Stocks open higher after Ukraine cease-fire deal

U.S. stocks are opening higher, tracking European markets that jumped following an apparent cease-fire deal in Ukraine.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 63 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,130 in early trading Wednesday. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained six points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,008.

European and Russian stocks rose sharply after Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a peace plan for eastern Ukraine Wednesday. That followed an earlier announcement from Ukraine of a cease-fire deal.

Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of supporting pro-Russian insurgents fighting government troops in eastern Ukraine since mid-April. Moscow has denied the charge.

Russia's MICEX benchmark index was up 3.2 percent. Germany's DAX index, which is sensitive to the crisis because of the country's economic ties with Russia, rose 1.5 percent.

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GM reports 1.2 percent August sales decline

DETROIT — General Motors says its U.S. sales fell 1.2 percent last month as rising truck and SUV sales couldn't offset falling car sales.

Three of GM's four brands reported declines for the month. GMC, which sells only trucks and SUVs, reported a 10 percent increase.

The company said it sold 272,423 vehicles last month.

Still, GM predicted a strong finish for the year. The company now expects total U.S. sales to be near the high end of its forecast range of 16 million to 16.5 million.

GM's sales have held up despite a series of safety recalls. The company has recalled 29 million vehicles for numerous problems.

Industry analysts are predicting flat overall sales in August compared with a year ago. But Chrysler and Nissan bucked the trend with double-digit increases.

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Samsung unveils virtual-reality headset built with Facebook's Oculus

Samsung Electronics launched a virtual-reality wearable headset technology -- the Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition, built in partnership with Facebook's Oculus -- as the consumer-electronics maker looks to stake out what could be the next big category in the space.

The company did not announce pricing for the Samsung Gear VR, announced Wednesday at the Samsung Unpacked event in New York. It's slated to be available later in 2014. Partners for the headset include Disney's Marvel, DreamWorks Animation, IMAX, M-Go and Vevo, and the wearable device also will provide a range of movies and other video, games and educational content (with availability depending on country).

"The Samsung Gear VR goes far beyond expectations of how mobile technology can be used to consume content, and is a powerful representation of the progressive innovation of the Gear series," said JK Shin, president and CEO of Samsung's IT and mobile communications division.

The Samsung Gear VR will ship with a 16-gigabyte microSD card preloaded with a collection of 360-degree videos and 3D movie trailers from major studios.

Content will include: a virtual-reality look at Tony Stark's lab from "Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron" inside the all new Avengers Tower; a selection of IMAX films in a virtual theater; DreamWorks VR from DreamWorks Animation to let users interact with DreamWorks characters and content; Legendary's "Pacific Rim" Jaeger Pilot, an immersive experience that puts viewers at center of the action; and Cirque du Soleil Media's live-action 3D VR experience, featuring an act from Zarkana filmed by Felix & Paul Studios.

In addition, the Samsung VR headset will include M-Go Advanced from M-Go, the partnership between DreamWorks Animation and Technicolor, to provide interactive search and discovery of the premium movie and TV show content; and access to Vevo's 100,000-plus HD music videos, live concert events and original programming in an full-screen theater experience.

The wireless Samsung VR headset features the 5.7-inch HD display of the Galaxy Note 4 mobile device, allowing users to experience full 360-degree 3D video.

Facebook completed its $2 billion acquisition of Oculus this summer, before the company had introduced a consumer version of its VR headset. "We are thrilled to reveal the Gear VR Innovator Edition, a state-of-the-art mobile VR experience powered by Oculus," said John Carmack, CTO of Oculus. "The deep technical partnership with Samsung has enabled us to create a virtual reality headset with world class resolution and performance, all on a completely mobile platform."

The Samsung Gear VR will be available in "frost white" through Samsung's online store and selectively by carriers this year.

(C) 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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US factory orders up record 10.5 percent in July

WASHINGTON — Business orders for U.S. factory goods shot up by a record amount in July, reflecting a surge in demand in the volatile category of commercial aircraft.

But outside of transportation, orders actually fell slightly during the month although the setback was expected to be temporary.

Factory orders rose 10.5 percent in July, the biggest one-month increase on records going back to 1992, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Orders for civilian jetliners rose four-fold. But excluding transportation, orders edged down 0.8 percent and a key category that serves as a proxy for business investment plans fell 0.7 percent.

Manufacturing has been a source of strength this year, helped by robust demand for new cars, other consumer items and business equipment. Economists expect that strength to continue.

The report showed that durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, were up 22.6 percent in July, unchanged from the estimate in a preliminary report last week. Orders for nondurable goods such as paper, chemicals and food were down 0.9 percent in July after a 0.4 percent increase in June.

In addition to the surge in demand for airplanes, orders for motor vehicles and parts rose 7.3 percent, reflecting continued strong consumer demand for new cars and trucks.

But there was slippage in other areas. Orders for primary metals such as steel fell 0.3 percent, demand for machinery was down 1.2 percent and orders for computers and other electronics products fell 14.7 percent.

Despite this weakness, most economists expect that manufacturing production will provide solid support for economic growth in the second half of this year.

While a key category viewed as a proxy for business investment plans dropped 0.5 percent in July, the dip followed a sizable 5.4 percent increase in June. The government reported last month that investment by businesses in new equipment grew at a solid 10.7 percent annual rate in the April-June period, erasing a decline in the first three months of the year.

Factory output rose for a sixth consecutive month in July, increasing by 1 percent. The gain was led by a jump in production of motor vehicles, furniture, textiles and metals.

In a sign that momentum in manufacturing was continuing, the Institute for Supply Management reported Tuesday that its gauge of manufacturing activity grew in August by the strongest pace in more than three years as factories cranked out more goods and new orders rose.

The index rose to 59 from 57.1 in July. That was the highest reading since March 2011. Any measure above 50 signals that manufacturing is growing.

One potential threat to the optimistic outlook for U.S. manufacturing is a slowdown overseas. Turmoil in Ukraine, the lingering problems from Europe's debt crisis and slower growth in China could all weigh on U.S. exports to key overseas markets.

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'Marvel Super Hero September' puts spotlight on characters outside theaters

Does Marvel have a new franchise with "Marvel Super Hero September?"

In one of the more ambitious marketing efforts launched around characters or a popular franchise since Lucasfilm's annual "Star Wars Day" celebrations, Disney has rallied Marvel's retail and licensing partners around the crime fighters as part of a national marketing blitz the companies hope will put a spotlight on the characters outside the multiplex when a high-profile film like "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" or "Guardians of the Galaxy" isn't playing.

Walmart, Target, Kmart, Payless, Party City, Amazon and the Disney Store will feature promotions and in-store events, while Hasbro, Hallmark, Jay Franco, Wonderforge, Thermos and Pirate's Booty, will support the campaign with a merchandise program and promote the effort across their social media platforms. Broadcast, print and online advertising will back up the effort.

The overall concept is to showcase what being a superhero is all about by encouraging the public to "Power Up Like a Marvel Super Hero," Marvel said.

A new online portal, MarvelSuperheroSeptember, will serve as the central hub for the event, hosting content, activities and contests, while Marvel also will re-launch Marvelkids.com.

The marketing event, timed with the 75th anniversary of Marvel, was created by Disney Consumer Products and Marvel.

Organizers saw September as period during which they could excite its partners around launching promotions around other Marvel-related releases, not just movies, like the launch of Marvel's "Ultimate Spider-Man Web-Warriors" and the season two premiere of Marvel's "Avengers Assemble" animated series; as well as the addition of the Marvel superheroes in the "Disney Infinity" game, available later this month; the homevideo release of the "Captain America" sequel; and of course the company's comicbooks and extensive line of merchandise on store shelves.

"Marvel Super Hero September is giving us the opportunity to assemble some of the very best of our licensees and retailers to showcase the power and reach of the Marvel brand," said Josh Silverman, executive VP, global licensing, Disney Consumer Products. "This stands as one of the largest non-film campaigns in Marvel history and we're looking forward to seeing how kids, fans, parents, and adults will celebrate their passion for Marvel."

In addition to a national broadcast campaign that will kick off on Disney XD, Hasbro has developed in-theater ads that will spotlight its newest Marvel toys. Hasbro also will be featured in an ad with "The Winter Soldier" Blu-ray, DVD disc release.

Marvel also will run a print and online campaign that will appear in the college football and NFL preview issues of ESPN magazine and run on ESPNMagazine.com for the first two weeks of September, promoting Marvel's interest in healthy living and active lifestyles for children.

(C) 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Chrysler, Nissan lead US autos to Aug. sales rise

DETROIT — Most automakers reported stronger-than-expected U.S. sales in August, leading to predictions of the highest annual selling rate in eight years.

Chrysler and Nissan led the way with double-digit increases, while Toyota reported sales were up 6 percent. Ford and General Motors exceeded analysts' expectations. Ford sales rose 0.4 percent, while GM posted a 1.2 percent decrease. Volkswagen continued to struggle with sales off almost 13 percent from a year ago.

In almost all cases, truck and crossover SUVs led automakers, showing that the pronounced shift away from cars is continuing. Car prices remained flat, while SUV and pickup truck prices were up, according to Ford.

Chrysler, GM and Ford all predicted an annual light-vehicle selling rate for the month of around 17.2 million, the highest number since August of 2006. Sales had been running at just over 16 million for the year. Many companies expect August sales to rise over 1.5 million vehicles, up slightly from a year ago despite one more selling day last year.

"The industry appears to be very strong at this stage of the recovery," said Erich Merkle, Ford's top sales analyst.

Chrysler's sales leaped 20 percent as the Jeep brand led the automaker to its best August in a dozen years. Nissan reported nearly a 12 percent increase.

Chrysler said that Jeep sales were up 49 percent, with the brand in a sweet spot as buyers shift from cars to crossover SUVs. Jeep's hottest-selling vehicle was the new Cherokee midsize SUV with nearly 19,000 sales. Ram pickup sales rose 33 percent. Chrysler's car sales fell 3 percent, but truck sales were up 28 percent.

Nissan said sales rose almost 12 percent including the Infiniti luxury brand. It was the best August ever for the company. The new Rogue small crossover SUV led the way with a 21 percent sales increase to 21,419.

Ford said sales of the Fusion sedan and Escape small SUV both posted record sales for August, but F-Series truck sales fell 4 percent as Ford prepares to launch a new truck later this year.

GM said its truck sales rose 18 percent, with the GMC brand up 10 percent. Sales of the Buick Encore small SUV rose 13 percent.

At Toyota, sales were led by the RAV4 small SUV.

Jeff Schuster, executive vice president of forecasting for LMC, said it appears the Labor Day weekend helped the industry with a strong finish to the month.

The sales so far show that shoppers are going more for trucks, including the crossover SUVs. "The combination of low gas prices, a smorgasbord of product choice and attractive (not overly aggressive) pricing is clearly the nudge buyers need to return to trucks," he said.

Crossover SUVs generally are built on car underpinnings, so they're more efficient and maneuverable than the older truck-based SUVs. Gas mileage has improved to the point where many get over 30 mpg on the highway. Even truck-based SUVs have improved gas mileage.

Ford's Merkle said small crossover sport utilities accounted for 17.3 percent of the market last month, two points higher than a year ago. Small car sales were just under 22 percent of the market last month, compared with just over 22 percent last year. Midsize car market share fell 0.2 percentage points to 16 percent, he said.

The shift, Merkle said, will continue for the foreseeable future, although it may slow next year. For now, the shift is cutting into car prices and helping to raise prices of trucks and SUVs, he said.

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Infinity, AbbVie team up to develop cancer drug

Shares of Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. soared Wednesday after it said it could receive more than $800 million from a collaboration with fellow drug developer AbbVie on a potential cancer treatment.

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Infinity will receive $275 million upfront plus up to $530 million in additional payments if the treatment, duvelisib, reaches certain development and commercial milestones. Infinity is studying duvelisib as a possible treatment for blood cancers like leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

The companies will both sell duvelisib in the United States and share any profits. AbbVie will be responsible for selling it outside the U.S., and Infinity would receive royalties on those sales.

Shares of Infinity soared about 44 percent, or $4.84, to $15.76, in morning trading Wednesday, while broader trading indexes were nearly flat. The drug developer has no products on the market and reported no revenue in this year's second quarter.

Shares of North Chicago, Illinois-based AbbVie Inc., which sells the blockbuster anti-inflammatory drug Humira, edged up 4 cents to $55.11.

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New Samsung phone with side display for holidays

BERLIN — Samsung's new smartphones aren't getting bigger, but one will have a side display for quick access to the flashlight, Twitter, news and frequently used apps.

The Galaxy Note Edge was announced at a trade show in Berlin on Wednesday, alongside the new Galaxy Note 4 phone, which lacks the side screen, and a virtual-reality headset called Gear VR. They are due for release in October — in time for holiday shopping — and aim to compete with Apple's new iPhones due to be unveiled next week.

The Edge uses Samsung's flexible-display technology, which came out with much fanfare last year but has seen little use beyond a phone and a fitness device with displays that were slightly curved.

With the Edge, Samsung is offering a practical use for the curvature. While the main screen remains flat like previous phones, the right edge extends and curves until it reaches the back. That creates a side display so information such as weather and time can be seen from the side when the phone is laid on a table or nightstand.

With the side display, the phone's camera functions more like a stand-alone, point-and-shoot camera, as the shutter button and other functions appear on top when the phone is held horizontally.

The side display also provides one-tap access to various apps normally found on the home screen. It will also have a panel of tools, like the flashlight and stopwatch, akin to what Apple offers in the iPhone's Control Center with a swipe up from the bottom. Samsung will look to app developers to find new ways to use the feature.

Samsung didn't announce prices. In the U.S., last year's Galaxy Note 3 went for about $700 without a contract, or $300 with one. Prices are likely to be similar when the Note 4 comes out in October through all four national carriers in the U.S. The Edge will likely cost more.

Analysts said the new display feature could cut both ways.

"An edge-based display will give Samsung's smartphone clear differentiation in a crowded market," said Ian Fogg, an analyst covering the mobile industry at IHS in London. "But for Samsung to maximize the potential of an edge display it needs third party apps to support the display with additional Samsung-specific functions," he said.

If the South Korean giant wants to avoid paying developers to kick start the development of such apps, it might have to make the feature standard across its broad smartphone portfolio, said Fogg.

Samsung made the announcements at the IFA trade show, one of the world's longest-running showcases for consumer electronics and home appliances.

The new phones were announced amid expectations that Apple will unveil new iPhones next week. The iPhone 6 is expected to feature a 4.7-inch screen, up from the current 4 inches, to make it more competitive with larger smartphones made by Samsung and other companies. There has been speculation that Apple may also unveil an iPhone with a 5.5-inch screen.

Samsung's Galaxy S5, which came out in April, has a 5.1-inch screen. The Note is Samsung's line of larger phones and emphasizes note-taking with an included stylus. The Note 4 will have a 5.7-inch screen, while the Edge's will be 5.6 inches. To support such power-hungry large screens, Samsung says it has improved battery life.

The new models will have a 16 megapixel rear camera and 3.7 megapixels on the front. The front camera will be able to take sharper selfies than the typical camera phone. It will also have a wide-angle feature to fit more people into selfies by stitching multiple images together.

Meanwhile, Samsung will sell the Gear VR headset for about $200 as a companion to the Note 4. It won't work with the Edge or other phones. The Note 4 attaches to the headset, which has sensors to gauge the head's position and tells the phone which part of a 360-degree image to display. It can be used to give people an immersive experience with concerts, aerial footage and games.

But video and other content will need to be adapted for the device. Samsung says it expects to have content partnerships in place by the time the device goes on sale.

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AP Technology Writer Anick Jesdanun reported from New York.

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Tribune Media's Gracenote acquires Baseline for $50 million cash

Tribune Media Co.'s Gracenote entertainment-metadata division has acquired Baseline, which sells film and TV information services to studios and entertainment providers, for $50 million in cash as the company looks to broaden its footprint and better compete with rivals like Rovi.

L.A.-based Baseline, founded in 1981, provides information on more than 300,000 movies and TV projects, filmographies for nearly 1.5 million TV and film professionals, and box-office data for 45 territories. Baseline customers include satellite TV operators, on-demand movie services, Internet companies and online streaming providers including Hulu, Microsoft and Walmart's Vudu. Baseline's subscription-based Studio System service, which provides info on production projects in the pipeline, is used by studios, production companies and talent agencies including Warner Bros., Universal and CBS.

Tribune earlier this year acquired Gracenote, which specialized in music metadata, earlier this year from Sony for $170 million and integrated it with Tribune Media Services (TMS) under the Gracenote brand. In July, the company acquired What's-ON, a TV data provider covering India, the Middle East and parts of Asia.

"We've made strategic investments in the metadata space in the last few months that have expanded Gracenote's geographic footprint into India, Middle East and parts of Asia," Peter Liguori, president and CEO of Tribune Media, said in announcing the deal. "This is yet another example of how we are expanding Gracenote's reach and enhancing the quality and depth of data to service the growing needs of our customers."

Last month, Tribune appointed John Batter, previously CEO of movie-download service M-Go, to run Gracenote. He said that Baseline's "deep production data" and existing relationships with studios will improve the depth and breadth of Gracenote's overall data set and will serve as a foundation to build new products for entertainment industry. He noted that Tribune's deal for Baseline, which closed Aug. 29, was in the works before he joined.

"The idea is investing in metadata -- that's been the traditional business of legacy Gracenote and legacy TMS, to power consumer entertainment experiences," Batter said. "We are very comfortable in that position. Today we are focused entirely on B2B customers."

Meanwhile, Tribune Co. on Aug. 4 renamed itself Tribune Media after spinning off its newspapers, which include the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, to focus on its TV broadcasting, WGN America cable network and digital businesses.

Baseline will add about 50 employees (40 of whom are located in L.A.) to Emeryville, Calif.-based Gracenote, which now has more than 1,000 staffers in 20 offices worldwide. Baseline will continue to operate from its headquarters in Los Angeles.

Gracenote plans to integrate Baseline's database with its other metadata services, using the proprietary TMS ID asset-tagging system. Gracenote VP of marketing Graham McKenna said the company does not expect any layoffs as a result of the Baseline acquisition, adding that there is minimal overlap among Baseline, TMS and Gracenote in terms of customers and product offerings.

"While the Gracenote legacy business had good info on cast, crew, etc., it was high-level info," McKenna said. "The data we get from Baseline is essentially the entire cast and crew." In addition, he said, the Baseline Studio System database represents a new line of business with intel on TV shows and movies in development, in some cases up to two years in advance.

(C) 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Stocks edge higher after Ukraine cease-fire deal

NEW YORK — Reports of a cease-fire agreement in eastern Ukraine gave stock markets around the world a lift on Wednesday. U.S. stocks headed higher in early trading, following a rally in Europe.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 was up four points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,006 as of 11 a.m. Eastern time.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 63 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,134, while the Nasdaq composite index edged up two points, a fraction of a percent, to 4,601.

OVER THERE: Germany's DAX was up 1.2 percent, while the CAC-40 in France picked up 1 percent. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was 0.8 percent higher. Russian shares soared, with the benchmark MICEX up 3.6 percent.

U.S. ECONOMY: Another encouraging report on the U.S. economy came from the government on Wednesday. The Commerce Department said that orders for U.S. factory goods shot up 10 percent in July, the biggest one-month jump on records running back to 1992. Orders for commercial aircraft fueled the rise.

GOTHAM: Shares in Netflix headed higher following news that the company struck a deal with Warner Bros. to run the televion series "Gotham," a show about the origins of Batman and the superhero's rivals. The series will debut on Fox in September, and Netflix will reportedly have the rights to the show in more than one country starting next year. Netflix's stock picked up $5.21, or 1 percent, to $481.76.

CEASE-FIRE: Markets surged after Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a peace plan for eastern Ukraine. That followed an earlier announcement from Ukraine of a cease-fire deal. Details remain sketchy. Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of arming pro-Russian insurgents fighting government troops in eastern Ukraine since mid-April. Moscow denies the charge.

ANALYST'S TAKE: Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari, said the reports of a cease-fire were "welcomed with open arms by the markets." The hope, he said, must be that painful economic sanctions between the West and Russia are soon lifted and that the European economy can reclaim lost ground. "We can't forget that the effects of the crisis have been felt in many countries beyond those directly involved," said Erlam.

AILING EUROPE: The crisis in Ukraine has played a role in hampering the European economic recovery this year. In its monthly survey, financial information company Markit highlighted tensions in Ukraine as a culprit behind a sharp fall in its gauge of business activity in the 18-country eurozone. Some economists expect the European Central Bank to announce new measures on Thursday to help pull the region out of a rut.

CHINA: An HSBC report showed that activity expanded at the fastest rate in 17 months in China's services industries. The HSBC China Service Business Activity Index rose to 54.1 in August from 50 in July.

ASIA'S DAY: Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 2.3 percent. Stock markets in mainland China and Southeast Asia also rose. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.4 percent.

ENERGY: News of a possible cease fire helped support oil prices. Benchmark U.S. crude for October delivery was up $1.23 to $94.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Youkyung Lee in Seoul, South Korea contributed to this report.

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