Business Highlights: Tesla profit up; Bieber sells catalog – mySA

DETROIT (AP) — Tesla has posted record net income for the fourth quarter of last year, and the company predicted that additional software-related profits will keep its margins higher than any other automaker. The Austin, Texas, maker of electric vehicles and solar panels said it made $3.69 billion from October through December, or an adjusted $1.19 per share. That beat estimates of $1.13 a share that had been reduced by analysts. The company’s profit was 59% more than the same period a year ago. Revenue for the quarter was $24.32 billion, which fell short of the $24.67 billion that analysts expected.

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Justin Bieber sells rights to ‘Baby,’ rest of music catalog

NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Bieber’s record-breaking pop hits from “Baby” to “Sorry” are no longer his after the superstar sold the rights to all his early career music. Nearly 300 works, including six of the pop star’s albums, have been sold to the music investment company called Hipgnosis. The deal covers Bieber’s publishing rights, copyright ownership and all rights to music he’s recorded since his career started when he was 13. The deal reportedly cost $200 million which is one of the biggest sales for a musician as young as Bieber, who is 28 years old. Hitmakers like Sting, Bob Dylan and Shakira have also sold their music catalogs in recent years.

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New York’s AG says MSG lawyer ban may violate anti-bias laws

NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s attorney general has warned Madison Square Garden that it may be violating anti-bias laws with its practice of barring lawyers from firms involved in litigation against MSG from its venues including Radio City Music Hall and the Garden itself. The attorney general’s office says in a letter to Madison Square Garden officials that the ban and the use of facial recognition technology to enforce it may violate anti-discrimination laws. A representative for MSG says the policy “does not unlawfully prohibit anyone from entering our venues and it is not our intent to dissuade attorneys from representing plaintiffs in litigation against us.”

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Record 16.3 million seek health coverage through ‘Obamacare’

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government says a record 16.3 million people sought health insurance through the Affordable Care Act this year. That’s double the number covered when the marketplaces first launched nearly a decade ago. More than 3 million new members have joined the marketplace, which is also known as “Obamacare.” The Biden administration says it worked with nonprofit groups and invested in program specialists who helped sign up people in low-income, immigrant, Black and Latino communities. President Joe Biden and a Democratic-led Congress have also committed millions of dollars over the past two years into unlocking low-cost insurance plans for more people.

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Light at the end of the tunnel: Grand Central annex opens

NEW YORK (AP) — A huge new commuter rail terminal built in caverns beneath New York City’s landmark Grand Central Terminal received its first regular passenger trains Wednesday. The enormously expensive terminal opens with daily rail travel still far below pre-pandemic levels. Over the years, the cost of the project grew to more than $11 billion — more than triple initial estimates. Judged on a cost per mile of new track, it is one of most expensive rail projects in U.S. history. The new transit center is dubbed Grand Central Madison. Officials say it is an important addition to the nation’s busiest railway network.

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Amazon workers hold first UK strike, adding to labor turmoil

LONDON (AP) — Amazon warehouse workers have gone on strike for the first time in Britain in a dispute over pay and working conditions. The action Wednesday adds to a wave of industrial labor action across the country fueled by the soaring cost of living. Union members voted to walk off the job at the e-commerce giant’s fulfillment center in Coventry, about 100 miles northwest of London. Union organizers say staff are “trying to get decent pay” and take issue with performance targets set by an algorithm that piles extra pressure on workers. Some 2,000 people work at the Coventry facility. Amazon said only 178 workers voted to strike and that it’s offering “competitive pay.”

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Germany sees brighter outlook for Europe’s largest economy

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The economic outlook has brightened in Europe’s largest economy. The German government on Wednesday raised its estimate for growth next year to an 0.2% expansion from a 0.4% contraction as the country manages its energy divorce from Russia and shells out support for consumers and businesses hit by higher energy costs. Germany had feared that this winter it would run out of natural gas used to power factories, generate electricity and heat homes. Mild weather helped, as did additional supplies of liquid natural gas after Russia cut off most pipeline supplies to Europe amid the war in Ukraine. German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck says high prices are a burden for consumers but that the government has “made the crisis manageable.”

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Microsoft reports outage for Teams, Outlook, other services

LONDON (AP) — Microsoft says it’s seeing some improvements to its online services including the Teams messaging platform and Outlook email system after users around the world reported outages. In a status update, the tech company reported “service degradation” for a number of its Microsoft 365 services. Thousands of users reported problems early Wednesday with Teams, Outlook, the Azure cloud computing service and XBox Live online gaming service on the Downdetector website, which tracks outage reports. By later in the morning, it showed the number of reports had dropped considerably. The company tweeted that a network change suspected to be causing the problem has been rolled back and that some customers are reporting improvements.

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Murdoch pulls plug on possible merger of News Corp., Fox

NEW YORK (AP) — Rupert Murdoch has pulled the plug on a proposal to merge his News Corp. and Fox Corp. In statements Tuesday, the companies said their boards received letters from Murdoch withdrawing the plan. They say the letters indicated that “a combination is not optimal for shareholders of News Corp. and Fox at this time.” The media mogul first floated the merger in October. News Corp. owns The Wall Street Journal, New York Post and book publisher HarperCollins, while Fox Corp. controls Fox News, Fox Sports and local TV stations. The Murdoch family controls both corporations but had spun off the Fox properties into a separate company after selling Fox entertainment assets to Walt Disney Co. in 2019.

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The S&P 500 fell 0.73 points, or less than 0.1%, to 4,016.22. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 9.88 points, or less than 0.1%, to 33,743.84. The Nasdaq composite fell 20.91 points, or 0.2%, to 11,313.36. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 4.71 points, or 0.2%, to 1,890.32.

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