Flying cars aren’t just science fiction anymore.Woburn, Massachusetts-based Terrafugia Inc. said Monday that its prototype flying car has completed its first flight, bringing the company closer to its goal of selling the flying car within the next year. The vehicle ― dubbed the Transition ― has two seats, four wheels and wings that fold up so it can be driven like a car. Last month, it flew at 1,400 feet for eight minutes. Commercial jets fly at 35,000 feet.Around 100 people have already put dow

April 3, 2012

Toyota Motor Corp.’s U.S. sales of Prius hybrids reached a record in March and in the first quarter, propelled by higher gasoline prices and two new models. Toyota, the largest seller of gasoline-electric autos, sold more than 25,000 units of the Prius “family” now comprised of a plug-in Prius and c subcompact, along with the original hatchback and v wagon, Bob Carter, group vice president of U.S. sales, said in an e-mail Monday. The previous monthly best for Prius was May 2007, when it delivere

April 3, 2012

MUMBAI (AP) ― Industry groups representing 250,000 companies across North America, Asia and the U.K. have warned India’s prime minister that a proposed retroactive tax plan is causing foreign businesses to reconsider investing in India.The warning, delivered in a March 29 letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other top officials, comes as India struggles to plug a worrisome fiscal deficit and revive investment amid slowing economic growth.The groups that sent the letter, including the U.S.

April 3, 2012

Eurozone jobless rate hits record 10.8 percent as manufacturing downturn gets worseLONDON (AP) ― Unemployment in the 17 countries that use the euro hit its highest level since the currency was introduced back in 1999, official figures showed Monday, adding to fears that the region is in recession. Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics office, said unemployment in the eurozone rose to 10.8 percent in February from 10.7 percent the previous month. The number of unemployed totaled 17.1 million,

April 3, 2012

For all his success in driving the yen down by the most in 16 years, Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa is under pressure from local companies to weaken the currency even more, while traders anticipate a rebound. The yen slid 10.4 percent last quarter versus nine developed-nation peers as the BOJ flooded the economy with 10 trillion yen ($120 billion) and set a 1 percent inflation goal, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Strategists cut third- quarter forecasts for the yen more than

April 2, 2012

LONDON (AFP) ― A deal was struck on Sunday to save British video games retailer GAME, which was taken into administration Monday, and preserve nearly 3,200 jobs.OpCapita, which specializes in turning around ailing High Street stores, has bought 333 shops for an undisclosed fee, administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers said.It is believed the turn-around investment firm paid a nominal fee of 1 pound ($1.6) for the assets, but the actual cost will be in taking over the company’s 85 million pounds deb

April 2, 2012

TOKYO (AP) ― Japanese manufacturers remain gloomy over high oil prices, the strong yen and weaker growth in Asia, according to a quarterly central bank survey released Monday that defied expectations that business confidence was improving in the world’s third-largest economy. The Bank of Japan’s quarterly “tankan” reported that the main index for big manufacturers at minus 4 for the January-March quarter, unchanged from the last quarter of 2011. A negative reading indicates greater pessimism tha

April 2, 2012

Payroll gain in U.S. probably topped 200,000 for fourth consecutive monthPayrolls in the U.S. probably increased by more than 200,000 workers in March for a fourth consecutive month as companies became more optimistic about the outlook for growth, economists said before a report this week. Employment rose by 205,000 after climbing by 227,000 in February, according to the median projection of 54 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The last time hiring advanced at a similar pace and period was

April 2, 2012

Starbucks Corp. is planning a bigger push into smaller cities in China as the world’s largest coffee- shop operator triples stores in the country that will become its second-biggest market by 2014. The company will have 1,500 stores in more than 70 Chinese cities by 2015 and expansion through smaller cities is “most definitely” a viable way to grow, John Culver, head for China and Asia Pacific, said Monday in an interview at the Boao Forum for Asia in the southern province of Hainan. The added s

April 2, 2012

SHANGHAI (AP) ― Chinese manufacturing gained momentum for a fourth straight month in March, helped by a recovery in the auto, tobacco and electronics sectors, though analysts said conflicting data suggest lingering weakness.The state-affiliated China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said Sunday that its purchasing managers index, or PMI, rose 2.1 points to 53.1 in March, up from February’s 51.0 and January’s 50.5. A reading above 50 signifies expansion.The rise in new factory orders sugges

April 1, 2012

When Best Buy Co. said it was closing 50 big stores and opening 100 smaller ones, the world’s largest electronics retailer was adjusting to reality: The era of big-box retail dominance is coming to an end. The new mantra is small box. While Best Buy, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. are still opening large stores, all are putting increasing emphasis on smaller ones. Best Buy plans to double the number of its smaller Best Buy Mobile stores by 2016. Wal-Mart is building as many as 100 small-f

April 1, 2012

Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said he supports U.S. nominee Jim Yong Kim’s bid to lead the World Bank. Kim’s work on HIV/AIDS in the World Health Organization shows the 52-year-old physician has expertise on developing nation issues, Azumi said Sunday. “He is a highly competent individual who spearheaded efforts and contributed to AIDS issues,” Azumi spoke to reporters Sunday in Tokyo after meeting Kim. “We judge he’s an appropriate candidate for the World Bank and support his bid.” Before

April 1, 2012

COPENHAGEN (AFP) ― Germany on Friday laid out proposals to break the deadlock on a controversial EU tax on financial transactions, arguing for a levy only on company shares as a first step before broadening it out.German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble circulated the plan, obtained by AFP, to his EU counterparts ahead of a debate on the issue on the second and final day of a meeting here.Schaeuble acknowledged “it will not be possible to attain unanimous approval of the FTT (financial transa

April 1, 2012

NEW YORK (AP) ― Chinese workers who often spend more than 60 hours per week assembling iPhones and iPads will have their overtime hours curbed and their pay increased after a labor auditor hired by Apple Inc. inspected their factories.The Fair Labor Association says Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the Taiwanese company that runs the factories in China, is committing to a reduction of weekly work time to 49 hours, the legal Chinese maximum.That limit is routinely ignored in factories throughout C

March 30, 2012

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner stressed Jim Yong Kim’s understanding of the World Bank’s responsibilities beyond his area of expertise in a letter drumming up support for the U.S. candidate to head the lender. Kim “is committed to pursuing an agenda for the Bank that supports all the necessary components of development,” Geithner wrote to the bank’s 187 governors in a letter obtained by Bloomberg. That includes “greater impact in the delivery of services at the village level” and “a

March 30, 2012