Financial life in a big town

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s energy business agreed to buy an 81-megawatt wind power project from Invenergy Wind LLC to expand production in Illinois.

The Bishop Hill II project, which is under construction, will use 50 General Electric Co. 1.62-megawatt turbines, according to a statement Friday from Berkshire’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. in Omaha, Neb.

Berkshire, led by Warren Buffett, has been expanding renewable production at the energy unit, which also produces power with coal and natural gas. Mid-American has invested about $6 billion in wind generation and built or acquired more than 3,300 megawatts of the renewable energy source in states including Iowa, Wyoming, Washington and Oregon since 2004. Last month, the unit agreed to buy the $2 billion Topaz solar project in California from First Solar Inc payday loans guaranteed no fax.

Wind “meets current and future energy needs in an environmentally efficient and cost-effective manner,” said MidAmerican Chairman and Chief Executive Greg Abel.

The Bishop Hill II wind project is near the town of Galva, Ill., about 40 miles northwest of Peoria. The project is expected to be in commercial operation in the fourth quarter. A unit of Ameren Corp. in Illinois has agreed to buy electricity from the project under a 20-year power-purchase agreement. Terms of the Invenergy deal weren’t disclosed.

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China is allowing the nation

PARIS

China’s premier has pledged to tighten risk controls on its banks and see that they do more to help entrepreneurs to sustain economic growth in the face of a possible global slowdown.

Premier Wen Jiabao said at a weekend financial planning conference Saturday that China’s financial industries are sound but still face risks. He vows to press ahead with reforms aimed at giving market forces more influence over lending, but no details have been announced no checking account payday advance.

China’s state-owned banks avoided the financial turmoil that battered Western institutions, but a slump in global demand and exports is fueling concern its relatively robust economic growth might slow dangerously.

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China will roll out measures to boost consumption this year as it strives to meet challenges posed by a global slowdown, Commerce Minister Chen Deming said.

The government is studying policies to encourage spending on energy-saving products, and will take other measures including the promotion of online shopping and tourism, Chen told the ministry

Britain

American bought more cars and trucks last year, spurred by easier credit, an improved economy and a desire to replace the aging vehicles that got them through the Great Recession.

Sales rose sharply for Detroit’s three carmakers and for Japan’s Nissan in 2011, aided by a surge in November and December. Analysts expect that momentum to continue into 2012.

Low interest rates, looser credit standards and pent-up demand are driving demand. The average age of a car on U.S. roads is the oldest ever, closing in on 11 years. Americans want to trade in those older vehicles now that a tentative recovery has begun and they’re feeling a little more secure about jobs and finances.

Buyers also were drawn out by an array of high-quality small cars with nice, roomy interiors and more features than in the past. That made it easier to downsize from bigger cars amid high gas prices. Pickups also sold well as business began to replace the trucks they need to haul equipment.

Those trends were good for the industry, which needs sales to keep growing after a scary drop in 2009. Healthy sales are also good for the economy, which benefits from jobs created by carmakers and spending by buyers.

After final figures are tallied late Wednesday, U.S. auto sales should rise to around 12.7 million for 2011. That’s a 10 percent jump from 2010 and 22 percent from 2009, when the U.S. auto industry and the financial system were in peril. Sales are almost certain to rise again in 2012, perhaps as high as 13.8 million, marking the third straight year of growth.

“Over the course of the fourth quarter of 2011, clear signs emerged that U.S. consumers are more confident and that other underpinnings of our economy are either stable or slowly improving,” said Don Johnson, GM’s U.S. sales chief.

Chrysler led the 2011 sales gains with a 26 percent increase, followed by Nissan at 15 percent, GM at 13 percent and Ford at 11 percent, the companies reported Wednesday.

For December, Chrysler sales surged 37 percent from a year earlier on strong demand for the Jeep Wrangler and the Chrysler 200 sedan. GM was up 5 percent for the month, aided by the Chevrolet Cruze compact and pickup sales. Ford sales rose 10 percent, led by the new Explorer SUV. Nissan sales rose nearly 8 percent for December.

Chrysler Group LLC’s strong showing for December capped a remarkable turnaround under its new Italian ownership. And it’s expected to jump ahead of Honda as the No. 4 U.S. automaker in 2011.

Chrysler and GM nearly ran out of cash in 2009 and needed government help and a trip through bankruptcy protection to survive.

Chrysler, now majority owned by Fiat SpA, sold 1.37 million vehicles last year, about 284,000 more than in 2010. It has introduced 16 new or revamped models in the past two years, vehicles that have fueled its recovery.

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Chrysler and Fiat SpA, is predicting a net profit for 2011 of $600 million.

“Over the past 12 months, we successfully changed the conversation from Chrysler’s survival to products and service that consumers expect and want from a great American automaker,” Marchionne said in an e-mail to employees.

Nissan sold just over one million cars and trucks last year, its best calendar year ever. The company said it sold 944,000 Nissans and more than 98,000 of its Infiniti luxury cars and SUVs. Previously, 2007 had been the company’s best year.

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Greece’s government warned Tuesday that the debt-crippled country will have to ditch the euro if it fails to finalize a second, euro130 billion ($169 billion) international bailout.

Spokesman Pantelis Kapsis said negotiations in the next three or four months with international debt monitors will “determine everything,” including whether Greece escapes a disastrous bankruptcy.

Greece is being kept afloat by a first, euro110 billion ($142 billion) international bailout agreed in May 2010, after investors shocked by the country’s huge budget deficit and debt mountain demanded sky-high interest rates to continue buying Greek bonds.

An additional bailout was agreed in October, when it became clear that the first batch of funds would not suffice, but that deal has yet to be finalized.

Sorting out the details of the bailout, which also foresees a euro100 billion writedown of Greece’s privately held debt, is the main task of the coalition government headed by former central banker Lucas Papademos, whose short mandate is expected to expire in early April.

“This famous loan agreement must be signed, otherwise we are outside the markets, out of the euro and things will become much worse,” Kapsis told private Skai TV.

In return for its first batch of rescue loans from its European partners and the International Monetary Fund, Greece imposed deeply resented austerity measures to contain its budget deficit _ set to hit at least 9 percent of GDP last year despite repeated spending cuts and tax hikes.

Kapsis said further cutbacks, possibly including new taxes, might be required to address a revenue shortfall,

“We will see what the shortfall is and it is very likely that measures will be required,” he said. “I also don’t believe it is easy to impose new taxes, but what does cutting spending mean? To close down the public sector?”

“There is no easy solution,” Kapsis said.

The details are expected to be determined during talks later this month with debt inspectors from the EU, the European Central bank and the IMF, who will determine whether the country receives its next loan installment.

“We can’t take (approval of the next installment) for granted,” Kapsis warned.

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U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron pledged more action to deal with

Four years after Bruno Prior paid less than a dollar for an unprofitable ski resort in the Swiss Alps, the strength of the country