Treasury reports on GM stock sales

WASHINGTON – The Treasury Department said in its April report to Congress that so far this year, it has sold 58.4 million shares of General Motors Co. stock and earned net proceeds of $1.6 billion.

At the end of April, Treasury had recovered about $30.7 billion of the $49.5 billion bailout it gave the Detroit automaker. That means taxpayers are still $18.8 billion in the hole.

GM stock sold in April in a range of $27.52 to $30.84 per share. For the government to break even on its investment, the remaining stock would have to sell for more than double the April high.

GM shares closed Friday at $31.42, down 23 cents.

Panasonic’s net loss nearly sets record

TOKYO – Japanese consumer electronics giant Panasonic Corp. has reported a near-record net loss of $7.5 billion for the fiscal year through March due to restructuring costs and slumping sales.

But on Friday, it forecasted a return to the black this year, aiming for a net profit of $500 million.

The company said the electronics industry faced “a severe business situation including sluggish demand in flat-panel TVs.”

Last fiscal year, Panasonic reported a record net loss of $7.7 billion.

Air India tests fleet of 787 Dreamliners

NEW DELHI – State-run Air India says it has started test flights of its Dreamliner fleet with new battery packs and is likely to put them back into service by the end of this month.

The airline stopped flying its six Boeing 787 aircraft in January after they were grounded worldwide due to battery fire risk.

Air India said in a statement that the pilots on the first test flight Thursday were satisfied with the plane’s performance.

Air India has ordered a total of 27 Dreamliners.

Fed broadens its reach of financial oversight

WASHINGTON – Chairman Ben Bernanke says the Federal Reserve has broadened its oversight beyond banks and now monitors a wide range of financial institutions that could hasten another financial crisis.

Bernanke says the Fed is still monitoring banks and other systemically important financial institutions. But it has widened its scope to include the so-called shadow banking system, which includes loans that are turned into securities and sold to investors. The subprime mortgage lending breakdown helped trigger the 2008 crisis.

He also said the Fed is looking more closely at asset markets and the nonfinancial sector, including consumers and businesses.