COMPANIES

U.S. carmaker Ford Motor Co looks set to sign the deal to sell its Swedish Volvo unit to China's Geely on Sunday, in what would be the largest-ever purchase of a foreign automaker by a Chinese counterpart.

When Toyota Motor Corp concluded that seemingly harmless floormats posed a danger in all of its cars and trucks, the automaker sent a stark warning intended to prevent crashes.

Car and truck manufacturer Daimler AG allegedly earned $1.9 billion in revenue and at least $91.4 million in illegal profits from transactions tainted by bribes, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Signs are that some overseas buyers are drifting back into the New York real estate market, betting a decline in prices may be about to turn.

Toll Brothers Inc, which dominates the market for large, expensive houses known as McMansions, is shrinking its square footage as the worst housing market downturn since the Great Depression grinds on.

U.S. mortgage rates rose for a second straight week, a trend that could continue as key support from the government ceases at the end of the month, a closely watched mortgage survey showed on Thursday.

Serious delinquencies among mortgages jumped in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter, led by a sharp increase in serious delinquencies by the most credit-worthy borrowers, U.S. banking regulators said on Thursday.

The chief executive and largest shareholder of Dutch automaker Spyker Cars has reduced his voting interest to avoid making a buyout offer for the rest of the shares, the company said on Wednesday.

Toyota Motor Corp said on Thursday it is studying plans to reorganize its domestic manufacturing operations to consolidate production of similar vehicles regardless of brands across its group companies.

General Motors Co plans to lease retail space in four U.S. cities to offer shoppers the chance to test drive not only three Chevrolet vehicles but those of its largest rivals, a top marketing executive for the U.S. automaker said on Wednesday.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Wednesday U.S. house prices appeared to have bottomed out but were still fragile and that the country would not be out of crisis until prices stabilized.

Volvo AB said shipments rose in February, its first month of year-on-year growth since before the global financial crisis, as firmer demand in Asia helped offset lingering weakness on both sides of the Atlantic.

Industrial group Fiat SpA aims to raise the number of job cuts in Italy to 5,000 and may spin off its car activities sooner than thought, an Italian newspaper said on Wednesday, sharply boosting its shares.

General Motors unveiled a new electric concept car in China on Wednesday , aiming to burnish its image as a supplier of non-polluting cars tailored to the crowded mega-cities of the future.

Swedish automaker Saab is in talks with possible partners about exchanging technologies as it tries to return to profit by 2012, the head of new owners Spyker Cars said on Wednesday.

Sales of newly built U.S. single-family homes fell for a fourth straight month to a record low in February, a government report showed on Wednesday, heightening fears of renewed weakness in the housing market.

Bank of America will on Wednesday announce plans to start forgiving mortgage loan principal for troubled homeowners who owe more than 120 percent of their home's value or are battling ever-expanding negative amortization loans.

A U.S. program aimed at helping struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure has been oversold by the Treasury Department and is likely to be a failure when it wraps up in 2012, a report from the watchdog overseeing the $700 billion bank bailout said on Tuesday.

U.S. mortgage applications fell for a second straight week, with demand for home loan refinancing sinking to its lowest level in a month as interest rates jumped, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.

The government should continue to play a role in any new system of housing finance Congress develops, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told lawmakers on Tuesday as they began to debate an overhaul of the way Americans buy their homes.

Homeowners have sued Bank of America Corp for allegedly reneging on a promise it made to modify troubled mortgages as a condition of accepting $25 billion of federal bailout money.

Nissan Motor Co is in talks with Daimler AG to procure large engines from the German firm, the Nikkei business daily said on Tuesday.

Honda Motor Co will steer clear of cooperating with rival automakers as it seeks to boost its presence in Asia, defying a resurgent trend toward tie-ups in the industry, a top executive said.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes fell less than expected in February, according to a trade group report on Tuesday that underscored the fragile nature of the housing market's recovery.

With the housing sector still on the ropes, the Obama administration on Tuesday will begin to sketch out plans for the market's two biggest financing pillars, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Ford Motor Co Chief Executive Alan Mulally's total compensation rose almost 6 percent to $17.9 million in 2009 from the previous year, the automaker said on Monday.

Chrysler Group LLC said on Monday it would introduce an all-electric Fiat 500 to the U.S. market in 2012 and drop plans to develop a hybrid 2011 Ram pickup truck.

General Motors Co's South Korean unit plans to recall some 60,000 of the Chevy Cruze small car and the Captiva sports utility vehicle (SUV) in South Korea.

German sportscar maker Porsche sees potential for double-digit growth in Asia this year while growth in North America will take longer to return to pre-crisis levels, a magazine reported.