ST. LOUIS-A disgruntled worker embroiled in a pension dispute with his company showed up at the plant and opened fire Thursday, killing three people and wounding five before killing himself. MORE

HUNTSVILLE, AL-Some 50 workers at Navistar’s assembly plant here will assist area nonprofit agencies for the next three months in lieu of being laid off. MORE

BEIJING-Trade disputes between Beijing and Washington over exports of tires, chickens, steel, nylon, autos, paper and salt are multiplying and further damaging the already tense relationship between the two economic powers. MORE

MOGADISHU, Somalia-A cargo ship carrying nearly 2,400 new Hyundai and Kia automobiles was hijacked by Somali pirates last week, en route to Saudi Arabia. MORE

WASHINGTON-Factory orders rose by a reasonably healthy 1.1 percent in November, which marked the seventh increase in eight months, according to the Commerce Department. Among the sectors reporting the strongest growth were computer and electronic products. MORE

ELKHART, IN-Electric car maker Think has chosen a site here for its first North American manufacturing facility. The Norwegian company plans to invest $43.5 million in a former glass factory in Indiana and start building the Think City electric car there in 2011. MORE

WASHINGTON-The U.S. Department of Labor is providing a $3.2 million grant to assist the retraining of autoworkers displaced by cutbacks in the industry, including the closing of the Chrysler assembly plant in Fenton. MORE

DETROIT--GM’s assembly plant for its Chevy Volt battery is set to begin production on Thursday. The company claims it will be “the first lithium ion battery pack manufacturing plant in the U.S. operated by a major automaker.” MORE

LONGMONT, CO-Eleven workers and four firefighters were hospitalized after a fire broke out at a solar panel assembly plant here. MORE

SALINA, KS-Employees at the Exide Technologies battery manufacturing plant in Salina were evacuated for more than an hour Saturday night after a fire. MORE