Short Reports

Microsoft Corp. said it invested $17.8 million for a minority stake in CareerBuilder Inc. and will join the online provider of job listings in developing services to compete with monsterboard.com. Microsoft will give users of its MSN network of Web sites access to a jointly-designed career center with job listings, advice and search capabilities.

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered inspections Monday on electrical wiring found in the fuel tanks of Boeing 727s, and directed aircraft operators to wrap all the wires with an extra layer of Teflon. The FAA had promised such a directive over the weekend, after ordering emergency tests on the tubes that carry the electric wires.

Weak auto sales both domestically and internationally pushed Toyota Motor Corp.’s profit down 22 percent in the latest fiscal year, despite an increase in exports to North America. Toyota’s group net income totaled 356.1 billion yen, or $2.9 billion, for the fiscal year ended March 31 vs. 454.3 billion yen a year earlier. Toyota attributed the decline to falling sales in Japan, where consumer demand has weakened amid the country’s deepest postwar recession.