Toyota’s Hino to pay $1.6 billion as part of emissions scandal

A Toyota division that manufactures trucks will pay more than $1.6 billion and plead guilty to violations related to the submission of false and fraudulent engine emission testing and fuel consumption data to regulators and the illicit smuggling of engines into the United States.

Hino Motors, a subsidiary of Toyota, first acknowledged in 2022 that it has systematically falsified emissions data dating back as far as 2003.

That was part of a broader scandal involving emissions tests that ensnared other automakers as well.

The Justice Department said that Hino’s unlawful conduct allowed it to improperly secure approvals to import and sell, and cause to be imported and sold, more than 110,000 diesel engines in the U.S. from 2010 to 2022. The engines were primarily installed in heavy-duty trucks made and sold by Hino nationwide.

Hino Motors Ltd. has agreed to plead guilty to engaging in a multi-year criminal conspiracy. The plea agreement, which is subject to court approval, requires the company to pay a criminal fine of $521.76 million, serve a five-year term of probation — during which it will be prohibited from importing any diesel engines it has made into the U.S. — and implement a comprehensive compliance and ethics program and reporting structure.

Mortgage rate at 7%, highest since May

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. ticked up this week to slightly above 7%, the highest level in eight months.

The rate rose to 7.04% from 6.93% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, it averaged 6.6%. It has risen for five straight weeks.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners seeking to refinance their home loan to a lower rate, also rose this week. The average rate increased to 6.27% from 6.14% last week. A year ago, it averaged 5.76%, Freddie Mac said.

The uptick in the cost of home loans reflects a rise in the bond yields that lenders use as a guide to price mortgages, specifically the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury. The yield on the 10-year Treasury has climbed from 3.62% in mid-September to 4.61% as of midday Thursday.

The elevated mortgage rates, which can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, have discouraged home shoppers, prolonging a national home sales slump that began in 2022.

While sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in November for the second straight month, the housing market was on track to end 2024 as its worst year for sales since 1995. Full-year home sales data are due out next week.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage is now the highest it’s been since May 9, when it was at 7.09%.

Oil giant BP to cut 4,700 jobs worldwide

BP is cutting 4,700 jobs worldwide and a further 3,000 contractor roles as part of a cost-saving drive.

In an email to staff on Thursday that has been seen by The Associated Press, CEO Murray Auchincloss said the job losses “account for much of the anticipated reduction this year.”

The reductions amount to just over 5% of BP’s 90,000 worldwide employees. Auchincloss’s memo said that about 2,600 of the contractors involved in the job cuts have already left the business.

Last October, the company said it had identified $500 million of cost savings to be delivered this year, a quarter of the $2 billion-target set in April by the end of 2026.

Compiled from Associated Press reports.