Biz Buzz

LONG ISLAND

Sbarro bankruptcy near?

Sbarro Inc. may seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after missing a $7.8-million interest payment on its debt of $150 million in senior notes, a person familiar with the process said. The filing may come as early as next week, said the person, who declined to be identified because deliberations are private. Manhattan-based MidOcean Partners bought the pizza chain in 2007, according to Sbarro's website. The company is still examining options on how to restructure debt. Sbarro, led by interim chief executive Nicholas McGrane, owns or franchises more than 1,000 fast-food Italian restaurants. The Melville-based chain has about $350 million in bonds and loans. -- Bloomberg News

NATION

New car sales on the rise

U.S. sales of new cars and trucks rose in March, helped by a brighter jobs outlook and rising sales of fuel-efficient vehicles. New sales rose 11 percent at General Motors, 16 percent at Ford, 23 percent at Honda and 27 percent at Nissan, all aided by sales of smaller, more efficient cars and more fuel-efficent and nimble crossover SUVs that are built on car underpinnings. Large- car sales generally were down. Of major automakers, only Toyota Motor Corp. reported a decline, nearly 6 percent. -- AP

GDP up about 3 percent

The U.S. economy grew about 3 percent in the January-March period, almost matching the expansion that occurred late last year, New York's top banker said Friday. William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, forecast a "near 3 percent" increase in the gross domestic product for the first three months of this year. That comes after a 3.1-percent gain in the value of all goods and services produced in the October-December period. But he told business people in Puerto Rico the "recovery is still tenuous" and "far off the mark" of the Fed's goals of full employment and keeping inflation in check. -- JAMES T. MADORE