Today in business: 5 things you need to know

Morgan Stanley surges, China pulls out of its slowdown, and more in our roundup of the business stories that are making news and driving opinion

1. MORGAN STANLEY STOCK SOARS ON PROFIT SURGE
Morgan Stanley shares climbed by as much as 7 percent early Friday after it reported that quarterly earnings from its brokerage business — the world's largest — had more than doubled. Earnings at the brokerage hit $385 million, as profit margins jumped to 17 percent from 7 percent a year earlier. The firm also reached its profit-margin goal in its wealth-management unit. The results were better than expected, boosting CEO James Gorman's strategy to patiently reshape the company after the financial crisis by shifting from its own trading to focusing on its client and advisory businesses. "After a year of significant challenges, Morgan Stanley has reached a pivot point," Gorman said. [Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal]
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2. CHINA PULLS OUT OF ITS SLUMP
China's economy grew at its slowest pace in 13 years in 2012, but a modest rebound in the year's final quarter suggested that it is finally pulling out of its slump. Industrial production and exports helped push quarterly growth to 7.9 percent, narrowly beating economists' predictions. That's still slower than China's average 10 percent growth over the last three decades, but the news confirmed that after two tough years "the economy has officially exited its slowdown," HSBC economists wrote in a note. That means that China's economy won't face a hard landing, and instead "will contribute significantly to global growth as we go through this year," said Australian finance minister Wayne Swan. [CNNMoney]
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3. NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINES IPO TAKES OFF
Norwegian Cruise Lines shares soared when an initial public offering of the company's stock began trading on Friday, going as high as $26 from an initial price of $19 a share. Analysts had expected the stock to fetch just $16 to $18. The Miami-based company, which has 11 cruise ships, raised $447 million by selling off 23.5 million shares. The deal gave the company a market value of $3.8 billion. Market leader Carnival Cruise Lines' is worth $29.7 billion, and No. 2 Royal Caribbean is valued at $8.2 billion. "There's interest in this IPO," says John Fitzgibbon of IPOScoop.com. "They're flying in the footsteps of Carnival." [USA Today]
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4. TOYOTA SETTLES SUIT OVER UTAH DEATHS
Toyota has settled a lawsuit filed by the family of Paul Van Alfen and Charlene Jones Lloyd, who were killed in Utah in 2010 when their Toyota Camry suddenly accelerated and slammed into a wall. Investigators said skid marks indicated that Van Alfen, who was driving, had tried to stop the vehicle. The case had been scheduled to go to court next month and serve as a test for hundreds of other pending cases involving wrongful death claims. Last month, Toyota agreed to a settlement worth more than $1 billion to end claims of economic losses filed when the Japanese automaker recalled millions of vehicles due to sudden acceleration problems. [Associated Press]
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5. PC WOES WOUND INTEL
Intel shares took a dive on Friday, falling 6 percent despite an earnings report that beat expectations. The drop was blamed on the company's warning that its sales could fall in coming months as consumers continue to snap up tablets and other mobile devices and move away from PCs, 80 percent of which use Intel's microprocessors. The forecast suggested that the company's plans to spend big on new manufacturing technology might not pay off. "Intel spooked investors," FBR Capital's Craig Berger wrote in a note to clients. [MarketWatch]

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