National business: U.S. ends Chevrolet Volt probe

By: Times-Dispatch Staff | Times-Dispatch
Published: January 21, 2012

U.S. ends Chevrolet Volt probe, says car is safe

The government ended its safety investigation into the Chevrolet Volt on Friday after concluding that the Volt and other electric cars don't pose a greater fire risk than gasoline-powered cars.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began studying the Volt last June after a fire broke out in one of the cars three weeks after it was crashed as part of safety testing. Two other fires occurred later related to separate safety tests, and the NHTSA opened an official investigation into the vehicle Nov. 25.

The agency and General Motors Co. know of no fires in real-world crashes.

GM and federal safety officials say they believe the fires were caused by coolant leaking from damaged plastic casing around the batteries after side-impact collisions. GM said earlier this month that it will add steel plates to about 12,000 existing Volts to protect the batteries in the event of a crash.

Fed sets format for new interest rate charts

The Federal Reserve has specified how it will begin signaling when its benchmark interest rate will rise and what the rate will be at points in the future.

Four times a year starting Wednesday, it will show in a chart the year when Fed officials predict they will begin raising the rate. Another chart will show individual Fed members' predictions for the rate at the end of 2012, 2013 and 2014.

More guidance on rates might help lower long-term yields further — in effect providing a kind of stimulus. Lower rates could lead consumers and businesses to borrow and spend more.

Kodak gets Feb. 2013 deadline to reorganize

Eastman Kodak Co. has a little more than a year to reshape its money-losing businesses and deliver a get-out-of-bankruptcy plan.

Girded by a $950 million financing deal with Citigroup, Kodak aims to keep operating normally during bankruptcy while it peddles a trove of digital-imaging patents.

Kodak sought protection from its creditors Thursday. It is required under its bankruptcy financing terms to produce a reorganization plan by Feb. 15, 2013.

FDIC closes banks in Ga., Fla. and Pa.

Regulators closed small banks in Georgia, Florida and Pennsylvania, the first failures of 2012 following 92 closures last year.

The number of closures in 2011 marked a sharp decline from the 157 banks seized in 2010.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Friday seized First State Bank, based in Stockbridge, Ga., with $536.9 million in assets and $527.5 million in deposits; Central Florida State Bank of Belleview, Fla., with $79.1 million in assets and $77.7 million in deposits; and American Eagle Savings Bank of Boothwyn, Pa., with $19.6 million in assets and $17.7 million in deposits.

Elsewhere

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Friday that it has named Rosalind Brewer, 49, as CEO of Sam's Club — the first woman and the first African-American to hold a CEO position at one of the company's business units.

Zynga, the social game company known for "FarmVille" and "Zynga Poker," is mulling a new market — online gambling. Zynga confirmed Friday that it is in active talks with potential partners to "better understand and explore" the opportunity in online gambling involving real money.

From wire reports