Hiroko Tabuchi

Takata said to be close to deal with US over airbags

Takata is expected to pay a penalty of up to $1 billion

Chemical industry joins fight against climate change

The companies were driven less by idealism than by intense competition, and a bet that they could create more environmentally friendly alternatives

Hiroko Tabuchi: Takata's road to a deadly crisis

The firm's airbags are now at the center of the auto industry's biggest recall

Behind Volkswagen settlement, a path fraught with pitfalls and clashing egos

Hiroko Tabuchi: Amazon, also-rans in retailers' race for online sales

As Jeff Bezos' company keeps raising the bar with unconventional strategies, competitors are forced to play catch-up

Target's dog mascot learns new tricks

Bullseye, played by a 7-year-old bull terrier, is one of three dogs who take turns as the retailer Target's roly-poly mascot

Honda and Takata discussed faulty airbags at 2009 meeting

Walmart's Chinese imports displaced 400,000 jobs: Study

Walmart disputed the conclusions of the study, which is an update of estimates that the institute released in 2007

Takata said to have manipulated testing data for troubled airbag inflaters

Walmart CEO defends investments in labour, stores and the web

Car software: The weak spot under the hood

Shwetak N Patel looked over the 2013 Mercedes C300 and saw not a sporty all-wheel-drive sedan, but a bundle of technology.

Chinese textile mills are now hiring in places where cotton was king

Takata is said to have stopped safety audits as cost-saving move

Company says it conducted regular reviews of product quality and safety and that the halted global audits referred to in the report relate only to worker safety, not product quality or safety

Hiroko Tabuchi: Walmart adjusts the thermostat to warm worker relations

From adjusting the air-conditioning to relaxing the dress code and even jazzing up a store's music, the overtures are part of Walmart's effort to project an image of a more caring employer

Hiroko Tabuchi: McDonald's chief promises turnaround in a restructuring

Steve Easterbrook, who took over as chief executive in March, has promised to refashion McDonald's into a modern, progressive burger and breakfast restaurant

Defective Takata airbag a global problem for producer

Takata is expected to face scrutiny on Thursday over its faulty airbags at a Senate hearing on auto safety

Walmart prepares to offer low-cost checking accounts

GoBank is part of Walmart's long-running push into financial services for people with little or no access to traditional banking

Spreading the net: Alibaba's American aspirations

11 Main is Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's first website to specifically aim at American shoppers

Deal to move Okinawa base wins approval

Hitachi Corp's revival is a detriment to Hitachi the city