The news at a glance

Autos: General Motors reports record profits

Just two years after emerging from bankruptcy with the help of a federal bailout, General Motors last week reported a record $7.6 billion profit for 2011, said Chris Isidore in CNNMoney​.com. The results make 2011 the first year since 2004 that the Big Three automakers—GM, Ford, and Chrysler—were all profitable. GM’s sales remain below pre­recession levels, but the profits show that changes the company made in bankruptcy, like closing plants and revising labor contracts, are having an impact. The results are especially good news for the automaker’s 47,500 U.S. factory workers, who will receive profit-sharing bonuses averaging $7,000. That deal, negotiated last year with the United Auto Workers, replaces automatic wage increases and cost-of-living adjustments.

While GM’s fortunes are brightening in the U.S., “Europe remains the problem spot,” said Jerry Hirsch in the Los Angeles Times. The European division lost $747 million last year, most of it in the fourth quarter. Analysts blame an oversupply of cars in the European market and the economic uncertainty over the euro zone’s debt crisis. In response, the automaker is expected to unveil major production cuts in Europe within months. “We’ve got to look at every aspect of the business,” said GM CEO Dan Akerson.

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Internet: Google accused of secret tracking

Google has been “bypassing privacy settings” to track the Web habits of people using Apple’s Safari browser, said Jennifer Valentino-DeVries in The Wall Street Journal. The Internet giant placed small tracking files, called cookies, on phones and computers of users who didn’t want to be tracked. Google says it has halted the practice, but Microsoft charged that Google also circumvented privacy controls on the Internet Explorer browser. Three congressmen have asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether Google is violating its recent privacy settlement.

Telecom: FCC blocks Falcone’s wireless venture

The government has dealt a major blow to billionaire Phil Falcone’s dream of building a nationwide 4G wireless network, said Azam Ahmed in The New York Times. Last year, the Federal Communications Commission approved plans by LightSquared, a start-up financed with billions of dollars from Falcone’s hedge fund, to provide mobile broadband services via satellite to up to 260 million consumers. But the FCC reversed itself last week, claiming that the proposed network’s signals would interfere with GPS systems.

Taxes: Obama proposes lower corporate rate

President Obama laid out a major overhaul of the corporate tax code this week that he said would boost revenues, said Zachary Goldfarb in The Washington Post. The proposal would lower corporations’ tax rate from 35 percent to 28 percent, while closing some loopholes that allow companies to pay far less. U.S. multinationals, for example, would pay a minimum tax on overseas earnings to discourage them from sheltering profits abroad. “The current tax code was written for a different economy in a different era,” said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. “It needs to be reformed and modernized.”

Casinos: Wynn ejects largest shareholder

Two of the world’s richest gambling tycoons are locking horns, said Martinne Geller and Farah Master in Reuters.com. Wynn Resorts chief Steve Wynn has bought out his largest shareholder, Kazuo Okada, at a steep discount. After accusing the Japanese casino mogul of making illegal payments to regulators in the Philippines, Wynn Resorts invoked an “unsuitability” clause and arranged to pay Okada $1.9 billion for his 20 percent stake, which is worth $2.9 billion on the market. Okada denounced the move as “outrageous” and vowed to fight it.