COMPANIES

Global carmakers are braced for a slide in second half sales as scrappage schemes are phased out and cautious consumers pull back from big-ticket buys in the face of economic uncertainty.

A U.S. scientific panel will conduct a broad review of vehicle electronics to see if they pose safety risks, an investigation prompted by massive Toyota Motor Corp recalls for unintended acceleration.

U.S. auto sales for June slipped from the pace of recent months, analysts say, raising doubts about whether the industry's recovery is faltering even before it delivers the second-half upturn automakers expected.

Ford Motor Co said it is paying $3.8 billion in cash to settle a debt to a health care trust in a signal of its confidence that it remains on track to deliver solid profits this year.

Tesla Motors Inc underwriters sold an additional 2 million shares in the electric carmaker on much stronger than expected demand for stock of the still-unprofitable company

Nearly one out of every three U.S. home sales in the first quarter was a foreclosure property as steep price discounts boosted demand for distressed real estate, RealtyTrac said in a new report on Wednesday.

Refinancing drove total U.S. mortgage applications to an eight-month peak, as loan rates fell to or near record lows, but demand to buy homes sank toward 13-year lows last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

Elon Musk, the chief executive and major investor behind Tesla Motors Inc, has sometimes taunted U.S. automakers, painting his fledgling company as everything Detroit would like to be if it could start over: cooler, greener and ensconced in a much better neighborhood.

Tesla Motors Inc's founder said his company could be profitable if it continued to make pricey sports cars, but is instead forgoing income to build a car aimed at mass-market commuters.

The planned initial public offering of General Motors Co is likely to leave the U.S. government with a minority stake while also raising new funds for the automaker

Single-family home prices unexpectedly climbed in April from March, driven by a final sales push before tax credits expired, but signs of a sustained recovery have yet to emerge, Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller home price indexes showed on Tuesday.

At a time when Chinese power plants are notorious polluters, Yingli Green Energy, a Chinese solar panel maker, has become an completely integrated manufacturer selling green energy worldwide.

Turns out the rich may not be so different from you and me: They, too, are falling behind on their mortgages.

The vote on Magna International Inc's plan to pay its founder nearly $900 million to give up his controlling shares will go ahead, but only after the company complies with an order by an Ontario regulator to give shareholders more information on the deal.

Volkswagen plans to shake up its management at Porsche SE, as it looks to strengthen its hold on the automaker.

Premium-car maker Volvo, which Ford is selling to China's Zhejiang Geely, has hired the head of Volkswagen's North America business as its chief executive.

Freddie Mac, the second largest purchaser of residential mortgages, said it shrank its investment portfolio in May, while the delinquency rates on loans it guarantees were mixed at elevated levels.

The E 300 L is actually the first model that Daimler developed specifically for the Chinese market

Honda Motor Co 's new hybrid car will cost one fifth less than the cheapest hybrid on the Japanese market, according to a newspaper report -- a move that may make hybrids low profit margin models for automakers.

Auto maker Zhejiang Geely said on Thursday it was teaming up with Chinese regional asset manager Daqing State Asset Operation Co in its planned $1.8 billion takeover of Ford Motor Co's Volvo Cars unit.

Ford Motor Co plans to invest $450 million to build a new manufacturing plant in Thailand, with the bulk of the output destined for export markets as part of its expansion in Asia Pacific.

Mortgage rates dropped in the past week, with 30-year fixed-rate loans tumbling to their lowest level in 39 years, according to a survey released on Thursday by Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company.

The U.S. first-time homebuyer credit, aimed at boosting demand amid the recession, is still beset by significant scamming, though authorities made some progress rooting out fraud, a federal watchdog said.

Honda Motor Co halted production at a car making factory in southern China on Wednesday, making it the second car maker after Toyota Motor Corp to turn off assembly lines because of a strike at a supplier owned by Japan's Denso Corp.

Honda Motor Co said production at Chinese joint venture Guangqi Honda's two factories would resume on Thursday after a one-day disruption caused by a strike, now ended, at a Chinese factory of Japan's NHK Spring (5991.T).

Car maker Fiat SpA stopped short of sealing its near $1 billion investment for the survival of its Naples plant after less than full labor support for plans to boost productivity there.

German premium carmaker BMW is sticking to a single digit percent 2010 sales growth forecast, despite outperforming in the first five months, as tougher comparatives and global fiscal changes kick in.

Japanese auto makers Toyota and Honda said major car factories in south China halted work on Wednesday due to strikes at parts suppliers, as worker discontent continued to jolt the industry and unnerve investors.

Some of the states hit hardest by the slump in housing prices will be able to tap into a special $1.5-billion fund on Wednesday that is intended to head off some foreclosures.