Business news briefs | The Salt Lake Tribune

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Home Depot

earnings surge

Home Depot Inc., the largest U.S. home improvement retailer, said its fiscal fourth-quarter net income surged 32 percent, helped by strong U.S. sales and the cleanup related to Superstorm Sandy. The news follows word of positive earnings by smaller rival Lowe's results, which also beat expectations.

China reforms

bolster markets

Chinese stocks will resume this year's rally as officials work to shore up an economic recovery, according to China Asset Management Co., the country's biggest fund manager. China's new leaders are mulling plans to revamp government bureaucracy to bolster the economy as it emerges from a seven-quarter slowdown.

JPMorgan cuts

more bank jobs

JPMorgan is trimming about 4,000 jobs, or about 1.5 percent of its work force, becoming the latest big bank to shrink its staff. The bank said the cuts, which follow about 1,200 job cuts in 2012, will be focused in consumer banking and mortgages. Many of the cuts would come through attrition, but the bank said it will lay off workers as well.

Microsoft unveils

new IE browser

Microsoft is escalating its efforts to bring the latest version of Internet Explorer to more than 700 million personal computers in an attempt to re-establish market share of the software maker's Web browser. Tuesday's release of Internet Explorer 10 is aimed at PCs running on Windows 7, the most used version of Microsoft Corp.'s flagship operating system.

U.S. bank profits

jump sharply

Profits at U.S. banks jumped almost 37 percent for the October-December period, reaching the highest level for a fourth quarter in six years as major banks continued to step up lending. The figures are fresh evidence of the industry's sustained recovery more than four years after the financial crisis.

Harvard professor

offers U. lecture

Harvard professor Michael Sandel will present the 2013 Tanner Lecture on Human Values at the University of Utah on Wednesday. The lecture, "Casino Capitalism: Gambling, Investing, and the Ethics of Speculation," at 7 p.m. at Kingsbury Hall, 1395 E. Presidents Circle. Tickets are free at Kingsbury Hall and at http://bit.ly/Xqu3Ak..

Late auto loan

payments rise

More Americans fell behind on their auto loan payments in the last three months of 2012, a time of the year when some borrowers' financial obligations temporarily take a backseat to spending on holiday shopping. Beyond the seasonal spike, the late-payment rate on auto loans declined on an annual basis and remained near the lowest point in more than a decade, credit reporting agency TransUnion said.