business

Start off your weekend of motoring with a quick take on what's grabbed our attention recently. The car: 2012 Audi TT RS

Greeters decked out in blue vests are a familiar sight at Wal-Mart  store entrances nationwide. Now they are moving inside.

The nation's broadest measure of U.S. economic output rose at a 2.8% annual rate — many analysts had predicted 3% — in the October through December period, and signs point to economic weakness ahead. The U.S. economy ended last year on firmer footing with modestly stronger growth. But output fell short of what analysts expected, and signs point to weakness ahead.

The imported orange juice contained trace amounts of carbendazim, used to combat a fungus that leaves black spots on tree leaves. The fungicide is not allowed in the U.S. Nearly 14% of orange juice imported to the U.S. since early this month has been seized by the Food and Drug Administration because it contained trace amounts of a fungicide, carbendazim, according to the agency.

Chevron reports a profit of $5.12 billion in the fourth quarter, down 3.2% from a year earlier. Its refinery and marketing business swings to a $204-million loss. Refining losses marred the fourth-quarter performance for Chevron Corp., the nation's second-biggest oil company, leaving it with a profit decline compared with 2010 and dropping it below Wall Street expectations.

Facebook's initial public offering of stock has been anticipated for months and is speculated to be worth as much as $100 billion whenever it arrives.

The mortgage modification program is extended another year and expanded to include investors. Large banks will get more incentives to help struggling homeowners. Struggling homeowners are set to get more help from the federal government as the Obama administration extends its key foreclosure prevention plan for a year.

The Pentagon has proposed delaying a plan to replace the U-2s with RQ-4 Global Hawk drones because of Defense Department cutbacks. Wars have come and gone. But for more than half a century, the CIA andU.S. military have relied on a skinny sinister-looking black jet to go deep behind enemy lines for vital intelligence-gathering missions.

The automaker has a more than 200% increase in net income in 2011, but its fourth-quarter profit misses estimates on overseas losses. Ford Motor Co., with a more than 200% increase in net income for 2011, reported its strongest year in a decade as American automakers continue to recover from the tailspin of 2008 and 2009.

State insurance regulators and trade groups have settled a pair of lawsuits stemming from efforts to pressure insurers to stop investing in corporations engaged in energy, nuclear or defense-related work in Iran.

Firms face raids and fines of up to £500,000 for sending unsolicited text messages about credit or compensation.

The Obama administration is taking another swing at improving its main foreclosure prevention program.

The U.S. Department of Transportation fined Florida-based Spirit Airlines $100,000 Friday for failing to appropriately keep track of and respond to complaints about its treatment of passengers with disabilities.

The big music merchandise show at the Anaheim Convention Center last week featured some of the hottest names and brands in the business. John Mayer was there for Martin Guitars, Kenny Wayne Shepard was there for a new iPad app, and Fender, Gibson and other companies were there showing their latest gleaming guitars to instrument retailers from around the country.

The U.S. Department of Transportation fined Florida-based Spirit Airlines $100,000 Friday for failing to appropriately keep track of and respond to complaints about its treatment of passengers with disabilities.

U.S. labor unions picked up 49,000 new members in 2011.

President Obama's latest probe into the mortgage meltdown will have more power than past efforts, and federal officials say it won't derail a possible $20 billion settlement for underwater and foreclosed homeowners.

The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that it had detained orange juice shipments from Canada after they tested positive for low levels of a banned fungicide previously found in Brazilian juice. The FDA announced earlier this month that it would begin testing foreign orange juice shipments for the presence of the fungicide carbendazim before allowing them to enter the country. On Friday, the agency said that among 80 shipments from around the world it tested so far, six from Canada and five from Brazil had tested positive. The samples that have tested positive so far had carbendazim levels of between 10 and 52 parts per billion. The Environmental Protection Agency says carbendazim levels under 80 parts per billion do not raise safety concerns.

Many people think they can plan on spending less later in retirement since they'll become less active as they age. But if their health declines, they may actually shift spending rather than reduce it. Do you think it's risky to plan as if one's expenses will go down later in retirement? --Tim, U.K.

Halifax and Bank of Scotland charity credit cards which have helped to raise millions of pounds will be withdrawn, Lloyds Banking Group announces