In Brief: Iran, Germany to hold joint economic conference

TEHRAN, Iran – Closer ties between Iran and Germany will help bridge the gap between Europe and the entire Middle East, Iran’s president said as Iran and Germany announced plans to hold their first joint economic conference in a decade, the official IRNA news agency reported Monday.

Hassan Rouhani, who met visiting German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel, said he hopes Germany plays a “positive role” in improving relations between Iran and the EU, “as it played a positive role in nuclear talks.”

Gabriel is heading a delegation of representatives from German companies, one of the first overt signs of a thaw following a deal with world powers over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

An IRNA report earlier on Monday quoted Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh as saying the conference will be held in late summer or early autumn and will be aimed at laying the groundwork for businesses in both countries to work together as sanctions are lifted. The last such event was held in 2002 before the imposition of international economic sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program.

IMF picks White House adviser as economist

WASHINGTON – The International Monetary Fund plans to name White House economic adviser Maurice Obstfeld as its chief economist.

Obstfeld, who joined the White House Council of Economic Advisers last year, replaces the retiring Olivier Blanchard.

Obstfeld has written two influential textbooks on international economics, one with Nobel Prize winner and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman.

Obstfeld will take the job on Sept. 8.

GM ignition switch deaths, injuries at 393

DETROIT – General Motors’ faulty ignition switches were responsible for at least 124 deaths and 269 injuries, according to a fund set up to compensate victims.

The fund, administered by attorney Kenneth Feinberg, updated the totals Monday. The death toll didn’t grow from the previous week, but there were three additional injuries added.

Victims’ families are being offered compensation of at least $1 million each.

The fund has finished processing the 4,342 claims it received by the Jan. 31 deadline. Of those, 84 percent – or 3,664 – were deemed ineligible. Feinberg is waiting for additional documentation for 285 claims.

Rates rise at auction of U.S. Treasury bills

WASHINGTON – Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday’s auction with rates on three-month and six-month bills reaching their highest levels since March.

The Treasury Department auctioned $24 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.030 percent, up from 0.015 percent last week. Another $24 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.135 percent, up from 0.100 percent last week.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,999.24 while a six-month bill sold for $9,993.17. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.031 percent for the three-month bills and 0.137 percent for the six-month bills.

Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable-rate mortgages, rose to 0.28 percent last week from 0.26 percent the previous week.