Bottomline

DALLAS:

Fourth-quarter profit at United Airlines jumped 46 percent and the carrier signaled that average fares would inch higher early this year, but its shares fell in extended trading Tuesday after executives spelled out aggressive growth plans.

Like its rivals, United is benefiting from strong demand for travel, which is filling more seats.

United is showing more ability to handle fare wars with discount carriers including Spirit Airlines. A key measure of average prices, revenue for every seat flown one mile, inched 0.2 percent higher in the fourth quarter. United predicted the figure would rise around 1 percent in the first quarter.

Airlines are also dealing with higher fuel costs — they were up more than 20 percent from a year ago at United. But United executives sounded confident that they can hold other costs flat or lower on a per mile basis over the next three years. (AP)

LOS ANGELES:

Gains in the cable division and double-digit increases in content licensing for NBCUniversal’s film and TV units boosted Comcast’s fourth-quarter earnings.

The media giant also reported realizing $12.7 billion in net income tax benefits in the quarter thanks to the federal tax reform legislation passed last month. The earnings also reflect a $250 million charge taken in the quarter as the result of a settlement of a patent infringement lawsuit with Sprint.

Comcast’s fourth quarter revenue was up 4.2% to $21.9 billion. Earnings per share were up 8.9% to 49 cents per share, in line with analysts estimates for the quarter. Adjusted earnings for the quarter were flat at $6.75 billion.(RTRS)

LOS ANGELES:

Disney announced Tuesday it will pay bonuses to 125,000 US employees and launch a new employee education program, joining other big companies in steering some funds from tax reform to employees.

The two initiatives represent a total allocation of more than $175 million in this fiscal year, the entertainment giant announced in a statement.

US hourly and non-executive salaried employees will receive a one-time $1,000 cash bonus in two payments in March and September, the company said. The payment will go to employees who have been with Disney since the start of 2018. (AFP)

NEW YORK:

Apple Inc announced changes on Wednesday that make good on its promise to allow users to turn off a controversial feature that slows down iPhones when batteries are running low, although it signalled it might take months more to deliver.

Apple confirmed in December that software in its iPhone 6, 6s and SE models, which deals with dangers from ageing batteries, could slow down the phone’s performance.

The company is facing lawsuits over the issue and Chief Executive Tim Cook said last week that Apple would release a software update to allow users to turn off the feature. (RTRS)

NEW YORK:

Starbucks is giving its US workers pay raises and stock grants this year, citing recent changes to the tax law.

All employees will soon be able to earn paid sick time off, and the company’s parental leave benefits will include all non-birth parents. Starbucks Corp. said Wednesday that the changes affect about 150,000 full-time, parttime, hourly and salaried employees, most of whom work as baristas or shop managers. The new benefits apply to workers at more than 8,200 companyowned stores but not at the 5,700 licensed shops like those found inside supermarkets. (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO:

A federal appeals court has tossed out a roughly $210 million deal to compensate owners and leaseholders of Hyundai and Kia models with overstated gas mileage figures.

In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals said Tuesday that a lower court judge failed to determine whether differences in state consumer protection laws prevented a nationwide settlement.

The panel sent the case back to the judge to conduct that analysis and also exclude used car owners from the deal.

Hyundai and Kia announced in 2012 that they were lowering their fuel efficiency estimates for approximately 900,000 vehicles from model years 2011, 2012 and 2013. (AP)

NEW YORK:

Toys R Us, squeezed by Amazon.com and huge chains like Walmart, will close 20 percent of its US stores, or 180 locations, within months.

Hobbled by $5 billion in debt, the company that once dominated toy sales in the US filed for bankruptcy protection in September. Chairman and CEO Dave Brandon said in a letter Wednesday that tough decisions are required to save Toys R Us. Toys R Us operates about 900 stores in the US. (AP)

BERLIN:

German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports that automakers Daimler and BMW plan to merge their rival car-sharing services.

The newspaper reported Wednesday that the companies could announce a merger of their car2Go and DriveNow services in February. BMW and Daimler declined to comment on the report.

Car-sharing services are popular with young, urban drivers unwilling or unable to buy their own car. (AP)

BEIJING:

Shares in the main unit of beleaguered Chinese technology conglomerate LeEco sank on Wednesday after returning to the Shenzhen stock market following a nine-month absence.

Trading in Leshi Internet Information and Technology halted after the shares instantly tanked to the daily limit of 10 percent, with analysts expecting the pattern to continue for many trading days to come.

Leshi Internet is the main publicly traded arm of LeEco, once one of China’s most ambitious companies founded by flamboyant entrepreneur Jia Yueting. (AFP)

KUALA LUMPUR:

Food and beverage giant PepsiCo has suspended procurement from a palm oil supplier over claims of labour abuses on its Indonesian plantations, a move hailed by campaigners on Wednesday.

A 2016 probe by several campaign groups alleged there were child labour and worker exploitations, such as low wages and hazardous working conditions, on Indonesian plantations operated by Singapore-listed Indofood Agri Resources (IndoAgri). (RTRS)