Briefcase

Boeing halts testing of its 787 jetliner

Seattle – Boeing has stopped test flights of its new 787 passenger jet while it determines what caused smoke in the cabin of one of its planes and forced it to make an emergency landing.

Boeing Co. shares fell $2.18, or 3.2 percent, to $67.07 on Wednesday, making it easily the worst performer in the Dow Jones industrial average.

On Tuesday, a 787 on a six-hour test flight had to make an emergency landing in Texas after the crew reported smoke in the rear of the plane.

Boeing spokeswoman Loretta Gunter said Wednesday the company will ground its fleet of test planes while technicians analyze data from the stricken plane to pinpoint the cause of the smoke.

The plane was powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent engines, but Gunter said Boeing has no reason to think the smoke came from the engines. Last week, a different model of Rolls-Royce engine on a Qantas Airbus A380 jet blew apart during a flight.

Associated Press

Dobbs to host show for Fox Business

Los Angeles – Lou Dobbs, the outspoken cable news host who left CNN a year ago after clashing with management over illegal immigration, is returning to television early next year on the Fox Business Network.

Fox Business had been flirting with Dobbs practically since the day he left CNN. The 65-year-old anchor appeared on Fox News several times in the last year and is close with Fox News and Fox Business chief Roger Ailes. Talks between the two heated up in the last few weeks.

Few details were available about the nature and scope of Dobbs’ new show.

Los Angeles Times

GM shows a profit for third straight quarter

Detroit – As it prepares for a public offering this month, General Motors Co. posted its third consecutive profitable quarter Wednesday and is on track to have its first full-year profit since 2004.

Bolstered by better sales and cost-cutting measures, the Detroit-based automaker earned $2 billion in the third quarter a week before its planned return to the stock market on Nov. 18.

GM reported that revenue rose 36 percent to $34.1 billion in the quarter.

A year ago, GM was emerging from bankruptcy protection. It emerged in June 2009 after the U.S. government bailed out the company and took a 61 percent stake through $50 billion in loans and stock purchases.

GM has since repaid about $10 billion and hopes to pay back more when it floats a $13 billion public offering. The offering will reduce the government’s ownership to minority status, taking it to about 43 percent of the company from the current 61 percent.

Los Angeles Times