AUTOS

Japanese Auto Makers Report Dismal Second-Half Earnings: Hurt by the strengthening yen, Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Japan’s third-largest car maker, reported a 19% drop in net profit, to $83 million, for the six months ended Sept. 30. Sales edged up 0.7% to $12.5 billion. As the yen’s value increases, prices of Japanese goods exported to foreign currencies must rise in order to keep their value in yen stable. This has cut into the exports for Japanese car makers. Mazda reported that its net losses during the half almost doubled to $296 million. Sales were down 2% to $8.76 billion. Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., maker of Subaru, said its half-year losses narrowed to $25.7 million and that sales were up 15% to $4.11 billion.