U.S. airline passengers need stronger warnings about the fire risk of carrying rechargeable lithium batteries on flights, a federal safety panel said. Batteries were involved in ''four aviation incidents'' over five years through February 2006, compared with one in the previous five years, the National Transportation Safety Board said. It added that the number of batteries flown will keep rising because of the popularity of mobile phones and laptop computers. - Bloomberg News

McDonald's to add coffee counters

McDonald's Corp., the world's biggest restaurant chain, plans to add specialty coffee counters in direct competition with Starbucks in as many as 14,000 U.S. stores in coming years. The coffee areas, complete with baristas, will serve frappes, lattes and cappuccinos. Remodeling restaurants and adding equipment to prepare the new beverages will cost as much as $100,000 per restaurant. McDonald's increased U.S. coffee sales by 39 percent in the first nine months of 2007 after introducing a stronger blend in 2006 to compete with Starbucks. It has added cappuccinos and lattes to two-thirds of its 13,804 U.S. restaurants to tap growth in the $60 billion-a-year beverage market. - Combined news services

Poll: Auto execs more optimistic

Auto executives worldwide are more optimistic about their business than in past years because their mission has become clear - produce quality, fuel efficient vehicles at an affordable price - according to an annual poll conducted by the accounting and advisory firm KPMG LLP. Eighty-six percent of the executives said quality would be the leading factor influencing consumers' vehicle purchases during the next five years, followed by fuel efficiency at 84 percent. Other top criteria are expected to be safety (70 percent) and affordability (69 percent). The level of optimism surprised KPMG officials in charge of the annual survey, which it has conducted since 1999. - The Associated Press

Companies to sell digital products

Comcast Corp. and Panasonic will market digital cable products that include high-definition televisions and portable digital-video recorders that will work with any cable network. The products will use the tru2way technology that is being adopted by U.S. cable providers, according to a statement released at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Comcast is selling higher-priced digital cable subscriptions and services as it competes with telephone companies that are offering TV service. The U.S. government has mandated that all TV service switch to the digital format by next year.

- Bloomberg News