Briefs

Wal-Mart Stores may end up paying hundreds of millions of dollars to investigate allegations that it bribed Mexican officials if the government expands its probe into other countries, according to former federal prosecutor Amy Conway-Hatcher. Wal-Mart is examining claims raised by an April 21 New York Times story that said executives in Mexico paid more than $24 million in bribes to speed its expansion there, and covered up the results of an internal probe. The Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into the matter, a person familiar with the probe said. In the past year, the company has created a new global anti-bribery compliance post at its headquarters.

Robust demand for the iPhone in China fueled a 94 percent surge in Apple’s quarterly profit, to $11.6 billion. The country now accounts for 20 percent of the company’s revenue. Worldwide, Apple logged a 59 percent increase in sales during its fiscal second quarter. The stock jumped as much as 10 percent, to $618, on April 25, the first day of trading after the announcement. That nearly erased declines earlier in the month prompted by reports that sales of the iPhone were slowing in the U.S. and that the company faced shortages of key components.