Amazon significantly increased sales and profits in the Christmas quarter thanks to its retail business and cloud division. Revenues grew by 14% year-on-year to $170 billion, the e-commerce giant reported after US markets closed on Thursday. The company’s earnings came in at $10.62 billion, or $1 per share. This compares with $278 million, or $0.03 per share, in last year’s fourth quarter. Turnover in the cloud division AWS rose in the fourth quarter by 13% to $24.2 billion, marking a slight uptick from the 12% notched in the previous quarter. Looking ahead, Amazon said first quarter sales are…