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VIENNA – OPEC ministers due to arrive here for their meeting on March 17 say there is no need to change output targets with oil prices above their preferred range, but soft demand is prompting calls to curb overproduction.

“In my opinion, I dont think we are going to see any change, even though inventories are high,” Qatars Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah told Reuters by telephone on Monday.

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NEW YORK – Gold continued to retreat Friday as investors grow more confident in the strength of currencies.

Gold had rallied throughout February and into early March as investors pulled out of currencies and opted for safe alternatives. The euro struggled because of debt concerns in countries like Greece, while US government spending weighed on the dollar.

Concerns about European debt problems have eased in recent weeks, however. That has led some investors to return to the currency market and sell gold.

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WASHINGTON – US retail sales rose unexpectedly last month despite heavy snow storms that were thought to have kept shoppers at home and bolstered hopes of a sustainable economic recovery.

Optimism about Fridays report was tempered by a slip in consumer confidence early this month. Worries about stubbornly high unemployment held back sentiment, even though the economy appears to be on the cusp of creating jobs.

“The manufacturing recovery is starting to broaden out to the key consumer area of the economy. Consumers are keeping up their end of the bargain to ensure the recovery from recession is a sustainable one,” said Chris Rupkey of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in New York.

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WASHINGTON – The US government, while pushing for tougher sanctions against Tehran, has given $107 billion in the last 10 years to US and foreign companies doing business in Iran, much of it in the energy sector, The New York Times reported Saturday.

Despite the threat of punishment for companies that seek US federal contracts while dealing with Iran, the Times said successive administrations have struggled to exert authority over foreign companies and overseas units of US firms.

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WASHINGTON – President Barack Obamas budget plans would rack up $9.8 trillion more US debt by 2020, or $1.2 trillion more than the White House has forecast, the Congressional Budget Office said on Friday.

Republicans seized on the estimate to fault Obama, saying his plans would raise US government debt to an “alarming” 90 percent of the US economy.

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TOKYO – Toyota is considering a recall of its hot-selling Corolla subcompact after complaints about power steering problems – another blow to the worlds largest automaker already reeling from a string of recalls for safety problems.

Company President Akio Toyoda, meanwhile, said he wont be attending the US congressional hearing on the automakers safety lapses, entrusting the job to US-based executives – though he did say he would consider appearing if summoned. He said he wanted to focus his energies on improving quality worldwide.

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WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama Friday signed into law a bill allowing the United States to borrow another 1.9 trillion dollars, and offsetting the cost of new programs with spending cuts or tax rises.

Obama signed the measure, raising the US debt ceiling to $14.3 trillion, with no public flourish, at a time of rising public anxiety over increasing US government debts and deficits.

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TOKYO/WASHINGTON: Toyota Motor Corp said it would call in nearly half a million new Prius and other hybrid cars for braking problems, the third recall in a spiraling safety crisis at the world’s biggest carmaker.

US authorities stepped up scrutiny of Toyota, whose reputation was already on the line over fixes to more than 8 million vehicles worldwide for slipping floormats and sticky accelerator pedals.

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NEW YORK: US and European stocks eked out gains on Monday, lifted by defensive shares, while the euro edged up from 8-1/2-month lows despite persistent worries about the fiscal health of highly indebted nations in the euro zone.

A modest rebound on Wall Street helped pushed the euro to a session high above $1.37, although sentiment toward the single currency remained broadly negative, analysts said. US stocks edged higher after results at drugstore operator CVS Caremark Corp. and toy maker Hasbro Inc. topped expectations and both companies raised their outlooks. Rising defensive stocks such as drug makers helped European shares snap three days of losses, but worries about Greece and other debt-laden European countries kept gains in check.

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TOKYO – Toyota is counting on a trusted veteran with ample US experience, Yoshimi Inaba, when the Japanese automakers recall problems are scrutinized by Congress later this week.

Inaba, 63, a sales expert, was hand-picked from semiretirement by Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda last year to head the North American operations and help steer Toyota through the companys biggest earnings slump in its 72-year history as global auto sales dived.

Now he must explain a spate of safety problems – first with floor mats that could entangle the gas pedal, followed by a design flaw that could cause a depressed gas pedal to get stuck – covering more than 7 million vehicles worldwide.

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