U.S. consumers are getting better deals on luxury cars and sport-utility vehicles this year as the top brands clear out old models and race to be No. 1 in sales. Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus has led the rise in customer incentives. Lexus boosted discounts on its cars by 54 percent this year and its SUVs by 60 percent, according to researcher Autodata Corp. Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz increased incentives 11 percent and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG by 6.9 percent, compared with a 2.2 percent gain in

As AirAsia Bhd. prepares to more than triple its fleet, Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes says he wants to match the growth of his budget airline with discount hotels, mobile phones and financial services. Tune Group, the closely held parent company of Fernandes and business partner Kamarudin Meranun, may sell stock in some of the units by the end of next year, Fernandes said. Initial public offerings are also planned for AirAsia’s Indonesian budget arm and long-haul unit AirAsia X Sdn., he

BRUSSELS (AP) ― Leaders of the European Union appeared relieved late Sunday at the prospect that a pro-austerity government might be formed following the latest elections in Greece.Top officials of the EU and of the group of 17 nations currently using the euro said the Greek elections should allow quick formation of a government that will continue the austerity program to which the country has committed itself.“The Greek people have spoken,” said a statement issued jointly but European Council P

Analysts say any stock rally from Greek vote should be short-livedWASHINGTON (AP) ― A slim victory for the main conservative party in an election in Greece should relax fears that a country will stop using the euro for the first time and possibly unleash global financial turmoil.But when it comes to Greek politics ― and European economic policy ― it’s never that easy. So the bumpy ride for financial markets isn’t over yet.The conservative New Democracy party, which supports a bailout agreement G

NEW YORK (AP) ― Burger King is setting its sights on China.The world’s second largest hamburger chain says it will open 1,000 restaurants in the country over the next five to seven years. It’s the largest multi-unit development deal in Burger King’s history. There are currently just 63 Burger King restaurants in China.McDonald’s Corp. has more than 1,400 restaurants in the country.Burger King, which has more than 12,500 restaurants worldwide, said Friday that its China expansion is a joint ventu

HELSINKI (AP) ― Moody’s ratings agency on Friday downgraded Nokia’s debt grade to junk status, citing greater than anticipated pressure on the struggling cellphone maker’s earnings after it announced plans for major cuts and global layoffs. It kept the outlook negative, meaning it could downgrade it again.The agency lowered the Finnish company’s long-term senior unsecured ratings to “Ba1” from “Baa3,” saying that Nokia’s restructuring plan involved “drastically downsizing its infrastructure,” an

Company said to debut its own-brand Windows tablet this weekMicrosoft Corp. will announce plans to sell a tablet running the next version of the Windows operating system under its own brand, a major departure from its strategy of partnering with computer makers, according to a person familiar with the plans. The Redmond, Washington-based company may demonstrate the device at an event in Los Angeles on Monday, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the plans haven’t been made pub

HELSINKI (AFP) -- Finland's Nokia, one of the world’s biggest mobile phone makers, announced Thursday that it planned to cut up to 10,000 jobs by the end of next year due to massive additional cost-savings measures.“These planned reductions are a difficult consequence of the intended actions we believe we must take to ensure Nokia's long-term competitive strength,” company chief executive Stephen Elop said in a statement.Nokia was earlier this year bumped from the world’s biggest mobile phone ma

PARIS (AFP) ― French airline Air France is set to cut about 5,000 jobs by 2015, the CFE-CGC trade union said Wednesday as it pushed for a social plan that did not include outright firing.The figure of 5,000 jobs has been reported by several French media and it was “not far from the truth,” GFE-CGC representative Ronald Noiret told AFP, before adding: “It will be around 5,000 posts according to our estimations.”Air France management declined to comment on the number, and a works committee meeting

VIENNA (AFP) ― OPEC chief Abdullah El-Badri spoke out against looming new sanctions against cartel member Iran on Wednesday at the start of a two-day oil conference in Vienna. “I don’t want to see any of my member countries under embargo,” El-Badri told oil representatives and ministers, as the European Union prepares to impose a July 1 oil embargo on Iran over its controversial nuclear drive. “I am really against this 100 percent,” he added. “Iran is a founder member, it has a great ability to