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Toyota raises
profit outlook
Toyota Motor Corp. raised its profit forecast after the yen weakened more than any other currency, raising the value of Japanese cars sold overseas. The world's biggest carmaker said its net income in the year ending in March will probably reach a five-year high of $9.3 billion, exceeding the previous $8.4 billion forecast
BP profit down
on settlements
Oil and gas giant BP's fourth-quarter profit fell nearly 80 percent, dragged down by payouts related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. BP took a loss of $3.85 billion for its settlement of all federal criminal charges with the U.S. government. BP's refining and sale of petroleum products, however, earned a record amount for the year.
Blackberry wait
extended in U.S.
A new BlackBerry with a physical keyboard might not arrive in the U.S. until May or June, a month or two behind other parts of the world, the smartphone maker's CEO Thorsten Heins said. The keyboard and touchscreen versions of the new BlackBerry 10 phones are Research in Motion's attempt at a comeback. The smartphone pioneer lost its cachet after Apple's 2007 release of the iPhone.
MasterCard
dividend up
MasterCard is doubling its quarterly dividend to 60 cents per share and says its board approved the repurchase of up to $2 billion of its stock. The credit card company said the increased dividend will be paid on May 9 to shareholders of record on April 9. The new buyback effort will become effective once it completes its current $1.5 billion stock repurchase program, which has $440 million remaining.
U.S. home prices
up in December
U.S. home prices rose 8.3 percent in December, compared with a year earlier, according to a report from CoreLogic, a real estate data provider. It was the biggest annual gain since May 2006 and was spurred by a low supply of available homes and rising demand.
UBS reports
loss for quarter
UBS AG, Switzerland's biggest bank, posted a second straight quarterly loss after booking a fine for trying to rig global interest rates and costs tied to job cuts. The net loss amounted to $2.08 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with a $355 million profit a year earlier
Disney reports
drop in profits
Walt Disney Co., the world's largest entertainment company, reported its first quarter net income declined 5.6 percent, to $1.38 billion, or 77 cents a share, from $1.52 billion, or 80 cents, a year earlier. The owner of theme parks, cable networks and film studios said sales rose 5.2 percent, to $11.3 billion. Disney's year-earlier results were boosted by the release of "The Lion King" and "Cars 2" on DVD.