DETROIT-Sources say General Motors Corp. is pushing ahead with talks to acquire Chrysler LLC in a deal that the automaker sees as a way to help it through the current industry downturn. MORE

BEIJING-Chinese leaders say they are prepared to cut taxes and boost lending to help invigorate to the country’s slowing economy. MORE

SALEM, OR-Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. broke ground this week on a new Renewable Energy and Technology Park here. The factory is scheduled to begin operating in October 2009 with the fabrication of solar ingots and wafers used for producing photovoltaic cells. MORE

NASHUA, NH-Axsys Technologies Inc., a manufacturer of surveillance and imaging systems, celebrated the opening of its new manufacturing facility here. The new 67,000 square foot facility nearly doubles Axsys Technologies’ current manufacturing space. MORE

Owners of a Pensacola hotel chain are looking at land in Century to build an electric vehicle assembly plant that could create 1,100 jobs within five years.

Project Green Leaf-which includes local hotel owners Jay and Nash Patel-may invest $23 million into an existing facility in Century’s industrial park, or buy 25 acres of land to build a plant to assemble electric vehicles.

As proposed, parts would be shipped from an electric car plant in France and assembled in Century. The vehicles would be sold here. MORE

DETROIT-With his company burning through cash and auto sales sinking to historic lows, GM’s CEO Rick Wagoner is pushing hard for a merger with Chrysler, and lenders are lining up in support of the deal.

The merger discussions are gaining momentum as both sides want to reach an agreement within the next two to three weeks. Financial institutions that hold Chrysler debt, including JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, are pressing Cerberus Capital Management, which owns Chrysler, to sell the automaker. MORE

VICTORIA, Australia-Ford has announced 450 new job cuts at its two plants in Victoria, bringing the total number of recent job cuts in Australia to 1,400. MORE

TORONTO-The Cosma body-and-chassis division of Magna International Inc. is building a second factory in Pune, India, to manufacture stamped and welded assemblies for both local consumption and export. MORE

WASHINGTON-Industrial production in September fell by the most in almost 34 years, due to a number of factors, including bad weather, the Boeing strike and the ongoing credit crunch. MORE

PORTLAND, OR-Daimler Trucks North America is closing it Swan Island manufacturing facility in 2010, in the process eliminating 900 jobs. MORE