Bill Gates repeats at top of Forbes' list of billionaires

NEW YORK — The world's richest person got even richer this year. And a basketball superstar-turned-owner made the list for the first time.

Forbes said Monday that Bill Gates's net worth rose to $79.2 billion in 2015 from $76 billion last year. That put him at the top of the magazine's list of the world's billionaires for the second consecutive year. The co-founder of Microsoft Corp. has topped the list for 16 of the last 21 years.

In second place is Mexican telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim Helu, with a net worth of $77.1 billion. He had topped the list in 2013.

Next is investor Warren Buffett, who moved up one slot this year with a net worth of $72.7 billion. In fourth place was Amancio Ortega, the Spanish co-founder of clothing retail chain Zara, with a net worth of $64.5 billion. Rounding out the top five was Larry Ellison, founder of technology company Oracle Corp., with $54.3 billion.

Forbes said there were 1,826 billionaires on its list this year, up from 1,645 in 2014. Added together, they were worth a combined $7.05 trillion, up from $6.4 trillion last year.

Most of those on the list were men. But there were 197 women, up from 172 a year ago. The highest-ranking woman was Christy Walton, the widow of John Walton, a son of the founder of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. She has a net worth of $41.7 billion, according to Forbes.

The world's youngest billionaire was 24-year-old Evan Spiegel, the CEO and co-founder of mobile messaging company Snapchat, with a net worth of $1.5 billion. Snapchat's other co-founder, 25-year-old Bobby Murphy, had the same net worth as Spiegel. Other tech billionaire newcomers were two co-founders of taxi-ordering app Uber and one of its executives. Three co-founders of Airbnb, the vacation-home rental website, also made the list.

Basketball legend Michael Jordan joined the list for the first time this year, thanks to his ownership in basketball team Charlotte Hornets and payouts form his Nike brand. Jordan had a net worth of $1 billion, the magazine said.

This is the 29th year that Forbes has released its billionaires list. The magazine said it calculated each person's wealth based on stock prices and exchange rates on Feb. 13, 2015.

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Supreme Court won't hear appeal in foam class action case

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from a group of flexible foam manufacturers challenging one of the largest class action lawsuits ever certified.

The justices on Monday let stand a lower court ruling that allowed a lawsuit to go forward that seeks more than $9 billion in damages against Carpenter Co., Woodbridge Foam Corp. and others.

Buyers of flexible foam products including seat cushions, foam pillows and mattresses allege the manufacturers were involved in a decades-long conspiracy to fix the price of polyurethane foam.

The companies claim there is not enough in common between various purchasers of the foam products to allow a class action to proceed. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that argument.

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Buffett declines to clarify plan to eventually replace him

OMAHA, Neb. — Billionaire Warren Buffett didn't end the speculation about his eventual successor, but he reiterated Monday that Berkshire Hathaway's board has a plan in place.

Buffett addressed a variety of topics on CNBC after releasing his annual letter to Berkshire shareholders over the weekend.

Berkshire's Vice Chairman Charlie Munger spurred renewed interest in the replacement for the 84-year-old Buffett over the weekend because he singled out two candidates in his own letter to shareholders.

Munger said Berkshire's reinsurance chief Ajit Jain and the head of its utility company, Greg Abel, would both be excellent choices to replace Buffett.

"They are incredible managers, and we are lucky to have them," Buffett said in his CNBC appearance.

Both Jain and Abel would play key roles at the company after Buffett is gone, but he said he doesn't believe they are jockeying to be CEO.

He said Jain and Abel don't know who the successor is, but Berkshire's board discusses the plan at every meeting and knows who it would choose to lead the conglomerate Buffett built over the past 50 years.

In his letter to shareholders, Buffett said the next CEO will have to be calm and decisive while preventing arrogance or bureaucracy from taking hold at Berkshire. He has never named the candidates.

The reports Buffett gets from Berkshire's companies, which include BNSF railroad, See's Candy and the Berkshire Hathaway Home Services real estate brokerage, show the economy is improving steadily.

"It just keeps improving at a moderate pace. We see it in all of our businesses," he said.

Investors shouldn't be disappointed with 2 percent growth each year, Buffett said.

One of the questions Buffett received during the CNBC appearance came from NBA star LeBron James who jokingly asked about what he should be investing in.

Buffett replied with his standard investing advice: most people would do best by regularly buying a stock market index fund over time instead of trying to pick individual stocks. He said most people don't have the time needed to become investing experts.

"Owning a piece of America — a diversified piece bought over time, held for 30 or 40 years — is bound to do well," Buffett said. "The income will go up over the years and there's really nothing to worry about."

Buffett also praised both IBM and ExxonMobil even though the computing business has struggled and Berkshire sold its 41 million shares in the oil producer last year.

Buffett said he likes IBM's prospects even though the company has been dealing with declining sales. He increased Berkshire's stake in IBM to nearly 77 million shares in the fourth quarter.

Buffett said ExxonMobil still has good long-term prospects even though its earnings power has been diminished by lower oil prices.

As Buffett discussed specific stocks, he avoided giving direct advice about whether to buy them and he warned investors not to act based on someone else's opinion.

"You should make your own decisions. If not, you should buy an index fund," Buffett said.

Berkshire owns a variety of companies, including utility, furniture and jewelry firms. The company also has major investments in such companies as Coca-Cola Co., Wells Fargo and American Express.

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Follow Josh Funk online at www.twitter.com/funkwrite

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US stocks head higher; Nasdaq touches 5,000 points

NEW YORK — The U.S. stock market headed higher on Monday as deals and economic news gave stocks a lift. The Nasdaq briefly touched 5,000, the first time the tech-heavy index has hit that mark in nearly 15 years.

KEEPING SCORE: As of 11:28 a.m., the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose eight points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,112. Consumer-discretionary stocks led six of the 10 industries in the index to gains.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 112 points, or 0.6 percent, to 18,244, while the Nasdaq composite gained 34 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4,997.

SPENDING: The government reported Monday that consumer spending dipped slightly in January. But there was better news elsewhere in the report. Overall income edged up and consumer spending actually rose when adjusted for inflation, reflecting a slide in gas prices during the month. That could turn out to be a good sign for economic growth, as people have more money left over after filling up their gas tanks.

THE VIEW: "Today it's about the consumer," said David Joy, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial. "That's the story of the day: Consumers appear to be feeling a little bit better."

CHIPPY: NXP Semiconductors said Sunday that it's planning to acquire Freescale Semiconductor in an $11.8 billion deal. The merger would create the largest supplier of microchips for cars. Boards of both companies have already approved the deal, but regulators still need to sign off on it. NXP's stock jumped $11.52, or 14 percent, to $96.40. Freescale soared $3.34, or 10 percent, to $39.45.

SOLID MONTH: Last week, the stock market closed out its best monthly gain in more than three years. The S&P 500 climbed 5.5 percent in February, its strongest gain since October 2011. Consumer-discretionary companies and technology firms had the strongest gains.

EUROPE: Germany's DAX slipped 0.3 percent, and France's CAC 40 sank 1 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.3 percent.

CHINA RATE CUT: The People's Bank of China cut interest rates for the second time in three months on Saturday, trimming the rate for one-year commercial loans to 5.35 percent. It's the latest measure aimed at propping up growth in the world's second-largest economy. The government has recently cut business taxes and boosted pay for government workers.

ASIA'S DAY: Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.2 percent, and South Korea's Kospi added 0.6 percent. In China, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.3 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.8 percent.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 17 cents to $49.92 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained $1.59 on Friday to $49.76 a barrel.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 119.72 yen from 119.63 late Friday. The euro gained to $1.1229 from $1.1199.

BONDS: Bond prices fell, pushing yields up. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.07 percent from an even 2 percent late Friday.

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Yahoo TV converts to Tumblr-based digital magazine format

Yahoo's TV news and reviews section has adopted the company's "digital magazine" format, a visually oriented design based on the Tumblr mico-blogging website.

The new Yahoo TV digital magazine is the 11th title in the format to launch since January 2014, which include destinations for technology, food, fashion and beauty coverage. Yahoo TV continues to provide daily video recaps of primetime and daytime TV on "TV in No Time" in the new design, which is supposed to marry the imagery of traditional print magazines with bite-sized stories, video and photos.

Leading up to the launch of Yahoo TV in the digital mag format, Yahoo has raided Time Inc.'s Entertainment Weekly -- which underwent a series of layoffs last year -- for editorial talent.

Josh Wolk, Yahoo's executive editor of entertainment formerly with New York magazine's Vulture website, last fall hired Kristen Baldwin as editor-in-chief of Yahoo TV; she was previously with EW for 19 years, most recently as executive editor.

Baldwin, based in New York, has since hired Ken Tucker, one of EW's founding editors and longtime critic, as TV critic; deputy editor Mandy Bierly (former EW staff writer); and Chris Harrison, former EW writer who blogs on "The Bachelor" for Yahoo TV.

"We have a great team for Yahoo TV, and now our news and reviews will be on this more visually pleasing platform that the other magazines are on," said Baldwin, who joined Yahoo TV in September 2014.

(C) 2015 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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EU nations get power to ban genetically-modified crops

BRUSSELS — The European Union is giving member states the power to ban the cultivation of genetically-modified crops even if they have been approved by the bloc's food safety authority.

The 28 EU member states on Monday approved the rule that national governments can have the final say in the matter — a move that goes counter to many EU initiatives, which traditionally seek a common stance on EU policies.

Mute Schimpf of Friends of the Earth Europe says the new law "is a massive opportunity for national governments to shut the door on biotech crops in Europe."

Only one GM crop — corn — is planted in the EU so far, predominantly in Spain. Under the rules, governments would still have to consult biotech companies when banning a crop.

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US manufacturing slows as output and hiring weaken

WASHINGTON — U.S. factories expanded last month at their weakest pace in a year, with orders, hiring and production all growing more slowly.

The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, said Monday that its manufacturing index slipped to 52.9 in February from 53.5 in January. It was the fourth straight drop and the lowest reading since January 2014. Still, any reading above 50 signals expansion.

Measures of production and employment fell sharply, though they remained in expansionary territory. That suggests that factories are still adding jobs but at a slower pace than in January.

U.S. manufacturers have been held back in recent months by weak growth in China, Europe and Japan. That's been partly offset by strong consumer demand in the United States.

Overall, factory growth is still boosting the U.S. economy, but at a more sluggish pace than it did last year. The ISM's index reached a three-year high of 58.1 in August.

Overseas demand has now contracted for two months. A measure of export orders dropped to 48.5 in February from 49.5 in January.

A strengthening dollar, which makes U.S. exports more expensive overseas, has also been a drag. The trade deficit — the amount by which the value of U.S. imports exceeds that of exports — widened in the October-December quarter. The deficit subtracted 1.1 percentage points from the economy's growth rate for the quarter.

The stronger dollar is also squeezing U.S. multinational corporations' overseas profits.

Another drag has come from U.S. businesses, which are investing less in industrial machinery and other equipment. Oil drilling firms are spending less on developing new fields as the price of oil has plummeted roughly 50 percent since June. Business investment in equipment rose just 0.9 percent in the fourth quarter.

On the brighter side, lower gas prices have left Americans with more money to spend on other goods and services. Consumer spending jumped by the most in nine years in last year's fourth quarter. In January, consumer spending rose a solid 0.3 percent, after adjusting for prices, which fell last month.

More spending is keeping some factories busy. Auto sales jumped 14 percent in January from a year earlier, the best January sales in nine years. Analysts expect sales to top 17 million this year for the first time in a decade.

Greater production of consumer goods, such as furniture, computers and clothing, increased factory output in January, according to the Federal Reserve.

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Volkswagen Passat wins car of the year award

GENEVA — The large family car Volkswagen Passat has been voted car of the year by European automotive editors at the Geneva International Motor Show.

German Volkswagen's four-door sedan beat six other finalists including Citroen's C4 Cactus, Renault's Twingo and the BMW 2-Series Active Tourer.

The Passat has an updated collision avoidance system compared to its predecessor and other new technology, including emergency driver assistance and cross-wind stabilization.

Volkwagen last won the car of the year award in 2013 with its Golf compact car.

The Passat succeeds Peugeot's compact 308, which won last year.

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Gas up 12 cents per gallon in Massachusetts

BOSTON — Massachusetts gas prices continue to skyrocket, with self-serve regular soaring 12 cents per gallon in the past week alone.

AAA Northeast reports Monday that gas has now jumped 31 cents per gallon in the past month to an average of $2.37.

That's still $1.11 lower than at this time a year ago and 6 cents below the current national average.

AAA says the rapid rise is due to seasonal maintenance at refineries and volatile global crude oil prices.

AAA found self-serve regular selling for as low as $2.08 and as high as $2.55 per gallon.

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HP's big deal: Tech giant buys Aruba Networks for $2.7B

SAN FRANCISCO — Hewlett-Packard is buying wireless networking company Aruba Networks for about $2.7 billion, in what amounts to HP's first major acquisition since its disastrous purchase of a British software company in 2011.

HP said buying Aruba will expand its commercial tech portfolio at a time when the company is preparing to split into two companies — one focused on selling computer gear and software to businesses, and the other selling personal computers and printers. That's part of HP CEO Meg Whitman's plan for confronting a recent decline in sales.

Analysts said the Aruba deal could help HP commercial business compete with tech rivals such as Cisco Systems and gain new access to Asian markets, particularly in China. Buying Aruba gives HP "a faster growing, higher margin business that fills a portfolio need without 'betting the ranch'," Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi wrote in a note Monday.

Aruba, based in Sunnyvale, California, makes wi-fi networking systems for shopping malls, corporate campuses, hotels and universities. Cisco currently dominates that business and accounts for about half of all sales worldwide, according to UBS analyst Amitabh Passi. He estimates HP and Aruba combined had about 20 percent of global sales for such systems.

Palo Alto, California-based HP is one of the industry's giants, with $111 billion in sales last year, but it has struggled to adapt to recent tech trends and shifting customer preferences. Whitman has focused on cutting costs and reorganizing since she took the CEO job in 2011, but she recently signaled she was ready to resume making strategic acquisitions, after buying a pair of small software companies last year.

HP made a number of multi-billion-dollar acquisitions under two CEOs who preceded Whitman, and some of those deals proved costly. HP paid more than $10 billion for British software maker Autonomy in 2011, but a year later it was forced to write off nearly $9 billion of that purchase as a loss. HP blamed accounting irregularities that it said had been used to inflate the value of Autonomy's business.

With the Aruba deal, HP is paying $24.67 in cash for each Aruba share. That is slightly below Aruba's closing price of $24.81 on Friday. Aruba shares were trading below $18 for most of this year before talks with HP were reported last week.

Boards of both companies have approved the deal, which they said would be worth about $3 billion after factoring in cash and debt on Aruba's balance sheet. Aruba had $730 million in sales last year.

In midday trading, Aruba Networks Inc. shares fell 40 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $24.41, Hewlett-Packard Co. shares slipped 19 cents to $34.65.

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