When Daimler moved to sell its money-losing Chrysler Group and unwind the $36 billion deal that created the company in 1998, automaker DaimlerChrysler AG fought to hold on to the brand identity it carefully nurtured for the greater part of a century. On Thursday, the Stuttgart-based automaker confirmed that it would, with the permission of Ford Motor Co., become known as Daimler AG.

JOBLESS CLAIMS

Fewer people signed up for jobless benefits last week, an encouraging sign that most businesses aren’t resorting to big layoffs amid a housing slump and the painful credit crunch. The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications filed for unemployment insurance dipped by 2,000 for the week ending Aug. 18. It marked the first drop in new claims in roughly a month.