A man is reflected on an electronic stock indicator of a securities firm in Tokyo on Oct. 14.

Asian stock markets were muted Friday.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index was up 0.2% to 18,974.90 after the Bank of Japan left its super-easy monetary policy unchanged.

China's Shanghai composite index rose 0.1% to 3,391.41.

U.S. stock futures were pointing slightly higher.

The New York Times headquarters in Manhattan.

The New York Times Co. said Thursday it swung back to profitability in the third quarter after it cut expenses and generated higher circulation revenue.

Its third quarter net income totaled $9.4 million vs. $12.5 million in net loss a year ago. Diluted earnings per share, after adjusting for some items, were 9 cents, higher than 6 cents estimated by analysts.

The New York-based publisher eked out a modest gain in total revenue, up 0.7% from a year ago to $367.4 million, after it cut operating expenses and jobs. A 1.1% gain in circulation revenue helped offset a 2.1% decline in advertising sales.

Unlike most newspapers, the Times generates more revenue from circulation — $209 million mostly from print and digital subscriptions — than advertising sales, which totaled $135.4 million during the quarter.

Shares rose 1.5% to $13.25 Thursday.

"We achieved significant growth in adjusted operating profit with strength across many areas of our business," said NYT CEO Mark Thompson.

The Times, which charges readers for its content, added  51,000 digital subscribers after accounting for those who canceled their subscriptions. It now has 1.04 million digital-only subscribers.

“This is the largest number of net subscribers we have added in a quarter since Q4 2012, evidence of our ability to continue to grow our digital subscriber count more than four years after the launch of our pay model and of the high demand for our digital journalism,” Thompson said.

Its print ad sales performance was “better” despite a 0.9% decline, he said. Digital ad sales were down 5% to $36.5 million.

“We remain bullish about our digital advertising business and expect it to return to growth in the fourth quarter,” he said.

Identity theft protection service LifeLock Inc. saw its stock zoom  43.9% Thursday on news the company has reached an agreement to settle a lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission and customers.

Shares in the Tempe, Ariz.-based company (LOCK) climbed to $13.94.

In a statement, LifeLock noted that “the proposed FTC settlement does not require us to change our current products, services, or business and information security practices, including in particular, our current marketing and advertising practices.

The company’s shares had fallen 48% in July on news of the FTC action.

The company posted a net loss of $65 million, or 68 cents a share, for the quarter that ended Sept. 30.

That included a pre-tax charge of $96 million related to a proposed settlement with the FTC, a consumer class action suit, and state attorneys general, the company said.

LifeLock had 4.1 million members as of Sept. 30, up 16% from the same time a year ago, the company said.

Shares of PayPal fell 1.42% Thursday after the online payment service provider missed revenue estimates in its first earnings report after splitting from former parent, eBay.

Revenue for the third quarter rose 15% to $2.23 billion, short of analysts' consensus estimate of $2.27 billion compiled by Zacks Investment Research.

Shares were down 75 cents to $35.76 as of Thursday afternoon.

Net income for the quarter was $377 million, up 31% from a year ago. Earnings per share totaled 31 cents, above analysts' estimate of 24 cents.

The company, based in San Jose, California, said revenue growth was driven primarily by its expanding customer base. Its customer base rose to 173 million active customers, while new partners — such as Macy's, Shell in the UK and Latin America's largest mobile wireless provider America Movil — signed up for its payment service.

The total payment volume, which excludes payments from PayPal mobile services in connection with eBay, rose 27% to $70%. It processed 1.22 billion payment transactions during the quarter. Mobile payment transactions totaled 345 million, up 38% from the previous quarter.

Shares of MGM Resorts International rose 5.4% Thursday after the casino operator announced plans to create a real estate investment trust (REIT) and reported better-than-expected earnings.

The Las Vegas company said it will contribute real estate assets of ten of its “premier” properties to the newly created REIT, MGM Growth Properties, that will offer shares in an initial public offering next year.

Partly created to unload some of MGM Resorts’ debt, the REIT will assume about $4 billion of debt that will be refinanced with the proceeds of debt and new equity issuance. MGM Resorts expects to complete the transaction in the first quarter of 2016.

The properties that will be contributed to the REIT include seven Las Vegas resorts: Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo, New York-New York, Luxor, Excalibur, and The Park.

MGM will also contribute three regional casino resorts: MGM Grand Detroit in Michigan and Beau Rivage and Gold Strike Tunica, both of which are located in Mississippi.

MGM shares were up 98 cents to 22.74 as of Thursday morning.

“This transaction provides MGM Resorts’ shareholders numerous strategic and financial benefits, including delevering our balance sheet,” said MGM Resorts CEO Jim Murren in a statement.

The company's net income for the third quarter was $66 million vs. a net loss of $20 million a year ago. Earnings per share totaled 12 cents, beating analysts' consensus estimate of 3 cents compiled by Zacks Investment Research.

Revenue for the third quarter fell 8% to $2.28 billion as its China business remained sluggish. Domestic resorts’ revenue rose 4% while the China business reported a 33% revenue decline.

A photographer clambers along mounds of potassium waste from the local salt mine in the town of Soligorsk, some 140 km south from Minsk, on September 10, 2014. Soligorsk which translates into “The town of salt” has one of the biggest potassium deposits in the world, producing and exporting potash fertilizers. AFP PHOTO / SERGEI GAPONSERGEI GAPON/AFP/Getty Images ORIG FILE ID: 533252126

Shares of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT) is down 3.4% Thursday following the fertilizer’s disappointing outlook and missed quarterly estimates.

Potash reported an adjusted quarterly profit of 34 cents a share, 8% shy of Wall Street analysts’ estimates, says S&P Capital IQ. Additionally, the company trimmed its earnings estimate for the year to between $1.55 and $1.65 a share, down from previous guidance of between $1.75 and $1.95 a share.

Shares of Potash are down 73 cents, or 3.4%, to $20.60.

Demand for potash remains strong in emerging nations, but pricing has been weak.

Follow Matt Krantz on Twitter @mattkrantz