BC-APFN-Business News Digest
Business News at 5:15 p.m.
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All times EDT.
—Adds: FRANCE-CREDIT RATING, AIG-LAWSUIT
—Updates: FINANCIAL MARKETS, ATLANTIC CITY-ICAHN, GLOBAL FINANCE
TOP STORIES:
OLIVE GARDEN-PASTA PASS
NEW YORK — The "Never Ending Pasta Pass" card from Olive Garden not only promised weeks of unlimited pasta, but a look into why the chain is fighting to hold onto customers. The Italian-themed chain sold the $100 card last month that allowed 1,000 people to dine on endless pasta, breadsticks, soup and salad for 49 days. The passes sold out in less than an hour, with some turning up on eBay for hundreds of dollars. It was a successful publicity stunt for Olive Garden's parent company, Darden Restaurants. But the company's troubles aren't over. By Candice Choi. SENT: 770 words, photo.
With:
— DARDEN-BOARD CONTROL — Some changes could be in store for Olive Garden, including how the restaurant chain prepares its soups and pasta. An activist investor succeeded in its bid to take control of the board of Olive Garden's parent company, Darden Restaurants Inc. Starboard Value's nominees were elected to fill all 12 of Darden's board seats, according to preliminary voting results. SENT: 580 words.
— OLIVE GARDEN-POSSIBLE CHANGES — Changes are likely in store for Olive Garden with a new board of directors at the helm. Some of Starboard's criticisms that might give a clue on changes diners might see. SENT: 330 words.
GERMANY-GLOBAL ECONOMY
FRANKFURT, Germany — As if the global economy didn't have enough troubles, it looks like Germany, Europe's traditional growth engine, risks falling into recession — or growth so weak it holds back the entire euro currency union's weak recovery. Europe's largest economy has seen a run of lousy numbers for factory orders, industrial production, exports and business confidence. All that's bad news because exporting industrial goods such as machines and cars is the heart of Germany's globally linked economy. And if Germany isn't selling goods, it suggests other parts of the world's economy are not strong enough to keep buying them. By David McHugh. SENT: 870 words, photos.
With:
— GERMANY-CHINA — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang says he's confident that "social stability" can be preserved in Hong Kong and is stressing that Beijing won't change its "one country, two systems" approach to running the territory. SENT: 380 words, photos.
BY THE NUMBERS-WOMEN'S PAY
NEW YORK — Don't ask for a raise. Keeping quiet will give you "superpowers" that will translate into employer trust and other "good karma" that will eventually come back around to your purse. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was widely derided for that foot-in-mouth statement Thursday. Only 7 percent of women negotiate salary when taking a job, versus 57 percent of men, according to a study for the 2007 book Women Don't Ask. So how's that good karma working out? Pretty poorly, especially for women in technology and finance. By Barbara Ortutay. SENT: 700 words, photo.
MARKETS & ECONOMY:
GLOBAL FINANCE
WASHINGTON — Finance ministers from the world's largest economies say they are determined to prevent a slide into another global recession. They unveil plans for a global initiative to build roads and other infrastructure projects to help boost world growth by $2 trillion over the next five years and create millions of jobs. By Martin Crutsinger. SENT: 130 words, photos. UPCOMING: 1,000 words by 6 p.m.
FINANCIAL MARKETS
Investors avoided another roller coaster day on Wall Street. What they got instead was a steady, moderate decline that left the market with its worst weekly performance since May 2012. By Alex Veiga. SENT: 720 words, photos.
— EUROPE-BANKS — The European Central Bank says it will reveal the results of its much-awaited review of bank finances on Sunday, Oct. 26. The exercise is an attempt to purge so-called zombie banks that are too troubled to make new loans and support the struggling eurozone economy. SENT: 120 words.
— DAVE & BUSTER'S IPO — Shares of Dave & Buster's are rising in their first day as a publicly traded company. SENT: 300 words.
MIDTERM ELECTIONS-ECONOMY
PERRY, Ga. — One Republican highlights the nation's lackluster recovery since the Great Recession. Less than an hour later, another GOP candidate from the same state gets attacked for it. Candidates everywhere this midterm election season are struggling for ways to frame the state of the economy, ranked by voters as the most important issue. The result is a blame game that cuts in multiple directions depending on the contest — even, in one case, within the same state. By Charles Babington and Bill Barrow. SENT: 910 words, photos.
INDUSTRY:
HEPATITIS C DRUG-FDA
WASHINGTON — Federal health officials approve a daily pill that can cure the most common form of hepatitis C without the grueling pill-and-injection cocktail long used to treat the virus. It was not immediately clear how much the drug from Gilead Sciences would cost. But the $1,000-per-pill price tag for the company's previous hepatitis drug has recently drawn scorn from patient groups, insurers and politicians worldwide. By Matthew Perrone. SENT: 820 words.
ATLANTIC CITY-ICAHN
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. —Carl Icahn accuses New Jersey's Senate president of "selling out" Atlantic City by considering casinos near New York City, while the legislative leader says the state wouldn't give the billionaire investor the tax breaks he is seeking. By Wayne Parry. SENT: 650 words, photos.
— BOSE-BEATS LAWSUIT — Attorneys for Bose Corp. and Beats Electronics agree to dismiss a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Bose. Bose alleged in federal court in Delaware in July that Beats was infringing on several Bose patents regarding noise-cancelling headphones. SENT: 140 words.
EBOLA SCREENING-LEGAL AUTHORITY
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration's plans to screen certain airline passengers for exposure to Ebola are based on the Constitution and long-established legal authority that would almost certainly stand up in court if challenged, public health experts say. By Eric Tucker. SENT: 780 words, photo.
AIG LAWSUIT
WASHINGTON — Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke etches a portrait of his initial reluctance to have the central bank rescue American International Group Inc. in 2008. But he says he ultimately came to believe the bailout loan to the company was needed to avert a shock to the financial system. By Marcy Gordon. SENT: 600 words, photos.
— GERMANY-AIR BERLIN-ETIHAD — Germany's second-biggest airline, Air Berlin, says German authorities have refused to grant permission for 34 codeshare flights with partner Etihad this winter, a decision it says it will challenge. SENT: 140 words.
— CROP UPDATE — The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the expected record corn and soybean harvest will be slightly bigger than previously estimated. SENT: 400 words.
AUTOS:
TESLA-MYSTERY ANNOUNCEMENT
HAWTHORNE, Calif. — Taking the stage before an adoring crowd, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk played both catch up and leap frog. At an open-to-the-public unveiling Thursday night that included bumping music, free alcohol and test rides on an airport tarmac, Musk unveiled a new version of the luxury electric car maker's Model S sedan that includes all-wheel drive and self-driving "auto pilot" features. By Justin Pritchard. SENT: 480 words, photos, video. Originally sent late Thursday.
— NISSAN-ALTIMA RECALL — Nissan is recalling more than 220,000 Altima midsize cars in the U.S. because a secondary latch can fail and allow the hoods to fly open while the cars are in motion. SENT: 280 words.
— MITSUBISHI RECALL — Mitsubishi is recalling nearly 166,000 older small cars and SUVs in the U.S. because the engines can stall unexpectedly. SENT: 150 words.
— MICHELIN-TIRE INVESTIGATION — U.S. safety regulators are investigating reports that some Michelin heavy truck tires can fail and cause crashes. SENT: 150 words.
TECHNOLOGY & MEDIA:
GOOGLE-SCRUBBING SEARCH RESULTS
SAN FRANCISCO — Google is being swamped with demands from Europeans trying to erase humiliating links to their past from the world's dominant Internet search engine. Nearly 145,000 requests have been made in the European Union and four other countries by people looking to polish their online reputations, according to numbers the company released Friday. That's an average of more than 1,000 requests a day since late May, when Google began accepting submissions in order to comply with a European court. By Michael Liedtke. SENT: 630 words.
Also:
— JAPAN-GOOGLE — A Japanese judge orders Google to remove search results of a man's unflattering past in a new "right to be forgotten" order following a landmark ruling in Europe. SENT: 300 words, photo.
CELLPHONES-PLANES
WASHINGTON — An appeals court hears arguments over whether aviation officials flew in the face of federal law when they cleared passengers to use small electronic devices during take-offs and landings. Lawyers for the nation's largest flight attendants union and the Federal Aviation Administration debate the issue before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The flight attendants union argue the FAA's announcement last year was made without following steps required by law. By Jessica Gresko. SENT: 570 words.
— TV-NIELSEN ERROR — The Nielsen company says it has discovered errors in its measurement of television viewing that incorrectly showed people were watching one network when in fact they were tuned in to another. SENT: 600 words
INTERNATIONAL:
— FRANCE-ENERGY — French lawmakers vote to make their country a little less heavily dependent on nuclear energy. The lower house of parliament adopted a measure to reduce the share of nuclear energy in the electricity supply from 75 percent currently to 50 percent in 2025. SENT: 140 words, photos.
— FRANCE-CREDIT RATING — S&P lowers France's credit outlook to 'negative,' expecting weak growth, but keeps 'AA' rating. SENT: 170 words.
— SKOREA-NUCLEAR VOTE — Voters in a South Korean city reject plans to build a nuclear power plant in a referendum the government says has no legal effect. SENT: 380 words.
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CENTERPIECE
Rocky road
The Dow Jones industrial average already has posted a triple-digit gain or loss five times this month. The momentum has largely been downward as the index is now up less than 1 percent so far this year. UPCOMING: Graphic expected by 6 p.m.
COMPANY SPOTLIGHT
Microchip Tech. cuts outlook
Shares of Microchip Technology sink after it cut its sales outlook and warned of possible weaker performance across the industry. UPCOMING: Graphic expected by 6 p.m.