Automotive Industry

The maker of software used by the automotive industry to design prototypes and Objet Ltd. said their boards have approved an all-stock merger agreement that will create a 3D printing company with an approximate value of $1.4 billion. Shares of Minnesota-based Stratasys rallied 14.5 percent, the most since Oct. 26.

The driver's seat is a fascinating setting in which to study HUMAN DECISION MAKING. Where else do you have people practicing a highly learned activity with a major safety implication involved with failure? Hands-free technology can allow a driver to keep both hands on the wheel. However, it may not offer all the SAFETY ADVANTAGES that many believe. The act of conversing can be quite demanding. The type of conversation plays a role. A quick call home to say I'm running late is far less absorbing than a discussion surrounding a complex business decision.

The driver's seat is a fascinating setting in which to study HUMAN DECISION MAKING. Where else do you have people practicing a highly learned activity with a major safety implication involved with failure? Hands-free technology can allow a driver to keep both hands on the wheel. However, it may not offer all the SAFETY ADVANTAGES that many believe. The act of conversing can be quite demanding. The type of conversation plays a role. A quick call home to say I'm running late is far less absorbing than a discussion surrounding a complex business decision.

The maker of software used by the automotive industry to design prototypes and Objet Ltd. said their boards have approved an all-stock merger agreement that will create a 3D printing company with an approximate value of $1.4 billion. Shares of Minnesota-based Stratasys rallied 14.5 percent, the most since Oct. 26.

DETROIT -- China's rapidly expanding automotive industry faces so many obstacles it will probably be 10 to 20 years before Chinese automakers can compete globally in vehicle design, manufacturing, and sales, according to a report issued yesterday. The report is based on interviews with 20 Chinese leaders, including manufacturers, government officials, and auto dealers. It was prepared by IBM Business Consulting Services and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.

WASHINGTON - Government officials overseeing a $700 billion bailout have acknowledged difficulties tracking the money and assessing the program's effectiveness. The information was contained in a document, released yesterday, of a Dec. 10 meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Board. The panel, headed by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, includes Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Securities and Exchange Commission chief Christopher Cox. While offering no details, the document also mentioned that officials at that meeting discussed...

If you want to grasp how Nissan rediscovered itself, "Shift" is the ticket. But if you expect a read as zippy as the styling of Nissan's latest automotive fleet, you'll be disappointed. Even though Carlos Ghosn, its multitalented, multilingual, and determinedly internationalist head, seems formidably intelligent and persuasive, flat writing keeps his story from gaining maximum traction. Perhaps the flair was lost in translation. As chief executive, the Brazil-born, French-educated Ghosn (rhymes with tone)

WASHINGTON -- The economy lost steam in the late summer but not nearly as much as first thought, a hopeful sign the country is weathering the housing slump. The Commerce Department reported yesterday that economic growth clocked in at a 2.2 percent annual rate in the July-to-September quarter. The new reading was a considerable upgrade from the government's earlier estimate of a 1.6 percent growth rate, which would have been the worst showing in more than three years . The main factors for the higher estimate were stronger inventories amassed...

Ralph Nader is like the fabled elephant groped by blind men: Everyone knows they’ve got their hands around something but no one can agree what it is. Is the man a great American or a pious scold? The driving force behind consumer safety and citizen empowerment or the person who single-handedly delivered the country to George W. Bush in 2000? ‘‘Thank you, Ralph Nader, for the war in Iraq,’’ says one commentator in ‘‘An Unreasonable Man,’’ and if sarcasm could kill, he’d be in jail.

The Swedish seat belt and air bag maker sank after it said operating results and cash flows could be affected by the outcomes of ongoing US and European antitrust investigations into possible anticompetitive behavior among certain automotive vehicle industry suppliers. Autoliv said it can’t say how long the investigations will last or in which reporting periods the adjustments may be recorded.

WASHINGTON - Government officials overseeing a $700 billion bailout have acknowledged difficulties tracking the money and assessing the program's effectiveness. The information was contained in a document, released yesterday, of a Dec. 10 meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Board. The panel, headed by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, includes Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Securities and Exchange Commission chief Christopher Cox. While offering no details, the document also mentioned that officials at that meeting discussed "potential methods"...

Ralph Nader is like the fabled elephant groped by blind men: Everyone knows they’ve got their hands around something but no one can agree what it is. Is the man a great American or a pious scold? The driving force behind consumer safety and citizen empowerment or the person who single-handedly delivered the country to George W. Bush in 2000? ‘‘Thank you, Ralph Nader, for the war in Iraq,’’ says one commentator in ‘‘An Unreasonable Man,’’ and if sarcasm could kill, he’d be in jail.

WASHINGTON -- The economy lost steam in the late summer but not nearly as much as first thought, a hopeful sign the country is weathering the housing slump. The Commerce Department reported yesterday that economic growth clocked in at a 2.2 percent annual rate in the July-to-September quarter. The new reading was a considerable upgrade from the government's earlier estimate of a 1.6 percent growth rate, which would have been the worst showing in more than three years . The main factors for the higher estimate were stronger inventories amassed by companies...

DETROIT -- China's rapidly expanding automotive industry faces so many obstacles it will probably be 10 to 20 years before Chinese automakers can compete globally in vehicle design, manufacturing, and sales, according to a report issued yesterday. The report is based on interviews with 20 Chinese leaders, including manufacturers, government officials, and auto dealers. It was prepared by IBM Business Consulting Services and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.

If you want to grasp how Nissan rediscovered itself, "Shift" is the ticket. But if you expect a read as zippy as the styling of Nissan's latest automotive fleet, you'll be disappointed. Even though Carlos Ghosn, its multitalented, multilingual, and determinedly internationalist head, seems formidably intelligent and persuasive, flat writing keeps his story from gaining maximum traction. Perhaps the flair was lost in translation. As chief executive, the Brazil-born, French-educated Ghosn (rhymes with tone)

The auto parts supplier Visteon posted a second-quarter profit of $26 million Thursday, reversing a loss in the same quarter last year and providing more evidence of a recovering automotive industry. The Van Buren Township, Mich. company's profit amounted to 50 cents per share and compared with a loss of $201 million, or $1.55 per share, in the same quarter last year. The recent quarter's results included a loss on debt payments of $24 million and $19 million in restructuring charges mainly related to the closure of an electronics plant in Spain.

Alcoa Inc. said Thursday that it will invest about $300 million to expand an Iowa manufacturing plant to produce aluminum to meet growing demand from the automotive industry. The project will create 150 jobs during construction at the Davenport plant and 150 full-time jobs once it is completed at the end of 2013. That would put the plant's work force at about 2,300. The aluminum manufacturer, which is based in New York, said one of the reasons it selected the Davenport location was an incentive package from the Iowa Department of Economic Development that consists of tax,...