Earnings Report

Japanese entertainment and electronics company Sony Corp. has posted a loss in the January-March, quarter, dragged lower by its flagging mobile operations and unfavorable currency rates.

Italian gas and oil company Eni says first-quarter profits dropped slightly as production grew by 4 percent amid rising oil prices.

Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co. has reported a 12 percent rise in its fiscal fourth quarter profit thanks to growing sales and cost cutting.

Royal Bank of Scotland says first-quarter profit more than tripled as it moved past the havoc wreaked by the global financial crisis.

Daimler AG, maker of Mercedes-Benz luxury cars, saw its first-quarter net profit fall 11 percent from the same quarter a year ago, when the company had one-time gains from the sale of real estate and from financial factors.

Mattel Inc. is reporting better-than-expected first-quarter sales as demand for Hot Wheels and Barbies helped soften the blow of the closing of Toys R Us. Mattel reported Thursday a net loss of $311.3 million, or 90 cents per share, in the quarter.

___ Hope for US trade visit to China: A delay in harmful tariffs WASHINGTON (AP) — When Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin leads a delegation of American officials to Beijing next week, few analysts expect them to defuse a smoldering trade conflict with China.

Starbucks Corp., which has been addressing fallout over the arrest of two black men at one of its Philadelphia stores, reported sales growth Thursday that modestly exceeded Wall Street expectations during a period that preceded the outcry.

Amazon's first-quarter profit more than doubled from a year ago, blowing past Wall Street expectations.

For Microsoft, Windows is no longer a core business so much as a complement to the company's other offerings.

The e-commerce giant has more than 100 million global Prime members.

Starbucks has drawn scrutiny in recent days for its handling of an incident at a Philadelphia store location.

Southwest Airlines Co. on Thursday reported first-quarter earnings of $463 million.

Union Pacific Corp.'s first-quarter earnings chugged ahead 22 percent as the railroad hauled 2 percent more freight and increased its prices.