BC-APFN-Business News Digest
Business News at 1:30 p.m.
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All times EDT.
TOP STORIES:
AIRLINES-UNRULY PASSENGERS
NEW YORK — Squeezed into tighter and tighter spaces by the airlines, passengers are taking their frustrations out on each other. Three U.S. flights made unscheduled landings in the past eight days after passengers got into fights over the ability to recline their seats. Passengers are losing leg and elbow room as airlines try to maximize profits by adding more seats. By Scott Mayerowitz. SENT: 930 words, photo.
CELEB HACKING-CLOUD SECURITY
NEW YORK — When hundreds of photos of nude celebrities began making the rounds online, many security experts started pointing fingers at Internet storage services such as Apple's iCloud. What are these services, what do they do for you, and how can you stay safer using them? By Mae Anderson. UPCOMING: 750 words by 3 p.m., photos.
With:
— CELEB HACKING — Nude celeb images posted by hackers this weekend are disappearing from the internet, with at least one site formerly hosting the photos posting a message saying, "This page is no longer available due to copyright claim." UPCOMING: 750 words by 6 p.m., photos.
AUTO SALES-RISKY HABITS
DETROIT — Big discounts. Six- or seven-year loans, in some cases to buyers who would have been turned down in the past. As the auto industry strives to sustain its post-recession comeback, car companies are resorting to tactics that some experts warn will lead to trouble down the road. By Tom Krisher. SENT: 900 words, photo.
With:
— AUTO SALES-RISKY HABITS-GLANCE — Tips on auto financing for consumers with low credit scores. UPCOMING.
HALLIBURTON-SPILL SETTLEMENT
NEW ORLEANS — Halliburton's agreement to pay more than $1 billion to settle numerous claims involving the 2010 BP oil spill could be a way to diminish years of costly litigation — if all the pieces fall into place. A federal judge still has to approve the settlement. By Kevin McGill and Jon Fahey. SENT: 290 words. UPCOMING: 600 words by 3 p.m.
CHINA-FOREIGN BUSINESS
BEIJING — Foreign companies in China feel increasingly targeted for unfair enforcement of anti-monopoly and other laws and might cut investment if conditions fail to improve, a U.S. business group says. The American Chamber of Commerce in China's report adds to mounting complaints about a flurry of investigations of global automakers, technology suppliers and other companies. By Joe McDonald. SENT: 880 words, photos.
— DOLLAR GENERAL-FAMILY DOLLAR — Dollar General upped its bid for the rival Family Dollar chain and addressed an earlier roadblock, saying that it will more than double the number of stores it would shed to tamp down the antitrust concerns of its takeover target. The newest bid is worth $9.1 billion, or $80 per share, up from $78.50 per share in the previous offer. SENT: 400 words, photo.
MARKETS & ECONOMY:
HOME PRICES
WASHINGTON — U.S. home prices rise in July but at a slower rate compared with earlier this year. The moderating price increases could help support sales. Real estate data provider CoreLogic says prices rose 7.4 percent in July from July 2013. That was slightly below June's year-over-year increase of 7.5 percent and far below a recent peak of 11.9 percent in February. By Christopher S. Rugaber. SENT: 380 words, photo.
ECONOMY-MANUFACTURING
WASHINGTON — U.S. manufacturing grows in August at the strongest pace in more than three years as factories cranked out more goods and new orders rose. By Christopher S. Rugaber. SENT: 510 words, photo.
CONSTRUCTION SPENDING
WASHINGTON — U.S. construction spending stages a strong rebound in July, rising by the largest amount in more than two years. All major categories of construction showed gains in an encouraging sign that spending on building projects will help boost the economy in the second half of this year. By Martin Crutsinger. SENT: 460 words, photo.
EURO-DOWN AGAIN
LONDON — The euro falls to a one-year low against the dollar as it continues to lose support amid speculation the European Central Bank could start pumping more money into the ailing eurozone economy to spur growth. The bank, which oversees monetary policy for the 18 countries that use the euro, is under pressure to do more at its meeting on Thursday to boost the ailing eurozone economy and get inflation back up toward its target. By Pan Pylas. SENT: 600 words, photo.
FINANCIAL MARKETS
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are mostly lower in early afternoon trading even after news that the economy was gaining strength. By Matthew Craft. SENT: 660 words. UPCOMING: 700 words by 5 p.m.
INDUSTRY:
NEW NATURAL GAS PIPELINE
NEW YORK — Dominion Resources, Duke Energy and other partners have proposed building a $5 billion natural gas pipeline to connect the Southeast with the prodigious supplies of natural gas being produced in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. The 550-mile project will begin in Harrison County, West Virginia and stretch to Robeson County, North Carolina, in the southern part of the state. By Jonathan Fahey. SENT: 680 words.
REVEL CLOSING
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Atlantic City's newest casino — and its biggest, costliest flop — went out with barely a whimper. Revel Casino Hotel opened a little more than two years ago amid high hopes of turning around Atlantic City's struggling casino market. But the $2.4 billion resort shut down this morning as its casino closed one day after the hotel checked out its last guest. By Wayne Parry. SENT: 720 words, photos, audio.
— 1-800-FLOWERS-HARRY & DAVID — 1-800-FLOWERS.COM Inc. is buying Harry & David for $142.5 million to help broaden the assortment of foods that its customers can choose as gifts. SENT: 190 words.
— SELECT INCOME REIT-ACQUISITION — Select Income REIT will spend about $2.7 billion in cash and stock to buy Cole Corporate Income Trust in a deal that adds 64 office and industrial properties to the real estate investment trust's portfolio. SENT: 250 words.
— NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE-PRESTIGE-ACQUISITION — Norwegian Cruise Line is getting into the luxury cruise business by acquiring Prestige Cruises International in a deal worth about $3 billion. SENT: 220 words, photo.
— BANK-REDLINING LAWSUIT — New York's attorney general is accusing mortgage lender Evans Bank of refusing to offer financing to African-Americans living in Buffalo. SENT: 270 words.
— MOELIS-CANTOR — Former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has a new job as vice chairman and managing director of New York-based global independent investment bank, Moelis & Company. SENT: 130 words.
— DETROIT-BANKRUPTCY — Opening arguments in Detroit's historic bankruptcy trial are expected to begin Tuesday afternoon in federal court. Attorneys for the city and its various creditors debated last-minute legal motions Tuesday morning before Judge Steven Rhodes. SENT: 130 words, photo, audio, video. UPCOMING: Will be updated from trial.
TECHNOLOGY & MEDIA:
NETFLIX-SHARING RECOMMENDATIONS
SAN FRANCISCO — Netflix is giving its Internet video subscribers a more discreet way to recommend movies and TV shows to their Facebook friends after realizing most people don't want to share their viewing habits with large audiences. By Michael Liedtke. SENT: 530 words, photos.
PERU-HACKTIVISTS
LIMA, Peru — The Peruvian hackers have broken into military, police, and other sensitive government networks in Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela, defacing websites and extracting sensitive data to strut their programming prowess and make political points. Now the team calling itself LulzSecPeru has created a national political uproar. Emails the hackers stole from the Peruvian Council of Ministers' network and dumped online last month fueled accusations that top Cabinet ministers have acted more like industry lobbyists than public servants. By Frank Bajak. SENT: 1,270 words, photo.
— WASHINGTON POST PUBLISHER — Katharine Weymouth is stepping down as publisher of The Washington Post and will be replaced by Frederick Ryan, who previously led Politico. SENT: 140 words.
— GERMANY-UBER — A court bars ridesharing service Uber from operating in Germany, the latest shot in the popular app's fight with taxi drivers worldwide. SENT: 260 words.
— COMPUWARE-TAKEOVER — Private equity firm Thoma Bravo is spending about $2.5 billion to buy Compuware and take the software developer private. The companies say Compuware stock owners will receive about $10.92 for each share they own. SENT: 220 words.
INTERNATIONAL:
JAPAN-INDIA
TOKYO — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is wooing Japanese businesses with a promise of "red carpet" treatment rather than the bureaucratic red tape that India is notorious for. India is the best possible investment destination, offering "democracy, demography and demand" in its market of nearly 1.3 billion people, Modi told Japanese business leaders. By Elaine Kurtenbach. SENT: 500 words, photos.
UKRAINE-ECONOMY
BRUSSELS — While Ukraine's leaders are trying to win the war against Russian-backed separatists in the east, they appear to be losing the battle to resurrect the country's battered economy. Ukraine might need billions in additional support if the fighting between the military and the separatists in the country's east persists through next year, the International Monetary Fund warned. Only covering the shortfall in the central bank's reserves would require an additional $19 billion by the end of 2015, the fund said. By Juergen Baetz. SENT: 700 words, photo.
— BRITAIN-AIRPORT — Britain's Airport Commission rejects a plan to build a four-runway airport in the Thames Estuary, describing it as more problematic and more expensive than other options. SENT: 150 words.
— CHINA-SHALE GAS — More than 60 percent of China's vast shale gas deposits are in regions with scarce water resources, complicating plans by the energy-hungry country to tap the natural gas, according to a U.S.-based research group. SENT: 190 words.
— SCOTLAND-POUND — The British pound slips sharply after an opinion poll showed that those advocating Scottish independence from the United Kingdom have gained ground, a little more than two weeks before the vote. SENT: 390 words.
— IRELAND-AUSTERITY — Ireland's Finance Department says tax collections from a growing economy are unexpectedly strong and have put the country on course to achieve normal deficit levels after six years of austerity. SENT: 140 words.
— SWITZERLAND-ANTI-CORRUPTION — Advocacy group Transparency International is criticizing Swiss law as too soft on financial corruption. SENT: 150 words.
— GREECE-BAILOUT — Finance officials from Greece have started talks in Paris with the country's rescue creditors, and are hoping to ease emergency taxes that have helped fuel recession. SENT: 120 words.
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CENTERPIECE
Back to school
The clock is winding down on back-to-school shopping. So which retailers are making the cut? The latest round of quarterly reports shows some got off to a good start when the season started in July. UPCOMING: Graphic expected by 6 p.m.
COMPANY SPOTLIGHT
Flower power
1-800-Flowers.com is adding to the range of food items its customers can choose from by acquiring Harry & David for $142.5 million. UPCOMING: Graphic expected by 6 p.m.