Business briefs: Toyota cuts price of automatic braking safety devices

DETROIT – Those pricey high-tech systems that automatically stop or slow your car if it’s about to run into something are getting a lot cheaper.

Toyota said it will offer lower-cost versions of the safety features in new Lexus and Toyota SUVs that it’s introducing this week at the New York auto show, and the cheaper devices will spread across most of the company’s models by the end of 2017.

McDonald’s to test all-day breakfast

NEW YORK – A McMuffin for dinner? It might happen, as McDonald’s plans to test an all-day breakfast at some locations in the San Diego area starting next month.

The company said in a statement the test is in response to customers who have said they’d like to eat breakfast foods outside the typical morning hours they are served.

The world’s largest restaurant chain said the test will include a partial menu.

Consumer spending inches up in February

WASHINGTON – U.S. consumers spent just slightly more in February even though their income rose by a healthy amount. But economists hope bigger paychecks will give spending a bigger boost in the coming months.

Consumer spending edged up a tiny 0.1 percent following declines of 0.2 percent in both January and December, the Commerce Department reported Monday. The result reflected a 0.4 percent increase in nondurable goods such as food and energy coupled with a 0.1 percent fall in durable goods such as automobiles.

Pending home sales jump in West, Midwest

WASHINGTON – More Americans signed contracts to buy homes in February, evidence the spring buying season could open strong after sluggish sales for much of the winter.

The National Association of Realtors said Monday that its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index climbed 3.1 percent to 106.9 last month, the highest reading since June 2013.

Buying activity jumped in the Midwest and West, while dipping slightly in the Northeast and South.

Volvo announces U.S. assembly plant

DETROIT – Volvo Cars is planning to build its first U.S. assembly plant as part of a push to increase sales here.

The $500 million plant will be Volvo’s first car plant in North America.

The Swedish automaker said it has a short list of possible locations but didn’t reveal them Monday.

Volvo has been owned by Chinese automaker Geely Holding since 2010. It has two plants in Europe and two in China.