Toyota recalling 300,000 vehicles for airbag issue

Toyota recalled more than 300,000 RAV4 and Highlander vehicles Thursday so that it can fix an issue related to their airbags.

The recall includes about 214,000 RAV4s from 2007 and 2008 and approximately 94,000 Highlander and Highlander HV vehicles from 2008. All of the vehicles involved were sold in the U.S. The recall does not include any other Lexus or Toyota vehicles.

Over the past year and a half Toyota has wrestled with numerous recalls covering a wide range of defects, including faulty floor mats, sticky gas pedals and glitches in braking software, ballooning to more than 14 million vehicles globally.

NYSE Euronext refuses offer for $11.3 billion takeover

NYSE Euronext directors said Thurday they have again rebuffed an $11.3 billion takeover offer from Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. and IntercontinentalExchange Inc., adding that a proposed breakup fee to allay antitrust concerns doesn’t change their commitment to merging with Deutsche Boerse.

Nasdaq OMX and ICE’s pledge to pay $350 million to the New York Stock Exchange owners should their bid be blocked by competition authorities didn’t improve the offer enough, the board said Thursday on the company’s website. Directors have twice deemed the Nasdaq OMX-ICE proposal inadequate, saying April 10 that “execution risk” and the threat of rising debt and layoffs were too high. 

Microsoft’s Ballmer pledges increased pay for employees

Microsoft is making its largest investment ever to increase employee compensation.

In an e-mail sent to all employees Thursday morning, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said, “Today we’re announcing changes that will benefit our employees by sharpening the clarity of our performance review process and increasing compensation. These changes represent the most significant investment in overall compensation we have ever made.”

Microsoft declined to comment further on the amount of increases employees would receive.

The changes will increase how large of a raise employees can qualify for when they go through performance reviews.

Employees now receive a stock award, and some of that award will be converted to cash instead.

US Airways sues ticketing system, citing high fees

US Airways Group Inc. is suing Sabre Holdings Corp., saying the operator of reservations systems shuts out competition to protect monopoly pricing power.

Airlines have been tangling with Sabre and other so-called global distribution services over pricing. Airlines pay a fee to the distributors for each ticket sold, and they say that fee is too high.

US Airways just signed a new contract with Sabre last month. The lawsuit filed in New York on Thursday says 35 percent of its revenue is booked through Sabre, and that losing that revenue would probably force it into bankruptcy.

Chipotle chain faces probe about workers’ documents

Federal prosecutors are investigating Chipotle Mexican Grill over issues with documents showing whether its employees can work legally in the U.S.

The Denver-based restaurant chain last year fired about 450 Minnesota employees who couldn’t prove they were eligible to work in the U.S. The dismissals came after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials raised questions about the validity of employees’ work authorization documents.

In December, Homeland Security officials requested worker authorization documents for employees in Virginia and the nation’s capital.

Chipotle disclosed in a regulatory filing Thursday that the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia sent it a notice this month that it also is investigating the matter through its criminal division.

AT&T: Purchase of T-Mobile will improve wireless service

AT&T is telling federal regulators that its proposed $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA would lead to fewer dropped and blocked calls and faster mobile Internet connections for subscribers, and would bring wireless broadband service to nearly all corners of the country.

In paperwork filed with the Federal Communications Commission Thursday, AT&T argues that the acquisition would enable the companies to make far more efficient use of the critical airwaves they need to handle mobile apps, streaming video and other bandwidth-hungry online services by letting them combine their limited wireless spectrum. AT&T says it is running out of airwaves as sophisticated new mobile devices like the Apple iPhone and iPad put enormous strain on its network.

Lender to pay $56 million for overcharging on mortgages

JPMorgan Chase, one of the lenders criticized over improper foreclosures on military families’ homes, has agreed to pay $56 million to settle claims it overcharged service members on their mortgages.

JPMorgan will pay $27 million in cash to about 6,000 active-duty military personnel who were overcharged on their mortgages, cut interest rates on soldiers’ home loans and return homes that were wrongfully foreclosed upon, according to settlement terms filed in federal court in Beaufort, S.C.

JPMorgan officials said three months ago that one of the bank’s units had made errors in the handling of mortgages covered by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

— From news service reports