BC-APFN-Business News Digest

Here are AP Business News' latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EDT.

TOP STORIES:

AP EXPLAINS-OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS — An investigation published by an international coalition of more than 100 media outlets, based on 11.5 million records of offshore holdings, details how politicians, celebrities and other famous people use banks, law firms and offshore shell companies to hide their assets. By Elaine Kurtenbach. SENT: 530 words, photos.

OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS-INVESTIGATION — A massive leak of 11.5 million documents from a Panama-based law firm offers a glimpse into the shadowy world in which the rich and powerful stash their wealth — and raises sharp questions about the continued use of so-called shell companies that obscure the identity of their true owners. By David McHugh. UPCOMING 900 words, photos.

And: OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS-AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND — More than 800 wealthy Australians are under investigation by the Australian Taxation Office for possible tax evasion linked to their alleged dealings with a Panamanian law firm. By Kristen Gelineau. SENT: 640 words.

And: OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS-RUSSIA — The spokesman for Vladimir Putin has dismissed suggestions that the Russian president is involved in an offshore account scheme as a smear likely motivated by "Putinophobia." SENT: 1,000 words, photos.

ALASKA AIR-VIRGIN AMERICA — Virgin America has loyal passengers who love the airline's cool vibe even if its size and schedule are too limited to meet all their travel needs. Now it's selling out to Alaska Airlines, which hopes to become travelers' preferred airline on the West Coast. By David Koenig and Scott Mayerowitz. SENT: 875 words, photo, video. UPCOMING: Update with more analysis, 875 words by 3 p.m., AP graphic.

INTEL CEO-TV STAR — Intel CEO Brian Krzanich is trying to do for the chipmaker what Donald Trump did for his political career — give it a boost by being on national TV. Krzanich's reality TV show debuts Tuesday on TBS. By Ryan Nakashima. SENT: 800 words, photos.

DRONE DELIVERY — San Francisco-based drone delivery company Zipline International says it'll start making its first deliveries of blood and medicine in Rwanda in July. By Ryan Nakashima. SENT: 470 words, video.

MARKETS & ECONOMY:

FINANCIAL MARKETS — Stock indexes edge lower in quiet trading as investors worked through several company announcements. Global markets were modestly higher. By Ken Sweet. SENT: 370 words, photos. UPCOMING: 700 words by 5 p.m.

FACTORY ORDERS —Orders to U.S. factories fell in February for the third time in the past four months. Meanwhile, a key category that tracks business investment plans dropped by the largest amount in two months. By Martin Crutsinger. SENT: 350 words, photos.

MINIMUM WAGE-CALIFORNIA — Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill into law Monday giving California the nation's highest statewide minimum wage of $15 an hour by 2022. By Michael R. Blood and Don Thompson. SENT: 470 words, photos.

INDUSTRY:

AIRLINE QUALITY — More flights are arriving on time and airlines are losing fewer bags, yet more consumers are complaining about air travel. By David Koenig. SENT: 630 words, photos.

OIL DOWNTURN-HOUSTON — For generations, anyone who lived in Houston long enough was sure to feel the pain of an oil bust — but 21st century Houston isn't like its oil-dependent predecessor. Even as the price of oil has plummeted, Houston has carried on, maintaining a jobless rate of 4.7 percent in February, slightly better than the national average. By Juan A. Lozano. SENT: 850 words, photos.

PULTEGROUP-CEO RETIREMENT — PulteGroup says Chairman and CEO Richard J. Dugas Jr. will retire next year, a decision the executive made after the homebuilder's founder and grandson recently demanded a change in leadership. SENT: 200 words.

TESLA-ORDERS — Tesla Motors' CEO says worldwide orders for a new lower-priced electric car hit 276,000 last weekend. SENT: 350 words, photos.

SUPREME COURT-CLASS ACTIONS — The Supreme Court is turning down appeals by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. of multimillion-dollar class-action judgments. SENT: 260 words.

AIR PRODUCTS-BUSINESS EXIT — Air Products will book a pre-tax charge ranging from $900 million to $1 billion in its fiscal second quarter, as the industrial gas supplier leaves its energy-from-waste business. SENT: 230 words.

GILEAD-NUMBUS DEAL — Biologic drugmaker Gilead Sciences is buying a subsidiary of Nimbus Therapeutics and its experimental medicine for an increasingly prevalent metabolic disorder that causes dangerous fat buildup in the liver. SENT: 130 words.

FRANCE-YVES SAINT LAURENT-VACCARELLO — The Yves Saint Laurent fashion house has appointed Anthony Vaccarello as creative director, replacing the departing Hedi Slimane. SENT: 130 words.

EMPLOYEE SEATING -LAWSUIT — California's Supreme Court is set to clarify the state's rules for determining when employers must provide workers with a place to sit. SENT: 310 words.

TECHNOLOGY & MEDIA:

APPLE AT 40 YEARS — Apple turned 40 on Friday, and it's a very different company from the audacious startup that Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak launched in a Silicon Valley garage in 1976. SENT: 900 words.

BETTER BATTERIES-NANOTECHNOLOGY — In the global race to create more efficient and long-lasting batteries, a number of companies are betting on nanotechnology — the use of minuscule parts — as the most likely to yield a breakthrough. By Karel Janicek. SENT: 600 words, photos.

BROCADE-RUCKUS WIRELESS — Brocade said Monday that it plans to buy Ruckus Wireless for about $1.2 billion, in a deal that will help it offer Wi-Fi services to its customers. SENT: 200 words.

TOYOTA-DATA COMPANY — Toyota says it is forming a new data science company that will handle fast-moving changes that are coming to the way we get around. SENT: 380 words.

SOUL TRAIN PURCHASE — Soul Train is on track for acquisition by BET Networks, the company announced Monday. SENT; 140 words.

INTERNATIONAL:

EUROPE-ECONOMY — The unemployment rate in the 19 countries that use the euro inches down to 10.3 percent in February in another token of the currency union's modest recovery. By David McHugh. SENT: 260 words. UPCOMING: May be updated.

SRI LANKA-PORT CITY — Hundreds of people, including environmental activists and fishermen, have protested in Sri Lanka's capital to demand the government halt a $1.5 billion Chinese-funded port city project. SENT: 260 words, photos.

GREECE-BAILOUT — Greece's government has started new talks with bailout creditors amid a dispute over a wiretapped and leaked conversation between foreign officials involved in the Greek bailout on the negotiations. SENT: 490 words, photos.

MONEY & MARKETS SUMMARY:

COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

Alaska buying Virgin Air

Alaska Air Group is buying Virgin America in a deal worth $2.6 billion, creating the fifth largest carrier in the U.S.

CENTERPIECE

GM trims rental sales

General Motors Co. is cutting ties with rental car companies in a move to improve brand perception.

HOW TO REACH US:

Business News Supervisor Dorothea Degen (800-845-8450, ext. 1680). For photos (ext. 1900.) For graphics/interactives (ext. 7636.) Expanded AP content: http://www.apexchange.com. For access to AP Exchange and technical issues: customersupport@ap.org, or 877-836-9477. Questions about transmission of financial market listings, call 800-3AP-STOX.

The full digest for AP's Money & Markets service can be found at markets.ap.org. For questions about M&M content, contact Stan Choe (800-845-8450, ext. 1807.