NEWS AT A GLANCE

Toyota profits rise, growth slows

Toyota, locked in a race to overtake GM as the world's top automaker by sales, reported a 7.5 percent rise in quarterly profits, to $4.3 billion, but warned of slowing growth. The quarter's profit was Toyota's largest ever for a third quarter, but the percentage gain was the smallest in a year. Looking ahead, Toyota said that increased sales from China, Russia, and other emerging markets would only partly make up for slowing U.S. demand and the strengthening yen. "Cars sold in India and China are cheap and have smaller profit margins," said Yuuki Sakurai at Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance in Tokyo.

BP misses target, raises dividend

Oil giant BP, Europe's second largest company, reported a 53 percent rise in fourth-quarter profits, to $4.4 billion, which fell short of analysts' expectations. Refining outages and rising costs dragged BP's full-year profit down 5.5 percent, but oil output rose for the first time since 2005, as new fields in Angola, Trinidad, and the Gulf of Mexico came online, and the firm raised its dividend by 31 percent. BP shares rose in London early today. "The numbers are disappointing," said analyst Peter Hitchens at Seymour Pierce, "but I think that is more than made up for by the fact that we have got a step change in the dividend."

United adds bag-check fee

United Airlines said it is adding a $25 fee to check a second piece of luggage on domestic flights, becoming the first large carrier to charge for the service. United Milage Plus frequent fliers with at least "premium" status won't be charged, nor will passengers on most international flights. The fee, attributed to rising fuel costs, applies on flights leaving May 5 and beyond. Analysts say other airlines will likely follow suit. (Bloomberg) "Everybody is chiseling away at everything that you thought you deserve," said Bestfares-dot-com CEO Tom Parsons. "But people shouldn't be upset because we still want to fly coast to coast for $199."

Green habits, not greenbacks

A growing number of consumers are looking to cut back on their "carbon footprint," and that means buying less. But by trying to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions -- and lower their expenses as they weather the hangover at the end of the cheap-credit binge -- green consumers might also be hampering efforts to fend off an economic slowdown. The new frugality could render ineffective the stimulus package wending its way through Congress, for example, which relies on free spending. "You know there's a shift, when drinking tap water is cooler than drinking Pellegrino or Evian," says trend forecaster Faith Popcorn.

The subprime drawing board

Plans to fix our mortgage mess "are like belly buttons," says David Weidner in "Everybody's got one, and they're all pretty much useless." But some recent plans have emerged that could "have positive effects for everyone." The Center for American Progress, apparently "hell-bent on appeasing everyone," wants the government to extend interest-only loans to troubled homeowners and buy and sell existing subprime debt. More promising, Punk Zeigel analyst Richard Bove would offer 1 percent subsidized loans to many subprime borrowers, at a "reasonable" taxpayer cost of $150 billion. Either way, "it won't be pretty," but doing nothing would be uglier still.

Paradise isn't easy

Retiring overseas may sound attractive, says Jeff Opdyke in but it "can have its logistical headaches." Because most countries have lower costs of living, retiring baby boomers assume they can move abroad to "stretch their nest egg." Before pulling up anchor, though, make sure you figure out banking, health care, and housing. The Internet makes banking easier, and Social Security checks will be sent almost anywhere. But dealing with local banks and real estate laws can be tricky. And while some countries will "lure" you with retiree tax incentives, remember, the IRS taxes your income "no matter where it's earned in the world."

GOOD DAY FOR: Trees, after the White House scaled back the number of printed copies of its four volume, 2,000-page-plus 2009 budget, saving an estimated 20 tons of paper, 480 trees, and $1 million over five years. The reduced paper count stems from a decision to charge the public, congressional offices, and the media for copies of the budget.

BAD DAY FOR: Looking into the future, after Singapore-based securites-broker-turned-astrologer Tony Tan is predicting that the Chinese Year of the Rat will be characterized by losses. Tan successfully predicted that the Year of the Pig last year would see "peak performances" in Asian stocks. "Just like a rat, investors will have to be nimble" this lunar year, which begins Feb. 7, Tan says.

NOTED: Last Sunday's Giants-Patriots matchup was the most-viewed Super Bowl ever, and the second-largest TV event in U.S. history. According to Neilsen Media Research, an average of 97.5 million viewers watched the game, second only to the "MASH" series finale, which drew 106 million. Fox, which aired the game, charged $2.7 million for 30-second commercial spots. TiVO said more people watched the commercials than the game.

Toyota Falls Short of GM in Global Sales Thursday January 24, 1:26 am ET

Toyota Still No. 2 After Falling About 3,000 Vehicles Short of GM in Global Vehicle Sales

TOKYO -- General Motors, a symbol of American industrial might and the world's top seller of motor vehicles since Herbert Hoover was president, has been all-but-overtaken by a foreign rival.

Toyota said Thursday it sold 9.366 million vehicles last year globally, about 3,000 vehicles fewer than the tally from General Motors Corp., just barely allowing the U.S. automaker to retain its crown as the world's No. 1 automaker.

All year long, the two automakers raced neck-and-neck in global sales, highlighting Toyota's phenomenal growth and the struggles facing GM and other American automakers.

Toyota had said as late as Wednesday that its annual total was 9.37 million vehicles, up 6 percent from 2006. GM said Wednesday in Detroit its global sales had risen 3 percent to 9,369,524 vehicles, making for a race that appeared too close to call.

But Toyota Motor Corp. spokesman Paul Nolasco in Tokyo confirmed the extra digit in Toyota's sales Thursday, showing that GM's total was narrowly higher. GM has been the world's top seller for 77 years.

Toyota executives have repeatedly expressed worries about a possible backlash if they dethrone GM, an American icon. The Japanese automaker has been setting up more plants in North America and has tried to show it's a good U.S. corporate citizen.

Nolasco refused to comment on GM's retention of the No. 1 title. But he said Toyota sees sales growth as a reflection of how people recognize its products "We would like to become No. 1 in quality in product offerings and services, carefully making good products, and give true happiness to our customers," he said.

In Detroit, GM wasn't gloating. The company's global strategy hasn't changed, said company spokesman John McDonald. "We're not as concerned about who's winning," he said. "We're just really focused on what we need to do to have a growing business, getting our business right in North America."

Overall, GM's worldwide sales in 2007 were the second-best in its 100-year history

It's biggest sales growth has come outside the U.S. It set a sales record in China by selling more than a million vehicles, set a record in Brazil with nearly 500,000 and doubled sales in Russia.
Still, GM has struggled in recent years with job cuts, earning losses and plant closures.

Toyota has seized the lead in ecological hybrids with its hit Prius, which runs on a gas engine and electric motor, selling more hybrids than any other automaker. And that edge came at a good time when consumers were looking for good mileage amid soaring gas prices.

Earlier this month, Toyota deposed Ford Motor Co. as the No. 2 auto seller in the U.S. for 2007. Toyota sold 2.6 million vehicles in the U.S. for a 16 percent share of the market -- and more than double from what it sold in 1990.

GM, third on the Fortune 500 list of U.S. corporations, remains the auto sales leader in the U.S. But its market share has dropped dramatically from about 35 percent in 1990 to about 24 percent in 2007. GM sold 3.8 million vehicles in the United States last year.

Aaron Bragman, an analyst with the consulting firm Global Insight, said GM and Toyota have expanded almost evenly in most emerging global markets, but GM has been hurt by sales declines in North America. "A lot of that volume reduction has come here," Bragman said. "They did very well in every other market except North America."

He said much of GM's U.S. sales decline comes as the company has intentionally cut incentives and reduced low-profit sales to rental car companies. GM's U.S. sales last year were down 6 percent from 2006, due largely to a reduction in fleet sales -- those to large, bulk buyers.
"If they had kept that fleet volume up, it wouldn't even be a competition," Bragman said.

Still, it was in new markets such as China that GM still led Toyota, managing to come out ahead for the time being. And the competition in such markets is likely to determine the winner in the long run.

While more mature auto markets, such as the U.S. and Japan, are stagnating, China and India are booming. Toyota, which is aggressively expanding overseas production, is forecasting robust growth for this year at selling 9.85 million vehicles, up 5 percent from this year.
GM does not give comparable sales forecasts.

In a typical comment for a Toyota executive, Shoichiro Toyoda, a member of the founding family and former president, told The Associated Press earlier this month that gaining the top spot in the auto industry could be fleeting. "We are not No. 1," he said. "We need to just keep working harder."

General Motors Corp.: http://www.gm.com

Toyota Motor Corp. http://www.toyota.com