Toyota to recall one million vehicles

Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday it is recalling nearly 1 million vehicles across the globe to replace faulty parts that could cause drivers to lose control of the steering wheel.

The recall affects about 986,000 vehicles across 10 models, including its popular Prius hybrid car. More than half of the affected vehicles are in Japan, company officials said.

The intermediate shafts and sliding yokes in the recalled cars lack the necessary strength and could distort or crack under strong pressure, causing drivers to lose control of the steering wheel, the Japanese automaker said in a statement.

In the United States, Toyota is recalling about 170,000 Prius models because the steering shaft assembly could become loose or crack under certain conditions.

Toyota said there have been no reported crashes or injuries connected to the problem in the U.S. Owners are expected to be notified of the recall in mid-June.

•Chemical company Engelhard Corp. abandoned months of resistance Tuesday and agreed to a $5 billion takeover from German rival BASF AG.

Engelhard’s management decided to back BASF’s twice-sweetened offer of $39 a share for the Iselin-based company and will recommend that its shareholders accept it, the companies said.

Including debt, the deal is worth about $5.6 billion.

“This is a crucial step toward our goal of acquiring Engelhard,” BASF chief executive Juergen Hambrecht said.

BASF has said the deal would create a world player in chemical products such as pigments and catalysts

■•Microsoft Corp. is expected to announce Wednesday that it is releasing software that aims to better protect people who use its Windows operating system from Internet attacks. The move pits the world’s largest software maker head-to-head with longtime business partners Symantec Corp., McAfee Inc. and others.

Windows Live OneCare, which will protect up to three computers for $49.95 per year, marks the latest step in Microsoft’s effort over the years to make its operating system less vulnerable to crippling Internet attacks.

Windows, which runs on the vast majority of personal computers, has been a near-constant target of worms, viruses and other attacks, hurting countless users and forcing Microsoft to invest heavily in patching vulnerabilities and improving flaws.