Deere cuts earnings outlook on weak farm, energy sales
NEW YORK — Deere & Co. on Friday cut its full-year outlook because it expects the weak agriculture and energy sectors to continue dragging down equipment sales. The agricultural equipment manufacturer has been facing a downturn in sales as weak commodity prices hold back farmers from buying new equipment. Meanwhile, a weak energy sector has been dragging down construction equipment sales. Deere, based in Moline, Ill., fell 8.11 percent to $83.30 on Friday, the biggest drop since March 2009. The company earned $511.6 million, a 37 percent drop from the same period a year earlier. Deere said industry sales for agricultural equipment in the United States and Canada are forecast to be down about 25 percent for 2015. Worldwide sales of construction and forestry equipment are forecast to be down about 5 percent for the year. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Walmart commits $25 million to disaster relief
NEW ORLEANS — With the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaching, Walmart is announcing a $25 million, five-year commitment to support disaster recovery efforts around the world. The corporation and its charitable foundation announced the plans Friday in New Orleans, part of more than a week's worth of observances in the city and along the Gulf Coast. Walmart said in a news release the commitment includes an initial $500,000 in grants to nonprofits in the Gulf Coast region. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
US agency probes Honda Accord air bag failures
DETROIT — US auto safety regulators are investigating reports that air bags on some older Honda Accords may not inflate in a crash. The probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers about 384,000 cars from the 2008 model year. The agency says it received 19 consumer complaints that the air bag control computer failed. In one case, a driver was injured in a front crash when the air bags didn't inflate. Several people complained the computer had to be replaced to fix the problem. The agency says the malfunction causes the air bag warning light to illuminate on the dashboard and disables the air bags until repairs are made. Investigators will look into how often the problem happens and decide if a recall is needed. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Novartis pays $1b for rights to experimental MS drug
R.I. still investigating deal with Schilling’s company
PROVIDENCE — There's still an open, ongoing criminal investigation into Rhode Island's failed $75 million deal with former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's video game company, the head of the State Police said Thursday. Colonel Steven O'Donnell made the comments the day several groups called for an independent investigation into the 38 Studios deal. O'Donnell said the criminal investigation is under review by State Police and Attorney General Peter Kilmartin, and he said he can't comment on its scope or timeline for finishing. ''When we're done investigating to the best of our ability, then the case will be charged or not charged,'' he said. ''It's something we worked together on because it is so lengthy and long and we have to constantly review it.'' A spokeswoman for Kilmartin on Thursday said the office continues to review the information about the 38 Studios deal given to it by the police. Schilling's
company went bankrupt in 2012, leaving taxpayers on the hook. He has said the company fully disclosed its financial condition to the state's Economic Development Corp. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Spotify apologizes for its newest privacy policy
WASHINGTON — Spotify knew it had some explaining to do. The streaming music service apologized Friday, after changes to its privacy policy raised alarms among its more privacy-conscious customers — aka, those that actually read those policies. Spotify's latest policy asks for access to users' pictures, contacts, voice controls, and location information, which sparked some concerns the company was going to spy broadly on its users' habits. But chief executive Daniel Ek explained in a blog post why the firm asks for the things it does. The purposes focus on customization: Spotify wants to access your pictures, for example, to let you personalize playlists or album covers. Asking for voice control permission, Ek said, also opens Spotify to offering voice controls in its app in the future. Ek didn't say that the outcry would prompt Spotify to change its mind about what it collects, but he did say that the company would rework its policy to be a little more clear. — WASHINGTON POST
Uber’s latest investment said to be $100 million from China
BEIJING — Uber Technologies Inc. isn't just ramping up its business in China — the mobile ride-hailing service is starting to draw investment interest there as well. A unit of China's Citic Group Corp. is planning to invest $100 million in the San Francisco company, a person familiar with the matter said. Landing an investment from the state-controlled entity may help accelerate Uber's business in China, where it is investing more than $1.1 billion to expand. Users of the Uber app complete almost 1 million rides daily in China, which is expected to outgrow Uber's US market by the end of this year, chief executive Travis Kalanick wrote in a letter to investors in June. Citic-CP Asset Management plans to invest about 80 percent of the $100 million in Uber and about 20 percent in its China unit, said the person, who asked not be identified because the plans are private. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
Gap CEO is promising cuter clothes by spring
If you're a formerly-loyal Gap shopper who has been unimpressed by the retailer's fashions, chief executive Art Peck has a message for you: Hang on until spring. On a conference call Thursday evening to discuss the retailer's lackluster second-quarter earnings, Peck doubled down on his message that while you may not being seeing progress yet at the struggling apparel chain, he believes you'll start to clearly see a difference early next year. "I'm confident that Gap will make significant progress in the spring,'' he said. Since Peck took the helm of Gap — the giant retail company that is also home to Banana Republic and Old Navy — in February, he has been candid about the primary source of the trouble at his flagship brand: The clothes simply haven't been very stylish, and their quality and fit has often not met customers' expectations. — WASHINGTON POST