Business briefs

SAN FRANCISCO — EBay Inc. is following its 24 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit with an ambitious stock buyback that Wall Street interpreted as a measure of executives' bullishness for future growth.

EBay shares soared $2.45, or 8.17 percent, to close at $32.45 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

The San Jose-based e-commerce powerhouse announced Wednesday it would repurchase up to $2 billion of common stock within the next two years. Stock buybacks are considered a quick way to pump up a flagging stock price — if companies have plenty of cash and are confident about future earnings growth.

This is the second major repurchase program at eBay in the past year. The company repurchased 31 million shares for about $1 billion last quarter.

The solid earnings report and buyback come almost exactly two years after eBay stock slipped precipitously on concerns about whether the company could withstand competition from other e-commerce leaders, particularly Google Inc. Analysts said the stock may now be a value relative to many of its rivals.

Los Angeles objects to Delta Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan

ATLANTA — The city of Los Angeles said in a bankruptcy court filing Thursday that Delta Air Lines Inc.'s reorganization plan can't be approved because of undue authority it gives the company to reject certain leases.

The city made the comments in an objection to the disclosure statement to Delta's reorganization plan. Denver, Palm Beach County, Fla., and the operator of a Puerto Rico airport also objected, as did an ad hoc committee of creditors; and some banks. Thursday was the objection deadline. If the disclosure statement, which details Delta's operations, is still approved after a hearing currently scheduled for Feb. 7, the Atlanta-based company would be permitted to begin soliciting votes to approve its reorganization plan calling for it to emerge from bankruptcy as a standalone carrier.

Iacocca lauded by Nevada casino regulators, OK'd to enter market

Lee Iacocca, the auto industry icon who turned around the former Chrysler Corp., received a warm welcome Thursday by Nevada gambling authorities who approved an affiliated company's purchase of a small casino.

Before approving Full House Resorts Inc.'s purchase of the Stockman's Casino in Fallon, Nevada Gaming Commission chair Peter Bernhard declared his love for the Ford Mustang, which Iacocca helped design.