U.S. Probes Jeep Transmissions
The government is stepping up its investigation of 1.8 million Jeep Grand Cherokees after receiving hundreds of complaints that the sport-utility vehicle can shift suddenly from park to reverse. Five deaths have been reported. Safety regulators said the investigation involves all Grand Cherokees built in model years 1993 through 2002. Chrysler, which makes the vehicle, said it is investigating the complaints but has found nothing to explain the problem. Most people reported the Grand Cherokee would suddenly go into reverse shortly after they shifted to park and while the vehicle was idling. An investigator with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was able to duplicate the problem while testing one of the vehicles at a Chrysler-Jeep dealership in Virginia.</br></br>Lucent Technologies said scientists at its Bell Labs unit built a transistor from one molecule, a breakthrough in miniaturization that may lead to faster and cheaper computer chips. A billionth of a meter long, the device is less than one-tenth the size of any other transistor, which switches and amplifies signals in the circuits found in every electronic machine, the company said. By shrinking the size of transistors, manufacturers can produce more powerful, less expensive chips for computers, consumer electronics and networking gear.</br></br>The number of laid-off workers drawing jobless benefits has reached an 18-year high, although fewer Americans filed new claims for state unemployment assistance. The Labor Department said new jobless claims fell by a seasonally adjusted 46,000, to 450,000, in the workweek ended Nov. 3. The number of laid-off workers continuing to receive unemployment benefits rose to 3.72 million in the workweek ending Oct. 27, the highest level since April 23, 1983.</br></br>Palm chief executive Carl Yankowski has resigned, the Santa Clara, Calif., maker of handheld computers announced. Chairman Eric Benhamou will take his place until a permanent replacement is named.</br></br>The Federal Communications Commission is reexamining its radio ownership rules to decide whether it should limit future combinations in small and medium-size markets. A 1996 law raised the number of stations a company may own to between five and eight in a single market, depending on a city's size, from a previous limit of four. Critics say consolidation that followed the adjustment should lead the FCC to update the merger review process. The commission also voted to speed up reviews of pending sales of stations that in some cases have been stuck for years.