[naviga:h3]U.S. unemployment claims lowest in 44 years[/naviga:h3]

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since Richard Nixon was president.

The Labor Department said Thursday that claims for jobless aid dropped by 22,000 to 222,000, fewest since March 1973. The less volatile four-week average slid by 9,500 to 248,250, lowest since late August.

The overall number of Americans collecting unemployment checks dropped to 1.89 million, lowest since December 1973 and down nearly 9 percent from a year ago.

Unemployment claims are a proxy for layoffs. The low level suggests that employers are confident enough in the economy to hold onto workers.

[naviga:h3]Toyota tops auto reliability rankings[/naviga:h3]

DETROIT — Toyota Motor Co. is continuing its reign at the top of Consumer Reports’ reliability rankings, a reward for its conservative approach to new technology.

The Toyota brand came in first in this year’s rankings, followed by the company’s luxury Lexus brand. It’s the fifth year in a row that a Toyota brand has topped the survey. Kia, Audi and BMW rounded out the top five.

Cadillac, GMC, Ram, Dodge and Volvo got the poorest reliability scores, dinged by buyers’ problems with their infotainment systems and transmissions.

Chrysler was the biggest climber in the rankings, thanks to consumer reviews of its new Pacifica minivan. Acura fell the furthest, hurt by problems with the transmissions on several of its new models.

[naviga:h3]Google parent leads $1B Lyft investment[/naviga:h3]

SAN FRANCISCO — Google’s parent company is throwing its financial support behind ride-hailing service Lyft, deepening its rift with market leader Uber.

Alphabet Inc., which gets most of its money from Google’s digital ad network, is leading a $1 billion investment in Lyft that values the privately held company at $11 billion.

Uber has been enmeshed in internal strife amid management upheaval and allegations of rampant sexual harassment that culminated in the departure of co-founder Travis Kalanick.

Lyft has seized on Uber’s turmoil as an opportunity to gain ground on its rival in the rapidly growing ride-hailing market while expanding into more cities across the U.S.

“While we’ve made great progress toward our vision, we’re most excited about what lies ahead,” Lyft President John Zimmer said in a statement.