It’s close, but GM leads Toyota

Toyota said Monday it sold 2.34 million vehicles globally in the July-September quarter, fewer than General Motors’ tally, as its U.S. rival regained the lead in the race to be the world’s top automaker.

Toyota Motor Corp.’s worldwide vehicle sales for the first nine months of this year – at 7.05 million vehicles – also fell short of Detroit-based General Motors Corp.’s sales of 7.06 million vehicles for the same period.

But the numbers Toyota released Monday show the Japanese automaker running neck-and-neck against General Motors, which sold 2.38 million vehicles in the third quarter.

Toyota beat GM in global vehicle sales in the first half of the year, riding on its reputation for high quality, low-mileage small cars such as the Camry, Corolla and gas-electric hybrid Prius.

Some analysts say it’s a matter of time before the Japanese automaker – which built its business in the decades after World War II by imitating American automakers – will close in on GM.

Toyota’s global vehicle sales for the latest quarter grew 4 percent from the same period a year ago, while sales for the first nine months of the year grew 7 percent.

Dell Inc. plans to sell computers and other electronics gear at 1,400 Staples Inc. stores, the latest departure from the direct-to-customer business model pioneered by the No. 2 computer maker.

Dell and the world’s biggest office products supplier announced Monday that Staples would offer Dell desktop and notebook computers, monitors, printers, ink and toner starting Nov. 11. Dell products also will be available through Staples’ Web site.

Initial Dell computer models to be sold at Staples include Inspiron 1721 and 1521 notebooks, and Inspiron 530 desktops.

American Express Co., one of the nation’s biggest credit-card issuers, said Monday that higher spending by cardholders pushed third-quarter profit up 10 percent.

The credit-card brand – known for its relatively wealthy and well-vetted customer base – reported that quarterly profit rose to $1.07 billion, or 90 cents per share, from $967 million, or 79 cents per share. Revenue rose 11 percent to $6.95 billion from $6.27 billion.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had projected earnings of 85 cents per share on $7.27 billion of revenue, meaning that American Express beat the earnings estimate even though it fell short on the revenue side.