Consumer Business Review: Toyota Raises FORECAST, Ford’s Retirement OFFER

Here are Tuesday’s top stories:

Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) is poised to raise its 2012 global sales forecast from 8.58 million to 8.8 million vehicles, thanks to robust sales in emerging markets, according to the Yomiuri newspaper. Attaining that number would bring the outlook for total group sales, including those of Daihatsu and Hino, to almost 10 million units from the current 9.58 million. The company is set to post its fiscal first quarter earnings on Friday.

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Panasonic Corporation (NYSE:PC) is currently conducting a major revamp, and its first quarter net profits were reinforced by cost reductions to that effect. Further, the firm keeps its fiscal year projection for a net profit of ¥50 billion, operations profit of ¥260 billion, and sales of ¥8.1 trillion. Asset manager Makoto Kikuchi remarked that, “Their outlook doesn’t suggest a solid turnaround is under way. It continues to be tough for them.”

A proposed agreement among InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (NYSE:IHG) and online travel sites Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) and Booking.com is being resisted by United Kingdom regulators, who say that the deal infringes competition law. The firms now have three months to respond, before a final decision is struck regarding the viability of the deal.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) retirees begin receiving letters from the automaker that describe specific lump-sum pension buyout offers. The firm hopes that the former workers will take their deals, which would help narrow the $15.4 billion underfunding deficit in its pension liability.

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