US stocks are little changed after jobs survey

NEW YORK — Stocks opened little changed Wednesday after a survey showed that U.S. companies added slightly more jobs in February than in the previous month. The Standard & Poor's 500 surged to an all-time high a day earlier with its biggest gain since October.

KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index fell one point, or 0.1 percent, to 1,872 as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern Time. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 22 points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,376. The Nasdaq composite dropped two points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,350.

JOBS NUMBER: Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that businesses added 139,000 jobs last month, up from 127,000 in January, however January's figure was revised sharply lower from an original estimate of 175,000. The ADP numbers cover only private businesses and often differ from the government's more comprehensive survey of the U.S. employment market. The Department of Labor releases its monthly report Friday. Economists believe the U.S. will report that employers generated 145,000 jobs in February.

WHISKEY IN THE JAR: Brown-Forman, the maker of Jack Daniel's Whiskey and other alcoholic drinks, rose $2.60, or 3.1 percent, to $86.68 after the company reported earnings that beat analyst's expectations and raised its full-year earnings forecast.

UKRAINE: The stock market fluctuated wildly in the first two days of this week as investors followed the developments in Ukraine. Stocks slumped on Monday as tensions rose after Russia sent troops into the Crimea region of Ukraine. The market rebounded on Tuesday, climbing to a record high after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops participating in military exercises near Ukraine to return to their bases.

TREASURYS AND COMMODITES: The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was unchanged at 2.70 percent from Tuesday. The price of oil fell 58 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $102.76 a barrel. Gold fell 70 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $1,337.20 an ounce.

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Former IRS official refuses to testify at hearing

WASHINGTON — The former Internal Revenue Service official at the heart of the agency's tea party scandal once again refused to answer questions at a congressional hearing Wednesday that quickly devolved into political bickering between Democrats and Republicans.

Lois Lerner headed the IRS division that improperly targeted tea party and other conservative groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status during the 2010 and 2012 elections. She was the first IRS official to publicly disclose the targeting, issuing an apology on behalf of the agency at a law conference in May 2013.

But when she was called to testify before the House Oversight Committee a few days later, she invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself. Committee Chairman Darrell Issa recalled Lerner for a hearing Wednesday.

Lerner appeared with her lawyer, but she invoked the Fifth Amendment at least nine times when questioned by Issa.

Issa, a California Republican, quickly adjourned the hearing despite attempts by Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the committee, to make a statement. At one point, Issa said, "Shut it down," and Cummings' microphone was turned off.

Afterward, Cummings, of Maryland, said he wanted to point out that despite Republican claims of a political conspiracy, the committee's investigation so far has not shown any political motivation by IRS agents. The investigation also hasn't shown any links to the White House, Cummings said.

Last year, the IRS's inspector general released a yearlong audit that found agents had improperly targeted conservative political groups for additional and sometimes onerous scrutiny when those groups applied for tax-exempt status.

The IRS watchdog blamed ineffective management by senior IRS officials for allowing it to continue for nearly two years during the 2010 and 2012 elections.

Since the revelations became public last year, much of the agency's leadership has been replaced and the Justice Department has started a criminal investigation. The IRS has also proposed new rules for handling applications from so-called social welfare organizations.

IRS agents were reviewing tea party groups' applications to determine the amount of political activity the groups were engaged in. Under current rules, groups applying for tax-exempt status under section 501 (c) 4 of the tax code can engage in politics but it cannot be their main emphasis.

Three congressional committees are also conducting investigations, though Issa suggested his committee's investigation may become stalled without Lerner's testimony.

"At this point, roads lead to Ms. Lerner," Issa said after the hearing. Without her testimony, "it may dead-end at Ms. Lerner."

Issa and other Republicans on the committee say that Lerner had effectively waived her constitutional right not to testify at last year's hearing because she made an opening statement in which she said she had done nothing wrong. Technically, Wednesday's hearing was a continuation of that hearing.

Issa said the committee will consider whether to vote to hold her in contempt. Cummings said he does not believe Lerner waived her constitutional rights.

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Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stephenatap

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Top 10 carmakers sitting on $221 billion in cash

GENEVA — A new study shows that the top 10 global automakers amassed more than $221 billion (161 billion euros) in cash by the end of 2013 to invest in new products, strategic alliances and other growth strategies.

Global consultancy EY said Wednesday that effectively managing that cash was a key concern among 100 top industry executives it had surveyed.

EY analyst Anil Valsan said companies are stockpiling cash so they don't have to count on banks, which have been reluctant to offer loans. The cash pile has grown steadily despite the crisis and partly in reaction to it, the survey found. EY didn't have comparative figures from previous years.

Besides new car development, automakers are looking for strategic partners to enter new markets in northern Africa, the Middle East and southeast Asia.

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Wind project generates cash for on Maine town

OAKFIELD, Maine — A Maine town has received the first of payments that will amount to millions of dollars from an agreement with a renewable energy company.

First Wind said Tuesday that it has paid the town of Oakfield $600,000 as part of an agreement to build its wind power project there. The payment is the first of many that will be used to provide tax relief to area residents.

Over the next 20 years, the project will generate $12 million in such payments and an additional $20 million in property taxes.

The 148 megawatt wind project is anticipated to produce enough energy for about 50,000 homes. Construction began in 2013 after the project received state approval in 2012. It is scheduled to be complete in 2015.

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EU freezes assets of Ukrainians for fund misuse

BRUSSELS — The European Union says it is freezing the financial assets in Europe of 18 people held responsible of misusing state funds in Ukraine.

The EU's 28 foreign ministers approved the list of names Wednesday. The identity of those targeted was withheld pending the official publication in the EU's legal journal Thursday, at which point the sanctions will be effective for the coming 12 months.

Officials say releasing the names could give those targeted a last chance to pull their assets out of the 28-nation bloc.

The ministers said the sanctions also contain provisions facilitating the recovery of the frozen funds for Ukraine's new government "once certain conditions are met."

Wednesday's move follows similar action by Switzerland and Austria last week.

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Target tech chief resigns as it overhauls security

NEW YORK — Target Corp. says Chief Information Officer Beth Jacob is resigning effective Wednesday as the retailer overhauls its information security and compliance division in the wake of a massive data breach.

In a statement released to the Associated Press, Target's President and CEO Gregg Steinhafel says the company will search for an interim chief information officer who can help guide the company through the transformation.

Jacob had held the job since 2008.

Target also will look outside the company for a chief information security officer as well as a chief compliance officer. The company says it's working with an outside adviser, Promontory Financial Group, to evaluate its technology, structure, processes and talent as part of the overhaul.

Target is based in Minneapolis.

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US stocks are little changed after payroll survey

NEW YORK — Stocks are little changed in early trading, a day after setting a record high, as traders were unimpressed by a slight increase in hiring at private companies last month.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was flat at 1,874 shortly after trading opened Wednesday.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down two points at 16,393 and the Nasdaq composite inched up two points to 4,354.

Brown-Forman rose 3 percent after the company reported better sales of its flagship Jack Daniel's brand and other liquors.

Payroll processor ADP said businesses added 139,000 jobs last month, up from 127,000 in January, however January's figure was revised sharply lower.

Bond prices fell slightly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged up to 2.72 percent from 2.70 percent late Tuesday.

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EU ready to provide Ukraine aid worth $15 billion

BRUSSELS — The European Union is ready to give Ukraine 11 billion euros ($15 billion) in loans and grants over the coming years to help stabilize its economy, the head of the bloc's executive arm said Wednesday.

The aid comes on top of $1 billion in energy subsidies the United States pledged Tuesday. It will help support Kiev while it negotiates a broad bailout program with the International Monetary Fund.

The EU package is "designed to assist a committed, inclusive and reforms-oriented government in rebuilding a stable and prosperous future for Ukraine," Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said.

The aid will include 1.6 billion euros in loans and 1.4 billion euros in grants from the EU budget and at least 8 billion euros fresh credit from financial institutions run by or controlled by the EU and its member states, the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The package foresees helping to modernize Ukraine's gas transit system and providing technical assistance ranging from judicial reform to assistance in preparing elections, the Commission said. The package also calls for steps to accelerate achieving visa-free travel for Ukrainians to the 28-nation bloc.

That measure, if approved, would go down particularly badly in Moscow, since Russia has sought visa-free travel to Europe for its citizen for years. Suspending discussions on that project are among the measures EU leaders will consider at an emergency meeting Thursday to punish Russia over its occupation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

Coincidentally, the headline figure of $15 billion for the EU's aid package is the same amount that Russia was prepared to grant Ukraine in loans until the government of President Viktor Yanukovich was ousted last month.

Yanukovich took the Russian loans instead of a wide-ranging trade and economic agreement with the EU, a move that fuelled the protests that led to his ouster.

Barroso said that agreement was still on the table, and the EU is prepared to provisionally grant Ukraine the benefits deriving from it before a full ratification. Ukraine's industrial and agricultural exporters could save some 900 million euros annually through reduced tariffs, the Commission said.

"The situation in Ukraine is a test of our capability and resolve to stabilize our neighborhood and to provide new opportunities for many, not just a few," Barroso told reporters in Brussels. "We need to be up to this challenge."

The timeline over which the EU funds and loans would be disbursed varied from a few hundred million euros this year to multi-billions between now and 2020. The details were left vague because the situation in Ukraine is still uncertain and negotiations between Kiev and the IMF are ongoing, EU officials said.

Most disbursements will likely hinge on the formation of a new Ukrainian government after elections in May and an agreement on wide-ranging reforms with the IMF. The fund will likely insist, among other things, on a currency devaluation and a sharp hike to natural gas prices, which Ukraine subsidizes heavily.

Ukraine estimates it needs $35 billion in international rescue loans over the next two years.

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Follow Juergen Baetz on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jbaetz

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Survey: US companies add 139,000 jobs in February

WASHINGTON — A private survey shows that U.S. companies added slightly more jobs in February than in the previous month, but harsh winter weather still weighed on hiring.

Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that businesses added 139,000 jobs last month, up from only 127,000 in January. But January's figure was revised sharply lower from an original estimate of 175,000.

The data suggests that the government's jobs report for February, to be released Friday, will show only modest gains. Economists forecast it will show that employers added 145,000 jobs last month. That is below the average gains of nearly 205,000 jobs a month in the first 11 months of last year.

The ADP numbers cover only private businesses and often diverge from the government's more comprehensive report. In January and December its initial figures were much higher than the official count. The Labor Department said employers added 113,000 jobs in January and just 75,000 in December.

There were some positive signs in ADP's figures. Construction firms added 14,000 jobs, the third straight month of steady gains.

But manufacturing added only 1,000 jobs and hiring by hotels, restaurants and entertainment companies slowed, the report found.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, which helped compile the report, said that hiring should rebound once the weather improves. Chilly temperatures and snowstorms caused many businesses to close last month and possibly delay hiring.

Some companies also built up large stockpiles of goods in the second half of last year, which means they are likely ordering fewer products in the current quarter, slowing output.

"They're all temporary weights on growth, and we should see a pickup ... as we move into the spring and summer months," Zandi said.

The unseasonably cold weather may have shaved 0.2 percentage points from the economy's growth rate in the January-March quarter, according to economists at IHS Global Insight.

Growth is likely to come in at a 2 percent annual rate in the first three months of the year, Zandi said, down from 2.4 percent in the October-December quarter.

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Contact Chris Rugaber at http://Twitter.com/ChrisRugaber .

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Jack Daniel's spikes Brown-Forman 3Q profit

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Brown-Forman Corp.'s whiskey lineup, led by its flagship Jack Daniel's brand, stirred a 12 percent increase in third-quarter net income as the spirits maker reported broad sales gain in the U.S. and overseas.

The company behind such other brands as Southern Comfort, Finlandia and el Jimador beat Wall Street forecasts for the three-month period. It also raised its full-year earnings outlook.

Its shares rose more than 4 percent in morning trading Wednesday.

"We delivered great top- and bottom-line results in the third quarter, continuing the momentum from the first half," said Brown-Forman CEO Paul Varga. "We believe our top-tier performance was due primarily to the global strength of the Jack Daniel's trademark," along with its brand innovations, its performance across various price levels and its "limited exposure to some of the emerging markets that have decelerated."

Overall, the company reported net income of $177 million, or 82 cents per share, for the three months ending Jan. 31. That's up from $157 million, or 73 cents per share, a year ago. Quarterly net sales rose 5 percent to nearly $1.08 billion.

Analysts expected earnings of 75 cents per share on revenue of $1.08 billion.

For the first nine months of the fiscal year, net sales for the entire Jack Daniel's brand increased 8 percent, when excluding currency swings, the company said Wednesday. It reported continued strong sales for Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey.

The Louisville-based company's premium Woodford Reserve bourbon brand had strong double-digit net sales growth during the nine-month period. Its venerable Old Forester bourbon also posted double-digit growth, it said.

The company reported 3 percent growth in U.S. net sales on a constant-currency basis for the nine-month period.

In developed markets outside the U.S., its net sales grew 5 percent for the nine months when excluding foreign currency swings. It reported double-digit growth in the United Kingdom, Japan and France, along with high single-digit growth in Germany.

In other markets, the company posted double-digit net sales gains in China, Brazil, Russia, Thailand, Turkey and India.

The company boosted its full-year forecast to a range of $2.95 and $3.05 per share, up from a range of $2.80 to $3 per share. Analysts expected $2.96 per share for the year.

The performance among its brands was mixed during the nine-month period.

Net sales for Finlandia vodka products rose 7 percent when excluding currency swings. Net sales for the el Jimador tequila lineup dropped 5 percent on the same constant-currency basis, and sales for the Southern Comfort brand also were down 5 percent.

Sales for Korbel Champagne rose 3 percent, while Canadian Mist sales slipped 1 percent.

Brown Forman's Class B shares rose $3.09, or 3.7 percent, to $87.10 in morning g trading. They are up 28 percent since a year ago.

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