Service sector's growth tops projections
America's service industries expanded more than projected in April and a measure of orders reached the highest level since 2005, a survey from the Institute for Supply Management showed Wednesday.
The nonmanufacturing index rose to 57.5, the second-highest since October 2015, from 55.2 in March. Readings above 50 indicate growth.
The results are in sync with projections for a rebound in economic growth this quarter coming off the weakest pace in three years. The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index, released earlier this week, eased in April while remaining consistent with sustained expansion.
A gauge of orders climbed to 63.2, the highest since August 2005, from 58.9.
The surge in nonfactory orders also extended to customers beyond U.S. borders as a gauge of export demand climbed to the highest level in nearly a decade. Recent data from the euro area showed manufacturing growing the most in six years, a development that can benefit U.S. service providers.
-- Bloomberg News
CEO retiring, General Mills names next
NEW YORK -- Packaged-food giant General Mills said Wednesday that company veteran Jeffrey Harmening will take over as chief executive officer next month, replacing Ken Powell, who is retiring.
Harmening is a 23-year veteran of the Minneapolis-based maker of Cheerios and Betty Crocker. He's served as chief operating officer since July. He takes over as CEO on June 1.
Powell has been the company's CEO since 2007. He'll remain as chairman of the board for a transition period until his planned retirement within a year.
Revenue fell 5 percent to $3.79 billion during the most recent quarter, mainly because of weakness in the key North American retail segment.
-- The Associated Press
For new 737, American cuts legroom
American Airlines Group Inc.'s newest Boeing Co. 737s will have less legroom in most of the economy cabin than current versions of the narrow-body plane, with at least three rows shrinking the space between seats to 29 inches.
Pitch, or the distance from the back of one seat to the same spot on the one in front of it, will slip to 30 inches on the new 737 Max from 31 on the Boeing 737-800s now in American's fleet, spokesman Joshua Freed said Wednesday. The 29-inch pitch on the three rows moves American close to the 28-29 inches offered on ultra discounters Spirit Airlines Inc. and Frontier Airlines.
American joins other carriers that have taken advantage of new, slimmer seat designs that try to maximize room for a passenger's knees even as rows of seats move closer together. The effort, called densification, enables carriers to put more travelers on each plane.
"These are well-designed seats built for this kind of a layout," Freed said in an interview. "We believe we're still providing a good product for customers."
Freed declined to identify which rows will have less pitch or how many total seats will be on the 737 Max. American, which has 100 of the aircraft on order, is to get the first one in the third quarter. It will receive four this year and 16 in 2018.
-- Bloomberg News
Facebook adding 3,000 violence sentries
Facebook is nearly doubling the number of workers it employs to monitor Facebook Live video feeds, in an attempt to catch violent streams before they spread across the network.
The social network has had to grapple with several graphic videos being shared widely in the past several months -- including a spate of live-streamed suicides and rapes and the real-time confessions of Steve Stephens, who also posted a video of himself killing a man on the network.
Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post Wednesday that the social network is hiring 3,000 additional workers to its "community operations" team, which is in charge of fielding reports from users who flag inappropriate material on the site. The company currently has 4,500 workers on the team.
-- The Washington Post
Stock exchanges still look at mergers
The world's biggest stock exchanges are still looking for deals even though the merger of Deutsche Boerse AG and London Stock Exchange Group Plc was scuttled by European regulators.
Singapore Exchange Ltd. has talked with potential partners including Nasdaq Inc. and CME Group Inc. about collaborations, minority-stake sales or even a full merger, people familiar with the matter have said. Chief Executive Officer Loh Boon Chye said last month that he's open to deals that fit the exchange's strategy. Frankfurt-based Deutsche Boerse is looking for acquisitions in data, analytics and indexes, though it's wary of the difficulty of mergers in its core exchange business, Chief Financial Officer Gregor Pottmeyer said last week.
Even the two biggest exchange companies in the world, Chicago-based CME Group and Atlanta-based Intercontinental Exchange Inc., could be on the prowl. A year ago, the two talked about merging, discussions not previously disclosed, according to people familiar with the matter.
-- Bloomberg News
Business on 05/04/2017