter earnings of $3.4 million on $81.3 million in revenues.

TRANSPORTATION

Lufthansa cancels long-haul flights

Frankfurt, Germany —- Lufthansa began canceling the first international long-haul flights on Wednesday as ground and cabin crew continued their strike at Germany's biggest airline for a third day, the company said. Spokeswoman Amelie Lorenz said the canceled flights accounted for about 4 percent of the airline's total flight capacity.

Trucking volume increases in June

The American Trucking Associations said total goods shipped by truck in the United States rose for the second consecutive month in June, but the trade group's chief economist suggested the nation's overall economy might not yet be on the road to recovery. Truckers are considered gauges of the nation's economic health. The ATA said its seasonally adjusted tonnage index, which measures the weight of freight hauled by U.S. truckers based on surveys, rose 1.3 percent in June.

United takes on pilots in court

United Airlines said on Wednesday that it asked a federal judge to stop four of its pilots and their union from what it called illegal job actions that have caused hundreds of flight cancellations. United said some pilots have been abusing sick time because they oppose its plan to shrink its fleet and furlough pilots. United said the request for an injunction also aims to end intimidation of pilots who pick up extra flying time. "It is absolutely irresponsible for ALPA to promote unlawful behavior," especially when the industry is fighting high fuel prices, United Chief Administrative Officer Pete McDonald said in a statement. It is illegal under the federal laws that govern labor relations in the airline industry for a union to exercise "economic self-help" when its existing labor contract remains in force.

Baggage glitch hits American at JFK

New York —- A software glitch crippled the baggage handling system in an American Airlines terminal at Kennedy Airport on Wednesday, delaying some flights and causing a luggage pileup at ticket counters. The malfunction created big problems throughout the day for passengers flying out of Terminal 8, one of the newer buildings at JFK. Thousands of customers had to leave their luggage behind and hope it would be delivered later. The breakdown was galling to some passengers already steamed over the airline's recent decision to start charging fees for each checked bag. "I'm just not happy. I think it's crazy," said Mike Howell, who was en route to San Diego after visiting New York. "If they do charge people 15 dollars per bag, they should get it right."

UTILITIES / ENERGY

Chamber enters power plant spat

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday filed an amicus brief asking the state Court of Appeals to overturn an Atlanta judge's recent decision that invalidated a permit for a proposed coal-fired power plant in southwest Georgia. The precedent-setting ruling by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore found that carbon emissions are subject to regulation under the federal Clean Air Act because they contribute to global warming. Georgia Chamber President and CEO George Israel said the ruling could drive up energy costs and stifle economic development. "The Georgia chamber has long supported alternative energy sources," Israel said. "But most of them are not yet ready for prime time. If Georgia wants to avoid the rolling blackouts and skyrocketing energy costs that have plagued other states, we must lay the groundwork now for a responsible, long-term energy strategy that does not exclude the energy sources that are currently available to us." The appellate court will decide by Aug. 29 whether to hear the case.

WORKPLACE

Support urged for unemployed

Washington —- A financial industry group on Wednesday recommended a significant increase in government support for unemployed workers to help address growing public skepticism about international trade. The Financial Services Forum, which represents chief executives from 20 of the largest U.S. financial institutions, issued a white paper that proposes a $22 billion "adjustment assistance program." That dwarfs the federal government's current trade adjustment assistance spending of about $1 billion annually, the paper says.