COMPANIES

Italian car maker Fiat SpA will hire Toyota Motor Europe's Andrea Formica to head sales at its four-brand automotive group, Automotive News Europe said, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Hyundai Motor's steady climb in the global auto industry has nurtured a strong base of local suppliers, and South Korean parts makers could be looking at more business overseas after adding premium car brand BMW to their list of clients.

Network Communications Inc, the company behind U.S.-based real estate-related publications such as The Real Estate Book, said on Friday it signed its fourth extension on a standstill agreement with lenders as it continues talks on restructuring debt ahead of a November expiration.

The percentage of U.S. home sellers who cut their asking price fell in August, the first time in five months, with price reductions holding steady from the month before, real estate website Zillow.com said.

A further downturn in the battered U.S. housing market has put the Obama administration in a tough spot with few tools to stem foreclosures ahead of congressional elections in which Democrats face big losses.

The U.S. government is likely to take a loss on General Motors Co in the first offering of the automaker's stock, six people familiar with preparations for the landmark IPO said.

Nissan Motor is open to a green car alliance with Chinese automakers, a senior executive said on Saturday, as it moves to tap the fledgling industry in the world's largest auto market.

Major Chinese automaker Chongqing Changan Automobile is in talks with Ford Motor to expand their partnership beyond China, a senior Chinese executive said.

Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp said it will build its fourth auto plant in India, boosting its output in one of the fastest growing car markets to 1.5 million units a year.

China's top economic planner and a leading government-backed research body disagreed at an auto industry forum over whether the world's largest auto market is facing excessive capacity after breakneck growth in 2009.

Frequent trips to the Met's Egyptian rooms in New York inspired Leede's debut Ra Collection of textiles, which features block-printed Ancient Egyptian motifs and a subtle, earthy palette.

The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator, rose 5.2 percent to 79.4 based on contracts signed in July from a downwardly revised 75.5 in June, but remains 19.1 percent below July 2009 when it was 98.1.

General Motors' new boss Dan Akerson sent his first letter to staff on Thursday, saying he valued the role of organized labor in the company's success as GM heads into negotiations with its union-represented U.S. workers next year.

Autoliv, the world's biggest maker of air bags and seat belts, has seen stable demand despite expectations for slower car production in the second half of the year.

South Korean automakers Kia Motors and Hyundai Motor Co are in talks with IzhAvto on the assembly of cars at the distressed Russian company's plant.

South Korea's No. 2 automaker Kia Motors said on Friday that it had started a recall of some Soul and Sorento vehicles sold worldwide because of a fire hazard.

Automaker General Motors Co plans to begin courting investors for its initial public offering immediately after the November 2 U.S. midterm congressional elections.

Two top U.S. Federal Reserve officials on Thursday called for a more community-focused approach to the country's ongoing foreclosure crisis, which is weighing on its economic recovery.

German carmaker Volkswagen is planning a new assembly line at Russia's GAZ in order to boost production in the booming market.

German new car registrations in August were 27 percent lower than a year ago when buyers enjoyed the last of the government's car scrappage incentives, according to official data published on Thursday.

Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose unexpectedly in July, an industry group said on Thursday, suggesting a tax credit-related housing market decline was close to bottoming.

U.S. mortgage rates fell in the past week to the latest in a series of record lows as yields on government debt dropped, according to a survey released on Thursday by Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company.

Ferrari said it is recalling more than 1,240 of its 458 Italia supercars to replace an adhesive prone to melting after five reports of fire accidents.

Fannie Mae, the largest provider of funding for U.S. residential mortgages, will begin demanding compensation from mortgage servicing companies that fail to properly handle troubled mortgage loans.

U.S. officials are not discussing renewal of a popular homebuyer tax credit that expired in April, U.S. President Barack Obama's top housing adviser said on Wednesday.

U.S. mortgage applications for home purchasing and refinancing increased last week as interest rates hit a new low, a glimmer of hope for a housing market that has failed to find footing in the absence of government support.

With Magna International's $1 billion buyout of founder Frank Stronach now a done deal, the auto parts maker will now shift its focus to a more aggressive expansion in emerging markets.

General Motors expects competitive pricing for its electric Chevrolet Volt in China as it hopes to gain a foothold in China's fledgling environmentally friendly car industry with the highly anticipated car.

U.S. safety regulators have opened a preliminary investigation into claims Hyundai Motor Co's best-selling car in America, the Sonata sedan, may have steering problems.