The daily business briefing: February 17, 2016

1. Apple says it won't help unlock San Bernardino shooter's iPhone

Apple CEO Tim Cook published an open letter late Tuesday saying the company would fight a court order to help the FBI unlock the iPhone 5c of Syed Farook, one of the San Bernardino shooters. The FBI has been trying unsuccessfully for more than two months to access data on the smartphone, hoping to find crucial evidence about the Dec. 2 massacre, which killed 14 people and injured 22. Cook said Apple has tried to help the FBI "solve this horrible crime," but the court order asks for "something we consider too dangerous to create... a backdoor to the iPhone."

NBC News The Washington Post

2. U.S. and Cuba sign deal to resume commercial flights

The United States and Cuba signed an agreement on Tuesday to allow commercial flights to resume between the former Cold War rivals. All flights between the U.S. and the communist Caribbean island now are charters, but by next fall scheduled airline flights will be available again for the first time in five decades. First, airlines will bid on routes for up to 110 daily U.S.-Cuba flights. The deal "represents a critically important milestone in the U.S. effort to engage with Cuba," U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said after signing the agreement in Havana.

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The Associated Press

3. Oil market rattled by deal on freezing output

Oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday, dropping 4 percent in a sign of disappointment over a tentative agreement between Russia and Saudi Arabia to freeze production. The deal doused expectations that the world's top oil exporters would cut output to ease a global glut that has driven oil prices to their lowest level in more than a decade. Prices edged higher early Wednesday ahead of OPEC talks with Iran on restraining its production. Iran wants to continue increasing output until it returns to pre-sanction levels.

Reuters

4. Governors reach clean-energy pact

Governors from 17 states on Tuesday announced an agreement to work together to develop clean energy and transportation. The Governors' Accord for a New Energy Future calls for embracing clean energy as a way to boost the economy and improve public health. "We believe that this is a robust driver of economic growth, not a brake on economic growth," Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee said. Other participating states are California, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia.

The Associated Press

5. Groupon shares soar on news of Alibaba stake

Groupon shares soared 41 percent on Tuesday on the news that Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba had bought a 5.6 percent stake in the online group-discount service. Groupon's stock was coming off Friday gains of 29 percent that came after it reported quarterly results that beat expectations. Despite the gains, Groupon's stock is still down 49 percent over the past 12 months.

Bloomberg