BC-Business News Digest

Business News at 5:00 p.m.

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—Adds: US AGENCIES HACKED-BRITAIN, CHILE-BANK-FACEBOOK-TRANSFERS

—Updates: EARNS-GAP, NSA SURVEILLANCE-NAKED PICTURES, CYPRUS-FINANCIAL CRISIS, WALL STREET

TOP STORIES:

WEALTH GAP-LUXURY IN THE SKIES

NEW YORK — On flights from San Francisco to Hong Kong, first-class passengers can enjoy a Mesclun salad with king crab or a grilled USDA prime beef tenderloin, stretch out in wide seat that converts to a bed and wash it all down with a pre-slumber Champagne. Yet some of the most cherished new international first-class perks have nothing to do with meals, drinks or seats. Global airlines are increasingly rewarding wealthy fliers with something more intangible: physical distance between them and everyone else. By Scott Mayerowitz. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.

With:

— WEALTH GAP-LUXURY IN THE SKIES-GLANCE

ARIZONA GAY RIGHTS-BIG BUSINESS

NEW YORK — Seeing a threat to their employees, customers and their bottom lines, prominent businesses from AT&T to Apple strongly opposed and helped force the Arizona governor's veto of a religious bill that angered the gay community. More and more, these big corporations are acknowledging that it's not just the economic issues of the day that can be harmful to their business. By Scott Mayerowitz. UPCOMING: 750 words by 5:30 p.m., photos.

WIRELESS SHOW-DIGITAL LIFE-THE SMARTPHONE 1 PERCENT

BARCELONA, Spain — The "1 percent" is often used to disparage the American elites at the very top of the wealth scale. When it comes to smartphones, however, the "1 percent" is the bottom of the heap. According to research firm Gartner, 94 percent of smartphones sales last year were either iPhones or Android devices. Windows Phone and BlackBerry devices made up another 5 percent combined. What about the remaining 1 percent? They are the wannabes such as Firefox, Jolla and Ubuntu. Here's what they offer that iOS and Android do not. By Anick Jesdanun. SENT: 900 words, photos.

With:

— WIRELESS SHOW-SMARTPHONE CAMERAS — Expect sharper, clearer selfies this year. Samsung Electronics Co. has beefed up the camera in its Galaxy S5 smartphone due for April release and added smarter camera software, following Sony and Nokia in their upgrades of handset cameras. SENT: 940 words, photos.

NUTRITION LABELS

WASHINGTON — Those "Nutrition Facts" labels that are plastered on nearly every food package found in grocery stores are getting a new look. Calories would be in larger, bolder type, and consumers for the first time would know whether foods have added sugars under label changes being proposed by the Obama administration. By Mary Clare Jalonick. SENT: 930 words, photos, graphic.

MISSISSIPPI'S OIL HOPES

GILLSBURG, Miss. — Residents living above an oil-rich shale formation that stretches across southwest Mississippi and Louisiana have been waiting on a boom for years. A steady trickle of drilling is already boosting the rural region's economy, and spending by two oil companies could make 2014 the year that many other locals finally cash in on the oil far beneath their feet. By Jeff Amy. SENT: 1,280 words, photos, graphic, video.

GRAPHITE EXPLORATION

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Tear apart an electric car's rechargeable battery and you'll find a mineral normally associated with No. 2 pencils. It's graphite. And experts say the promise of expanded uses for "pencil lead" in lithium-ion batteries — used in cars, cellphones and tablet computers — as well as a decrease in supply from China has helped touch off the largest wave of mining projects in decades. By Dan Joling. SENT: 1,010 words, photos.

OF MUTUAL INTEREST-BULL-MARKET RETURNS

NEW YORK — Fabulous can have a flip side. It's something investors should remember as the five-year return figures of stock mutual funds grow more eye-popping by the day. Many funds have more than doubled over that time, but it's the result of the calendar creeping closer to the five-year anniversary of the March 9, 2009 bottom for the market. That means the darkest days of the financial crisis are no longer counted in five-year returns, leaving only the recovery that sent the Standard & Poor's 500 index to a record high. By Stan Choe. SENT: 900 words.

With:

WALL STREET

NEW YORK — After knocking on the door all week, the stock market logs a record. The Standard & Poor's 500 index had moved above its all-time high on numerous occasions this week before selling off during afternoon trading. On Thursday, the index stays higher after getting a boost from a number of earnings reports from companies including drugmaker Mylan and several retailers. By Steve Rothwell. SENT: 560 words, photo. UPCOMING: 700 words by 5:30 p.m.

MARKETS & ECONOMY:

YELLEN

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen says some recent economic data have pointed to weaker-than-expected gains in consumer spending and job growth. She said the Fed will be watching to see whether the slowdown proves only a temporary blip caused by severe winter weather. By Martin Crutsinger. SENT: 760 words, photos.

With:

— ECONOMY-WEATHER — Bad weather can mean bad news for the economy. A look at companies that say extreme winter weather has put the freeze on financial results. SENT: 370 words., photos.

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS

WASHINGTON — The number of people applying for U.S. unemployment benefits rises 14,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 348,000, though the broader trend in applications remains stable. By Christopher S. Rugaber. SENT: 480 words, photo.

With:

— UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS-GLANCE — SENT: 200 words.

DURABLE GOODS

WASHINGTON — American businesses order fewer long-lasting manufactured goods in January, cutting their demand for aircraft, autos and machinery. But a key category that reflects business investment rose a solid 1.7 percent. Demand for electronic products and fabricated metals such as steel rose. By Josh Boak. SENT: 480 words, photo.

MORTGAGE RATES

WASHINGTON — Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages rose for a third straight week as new data showed a surprisingly strong pace of new-home sales last month. Rates still remain near historically low levels. By Marcy Gordon. SENT: 320 words.

— OIL PRICES — Oil prices ease slightly but hold above $102 a barrel as expectations for reduced demand due to warmer weather contrasted with a smaller-than-expected increase in U.S. oil supplies. SENT: 320 words. UPCOMING: 350 words by 5:30 p.m.

US AGENCIES HACKED-BRITAIN

NEW YORK — A British man accused of hacking into U.S. government computer networks is charged in a new indictment unsealed with infiltrating the Federal Reserve's computers. By Larry Neumeister. SENT: 390 words.

INDUSTRY:

MCDONALD'S-CUSTOMIZATION

OAK BROOK, Ill. — McDonald's plans to expand a test this year that lets people order customized burgers. The world's biggest hamburger chain began testing the waters of personalized orders last year with a "build-your-own burger" concept at a location in California. In addition to its traditional menu, the restaurant in Laguna Niguel offers tablets on which people can tap out the bun, patty, cheese and toppings they want on their burgers. By Candice Choi. SENT: 490 words.

DRUG SHORTAGES

TRENTON, N.J. — U.S. hospitals are coping better with ongoing shortages of hundreds of medications, but a new survey indicates obtaining those drugs from alternate sources is costing them hundreds of millions of dollars. By Linda A. Johnson. SENT: 650 words

BRITAIN-RBS' RETREAT

LONDON — Royal Bank of Scotland was once the biggest bank in the world. Now it's not even the biggest in Britain. And it is about to get smaller still. After reporting another whopping loss — 9 billion pounds ($15 billion) for 2013 — RBS said it would stop trying to be a world player and cut its losses. By Danica Kirka. SENT: 700 words, photos. Incorporates BC-EU--BRITAIN-EARNS-RBS.

CLIMATE CHANGE-STATES

CHEYENNE — Turns out the worst state for carbon dioxide emissions per person isn't smoggy California or bustling New York, but a state famous for big, clear skies: Wyoming. It's the least populated state, and also the nation's top coal-producing state, where local leaders call federal efforts to cut CO2 emissions a "war on coal." By Mead Gruver. SENT: 135 words.

OSCARS-BEST NINE

LOS ANGELES — Was it Lee Daniels' "The Butler," the folk rock bio pic "Inside Llewyn Davis," or Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine"? We'll never know which film might have been the 10th best picture nominee at this year's Oscars. Ahead of Hollywood's biggest night on Sunday, moviegoers may wonder why there have been only nine nominees for best picture the last three years — even though the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' rules allow for up to 10. By Ryan Nakashima. SENT: 750 words, photo.

CONGRESS-IRAN

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration faces a grilling from Congress amid reports China and India are expanding their imports of Iranian petroleum. By Bradley Klapper. SENT: 580 words, photos.

— GERMANY-VOLKSWAGEN RECALL — Germany's Volkswagen AG says it's recalling some 600,000 Caddy delivery vehicles worldwide to repair a problem with their rear doors. The Caddy is not sold in North America. SENT: 130 words.

— ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUG-APPEAL — A lawyer for two drug companies told the Arkansas Supreme Court that the state improperly relied on federal regulations in a lawsuit that resulted in a $1.2 billion award over the companies' marketing of an antipsychotics drug. SENT: 530 words.

— CHEST-RECALL UPDATE — Lane Home Furniture is urging people to check if they own a cedar chest it stopped making nearly 30 years ago, after two children recently suffocated to death inside the chest. SENT: 200 words.

— BLOOMBERG-BANGLADESH GRANT — Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's foundation is donating $10 million to a program aimed at preventing the drowning of Bangladeshi children who may be improperly supervised while their parents are at work. SENT: 290 words.

— INNOVATION VIDEO — A group of science, higher education and business organizations concerned about cuts in federal research dollars are hoping a new video focusing on what it describes as the "innovation deficit" will go viral. SENT: 140 words.

EARNINGS:

EARNS-SEARS

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill.— Sears Holdings Corp. reports a hefty loss in the fourth-quarter on a 14 percent sales drop, as the beleaguered retailer continues to struggle to bring shoppers into its stores. But shares rose 7 percent in morning trading as the retailer, which operates Kmart and Sears stores, narrowed its losses from a year ago. By Michelle Chapman and Anne D'Innocenzio. SENT: 510 words, photo.

EARNS-FREDDIE MAC

WASHINGTON — Mortgage giant Freddie Mac posts net income of $8.6 billion for the October through December period, its ninth straight profitable quarter. Earnings were boosted by the continued rise in home prices, which reduced the amounts the company had to set aside to cover losses on mortgages. By Marcy Gordon. SENT: 520 words.

EARNS-BEST BUY

MINNEAPOLIS — Best Buy returns to a profit in the fourth quarter and tops Wall Street expectations as it cut costs to offset declining sales. The specialty electronics retailer says it gained market share during the quarter. SENT: 420 words, photo.

EARNS-GAP

NEW YORK — Gap Inc. reports a 12.5 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit on a 3 percent decline in revenue as the clothing retailer was forced to discount heavily over the holiday shopping season to entice customers. By Anne D'Innocenzio. SENT: 530 words, photo.

AUSTRALIA-EARNS-QANTAS

CANBERRA, Australia — Qantas Airways said it will cut 5,000 jobs and posted a first-half loss of 235 million Australian dollars ($211 million) amid tougher competition, sending its shares down more than 7 percent. By Rod McGuirk. SENT: 700 words, photos.

— CHINA-EARNS-BAIDU — Baidu Inc., which operates China's leading search engine, said its quarterly profit edged down 0.4 percent as it spent heavily to promote mobile services amid an industrywide scramble to keep up with users who increasingly surf the Web on smartphones. SENT: 360 words.

— BRITAIN-EARNS-RBS — Taxpayer-owned Royal Bank of Scotland takes a whopping 8.2 billion-pound ($13.7 billion) pre-tax loss for 2013 as it announces a new plan to transform itself, streamlining the bank to make it smaller and safer. SENT: 290 words.

— DENMARK-EARNS-LEGO — Lego says its multicolored blocks were hugely in demand worldwide in 2013, especially in China where the company plans to open a factory to meet growing interest in its products. Lego said Thursday that China would become a future "core market," but also pointed to "healthy single digit growth rates" in key U.S. and European markets in 2013. SENT: 140 words.

— NEW ZEALAND-EARNS-AIR NZ — New Zealand's national airline posts a record first-half profit on slightly lower revenues. SENT: 270 words.

— GERMANY-EARNS-ALLIANZ — Insurance company Allianz says it is increasing its dividend to 5.30 euros ($7.27) from 4.50 euros a share after profits rose 15 percent last year. The Munich-based company says its net income attributable to shareholders reached 6 billion euros ($8.24 billion) in 2013, up from 5.2 billion euros the previous year. SENT: 130 words.

— DENMARK-EARNS-MOLLER-MAERSK — Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk says fourth-quarter profits fell 7.5 percent because of a fall in oil production and lower freight rates. The Copenhagen-based group says its fourth-quarter net profit dropped to 5.1 billion kroner ($936 million) from 5.5 billion kroner a year earlier. SENT: 140 words.

TECHNOLOGY & MEDIA:

NSA SURVEILLANCE-NAKED PICTURES

LONDON — Britain's signals intelligence division is stealing screenshots from hundreds of thousands of innocent Yahoo users' webcam videos, according to the Guardian newspaper, which also reported that the yearslong operation has swept up a huge haul of intimate photographs. By Raphael Satter. SENT: 650 words.

JAPAN-BITCOIN

TOKYO — The head of troubled bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox says in a web post that he is still in Japan, and "working very hard" to find a solution to the Tokyo-based organization's problems. The exchange has suspended trading amid accusations it suffered a catastrophic theft and its website went blank Tuesday, sparking speculation that it has collapsed. By Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 270 words.

— CHILE-BANK-FACEBOOK-TRANSFERS — The Chilean unit of Spanish bank BBVA is launching a service that lets people transfer money using Facebook. SENT: 130 words.

— EBAY FOUNDER — EBay's founder Pierre Omidyar is weighing in on billionaire investor Carl Icahn's claims that the company is not operating in the best manner for shareholder value. SENT: 310 words.

— BRITAIN-PHONE HACKING — Former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks admitted in court Thursday that she sometimes paid public officials for information, but insisted she only did so when it was in the public interest. SENT: 210 words, photo.

— GERMANY-TELEFONICA — The European Union's antitrust authority has formally outlined concerns that Telefonica's proposed 8.55 billion-euro ($11.7 billion) purchase of German mobile operator E-Plus may violate competition rules. EU Commission spokesman Antoine Colombani says a confidential letter detailing the competition concerns has been sent to the companies involved. SENT: 150 words.

INTERNATIONAL:

BRITAIN-SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE

LONDON — British financial group Standard Life says it is drawing contingency plans to move some of its operations out of Scotland in the event it votes for independence — a decision certain to stoke debate about the fate of business after the Sept. 18 ballot. The vote has raised a number of issues for companies, including what sort of currency would be used. By Danica Kirka. SENT: 310 words.

IMF-UKRAINE

BRUSSELS — The International Monetary Fund will answer Ukraine's call for financial help "at this critical moment in its history," fund chief Christine Lagarde says. In the IMF's first official statement on Ukraine since the country's political crisis intensified last week, Lagarde said a fact-finding team will be sent to Kiev in the coming days to assess the financial needs. By Juergen Baetz. SENT: 500 words, photos.

— SPAIN-FUEL TAX — The European Union's top court rules that a fuel tax applied by Spanish regions to help finance health care is illegal, possibly opening the door to compensation claims totaling millions of euros (dollars). SENT: 130 words.

— GERMANY-ECONOMY — Germany's unemployment rate stays unchanged at 7.3 percent in February, after only 2,000 more people join the ranks of the jobless during the month. SENT: 110 words.

— GERMANY-EX-PRESIDENT TRIAL — Germany's former president, Christian Wulff, is acquitted of corruption charges in a case that prompted his resignation two years ago. SENT: 300 words, photos.

— SPAIN-FINANCIAL-CRISIS — Spain's National Statistics Institute says the economy grew a smaller-than-expected 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013 compared with the previous three-month period. SENT: 140 words.

— GERMANY-EGYPT-TRAVEL WARNING — Germany is warning its citizens against traveling to Egypt's Sinai in a further blow to tourism in the region. SENT: 140 words.

— CYPRUS-FINANCIAL CRISIS — Cyprus' lawmakers effectively force the government to renegotiate terms of legislation that would pave the way for the privatization of state-owned companies, a condition of the debt-laden country's rescue deal with international lenders. SENT: 330 words, photos.

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CENTERPIECE

Growth back on the rise

Corporate America hit the accelerator on earnings growth last quarter, and is wrapping up what looks to be its strongest reporting season in three years. UPCOMING: Graphic expected by 6 p.m.

COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

Sears 4Q loss narrows

Shares of Sears Holdings rose Thursday after the struggling retailer reported that it narrowed its fourth-quarter losses compared with a year ago. UPCOMING: Graphic expected by 6 p.m.

MONEY & MARKETS EXTRA

For the week ending Saturday, March 1, 2014

CENTERPIECE

Whittled expectations

Analysts are busy slashing their estimates for companies' first-quarter earnings in 2014. Wall Street now forecasts growth of just 1.4 percent for companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index during the January-through-March period from a year ago. Eight weeks ago, it was calling for growth of 5 percent. UPCOMING: Graphic expected by 6 p.m.

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