AUTOMOBILES

Mass. AG sues JD Byrider over quality of cars, loan terms

The Massachusetts attorney general has sued a car dealership that allegedly sold lemons to hundreds of customers under predatory loan terms. The suit filed Tuesday against JD Byrider alleges the dealer sold defective and sometimes inoperable vehicles with high-cost loans at four Massachusetts locations — Boston, Brockton, Dartmouth, and Springfield. The attorney general says hundreds of customers have returned vehicles to JD Byrider for repair within three months of purchase due to problems with the engine, electrical system, transmission, brakes, or drive train. The complaint alleges more than half of JD Byrider’s deals fail or end in repossession, causing long-term economic harm to consumers. The company said it is ‘‘looking into the facts of this matter carefully’’ and is ‘‘committed to working with regulators to solve concerns and improve our business.’’ — ASSOCIATED PRESS

MEAT

Company impacted by ‘pink slime’ claim sets up fund for laid-off workers

The family that owns a South Dakota meat producer said Wednesday it has set up a $10 million fund for employees laid off when the company closed three plants in 2012 over reports of a beef product that critics dubbed ‘‘pink slime.’’ Dakota Dunes-based Beef Products Inc. announced the BPI Family Support Fund, aimed at helping the hundreds of laid-off employees and their communities. The company laid off about 750 workers and closed plants in Amarillo, Texas, Garden City, Kan., and Waterloo, Iowa, in 2012, saying ABC’s coverage of the producer’s lean, finely textured beef product misled consumers into believing the product is unsafe. ABC stood by its reporting. BPI filed a $1.9 billion defamation lawsuit against ABC and the parties settled during trial in June. Terms are confidential but an attorney for the meat producer has said the settlement exceeded $177 million. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATHLETIC GEAR

Nike stock declines on news of slow turnaround

Nike Inc. shares declined Wednesday after the company squelched any hope of a quick turnaround at its ailing domestic operations. The world’s biggest sportswear maker expects North American sales to decline again this quarter, following a 3 percent dip in the region last quarter. Nike’s Converse business also will drop in the current period. The slump has forced Nike to rely more heavily on overseas growth, especially in China. International sales, along with an aggressive cost-cutting plan, helped the company post first-quarter profit that topped estimates on Tuesday. Nike fell as much as 5 percent to $51.03 after the open of trading on Wednesday, the biggest intraday decline in almost six weeks. It rebounded to close at $52.67, down nearly 2 percent. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

INSURANCE

Chubb says losses from hurricanes could total $1.3b

Chubb Ltd. said losses from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma could total as much as $1.3 billion after taxes. Harvey, which hit Texas in August and caused flooding in Houston, will cost the insurer about $520 million, the company said Wednesday in a statement. Claims expenses from Irma, the storm that slammed southern Florida earlier this month, could be $640 million to $760 million. Those figures dwarf the $107 million in after-tax catastrophe losses the insurer took during the third quarter of 2016. Storms that have pounded Caribbean islands and the coastal United States this year are driving up costs for insurers. Allstate Corp. reported that it would face $385 million in after-tax costs from storms in August. Travelers Cos. said Sept. 11 that it would suspend share buybacks while it assessed damages from the storms. That insurer expects about $245 million to $490 million in after-tax costs from Harvey. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

AIRLINES

easyJet partners with US company to develop battery-powered plane

Budget airline easyJet will collaborate with an American company to develop a battery-powered plane it can use within a decade. The airline says it’s partnering with Wright Electric, which is developing a plane that will fly for under two hours, cutting emissions and noise. The airline’s CEO, Carolyn McCall, says ‘‘it is now more a matter of when, not if, a short-haul electric plane will fly.’’ Wright Electric is working with several airlines and believes its planes will be 50 percent quieter and 10 percent cheaper for airlines to buy and operate. Jeffrey Engler, Wright Electric co-founder, compared the idea to the late President John F. Kennedy’s declaration that he wanted to put a man on the moon. Engler says ‘‘setting a big goal allows people to try to reach it.’’ — ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOME SALES

Contracts to buy homes down in August, fifth decline in past six months

Fewer people signed contracts to buy homes in August, marking the fifth decline in the past six months. The 2.6 percent fall continues to reflect the worsening shortage nationwide of homes being listed for sale. The National Association of Realtors said that its pending home sales index fell to 106.3 in August from 109.1 in July. It’s the index’s lowest point since a 106.1 reading in January 2016 and 2.6 percent lower than a year ago. Pending sales contracts are a barometer of future purchases. Sales are typically completed a month or two after a contract is signed. An economist for the association is forecasting existing home sales for 2017 to be around 5.44 million, about 0.2 percent lower than last year’s 5.45 million. The association said that Hurricanes Harvey and Irma had a particularly negative impact in the South, where pending sales contracts declined 7.8 percent. Pending sales fell 3.1 percent in the Northeast, but ticked up slightly in the Midwest and West. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

SOCIAL MEDIA

China defends crackdown on WhatsApp

China has hit out at Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp, saying the messaging service should act to stop the spread of “illegal information’’ as the country seeks greater scrutiny over the Internet in the run-up to its once-in-five years Communist Party congress. WhatsApp should take proactive measures to intercept information to do with violence and terror, the Cyberspace Administration of China said in a statement in response to questions from Bloomberg News. China has the authority to tell institutions to take these measures, said the agency, without specifying details of content it considered illegal. “A country’s cyberspace sovereignty should be protected,’’ it added. The response comes as China is seen to be tightening the screws on WhatsApp, which has until recently been one of the only remaining major messaging services to operate unfettered in the country. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

RETAIL

Walmart launching premium diaper line

Walmart has its eye on the premium diaper market, as more people are getting automatic shipments from online sellers and the company that owns Babies R Us has filed for bankruptcy. The nation’s largest retailer is launching premium diapers as part of Walmart’s relaunch of its 20-year-old Parent’s Choice brand with new or refreshed products like bedding, baby lotion, and sippy cups. The Parent’s Choice diapers, which are being priced starting at $7.24 for a pack of 35, are just hitting some Walmart stores now and will be online next month. The diaper offers up to 12 hours of dryness, and its lining is made of highly absorbent materials including pulp harvested from sustainably managed forests. — ASSOCIATED PRESS