Toyota promised Tuesday to respond faster to customer complaints as it held its first meeting of a committee of quality experts set up to help salvage the company?s battered reputation.

Najib Razak?s ?New Economic Model? said Malaysia would grow by 6.5 percent a year from 2011 to 2020 so as to be able to join the club of developed nations.

Billionaire Li Ka-shing?s ports-to-telecoms flagship company saw its second-half earnings more than double, but weak results for its ports and energy divisions caused the firm to miss forecasts.

Japan's factory output falls for the first time in a year while unemployment remains unchanged, figures show.

Royal Bank of Scotland has been fined £28.6m by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) after breaking competition rules.

House price inflation eased slightly in March, rising by 0.7% during the month, the Nationwide building society says.

AP - Toyota promised Tuesday to respond faster to customer complaints as it held its first meeting of a committee of quality experts set up to help salvage a reputation battered by massive recalls and reports of runaway vehicles.

AP - Cautious Japanese companies laid off more workers and hit the brakes on production in February, sending factory output down for the first time in a year.

AP - Oil prices were steady above $82 a barrel Tuesday in Asia, pausing after a leap the previous day fueled by a U.S. dollar drop and surging equity markets.

Executives said that the company would respond promptly to customer complaints, as the automaker held its first meeting of a committee of quality experts.

Traders were also reassured by reports that Greece, facing imminent deadlines for paying back its widening debt, was planning a bond sale.

Toyota says it will listen more carefully to customers following the recall of millions of cars over safety fears.

A compulsory levy will be introduced to help pay for social care for adults in England, under plans to be unveiled by ministers.

The government is on course to fail to meet its own targets on reducing fuel poverty, a committee of MPs warns.

AP - Irish airline Aer Lingus Group PLC on Tuesday said its full year loss widened by 18 percent to euro130 million ($176 million) in 2009 as revenue declined amid a painful recession.

AP - Oil prices rose to near $83 a barrel Tuesday in Asia, extending gains from the previous day fueled by a U.S. dollar drop and surging equity markets.

Reuters - Toyota Motor Corp, reeling from a recall crisis, launched a task force on Tuesday aimed at regaining consumer trust and pledged to give more clout to its regional operations to speed up decisions on quality issues.

Toyota promised Tuesday to respond faster to customer complaints as it held its first quality committee meeting.

The Irish government is expected to announce plans to invest even more money in the country's struggling banking sector later.

The UK economy grew by 0.4% in the last three months of 2009, faster than previously estimated, official figures show.

The US financial regulator launches an investigation into accounting tricks by banks designed to mask heavy losses.

Axa Asia Pacific agrees to a takeover bid by National Australia Bank and French parent Axa.

The murky world of corruption makes business tough

AP - World stocks rose Tuesday as the outlook for economic recovery brightened after upbeat consumer spending figures in the U.S. The euro also gained after Greece managed to raise money on capital markets, but worries about its debt load lingered.

AP - President Barack Obama is signing a bill Tuesday that finalizes his big health care overhaul and revamps the U.S. student loan system.

Reuters - Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, China's biggest private carmaker, said on Tuesday that it is prepared to pump up to $900 million into the Volvo unit it is buying from Ford , as part of its plan to return the Swedish carmaker to the black.

Toyota Motor promised to listen more carefully to customers and speed up its response to potential defects as it called its first meeting of executives charged with overseeing safety.

The Australian bank secured agreement for a multibillion-dollar deal that would effectively carve up the Asia-Pacific operations of the French insurance giant.

Two of the world's biggest mining firms agree landmark deals with steel mills to buy iron ore on short-term contracts.

Banks will leave the UK if there is not international cooperation on any tougher financial regulation, the chancellor says.

Alistair Darling clashes with his Tory and Lib Dem counterparts over tax rises and spending cuts in a live TV debate.

A compulsory levy will be introduced to help pay for social care for adults in England, under government plans.

AP - Xerox says Chairman Anne Mulcahy, who is credited with turning the company around over the past decade, plans to retire in May.

AP - Ireland's government prepared Tuesday to announce new steps to solve its banking crisis, with the effective nationalization of two or three more banks expected to be part of the process.

AP - Bloomsbury Publishing PLC reported a 36 percent fall in net profit for 2009 — its first year without a new hardback or paperback Harry Potter release — but said that other best-sellers had given a boost to the start of trading this year.

AP - Scandinavian airline group SAS AB says it expects a loss before tax of 1 billion kronor ($138 million) in the first quarter due to weak demand and negative effects from currency exchange rates.

Reuters - An international drive to impose new regulations in the wake of the financial crisis is fading and global cooperation is diminishing, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.

AFP - Crude oil prices paused on Tuesday, as traders digested bumper gains made the previous day, and awaited this week's weekly US energy inventories report, analysts said.

AP - Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group expects to spend hundreds of millions of dollars beyond the $1.8 billion purchase price for Volvo Cars to make the Swedish car company profitable, Geely's chairman said Tuesday.

BusinessWeek - For the first time, the three top business schools in the Bloomberg BusinessWeek ranking of full-time MBA programs find themselves with vacancies in the dean's office.On Mar.25, we launched a three-part series examining the dean searches now underway at No.1 University of Chicago's Booth School of Business (Booth Full-Time MBA Profile), No.2 Harvard Business School (Harvard Full-Time MBA Profile), and No.3 Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management (Kellogg Full-Time MBA Profile). ...

While the Case-Shiller index showed home prices were slightly higher in January than in December, the rebound seems to be fading.

Toyota Motor promised to listen more carefully to customers and speed up its response to potential defects as it called its first meeting of executives charged with overseeing safety.

The European Union on Tuesday banned all airlines from the Philippines and Sudan from flying into the region's airports, citing 'serious safety deficiencies.'

While the euro gained slightly after Greece managed to raise money, concerns about that country?s debt load lingered.

A French appeals court confirmed a landmark ruling that the oil giant and related parties were responsible for environmental damage caused by a spill from the tanker Erika off Brittany.

The International Monetary Fund cuts its 2010 growth projection for the German economy to 1.2% from 1.5%.

China and Australia trade criticism in the wake of the jailing of four Rio Tinto executives for corruption.

The head of British Airways declares the latest cabin crew strike a failure and calls on the Unite union to 'give peace a chance'.

A company owned by a County Fermanagh businessman has been placed into administration at the High Court in Dublin.

Greece raises 5bn euros from a bond issue as it continues to secure the funds needed to pull the country out of its debt crisis.

A compulsory levy should be introduced to fund a universal social care system for adults in England, Labour says.

AP - Growing optimism that consumers are regaining confidence sent stocks higher again on Tuesday.

AP - The federal courts will resolve the question of whether mutual funds are charging too much in fees, the Supreme Court says.

AP - Home prices showed the smallest annual decline in almost three years in January, indicating there are surprising areas of strength in the housing market.

AP - Markets drove up Greece's borrowing costs again Tuesday despite last week's promise of a financial backstop from other eurozone countries, indicating the country's debt crisis is far from over.

AP - A council overseeing the restructuring of Dubai's chief conglomerate said Tuesday a new board had been named to oversee the restructuring of the deeply indebted Dubai World property development unit Nakheel.

Reuters - Canadian raw material prices unexpectedly rose in February mainly because of more expensive crude oil, while producer prices remained unchanged as expected, according to Statistics Canada data on Tuesday.

The European Union on Tuesday banned all airlines from the Philippines and Sudan from flying into the region's airports, citing 'serious safety deficiencies.'

The Supreme Court ordered a lower court to reconsider a lawsuit seeking to rein in what some investors are calling excessive fees on mutual funds.

The body of the managing director of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has been found after a glider crash in Morocco, state media reported.

The other bank involved, Barclays, reported the incident and is not expected to face a fine.

Tapping your forearm or hand with a finger could soon be the way you interact with gadgets.

AP - Stock prices wavered Tuesday as investors made last-minute portfolio adjustments as the end of the quarter approached.

AP - Nissan Motor Co. said Tuesday its new electric car will cost just over $25,000 in the U.S., a move that could force rivals to lower prices on similar vehicles.

AP - Spain's government announced a 90 percent cut in hiring of civil servants as part of an austerity plan designed to chip away at a ballooning budget deficit.

AP - Moroccan authorities recovered the body of the director of the world's largest sovereign wealth fund Tuesday, five days after a glider he was riding in plunged into a lake in the North African kingdom.

AP - The international drive to reform financial regulation is losing steam as signs of recovery in the global economy decrease leaders' sense of urgency, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday.

AP - A surprisingly strong rebound in California's real estate market helped lift a key home price index for the eighth month in a row.

AP - Oil prices held almost steady, above $82 a barrel Tuesday, propped up by consumer confidence numbers that were better than expected.

The company said the problem was apparently a technical glitch of its own that caused searches to be blocked by China?s powerful Internet filter.

As executives charged with overseeing safety met in Japan, Toyota said its sales most likely rose in March.

The company also plans to present a five-year plan in April that would outline the steps it would take to get back to sustained growth.

The plan includes helping the banks raise $30 billion and a ?bad bank? to handle failing loans.

Investors were cautious after reports brought into focus the steep hurdles facing the housing market and consumers.

The Irish government will inject another 8.3bn euros (£7.4bn, $9.9bn) into the nationalised Anglo Irish Bank, it is announced.

Network Rail is taking legal action in a bid to avert planned strikes by signallers in a row over jobs and weekend working.

AP - Nissan Motor Co. said Tuesday its new electric car will cost just over $25,000 in the U.S., a move that could force rivals to lower prices on similar vehicles.

AP - A former Food and Drug Administration scientist said Tuesday his job was eliminated after he raised concerns about the risks of radiation exposure from high-grade medical scanning.

AFP - Europe is in danger of being relegated to the second division of world economic powers, while the United States and Asia bounce out of the global downturn, the head of the IMF warned on Tuesday.

AFP - Automakers Renault and Nissan signed a deal with Spanish energy and infrastructure group Acciona on Tuesday to market electric cars in the country, the three companies announced.

Ford has cut back on luxury models and increased output of smaller, fuel-efficient cars.

Microsoft, Google and other companies are pushing to protect private information from government access.

While the euro slightly gained after Greece managed to raise money, concerns about that country?s debt load lingered.

Ursula M. Burns, who became chief executive in July, will assume the role of chairman in May, after Anne M. Mulcahy retires.

AP - Signs of life in consumer spending are sprouting this spring.

AP - The CEO of student loan provider Sallie Mae received compensation valued at nearly $5.4 million last year, a 35 percent cut from 2008, according to an analysis of a regulatory filing Tuesday.

Reuters - Toyota Motor Corp's (7203.T) U.S. sales rose about 35 percent in March from a year earlier after the automaker offered steep discounts to win back consumers after massive recalls, a U.S. executive said on Tuesday.

The price is high enough to drive investment in production and alternative energy, but low enough that consumers can bear it.

With the government?s blessing, a drug giant is about to expand the market for its blockbuster cholesterol medication to customers who would use it as a preventive measure.

New York is trying to sell the former Federal Building No. 2 in Brooklyn, a 1.1-million-square-foot structure.

Superman soars back into the record books, reclaiming the title of the highest price paid for a comic from Batman.

Network Rail is taking legal action in a bid to avert planned strikes by signallers in a row over jobs and weekend working.

AP - Landec Corp., which makes agricultural and food packaging products, said Tuesday that its fiscal third-quarter profit climbed nearly 13 percent as its fresh-cut vegetable subsidiary gained market share.

AP - Struggling auto and mortgage lender GMAC spent $265,000 on lobbying in the fourth quarter, much less than before it received a $17.2 billion government bailout.

AP - The North American branch of automaker Toyota Motor Corp. spent $1.4 million lobbying Congress and the federal government during the fourth quarter on issues related to distracted driving, consumer protections and patents, according to a recent filing.

Current prices are high enough to drive investment and prompt conservation but low enough for the world economy to grow.

Ford has cut back on luxury models and increased output of smaller, fuel-efficient cars.

A French appeals court held the oil giant Total and related parties responsible for environmental damage caused by a tanker spill in 1999.

Users trying to access the site in English and Chinese reached the home page but were unable to complete searches.

The Supreme Court ordered a lower court to reconsider a lawsuit seeking to rein in what some investors are calling excessive fees on mutual funds.

New York is trying to sell the former Federal Building No. 2 in Brooklyn, a 1.1-million-square-foot structure.

A developer who invested in neighborhood comebacks in New York and Philadelphia is trying to do the same in an industrial area of Miami.

Campaigns to run during the World Cup highlight how advertisers are stepping up support for marquee televised events, known as big event TV.

Moroccan authorities recovered the body of the director of the world?s largest sovereign wealth fund Tuesday, five days after a glider he was riding in plunged into a lake.

Paul Volcker, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, is also critical of the growth of the financial industry.

Hainan, a tourist destination in the South China Sea, has become a potent symbol of China?s economic vitality ? or, perhaps, its excesses.

Ambassador, the leading theater owner in Britain, wants to expand transfer possibilities on Broadway and beyond.

The markets drove up Greece?s borrowing costs again, an indication that the country?s debt crisis was far from over.

NASA and the National Academy of Sciences are joining the government?s effort to figure out what caused the sudden acceleration problems.

UK van-maker visits the Turkish factory that got his job

Ofcom is expected to rule later that Sky must cap the prices it charges rivals to show its premium sport and film channels.

A watchdog wants an investigation into the use of temporary headline interest rates to attract savers to cash Isas.

AP - THE DEAL: Nissan Motor Co. says it will sell its Leaf electric car for just over $25,000 in the U.S., including a government tax credit. The base sticker price is $32,780. The Leaf can travel 100 miles on a charge from a home outlet.

Reuters - A lender which claims it is owed millions by the Sex.com domain name operator is asking a U.S. bankruptcy court to dismiss an involuntary bankruptcy case against the company, so it can resume a foreclosure auction, according to new court documents.

AP - The move from cars powered by gas or diesel engines to those that run on electricity will start to hit its stride this year with the introduction of the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt. Three types of vehicles are emerging as automakers look for ways to get better gas mileage or avoid gasoline completely:

Many biotechnology stocks fell as investors struggled to understand the impact of a ruling that threw out parts of two gene patents and called into question thousands more.

The company is bringing in journalists, some from traditional outlets, to create more original content.

The digital age poses a slight problem for publishers and authors, who receive free advertising for their books in printed form.

Three financial advisers accused the companies of giving male counterparts bigger bonuses and better opportunities.

Hainan, a tourist destination in the South China Sea, has become a symbol of China?s economic vitality, or perhaps its excesses.

Infiltrations that appeared to be aimed at people who write about China and Taiwan rendered their Yahoo accounts inaccessible, according to those affected.

Augusta National Golf Club will allow live broadcast of Woods and his group?s first shots but nothing after that.

As frantic Muscovites turned to Russia?s main television channels after suicide bombers struck on Monday, they were astonished to find only the usual lineup of cooking shows and police dramas.

America has not been as aggressive as it could be in alleviating toxic risks in everyday products.

AP - Most Asian stock markets made modest gains in early trading Wednesday after Wall Street posted its fourth straight gain, pointing toward an upbeat end to the quarter.

Asian stock markets were mostly lower Wednesday as investors pared bets ahead of a key U.S. jobs report on Friday and the Easter long weekend.

Hainan, a tourist destination in the South China Sea, has become a symbol of China?s economic vitality, or perhaps its excesses.

Infiltrations that appeared to be aimed at people who write about China and Taiwan rendered their Yahoo accounts inaccessible, according to those affected.

Anglers face a double whammy: stricter federal limits and greater restaurant reliance on imported fish.

As frantic Muscovites turned to Russia?s main television channels after suicide bombers struck on Monday, they were astonished to find only the usual lineup of cooking shows and police dramas.

America has not been as aggressive as it could be in alleviating toxic risks in everyday products.

AP - Asian stock markets were mostly lower Wednesday as investors pared bets ahead of a key U.S. jobs report on Friday and the Easter long weekend.

AP - Ford Motor Co. will become a player in the small market for luxury hybrids this fall when it launches its first Lincoln hybrid, a gas-electric version of the 2011 Lincoln MKZ.