Apple's squeeze hits phone companies, other competitors

CUPERTINO (AP) - Apple is set to report another record quarterly profit on Tuesday, continuing the relentless string of results that's made it the world's most valuable company. Those profits don't come out of thin air: A range of businesses -from the company's wireless carrier friends to its PC-making foes- are seeing their profits melt away and flow to Apple's bottom line.

Facebook’s 1st quarter net income falls

MENLO PARK (AP) - Facebook's first-quarter net income fell 12 percent, weighed down by higher expenses even as its revenue soared, the social networking company said Monday, just a few weeks ahead of its expected initial public offering in May.

Social Security heading for insolvency even faster

WASHINGTON (AP) - Social Security is rushing even faster toward insolvency, driven by retiring baby boomers, a weak economy and politicians' reluctance to take painful action to fix the huge retirement and disability program.

Netflix's 1Q tops forecasts, stock still plummets

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Netflix's comeback from a customer backlash accelerated during the first quarter, but the recovery wasn't impressive enough to ease more pressing concerns about the Internet video subscription service's ability to cope with tougher competition.

Intel launches first chips of new generation

SANTA CLARA (AP) - Intel Corp. said Monday that PCs with chips from its new generation of processors, featuring a revolutionary design, will be available this week.

Baseball scores big with At Bat mobile app

ATLANTA (AP) - Baseball is back, which means die-hard fans like me are hungry for updates and highlights when we're not near our televisions or computers.

After 4-month surge, gas prices falling

NEW YORK (AP) - The worst appears to be over. Gasoline prices are going down.

PG&E tops nation in solar installations

Benefits for little ones cause big stink

Sometimes I am just blown away by the reaction I get to a column. I write what I think is the most innocuous and non-controversial answer to someone's question about Social Security benefits - and then, out of the blue, my email inbox is flooded with letters. Some of them have an inquisitive "this can't possibly be true" tone, while others are downright angry.

Google's ex-CEO gets $101M pay package in new job

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Shifting from Google's CEO to executive chairman proved to be lucrative career move for Eric Schmidt.

Disney studio chief quits after 'John Carter' bomb

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Disney movie studio boss Rich Ross stepped down on Friday, taking the fall for at least a couple of over-budgeted bombs as Hollywood shies away from taking risks on big blockbusters.

Crises make automakers rethink lean parts supplies

DETROIT (AP) - For the first time in more than 20 years, U.S. automakers are questioning a pillar of manufacturing: The practice of bringing parts to assembly lines right before they're used.

UP net income up 35 percent in 1st quarter

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Strong earnings reports from two of the nation's biggest freight railroads show that the U.S. economy is continuing its long, slow recovery.

Doritos tacos put sizzle in Taco Bell's US sales

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Taco Bell's new take on the taco, featuring orange Doritos dust, has helped put the sizzle back in its U.S. sales after a nearly yearlong slump stemming from a short-lived lawsuit that caused the chain some queasiness.

Microsoft's Windows propels pleasant 3Q surprise

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Microsoft produced a surprisingly strong quarter to start the year, pleasing investors looking forward to even bigger things from the software maker's much-anticipated overhaul of Windows operating system next fall.

What! Facebook’s down? No storm selfies during outage

MENLO PARK (AP) - No storm selfies, hookups, status updates. With Facebook and Instagram down for nearly an hour overnight, what were legions of users to do?

iPhone sales smash records

CUPERTINO (AP) - Apple had another blowout quarter thanks to its new plus-sized iPhones, which helped the company smash sales records for the holiday season.

Yahoo spinning off Alibaba stake

SUNNYVALE (AP) - Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is spinning off the company's $39 billion stake in China's Alibaba Group Holding in a move that wards off a potential shareholder rebellion.

Parking garages fall to the wrecking ball

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - They were supposed to be saviors of downtown, drawing people by offering parking as plentiful as at any suburban shopping mall.

IBM denies report of mass layoffs

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Calling it "ridiculous" and "baseless," IBM on Monday dismissed a report that said the technology giant plans to lay off 1 in 4 of its workers, or 100,000 people.

Microsoft earnings report doesn’t excite

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Big jumps in sales of its Surface tablets, cloud computing software and Lumia smartphones drove Microsoft's quarterly revenue above expectations, as CEO Satya Nadella continues to steer toward the mobile gadget market and shift Microsoft away from its traditional focus on the PC.

Starbucks’ 1Q profits soar on strong traffic

NEW YORK (AP) - Starbucks Corp.'s fiscal first-quarter earnings soared 82 percent as the coffee chain attracted more customers around the globe who snapped up an expanded offering of food and drinks over the holidays.

Microsoft to show off more Windows 10 features today

REDMOND, Washington (AP) - Microsoft will use an event today to offer a wider glimpse of the next version of Windows.

Netflix adds 4.3M more subscribers

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Coming off its best quarter yet, Netflix is accelerating its international expansion in hopes its original programming will hook millions more subscribers on the Internet video service.

US settles case over fake Facebook page

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department has reached a $134,000 settlement with a New York woman after federal drug agents used information from her cellphone to set up a fake Facebook page in her identity, a tactic that raised privacy concerns and led to a federal government review of the ruse, according to court papers filed Tuesday.

Twitter buys ZipDial in bid for users in emerging markets

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Twitter said Tuesday that it plans to buy Indian mobile marketing company ZipDial as it tries to reach new users in developing regions.

Does Airbnb help or hurt affordable housing?

NEW YORK (AP) - They cater to travelers, but Airbnb and other short-term rental sites are sparking debate over an issue few tourists are likely to unpack: affordable housing.

Cheap oil means spending changes

WASHINGTON (AP) - Cheap oil doesn't only mean cheaper gas in the tank. It means that a car dealer in Illinois is shuffling the inventory of models he'll be selling, that more students in Wisconsin may get school-provided iPads, that some planned projects in a Southern California city will get delayed, and that some expected oilfield hiring in North Dakota and Texas may not happen.

BUSINESS NEWS

• AMAZON BRANCHING OUT FROM TV SERIES TO MOVIE PRODUCTION: SEATTLE (AP) - Amazon Studios is branching out from television series to movies, announcing plans to begin producing and acquiring original movies for theatrical release and, within weeks, video streaming.

Pumpkin seed: Future cash crop for Oregon?

ONTARIO, Ore. (AP) - Eastern Oregon and western Idaho already produce many of the nation's decorative pumpkins. Now an economic development official is exploring whether the area could support production of pumpkin seeds for healthy snack foods.