Harold Maass of The Week The Best of Today's Business

NEWS AT A GLANCE

Microsoft shrugs off Xbox problems

Microsoft's quarterly profit rose 5.5 percent despite problems keeping shelves stocked with its new Xbox game console during the holiday season. Sales rose 9 percent to $11.8 billion, a little short of analysts' predictions but still strong thanks to brisk sales of new server software. "It was a good quarter for them," said analyst Rick Sherlund of Goldman Sachs. "'Terrific you reserve for Google." (Los Angeles Times, free registration required) Microsoft also said business was looking good in the near future, helping to buoy U.S. stocks ahead of this morning's report on how much the economy slowed at the end of last year. (CNNMoney.com)

Now the bad news

Boston Scientific received a stern warning from federal regulators a day after winning a $27 billion bidding war for Guidant, a maker of medical devices. The Food and Drug Administration said Boston Scientific had failed to tell the government about safety problems with its own devices. Boston Scientific shares are down on the news, threatening to lower the value of its offer to Guidant, which is to be paid partly in stock. "This is serious stuff," said analyst Bruce Nudell of Sanford C. Bernstein & Company, "and it comes at the worst possible time." (The New York Times, free registration required)

Protect privacy, or pay

Data broker ChoicePoint Inc. has agreed to pay a $10 million fine for security breaches last year that left 160,000 people vulnerable to identity theft. In addition to the civil penalty -- the largest ever imposed by the Federal Trade Commission -- the Georgia-based company will pay $5 million to compensate the hundreds of people who suffered losses traced to the breaches. One privacy expert said the settlement "sends a big signal" to companies that buy and sell sensitive information to do more to protect consumers. (The Washington Post, free registration required)

Red-hot burritos

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill doubled in price on their first trading day, marking the second best restaurant debut ever (after Boston Market). Investor demand had already driven up the initial public offering price several dollars to $22. The rapidly expanding Chipotle, which remains majority-owned by hamburger giant McDonald's, then ended its first day at $44. "I don't think any of us could have imagined this," said Chief Financial Officer Jack Hartung. (Denver Post)

BEST COLUMNS OF THE DAY

Calm down, vultures

"Enough already on General Motors and bankruptcy," says Jerry Flint in Forbes.com. The No. 1 automaker has plenty of cash -- $19 billion -- to pay its bills. Its Chevrolet brand is "showing signs of a turnaround," and "good-looking" new Saturns "should be hot in 2007." The company is improving in Europe, and leading sales in China. "If a turnaround at GM isn't evident by fall, look for a management change." But give the "B-word" a rest.

Selling globalization

There are plenty of cheerleaders for globalization at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, says Floyd Norris in The New York Times (paid registration required). They say it's a "win-win" that is helping rich and poor nations alike, even if some people lose when "local jobs vanish." The trouble is, there are more "losers" than expected, "and their ranks could swell if the world economy weakens."

GOOD DAY FOR: Demanding freebies, as homebuilders offered free extras averaging $8,965 last quarter to boost sales as the real estate market slowed. That's double the value of incentives -- such as hardwood floors and granite countertops -- in the previous quarter. (CNNMoney.com)

BAD DAY FOR: Waistlines, as nutritionists say many people who watch the Super Bowl on TV Feb. 5 will pack away 3,000 calories -- about as much as a Thanksgiving meal. (USA Today) The average viewer will consume 1,200 calories worth of snacks. By the time the final whistle blows, Americans will have eaten 11 million pounds of potato chips. (The Seattle Times)

NOTED: Five years ago, consumers from mainland China bought 1 percent of the world's luxury handbags, shoes, jewelry, perfume, and other high-end goods. Now they buy 12 percent, making China the No. 3 buyer of luxury merchandise behind the U.S. and Japan. (BusinessWeek Online)