Walmart halts store plans for India over regulations

Walmart Stores said Wednesday that it is splitting from its Indian business partner and suspending plans for its own retail stores there because strict government regulations on sourcing from local small businesses make it impossible.

The move by the world’s largest retailer represents a blow to India’s attempts to attract foreign investment in the huge but underdeveloped retail sector. Walmart already runs a wholesaling joint venture in India and will continue that business, buying out partner Bharti Enterprises.

Despite a potential market of 1.2 billion people, no large foreign chains have formally applied to open supermarkets and other multibrand stores since the government changed the law last year to allow them to invest more in the $400 billion sector previously reserved mostly for Indian companies.

Foreclosure actions fell to seven-year low in quarter

The number of U.S. homes set on the path to foreclosure slid to a seven-year low in the third quarter, reflecting a gradually improving housing market and fewer homeowners falling behind on mortgage payments.

Lenders initiated foreclosure action on 174,366 homes in the July-September period, the lowest level since the second quarter of 2006, the foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.

Foreclosure starts declined 13 percent from the previous quarter and were down 39 percent from the third quarter last year, the firm said.

GM recalls 22,000 pickups over seat safety problem

General Motors is recalling nearly 22,000 full-size pickup trucks to fix problems with the seats.

The recall affects Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups from the 2014 model year that were sold in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The trucks have manual front reclining seat backs.

Canadian safety regulators say the seats could move in a rear-end crash, and the headrests may not protect passengers as designed.

GM says it doesn’t know of any crashes or injuries caused by the problem.

Stocks have a steady day, and energy prices decline

The Dow Jones Industrial average rose 26.45 points, or 0.2 percent, to close 14,802.98 on Wednesday. The Nasdaq composite fell 17.06 points, or 0.5 percent, to 3,677.78.The S&P 500 index gained 0.95 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,656.40.

Benchmark crude for November delivery fell $1.88 to $101.61 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Wholesale gasoline fell 1 cent to $2.62 per gallon. Natural gas lost 4 cents to $3.68 per 1,000 cubic feet. Heating oil fell 2 cents to $3.02 per gallon.

– From news service reports