Briefcase

More Itron meters sold in Delhi, India

Liberty Lake’s Itron Inc. has sold 250,000 advanced water meters to be installed in Delhi, the second-largest metro area in India and eighth-largest in the world.

The deal is Itron’s largest water meter contract in India, providing 250,000 water meters to be installed over 18 months.

Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

The meters will be installed for Delhi Jal Board, which oversees water distribution through 1.9 million connections in the metro area of Delhi.

The upgrade will help Delhi Jal Board identify defective or leaking water system connections, according to an Itron release.

An Itron release said more than 60 percent of water connections in Delhi are unmetered or leaking, wasting a significant volume of water.

This is Itron’s second sale to Delhi Jal Board, following an earlier delivery of 100,000 meters.

Tom Sowa

Kohl’s, call center add jobs in Idaho

TWIN FALLS, Idaho – A Florida-based call center and a Wisconsin-based department store are adding a total of 430 jobs in Idaho.

Call center company C3 has announced plans to add 300 employees to its call center in Twin Falls that already employs 600.

The Times-News reports C3 announced its expansion plan Tuesday. Spokeswoman Alicia Laszewski says C3 expects about 50 of the new jobs to be seasonal. Positions include full-time customer service representatives and management.

Meanwhile, in Boise, Kohl’s is opening a store in September and is holding job fairs over the next week as it searches for 130 employees.

Associated Press

Weak auto sales unnerve industry

DETROIT – Auto sales rose only slightly in July as skittish consumers pulled back on car buying and threatened to derail the industry’s fragile recovery.

With the economy weak, popular cars in short supply and dealers offering very few discounts, carmakers endured a third straight month of disappointing sales. Just over 1 million new cars and trucks were sold in the month, up 1 percent from last July and flat with June.

Sales started strong this year but have slowed as the economy faltered and Japan’s earthquake left Toyota and Honda dealers short of popular models.

Associated Press

Google enters deal fray with purchase of startup

SAN FRANCISCO – Google Inc.’s latest deal aims to help people find the best daily deals on the Web.

In its latest acquisition of talent and technology, Google has bought Dealmap. It’s a 15-month-old startup that compiles discount offers from local merchants scattered in markets across the nation.

Google is trying to become a bigger player in the rapidly growing specialty of distributing daily bargains from local merchants around the country.

Associated Press