General Motors has reached a deal to sell its Nexteer steering business to a venture backed by Chinese companies.

GM said Wednesday that it will sell the division to Pacific Century Motors for an undisclosed sum.

The venture is made up of the investing arm of the Beijing municipal government and Beijing-based auto parts maker The Tempo Group.

The automaker announced in January that it planned to sell Nexteer, which it acquired last year as part of the bankruptcy of auto parts supplier Delphi Corp. Delphi was GM’s parts-making unit until it was spun off as an independent entity in 1999.

Nexteer has more than 40 manufacturing, engineering and customer support centers across the world.

The sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

EU lawmakers vote to cap bank bonuses

European Union lawmakers have voted overwhelmingly to cap bankers’ short-term cash bonuses from next year, a move that European leaders hope other parts of the world will follow.

Members of the European Parliament voted 625-28 in favor of the new rules, which will become final when they are approved by EU finance ministers as expected next week.

From 2011, bankers will be able to get only part of their yearly bonuses in cash up front. The other 70 percent will be held back and paid out if the company performs well.

The caps come after a European outcry over payments to executives of banks that received huge state bailouts during the financial crisis. Some say bonuses encouraged bankers to take massive risks at the expense of the long-term future of their businesses.

Michel Barnier, the EU’s financial services commissioner, said the new rules send a strong message that “there will be no return to business as usual.”

Kroger, Shell expand fuel deal

Shell Oil Co. has begun offering gasoline discounts to regular Kroger Co. shoppers in four Michigan markets, the first expansion of the companies’ team-up.

Kroger loyalty card holders now can get 10 cents off a gallon at Shell stations in Detroit, Flint, Lansing and Saginaw for every $100 spent in Kroger stores.

Kroger spokeswoman Meghan Glynn said Wednesday that the companies are evaluating the next step in the program that began in February in Cincinnati, Dayton, San Diego, Nashville and Knoxville, Tenn.

Gas discounts are popular incentives for shopper loyalty amid tough grocery competition. Midwest superstore chain Meijer Inc., based in Grand Rapids, Mich., is among competitors that offer fuel breaks.

Stocks surge; Dow tops 10,000

The Dow Jones industrials climbed back above 10,000 Wednesday after investors had second thoughts about the heavy selling in the stock market during the last two weeks.

Stocks soared and the Dow rose 275 points after a modest gain Tuesday. It was the market’s first back-to-back advance since mid-June and the first close above the psychological benchmark of 10,000 since June 28. But analysts warn that the buying doesn’t mean that investors are more optimistic. They said there wasn’t a single catalyst behind the move and that it looked like a case of investors scooping up stocks that had become cheaper after heavy losses.