All Southwest flights to have Wi-Fi by 2012
Southwest Airlines said Friday it will begin offering Internet service on all 540 planes in its fleet by 2012. The airline, the largest carrier at BWI Marshall Airport, has been testing service on some planes for several months. It hasn't decided how much it will charge for the service. The airline said it has signed an equipment purchase contract with Wi-Fi provider Row 44 and will begin installing it in the second quarter. It expects to install equipment on around 15 aircraft per month initially, with the goal of increasing that number to 25 aircraft until it is on every flight.
- Andrea K. Walker
Congress to examine response to Toyota recall
A congressional oversight committee called officials into a hearing next Thursday to examine the government's response to Toyota Motor Corp.'s huge recall of cars and trucks over potentially malfunctioning gas pedals. Separately, the Japanese automaker, beset by acceleration problems in many of its vehicles, said its recall in Europe may affect 1.8 million vehicles. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hear testimony from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, said committee Chairman Edolphus Towns, a New York Democrat. The situation has spawned confusion and concern that the pedal issues may not be isolated to Toyota, Towns said. Consumer Reports magazine suspended its "recommended" status for the eight models recalled in the U.S., as well as one Pontiac model that also may have sticky accelerator pedals. Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons said the company will announce next week how it will solve the problem, and the repair work should be finished in less than a month.
- Tribune Newspapers
Wages and benefits rise 1.5 percent in 2009
WASHINGTON - Wages and benefits paid to U.S. workers posted a modest gain in the fourth quarter, ending a year in which recession-battered workers saw their compensation rise by the smallest amount on records going back more than a quarter-century. The anemic gains have raised concerns about the durability of the economic recovery. The Labor Department said Friday that wages and benefits rose by 0.5 percent in the three months ending in December. For the entire year, wages and benefits were up 1.5 percent, the weakest showing on records that go back to 1982. The 1.5 percent increase in total compensation in 2009 was about half the 2.6 percent increase in 2008 and both years represented the smallest gains for the government's Employment Compensation Index. Last year, wages were up by 1.5 percent and benefits rose by the same 1.5 percent, both record lows.
- Associated Press
Children's pendants recalled over toxic cadmium
Federal consumer safety regulators announced the recall Friday of "The Princess and the Frog" pendants sold at Walmart stores because of high levels of the toxic metal cadmium, an unprecedented action that reflects concerns of an emerging threat in children's jewelry. The recall affects two products, about 55,000 items in total, sold exclusively by the world's biggest retailer for $5 each. The action was taken voluntarily by Rhode Island-based jewelry company FAF Inc., which did not respond to requests for comment. The recalled pendants are a crown pendant with UPC number 72783367144 and a frog pendant with UPC number 72783367147. The items had been on sale at Walmart stores since November. Consumers can return the recalled items to any Walmart store for a refund or replacement.
- Associated Press
Jury rules for shareholders in billion-dollar Vivendi suit
NEW YORK - A jury decided Friday in favor of U.S. and European shareholders who said the Paris-based Vivendi media group lied to the public about its shaky finances, setting the stage for the possible distribution of several billion dollars in damages to investors. The company was found liable, but not its executives, according to the verdict in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Vivendi said it will appeal. Plaintiffs said in a release that the potential payout to investors could total $9.3 billion, the largest securities class action jury verdict in history, measured by the number of people affected and the dollars involved, said shareholders' attorney Arthur Abbey. Thousands of investors worldwide said Vivendi covered up its troubles in 2001 and 2002 as the former public water company grew into a media and communications empire.
- Associated Press