AUTOMOTIVE: High-performance Pontiacs on way

Detroit —- Pontiac wants to beef up its performance credentials with two new rear-wheel-drive vehicles that will debut at next week's New York International Auto Show, but the timing couldn't be worse as high gas prices test consumers' appetite for growling engines. The 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP upgrades the G8 sedan with a new 6.2-liter V-8 engine that's rated at 402 horsepower. Pontiac will also launch the 2010 Pontiac G8 sport truck, a two-seater built on the G8 platform with a 73-inch cargo bed. The sport truck has the same 361-horsepower, 6.0-liter V-8 used in the G8 GT sedan.

GM recalls sedans over fire hazard

Detroit —- General Motors Corp. is recalling 207,542 Buick Regal and Pontiac Grand Prix sedans over a risk they could catch fire, and warned their owners not to park the cars in garages until they are fixed. The automaker said Friday it is recalling the 1997-2003 Buick Regal GS and Grand Prix GDP models with 3.8-liter supercharged V-6 engines. During hard braking, oil can leak from the engine onto the exhaust manifold, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on its Web site.

DEALS: Microsoft to buy Net ad company

Microsoft Corp., striving to catch up to Google Inc. in online advertising sales, agreed Friday to buy Rapt Inc. to gain technology for managing Internet ads. Rapt's products will become part of the Atlas Publisher Suite, which Microsoft got in its purchase of Web ad company AQuantive Inc. last year. The purchase came a day after Google, which dominates the market for online advertising, started a free service to help Web site publishers manage Internet ads.

ECONOMY: Feldstein makes call: Recession

Harvard University economist Martin Feldstein, a member of the group that dates business cycles in the United States, said the nation has entered a recession that could be the worst since World War II. "I believe the U.S. economy is now in recession," Feldstein, president of the National Bureau of Economic Research, told the Futures Industry Association conference in Boca Raton, Fla. "Could this become the worst recession we have seen in the postwar period? I think the answer is yes. I would emphasize the word 'could.' " Feldstein's remarks represent the first time that a member of the NBER's business-cycle dating committee has publicly described the current downturn as a recession.

Inflation reading flat for February

Washington —- Consumer inflation, after pushing relentlessly higher, posted its mildest reading in six months in February. The relief, however, is expected to be short-lived, given that energy prices have resumed their upward climb. The Labor Department reported Friday that consumer prices were unchanged last month, a better performance than the expected 0.3 percent gain. Core inflation, which excludes energy and food, also held steady in February after a worrisome 0.3 percent jump in January. The better-than-expected inflation reading probably will be reversed in coming months because of the recent spike in energy prices. Crude oil hit a record high this week above $110 per barrel, and gasoline pump prices jumped to a national record of $3.28.

LEGAL: Testimony ends in Liberty-IAC case

Wilmington, Del. —- After five days of testimony, a judge ordered attorneys to submit written arguments that could decide the fate of the proposed breakup of the media conglomerate that includes Ticketmaster, Citysearch and LendingTree. At issue is Chairman Barry Diller's authority to break up IAC/InterActiveCorp under the proxy granted to him by Liberty Media, the controlling shareholder, and on Liberty's move to oust Diller and other directors from the IAC board.

METALS / MINING: Gold futures move to another record

Gold surged to a record $1,009 an ounce in New York as the Bear Stearns Cos. bailout and a plunging dollar increased demand for the precious metal. Silver also gained. Gold has jumped 19 percent this year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has fallen 13 percent. "Gold's assault on $1,000 is happening for a good reason," said James Turk, founder of GoldMoney.com. "Gold is not only an inflation hedge, it's a catastrophe hedge. Gold is becoming increasingly important as the credit crunch continues to spiral out of control." Gold futures for April delivery closed at $999.50 an ounce.

REAL ESTATE: Bernanke vows to help homeowners

Washington —- Fighting to stem a dangerous wave of foreclosures, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pledged Friday to do all that is possible to help struggling homeowners. The Fed is "strongly committed to fully employing our authority, expertise and resources to help alleviate their distress," Bernanke said in a speech to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition's annual meeting. Bernanke didn't offer new recommendations —- as he did earlier this month —- but rather spoke of the various steps the Fed already is taking to address current problems.

Mortgage terms proposal unveiled

Washington —- Prospective home buyers would get easier-to-understand information on mortgage terms and save on closing costs under a proposal unveiled Friday by President Bush. The proposed overhaul to a 1974 law requiring lenders to give what's called a "good faith estimate" is aimed at making it simpler for consumers to make comparisons when they shop to buy a house or refinance a mortgage.

REGULATORY: EPA imposes rules on ships, trains

Washington —- The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday that marine and locomotive engines must meet tougher pollution controls. The EPA regulation would require that new diesel engines used on ships and locomotives produce 90 percent less soot and 80 percent less smog-causing nitrogen oxide beginning within six or seven years. All the ships and locomotives would be expected to meet the new standards by 2030 as older engines are replaced or overhauled with cleaner technology.

TECHNOLOGY: Video game sales increase 34%

New York —- U.S. video game sales —- including hardware and software —- jumped 34 percent year-over-year in February to $1.33 billion, even with two top-selling consoles in short supply, according to market researcher NPD Group. Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360 have been in such high demand that stores are having a hard time keeping them in stock. Microsoft spokesman David Dennis said the company moved up shipments during the holidays and hasn't been able to catch up yet. He added that "we should be in good shape" by the time "Grand Theft Auto IV," the highly anticipated latest installment of the Rockstar Games franchise, hits store shelves April 29.

TRANSPORTATION: US Airways rejects pilots' request

US Airways Group Inc. has rejected a request to begin talks on a separate contract with pilots who flew for the former America West Airlines before a 2005 merger. The pilot union told the company earlier Friday that it wanted to start the talks in 30 days to protect jobs after failed attempts to secure a new, unified labor agreement. Pilots from the two airlines have been in a dispute over how to mesh seniority lists. America West pilots say their counterparts in the old US Airways system are being promoted to captain at a much higher rate."America West pilots have lost all patience with this merger," John McIlvenna, leader of the America West pilot union, said in a statement. "The pilots I represent are angry, frustrated and asking what was in this merger for us. It appears as if the answer is nothing." The carrier also hasn't agreed on a single contract for its flight attendants or baggage handlers. It has reached a tentative agreement with its mechanics.