BUSINESS

BC-US--Money & Markets Digest, US

Staff Writer

Columbus CEO

Money & Markets modules for Thursday, April 21

TODAY

Starbucks and Google parent company Alphabet report quarterly earnings, and the Conference Board delivers its index of leading indicators for March.

COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

On the grill: McDonald's says it will test out bigger and smaller Big Macs as it continues to tweak its menu.

CENTERPIECE

Winter doldrums

Weak first-quarter GDP growth followed by a pickup in the second quarter has become a hallmark of the latest economic recovery. Analysts don't see that changing when the latest numbers are reported later this month.

STORY STOCKS

Lexmark (LXK)

MGM Growth Properties (MGP)

Discover Financial Services (DFS)

VMWare (VMW)

Coca-Cola (KO)

Textron (TXT)

Tupperware (TUP)

Intel (INTC)

FUND FOCUS

BlackRock Low Duration Bond Portfolio (BFMSX)

Morningstar says this fund has been delivering admirable returns since its management team took over in 2008, supporting its analyst rating of "bronze."

For questions about Money & Markets content, please contact Jon Fahey (212-621-1706). For technical support: contact Todd Balog (816-654-1096). After 6 p.m., contact the AP Business News desk (800-845-8450, ext. 1680) for content questions; 1-800-3AP-STOX for technical support and 212-621-1905 for graphics help. The Money & Markets digest can also be found at www.markets.ap.org .