Consumer prices tick up as gas costs rise

WASHINGTON » A sharp jump in gas prices drove a measure of U.S. consumer costs up in February. But outside higher pump prices, inflation stayed mild.

The Labor Department said Friday that the consumer price index rose 0.4 percent in February, the largest increase in 10 months. Gas prices rose 6 percent to account for most of the gain.

Food prices were unchanged for the first time in 19 months.

And excluding food and energy, so-called “core” prices rose just 0.1 percent.

Factory output rose modestly in February

WASHINGTON » U.S. factories stepped up production in February for the third straight month, helping the economy recover and driving the best job growth since the recession ended.

The Federal Reserve said Friday that the output of the nation’s factories rose 0.3 percent last month. That followed even stronger increases in January and December, which combined for the best two-month stretch since 1998.

Manufacturers made more electronics, energy products and electrical equipment in February.

Auto production declined after two big months of growth.

Direct Air parent files for bankruptcy

NEW YORK » Just three days after abruptly stopping service and leaving travelers stranded, the parent of discount airline Direct Air has filed for bankruptcy protection.

Southern Sky Air & Tours LLC late Thursday filed for Chapter 11 protection in Massachusetts. Court documents show the company has between $10 million and $50 million in debt and just $500,000 to $1 million in assets. The company has not yet filed several documents required by the court as part of the bankruptcy filing process, including a list of its top 20 creditors. The airline said it has 100 to 200 creditors, which could include everything from fuel suppliers to airports.

The airline abruptly stopped flying Monday afternoon — at the peak of the spring break travel season — apparently because it couldn’t pay its fuel bills. Direct Air, based in Myrtle Beach, S.C., says it will not fly again until May 15. Ticket holders were told to contact their credit card companies for refunds.

China TV accuses 2 of violating food safety

BEIJING » Chinese state television has accused McDonald’s and French retailer Carrefour of selling expired chicken products in separate incidents amid public anxiety in China over food safety.

McDonald’s Corp. and Carrefour Inc. issued public apologies Friday and said they were investigating the report by China Central Television.

The report Thursday said a McDonald’s restaurant in Beijing sold chicken wings 90 minutes after they were cooked while the company’s rules set a 30-minute limit. It said employees at a Carrefour store in the central city of Zheng zhou changed expiration dates on some chicken and sold regular chickens as more expensive free-range birds.

Food safety is a sensitive issue in China, which has been rocked by scandals ranging from deadly infant formula to chemical-laced pork and recycled restaurant oil.

UPS says TNT talks continue, plans bid

AMSTERDAM » U.S. delivery company United Parcel Service Inc. says it is still in talks to buy Dutch-based TNT Express NV and plans a formal bid by May 12.

TNT, Europe’s second-largest express delivery company, rejected an “informal” offer by UPS of 9 euros per share on Feb. 17, which valued the company at around

4.9 billion euros ( $6.4 billion). TNT shares opened Friday at 9.229 euros.

The talks were disclosed on the eve of TNT reporting a large fourth-quarter loss.

Sprint Nextel ends deal with LightSquared

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. » Wireless carrier Sprint Nextel Corp. ended its spectrum hosting agreement with startup LightSquared, whose network looks doomed because regulators say it interferes with GPS navigation devices.

Sprint is returning $65 million in prepayments to LightSquared.

The deal between the companies had called for Sprint to collaborate with LightSquared on its LTE, or long-term evolution, network. Sprint said Friday that LightSquared has so far been unable to find a way to resolve interference issues.

ON THE MOVE

Hawthorne CAT, the leading large equipment dealer in the Pacific, has hired Shane Oliveira as sales manager. He has 10 years of management and sales experience in the real estate and construction industries and was previously an account manager at Allied Machinery Corp.

The University of Hawaii Cancer Center has named Dr. Herbert Yu as director of the Cancer Epidemiology Program. He has 30 years of experience in cancer research and was previously a professor with the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Yale University School of Public Health and School of Medicine.

Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel has hired Johnathan C. Bolton as counsel for the company’s bankruptcy and creditors’ rights practice group. He concentrates his practice in U.S. and international bankruptcy, insolvency and collections law. Bol ton was previously practicing in the bankruptcy and creditors’ rights department of Fulbright & Jawor ski in Houston for more than 10 years before moving to Hawaii in 2011.