FINANCIAL MARKETS
Asian shares higher following strong gains on Wall Street
BANGKOK (AP) — Shares have advanced in Asia today following a rally on Wall Street led by technology companies. There was little if any immediate reaction to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.1 percent. Australia's S&P ASX 200 rose 0.3 percent, helped by buying of banks' shares, while the Sensex in India jumped 0.6 percent. Markets in Hong Kong, mainland China and most of Southeast Asia were closed for lunar new year holidays.
Yesterday on Wall Street, the S&P 500 index added 0.5 percent to 2,737.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7 percent to 25,411.52. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 0.7 percent to 7,402.08 and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies picked up 0.2 percent, to 1,520.23.
GERMANY-EARNS-DAIMLER
Trade war, diesel troubles buffet earnings at Daimler
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Automaker Daimler AG says fourth-quarter net profit fell 49 percent to 1.64 billion euros ($1.87 billion) as the company's Mercedes-Benz luxury car business was buffeted by diesel woes and global trade conflict.
Revenue reported Wednesday rose 7 percent to 46.6 billion euros and the company said demand for its products remained strong.
The company's luxury car division, the mainstay of its earnings, saw profit fall as it faced multiple challenges. The U.S.-China trade war meant new import taxes on cars made in the U.S. and sold in China. Bottlenecks in getting cars certified for emissions procedures also impacted the business.
For the full year, net profit fell to 7.6 billion euros from 10.6 billion in 2017. Revenues rose 2 percent to 167.4 billion euros.
GERMANY-ECONOMY
German factory orders slide in December, undercut forecasts
BERLIN (AP) — Official data show that German factory orders were down 1.6 percent in December compared with the previous month, a worse-than-expected performance that adds to worries about slowing growth in Europe's biggest economy.
Economists had expected a 0.3 percent increase.
However, the Economy Ministry said Wednesday that orders were stronger than previously thought in November — slipping by 0.2 percent rather than the 1 percent initially reported.
Orders were led lower in December by a 5.5 percent fall in demand from outside the 19-nation eurozone. Domestic orders dropped 2.3 percent, but orders from other eurozone countries rose 3.2 percent.
The Economy Ministry said that, for the entire fourth quarter, orders rose a modest 0.3 percent. Last week, the government slashed its 2019 economic growth forecast from 1.8 percent to 1 percent.
JAPAN-EARNS-SOFTBANK
Japan tech giant SoftBank reports profit decline
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. reported Wednesday a 23 percent decline in fiscal third-quarter profit as adjustments in its major investment funds eroded income.
SoftBank Group, which has invested in British IoT company ARM and U.S. wireless company Sprint, had October-December profit of 698.3 billion yen ($6.4 billion), down from 912.3 billion yen in the same period the previous year.
Quarterly sales totaled 2.5 trillion yen ($23 billion), up 4 percent from 2.4 trillion yen.
After the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, SoftBank has said it would diversify its funding source for investments. Much of the Vision Fund money had come from Saudi Arabia.
JAPAN-EARNS-TOYOTA
Toyota profit plummets despite moderately solid sales
TOKYO (AP) — Toyota's fiscal third quarter profit plunged to 180.9 billion yen ($12.6 billion), about a fifth of what the Japanese automaker earned the previous year, despite relatively solid sales, the Japanese automaker said Wednesday.
Toyota Motor Corp.'s October-December profit in 2017 had totaled 941.8 billion yen, helped by perks from U.S. tax reforms.
Toyota, Japan's No. 1 automaker, said that profit for the latest quarter was also hurt by unrealized gains and losses in equity securities.
Quarterly sales totaled 7.8 trillion yen ($71 billion), up nearly 3 percent from 7.6 trillion the previous year, according to the maker of the Camry sedan, Prius hybrid and Lexus luxury models.
Toyota lowered its profit for the fiscal year through March to 1.87 trillion yen ($17 billion), down from 2.5 trillion yen racked up the previous fiscal year, and below its earlier projection for 2.3 trillion yen ($21 billion) profit.
UNITED AIRLINES-PREMIUM SEATS
United to pursue high-fare travelers with more premium seats
UNDATED (AP) — United Airlines will woo high-fare passengers by retrofitting more than 100 planes to add more premium seats on key routes.
The airline also plans to start using a new 50-seat jet with mostly premium seats on some key business-travel routes.
The moves are part of an industry trend to give more space and better service to high-paying passengers who account for a disproportionate share of airline revenue.
United will retrofit 21 of its Boeing 767-300ER jets starting in the next several weeks. It will reduce seats from 214 to 167 by shrinking the economy section while going from 30 to 46 business-class seats and adding 22 "premium plus" seats. The planes will fly first between United's hub in Newark, New Jersey, and London.
The airline also plans to add a few more first-class seats to its Airbus A319 and A320 planes. By year end, it hopes to begin flying new 50-seat Bombardier CRJ 550 jets between Chicago and smaller markets with many business travelers, such as Bentonville, Arkansas, the home of Walmart. Federal regulators have not yet certified the plane.
HAWAII-VACATION RENTALS
Hawaii: Airbnb has acknowledged hosts not paying all taxes
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii says a judge should compel Airbnb to hand over 10 years of receipts and other documents from its hosts because the home-sharing platform has acknowledged that hosts aren't fully complying with state tax laws.
Hawaii has asked a judge to allow it to subpoena Airbnb to help it find which hosts haven't paid the state's equivalent of hotel and sales taxes.
The state attorney general noted in a court filing Monday that Airbnb suggested legislation that would allow it to register as a Hawaii tax collection agent to ensure its hosts pay taxes. It says such legislation wouldn't be necessary if hosts were tax compliant.
The state needs permission for the subpoena because its investigation targets a group of taxpayers, not specific individuals. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
APPLE-STORE SHAKEUP
Apple's top retail exec to leave amid iPhone sales slowdown
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple's top retailing executive is stepping down amid a slowdown in iPhone sales that has raised doubts about the company's future growth prospects.
The shake-up announced Tuesday ends Angela Ahrendts' five-year stint overseeing Apple's 506 retail stores. She is being replaced by Deirdre O'Brien, a longtime Apple executive who also runs the company's human-resources department.
During her 30 years at Apple, O'Brien also helped gauge product demand. That issue has become a problem now that customers are holding onto their current iPhones longer instead of buying the latest models. It's one reason Apple posted disappointing iPhone sales during the past holiday shopping season.
Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives said Apple needs to come up with a new strategy in its stores to help spur iPhone demand.
RESULTS-DISNEY
Disney's 1st-quarter results beat expectations
NEW YORK (AP) — The Walt Disney Co.'s first-quarter net income beat expectations as higher revenue from its media networks and theme parks helped offset a weaker movie slate during the quarter.
Disney and other media companies are facing a shifting landscape as more TV watchers switch to streaming rather than traditional cable bundles. Disney is building up its streaming offerings by buying 21st Century Fox's entertainment assets for $71.3 billion and launching its own streaming services such as ESPN Plus and Disney Plus.
CEO Bob Iger said Disney Plus and other direct-to-consumer businesses are Disney's "No. 1 priority."
The entertainment company's net income fell 37 percent to $2.79 billion, or $1.86 per share. The drop was due mainly to a hefty benefit from tax changes in the prior-year quarter. Excluding one-time items, net income totaled $1.84 per share. Analysts expected net income of $1.54 per share, according to FactSet.
BANK FRAUD SCHEME
Man guilty in $100 million fraud against Puerto Rico bank
MIAMI (AP) — A South Florida man has been convicted in a $100 million scheme to defraud a Puerto Rico bank.
Court records show that 55-year-old Jack Kachkar was convicted in Miami federal court Monday of eight counts of wire fraud affecting a financial institution. His sentencing is scheduled for April 30.
Prosecutors say Kachkar served as chairman and CEO of pharmaceutical company Inyx Inc. from 2005 to 2007. Officials say Kachkar caused Westernbank to grant a series of loans in exchange for a security interest in Inyx's assets in 2005. Evidence showed Westernbank agreed to advance money based on fake customer invoices, which allowed Kachkar to divert tens of millions of dollars.
Westernbank declared the loan in default in 2007 and lost more than $100 million, leading to the bank's insolvency and collapse.
DOLPHIN DEATHS
Arizona facility temporarily closing after 4th dolphin death
PHOENIX (AP) — A Phoenix-area aquatic facility says it's temporarily closing following the death of four dolphins since it opened in 2016.
Officials with Dolphinaris Arizona announced Tuesday that the facility will voluntarily close Friday but there isn't an immediate timetable for reopening.
They say an outside panel of experts will reevaluate the facility, environmental factors and all aspects of animal welfare at the facility located on tribal land near Scottsdale.
A 22-year-old dolphin on loan to Dolphinaris Arizona died last Thursday and more than 100 protesters demonstrated outside the facility on Saturday, calling for its closure.
