The U.S. government is investigating more than 100 complaints of poor brake performance on 2.7 million General Motors big pickups and SUVs.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says a brake vacuum pump can deteriorate, causing increased braking effort and longer stopping distances. The agency has 111 consumer complaints including nine crashes and two injuries.
The investigation covers 2014 through 2016 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. Also involved are Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe, the GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade SUVs.
The agency will determine how often the problem happens and whether a recall is necessary.
GM is monitoring complaints and warranty claims about the brakes and is working with NHTSA to evaluate them, spokesman Tom Wilkinson said Friday.
Any owner who has a problem with brake performance should have them examined by a GM dealer or independent repair shop, Wilkinson said.
Compass Commissioning and Design earns green/light certification
Compass Commissioning and Design has recently completed its green|light certification from Chattanooga’s green|spaces.
The certification recognizes locally-owned businesses in the Chattanooga area with an interest in improving their environmental impact by redirecting everyday policies and practices towards a culture of sustainability while also enhancing employee attraction, public image, cost savings, and environmental stewardship.
Opened in 1996, Compass Commissioning and Design focuses services in building commissioning, HVAC and BAS design, along with general operation and maintenance efficiencies.
“As a founding member of green|spaces, Compass Commissioning has always been a huge supporter of the organization,” said Kelley Cureton, green|light program director. “Their green|light process, lead by Kit Buckley, allowed them to focus internally on their impacts, ensuring an efficient and healthy workspace for their employees to work and their many clients to visit.”
Stock buybacks hit record high
Stock buybacks by companies in the benchmark S&P 500 index climbed to $194.07 billion in the third quarter, according to data from S&P Dow Jones Indices.
The buying spree, which has steadily increased since the second quarter of 2017, has been led by companies in the technology sector. Apple spent more than $80 billion on share buybacks through the first three quarters of this year. Chipmaker Qualcomm also bet big on its own stock, shelling out $21.2 billion in the third quarter.
“Companies have adopted buybacks as an option when they have excess capital and nothing better to do with it,” says Michael Schoonover, portfolio manager of the Catalyst Buyback Strategy Fund.
Buybacks, in which companies purchase their own shares and retire them, are popular with investors because fewer shares outstanding lifts earnings per share, the most watched barometer of corporate success.
The sweeping tax law passed by the GOP-led Congress last year gave Corporate America incentive to give its share prices a boost. The legislation reduced the tax rate on corporations to 21 percent from 35 percent, leaving many companies flush with savings.
In Chattanooga, Unum Group, Mohawk Industries and the parent company of SmartBank have all announced stock buybacks this year due, in part, to declines in share prices for the companies.
China backs WTO trading reforms
China will go along with changes meant to update global trade rules so long as they protect Beijing’s status as a developing country, a Cabinet official said Friday.
The deputy commerce minister, Wang Shouwen, said any changes also must address protectionism and abuse of export controls and security reviews – a reference to Beijing’s trade clash with U.S. President Donald Trump.
China agreed in June to work with the European Union to propose changes to the World Trade Organization to address technology policy, subsidies and state industry – all areas in which Beijing faces complaints. U.S. officials complain the global trade referee is too bureaucratic and slow to adapt to changing business conditions.
Wang said each country’s “development model” must be respected – a reference to China’s state-dominated economy, which has provoked repeated complaints Beijing is violating its market-opening obligations.
Beijing has accused Trump of wrecking the global trading system by going outside the WTO to hike tariffs on Chinese imports. Trump says that was necessary because the global body is unable to respond to complaints about Chinese technology theft, subsidies and state-led industry development.