BC-Business News Digest
Business News at 5 p.m.
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All times EDT.
Adds: TRADE-MEAT LABELING, HANFORD WHISTLEBLOWER, IKEA-CEO, FACEBOOK-LAWSUIT, AIRLINE-FARE INCREASE, TRUMP CASINO NAME LAWSUIT, FANNIE-FREDDIE-MORTGAGE AGREEMENT, PIPELINE BREAK-NORTH DAKOTA, EARNS-CHIPOTLE
Updates: FINANCIAL MARKETS
TOP STORIES:
CABLE-A LA CARTE
NEW YORK — Cord cutters rejoiced last week after HBO and CBS announced plans to sell stand-alone streaming services, a move that cable providers and satellite companies have resisted for years. But don't sound the death knell for cable companies yet. Some would-be customers may balk when they see how much paying a la carte price actually costs. And cutting the cord doesn't mean cutting out your cable provider — in most areas you have to pay them to access the Internet. By Mae Anderson. SENT: 770 words, photo, graphic planned.
With:
— CABLE-A LA CARTE-GLANCE — A look at the cost of cable versus paying for a la carte streaming services. SENT: 400 words, photo.
APPLE PAY-Q&A
CUPERTINO, Calif. — What is Apple Pay? How does it work? What are the strengths and limitations? Is it secure? A short guide in question-and-answer format. By Anick Jesdanun. SENT: 950 words, photo.
With:
— APPLE-IPHONE SALES — Apple says it sold 39.3 million iPhones in the last quarter, but iPad sales disappoint. SENT: 130 words, photos. UPCOMING: 400 words by 6 p.m.
— EARNS-APPLE — Apple Inc. reports earnings that topped Wall Street expectations. SENT 250 words.
AIR BAG-RECALL
DETROIT — A potential crisis over defective air bags widens as the U.S. government issues an urgent plea to more than 4.7 million people to get their cars fixed. The inflator mechanisms in the air bags can rupture, causing metal fragments to fly out when the bags are inflated in crashes. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warned people whose cars have been recalled during the past two years for faulty air bag inflators to take them to dealers right away. The inflators are made by Takata Corp., a Tokyo-based supplier of seat belts, air bags, steering wheels and other auto parts. "This message comes with urgency," NHTSA said in a statement. By Tom Krisher. SENT: 660 words, photo. Incorporates TOYOTA-AIR BAG RECALL.
With:
— AIR BAG RECALL-GLANCE — U.S. safety agency lists vehicles with air bag problem that should be repaired immediately. SENT: 450 words.
— GENERAL MOTORS-IGNITION SWITCH DEATHS — At least 29 people have died and 27 people have been seriously injured in crashes involving General Motors cars with defective ignition switches. SENT: 140 words.
IBM-SALE
NEW YORK — Is it too late for Big Blue? IBM disappointed investors with weak quarterly earnings and revenue growth, and booked a big charge to shed its costly chip division as it tries to get rid of "empty calories" and shift its focus toward cloud computing and social-mobile services. The century-old tech pioneer has been successful in the past at turning around bad fortune, but in the lightning speed of today's market, can it reinvent itself fast enough to not only survive, but lead? By Michelle Chapman. SENT: 730 words, photo. Incorporates EARNS-IBM.
MARKETS & ECONOMY:
FINANCIAL MARKETS
NEW YORK — The U.S. stock market moves quietly higher as investors decide to step back into a market that was rattled by white-knuckle turbulence last week. By Ken Sweet. SENT: 700 words, photos.
BUSINESS SURVEY
WASHINGTON — U.S. businesses were much less likely to boost pay in the third quarter than in previous months, even as hiring remained healthy, a sign that wage gains may remain weak in the coming months. A quarterly survey by the National Association for Business Economics found that only 24 percent of companies increased wages and salaries in the July-September quarter. That's down from 43 percent in the April-June quarter and the first drop after three straight increases. By Christopher S. Rugaber. SENT: 540 words, photo.
— CHINA'S SLOWDOWN — China's economic growth will decelerate to 4 percent a year between 2020 to 2025 — well below widespread expectations of steady 7 percent to 8 percent growth over the next decade, a business research group predicted. SENT: 300 words.
— EUROPEAN-CENTRAL BANK — The European Central Bank starts buying securities called covered bonds as it launches its latest stimulus effort aimed at preventing the 18-country eurozone economy from sinking back into recession. SENT: 140 words.
INDUSTRY:
REYNOLDS AMERICAN-LORILLARD
RICHMOND, Va. — The CEO of Newport cigarette maker Lorillard Inc. is set to receive more than $44 million following the planned $25 billion merger with Reynolds American Inc., regulatory filings show. Murray Kessler is one of several Lorillard executives to receive compensation if they're terminated after the deal closes, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. By Michael Felberbaum. SENT: 400 words.
SEARS-RAISING MONEY
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears is looking to raise more cash, announcing that it is planning a rights offering that may raise up to $625 million. The company, which runs Kmart and its namesake stores, also says it struck a leasing deal with European fashion retailer Primark. SENT: 390 words.
CSX-DEAL TALKS
Canadian Pacific Railway says it has ended talks with U.S. counterpart CSX about a possible combination and plans no more discussions about a deal. The railway operator did not say why it ended talks, but it did note in a brief statement that regulatory concerns appear to be a major deterrent for railroads considering combinations. By Tom Murphy. SENT: 400 words, photos.
SUPREME COURT-GULF OIL SPILL
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court rejects an appeal from 11 Louisiana parishes that wanted to revive their lawsuits over wildlife damage from the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The justices did not comment in leaving in place lower court rulings that dismissed the lawsuits against BP and other companies involved in the worst U.S. offshore oil spill. SENT: 200 words.
And:
— SUPREME COURT-HOTEL REGISTRIES — The Supreme Court agrees to referee a dispute over police access to hotel information about guests without first getting a search warrant. SENT: 460 words.
IKEA-CEO
NEW YORK — IKEA, whose stadium-sized furniture stores draw shoppers from miles around, is making an online push. The CEO of IKEA Group, the world's largest furniture chain, is pushing for sales growth, while making its ready-to-assemble furniture more accessible to shoppers increasingly buying online. By Anne D'Innocenzio. SENT: 750 words.
EBOLA-URGENT CARE
When a Dallas County sheriff's deputy who had entered the apartment of the first patient to die from Ebola in the U.S. started feeling ill himself, he didn't rush to the nearest hospital. He chose an urgent-care clinic. Urgent-care clinics for many people have become de facto emergency rooms. They are not, however, equipped like hospitals to treat serious illnesses, such as Ebola, nor do they have isolation units. By Julie Watson. SENT: 850 words, photos.
— PLATFORM SPECIALTY-ARYSTA-ACQUISITION — Platform Specialty Products Corp. says it will spend about $3.51 billion to buy rival chemical maker Arysta LifeScience Ltd. to diversify its product offerings. SENT: 120 words.
— GERMANY-LUFTHANSA STRIKE — A planned strike by pilots at Lufthansa is expanded to include a one-day walkout at the German airline's long-haul fleet. SENT: 140 words.
— NETHERLANDS-NUTRECO — Shares in Dutch animal and fish feed supplier Nutreco NV surge after the company announced a management-backed 2.69 billion ($3.43 billion) takeover offer from privately-owned trading company SHV Holdings. SENT: 140 words.
— EDIBLE POT LIMITS — Colorado health officials want to ban many edible forms of marijuana, including brownies, cookies and most candies. SENT: 480 words.
— CLECO-ACQUISITION — An investment group led by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets will buy the Louisiana power company Cleco for $3.4 billion. SENT: 190 words.
— SUPREME COURT-DUANE READE CONVICTIONS — The Supreme Court rejects appeals from two former executives of New York City drugstore chain Duane Reade Inc. who were convicted of securities fraud. SENT: 120 words.
— FRANCE-AREVA — The CEO of French nuclear manufacturer Areva is stepping down, saying an unspecified illness has left him unable to do the work. SENT: 110 words.
— TRADE-MEAT LABELING — The World Trade Organization has rejected U.S. rules requiring labels on packaged steaks, ribs and other cuts of meat identifying where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered. SENT: 380 words.
— HANFORD WHISTLEBLOWER — The U.S. Department of Energy's inspector general on Monday said it could not determine if a whistleblower on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation was fired for raising safety concerns because two contractors failed to provide all the documents needed in the investigation. SENT: 440 words.
— AIRLINE-FARE INCREASE — U.S. airlines are raising base fares on many domestic flights even though they are getting a windfall from lower fuel prices. SENT: 280 words.
— TRUMP CASINO NAME LAWSUIT — The owner of the struggling Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, is fighting back against Donald Trump's bid to have his name removed from it. SENT: 130 words.
— FANNIE-FREDDIE-MORTGAGE AGREEMENT — A federal regulator says government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have reached an agreement with major banks that could expand lending. SENT: 140 words.
— PIPELINE BREAK-NORTH DAKOTA — One year after a pipeline rupture flooded a wheat field in northwestern North Dakota with more than 20,000 barrels of crude, Tesoro Corp. is still working around the clock cleaning up the oil spill — one of the largest to happen onshore in U.S. history. SENT: 520 words.
EARNINGS:
— EARNS-CHIPOTLE — Chipotle reports a third-quarter profit that topped Wall Street expectations as sales continued to surge. SENT: 250 words.
— SWEDEN-EARNS-ELECTROLUX — Growth in the U.S. and efficiency gains in Europe helped Swedish home-appliance maker Electrolux post a 42 percent jump in third-quarter profits. SENT: 270 words.
— NETHERLANDS-EARNS-PHILIPS — Royal Philips NV, the world's largest lighting maker, reports a 104 million-euro ($132 million) loss for the third quarter, mostly due to a one-off charge after losing a patent infringement lawsuit against Masimo Corp. of the U.S. SENT: 130 words.
TECHNOLOGY & MEDIA:
TV-NBC-SNYDERMAN
NEW YORK — The quarantine against possible Ebola exposure ends this week for Dr. Nancy Snyderman, but the troubles clearly aren't over for NBC News' chief medical editor. An admitted lapse in the quarantine, combined with a curiously imprecise explanation, unleashed a furious response. NBC must now decide whether Snyderman's credibility is too damaged for her to continue reporting on Ebola or other medical issues and, if so, for how long. By David Bauder. SENT: 670 words, photo.
— FACEBOOK-LAWSUIT — Facebook is suing several law firms that represented a man who claimed he owned half of the social network and was entitled to billions of dollars from the company and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg. SENT: 540 words, photo.
INTERNATIONAL:
— GERMANY-FRANCE-ECONOMY — Germany and France agree to draw up proposals by the beginning of December to boost investment as they try to come up with a strategy that will help shore up the European economic recovery. SENT: 400 words, photos.
JAPAN-POLITICS
TOKYO — Japan's trade and justice ministers resign after allegations they misused campaign funds in the biggest setback so far for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's conservative administration. The two ministers were among five women Abe named to his Cabinet in a reshuffle early last month. Their resignations may help to control the damage to his relatively high popularity ratings, but are a blow to efforts to promote women in politics and business as part of economic revival policies. By Mari Yamaguchi and Elaine Kurtenbach. SENT: 830 words, photos. Incorporates JAPAN-TRADE MINISTER RESIGNS.
With:
— JAPAN-POLITICS-FAN — In the heat of summer, they are ubiquitous in Japan: cheap paper fans, advertising this or that company or product, handed out at outdoor events or busy train stations. On Monday, they brought down a politician. SENT: 220 words.
— EGYPT-ECONOMY — Moody's Investor Services says Egypt's political and security situation has stabilized, raising the country's outlook from negative to stable. SENT: 480 words.
— PARAGUAY-OIL — A British company says it has found oil in Paraguay's Chaco Basin, though the government says it's too soon to tell if the find is commercially viable. SENT: 200 words.
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CENTERPIECE
At the movies
Digital streaming services continue to generate buzz, but the traditional movie theater operators aren't standing still. Here's a snapshot look at AMC Entertainment which began trading in December. UPCOMING: Graphic expected by 6 p.m.
COMPANY SPOTLIGHT
Sears shares jump
Shares of Sears Holdings rise sharply and have risen more than 30 percent in the last month. UPCOMING: Graphic expected by 6 p.m.