Ex-car czar settles probe for $10M

Ex-car czar settles probe for $10M

NEW YORK

The investment banker who helped lead the Obama administration’s auto- industry overhaul has agreed to pay $10 million to settle influence-peddling allegations in New York.

Former “car czar” Steven Rattner admitted no wrongdoing as part of the deal, which was announced by state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Thursday.

Cuomo’s office had filed civil lawsuits against Rattner in November, accusing him of paying kickbacks to help his company land $150 million in state pension-fund investments in 2004 and 2005. He denied the charges.

The attorney general initially had sought $26 million in fines and penalties and a lifetime ban from the securities industry. The settlement announced Thursday only bars Rattner from doing further business with any public-pension fund in the state for five years.

Chrysler, Ford recall trucks, SUVs

WASHINGTON

Chrysler recalled about 150,000 trucks and SUVs on Thursday to address steering, air-bag and potential stalling problems, while Ford recalled nearly 15,000 trucks and crossovers because of electrical issues.

Chrysler Group LLC said it was conducting three separate recalls to fix the problems, which were posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website.

The first recall covers about 22,000 Dodge Ram trucks from the 2008-11 model-years to address steering problems. The second involves about 65,000 2009 model-year Dodge Journey SUVs to fix side air bags that might not deploy. The last recall includes about 57,000 Ram 1500 trucks from the 2011 model-year to fix components in rear axles that could cause the trucks to stall.

Meanwhile, Ford Motor Co. said it was recalling some 2011 model-year Ford F150, F250, F350, F450 and F550 pickup trucks and 2011 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers to address potential electrical shorts that could lead to fires in unattended vehicles.

Treasury takes step to sell stake in Ally

WASHINGTON

The Treasury Department says it has taken a step to recover the taxpayer funds invested in Ally Financial, the auto lender formerly known as GMAC.

The government is converting about a third of its $17.2 billion investment from preferred securities to common stock. That should make it easier to sell its stake, Treasury officials said. The conversion increases the government’s ownership of Ally to 74 percent from 56 percent.

Associated Press