Business in brief: Tata Group may buy Jaguar, Land Rover

The chairman of India’s Tata Group said Friday his company is interested in acquiring the Jaguar and Land Rover units of Ford Motor Co.

“We certainly have an interest in that,” Chairman Ratan Tata told the CNN-IBN television channel in an interview, excerpts of which were broadcast Friday.

Ford, which lost $12.7 billion in 2006, has been looking to sell its Jaguar and Land Rover units.

The Tata Group’s interests range from automobiles to steel and software. It has been seeking overseas acquisitions to gain global visibility after thriving for decades in a protected home market. Earlier this year, Tata Steel agreed to pay $12 billion to acquire Britain-based Corus Steel, an acquisition that would make the Indian company the world’s fifth largest steel maker.

Ratan Tata said Jaguar and Land Rover could help expand the Tata Motors unit’s worldwide reach and reduce its dependence on the Indian market, which accounts for more than 90 percent of its sales.

Detroit

GM testing new combustion process

General Motors Corp. says it is testing a new combustion process that could increase fuel economy in conventional engines by up to 15 percent.

The announcement comes as fuel economy has become a increasingly important issue as gasoline prices have risen. Foreign automakers have captured a bigger share of the U.S. market in part by emphasizing fuel efficiency.

The process GM is testing, called homogeneous charge compression ignition, approaches the fuel efficiency of a diesel engine without the need for advanced pollution controls, the company said in a statement.

The process ignites an air-fuel mixture in the cylinders by compressing it, producing a low-temperature, flameless energy release in the combustion chamber, the company said.

Denver

Appeals court will hear Nacchio case on Dec. 18

A federal court on Friday scheduled oral arguments for Dec. 18 in former Qwest Communications CEO Joe Nacchio’s appeal of his insider-trading conviction.

Nacchio was sentenced to six years in prison after he was convicted on 19 insider trading counts stemming from the sale of $52 million worth of stock.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week Nacchio could remain free on $2 million bond while it hears the appeal.