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Boeing has locked in its biggest order ever. The Chicago airplane manufacturer said Tuesday that it has finalized an order from Indonesian carrier Lion Air for 230 planes — worth a combined $22.4 billion. Lion Air also has the rights to buy 150 more. The deal is the largest commercial airplane order ever for Boeing Co. by both dollar value and number of airplanes. The order includes 201 of Boeing's redesigned 737, which it calls the Max, and 29 extended-range 737-900s.
Retail sales rebound
Americans rebounded from a weak holiday season and stepped up spending on retail goods in January by a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent last month, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Consumers spent more on electronics, home and garden supplies, sporting goods, at department and general merchandise stores and at restaurants and bars. They also paid higher prices for gas. but spending on autos fell. The "retail sales data are better than they look, but they don't suggest that consumption growth is about to set the economic recovery alight," Paul Dales, an economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a note to clients.
Business inventories still on rise
Companies restocked at a faster pace in December, a positive sign that they expect consumers to step up spending. Business stockpiles grew 0.4 percent in December, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That followed a similar gain in November. Sales rose 0.7 percent, almost double the November gain.
Research firm posts increased earnings
National Research Corp. of Lincoln reported Tuesday it had net income of $3.1 million, or 46 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2011, double the amount a year ago, on a 20.3 percent increase in revenue to $19.1 million.
The company, which provides information on health care industry performance, said its 2011 net income totaled $11.6 million, or $1.69 per share, on $75.8 million in revenue. Net income was up 36 percent and revenue was up 19.5 percent from 2010.
Group to hear outlook on economy
U.S. Bank's chief investment officer will discuss the national and Midwest economic outlook at 7 a.m. Feb. 23 during a meeting of the Association for Corporate Growth, held at Happy Hollow Country Club.The speaker is Tim Leach, who oversees the bank's $50 billion investment management group from its Minneapolis headquarters. Tickets are $50 for non-members and $30 for members' guests. For reservations, see acg.org/nebraska.
CEO: Apple takes working conditions seriously
Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said that the company takes working conditions seriously and that it's pressing suppliers to meet stringent standards or risk losing business.
"We believe that every worker has the right to a fair and safe work environment, free of discrimination, where they can earn competitive wages and they can voice their concerns freely," Cook said during a San Francisco conference sponsored by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. "Apple suppliers must live up to this to do business with Apple."
Apple said Monday that the Fair Labor Association has begun inspections of Foxconn Technology Group's plants as part of an effort to respond to criticism of conditions for workers assembling gadgets such as the iPhone and iPad.
Cook called the use of underage labor "abhorrent" and said that while it's rare in Apple's supply chain, the company is working to stamp it out entirely. Using underage labor is a "firing offense" for Apple suppliers, he said.
"We know people have a very high expectation of Apple and we have an even higher expectation of ourselves," Cook said.
U.P. plans Louisiana expansion
Union Pacific Corp. says it will spend $200 million to expand its operations in south Louisiana to meet expected higher customer demand from petrochemical plants along the Mississippi River.
The plans call for the hiring of 225 new employees.
The expansion announced Tuesday includes a new support yard in St. James Parish, an additional 29 miles of track from Livonia to Addis and more slots to assemble trains in Livonia. Union Pacific said at the peak of construction in June, 1,500 construction employees will be needed.
Omaha-based Union Pacific said it expects to complete the expansion by the end of 2012. The company currently has about 1,100 miles of track in Louisiana.
Union Pacific chief executive James Young said, "These investments reflect our commitment to build freight capacity that meets our customers' needs while also promoting jobs and business growth in Louisiana."
Nebraska tells Virginia firm to stop sales
A Virginia investment firm has been ordered to stop selling investment securities in Nebraska.
Regulators with the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance say Greyton LLC, of Richmond, Vir., improperly sold an unregistered security to at least one Nebraskan last year. So the company has been ordered to cease all sales.
Nebraska regulators say Greyton has been soliciting Nebraska investors via websites by promising consistently above-average profits.
Neither Greyton nor the company's officers are licensed to sell securities in the state.
Greyton officials could not be reached.
Avon's struggles continue
Despite Avon Products Inc.'s efforts to revive its business, the beauty products seller posted a fourth-quarter net loss as sales fell, costs rose and it marked down the value of Silpada, a silver jewelry company acquired in 2010.
Avon has been struggling to improve results and wind up a long-running bribery investigation that began in 2008. The company has restructured and cut jobs. But its profit has shrunk over the past three years, and the bribery investigation has widened. To placate critics, in December the company said it would seek a replacement for longtime CEO Andrea Jung, who plans to remain chairman.
The New York company said Tuesday that it doesn't expect its margins — how much it keeps of revenue after costs — to improve this year.
In a call with investors, Jung said long-term financial goals will be discussed when a new CEO is announced. In the meantime, the company is going to focus on improving sales and managing costs in 2012, a "transition" year, she said.
Zynga posts net loss, higher revenue
Online game maker Zynga says it booked a net loss in the fourth quarter, weighed by hefty stock-compensation expenses and other costs in its first quarter as a public company.
Zynga Inc. lost $435 million, or $1.22 per share, in the period. That's down from earnings of $16 million, or 5 cents per share, a year earlier.
Adjusted earnings were 5 cents per share, surpassing Wall Street's expectations. This excludes $510 million in stock compensation expenses triggered by the IPO and other items.
Revenue rose 59 percent to $311 million as Zynga grew its user base, ad revenue and the money it makes from games such as "CityVille."
States gain delay in Honda settlement
A judge on Tuesday granted California and four other states more time to consider objecting to a class-action settlement between Honda Motor Co. and car owners over inflated fuel-efficiency claims about the automaker's hybrid vehicles.
The states' sudden interest in the proposed settlement came shortly after Honda owner Heather Peters won $9,867 in small claims court — much more than the couple hundred dollars cash that the settlement is offering.
Attorneys general in California, Iowa, Massachusetts, Texas and Washington asked last week — only two days before the deadline — for more time to consider the settlement with about 200,000 Honda owners.
San Diego County Superior Court Judge Timothy Taylor granted the states an extension until Feb. 29.
— From staff and wire reports
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