E-COMMERCE

Amazon earnings surpass expectations

Shares of Amazon soared Thursday after the online retailer posted earnings that far surpassed Wall Street expectations. The Seattle-based company reported net income of $256 million, or 52 cents per share, in the three months ending Sept. 30, above the 2 cents per share analysts had expected, according to FactSet. Revenue rose 34 percent to $43.47 billion, beating the $41.58 billion analysts expected. Amazon.com Inc. shares, which are already up 30 percent this year, rose nearly 8 percent to $1,047.73 in after-hours trading. The company, which is hunting for a second headquarters, also touted the results from its home devices. The results come a day after it announced a service called Amazon Key that will let people get their packages delivered to inside their doors. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

TECHNOLOGY

Alphabet earnings beat projections after jump in Google ad volume

Alphabet Inc. beat projections for third-quarter sales and earnings after a surge in Google ad volume helped the Web-search giant shrug off concerns about regulatory scrutiny and an expensive foray into hardware. Sales for the quarter rose to $22.27 billion and profit was $9.57 a share, the company said. Analysts on average estimated sales of $22 billion on earnings of $8.34 a share. “We had a terrific quarter, with revenues up 24 percent year on year, reflecting strength across Google and Other Bets,’’ chief financial officer Ruth Porat said in the statement. This is the first time the CFO praised Other Bets, Alphabet’s non-Internet projects, in an earnings release. Alphabet shares rose 2.9 percent in after-hours trading. Porat highlighted strong performance from Google’s desktop and mobile businesses, and its YouTube online video operation. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

JOBS

Clean energy, not coal, will provide job growth, federal agency says

President Trump pledges to revive the nation’s struggling coal mines, but new data from the federal agency that tracks employment growth suggests blue-collar job seekers would do better to look to clean energy. According to projections released this week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the top growing job classification over the next nine years will be solar photovoltaic installers. Those positions are expected to double by 2026. Wind turbine service technicians came in No. 2, with those jobs projected to grow by more than 96 percent. Though coal miners did not make the federal list of fastest growing jobs, employment is ­expected to continue to boom in the oil and gas sector. Derrick operators, roustabouts, and rotary drill operators were all listed among the top 30. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

MEDIA

Newspaper apologizes for front page criticized as racially insensitive

The Cincinnati Enquirer has apologized for a front page blasted by the NAACP as ‘‘racially insensitive.’’ The newspaper on Tuesday led with a story about City Council candidates with back-tax issues that included photos of six candidates, all of whom are black. The story headlined ‘‘Tax Troubles Dog Council Candidates’’ continued on an inside page with photos of three more candidates, two of them white, who have had tax liens. The local branch of the civil rights organization called the story ‘‘a divisive hit piece.’’ Interim Enquirer editor Michael Kilian wrote an apology in Thursday’s editions, saying the newspaper accepts criticism from the NAACP and others and recognizes ‘‘we’ve caused pain to many readers.’’ He said the Enquirer is reviewing internal procedures. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

BEER

This Bud is not for enough of you

Looks like patriotic cans haven’t saved Bud from declines in the United States. Sales of Budweiser and Bud Light keep falling in Anheuser-Busch InBev NV’s biggest market, and that’s taking a toll on the company’s results. The world’s largest brewer sold 14.4 million barrels of Budweiser in the United States last year, less than one-third of the volume at the beer’s peak in 1988, according to Beer Marketer’s Insights. While Bud Light remained the most popular beer in the United States by volume, at 35.2 million barrels, it was down 15 percent from its 2008 high. The Budweiser brand is growing elsewhere, but US drinkers are turning to craft brews made by smaller companies. Even America-first packaging, such as designs featuring military-inspired camouflage, hasn’t helped. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

RETAIL

Mattel drops nearly 20 percent

Shares of Mattel Inc. dropped nearly 20 percent in after-hours trading Thursday after the company reported a third-quarter loss of $603.3 million and said sales were hurt by the bankruptcy filing of the toy chain Toys “R’’ Us. The company also announced plans to cut $650 million in costs over the next two years and suspend its quarterly dividend beginning in the fourth quarter. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

MORTGAGES

Rates rise slightly

The costs of borrowing to buy a home increased slightly this week, but US mortgage rates are still near relative lows. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages rose to 3.94 percent from 3.88 percent last week. At this time last year, the benchmark rate was 3.47 percent. The historic average was roughly 6 percent. The average rate on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners who are refinancing, rose to 3.25 percent from 3.19 percent last week. A year ago, the 15-year rate was 2.78 percent. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

INsurance

CVS reportedly in talks to buy Aetna

CVS Health, the Woonsocket, R.I.-based drugstore chain that also runs a pharmacy benefit business, is in talks to buy Aetna, one of the nation’s largest health insurance companies, according to people briefed on the talks. If consummated, the deal could be worth more than $60 billion based on Aetna’s current market value, which would make it one of the largest corporate acquisitions this year and one of the largest in the history of the health industry. The talks between CVS and Aetna appear to be in part an attempt to fend off a move by Amazon into the drug-selling business. Aetna said in June it would move its headquarters from Hartford to New York City in 2018. — NEW YORK TIMES

INFANT PRODUCTS

Fisher-Price recalling motorized baby seats because of possible fire hazard

Fisher-Price is voluntarily recalling about 65,000 motorized infant seats because of risk of a fire hazard. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says it has received three dozen reports of Soothing Motions Seats overheating and one report of a fire contained in the motor housing. The government agency says no injuries have been reported. The CPSC says the seats were sold by Amazon, Walmart, Target, and other retailers from November 2015 to this month. About 63,000 of the seats were sold in the United States. The rest were sold in Canada. The recall covers seats with model numbers CMR35, CMR36, CMR37, DYH22, and CMR39. Consumers are instructed to contact Fisher-Price for a full refund. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

WEALTH

China has more billionaires than the US

The world’s wealthiest individuals are on a roll with billionaires in Asia leading the pack. Billionaire wealth increased 17 percent to $6 trillion in 2016, after a decline the previous year, UBS AG and PricewaterhouseCoopers said in a report issued Thursday. Led by China, the number of the region’s billionaires surpassed the United States for the first time. But American billionaires still control the most wealth at $2.8 trillion. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

EMPLOYMENT

Number applying for jobless benefits ticks up

More Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, but the increase was modest and came after applications fell to the lowest level in 44 years the previous week. The Labor Department said Thursday that applications for jobless aid rose 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 233,000. Last week’s figure was the lowest since 1973. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell to 239,500. The number of people receiving benefits slipped 3,000 to 1.89 million, the lowest level since December 1973. — ASSOCIATED PRESS