Business Briefs

GM recall affects 69,000 vehicles

General Motors is recalling nearly 69,000 pickup trucks, SUVs and vans worldwide because they can roll away unexpectedly.

The recall affects certain 2013 models of the Chevrolet Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe, Avalanche and Express. Also included are the GMC Sierra, Savana and Yukon, and the Cadillac Escalade.

GM says the vehicles may have been built with faulty park lock cables or malformed steering column lock gears. The vehicles can be shifted out of park even if the ignition key is in the off position or removed.

Dealers will replace the steering column free of charge if necessary.

Search engine for tablets debuts

SAN FRANCISCO » The makers of Blekko believe they’ve built a great alternative to Google, but they’re also realistic. They know their 2-year-old Internet search engine won’t ever supplant Google as the most popular place to search on laptop and desktop computers.

But Web surfing on tablet computers is a different matter, creating an opportunity that Blekko hopes to exploit with a new product called Izik: a search engine designed especially for Apple Inc.’s iPads and tablets running Google’s Android software.

Izik, whose name is a riff on 17th-century scientist Isaac Newton, debuted Friday with the release of free apps for the iPad and Android tablets.