GM stakes millions on Super Bowl ads

GM stakes millions on Super Bowl ads

NEW YORK

General Motors Co. is back in the Super Bowl in a big way.

The automaker will air five Chevrolet commercials during Sunday’s game on Fox, the company said Monday, along with two ads in the pregame show and one in the post-game show, which it also is sponsoring. GM also plans a tie-in with Fox’s post-Super Bowl “Glee” episode and will give a Camaro to the game’s most-valuable player.

GM wouldn’t say what it is spending on the blitz. But with commercial time averaging about $3 million for 30 seconds, it’s a multimillion-dollar investment for a company that has sat out the game for two years as it reorganized and emerged from a government-led bankruptcy.

House panel probes Fannie, Freddie fees

WASHINGTON

A leading Republican lawmaker has asked federal regulators to explain why taxpayers have spent more than $160 million in legal fees to defend the giant mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their former top executives.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who heads the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, asked the Federal Housing Finance Agency to provide documents backing up its decision to cover the costs.

Much of the fees cover lawsuits over activities by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mack that occurred years before the subprime lending crisis, which exploded in 2007. The government took over the two companies in September 2008.

Block to improve services for deaf

WASHINGTON

The nation’s largest tax preparation company, H&R Block, has agreed to improve its services for deaf and hard-of-hearing people.

The Justice Department announced Monday that H&R Block has agreed to a nationwide settlement to resolve a complaint filed by a deaf person under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The company has agreed to provide auxiliary aids and services such as sign-language interpreters and to train its employees and enforce policies for communicating with deaf and hard-of-hearing customers.

The company has agreed to pay a $20,000 civil fine and pay the person who filed the complaint $5,000 in damages.

Treasury rates fall

WASHINGTON

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday’s auction, with rates on six-month bills dropping to the lowest level since early November.

The Treasury Department auctioned $32 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.150 percent, down from 0.155 percent last week. An additional $30 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.170 percent, down from 0.180 percent last week.

The three-month rate was the lowest since these bills averaged 0.130 percent Dec. 20. The six-month rate was the lowest since these bills averaged 0.160 percent Nov. 8.

Associated Press