GM shaves $5,000 off Chevrolet Volt price
DETROIT – General Motors is knocking 12.5 percent off the Chevrolet Volt’s sticker price as it tries to better compete with electric car rivals.
The automaker says the 2014 Volt now will start at $34,995 including shipping – $5,000 less than the current model. The new model is scheduled to reach showrooms this summer.
Automakers have been forced to cut electric car prices or offer discounted leases to move them off dealer lots.
GM says including a $7,500 federal tax credit, the Volt could cost as little as $27,495.
Chevrolet has sold 11,643 Volts through July, up 9.2 percent from the same period a year ago. But its main rival, the electric Nissan Leaf, has seen sales more than triple to 11,703 after that company cut the base price to $29,650, including shipping.
‘The Simpsons’ to get their own Lego series
COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Want to build a new home for Homer or try out a new hairstyle for Marge?
Danish toy company Lego on Monday confirmed it will launch a special series themed on “The Simpsons” family globally in 2014.
Lego spokesman Roar Rude Trangbaek wouldn’t give any details about what characters would be included but said the company hopes the series will “appeal to fans of ‘The Simpsons’ family.”
On the air for 22 years, “The Simpsons” is the longest-running American sitcom or animated program.
Revlon to repurchase its professional division
NEW YORK – Revlon is buying Colomer Group, which sells hair dye and other products to beauty salons, for about $660 million, saying the deal will help it reach new salon customers.
The transaction reunites Revlon with its former professional products division, which the beauty products company sold to CVC Capital Partners in 2000 for about $315 million. The private equity firm is still Colomer’s owner.
Revlon’s stock climbed nearly 7 percent in Monday trading and hit a 7-year high earlier in the session.
EU approves merger of US Airways, AMR
AMSTERDAM – The European Union’s Commission has cleared US Airways’ proposed merger with American Airlines parent AMR Corp. – on the condition that they give up one slot at London’s Heathrow airport and take steps to foster competition on the London-Philadelphia route.
The merger and restructuring plan must still be approved by a U.S. federal judge before AMR can emerge from bankruptcy, and the U.S. Department of Justice is still reviewing the deal amid complaints that it could lead to reduced competition and higher fares.
Commission Vice President Joaquin Almunia said in a statement the Philadelphia route would have a monopoly without concessions agreed to by the two airlines.
$400M port expansion finished in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka marked the opening of its expanded Colombo port Monday, a $400 million project that aims to transform the Indian Ocean island into a regional trading hub by allowing a new, bigger generation of cargo vessels to dock.
The project will enable the port to double its current capacity by accepting mega-cargo ships that hold as many as 18,000 shipping containers to enter the port, helping to reduce freight rates and making Sri Lanka a more attractive port of call.
The port’s capacity will eventually be increased from the current 5 million containers to 12 million containers per year, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority said.