Suffolk development panel ... and other business briefs

LONG ISLAND

Bellone: New development panel

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone on Thursday announced the creation of an "economic development committee" to help improve the climate for job creation in the county. Bellone also named Elizabeth Custodio, a banker from Stony Brook, to serve as the committee's vice chair. The chairman is Robert Stricoff, CEO of the Babylon Town Industrial Development Agency. They will recruit 10 others for the committee, a Bellone aide said. Custodio, 58, resigned Thursday from the Suffolk IDA board, which she joined in June 2008. She works for Astoria Federal Savings as its assistant Community Reinvestment Act officer. There is no compensation for serving on the committee or the seven-member IDA board. The Suffolk County Legislature appoints the IDA board. -- James T. Madore

NATION

Rise in jobless benefits claims

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week by 17,000, reversing four weeks of declines. But the number of people seeking aid is consistent with a job market that continues to grow modestly. Unemployment claims rose the week of Dec. 15 to a seasonally adjusted 361,000 from a revised 344,000 the week before. The less-volatile four-week moving average fell 13,750 to 367,750, the lowest since late October. Applications had surged in early November after superstorm Sandy, then dropped back.

Faulty hoods trigger GM recall

General Motors is recalling more than 145,000 pickup trucks because the hoods can fly open unexpectedly and block the driver's vision. The recall affects Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize trucks from the 2010 through 2012 model years. Most of the trucks were sold in North America. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says some of the trucks may not have a secondary hood latch. If the main latch isn't fastened, the hoods can open while the trucks are in motion. GM said Thursday that it doesn't know of any crashes or injuries caused by the problem.

$1 Facebook service eyed

Facebook says it is testing a service that will charge users $1 to guarantee that messages they send to people they are not connected to arrive in users' inboxes, rather than in an often-ignored folder called "other." Launched in 2011, the "other" folder is where Facebook routes messages it deems less relevant. Not quite spam, these include messages from people you most likely don't know, based on Facebook's reading of your social connections. Many users ignore this folder. Now, users will be able to pay $1 to route their messages to non-friends. Facebook said Thursday that it is testing the service with a small percentage of individuals -- not businesses -- in the United States. "For example, if you want to send a message to someone you heard speak at an event but are not friends with, or if you want to message someone about a job opportunity, you can use this feature to reach their Inbox," Facebook said.

WORLD

Dip in BlackBerry subscribers

BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion, which is already struggling with plunging sales, said Thursday it lost subscribers for the first time in the latest quarter, as the global number of BlackBerry users dipped to 79 million. But the Canadian company added to its cash position as it prepares to launch new smartphones on Jan. 30 that are deemed critical to the company's survival. RIM's stock jumped $1.02, or 7 percent, to $15.14 in after-hours trading. Three months ago, RIM had 80 million subscribers. Once coveted symbols of an always-connected lifestyle, BlackBerry phones have lost their luster to Apple's iPhone and phones that run on Google's Android software.-- AP