Business Highlights

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Euro ministers cautious on Greek bailout deal

BRUSSELS (AP) — Hours after Greece made the unpopular decision to slash government spending in an attempt to ease its debt crisis, Germany's finance minister questioned Thursday whether the deal goes far enough to earn a crucial $172 billion bailout.

Greece's new austerity plan would make deep cuts to wages and public sector jobs and it ignited new criticism from unions and the country's deputy labor minister, who resigned in protest.

But finance ministers from the other 16 countries that use the euro at a meeting in Brussels indicated that even those painful steps may not be enough to get Greece's economy back on track.—

$25 billion settlement reached over foreclosure abuses

WASHINGTON (AP) — A landmark $25 billion settlement with the nation's top mortgage lenders was hailed by government officials Thursday as long-overdue relief for victims of foreclosure abuses. But consumer advocates countered that far too few people will benefit.

The deal will reduce loans for only a fraction of those Americans who owe more than their homes are worth. It will also send checks to others who were improperly foreclosed upon. But the amounts are modest.

And few think the deal will do much to help struggling homeowners keep their homes or to benefit those who have already lost theirs.

About 11 million households are underwater, meaning they owe more than their homes are worth. The settlement would help 1 million of them.—

2 Key leaders in Ford's renaissance will retire

DETROIT (AP) — Two key leaders in Ford's remarkable turnaround are retiring.

Lewis Booth, chief financial officer, and Derrick Kuzak, product development chief, will leave the company April 1.

The moves, in the works for months, raised questions about how long CEO Alan Mulally, 66, will stay in his job and whether Ford can continue its renaissance under new executives.

President and Controller Bob Shanks, 59, will succeed Booth. Vice President of Engineering and Product Development Raj Nair, 47, will replace Kuzak. Mulally said the promotions were part of the company's succession plan for every top management position.

Kuzak, 60, and Booth, 63, each served more than three decades with the Dearborn, Mich., company. Their most important years were the last five when Ford turned itself around after borrowing $23.5 billion in 2006 to stay in business. Both were once in a pool of candidates to succeed Mulally, but bowed out when it became clear that the youthful, energetic CEO would stay beyond the normal retirement age of 65.—

Kodak to stop making cameras, digital frames

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Eastman Kodak Co. said Thursday that it will stop making digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames, marking the end of an era for the company that brought photography to the masses more than a century ago.

Founded by George Eastman in 1880, Kodak was known all over the world for its Brownie and Instamatic cameras and its yellow-and-red film boxes. But the company was battered by Japanese competition in the 1980s, and was then unable to keep pace with the shift from film to digital technology.

The Rochester, N.Y.-based company, which filed for bankruptcy protection last month, said it will phase out the product lines in the first half of this year and instead look for other companies to license its brand for those products.—

Pepsico to cut 8,700 jobs; 4Q net rises

NEW YORK (AP) — PepsiCo is trying to put some fizz back into its business. The food and drinks maker announced a restructuring on Thursday that includes cutting 8,700 jobs globally and plowing money into advertising drinks like Pepsi and Mountain Dew in North America.

Pepsi announced its cost-cutting plan Thursday as it reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, but also forecast a decline in adjusted 2012 earnings. On the mixed news, the company's shares fell nearly 4 percent.

In a media briefing, CEO Indra Nooyi said 2012 will be a "transitional year" as economic uncertainty persists.—

Unemployment aid applications near a 4-year low

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment aid neared a four-year low last week, a positive sign that strong hiring could continue in the coming months.

The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications for unemployment benefits fell 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 358,000. That's the second-lowest level since April 2008.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell to 366,250, the lowest since late April 2008.—

House passes insider trading bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House passed a bill banning Congress and executive branch officials from insider trading, but brushed aside a provision aimed at reining in those who pry financial information from Congress and sell it to investment firms.

Thursday's 417-2 vote likely sends the legislation to a House-Senate conference, where supporters of the tougher regulation will try to restore the proposal that was included in the version passed by the Senate. Voting against the bill were Reps. John Campbell, R-Calif. and Rep. Rob Woodall, R-Ga.

The language in dispute would require so-called political intelligence firms to register the same as lobbyists, and they would have to file public reports on their spending and contacts with federal officials. Portions of the financial industry lobbied for removal of the proposal.—

Groupon stock plunges on growth worries

NEW YORK (AP) — Groupon had a lot to prove with its first earnings report as a public company. The nearly 14 percent slide in its stock Thursday suggests investors were not impressed.

The online deals site on Wednesday reported sharply higher fourth-quarter revenue that surpassed Wall Street's expectations. But some analysts worry about the trajectory suggested by its revenue forecast of $510 million to $550 million for the current quarter.

The guidance means Groupon Inc. expects revenue to grow by about 5 percent in the first three months of this year, compared with the last three months of 2011. By that same measure, revenue grew by a double-digit percentage in each quarter of 2011. That suggests growth is slowing down, said Collins Stewart analyst Mayuresh Masurekar.

Groupon's growth from signing up more subscribers and adding to its list of merchants is slowing, Masurekar said in a note to investors.—

LinkedIn's 4Q earnings strong, revenue doubles

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — LinkedIn reported a strong fourth quarter as the online professional-networking service added 14 million members. Its net income and revenue beat Wall Street's expectations.

The results announced Thursday provided further evidence of online networking's popularity and moneymaking potential.

LinkedIn Corp.'s performance could help create even more excitement for an upcoming initial public offering of stock from Facebook Inc., which runs the Internet's largest social network. Facebook, which connects far more people than LinkedIn, filed its IPO papers last week, setting the stage for its stock market debut in May or June.—

Rate on 30-year mortgage stays at record 3.87 percent

WASHINGTON (AP) — The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage stayed at a record low this week, providing some added incentive for those looking to buy a home or refinance.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the rate on the 30-year loan was unchanged at 3.87 percent. That's the lowest level on records dating back to the 1950s.

The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage rose to 3.16 percent, up from last week's record low of 3.14 percent.—

By The Associated Press(equals)

The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 6.51 points at 12,890.46. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.99 to 1,351.95. The Nasdaq composite index climbed 11.37 to 2,927.23.

Benchmark crude prices rose by $1.13 to end at $99.84 per barrel in New York. Brent crude rose by $1.39 to finish $118.59 per barrel in London.

Natural gas futures rose by 3 cents, or 1.2 percent, to finish at $2.48 per 1,000 cubic feet in New York.

In other energy trading, heating oil rose 2 cents to end at $3.21 per gallon and gasoline futures rose by 4 cents to finish at $3.01 per gallon.