AUTOS

FTC Extends GM-Toyota Venture: The Federal Trade Commission ruled that a joint auto-assembly venture of General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. can continue indefinitely. The agency originally had ordered the venture, New United Motor Manufacturing in Fremont, Calif., to close at the end of 1996 amid earlier fears about potential collusion between the two auto giants. The FTC decision comes as a stamp of approval for the increasing number of U.S-Japanese joint ventures. NUMMI builds the Chevrolet Geo Prizm, the Toyota Corolla and the Toyota compact pickup truck.