Bank settles more lawsuits
SAN FRANCISCO — Wells Fargo says it has agreed to pay $480 million to resolve classaction lawsuits brought by shareholders who claim the bank misstated or failed to disclose details about its sales practices.
The San Francisco-based bank said Friday that the agreement is in principle and must be approved by the court before it is final.
Wells Fargo denies the claims and allegations in the lawsuits, which were filed in federal court in Northern California. It says it chose to settle the complaints to avoid the cost and disruption of further litigation.
Center Point profit down for quarter
Profit at Houston utility CenterPoint energy fell during the first quarter of 2018, driven down by losses in the company's energy services division.
CenterPoint Energy posted net income of $165 million for the first quarter of 2018, down from its $192 million gain during the same period last year.
The utility's revenues rose by 15 percent from $2.7 billion to $3.2 billion.
CenterPoint finished 2017 with dramatic profit increases in the fourth quarter, driven by a $1.3 billion boost from corporate tax cuts to the company's transmission and distribution business. With the tax benefit, CenterPoint reported full-year income of nearly $1.8 billion, up from $432 million in 2016. For the quarter, the company reported a net income of nearly $1.3 billion, compared with $101 million over the same period last year.
Without the tax benefit, CenterPoint gains were more modest: a year-end net income of $593 million as compared with an income of $501 million last year.
Houston consumer spending declines
Houston's year-over-year consumer spending dipped in January, the first time since Hurricane Harvey, according to JPMorgan Chase Institute's Local Consumer Commerce Index released this week.
The index dipped 0.3 percent in January. It had increased every month between September and December.
The Local Consumer Commerce Index is a measure of the monthly year-over-year growth rate of everyday debit and credit card spending by more than 64 million anonymized Chase customers across 14 metro areas in the U.S.
Bullet train would have Amtrak access
Passengers on the proposed Texas bullet train would have access to connections with Amtrak's national routes as part of a new agreement between the national train service and Texas Central.
Tickets for Amtrak trains and the Texas bullet train will be available for purchase on Amtrak's reservation system.
Amtrak has not operated service between Dallas and Houston since 1995.
Musk defends his comments
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is taking to Twitter to defend comments he made during a contentious conference call this week.
Musk suggested the questions were biased or represented short-term thinking, something he says Tesla is subjected to more often than other companies. But it's not clear that's the case.
Allianz will stop insuring coal plants
BERLIN — Allianz, Europe's biggest insurer, says it will stop insuring coal-fired power plants and coal mines as part of its contribution to combating climate change.
Arizona vehicle hits self-driving car
CHANDLER, Ariz. — Police in a Phoenix suburb are investigating a collision involving a self-driving vehicle owned by the company Waymo.
Chandler police say the incident happened Friday afternoon when a Honda sedan swerved to avoid hitting another car.
As a result, the Honda went into opposing traffic lanes and hit the Waymo car.
Police say the vehicle was in autonomous mode, but there was an occupant in the driver’s seat, who suffered minor injuries.
Waymo is Google’s self-driving car spinoff.
Ford broadens full-size van recall
DETROIT — Ford is expanding a full-size van recall to fix wiring problems that could cause fires, and it’s warning drivers to park the vans outside until they’re repaired.
The company this week added 26,000 Transit vans from 2015 through 2017 to an October recall, bringing the total to almost 100,000 in North America. The recall covers vans with a trailer tow computer module. Water can enter the module and cause corrosion. That can cause an electrical short and an increased fire risk even if the ignition is off. Ford knows of two fires but no injuries.
Earnings soar at Cheniere Energy
Cheniere Energy's profit rose almost sevenfold in the first quarter, driven by higher liquefied gas cargoes from its Sabine Pass LNG terminal.
The Houston gas exporter posted record net income of $357 million, or $1.52 per share, in the first quarter, up from $$54 million, or 23 cents a share, in the first three months of last year. Revenue jumped from $1.2 billion to $2.2 billion.