BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY DIGEST | US could sell GM shares over 2 years

US could sell GM shares over 2 years

WASHINGTON

The head of the government’s bailout program says the Treasury Department hopes to sell its remaining shares of General Motors stock over the next two years.

Timothy Massad, the senior Treasury official managing the government bailout fund, told a congressional hearing that there is now a path forward for Treasury to sell its remaining shares in GM over the next two years if market conditions permit.

The Treasury Department trimmed its stake in GM to 26.5 percent of the company, down from 61 percent, when it sold $23.1 billion of GM stock at an initial public offering in November.

Health insurers: Profits to drop in ’11

INDIANAPOLIS

Health insurers rode momentum from a drop in claims to strong finishes in 2010, but this year promises a different story.

Health-care use is expected to return to normal levels in 2011, while low interest rates and a new health- overhaul provision are poised to pinch bottom lines. Those factors and others create a formula for smaller but still-healthy profits.

WellPoint Inc. and United-Health Group Inc., the nation’s two largest health insurers, already have said they expect their 2011 earnings to fall below their 2010 results.

Mixed results for oil-spill dispersants

WASHINGTON

Dispersants injected deep in the Gulf of Mexico to counter an oil gusher last spring seemed to keep some oil from fouling the water’s surface, but the chemicals lingered underwater, raising concerns about long-term problems, a new study found.

The first extensive research into what happened to 770,000 gallons of dispersants used a mile deep near the broken BP well found a mixed bag of results. The new research appears in the journal Environmental Science & Technology and focused on the fate of the controversial chemicals rather than their toxicity.

Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts found circumstantial evidence that the chemicals guided some oil into underwater currents, stopping it from bubbling up to the surface, where it would do more damage, said marine chemist Elizabeth Kujawinski. But she added, “the dispersant is sticking around,” which is worrisome.

Toyota recalls 1.7 million cars

TOKYO

Toyota recalled nearly 1.7 million cars worldwide Wednesday for possible fuel leaks, the latest in a ballooning number of quality problems that could further tarnish the company’s reputation in the United States.

The recalls are mostly in Japan but include Lexus IS and GS luxury sedans sold in North America. That’s where the world’s No. 1 car company faces the biggest challenges in winning back customer trust.

U.S. dealers will inspect cars to see if loose fuel- pressure sensors caused leaks. There were no accidents suspected of being caused by those problems, according to Toyota.

Associated Press