Business Highlights

NEW YORK (AP) — More Americans have access to a checking or savings account than in past years, according to a survey released Thursday by federal regulators, a sign that the improving economy is helping lift the nation's poorest households.

Having an account is considered a cornerstone of financial stability in the U.S. Without one, households must rely on check-cashing services, prepaid debit cards and other costly ways to pay bills and make routine transactions.

TOKYO (AP) — Carlos Ghosn, who heads Japan's Nissan Motor and Renault of France, will become chairman of Mitsubishi Motors, working to restore faith in the troubled automaker after a devastating mileage scandal.

Ghosn, who presided over Nissan's revival from the brink of bankruptcy in the early 2000s after it formed an alliance with Renault, said he expected it would be difficult to restore Mitsubishi's shattered reputation.

Investors mostly waded through another round of earnings reports, looking to glean insights into the health of corporate America and the U.S. economy.

While some companies turned in disappointing results, most of those that have posted earnings so far are beating financial analysts' expectations.

Weekly applications for jobless benefits rose by 13,000 last week to 260,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Even with last week's gain, claims, which are a proxy for layoffs, it remains at levels indicating that workers are enjoying job security despite sluggish economic growth.

Walgreens Boots Alliance earnings topped $1 billion during the fourth quarter, easily surpassing analyst expectations, but the drugstore giant also announced a delay in closing its latest megadeal.

Verizon wants Yahoo because it wants to build an online advertising arm that could rival Google and Facebook.

(AP) — Union Pacific's profit fell 13 percent in the third quarter because the railroad's efforts to cut costs and improve productivity cou