Amazon shares surge on strong earnings update

Amazon shares shot higher Thursday after the internet colossus released quarterly earnings figures for the holiday quarter that trounced market expectations. Profit in the final three months of last year rose eight percent from 2018 to $3.3 billion, as revenue grew 21 percent to $87.4 billion, according to the Seattle-based firm. A record number of people signed up in the last quarter for Amazon Prime, a service that provides perks from one-day delivery to streaming television and music, according to Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos. "We now have over 150 million paid Prime members around the world," said Bezos. Amazon has expanded from its original mission as...