Apple’s Tim Cook cites record sales

CUPERTINO, Calif. — Apple CEO Tim Cook took a figurative victory lap at his company’s annual shareholder meeting, one day after he announced details about the new smartwatch Apple plans to start selling next month.

A year ago, some investors were voicing frustration over Apple’s lagging stock and activist Carl Icahn was pressing Cook to return more cash to shareholders.

But no complaints were heard Tuesday. Apple shares are up 65 percent from a year ago, the company has a market value of more than $700 billion — making it the most valuable U.S. company in history — and it will soon bump AT&T to join the benchmark Dow Jones industrial average.

U.S. wholesale stockpiles increase

WASHINGTON — U.S. wholesale businesses increased their stockpiles by a modest amount in January as sales plunged by the largest amount in six years.

Stockpiles held by wholesale businesses rose 0.3 percent in January after no change in December and a 0.8 percent November increase, the Commerce Department reported.

Sales dropped 3.1 percent in January following a 0.9 percent December decline. The January decline was the largest setback since sales fell 3.6 percent in March 2009 when the country was mired in the Great Recession. January marked the fourth consecutive month that sales have fallen.

Target lays off 1,700, won’t fill vacancies

Target said Tuesday it is laying off 1,700 workers and eliminating another 1,400 unfilled positions as part of a restructuring aimed at saving $2 billion over the next two years.

The news put a number on planned layoffs first announced last week as several thousand. The company said the cuts would fall primarily on headquarters locations in Minneapolis. The layoffs would amount to about 12½ percent of the 13,500 workers there.