The news at a glance

General Motors: Dealers get a reprieve

General Motors has decided to reinstate more than half of the 1,100 dealerships it had planned to close, bowing to intense lobbying from dealers and Congress, said Dana Hedgpeth in The Washington Post. A year ago, during its monthlong stay in bankruptcy court, the company announced that it needed to weed out as many as 2,400 dealerships, later revising that figure downward. But about 600 dealerships have now been notified that they can apply for reinstatement, if they show they have good customer-satisfaction scores, as well as adequate financing and working capital.

Give Congress some credit for GM’s change of heart, said Doug Rainey in the Newark, Del., Post. A law passed in December mandated that GM go to binding arbitration, a costly and time-consuming process, to resolve disputes with dealerships that claimed they were unfairly singled out for closure. GM decided that it didn’t need the distraction from its ongoing turnaround. Toyota’s woes also played a part in convincing GM to keep some of the dealerships open. With consumers questioning the safety of Toyota’s vehicles, GM saw “a rare opportunity to pick up some market share.”

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Smart phones: Did HTC pinch Apple’s software?

Apple has sued mobile phone maker HTC, claiming that HTC stole its display technology, said Chris Foresman in ArsTechnica.com. Apple claims that HTC has violated at least 20 Apple patents, including the touch-screen technology that allows users to navigate the phone with hand gestures. HTC might have to disable its customers’ phones if Apple prevails in court, but the parties are more likely to settle.

Insurance: AIG does another deal

Insurer AIG has completed its second big transaction in two weeks, agreeing to sell American Life Insurance Co. to MetLife for $15.5 bil­lion, said Mary Williams Walsh in The New York Times. American Life’s biggest markets are Japan and Britain. AIG, which last week sold its Asia-based AIA unit to Britain’s Prudential for $35.5 billion, will use the sale proceeds to repay some of its debt to the U.S. Treasury. But even after paying back about $51 billion from the two most recent transactions, AIG still owes about $50 billion.

Investment banking: Goldman’s reputation a risk

Goldman Sachs, the target of withering criticism in Congress and in the press, last week took the highly unusual step of warning shareholders that bad publicity posed a serious risk to the company, said Joe Bel Bruno in The Wall Street Journal. In its latest annual report to shareholders, Goldman listed “adverse publicity” among the risks it faces, along with treacherous financial markets and natural disasters. Pilloried for contributing to the financial crisis and paying multimillion-dollar bonuses to some employees, “Goldman has become one giant piñata to whack,” said Charles Elson of the University of Delaware.

Housing: Short sales get a boost

In a bid to prevent widespread home foreclosures from derailing the economic recovery, the Obama administration this week unveiled a plan to pay some delinquent mortgage holders to leave their homes, said David Streitfeld in The New York Times. The program “will allow homeowners to sell for less than they owe and will give them a little cash to speed them on their way.” The program also awards fees to banks that accept so-called short sales. Previous administration efforts to stem the foreclosure flood have had little impact.