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—Adds: IRELAND-BANK SCANDAL, AUTO SHOW-HOT CARS, AUTO SHOW-ALFA ROMEO, GAP-INVESTORS
—Updates: YELLEN, MINIMUM WAGE-THE UNCOVERED, WALL STREET, OIL PRICES, BEIGE BOOK, EARNS-GOOGLE, EARNS-IBM, EARNS-AMERICAN EXPRESS, EARNS-CAPITAL ONE
TOP STORIES:
AIRLINES-HELPFUL FUEL PRICES
NEW YORK — You might think that paying 50 percent more for fuel than they did a decade ago might be the bane of the airlines' existence. But the spike in jet fuel to above $3 a gallon was the best thing to happen to the industry. It helped instill an attention to costs and the bottom line that had long been missing at the big airlines. And rising fuel prices make it far less hospitable for new airlines to enter the market and try and undercut the established carriers. By Scott Mayerowitz. SENT: 730 words, photos.
AUTO SHOW-TOYOTA CAMRY
NEW YORK — Shaken by the advances of sportier rivals such as the Honda Accord and Ford Fusion, the Toyota Camry is trying to shed its vanilla reputation. The redesigned 2015 Camry, unveiled at the New York Auto Show, is longer and wider, with a more aggressive design. Toyota says it changed every exterior piece but the roof. By Dee-Ann Durbin. SENT: 820 words, photos.
With:
— AUTO SHOW-MUSTANG 50th — Ford is building a limited-edition Mustang GT to honor the pony car's 50th anniversary. The company will only build 1,964 special cars, honoring the year the Mustang first went on sale. SENT: 130 words, photo.
CHINA-ECONOMY
BEIJING — China's economic growth slows further in the latest quarter but appears strong enough to satisfy Chinese leaders who are trying to put the country on a more sustainable path without politically dangerous job losses. The world's second-largest economy grew 7.4 percent from a year earlier in the January-March quarter, down from the previous quarter's 7.7 percent. By Joe McDonald. SENT: 800 words, photo.
MINIMUM WAGE-THE UNCOVERED
WASHINGTON — Some workers won't benefit even if a long-shot Democratic proposal to raise the federal minimum wage prevails. More than a dozen categories of workers are exempt from the current $7.25-an-hour minimum: casual baby sitters, crews on fishing ships, some employees with disabilities, live-in companions for the elderly, staffs of state and local elected officials, workers at summer camps and seasonal amusement parks. The government says nearly 1.8 million hourly workers were paid below $7.25 last year — about 2 percent of the 76 million Americans earning hourly wages. By Alan Fram. SENT: 1,040 words, photo.
EARNS-GOOGLE
SAN FRANCISCO — Google's first-quarter earnings growth falters as the Internet company dealt with a persistent downturn in advertising prices while spending more money to hire employees and invest in daring ideas. Its results fall below analyst projections. By Michael Liedtke. SENT: 330 words, photo. UPCOMING: 400 words by 6 p.m.
SMALLBIZ-MINORITY BUSINESS MENTORS
NEW YORK — The aim for many small business owners is to someday have a medium-sized, or even major corporation. But for businesses started by African Americans, Latinos and other minorities, winning the contracts to get them to that level is often an elusive goal. A growing number of organizations are partnering with large companies to mentor minority-owned businesses, helping them become big businesses themselves. By Joyce M. Rosenberg. SENT: 1,500 words, photos. Editors: This story subs for SmallBiz-Small Talk
With:
— SMALLBIZ-MINORITY BUSINESS MENTORS-GLANCE — Details about the minority small business mentoring programs in various cities. SENT: 270 words.
MARKETS & ECONOMY:
WALL STREET
Investors drive stock prices to their highest level in a week, encouraged by a crop of corporate earnings and reassuring U.S. and Chinese economic data. The major U.S. stock indexes notch their third day of gains in a row and their highest level since April 9. Yahoo and Delta Air Lines are among the companies posting big gains on the day. By Alex Veiga. SENT: 710 words, photo. UPCOMING: 720 words by 5:30 p.m.
YELLEN
NEW YORK — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen says that the U.S. job market still needs help from the Fed and that the central bank must remain intent on adjusting its policy to respond to unforeseen challenges. In her first major speech on Fed policy, Yellen sought to explain the Fed's shifting guidance on its interest-rate policy, which at times has confused or jarred investors. She said the Fed's policies "must respond to significant unexpected twist and turns the economy may make." By Martin Crutsinger. SENT: 620 words, photo.
HOME CONSTRUCTION
WASHINGTON — U.S. home construction rises moderately in March as builders resume work at the end of a frigid winter. But applications for building permits slid, clouding the outlook for future construction. By Paul Wiseman. SENT: 400 words, photo.
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION
WASHINGTON — U.S. factory output rises further last month, extending strong growth from February after harsh weather had caused production to tumble in January. Manufacturers produced more furniture, clothing, chemicals and aerospace products. By Josh Boak. SENT: 350 words, photo.
BEIGE BOOK
WASHINGTON — A Federal Reserve survey shows economic growth picking up across most of the United States over the past two months as bitter winter weather subsided. By Paul Wiseman. SENT: 360 words.
— OIL PRICES — Oil rises one penny as worries about upheaval in Ukraine canceled out a huge increase in U.S. oil supplies. Benchmark U.S. crude for May delivery closed at $103.76 a barrel in New York. SENT: 320 words.
INDUSTRY:
MALAYSIA PLANE-COMPENSATION
BEIJING — Since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went missing, some lawyers have claimed they can get several millions of dollars in damages for each lost passenger by taking the cases to the United States. But past lawsuits show U.S. federal courts are more likely to throw such cases out if the crashes happened overseas. By Gillian Wong. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.
With:
— MALAYSIA-PLANE — As a robotic submarine dived into the ocean to look for lost Flight 370, angry Chinese relatives stormed out of a teleconference meeting Wednesday to protest the Malaysian government for not addressing them in person. SENT: 540 words, photos.
— GAP-INVESTORS — Gap Inc. says it plans to more than triple sales in China in three years as it seeks to grab a bigger bite of the overall $1.4 trillion global clothing market. SENT: 130 words.
— CSX-OUTLOOK — CSX railroad expects to deliver modest profit growth this year, but the impact of the severe winter will linger into the second quarter. SENT: 110 words, photo.
— GLAXOSMITHKLINE-BRIBERY INVESTIGATIONS — British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline is looking into allegations of bribery within its operations in Jordan and Lebanon. SENT: 130 words.
MORE FROM AUTO SHOW:
AUTO SHOW-HOT CARS
NEW YORK — With more than 1 million visitors annually, the New York International Auto Show is one of the most important shows for the U.S. auto industry. Here are some of the vehicles debuting this year. By Dee-Ann Durbin. SENT: 550 words, photos.
— AUTO SHOW-ALFA-ROMEO — After a nearly 20-year absence, Italian car maker Alfa Romeo is returning to the U.S. market. SENT: 290 words.
EARNINGS:
EARNS-BANK OF AMERICA
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bank of America says it swung to a loss in the first quarter, hurt by $6 billion in legal expenses. The Charlotte, N.C., bank reported a loss applicable to common shareholders of $514 million. That's compares with earnings of $1.11 billion a year earlier. SENT: 450 words.
EARNS-IBM
NEW YORK — IBM says its first-quarter earnings fell because of a large charge related to reorganizing its work force. Revenue fell amid an ongoing decline in its hardware business. SENT: 150 words.
— EARNS-AMERICAN EXPRESS — American Express says its net income climbed 12 percent in the first quarter, helped by higher spending by its cardholders even as cold winter weather gripped much of the country. SENT: 130 words, photo. UPCOMING: 300 words by 6 p.m.
— EARNS-CAPITAL ONE — Capital One Financial Corp. says its first-quarter profit edged up, even as income it receives from lending slipped. UPCOMING: 130 words by 5:30 p.m., photo.
— EARNS-CREDIT SUISSE — Swiss bank Credit Suisse says its net profit fell 34 percent in the first quarter, more than expected, as bond-market woes hurt earnings at its investment banking business. SENT: 260 words.
— NETHERLANDS-EARNS-ASML — ASML Holding NV, the largest supplier of equipment to computer chip makers such as Intel and Samsung, says it sees only incremental sales gains in the coming two quarters. SENT: 150 words.
TECHNOLOGY & MEDIA:
DIGITAL LIFE-REVIEW-WINDOWS-OLD MEETS NEW
NEW YORK — Even as Microsoft plunges toward a future revolved around touch-screen devices, it is steering its Windows operating system to be more like its mouse-based predecessors. The divide between old and new is less pronounced in the latest, free update. That's a welcome change, as that has been one of the things that annoy me most with Windows 8. By Anick Jesdanun. SENT: 900 words, photos.
— JAPAN-BITCOIN — The Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange in Tokyo is headed for liquidation after a court rejected its bankruptcy protection application. SENT: 390 words.
INTERNATIONAL:
CHINA-ECONOMY
BEIJING — China's economic growth slows further in the latest quarter, growing 7.4 percent, but appears strong enough to satisfy Chinese leaders who are trying to put the country on a more sustainable path without politically dangerous job losses. By Joe McDonald. SENT: 770 words, photos.
— RUSSIA-ECONOMY — Russia's economy slows sharply in the first three months of the year as uncertainty over the crisis in Ukraine spooked investors into pulling money out of the country. SENT: 520 words, photo.
— BRITAIN-ECONOMY — Britain's unemployment rate has fallen below 7 percent for the first time in five years, with earnings growth narrowly outstripping inflation for the first time since 2010. SENT: 250 words.
— GERMANY-TAX EVASION — The high-profile tax evasion trial against former Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has prompted a surge in the number of Germans turning themselves in to authorities for failing to properly declare their taxes. SENT: 140 words.
—FRANCE-ECONOMY — France's new prime minister announces plans to cut 21 billion euros ($29 billion) from state pensions, health care and the social safety net as a part of a 50 billion-euro effort to rein in the country's debt and deficit. SENT: 300 words.
— IRELAND-BANK SCANDAL — A jury clears former Anglo Irish Bank chairman Sean FitzPatrick of all fraud charges related to a loans-for-shares scheme that preceded the bank's 2009 collapse. SENT: 270 words.
PERSONAL FINANCE:
ON THE MONEY-MEDICATION REMINDERS
Medicine only helps if you take it properly. Adhering to an exact schedule of what to take, and when, can be challenging for patients who are forgetful or need to take several medications. To help combat the problem, many doctors are trying a more high-tech approach. More are recommending smartphone apps that send reminders to patients to take their medications and record when they take each one. By Linda A. Johnson SENT: 820 words.
With:
— ON THE MONEY-MEDICATION APPS — SENT: 200 words.
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CENTERPIECE
Big APPetite
Hungry customers don't want to wait in long lines and that's prompting more restaurants to go digital. Credit Suisse analyst Karen Holthouse says restaurants have to adopt a mobile strategy in order to stay relevant to millennials, especially as those customers rapidly adopt new forms of payment. UPCOMING: Graphic expected by 6 p.m.
COMPANY SPOTLIGHT
CSX offers modest outlook
CSX said on a conference call Wednesday that the improving economy and stronger domestic utility demand for coal will boost earnings in the second half of this year and in 2015. UPCOMING: Graphic expected by 6 p.m.
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