In brief: Treasury issues reprieve for health law tax errors

WASHINGTON – Taxpayers who’ve filed their 2014 returns only to learn that the government provided them with erroneous information on health care subsidies won’t be required to submit corrected returns, the Treasury Department said Tuesday.

The decision amounts to a reprieve from paperwork headaches for an estimated 50,000 early filers, out of a pool of some 800,000 HealthCare.gov customers affected by a tax reporting goof disclosed last week.

The majority who haven’t yet filed their tax returns are still being urged to wait until they receive corrected information from the federal Health and Human Services department.

Cruise company Viking eyes Mississippi River

NEW ORLEANS – European river cruise giant Viking, already gaining a high profile in the United States with its sponsorship of popular PBS television shows, announced Tuesday that it will make New Orleans its first North American home port for Mississippi River cruises expected to begin by late 2017.

“They are in an expansion mode and this is the logical place for them to expand,” said Mike Driscoll, editor of the industry newsletter Cruise Week.

Viking’s move will produce 416 new jobs in New Orleans, according to Gov. Bobby Jindal, who made the announcement at the Port of New Orleans accompanied by Viking Cruises Chairman Torstein Hagen.

Viking, which has operational headquarters in Switzerland, plans construction of six boats at U.S. shipyards over the next three years. Each will be capable of hosting up to 300 passengers for the new American cruises.

JPMorgan cost-cutting means fewer branches

NEW YORK – JPMorgan Chase plans to close 300 bank branches over the next two years, about 5 percent of the total, as more customers move online and the bank seeks to cut costs.

The closures are part of a $1.4 billion cost-cutting plan the bank announced for this year. The latest developments were revealed during the bank’s annual investor day conference Tuesday.

Sony selects Rothman to replace film chief

NEW YORK – Former 20th Century Fox chief Tom Rothman has been named chairman of Sony’s Motion Picture Group, replacing Amy Pascal as studio head and effectively concluding Sony’s shake-up following the damaging hacking scandal.

Sony Pictures co-chairman and chief executive Michael Lynton announced Rothman’s promotion Tuesday. Since late 2013, Rothman has been running the rejuvenated TriStar Productions at Sony.

In more than a decade running Fox Filmed Entertainment, Rothman oversaw the two biggest box-office grossers ever: “Avatar” and “Titanic.” He is known for both budget-consciousness and a deep passion for movies, even hosting screenings of classic films on the Fox Movie Channel.

Lack of homes for sale pushes prices higher

WASHINGTON – U.S. home prices rose in December at a faster pace than the previous month, likely because of a much smaller number of homes for sale.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, released Tuesday, increased 4.5 percent in December compared with 12 months earlier. That is up from 4.3 percent in November and the same as October’s annual increase. The small gain comes after price increases had slowed for 12 straight months.