NHTSA looking into Impala air bag safety

DETROIT » The U.S. government’s highway safety agency has decided to seek further information from General Motors about air bag failures in some Chevrolet Impala full-size cars.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began an inquiry into the issue after receiving a petition from Donald Friedman of Xprts LLC, a Santa Barbara, Calif., company that examines crashes.

Friedman examined an April 2011 car crash in Hidalgo County, Texas, that severely injured an elderly man named Roberto Martinez. His wife, Aurora, was driving their 2008 Impala when it was hit on the passenger side by an SUV and forced into a concrete highway divider. The passenger air bags didn’t deploy, and Roberto suffered permanent brain injuries, according to a lawsuit filed by the couple against GM. He died about 10 months later.

McDonald’s chicken off Hong Kong menus

HONG KONG » McDonald’s restaurants in Hong Kong have taken chicken nuggets and chicken filet burgers off the menu after a U.S.-owned supplier in mainland China was accused of selling expired meat.

The fast-food chain said late Thursday that it "suspended relevant food ingredients" at Hong Kong outlets in light of the scandal surrounding Shanghai Husi Food Co.

Chinese authorities detained five Husi employees after a TV station reported last weekend that the company repackaged and sold meat past its use-by date. Investigators have seized hundreds of tons of material but haven’t yet confirmed finding expired meat.

Durable goods orders up 0.7% in June

WASHINGTON » Orders for long-lasting manufactured goods rebounded in June after a May decline, helped by a recovery in demand in a key category that signals business investment plans.

Orders for durable goods increased 0.7 percent in June on a seasonally adjusted basis following a 1 percent decline in May, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

A category viewed as a proxy for business investment plans rose a solid 1.4 percent, recovering after a revised 1.2 percent drop in May. It was the best showing since orders in this core capital goods category rose 4.7 percent in March.

The strength last month came from solid gains in demand for commercial aircraft and machinery. Analysts expect economic activity will strengthen in the second half of the year, helped by stronger factory production.

Illinois bank seized for year’s 14th failure

WASHINGTON » Regulators have closed a small lender in Illinois, bringing U.S. bank failures this year to 14 after 24 closures in all of 2013.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Friday that it has taken over GreenChoice Bank FSB, based in Chicago.

The bank, which operated three branches, had about $72.9 million in assets and $71 million in deposits as of March 31.

Providence Bank LLC, based in South Holland, Ill., has agreed to assume all of the failed bank’s deposits.

The FDIC said that Providence Bank also agreed to buy roughly $67.7 million of GreenChoice Bank’s assets.

The failure of GreenChoice Bank is expected to cost the deposit-insurance fund $14.2 million.

U.S. bank failures have been declining since they peaked in 2010 in the wake of the financial crisis and the Great Recession. Only three banks went under in 2007. That jumped to 25 in 2008, after the financial meltdown, and ballooned to 140 in 2009. In 2010 regulators seized 157 banks, the most in any year since the savings and loan crisis two decades ago.

ON THE MOVE

Central Pacific Bank Chairman and CEO John Dean was presented Hawaii’s Distinguished Citizen Award on Thursday night at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel. The honor is awarded annually to a resident of Hawaii whose leadership in business, industry, government, education and other community endeavors has contributed to the growth and vitality of the state.

Hawaiian Airlines has promoted Tim Strauss to vice president of cargo. He joined the company as a managing director of cargo and has 27 years of experience in airline and freight cargo.

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