Business Highlights

Closing statements on the sale began in U.S. Bankruptcy Court Friday afternoon, marking the third day of hearings on the proposed deal.

Judge Arthur Gonzalez is expected to approve the sale Friday, but it's likely that attorneys for three Indiana state pension and construction funds will appeal the decision and possibly force Chrysler to postpone the deal's closing.

Chrysler claims that any delay could push Fiat to back out if the deal, since it's set a deadline of June 15 to wrap up a transaction.

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Economy sinks at a 5.7 percent pace in 1Q

WASHINGTON (AP) — The economy sank at a 5.7 percent pace in the first quarter as the brute force of the recession carried over into this year. However, many analysts believe activity isn't shrinking nearly as much now as the downturn flashes signs of letting up.

The Commerce Department's updated reading on gross domestic product, released Friday, showed the economy's contraction from January to March was slightly less deep than the 6.1 percent annualized decline first estimated last month. But the new reading was a tad worse than the 5.5 percent annualized drop economists were forecasting.