The Boeing Co. handed out more than 1,000 layoff notices Friday. About half of those 60-day notices will go to workers here in Washington state. The remaining 500 pink slips will be handed out at other Boeing locations. The last day of work for Boeing employees who receive notices is April 23. The bulk of the employees receiving notices report to Boeing’s Engineering, Operations and Technology division and perform information technology work, said Tim Healy, a spokesman for Boeing. Last year, Boeing announced plans to cut its work force by 10,000 positions but did not reach its goal in 2009.

Consumer prices fall in January

Consumer prices excluding food and energy fell in January — the first time they have in any month since 1982. The benign report Friday on consumer inflation sent a positive signal to investors. It suggested the Fed will be able to keep short-term interest rates at record lows to strengthen the economic recovery without triggering inflation. Some have worried that a Fed rate increase affecting consumers and businesses might be imminent, especially after it just raised the rate banks pay for emergency loans. But the news of low inflation eased what had been growing concerns and provided a solid lift to stock prices.

GM’s chief exec’s pay totals $9 million

General Motors Co. Chief Executive Ed Whitacre will receive a salary of $1.7 million this year, plus stock awards that will bring his total pay package to $9 million at a later date, the automaker said Friday. GM also said former chief executive Fritz Henderson, who was forced out of the job in December, has been rehired as a consultant and will be paid $59,090 a month. He will work 20 hours a month, the company said. Whitacre’s total compensation is larger than Henderson’s when he was CEO. Henderson received a total pay package worth nearly $5.5 million. Whitacre’s pay package includes a cash salary of $1.7 million that took effect Jan. 1. It also includes $5.3 million in stock awarded in increments starting in 2012, plus another stock award worth $2 million.

Honda boosts U.S. market share

Honda has taken advantage of Toyota’s recall nightmare in recent weeks to emerge as the top-selling brand in the United States in terms of retail sales, according to a survey published on Friday. As of Feb. 15, Honda’s market share jumped to 13 percent, excluding corporate and rental car sales, while Toyota’s fell to 12.1 percent from 17.5 percent about a month earlier. Toyota still maintained a tenuous grip on the second spot, but Ford Motor Co.’s Blue Oval brand isn’t far behind at 11.7 percent, TrueCar.com data showed. The only other decliner among the top nine brands was Chevrolet, General Motors’ top brand, which saw its share dwindle just fractionally to 10 percent over the period from mid-January to mid-February.

From Herald news services