Business Bites

The U.S. Department of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Deptartment of Labor reported Tuesday that the consumer price index, the main inflation indicator for the U.S., increased to 164.0 in October, up 0.2 percent from its level in September, 163.6.

The rise reflects upturns in the price of food and energy, especially that of petroleum products and prices of fruits and vegetables, which rose moderately to sharply in October.

In the past 12 months inflation inched up 1.5 percent, substantially less than usual due in large part to depressed import prices and a strong dollar, both of which increased consumer purchasing power.

DaimlerChrysler AG, the conglomerate created from the merger of American automaker Chrysler Corp. and Germany's Daimler-Benz AG, traded for the first time Tuesday on the New York and Frankfurt stock exchanges under the ticker DCX.

The $42 billion merger between the No. 3 U.S. auto company and German industrial services giant Daimler-Benz, best known for its Mercedes Benz line of luxury automobiles and Freightliner trucks, creates a transportation giant ranking fifth worldwide in total revenues.

The company's some 260 plants employ 431,000 workers in 25 countries.