Takata taps adviser as recall costs mount
TOKYO – Faced with mounting costs from a global recall of air bags, Japanese supplier Takata Corp. has hired the advisory firm Lazard to engineer a restructuring of its finances, likely with the help of some of its biggest customers.
Takata air bags can deploy with too much force, spewing shrapnel into the vehicle. They are responsible for at least 11 deaths and more than 100 injuries worldwide.
Takata recently agreed to recall an additional 40 million air bag inflators in the U.S. Globally, Takata may be forced to recall more than 100 million inflators and analysts estimate the cost of making replacement parts could total tens of billions of dollars.
FDA approves drug to control addiction
WASHINGTON – Federal health officials on Thursday approved a new option for Americans struggling with addiction to heroin and painkillers: a drug-oozing implant that curbs craving and withdrawal symptoms for six months at a time.
The first-of-a-kind device, Probuphine, arrives as communities across the U.S. grapple with a wave of addiction tied to opioids.
The implant from Braeburn Pharmaceuticals is essentially a new delivery system for an established drug, buprenorphine, which has long been used to treat opioid addiction. But its implantable format could help patients avoid relapses that can occur if they miss a medication dose.
Uber to expand Africa operations
Uber is expanding in Africa. The ride-hailing company said Thursday that it plans to start operating in the capitals of Ghana, Uganda and Tanzania within a month.
Uber already operates in the cities of Nairobi and Mombasa in Kenya, Lagos and Abuja in Nigeria and five cities in South Africa – Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth.
Uber’s South African operation will experiment with a cash payment option in addition to the electronic payment system in its app, said Alon Lits, the company’s general manager in sub-Saharan Africa.
30-year home loans rise to 3.64 percent
Long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose this week but remained at low levels that could entice purchasers amid the current home buying season.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to 3.64 percent from 3.58 percent last week. It’s far below its level a year ago of 3.87 percent.
The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages advanced to 2.89 percent from 2.81 percent.
Pening home sales up to highest in 10 years
Americans signed more contracts to buy homes in April for the third straight month, driving pending home sales to the highest level in more than a decade.
The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index surged 5.1 percent last month to 116.3, the highest since 117.4 in February 2006.
The April numbers are the latest example of good news for the housing industry, which is in the middle of the spring home-buying season. Pending home sales are up 4.6 percent from a year ago.