Toyota stops selling cars involved in recalls Toyota Motor Corp. is temporarily halting sales and production of eight models, including the top-selling Camry and Corolla, that it has recalled because the accelerator pedal can stick and cause unwanted acceleration. The automaker announced the recall of 2.3 million cars and trucks late last week. Tuesday, Toyota informed its roughly 1,200 U.S. dealers to immediately halt sales of both new and used models of the affected vehicles: the 2009 to 2010 RAV4, 2009 to 2010 Corolla, 2009 to 2010 Matrix, 2005 to 2010 Avalon, 2010 Highlander, 2007 to 2010 Tundra and 2008 to 2010 Sequoia. It also is halting sales of certain 2007 to 2010 Camry sedans.

Yahoo posts profit as online ad sales recover Yahoo Inc. moved further down the road to recovery in the fourth quarter as online advertising began to snap out of a yearlong stupor. Results released Tuesday represented the Internet company's best performance since it hired Silicon Valley veteran Carol Bartz as chief executive a year ago. Yahoo earned $153 million, or 11 cents per share, during the final three months of 2009, rebounding from a loss of $303 million, or 22 cents per share, in the prior year. Revenue slipped 4 percent to $1.73 billion.

S&P indexes to include Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will soon join the S&P 500 and S&P 100 stock indexes after it acquires Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., Standard & Poor's said Tuesday. Buffett's company will replace BNSF in both indexes after shareholders approve Berkshire's acquisition of the railroad company next month. Berkshire shareholders agreed to split the company's Class B stock 50-for-1 last week, and that move gave Buffett's company enough liquidity to meet S&P's criteria. Standard & Poor's spokesman David Guarino said Berkshire, based in Omaha, is a good fit in the indexes because it represents the U.S. economy and stock market well.

Japan's exports surge on strength in Asia Japan's exports grew for the first time in 15 months in December, helped by robust demand in Asia, the finance ministry said Wednesday. Exports -- which are a mainstay of Japan's economy, the world's second-largest -- jumped 12.1 percent from a year earlier to $60 billion in the month. Asia-bound exports, which account for more than 50 percent of Japan's total shipments, surged 31.2 percent to $3.5 billion in December, the ministry said.

Dating service eHarmony settles lawsuit The online dating service eHarmony has agreed to settle a California lawsuit that claimed it discriminated against gays. Under a proposed settlement filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, eHarmony will link its straight and gay websites and allow people to use both without paying double fees. Plaintiff's attorney Todd Schneider says the company also agreed to pay about $500,000 to an estimated 150 Californians to settle the class-action suit, plus around $1.5 million in court and attorney's fees. The company didn't admit any wrongdoing. A judge must approve the settlement.

China worries send Asian markets lower Asian markets sagged Tuesday amid concerns that China is reining in credit and might raise interest rates to curb rising inflation. Investors apparently feared that China's recent efforts to limit easy credit will be followed by tighter lending policies as the government tries to restrain speculation in the nation's fast-growing economy. The Shanghai composite index, China's leading index, fell 2.4 percent, or 75.02 points, closing at 3,019.39, the lowest point since Oct. 30. Hong Kong's Hang Seng, MSCI Asia Pacific and Japan's Nikkei also fell. Bloomberg News reported that this was the seventh consecutive day of losses and the longest market retreat in two years for Asian stocks.

FROM NEWS SERVICES