WASHINGTON -- Exposing President Obama to further criticisms of his administration's economic policies, a leading electric-car battery maker that received a large federal grant filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday and said it was selling its auto-business assets.

A123 Systems Inc., a company built with innovative MIT-developed technology and a $249-million grant under Obama's 2009 economic stimulus program, said it signed a deal to sell its two Michigan manufacturing plants and some other assets to Johnson Controls Inc. in a deal valued at $125 million.

The announcement by A123, coming on the day of the second presidential debate, could be seized by Republican challenger Mitt Romney to further his attacks on the administration's stimulus and in particular its use of federal dollars to help certain companies as a boost to the nation's green technology.

Another advanced-battery maker that received a federal grant, Ener1, filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year. And Obama took...

Homebuilder sentiment climbed in October to its strongest level since June 2006 as more serious buyers expressed interest in buying new single-family homes.

The one-point gain in the National Assn. of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index doesn’t seem like much. But the increase was the sixth straight monthly upswing for the measure, bringing it to a level of 41.

Still, any number less than 50 shows that more builders consider sales conditions to be poor than good.

Measures of sentiment toward current sales conditions and prospects over the next six months both stayed the same at less-than-optimistic levels. Confidence levels improved in three regions and stayed the same in the Northeast, but remain depressed.

Builder reports of prospective buyer traffic soared five points to 35 – the gauge’s highest point since April 2006.

“The concern is that, even though demand for new homes is rising, overly tight credit conditions are still constraining new building and...

An outbreak of E. coli cases linked to a North Carolina fair is raising questions about the safety of petting zoos and animal exhibits.

So far, Cleveland County Health Director Dorothea Wyant said 38 cases, including the death of a 2-year-old boy, have been linked to the Cleveland County Fair. Of the 16 adults and 22 children involved, eight were hospitalized.

Many had stopped by to see the sheep, goats and pigs used for livestock competitions and in the "huge" petting zoo, Wyant said. E. coli bacteria is often found in animal feces.

Symptoms of infection include diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, and can lead to kidney failure and more.

Wyant said public health authorities haven’t pinpointed the exact cause of the North Carolina outbreak but said "we can pretty much say it's not the food."

"We're thinking that it's probably the animals at this point; we just can't pinpoint which animal," she said. "We had camel rides, pony rides, exotic animal exhibits, cow-milking, kangaroos, a six-...

Amazon.com, the online retailer that has many brick-and-mortar companies on the defensive, said it will hire more than 50,000 seasonal employees nationwide for the holiday shopping season.

That’s more than double the 20,000 full-time workers that Amazon usually has manning its 40 fulfillment centers around the U.S.

But with a surge of Christmas orders expected in the next few months, the hiring push is a necessary step, said Dave Clark, vice president of global customer fulfillment for Amazon.

And a bonus: Many of the seasonal employees may end up joining the permanent Amazon workforce, in which many are paid 30% more than traditional retail workers, the company said.

“Temporary associates play a critical role in meeting increased customer demand during the holiday season, and we expect thousands of temporary associates will stay on in full-time positions,” Clark said in a statement.

Each year, retailers boost their ranks to handle the swell in demand from shoppers who...

Vikram Pandit is out at Citigroup. Here are some highlights of his nearly five-year tenure:

— 2007: Old Lane hedge fund, which Pandit formed a year earlier, is acquired by Citi for $800 million. Pandit becomes head of alternative investments and, later, Citi's institutional clients group.

— December 2007: Pandit is named Citi's CEO.

— September 2008: Citi announces it will buy the struggling bank Wachovia at the height of the financial crisis. Days later, rival bank Wells Fargo charges in with another offer, eventually muscling Citi out of the way.

— October-November 2008: Citigroup receives $45 billion in taxpayer aid. The government later converts $25 billion of the aid into an ownership stake in Citigroup.

— February 2009. Pandit pledges to take a salary of just $1 until the bank turns a profit.

— December 2009. Citi repays the $20 billion it owed the government.

— December 2010: U.S. Treasury Department sells the last part of its stake in...

NEW YORK — Vikram Pandit's sudden exit as Citigroup Inc.'s chief executive has Wall Street  speculating about the "real story" behind the shake-up at the country's third-largest bank.

Among the questions: Was Pandit ousted? Did he and Citi's board clash over his pay, his management or the bank's strategy?

Or was Pandit's departure all part of the plan? Some viewed the former hedge-fund manager and financial scholar as a placeholder who would stabilize the lumbering behemoth until its fortunes improved. Citi did report stronger-than-expected earnings Monday.

Citi, so far, isn't saying. Either way, some analysts see the swiftness of Pandit's exit — coupled with the immediate departure of John Havens, president and chief operating officer — as odd, if not troubling.

“It’s definitely a negative to run things that way,” Erik Oja, a bank analyst at S&P Capital IQ, said in an interview.

Morningstar analyst Jim Sinegal said the company should have had a clear...

The nation's largest health insurer, UnitedHealth Group Inc., reported a 23% increase in third-quarter profit on the strength of continued growth in its Medicare and Medicaid businesses.

The Minnetonka, Minn., company raised its full-year earnings forecast and said overall medical costs among its customers remained largely in check. UnitedHealth is the first major health insurer to report third-quarter results, and it often sets the tone for the industry.

UnitedHealth said net income for the quarter ending Sept. 30 was $1.56 billion, or $1.50 a share, compared with $1.27 billion, or $1.17 a share, for the same period a year ago. Revenue in the quarter grew 8% to $27.3 billion.

The company boosted its 2012 outlook to $5.20 to $5.25 a share, up from $4.90 to $5 previously. Shares of UnitedHealth were up 12 cents to $57.61 in midday trading Tuesday.

UnitedHealth is the largest U.S. health insurer with 36.5 million members. Like many competitors, UnitedHealth is finding much of its growth from...

Toy maker Mattel Inc. reported a strong third quarter Tuesday, lifted by healthy sales of American Girl dolls and Fisher-Price toys just head of the crucial holiday season.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, the El Segundo retailer posted a profit of $365.9 million, or $1.04 a share, up nearly 22% from $300.8 million, or 86 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Sales also rose 4% to $2.08 billion.

The results beat analyst expectations and positions the toy maker nicely for the holiday months ahead when retailers can rake in up to 40% of their annual sales.

Bryan Stockton, Mattel's chief executive, said the strong showing "represents another quarter of building momentum in the marketplace."

"With the holidays still in front of us, we remain focused on executing our business and driving retail sales in the all-important holiday season," Stockton said in a Tuesday analyst call.

The competition has already begun to woo dollars among retailers peddling toys. Toys R Us rolled out a...

Trick-or-treating connoisseurs should head to San Francisco come Halloween for a ghoulish jaunt that involves the least walking, the most candy and the safest streets for kids, according to a new report.

Despite its hilly geography, San Francisco tops the list of best trick-or-treating cities from real estate website Zillow. The company weighed four variables in deciding its rankings: local home values, population density, walkability of neighborhoods and crime rates.

Fog City – especially the Presidio Heights and Sea Cliff zones – has high-priced homes likely occupied by wealthy residents more likely to give out hefty tubs of candy, according to the report.

Boston was second on Zillow’s list, followed by Honolulu, Seattle, San Jose and Chicago.

Los Angeles was seventh. The top neighborhoods to hunt for candy are, in order, Cheviot Hills, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Studio City and Beverlywood, according to Zillow.

PHOTOS: Top 10 most popular Halloween costumes

A record...

WASHINGTON -- Consumers did a better job making on-time payments for mortgages and credit cards last month than at any point since the end of the Great Recession.

A leading index of defaults on consumer loans fell in September for the ninth straight month, hitting its lowest level since 2009.

Defaults in four of the five loan categories tracked by the S&P Dow Jones Indices and credit reporting company Experian also dropped to their lowest level 2009, the companies said Tuesday.

Auto loan defaults were the only category to show an increase in September.

The overall composite index of all consumer loan defaults dropped to 1.46%, a post-recession low.

"We think it is very fair to say that 2012 has proven to be a period of financial repair for consumers", David M. Blitzer, chairman of the index committee for S&P Dow Jones Indices, sain in a statement. "Consumers' financial condition continues to improve as witnessed by these declining credit default rates."

Loan default rates have fallen as...