Mack, Volvo Trucks to merge
Transport Topics
Mack Trucks and Volvo Trucks North America will merge next month into a single corporate entity, the Morning Call reported. Mack spokesman John Mies said the change is only an organizational change within Volvo AB, and that it will not affect either brand, the paper said.More

Economy grows in 3Q, signals end of recession
Yahoo! News
The economy grew at a 3.5 percent pace in the third quarter, the best showing in two years, fueled by government-supported spending on cars and homes. It's the strongest signal yet that the economy has entered a new, though fragile, phase of recovery and that the worst recession since the 1930s has ended.More

GM expects October sales to increase
The Detroit News
General Motors Co. anticipates its October vehicle sales will rise compared to a year earlier, the first such increase for the automaker in 21 months. The forecast was announced during a conference call with Mike DiGiovanni, GM's director of global market analysis, and Susan Docherty, GM vice president of U.S. sales.More

Initial jobless claims decline for week
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Initial jobless claims fell by 1,000 to 530,000 last week, while continuing claims fell to the lowest level in seven months, the Labor Department said. Continuing jobless for the previous week ended Oct. 17 fell by 148,000 to 5.8 million, the lowest level since March, Labor said. More

GMAC may get 3rd helping of aid
the Detroit Free Press
GMAC, the financial lifeline for General Motors Co., Chrysler Group LLC and their dealer networks, is asking the U.S. Treasury for more federal aid beyond the $12.5 billion it's already received, because it remains billions of dollars short of a capital reserve requirement all bank holding companies must meet.More

Consumer confidence drops in October
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U.S. consumer confidence fell in October, according to the Conference Board's monthly consumer sentiment index recently released. The index for the month dropped to a reading of 47.7, down from a revised 53.4 reading in September. It reached a record low of 25.3 in February. More

Ford-UAW deal stumbles early
The Detroit News
Union workers at two more Ford Motor Co. factories voted down proposed concessions aimed at putting Ford on comparable ground with General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC, according to results released Tuesday.More

New home sales fall for September
Transport Topics
New home sales fell 3.6 percent in September, the Commerce Department said. Sales dropped to an annual rate of 402,000 units, Commerce said. The median selling price decreased 9.1 percent from September 2008. More