Stocks edge lower…Apartment construction surges…GM fined for delayed recall

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are edging lower in early trading on Wall Street. But shares in J.C. Penney are up 16 percent after the beleaguered department store reported first-quarter results that beat expectations.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home construction has surged to its highest pace in five months. The Commerce Department says builders started work on 1.07 million homes in April, up 13.2 percent from March. The gains were driven by a 42.9 percent jump in the construction of apartments and condominiums. The rate of building single-family homes rose just 0.8 percent.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government is fining General Motors $35 million for delays in recalling small cars with faulty ignition switches. Officials also say GM will report safety issues faster in the future. At least 13 people have died in crashes linked to the problem. Meanwhile, GM announced today that it’s recalling about 8,200 midsize cars to fix a problem with the front brakes. The recall of 2014 Buick Lacrosse and Chevrolet Malibu models is the sixth recall announced by the company this week and the 24th this year.

NEW YORK (AP) — Darden Restaurants says it will sell its Red Lobster chain to investment firm Golden Gate Capital in a $2.1 billion cash deal. The company, which also owns Olive Garden, announced late last year that it planned to either spin off or sell Red Lobster to improve its financial performance. Both Olive Garden and Red Lobster have been losing customers in recent years, but Darden sees more potential in fixing Olive Garden.

NEW YORK (AP) — Triple-A predicts that 36.1 million people will travel 50 miles or more this Memorial Day weekend. If that estimate holds true, it would be the largest number of people traveling during the holiday weekend since 2005. The auto club says most will drive to their vacation spots, but more people are also expected to fly or take a cruise or train this year compared with a year ago.