Business News at a Glance

Wall Street Halts a Global Rout

After days of sometimes wild moves in stock markets, Wall Street had a good day on Tuesday. Investors refocused on the continuing strength of the U.S. economy as shares of consumer companies helped lead broad indexes higher. A panicky global market sell-off — begun Monday when the Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost more than 4 percent — dissipated Tuesday, and the S&P 500 ended the session up by about 1.7 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average gained about 2.3 percent. In a sign of investor confidence, yields on the 10-year Treasury note rose on Tuesday.

Los Angeles Times Said to Be Nearing Sale to Doctor

Employees at the Los Angeles Times have been hoping for many months that a white knight would offer them a way out of their contentious relationship with their parent company, Tronc. Now, Patrick Soon-Shiong, a billionaire Los Angeles doctor and one of Tronc’s major shareholders, is close to buying the Times, two people familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday, in a $500 million deal that would include the newspaper’s sister publication, The San Diego Union-Tribune. A deal could be announced as soon as Wednesday, though negotiations could still fall apart, the people said.

Wynn Resigns From Company Amid Sexual Misconduct Allegations

Casino mogul Stephen Wynn resigned Tuesday as chairman and chief executive of his company, Wynn Resorts, in response to sexual harassment accusations spanning decades. Wynn said in a statement that he was stepping down because “an avalanche of negative publicity” had created an environment “in which a rush to judgment takes precedence over everything else, including the facts.” A Wall Street Journal investigation, published late last month, found that Wynn had harassed female employees for decades. He denied the allegations, calling them “preposterous.”

U.S.-China Trade Gap Swells to Record Level

The U.S. trade deficit with China climbed to its highest level on record in 2017. The gap between Chinese goods imported to the United States and American goods exported to China rose to $375.2 billion last year, up from $347 billion the prior year, data released Tuesday morning showed. The overall U.S. trade deficit in goods and services with the world widened 12.1 percent to $566 billion last year, the largest gap since 2008. The Trump administration has long promised to eliminate the trade gap, citing it as evidence of the decline of American manufacturing and a troubling reliance on foreign goods.

Disney Reports Mixed Earnings and a Full Project Pipeline

Disney reported mixed quarterly earnings Tuesday as losses associated with the development of planned streaming services hurt Disney’s cable television division, where operating income fell 1 percent to $858 million. Disney’s movie studio also reported weaker results, as did the company’s consumer products business. On the bright side, operating income increased 21 percent, to $1.35 billion, at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts because of higher attendance and ticket prices. Disney is pursuing new growth by buying most of 21st Century Fox, building two streaming services and expanding its theme parks.

Snap Reverses Slide as User Growth and Revenue Jump

As the messaging and media company Snap prepares to celebrate its first anniversary as a publicly traded stock, it handily reversed a slide that consumed much of the past year. After it released fourth-quarter results Tuesday, Snap’s beleaguered shares rose more than 20 percent in after-hours trading. Revenue was $286 million, up 72 percent from a year earlier and about $30 million more than analysts had expected. The company lost $350 million in the quarter, or 13 cents a share, which was narrower than the loss of 16 cents that was expected by analysts.

Daimler Apologizes as Quote Online Fuels Outcry in China

The German carmaker Daimler publicly apologized Tuesday after its Mercedes-Benz brand caused an outcry in China by quoting the Dalai Lama in a social media post. The move by the automaker is the latest example of a foreign company being cowed by the growing power of an increasingly nationalistic consumer market. The post on the Mercedes-Benz Instagram account, which was widely viewed before being deleted, featured a quote popularly attributed to the Dalai Lama: “Look at the situations from all angles, and you will become more open.” Many in China view the Dalai Lama as a dangerous voice for separatism in Tibet.