Business Briefs: Goodyear tires probed on motor home failures

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Goodyear tires probed on motor home failures

U.S. safety regulators are investigating whether some Goodyear motor home tires can fail and cause crashes and possibly deaths.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it began the probe after a court ordered the release of Goodyear data from lawsuits, which had been sealed under court orders and confidential settlement agreements.

According to the data, the G159 tires failed while in use, resulting in deaths and injuries. The agency says in documents posted Jan. 1 that the number of claims suggests the failures could be caused by a safety defect.

The investigation covers about 40,000 tires from 1996 to 2003.

The agency also received 10 consumer complaints alleging two crashes. The documents say Goodyear reported nine claims to the agency involving one death and 13 injuries.

Local gas prices lowest in state

Average retail gasoline prices in Chattanooga rose 4.1 cents per gallon in the past week, but local motorists are still enjoying some of the cheapest gas prices in the South and are starting the new year with fuel prices in Chattanooga averaging 32 cents per gallon below the U.S. average.

According to GasBuddy's daily survey of 170 gas outlets in Chattanooga, the average of price of gas in Chattanooga this week is 2.16 per gallon, compared with a U.S. average of $2.48 per gallon.

The price of gas on New Year's Day in Chattanooga was 9.3 cents per gallon higher than a year earlier and the highest average price for the start of the year in Chattanooga in four years. But Chattanooga maintained some of the cheapest gas prices in the region.

Two Brainerd Road stations in Chattanooga - Delta Express and Speedway - offered the lowest price of any stations in Tennessee, Georgia or Alabama with gas priced today at $1.96 per gallon.

"It's mostly a happy New Year as gas prices remain in the low-to-mid $2 per gallon range, but it's not quite as happy as could be as it's the priciest start to a New Year since 2014," said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.

Coal mining deaths rise after record low

Coal mining deaths surged in the U.S. in 2017, one year after they hit a record low.

The nation's coal mines recorded 15 deaths last year, including eight in West Virginia. Kentucky had two deaths, and there were one each in Alabama, Colorado, Montana, Pennsylvania and Wyoming. In 2016 there were eight U.S. coal mine deaths.

West Virginia has led the nation in coal mining deaths in six of the past eight years. That includes 2010, when 29 miners were killed in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in southern West Virginia.

Playboy may drop print magazine

Newsstands soon could be stripped of one of the nation's most iconic publications: Playboy magazine.

Playboy Enterprises Inc. reportedly is considering killing the print magazine, which was started more than six decades ago by Hugh Hefner, who died in September.

Famous for its racy images of naked women, the magazine launched Hefner's Beverly Hills-based publishing and entertainment empire. But Hefner's death has triggered a process that will shift ownership of the company from his family to the largest shareholder, private equity firm Rizvi Traverse, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Ben Kohn, a managing partner at Rizvi who is Playboy Enterprises' chief executive, wants to shift the company's emphasis to brand partnerships and licensing deals.

"We want to focus on what we call the 'World of Playboy' which is so much larger than a small, legacy print publication," Kohn told the Journal. "We plan to spend 2018 transitioning it from a media business to a brand-management company."

DJ Kaled touts Weight Watchers

Weight Watchers International climbed after it struck a deal with producer and recording artist DJ Khaled, who will represent the brand to millions of follows on Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

DJ Khaled, whose Rhianna-featuring "Wild Thoughts" was one of 2017's biggest hits, "will document his experience and progress on the new WW Freestyle program," Weight Watchers said, "speaking candidly about how the program has given him the freedom and flexibility to make healthier choices while keeping up with his busy lifestyle."

Financial terms were not disclosed. Former talk show host Oprah Winfrey owns a 10 percent stake in Weight Watchers, and has appeared in ads saying she lost more than 40 pounds on the company plan while eating pasta and tacos.

Weight Watchers shares soared 25 percent in August after it reported strong second-quarter earnings and raised its full-year outlook. But since then the stock has largely treaded water. It reports fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 14.

On Tuesday Weight Watchers' stock jumped 8 percent to $47.83.

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