Netflix will stream movies, TV shows in Latin America

Netflix is expanding its streaming service for movies and TV shows into 43 countries throughout Latin America. Analysts said the expansion was larger than expected.

The company’s stock hit an all-time high of $283.50 in morning trading Tuesday.

Netflix Inc. subscribers in Mexico, South America, Central America and the Caribbean will be able to watch TV shows and movies streamed on a wide range of gadgets starting this year. The company did not announce a pricing plan or say exactly when the service will be available.

In the United States, a streaming subscription costs $8 a month and customers can pay slightly more to get DVDs in the mail. As is the case in Canada, Netflix’s service in Latin America will be streaming-only, with no DVD option.

Lawsuit claims GM failed to fix thousands of Impalas

A lawsuit claims General Motors treated the police better than it did average citizens when taking care of a defective part in 2007 and 2008 Chevrolet Impalas.

The lawsuit alleges that Impalas from the two model years have defective spindle rods, which connect the suspension to the rear wheels. The defect causes the wheels to misalign, which makes the tires wear out faster. The tires could also wear out unevenly, increasing the risk of a blowout.

GM fixed the part on police versions of the Impala three years ago but didn’t correct the same problem in hundreds of thousands of other Impalas, according to the lawsuit filed last week in Detroit.

China’s Baidu, Microsoft partnering in search deal

Chinese search giant Baidu Inc. will use Microsoft’s Bing for some English-language results as the software giant tries to expand its small share of China’s search market.

China has the world’s biggest population of Internet users, with more than 450 million people online. Global e-commerce, search and other Internet brands have struggled to gain a foothold against aggressive local competitors in a heavily regulated market.

Financial details weren’t released.

Google Inc., which competes against Bing and Baidu, closed its China search engine last year after saying it no longer wanted to cooperate with government censorship.