Beam's fourth-quarter earnings rose 10% as the spirits maker's margins improved despite slower-than-expected sales growth.

U.S. auto dealers are now selling vehicles at historically high prices in another sign the auto industry's recovery is moving into the fast lane.

LVMH reported strong earnings for last year. The luxury-goods maker's sales jumped 16%, powered by the U.S. and Asia.

The head of Dow Chemical said Thursday that he believes France and Germany are in recession, damping demand for the company's products, though U.S. markets are recovering as customers restock after letting their inventories dwindle.

News Corp. named Lex Fenwick as the new chief executive of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal. Fenwick was recruited from Bloomberg, where he had been CEO.