Xerox to split into two companies

Reuters: Xerox Corp. said it would split into two companies, one holding its legacy hardware operations and the other its business process outsourcing unit, in which activist investor Carl Icahn will get three board seats. Icahn, who first revealed a stake in Xerox in November, had said he would seek representation on the company’s board as well as pursue strategic alternatives. He later raised his stake to 8.13 percent. Xerox shares rose 1.8 percent to $9.40 in premarket trading on Friday.

Bank of Japan cuts benchmark rate below zero 

Reuters: The Bank of Japan unexpectedly cut a benchmark interest rate below zero on Friday, stunning investors with another bold move to stimulate the economy as volatile markets and slowing global growth threaten its efforts to overcome deflation. Global equities jumped, the yen tumbled and sovereign bonds rallied after the Bank of Japan said it would charge for a portion of bank reserves parked with the institution, an aggressive policy pioneered by the European Central Bank.

Chevron posts $588 million loss for fourth quarter

Bloomberg: Chevron Corp. lost money for the first time in more than 13 years as a collapse in prices for the global oil explorer’s main product forced it to write down the value of crude and natural gas fields. Shares fell. The fourth-quarter net loss was $588 million, or 31 cents a share, compared with a profit of $3.5 billion, or $1.85 a share, a year earlier, the San Ramon, Calif.-based company said in a statement on Friday. The per-share result was worse than any of the estimates from 22 analysts in a Bloomberg survey, whose estimates ranged from gains of 29 cents to gains of 63 cents.