Business News Digest

Here are AP Business News' latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EDT. For up-to-the minute information on AP's coverage, visit Coverage Plan at newsroom.ap.org

TOP STORIES:

US-RUSSIA-HACK-UKRAINE SCANDAL — A U.S. cybersecurity company says Russian military agents successfully hacked the Ukrainian gas company at the center of the scandal that led to President Donald Trump's impeachment. Russian agents launched a phishing campaign in early November aimed at stealing the login credentials for employees of Burisma Holdings, the gas company, according to Area 1 Security, a Silicon Valley company that specializes in e-mail security. It is not clear what the hackers were looking for or may have obtained, although the operation's timing suggests that Russian agents may have been searching for material that could damage former U.S. vice president Joe Biden, whose son Hunter previously served on Burisma's board. By Frank Bajak. SENT: 750 words, photos.

US-CHINA-TRADE PACT SIGNING — President Donald Trump is sure to declare victory Wednesday when he signs a pact under which China is to buy more U.S. products and Trump has dropped plans for new tariffs against Beijing and reduced some existing ones. The preliminary deal eases tensions in the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. But the so-called Phase 1 agreement does little to force China to make the major economic reforms -- such as reducing subsidies for Chinese companies -- that the administration was seeking when it started the trade war 18 months ago. And it leaves in place tariffs on $360 billion in Chinese imports. By Paul Wiseman and Joe McDonald. UPCOMING: 900 words by 1 p.m., photos.

With:

CHINA-US-TRADE — China on Tuesday welcomed a U.S. decision ahead of the signing of a trade deal with Beijing to drop it from a list of governments accused of manipulating the value of their currencies to gain an unfair advantage in trade. By Joe McDonald. SENT: 630 words, photos.

And:

CHINA-TRADE — China's exports rose 0.5% in 2019 despite a tariff war with Washington after growth rebounded in December on stronger demand from other markets. Exports to the United States fell 12.5% compared with 2018 after a 14.5% decline in December. By Joe McDonald. SENT: 460 words, photos.

BLACKROCK-CLIMATE CHANGE — The founder of BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world, said Tuesday that climate change will be a central tenet of its investment decisions going forward. By Stan Choe. SENT: 390 words, photos. UPCOMING: Will be updated.

BUZZWORTHY:

EUROPE-CLIMATE CHANGE — The European Union plans to dedicate a quarter of its budget to tackling climate change and has set up a scheme to shift 1 trillion euros ($1.1 trillion) in investment towards making the economy more environmentally friendly over the next 10 years. By Samuel Petrequin. SENT: 500 words, photos.

MARKETS & ECONOMY:

FINANCIAL MARKETS — Stocks are off to a mostly lower start on Wall Street as losses for some banks and health care companies offset gains elsewhere in the market. By Damain J. Troise. SENT: 530 words, photos. UPCOMING: Will be updated through 5 p.m.

CONSUMER PRICES — Rising energy costs drove U.S. consumer prices higher in December, and American workers’ earnings couldn’t keep up. By Paul Wiseman. SENT: 210 words, photos.

EARNINGS:

JPMORGAN-CHASE-RESULTS — Banking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co. is reporting that its fourth-quarter profits jumped 21% from a year earlier, as the bank's trading desks had a blowout quarter, which offset the impact of declining interest rates. By Ken Sweet. SENT: 310 words, photos.

CITIGROUP-RESULTS — Citigroup’s fourth-quarter profits rose by 15% from a year earlier, as the bank benefited from a boost in trading similar to its competitor JPMorgan Chase. By Ken Sweet. SENT: 240 words, photos.

WELLS FARGO-RESULTS — Wells Fargo's net income tumbled in the fourth quarter, weighed down by hefty costs and a lower interest rate environment. By Michelle Chapman. SENT: 270 words, photos.

EARNS-DELTA-AIR-LINES — Delta Air Lines boosted its fourth quarter profit to $1.1 billion by adding more flights over the holiday-packed period and packing them even more full of passengers. By David Koenig. SENT: 700 words, photos.

VOLKSWAGEN-SALES — Volkswagen has announced record annual sales that could determine whether it keeps its crown as the world's largest automaker. By David McHugh. SENT: 270 words, photos.

MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY:

BRITAIN-HUAWEI — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Tuesday that opponents of Huawei should suggest alternatives to the Chinese technology company as countries start start building out next-generation wireless networks. SENT: 290 words, photos.

PERSONAL FINANCE:

NERDWALLET-MILLENNIAL MONEY-SAVE NEW YEAR — The beginning of a fresh year is an ideal time to get invigorated about making financial changes. There are several things you can remove from your budget in the new year to save more money. Reconsider everything from the food you buy to the way you think about shopping. To cut down on your spending in January and the rest of 2020, try removing your saved credit card information from your online shopping accounts, sticking to a list at the grocery store, and changing the brands of products you buy. By Courtney Jespersen. SENT: 760 words, photo.

INTERNATIONAL:

GERMANY-RAILWAY INVESTMENT — The German government has signed a deal with state-owned train operator Deutsche Bahn to inject almost $100 billion into the country's rail infrastructure over the next decade. SENT: 140 words.

FRANCE STRIKES — French President Emmanuel Macron tried Tuesday to calm nationwide tensions and salvage support for his overhaul of the country's retirement system, as France faced day 41 of crippling strikes. SENT: 310 words, photos.

BRITAIN-FLYBE — Britain's leaders are considering whether to support a rescue deal for the struggling regional airline Flybe, with discussions under way as to whether the carrier should receive tax relief on passenger duty levies. SENT: 380 words, photos.

EMIRATES-DP WORLD-DJIBOUTI — DP World says it has won another arbitration ruling against Djibouti over the African country's seizure of a container terminal managed by the Dubai-based global port operator. SENT: 280 words.

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