HANOVER, Germany-Automotive manufacturers Continental AG Siemens VDO Automotive have joined forces, in the process creating one of the top supply companies in the world. MORE

DEARBORN, MI-Ford Motor Co. has outpaced expectations by posting a $750 million second-quarter profit. MORE

DETROIT-General Motors Corp. is cutting both jobs and the number of pickup trucks it produces at its Pontiac, MI, assembly plant in response to a slowing pickup-truck market. MORE

CHICAGO-Boeing Co. is reporting a higher-than-expected second-quarter profit, compared with a year-ago loss, and is raising its full-year forecast at the same time it ramps up deliveries in its commercial planes division. MORE

CHENNAI, India-Consumer electronics manufacturer Samsung has invested $24 million to build a plant with an annual capacity of 1.5 million televisions. MORE

DALLAS-Lennox International Inc. will begin construction later this year on a factory in Saltillo, Mexico, to produce air conditioners and heat pumps. MORE

TOKYO-Toyota Motor Corp. says work stoppages caused by a recent earthquake in Japan have had a major impact on production. MORE

DEARBORN, MI-The future of Ford Motor Co. may very well hinge on the outcome of the contract talks with the UAW that begin today. MORE

HARTFORD, CT-Xerox Corp. and NRG Energy (Princeton, NJ) are teaming up to limit greenhouse gas emissions in the Northeast. MORE

TOKYO-Honda Automobile Co. has announced new investments and production targets for Vietnam, Thailand, Argentina and North America. MORE