The daily business briefing: February 11, 2016

1.

U.S. stock futures plunged ahead of the opening bell on Thursday as oil prices fell again. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq indexes all fell by nearly 2 percent as U.S. crude oil futures fell below $27 a barrel. Shares in Europe and Hong Kong fell even more sharply. The sell-off came after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen told lawmakers on Wednesday that the central bank was proceeding more cautiously with plans to slowly raise interest rates as it assesses the risk a global downturn poses to the U.S. economy.

2.

Twitter shares fell by 2.5 percent in after-hours trading after the micro-blogging site on Wednesday reported its first quarter with no growth in users since the company went public. The news came despite several moves intended to make Twitter more engaging. Twitter Executive Chairman Omid Kordestani warned that, "Our work will take time." Analysts say the popularity of messaging apps such as WhatsApp are hurting Twitter's chances of tapping markets in China and India in order to get more than 320 million active monthly users.

3.

Tesla Motors reported Wednesday that its losses more than doubled in the fourth quarter, reaching $320 million as the company produced fewer of its new Model X SUVs than expected. The electric-car maker has seen its stock fall by 40 percent this year as concerns grow over the Model X. Tesla delivered only 206 of the SUVs. Tesla's mass-market Model 3 is due out in 2017.

4.

Sweden's central bank on Thursday cut its benchmark interest rate further below zero, and said it would cut it even more if necessary to boost the nation's economy. The rate was already at minus 0.35 percent, and the bank — known as Sweden's Riksbank — dropped it to minus 0.5 percent in an effort to hold down the national currency and push inflation toward the target of 2 percent. The Riksbank is one of a small but growing group of central banks around the world experimenting with dropping rates below zero to stimulate struggling economies.

5.

Burger King will begin selling grilled hot dogs this month. The move is expected to make the burger chain into the biggest restaurant seller of hot dogs in the nation. Burger King partnered with Oscar Mayer to create its all-beef, flame-grilled dog, which will sell for $1.99. A chili cheese dog will cost $2.29. Only a few other fast-food chains, including Sonic and Dairy Queen, sell hot dogs. Warren Solochek of market research firm The NPD Group said offering something rivals don't "sets you apart."