Japanese airline grounds 787s after smoke All Nippon Airways temporarily grounded its entire fleet of 17 Boeing 787 Dreamliners on Wednesday morning in Japan after smoke was observed on one of the jets in flight and the pilot made an emergency landing, according to Japanese media. The plane was carrying 129 passengers and eight crew. No one was hurt. ANA said the smoke was in the cockpit and there was a warning of a battery problem, according to Japanese media. The incident comes just eight days after a battery fire broke out on an empty Japan Airlines 787 parked at Logan International Airport in Boston.

Producer price index declined last month Wholesale prices in the U.S. dropped for a third month in December as food costs retreated, capping the smallest annual gain in four years and indicating there is little risk of a pickup in inflation. The producer price index declined 0.2 percent following a 0.8 percent decrease the prior month, Labor Department figures showed. Economists projected a 0.1 percent fall, according to the median of 77 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. For all of 2012, prices paid by companies climbed 1.3 percent, the smallest advance since a drop in 2008 and compared with an average 3.4 percent gain over the prior decade.

Alibaba's Jack Ma to step down as CEO Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd.'s billionaire founder Jack Ma will step down as chief executive officer, stoking speculation that China's largest e-commerce company is preparing for an initial public offering. Ma, 48, will remain chairman, he said in a letter to employees Tuesday. He will end his tenure as CEO on May 10, when a replacement will probably be named. The former English teacher, who has led Alibaba since its formation in 1999, has a net worth of $3.4 billion. Alibaba last year also bought back a stake from Yahoo Inc. in a deal valuing the Chinese company at $35 billion.

German economy shrank in fourth quarter The economic stagnation in Europe has taken a significant toll on Germany, with government figures showing that the Continent's flagship economy contracted in the fourth quarter of last year. The Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden estimated that the German economy shrank about 0.5 percent in the final three months of 2012, compared with the previous three months. The decline was largely the result of sagging investment by German managers worried about the future of the eurozone.

Chrysler agrees to make some Jeeps in China Fiat SpA and Chrysler Group said they have reached an agreement with Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. Ltd. to expand their cooperation on passenger car manufacturing and sales in China. Under the agreement, Guangzhou will build one Jeep model in China for Chrysler for sale in China. A specific model was not announced. The agreement was signed at Chrysler headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Homebuilder Lennar to go into apartments Lennar Corp., the largest U.S. homebuilder by market value, said it plans to diversify into apartments with the construction of $1 billion of multifamily properties as rental demand climbs. The Miami-based company plans to start building 3,000 apartments at a development cost of $560 million this year, Chief Executive Stuart Miller said. The first projects are a $36 million, 316-unit community in Jacksonville, Florida, in partnership with Carlyle Group, and a $32 million, 264-unit community northeast of Atlanta.

Appeals court won't reconsider ethanol suit A federal appeals court refused to reconsider a decision to throw out a lawsuit challenging an Environmental Protection Agency rule that allows higher concentrations of corn-based ethanol in gasoline. On the losing side were grocery, auto and oil industry trade groups that sued in 2010, saying using more corn-based ethanol in auto fuel would harm engines and push up the price of food and gasoline. Tuesday's decision upheld a three-judge panel's ruling in August that said the industries couldn't show they had suffered specific harm.

Krispy Kreme adopts poison pill defense Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc., whose shares have jumped this year amid speculation it's an acquisition target, adopted measures to discourage investors from buying 5 percent or more of the company's stock. The plan is meant to protect against an inadvertent change of ownership, which would limit the way the company's previous operating losses and other credits could be applied to future taxes, Krispy Kreme said.

FROM NEWS REPORTS