Business

Disney profit beats forecasts with ESPN, ‘Frozen’

(Reuters) – Media company Walt Disney Co reported higher profit for the quarter that ended in December, beating Wall Street expectations with growth at sports network ESPN and the strong performance of its animated hit film “Frozen.” The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.04, according to a statement released on Wednesday, exceeding the 92 cents average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Net income for the quarter rose to $1.8 billion, […]

Aston Martin recalls 17,590 cars due to counterfeit material

(Reuters) – Aston Martin is recalling most of its sports cars built since late 2007 after discovering a Chinese sub-supplier was using counterfeit plastic material in a part supplied to the luxury sports carmaker. Aston Martin, which is owned by Kuwaiti and private equity investors, is recalling 17,590 cars, including all of its left-hand-drive models built since November 2007 and all right-hand-drive models built since May 2012, affecting about 75 percent of all vehicles built […]

GM, Ford sales stall

By Ben Klayman, Bernie Woodall and Deepa Seetharaman DETROIT Mon Feb 3, 2014 2:51pm EST (Reuters) – Four of the top five U.S. auto sellers on Monday blamed extreme winter weather for poorer-than-expected sales in January, as analysts and executives predicted a rebound in February and March. U.S. automakers Ford Motor Co and General Motors Co as well as Japan’s Toyota Motor Sales USA and American Honda Motor Co saw auto sales plummet in January, […]

Sony, Lenovo in talks on possible PC business alliance: report

(Reuters) – Japan’s Sony Corp and Chinese technology company Lenovo Group are in talks about a possible joint venture to take over Sony’s loss-making Vaio PC business overseas, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported on Saturday. The Japanese electronics and media giant called the report inaccurate while acknowledging that it was looking at various possibilities for the unit. “Sony continues to address various options for the PC business, but the press report on a possible PC business alliance between Sony and Lenovo […]

Nadella outran better-known candidates for Microsoft CEO

(Reuters) – The race to determine the next head of Microsoft Corp looks to have ended where it began, with the software giant poised to take the route of least risk and tap rising internal star Satya Nadella for the job. After a bruising, five-month selection process, the list of contenders was cut to six serious candidates, with the chief executive job nearly going to Ford Motor Co CEO Alan Mulally, an outsider favored by […]