Business Digest || GM recalls trucks

General Motors recalls pickups

DETROIT

More than 192,000 General Motors and Isuzu midsize pickup trucks are being recalled because of a problem with the system that anchors child-safety seats, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday.

The recall affects Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon models from the 2004 to 2011 model years. Also affected are Isuzu I-280 and I-350 pickups from 2006 and I-290 and I-370 models from 2007 and 2008. The Isuzus were built by GM at its factory in Shreveport, La.

NHTSA said on its website that the trucks all have bench front seats and no rear seats. Owners can’t get to the top child-seat anchor for the center of the front seat, and the owner’s manual has no instructions on how to use the top anchor, NHTSA said. No accidents or injuries have been reported, GM spokesman Alan Adler said.

Both NHTSA and GM discourage people from using child seats in the front seats of vehicles.

Oil prices rise

Energy investors were cheerful ahead of the holiday weekend after the government issued reports that suggested improvement in the U.S. economy.

Drivers got a tiny break in pump prices Wednesday, but they’ll still be paying more on Thanksgiving than since gas cost an average of $3.09 on the holiday in 2007.

Oil prices rose more than 3 percent, as did futures for heating oil and gasoline. The good news on the U.S. economy countered recent concerns about an economic slowdown in China, which contributed to lower oil prices over the past 10 days.

Wednesday’s government reports indicated Americans spent more in October while jobless claims fell more than expected last week, boosting investors hopes for a stronger economic recovery.

PFGBest analyst Phil Flynn said the combination of the slowing layoffs and improving consumer data offset weak housing numbers. “That’s given us hope that maybe, you know, the jobs market may be turning around,” he said. The unemployment rate has been stuck at 9.6 percent.

Stocks higher on economic data

NEW YORK

Stocks ended Wednesday on a positive note after a batch of economic reports offered hope that the U.S. economy was improving.

Incomes rose last month, and consumer spending climbed for a fifth month. That raised hopes that shoppers will hit the malls in droves the day after Thanksgiving, the start of the holiday shopping season.

At the same time, fewer people claimed unemployment benefits last week, a sign that the labor market is recovering.

“There are fundamental signs that the economy is turning a corner,” said John O’Donoghue, co-head of equities at Cowen & Co.

The Dow Jones industrial average surged 150.91, or 1.4 percent, to 11,187.28.

From wire reports