Device maker Stryker to settle patient cases
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Medical implant maker Stryker will pay at least $1.43 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits from patients who had to have surgery to remove problematic hip implants.
The settlement agreement, brokered by a New Jersey Superior Court judge, resolves state and federal lawsuits against the maker of orthopedics.
The lawsuits stem from two hip implants that Stryker recalled due to corrosion and other problems in 2012.
U.S. investigates Honda over injury reports
DETROIT – Federal regulators are investigating whether Honda Motor Co. failed to report deaths and injuries that occurred in its vehicles.
Federal law requires automakers to report any claims they receive alleging that defective vehicles or parts caused a death or injury. They are required to submit those claims quarterly, along with consumer complaints, production information, warranty claims and other incidents.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday that Honda may have failed to report incidents related to Takata air bags as well as other defective parts. Honda has recalled more than 5 million vehicles in the U.S. since 2008 to fix a potentially fatal defect in air bags made by Japanese auto supplier Takata.
In a statement, Honda said it ordered a third-party audit of potential inaccuracies in its reporting of injuries and deaths in September and will soon share its findings with NHTSA.
Sprint plans to cut 2,000 positions
NEW YORK – Wireless carrier Sprint said it is eliminating 2,000 jobs, or about 5 percent of its staff, as part of an effort to cut $1.5 billion in annual spending.
The company said the cuts will be made over the coming months. Sprint announced a separate round of job cuts in early October and did not say how many jobs were eliminated at that time. Overland Park, Kansas-based Sprint Corp. is the third-largest cellphone carrier in the U.S., but it has lost billions of dollars in recent years as subscribers canceled contracts and is trying to compete better with AT&T and Verizon.
Sprint said Monday that it took a loss of $765 million, or 19 cents per share, in its fiscal second quarter on $8.49 billion in revenue.
WASHINGTON – U.S. factories were busier in October, a sign that manufacturing is on sound footing despite growing concerns about the global economy.
Orders, productivity and hiring all grew faster than they did in September, according to a private survey.
The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, reported Monday that its manufacturing index rebounded to 59 last month from 56.6 in September. Any reading above 50 signals expansion.
The result matches a three-year high hit in August and reverses a September drop.
Sears, Kmart add Thanksgiving hours
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – Sears and Kmart said they will open on Thanksgiving Day again this year with extended hours to draw shoppers.
Sears will open at its earliest time ever – letting shoppers in at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving. The retailer decided two years ago to open on Thanksgiving and nudged up its opening time by two hours this year.
Kmart will open its doors at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving and stay open for 42 hours straight, an hour longer than last year.