DaimlerChrysler suspected of paying bribes
WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- The Justice Department is investigating DaimlerChrysler AG for possible bribery crimes, the BBC reports.
Company officials acknowledged the investigation Friday. Officials are looking into whether DiamlerChrysler's Mercedes staff has paid the bribes and how much, if anything, corporate executives knew about it.
A DaimlerChrysler spokesman said company officials are cooperating with the investigation.
This is the third ongoing investigation into the German-U.S. firm.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the same issue as part of a civil probe.
Germany's version of the SEC is investigating the company for possible insider trading.
Wal-Mart tries to end class-action lawsuit
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Wal-Mart will ask a federal appeals court to disallow a class-action lawsuit alleging sex bias against the company, The Washington Post reports.
The lawsuit was given class-action status in 2004 when a U.S. District judge said that the six plaintiffs who charged discriminatory practices against women could sue for the 1.6 million female Wal-Mart employees.
The lawsuit, the largest civil rights case ever in the United States, claims Wal-Mart pays women less than men to do the same job and promotes women at a slower rate in every Wal-Mart region in the country.
The company, the country's largest private employer, denies the charges and says there is no pattern of discrimination.
If the challenge is denied, the lawsuit will increase negative publicity and a final settlement amount.
A federal investigation ended with an $11 million settlement after Wal-Mart was found employing hundreds of illegal immigrant janitors.
High gas price forces customers to regular
BETHESDA, Md., Aug. 6 (UPI) -- High gas prices are forcing drivers of expensive cars to resort to low-grade fuel, The Washington Post reports.
Despite cars being sold as requiring the high-grade gas, automotive experts say engines in newer vehicles can handle the less expensive gas.
Peter Gregori, a service manager for a Mercedes-Benz dealer in Bethesda, Md., uses regular gas for a Mercedes he owns.
"It's not going to hurt anything," Gregori said.
Sales of high and mid-grade fuel are dropping as prices rise with no end in sight.
Daniel Gilligan, president of the Petroleum Marketers Association said he doesn't know if it will be hard to get customers back into buying the higher grade gas.
