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AUTOMOTIVE

Study predicts new sales model

Detroit —- Auto industry executives predict that over the next decade, consumers will see a new auto sales model that allows them to access a variety of vehicles based on their needs, according to a study released Wednesday by IBM Automotive. Consumers would still pay one price, but they might have access to a small car for their daily commute and a more luxurious car or SUV for the weekend. Consumers in cities may also demand better ways of integrating their cars with public transportation, the study said. The study questioned 125 executives from auto companies and suppliers in 15 countries.

BMW recalls 200,000 vehicles

Washington —- BMW AG is recalling 200,000 vehicles over concerns that the front passenger air bag may not deploy in a crash. The German automaker says the recall involves the 2006 3 Series, the 2004-06 5 Series, and the 2004-06 X3 compact sport utility vehicle.

Ford exec confident of cash position

Traverse City, Mich. —- Despite the head winds of a slumping U.S. economy, tight credit, high gasoline prices and declining home values, Ford Motor Co.'s top American executive said he is confident that the company has enough cash to weather losses and make a profit again. But Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas, told reporters at a dinner Tuesday night that there will be a lag time before the company can start making profits on the small cars U.S. drivers are now craving. And although sales of pickup trucks, Ford's old profit center, are starting to improve, Fields said the company isn't banking on that. Instead, it's planning to make money on global models it will bring to the United States from Europe starting in 2010, he said. Asked whether Ford has the money to cover losses until it starts making money, Fields said, "That is our intent, but also I don't want to walk away from the fact that there's lots of variables hitting this business every day. Our role is to make sure that we're as flexible as we can be to kind of take those things coming at us, both the good and the bad."

Honda hybrid to cost less than Prius

Traverse City, Mich. —- A top Honda Motor Co. executive said Wednesday that the company's new gas-electric hybrid will be priced lower than the Toyota Prius, its prime competitor. The new five-door car will only be available with a hybrid powertrain. It will be smaller than Honda's Civic and also will be priced less than a hybrid gas-electric version of the Civic, said Richard Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co. Speaking to reporters at an industry seminar, Colliver said the new hybrid will be launched in April. "We're targeting sales of 100,000 units of this new vehicle in North America," he said in a speech at the Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars.

DEALS

Skechers makes offer for Heelys

Skechers USA Inc. has made an unsolicited offer to buy Heelys Inc., the maker of wheeled sneakers, for $142.8 million. Skechers said in a statement that it offered to pay $5.25 for each Heelys share, a premium to Wednesday's closing price of $4.87.

Lockheed acquires nanotech business

Bethesda, Md. —- Lockheed Martin Corp. said Wedneday that it has acquired the government business unit of a Massachusetts company that develops nanotechnology-enabled devices such as memory, logic and sensors used in military and intelligence applications. Lockheed Martin also entered a license arrangement with privately held Nantero Inc. for government applications of Nantero's intellectual property portfolio.

ECONOMY

Slowdown signs in Europe, Asia

More signs of an economic slowdown appeared Wednesday in Europe and Asia. In Europe, the Bank of England offered a pessimistic outlook for the rest of the year, saying it expects inflation to hit 5 percent because of energy and food prices. In Asia, Japan appears to be flirting with a recession, government data showed. "The numbers were awful," Hideo Kumano, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute in Tokyo, said after the Japanese government reported that the gross domestic product shrank at an annual 2.4 percent rate in the three months ended June 30. "Things are going to be very tough in the second half of the year."

Global confidence slightly stronger

Confidence in the global economy rose from a 10-month low in August as the retreat in oil prices made Americans slightly less pessimistic, a survey of Bloomberg News clients on five continents showed. The Bloomberg Professional Global Confidence Index climbed to 14.1 from 10.3 in July, which was the lowest reading since the survey began in November. The increase was led by a 5.5-point increase to 18.2 among U.S. respondents, while the Western European measure rose 3.4 points to 12.9. A reading below 50 indicates negative sentiment.

FINANCIAL

Customers wary of card issuers

Americans still love their plastic, even if they don't trust the credit card companies dishing it out. A study released Wednesday by CreditCards.com found that 58 percent of respondents said they "somewhat" or "strongly" agree with the statement "I don't trust credit card companies." At the same time, 82 percent think having at least one credit card is essential, and 77 percent said they like the convenience of credit cards over cash. While seeing the pros and cons of credit cards, some 78 percent agreed with the statement that nobody really reads the terms and conditions when signing up for a credit card.

Retirement savings increase

Des Moines, Iowa —- Most workers are not reducing their retirement contributions even though higher fuel and food prices have prompted them to cut spending in many areas, a leading retirement investment firm said Wednesday. Boston-based Fidelity Investments, the largest retirement plan administrator, said an analysis of 16,723 corporate retirement plans indicated that contributions actually increased in the first half of this year. The company's plans represent about 11.5 million workers. It said on average, contributions increased 1.4 percent to $3,187, compared with $3,142 in the first half of 2007.

LEGAL

Ex-Facility Group exec pleads guilty

The former president and chief operating officer of the Facility Group, the politically connected Smyrna engineering and design firm, pleaded guilty Wednesday to giving an illegal gratuity to then-Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove in 2003. Nixon Cawood entered his plea in U.S. District Court in Oxford, Miss., two days after the firm's founder, Robert Moultrie, entered a similar plea. Moultrie and Cawood arranged for $45,000 in campaign contributions to be given to Musgrove's gubernatorial re-election campaign in hopes of influencing Musgrove should the governor's assistance be needed at a later time, prosecutors said. Former Facility Group Executive Vice President Charles K. Morehead is scheduled to enter his own guilty plea this morning, according to court records. All three executives are expected to be sentenced in the next two months. Musgrove, a Democrat currently running for the U.S. Senate, has not been charged with wrongdoing.

MEDIA

Death Row Records dispute settled

A fight for control of the assets of Death Row Records Inc., a bankrupt rap label, ended in a truce with two companies saying they'll work together to close a $24 million sale that includes the rights to popular artists. Global Music Group Inc. of Delaware dropped a lawsuit against Global Music Group of New York after reaching an agreement to be equal partners, said Ron Goldberg, head of the Delaware group. Last month, the groups traded accusations of death threats and falsifying documents in a dispute in a Los Angeles bankruptcy court over who won an auction to buy the record label. "We had a disagreement and it's over," Goldberg said Wednesday in a telephone interview. "We're virtually 50-50 partners on most aspects of the deal. I couldn't be happier, and I'm not an easy person to please."

REAL ESTATE

Lawmakers: Probe Countrywide favors

Washington —- Two Republicans are calling for an investigation into whether House lawmakers or staffers received preferential treatment from mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. The troubled lender, which was sold to Bank of America Corp. this year, has been the focus of allegations that it gave favorable loan terms to lawmakers. Sens. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) have acknowledged receiving mortgages through a VIP program for friends of former Countrywide Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo, but they have said they were unaware of any favorable treatment. Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Mark Souder (R-Ind.) are calling on the House Ethics Committee to examine allegations, made in Conde Nast Portfolio magazine, that House staffers and members also received such treatment.

TECHNOLOGY

Wake-up call for sleeping computers

Intel Corp. is unveiling new technology that will let computers wake up from their power-saving sleep state when they receive a phone call over the Internet. Current computers have to be fully on to receive a call, making them impractical and energy-wasters as replacements for the telephone. The new component Intel is announcing today will let computers automatically return to a normal, full-powered state when a call comes in. The computer can activate its microphone and loudspeaker to alert the user, then connect the call. "This certainly helps the PC become a much better center of communications in the home," said Trevor Healy, chief executive of Jajah, which will be the first Internet telephone company to use the feature.

Google draws blank on Georgia

Google Inc. is upgrading its maps of war-torn Georgia after users trying to track the nation's conflict with Russia were left with blank screens. Google said it delayed adding details to the maps because information for the region is unsatisfactory. The company said on its blog Tuesday that material hasn't been removed and it will add details for blank countries because users prefer some data to nothing at all. "This has generated a lot of feedback that we are listening to and learning from," Google said.

EBay seeks stake in S. Korean firm

Online auction company eBay Inc. said Wednesday that it is in talks to buy a minority stake in the South Korean online marketplace operator Gmarket. The talks are with Interpark Corp. and its chairman, Ki Hyung Lee, who own a combined 37 percent of Gmarket. Yahoo Inc. also owns a stake in Gmarket. A purchase would mark eBay's latest move to capture the online auction market outside the United States. The company says more than half of its revenue already comes from abroad.

TRANSPORTATION

Union official joins United

United Airlines, whose pilots are demanding the resignation of Chief Executive Glenn Tilton, named a former pilots union official as vice president of flight operations. Howard Attarian most recently was executive administrator to the president of the Air Line Pilots Association, United parent UAL Corp. said Wednesday in a statement. Attarian worked as a Northwest Airlines pilot for 23 years. Hiring an active pilot may help the world's second-largest carrier ease labor tensions. The pilots' call for Tilton's exit followed their accusations that United is risking safety by making decisions based on costs. Attarian will oversee day-to-day flight operations at United.