FINANCIAL MARKETS
Asian stocks fall after Trump says no plans for Xi meeting
SINGAPORE (AP) — Asian markets tumbled on Friday after President Donald Trump said he doesn't plan to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping before a tariffs truce ends in March. Markets in China and Taiwan were closed.
On Thursday, Trump did not dismiss the possibility of meeting Xi in the next month or so. But he shook his head and said no when reporters asked if the meeting would take place before March 2. That marks the end of a 90-day tariffs truce mooted after Trump and Xi met in December.
Unless American and Chinese negotiators come to a new agreement, the U.S. is expected to raise import taxes from 10 percent to 25 percent for $200 billion in Chinese goods. The trade dispute between the world's two largest economies, which has cooled in recent months, has weighed on the outlook of businesses and the global economy.
Stocks closed lower on Thursday following a sell-off by technology companies, health care stocks and banks. Twitter plunged almost 10 percent after issuing a weak forecast. The broad S&P 500 index shed 0.9 percent to 2,706.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.9 percent lower at 25,169.53 and the Nasdaq composite slid 1.2 percent to 7,288.35. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks dropped 0.8 percent to 1,505.63.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell below $52.50 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The dollar weakened against the yen and strengthened against the euro.
VENEZUELA-OIL WORKERS EXODUS
Oil workers flee Venezuela's crisis for a better life
PUNTO FIJO, Venezuela (AP) — Thousands of Venezuelan oil workers are fleeing poverty wages and dangerous working conditions, taking lucrative jobs in far-flung parts of the world.
With each new departure, fewer remain behind with the know-how to pump the world's most abundant oil reserves, once the economic backbone of a thriving country.
Opposition leader Juan Guaido has rallied support from distraught Venezuelans and roughly 40 countries that now recognize him as Venezuela's rightful president.
But the accelerating exodus of oil workers means that Venezuela's crude production — already at a seven-decade low — is unlikely to rebound anytime soon, even if recently-imposed U.S. sanctions are lifted and a business-friendly government replaces the increasingly wobbly President Nicolas Maduro.
Venezuela was once one of the world's top five oil exporters, pumping 3.5 million barrels a day in 1998 when President Hugo Chavez was elected and launched Venezuela's Bolivarian revolution. Today, the state-run oil company PDVSA produces less than a third of that. Critics blame corruption and years of mismanagement by the socialist government.
AUSTRALIA-CYBERATTACK
Australian parliamentary network hacked; no sign data stolen
SYDNEY (AP) — Australia's leading cybersecurity agency is investigating a breach of the country's federal parliamentary computing network amid speculation of hacking by a foreign nation.
Lawmakers and staff in the capital, Canberra, were made to change their passwords on the system after the overnight breach.
A joint statement from House of Representatives Speaker Tony Smith and Senate President Scott Ryan says there's no evidence that data had been accessed in the breach, but investigations are continuing.
Though Australian officials have not blamed any country, in 2011 it was reported China was suspected of accessing the email system used by lawmakers and parliamentary staff.
Cybersecurity expert Fergus Hanson, from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said it's likely a "nation-state" was behind the incident.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he had been briefed on the matter but could not comment on the source of the attack.
The cyberbreach follows revelations that parliamentarians in Britain were targeted by an attempt to hack into their email and phone contact lists earlier this week.
ECONOMY-THE DAY AHEAD
Major business and economic reports scheduled for release today
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Commerce Department releases its report on wholesale trade inventories for December today,
WELLS FARGO-TECH ISSUES
Data center smoke causes outage for Wells Fargo customers
NEW YORK (AP) — Smoke at one of Wells Fargo's data centers left some of the bank's customers without access to online or mobile banking as well as other services Thursday.
Wells Fargo says workers discovered the problem following routine maintenance.
A spokeswoman says the bank is working to restore all services as soon as possible. The bank apologized to customers for any inconvenience caused by the system issues, and says it will reverse any Wells Fargo fees incurred as a result of the issues.
Business news network CNBC reported that the incident happened at a data center in Shoreview, Minnesota, at around 5 a.m. CST and was under control starting at 9 a.m. Wells Fargo did not comment on the data center's location or the possible source of the smoke at the facility.
GOOGLE FIBER-LOUISVILLE
Google's high-speed internet pulling out of Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Google says it is pulling its high-speed internet service out of Kentucky's largest city, one of about a dozen where Google Fiber was offered.
Google Fiber announced on its blog Thursday that Louisville's service will end on April 15. Google Fiber launched the service in some neighborhoods in Louisville in October 2017.
The tech giant acknowledged problems in Louisville with a new method of digging shallower trenches to speed up the installation times of the fiber optic cable. Google says the problems were "disruptive to residents and caused service issues for our customers."
Google Fiber was first launched in Kansas City in 2012 and has moved into Nashville, Atlanta, Austin and other cities. The service offers 1000 megabytes per second speed and has been pitched as a cheaper alternative to other providers.
TRUMP-GRAND HYATT
Hotel that launched Trump to Manhattan fame to be torn down
NEW YORK (AP) — The building that helped Donald Trump make a name for himself in his first big deal in Manhattan is being sold to developers who plan to tear it down.
Developer TF Cornerstone says that it and a group managing billionaire Michael Dell's money have agreed to buy the Grand Hyatt New York next to the Grand Central Terminal. They plan to replace it with a building that will include office and retail space and a smaller hotel.
Trump partnered with the Hyatt Corp. to buy what was then the Commodore Hotel in the late 1970s in his first splash in Manhattan real estate. He used his success in that deal as a stepping stone to his next big gamble a few years later, the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue.
Trump sold the Grand Hyatt in 1996.
SEARS-SURVIVAL
Bankruptcy judge gives Sears another chance
NEW YORK (AP) — A bankruptcy judge has blessed a $5.2 billion plan by Sears chairman and biggest shareholder Eddie Lampert to keep the iconic business going.
The approval means roughly 425 stores and 45,000 jobs will be preserved.
Lampert's bid through his ESL hedge fund overcame opposition from a group of creditors, including mall owners and suppliers, that tried to block the sale and pushed hard for liquidation.
Even with this latest reprieve, Sears' long-term survival remains an open question. Lampert hasn't put forth any specific reinvention plans and the company still faces cutthroat competition from Amazon, Target and Walmart.
Lampert steered Sears into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October. The company's corporate parent, which also owns Kmart, had 687 stores and 68,000 employees at the time of the filing.
SHOPKO-STORE CLOSINGS
Wisconsin-based Shopko announces more store closings
ASHWAUBENON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin-based retail chain Shopko Stores has announced more store closings as the company tries to emerge from bankruptcy.
Shopko said this week it plans to close an additional 139 Shopko and Shopko Hometown stores. That brings the list of closings to 251 stores, about two-thirds of the company's retail locations.
In addition, the company says it will relocate about 50 optical centers in closing stores to new, stand-alone locations. Shopko filed for bankruptcy protection in January, citing excessive debt and ongoing competitive pressure.
The retailer, headquartered near Green Bay, said in a statement it believes the closings will help make Shopko more attractive to potential buyers.
JEFF BEZOS-NATIONAL ENQUIRER
Bezos says Enquirer threatened to publish revealing pics
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said Thursday he was the target of "extortion and blackmail" by the publisher of the National Enquirer, which he said threatened to publish revealing personal photos of him unless he stopped investigating how the tabloid obtained his private exchanges with his mistress.
Bezos, who is also owner of The Washington Post, detailed his interactions with American Media Inc., or AMI, in an extraordinary blog post Thursday on Medium.com. The billionaire did not say the tabloid was seeking money — instead, he said, the Enquirer wanted him to make a public statement that the tabloid's coverage was not politically motivated.
Bezos' accusations add another twist to a high-profile clash between the world's richest man and the leader of America's best-known tabloid, a strong backer of President Donald Trump. Bezos' investigators have suggested the Enquirer's coverage of his affair — which included the release of risque texts — was driven by dirty politics.
APPLE-FACETIME FIX
Apple releases update to prevent FaceTime eavesdropping
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple has released an iPhone update to fix a FaceTime flaw that allowed people to eavesdrop on others while using its group video chat feature.
The repair is included in the latest version of Apple's iOS 12 system, which became available to install Thursday.
The bug allowed some people to turn an iPhone into a live microphone while using Group FaceTime. Apple turned off the group chat feature last week, several days after a 14-year-old boy in Tucson, Arizona, discovered the flaw. He and his mom tried to contact Apple for several days before the company responded.
The delay in responding to the flaw raised questions about Apple's handling of it.
Apple credited the Tucson teenager, Grant Thompson, for discovering the FaceTime bug.
VENEZUELA-AIR TRAVEL TRAVAILS
Expedia stops selling to Venezuela amid turmoil
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Travel websites like Expedia and Orbitz have quietly stopped selling airline tickets for Venezuela amid recent political turmoil, further isolating the socialist-run country after years of declining flight service.
On Thursday, it was impossible to find on the popular websites any Venezuelan cities in the drop-down list of booking options for hotels and flights to the South American country.
The Bellevue, Washington-based Expedia Group said that the company was acting on behalf of travelers' wellbeing and in accordance with recent travel advice by foreign governments about crime and civil unrest.
"Once governmental advice reaches a certain level of travel concern, we take action to close off destinations on our sites," spokeswoman Sarah Gavin told The Associated Press.
Orbitz didn't respond to a request for comment.
TAIWAN-AIRLINE STRIKE
Taiwan carrier on strike during Lunar New Year travel rush
BEIJING (AP) — Pilots from Taiwan's China Airlines went on strike Friday in the middle of the Lunar New Year travel rush, forcing the cancellation of 26 flights over coming days and stranding thousands of passengers.
Hundreds of the state-owned carrier's 1,300 pilots were believed to have joined the action Friday over complaints of long work hours on long-haul routes and the refusal of management to make improvements in order to suppress costs.
That led to chaotic scenes at the island's three main airports as angry passengers demanded answers from airline staff.
The Lunar New Year is Taiwan's busiest travel period, with thousands flying home to island or taking trips abroad. The airline said flights canceled included those bound for Hong Kong, Bangkok, Los Angeles, Manila and Tokyo.
Founded in 1959, China Airlines is one of the island's two largest carriers with a fleet of 88 aircraft.
FRANCE-RENAULT-GHOSN
Renault probes gift from Versailles chateau to ex-CEO Ghosn
PARIS (AP) — Carmaker Renault has alerted French authorities to a 50,000-euro gift from the chateau of Versailles to its former chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn — reportedly linked to his lavish wedding at the royal estate.
Renault said in a statement Thursday that a company investigation found that Ghosn personally benefited from "an exchange worth 50,000 euros in the framework of a philanthropic accord" with Versailles. Renault said it was alerting French judicial authorities.
Jean-Yves Le Borgne, Ghosn's French lawyer, said Ghosn paid for his wedding expenses but he used the space without knowing there might be a fee.
Spokeswoman Devon Spurgeon says Ghosn will reimburse Versailles for the rental.
