Automotive

TORONTO — Carmakers say they're caught in a game of cat-and-mouse with criminals as auto thefts surge. Though they're taking steps to improve security features, the companies say every update is eventually countered by new efforts from bad actors.

OTTAWA — The federal government is earmarking $28 million in new money to help fight the export of stolen vehicles.

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — As officers tried to get a would-be bank robber in Florida to surrender, the man decided instead to take two hostages.

DETROIT (AP) — A couple of blocks from the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, Electrify America is about to open an indoor charging station that lets drivers relax in a lounge while their electric vehicle batteries are being filled up.

VANCOUVER — Finning International Inc. reported its fourth-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as it was hit by a foreign exchange loss in Argentina due to government currency restrictions and a devaluation of the Argentine peso.

It will come as no surprise that the new movie “Lisa Frankenstein” is a real monster — stitched together from previous movies, painfully incoherent and deeply, deeply dumb.

TOKYO — Wall Street drifted lower before the opening bell Wednesday in another week packed with corporate earnings. Futures for the S&P 500 inched down less than 0.1% before the bell and futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Bartender Catey Regis had a pricey misadventure buying a used car recently — an experience that speaks to why voters are worrying about the U.S. economy going into this year's presidential election .

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Wednesday, tracking gains on Wall Street, although Tokyo's benchmark slipped. U.S. futures and oil prices advanced.

General Motors' troubled robotaxi service Cruise on Tuesday endured a public lashing from a California judge who compared the company to the devious TV character Eddie Haskell for its behavior following a ghastly collision that wrecked its ambitious