IN BRIEF

Bank of America opens office to help distressed homeowners

Bank of America has opened its first office in Nevada to help distressed homeowners who are seeking loan modifications or other assistance to avoid foreclosure.

The bank's outreach center, at 2285 Corporate Circle, Suite 100 in Henderson, is the first of three such centers to be opened by the end of June in both the Las Vegas area and Reno.

Bank of America customers may call a toll-free hot line at 877-345-6416 to make an appointment with a loan specialist 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. The center is not taking walk-ins.

The center's opening comes after Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan met with Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and committed extra resources to help borrowers in Nevada, a state hit particularly hard by deterioration of the economy. With the acquisition of Countrywide in 2008, Bank of America services about one in three mortgage loans in Nevada.

Bank of America is expanding on existing programs that have resulted in mortgage modifications for more than 15,000 Nevada homeowners since January 2008. Another 7,500 are in active trial modifications through the government's Home Affordable Modification Program.

"We recognize that homeowners in Nevada have been faced with some of the most extreme economic conditions that require further special efforts on our part," Rebecca Mairone, national servicing executive for Bank of America Home Loans, said in a statement.

To determine eligibility for HAMP or other Bank of America foreclosure avoidance programs, customers will be asked to bring copies of the following documents to their appointment:

■ Most recently filed tax return.

■ Most recent pay stubs covering 30 days or documentation of other income.

■ Profit-loss statement (if self-employed).

■ Alimony, child support or separation maintenance supporting documentation.

■ For rental income, most recent two years' filed federal tax returns, including schedule E.

■ Homeowner's insurance bill and most recent property tax bill (if not paid through Bank of America).

WASHINGTON

Sticky gasoline pedals prompt
recall of 35,000 Dodge Calibers

Chrysler is recalling nearly 35,000 Dodge Calibers in the United States and around the world to fix a potential problem with sticky gasoline pedals, the same issue that has affected millions of Toyotas.

Chrysler Group LLC said it will recall about 25,000 Calibers in the United States from the 2007 model year and a limited number of 2007 Jeep Compass SUVs to inspect vehicles built between March and May of 2006. The remaining vehicles are in Mexico, Canada and elsewhere.

The pedals were made by CTS Corp., the Elkhart, Ind., company that manufactured pedals involved in the recall of more than 2 million Toyotas earlier this year. Chrysler told the administration that the pedals were "a completely different design" and made "with different tooling" than the pedals involved in Toyota's recall.

The administration started investigating the Chrysler pedals in April.

NEW YORK

American dollar surges to four-year high against euro

The U.S. dollar surged to its highest level against the euro in more than four years Friday as a report showed hiring in the U.S. remains weak, while a Hungarian official's warning about the state of his country's economy deepened anxiety over Europe's debt crisis.

The euro sank as low as $1.1956, its weakest level since it bought $1.1920 in March 2006 and well below the $1.2182 it bought in New York late Thursday.

The euro has weakened on worries about Europe's growth prospects and the effects of government spending cuts as indebted European countries try to get their budgets back in line with European Union mandates.

BUSAN, South Korea

Group of 20 finance officials work to create recovery plan

Finance chiefs of the Group of 20 leading economies worked Friday to craft an agenda for keeping the global recovery on track and fending off future crises, sidestepping conflicts to present a united show of support for Europe's $1 trillion bailout.

Though the finance ministers and central bank governors gathered in this southern Korean port city are seeking to build confidence in prospects for growth, a sense of urgency hangs over the gathering.

"The recent event in Europe and volatility in the financial market have clearly shown us the global recovery is still fragile," said Yoon Jeung-hyun, minister of Strategy and Finance, at the opening as the chairman of the session.

US Airways pilots win battle with ex-America West pilots

The pilot's union at US Airways won a legal fight on Friday in its dispute with members who came from the old America West when the two airlines combined in 2005.

The issue has been whether the union would have to follow an arbitrator's award on seniority that was seen as favoring the America West pilots. Six of those America West pilots had sued, saying the pilot's union was harming them by not following the arbitrator's decision. Last year a federal judge in Phoenix agreed.

But on Friday, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it's too soon to say that the union has harmed the America West pilots, and it ordered the case dismissed.

For them to make a claim, a new contract ignoring the arbitrator's award would have to be ratified, two of the judges ruled. Until that happens it's just speculation to say the America West pilots will be harmed by the union's plans, the majority opinion said. Even if the union doesn't follow the arbitrator's decision, the contract it negotiates with the company might not be as bad as the America West pilots fear, the judges wrote.

The US Airline Pilots Association said the ruling leaves it free to go back to negotiating its own seniority agreement with the company, rather than the one handed down by the arbitrator. The union said it's not bound by the arbitrator's decision because it was reached under its predecessor, the Air Line Pilots Association.

Seniority is important to pilots because it dictates who gets the more desirable schedules, as well as who gets laid off. The court ruling said some America West pilots who have been furloughed would be working if the arbitrator's decision had been adopted.

The union's seniority proposal goes by when pilots were hired. That favors pilots from the old US Airways, who tended to be older.

REDMOND, Wash.

Microsoft to end rebate plan for shoppers using Bing

Microsoft is shutting down a program that gave online shoppers rebates when they found items through Bing search.

The cash-back program started in May 2008. Microsoft Corp. was hoping cash back would help lure more people to its search engine.

But despite its efforts, Microsoft remains a distant third in search behind Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. Having a bigger audience appeals to advertisers, and Google's dominance in search has been extremely lucrative for that company.

Microsoft said in a blog post that the cash-back program didn't attract as many people as the software maker had hoped.

Cash-back offers will end on July 30. People who have earned rebates have a year to redeem them.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.

Volkswagen wants workers
to build bodies first, cars later

Volkswagen is requiring production workers hired for its new U.S. assembly plant to go through a fitness program on top of the usual job training, aiming to forge an "industrial athlete" who can lift, grip, bend and push without flagging.

VW formally opened its training academy at the $1 billion plant site Friday. But dozens of workers hired ahead of a projected production start early next year have already been building their bodies there before they start building cars.

Since April, fitness trainers have had new hires taking part in "on-the-clock" workouts that follow health testing and are individually tailored to their future production jobs that include the paint shop, body shop and assembly.

Exercises in the 2-hour daily workout sessions are linked to movements they will do every day and include stretching, cardiovascular strength, endurance, grip and how much employees can push and pull.