Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are little changed in early trading on Wall Street. Oil and gas companies gained as the price of crude oil veered higher. Investors also welcomed encouraging economic data out of China indicating a smaller drop in the nation's exports. MetLife jumped after announcing that it plans to sell or spin off a large part of its life insurance business.
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors says it will add $4 billion to its stock buyback program and raise its quarterly dividend 6 percent to 38 cents per share. The dividend increase starts in the first quarter, and the share buybacks will run through 2017. Company executives also announced today that GM expects to make an adjusted profit of $5.25 to $5.75 per share this year, up from previous guidance of $5 to $5.50 per share. GM also expects improved adjusted earnings before taxes.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — CSX Corp. expects lower profits in 2016 as weak demand for coal and crude oil persists and the strong U.S. dollar continues to limit exports. The railroad also plans to reduce its capital spending this year by $100 million to $2.4 billion. CSX discussed its outlook today, one day after reporting that its fourth-quarter profit declined 5 percent.
PARIS (AP) — General Electric is cutting up to 6,500 jobs in Europe after buying a big chunk of France's Alstom. The French government had been concerned that the $17 billion takeover deal in 2014 would cause layoffs. To ease those concerns, GE pledged to create 1,000 net jobs in France. A GE spokesman says the company will stick to that pledge. GE currently employs 14,000 people in France.
BERLIN (AP) — The German government says it balanced its budget for the second consecutive year in 2015. The Finance Ministry says it recorded a surplus of more than $13 billion last year. Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative party has made ending new borrowing a key plank of its economic policy. The government was able to do without new borrowing in 2014, a year earlier than planned, for the first time since 1969.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
