Carnival pledges to curb pollution

MIAMI (AP) — Carnival Corp. executives are pledging anew that steps are being taken to curb ocean pollution, which was the subject of a recent $20 million federal penalty.

Carnival outlined some of those steps at a hearing Friday before a pair of skeptical Miami federal judges. CEO Arnold Donald says the world’s largest cruise line is embracing a new culture of compliance with environmental laws from the top down.

Last month, Carnival admitted violating probation from a 2016 criminal pollution case as its ships continued to cause environmental harm around the world since then.

Senior U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz urged Carnival not to revert to past practices but create an entirely new culture based on environmental compliance.

Carnival operates more than 100 ships across its nine cruise brands.

American Express profit jumps 8%

NEW YORK (AP) — American Express is reporting a profit hike of more than 8% from the second-quarter.

The company on Friday posted net income of $1.76 billion, or $2.07. That’s a 2-cent beat on Wall Street projections, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research.

Revenue of $10.84 billion also edged out expectations. in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Eight analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $10.82 billion.

Shares edged slightly lower, however, before the opening bell after the company stuck to per-share annual guidance of between $7.85 and $8.35.

Budweiser brewer sells unit

BRUSSELS (AP) — AB Inbev, the world’s biggest brewer with brands like Budweiser and Corona, said Friday it is selling its unit in Australia to reduce debt after it decided against listing shares in Asia.

The company is selling Carlton & United Breweries for $11.3 billion to Japanese rival Asahi Group.

AB Inbev, which is based in Belgium, said it will use almost all the money from the deal to pay down debt. The company has accrued a mountain of debt — about $100 billion — after going on an acquisition spree, including buying Anheuser-Busch in 2008 and its next closest rival, SABMiller, in 2015.

The SABMiller deal gave it almost a third of the global beer market and put established brands that had formerly been rivals under the same roof — American icons Budweiser and Miller, for example.