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• Alaska Airlines pilot passes out midair, co-pilot lands plane

  SEATTLE, Feb 1- A Seattle- bound Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Oregon after its veteran pilot passed out in the passenger cabin, in the second such fainting spell involving the U.S. carrier in 10 days, the airline said on Friday.

• Amazon unveils exclusive 'Downton Abbey' deal with PBS

  SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 1- Amazon.com Inc said on Friday that it struck an exclusive deal to distribute seasons of the hit TV show "Downton Abbey" to members of its subscription-based video streaming service.

• UPDATE 2-Money manager Franklin profit grows 7 percent, shares up

  Net income for Franklin's fiscal first quarter through Dec. 31 totaled $516.1 million, or $2.42 per share, compared with $480.8 million, or $2.20 per share, a year earlier, the San Mateo, California- based firm said. Investors lauded the results, sending shares of Franklin up $2.09, or 1.5 percent, to $138.97 on the New York Stock Exchange.

• WRAPUP 1-Exxon, Chevron earnings boosted by refining margins

  HOUSTON/ SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 1- Strength in refining and chemicals led to higher-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings for Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp, the two largest U.S. oil companies.

• Court rejects Oracle's bid for a quicker end to HP suit

  SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 1- A California appeals court on Thursday rejected an attempt by Oracle Corp to quickly end a bitter lawsuit brought by Hewlett-Packard Corp over Oracle's decision in 2011 to end support for HP's Itanium based servers.

• UPDATE 1-Chevron profit rises on refining gains, asset swap

  *Q4 earnings per share ex-items $3.27 vs Street view $3.03. The second-largest U.S. oil producer said fourth-quarter net income rose to $7.2 billion, or $3.70 per share, from $5.1 billion, or $2.58 per share, a year earlier.

• UPDATE 1-Money manager Franklin quarterly profit up 7 percent

  Feb 1- Money manager Franklin Resources Inc, which runs the Franklin and Templeton funds, said on Friday that its quarterly profit rose 7 percent, even though additional customer investments slowed.

• Money manager Franklin's quarterly profit up 7 percent

  Net income for Franklin's fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31 totaled $516.1 million, or $2.42 per share, compared with $480.8 million, or $2.20 per share, for the same period a year earlier, the San Mateo, California- based firm said.

• Hispanics to soon surpass whites in California

  SACRAMENTO, Calif.-- Hispanics will become the largest ethnic group in the nation's most populous state early next year, the California Department of Finance said Thursday, marking a big milestone in a long-running demographic shift that has already deeply altered the political balance of power, the economy and culture.

• Analyst says US wine production, consumption up

  SACRAMENTO, Calif.-- U.S. residents now make up the largest wine market in the world, consuming 13 percent of all that's produced globally, according to an analyst who spoke Wednesday at a major wine industry gathering. Bulk wine imports from Argentina helped slake the thirsts of U.S. consumers, followed by Chile and Australia.

• Beef Price Spike Makes $1 Burger Harder to Stomach

  

  McDonald's popular $1 McDouble cheeseburger, which has lured customers to the Golden Arches since 2008, is getting hard to sustain as rising beef prices threaten the company's profit margin.

• Cisco Systems names Motorola CEO Brown to board

  SAN JOSE, Calif.-- Computer networking gear maker Cisco Systems Inc. said Friday that it appointed Motorola Solutions Inc. Chairman and CEO Greg Brown to its board of directors. He has worked at Motorola since 2003 and was named CEO of the company in January 2008. He became deputy chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in December.

• Report warns of US state inactivity on consumer health reforms

  WASHINGTON, Feb 1- Only 11 of the 50 U.S. states have moved to implement new consumer safeguards under President Barack Obama's healthcare law, raising questions about how major health insurance reforms will be enforced, a report released on Friday says.

• ANALYSIS-Beef price spike makes $1 McDouble harder to stomach

  *McDouble price above $1 in LA, Manhattan and Chicago McDonald's promoting $1 Grilled Onion Cheddar Burger. Feb 1- McDonald's popular $1 McDouble cheeseburger, which has lured customers to the Golden Arches since 2008, is getting hard to sustain as rising beef prices threaten the company's profit margin.

• Green Dot shares get boost from strong 4Q results

  NEW YORK-- Shares of Green Dot Corp. rose Friday after prepaid debit card issuer posted a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit. Green Dot also projected an adjusted 2013 profit of between 95 cents and $1.20 per share on operating revenue of between $510 million to $540 million.

• House lawmakers mull path to citizenship for illegal immigrants

  WASHINGTON, Jan 31- A bipartisan group in the U.S. House of Representatives is attempting to craft a bill that would give millions of illegal immigrants a way to become citizens, House aides said on Thursday, mirroring an effort in the Senate.

• Peregrine Financial auditors lacked skepticism - study

  SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 31- Auditors of Peregrine Financial, whose former CEO on Thursday was sentenced to 50 years for stealing $215 million from his customers, lacked the skepticism needed to assess the risk of fraud at the now-defunct futures brokerage, a study released on Thursday showed.

• UPDATE 3-Informant in Galleon insider-trading case gets a year in prison

  NEW YORK, Jan 31- Roomy Khan, a one-time technology company executive who became a key FBI informant in the insider-trading case against hedge-fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, was sentenced to 12 months in prison on Thursday. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan also ordered her to forfeit nearly $1.53 million.

• TUPDATE 2-US insider trading informant gets 12 months in prison

  NEW YORK, Jan 31- Roomy Khan, a one-time technology company executive who became a key FBI informant in the insider-trading case against hedge-fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, was sentenced to 12 months in prison on Thursday. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan also ordered her to forfeit nearly $1.53 million.

• UPDATE 1-FTC chairman Leibowitz to step down in February

  *Led probe into Google that ended with mild reprimand. WASHINGTON, Jan 31- The chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, Jon Leibowitz, said on Thursday he will step down in mid-February after a tenure famous for a probe of allegations that Google manipulated search results that resulted in a mild reprimand for the technology company.