Business Highlights

Toyota casts doubt on man's speeding Prius claim

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Toyota cast doubt Monday on a California man's claim that his Prius sped out of control, saying the report is inconsistent with the findings of the company's preliminary investigation.

Toyota said in a statement that the accelerator pedal was tested and found to be working normally and a backup safety system worked properly. The automaker said the front brakes showed severe wear and damage from overheating, but the rear brakes and parking brake were in good condition.

The motorist, James Sikes, said his car raced to 94 mph on a freeway near San Diego last week. The March 8 incident ended when Sikes stopped the car with help from a California Highway Patrol officer.

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Stocks end mixed ahead of Fed's rate meeting

NEW YORK (AP) — Investors turned cautious Monday ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting on interest rates.

Major stock indexes closed narrowly mixed after trading lower for most of the day. An analyst upgrade of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. helped lift the Dow Jones industrial average by about 18 points to 10,642.15, its fifth straight gain.

Investors will be looking to the Fed's statement that follows its meeting Tuesday for clues about the economic recovery and the central bank's plans for interest rates. Policymakers are almost certain to keep the Fed's benchmark rate unchanged at near zero.

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FCC unveiling sweeping national broadband plan

WASHINGTON (AP) — Communications regulators are unveiling a sweeping proposal to overhaul U.S. broadband policy. Their aim: to bring affordable, high-speed Internet connections to all Americans and make access much faster for people who already have broadband.

Yet it's not certain the Federal Communications Commission can find the funding, corporate support and legal clearance to carry out the entire vision of the plan.