In brief: Yellen’s nomination for Fed chair advances

Washington – A Senate panel has advanced Janet Yellen’s nomination to lead the Federal Reserve, setting up a final vote in the full Senate.

The nomination was approved on a 14-8 vote. All the no votes came from Republicans, many of whom object to the Fed’s aggressive low interest rate policies to support the economy.

Yellen is widely expected to be confirmed by the full Senate, but the timing of that vote is not clear. Some senators have said they plan to hold up her nomination as leverage on other matters.

Yellen would be the first woman to lead the Fed and the first Democrat to do so since Paul Volcker stepped down in 1987.

U.S. poised to sell all GM stock by end of year

DETROIT – The U.S. government expects to sell the last of its stake in General Motors by the end of the year, bringing an end to a sad chapter in the 105-year-old auto giant’s history.

The Treasury Department, in a statement issued Thursday, said it still owns 31.1 million shares of the auto giant, less than 2 percent. It plans to sell them by Dec. 31, as long as the price holds up.

Shares of GM briefly hit $39 in trading early Thursday. They pulled back a bit by midday, but still closed up 43 cents, to $38.12. The shares have gained 34 percent this year.

The government received 912 million shares in exchange for a $49.5 billion bailout during the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009. So far it has recovered $38.4 billion of the money.

Since leaving bankruptcy in 2009, GM has been profitable for 15 straight quarters. It has invested $8.8 billion in U.S. facilities and has added about 3,000 workers, bringing U.S. employment to 80,000.

Boeing boosters flub; use Airbus photo in ad

SEATTLE – There was one thing wrong in a full-page ad in The Seattle Times urging state lawmakers to pass a transportation package aimed at persuading Boeing to build the new 777X in Washington.

The headline Wednesday read “The Future of Washington,” but the photo was of an Airbus jetliner, not a Boeing.

The ad was placed by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, which is part of the Aerospace Partnership of business, labor and economic development groups. A chamber spokeswoman, Terri Hiroshima, told the Seattle Times, “It’s an embarrassing, cringe-worthy error.”

Cheap gas drives down wholesale prices again

WASHINGTON – U.S. wholesale prices fell in October for the second straight month, driven down again by cheaper gasoline costs.

The Labor Department said Thursday that the producer price index, which measures prices before they reach the consumer, dropped 0.2 percent in October. That followed a 0.1 percent decline in September. The cost of gas plunged 3.8 percent last month, lowering the index.

Over the past 12 months, energy costs have kept inflation weak. Prices have increased just 0.3 percent in that stretch.

Excluding volatile energy and food prices, wholesale costs increased 0.2 percent in October and 1.4 percent in the past 12 months.

High unemployment and weak wage increases have made it difficult for businesses to raise prices, both at the wholesale and consumer levels.

U.S. gas prices began falling in the spring and reached two-year lows earlier this month. The average price of a gallon of gas was $3.21 on Wednesday, according to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report.