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Nine things you may have missed Wednesday from the world of business

ECONOMY

Fed chief Yellen says rate hike possible in December

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen said Wednesday an interest rate hike in December would be a ‘‘live possibility’’ if the economy stays on track. Yellen described the US economy as ‘‘performing well,’’ with solid growth in domestic spending. At a meeting last week, policy makers believed that the threat of global headwinds had ebbed, Yellen said. At its Dec. 15-16 meeting, the Fed will consider raising a key interest rate from a record low near zero if the economy continues to grow at a strong enough pace to keep adding jobs and push annual inflation toward the Fed’s 2 percent target, Yellen said. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

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EMPLOYMENT

US firms add 182,000 jobs in October

WASHINGTON — American businesses added a solid but unspectacular 182,000 jobs in October, according to a private survey. In a report Wednesday, payroll processor ADP also revised September job creation down to 190,000 from 200,000 reported earlier. American consumers are spending at healthy levels, encouraged by increased job security, low energy prices, and improved family finances. But manufacturers have been hurt by a strong dollar and economic weakness overseas. ADP reported that factories shed 2,000 jobs in October on top of a loss of 17,000 jobs in September. The government will issue its official jobs report for October on Friday. Economists forecast that report will show that employers added 180,000 private-sector and government jobs, and the unemployment rate stayed at 5.1 percent for the third straight month. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

SPONSORSHIPS

Beer maker to pay NFL $1.4b in Bud Light expansion deal

NFL fans are about to see even more Bud Light. The beer brand, owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, is expanding its current sponsorship with the National Football League and adding five more seasons to the contract, according to a statement Wednesday. The brewer will pay the league more than $1.4 billion as part of the new agreement, said a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the financial terms are private. As part of the accord, Bud Light will increase the events it sponsors, have greater access to footage for its marketing, and be used in more teams’ promotional materials. The existing contract had been set to expire in less than two years. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

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Banking

Deutsche Bank to pay $258m for violating US sanctions

ALBANY, N.Y. — Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay $258 million to settle legal problems stemming from US sanctions violations, New York regulators said Wednesday. Under the settlement, Deutsche Bank will dismiss six people, ban three others from duties involving US operations, and install an independent monitor, according to New York’s Department of Financial Services. The six are two managing directors, two directors, and two vice presidents. The German bank processed nearly $11 billion in payments through its New York branch between 1999 and 2006 on behalf of Sudanese, Iranian, Burmese, Libyan, and Syrian entities, the department said. Staff overseas removed some identifying information before passing US dollar payments along to the US branch for clearing, according to investigators. It will pay $200 million to the department and $58 million to the Federal Reserve. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

REGULATION

Critics call new British cyberlaw a license to snoop

LONDON — The British government plans to make telecommunications firms keep records of customers’ Web histories and help spies hack into computers and phones under a new cyber-snooping law unveiled Wednesday. The draft Investigatory Powers Bill is intended to replace a patchwork of laws, some dating from the Web’s infancy, and set the limits of surveillance in the digital age. Home Secretary Theresa May said the new rules would give security services a ‘‘license to operate’’ in the Internet era, but privacy groups called them a license to snoop. If approved by Parliament, the bill will let police and spies access Internet connection records — a list of websites, apps, and messaging services someone has visited, though not the individual pages they looked at or the messages they sent. Communications companies will be required to hold onto the records for up to a year, and police can seek warrants to look at them as part of criminal or terrorism investigations. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

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RECALL

Mercedes reports problems with air bags on some models

DETROIT — Mercedes is recalling more than 126,000 cars and SUVs in the United States to fix a problem that can cause the air bags to inflate without a crash. The recall covers the C-300, C-350, and C-63 models from 2008 and 2009, and the GLK-350 4-Matic from 2010. Mercedes says the air bag control unit can corrode and malfunction due to a manufacturing error. That can make the air bags deploy without warning, or they might not inflate in a crash. The company reported three unintended deployments in the United States and three in other countries. It was unclear if anyone was hurt. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

EMISSIONS SCANDAL

Investors flee as VW is pressured to reveal inquiry findings

FRANKFURT — The fallout from Volkswagen’s emissions-cheating scandal intensified Wednesday, as investors bailed out and European regulators pressured VW to disclose the findings of an internal investigation. In the United States, the company halted sales of seven models that allegedly were part of the cheating. On Tuesday, VW admitted that it had understated the carbon dioxide emissions for 800,000 cars, widening the scope of a scandal that has forced the ouster of a chief executive and prompted investigations and lawsuits on several continents. The company has been unable halt the flow of bad news since mid-September, when the Environmental Protection Agency said Volkswagen had installed software on 482,000 cars that enabled them to cheat on emissions tests for nitrogen oxide, a pollutant that contributes to smog and respiratory problems. The software reduced emissions when the car was on a test stand. Volkswagen acknowledged that 11 million vehicles with small diesel engines worldwide have the software — but only after denying its use for more than a year. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Manufacturing

Kraft Heinz two-year downsizing plan to cut 2,600 jobs

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Kraft Heinz will close seven plants in the United States and Canada as part of a downsizing that will eliminate 2,600 jobs, or roughly 14 percent of its North American factory workforce, the newly-merged food company said Wednesday. The company said the reduction, which will take place over the next two years, is part of a plan to save $1.5 billion in operating costs by the end of 2017. The plants slated for closure are in California, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Ontario. Among the hardest hit cities will be Madison, Wis., where a nearly century-old Oscar Mayer plant that employs 700 production workers will close. Kraft Heinz also said it would move about 250 corporate jobs from Madison to Chicago, the company’s co-headquarters along with Pittsburgh. The company said it would also close plants in Fullerton and San Leandro, Calif.; Federalsburg, Md.; St. Marys, Ontario, Canada; Campbell, N.Y.; and Lehigh Valley, Pa. The plants make a wide range of products, including cold cuts, salad dressing, macaroni, and coffee. The company also will close its Oscar Mayer plant in downtown Davenport, Iowa, and move its meat production to a planned $203 million plant that will be built several miles away. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

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IPO

Japan Post surges in trading debut

TOKYO — Shares of Japan Post surged nearly 26 percent in their trading debut Wednesday after the company and its banking and insurance units raised a combined $11.9 billion in the world’s biggest initial public offering this year. The long-awaited sale of shares in the state-owned company was the biggest since Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings raised $25 billion in its IPO in September 2014. The Japan Post sale is meant to tease out some of the more than $14 trillion that Japanese have squirreled away in savings accounts. Some IPO funds will help pay for rebuilding from the 2011 tsunami disaster. — ASSOCIATED PRESS