Austin American-Statesman Business Digest column [Austin American-Statesman]

(Austin American-Statesman (TX) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) March 19--WALL STREET Eurozone worries send U.S. stocks lower U.S. stocks closed lower on Wall Street as investors worried that a controversial proposal to seize money from depositors in Cyprus could set off another bout of anxiety over Europe's shared currency.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 62 points, or 0.4 percent, to 14,452 on Monday. It had plunged as much as 110 points in the early going, briefly turned positive in the afternoon then fell back again in the last hour of trading.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 8 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,552. The Nasdaq composite dropped 11 points, or 0.4 percent, to 3,237.

AUTOMAKERS Chrysler recalls Dodge Challengers for fire risk DETROIT-- Chrysler is telling owners of about 2,500 Dodge Challenger muscle cars with V-6 engines not to drive them because a short in a wiring circuit can set them on fire.

Owners also are being told not to park the cars in a garage or near a structure until the problem can be fixed.

The cars are from the 2013 model year and have V-6 engines. They were made during the eight weeks that ended Jan. 24.

E-COMMERCE EBay CEO's compensation nearly doubles NEW YORK -- EBay Inc. CEO John Donahoe's compensation nearly doubled to $29.7 million in 2012, a year that saw the e-commerce company's stock gain 68 percent thanks to growth in its namesake marketplaces business and PayPal.

Donahoe's compensation was valued at $16.5 million in 2011, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.

His salary grew about 3 percent to $970,353. The bulk of the increase came from stock awards amounting to $23.7 million last year, up from $8.9 million in 2011.

He got an incentive payment of $2.8 million and options worth $2 million.

EBay has been trying to expand PayPal, still largely an online payments service, into brick-and-mortar retailers. Stronger-than-expected results in the final quarter of the year topped the biggest year ever for the company.

TECHNOLOGY Ericsson, STMicroelectronics to cut 1,600 jobs STOCKHOLM -- Swedish wireless equipment maker Ericsson and Switzerland's STMicroelectronics say they will lay off up to 1,600 workers globally as part of a plan for splitting up their unprofitable joint venture.

STMicroelectronics, one of Europe's largest chipmakers, announced in December that it wanted out of ST-Ericsson as it struggled with a downturn in global demand. After months of talks the two companies said Monday they had agreed to end the joint venture.

Ericsson said it will take on the joint venture's "thin modem" products, designed for smartphones and tablets while STMicroelectronics will deal with other existing products and related businesses.

BEVERAGES Coca-Cola puts fizz, flavor in new Glaceau water NEW YORK -- Coca-Cola is taking bottled water and doing what it does best -- giving it some bubbles and flavor.

The Atlanta-based company confirmed Monday that it would introduce a line of zero-calorie, carbonated, fruit-flavored waters called "Fruitwater" starting April 1. The drink will be part of Coca-Cola's Glaceau unit, which makes other pricier bottled waters such as Vitaminwater and Smartwater.

Unlike the zero-calorie version of Vitaminwater, which is made with the natural sweetener stevia, Fruitwater will be sweetened with the artificial sweetener sucralose, best known as Splenda. It will not contain any fruit juice but the bottle notes that the drink is "enhanced with nutrients," a reference to its B vitamins, magnesium and zinc.

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