World financial news

The editor of a British tabloid has outlined a culture where reporters exaggerate headlines, dramatize stories, and occasionally go too far.

Daily Star Editor Dawn Neesom was speaking at the judge-led inquiry into British media ethics set up in the wake of the phone hacking scandal centered on the now-defunct News of the World tabloid

She shied away from claims that her paper played fast and loose with the truth, but acknowledged that the paper’s mission was “to put a smile on people’s faces payday loans.”

Neesom said Thursday: “Occasionally, I admit, we do cross lines. But we do have standards.”

The Star is owned by media magnate Richard Desmond, who is also to give evidence at the inquiry.

Desmond also publishes the Daily Express and celebrity magazines OK! and New!

Source

all at the same time, without being forced to close down a program.

But the cool part is the controls. First, the TV’s built-in cameras use face recognition to automatically sign users into their personal profiles. Then, users can issue voice commands like "channel 34" or "guide" to control the TV. They can also use gesture controls for Web browsing, adjusting the volume and more.

Overall, the experience looks like what would happen if Apple’s (, Fortune 500) Siri voice assistant and Microsoft’s (, Fortune 500) Kinect motion-sensor system had a baby TV.

Content is accessed through the Smart TV Hub. That menu includes other features like "Family Story" — which can upload photos and videos from a mobile device to the TV — and special hubs for fitness content and for kids.

The ES8000, along with most of the other devices Samsung announced Monday, didn’t get a release date beyond "sometime this year."

On Sunday, the company unveiled a device called the InTouch, which converts regular TVs into smart TVs payday loans for bad credit. The $199 converter is a low-cost option for customers to add Internet browsing, Skype voice calling and a keyboard remote, without having to buy a new TV.

Samsung’s Monday keynote also included more on the TV and Internet-connected fronts: a 55-inch Super OLED TV, as well as connected washer/dryer and connected camera line.

In addition, two Samsung devices will soon make their 4G network debuts: the Galaxy Note phone, and the Galaxy Tab 7.7 tablet.

Samsung closed the keynote with two computer announcements. The new Series 9 Notebook is "the thinnest premium notebook on the market," the company says, at just a half-inch thick and 2.2 pounds. It boots up in just under 10 seconds.

Like many of the CES exhibitors, Samsung also unveiled a super-thin ultrabook: the Series 5 Ultra. Samsung says Web browsing on the laptop is twice as fast as on last-generation notebooks. 

Source

U.S. stocks rallied Tuesday, kicking off the new year on a high note, as investors welcomed upbeat reports on economic activity around the world.

The Dow Jones industrial average () jumped 180 points, or 1.5%, to end at 12,397. The S&P 500 () gained 19 points, or 1.5%, to 1,277. The Nasdaq () added 43 points, or 1.7%, to 2,649.

The gains came after reports on manufacturing growth in China and India came in better than expected over the weekend. On Tuesday, a report showed U.S. manufacturing activity grew at a faster rate in December.

U.S. markets were closed Monday for the New Year holiday.

"There were no major negative headlines out of Europe, and we had some data suggesting the global economy is expanding," said Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG.

Investors scooped up shares of companies that would benefit from a strengthening global economy.

Bank stocks, which were among the worst performing sectors last year, led the Dow higher. Bank of America (, Fortune 500), Citigroup (, Fortune 500) and JPMorgan (, Fortune 500) all posted strong gains.

Industrial names Caterpillar (, Fortune 500) and Alcoa (, Fortune 500) were also higher, as were multinationals such as GE (, Fortune 500), Microsoft (, Fortune 500) and 3M (, Fortune 500).

But traders say the market is vulnerable to concerns about the debt crisis in Europe, which has been the main driver of stock prices for several months.

Stocks in 2012: Choppy but higher

"At least for today, there’s no disaster in Europe," said Art Hogan, a managing director at Lazard Capital Markets. "The market remains focused on what’s going on in the eurozone."

Meanwhile, oil prices surged more than 4% on continued anxiety over Iran’s growing threat to shut down the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. stocks finished little changed Friday, bringing to an end a year in which the S&P dropped just 0.04 point — the smallest annual change in history. The Dow rose 5.5% for the year, while the Nasdaq lost 1.8%.

Economy: The Institute of Supply Management’s survey of manufacturing purchasing managers rose to 53.9 from 52.7. That’s a bit better than the 53.4 forecast of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

Any reading above 50 signals expansion in the sector.

The Commerce Department said construction spending jumped 1 quick guaranteed personal loans.2% in November, after a revised 0.2% decline in October. Analysts surveyed by Briefing.com expect construction spending to have risen by 0.5%.

Over the weekend, the Chinese government released its official reading on manufacturing activity, showing the sector expanded slightly in December, after contracting the month before. And on Monday, a report compiled by HSBC and Markit showed India’s manufacturing activity picked up significantly during the month.

The manufacturing data "provides further evidence that global industrial production is likely to be stabilizing in the months to come," analysts at Barclays Capital wrote in a note to clients.

The Federal Reserve plans to give even more detailed forecasts about where it expects its key interest rate to be years from now, according to minutes of the Fed’s December meeting released Tuesday.

Companies: Chesapeake Energy (, Fortune 500) shares rose after the Oklahoma City-based energy company announced it completed a venture with an affiliate of French oil company Total () that gives the French firm a 25% stake in more than 600,000 acres in eastern Ohio, an area rich in shale oil.

20 Stocks For January 2012

Mead Johnson Nutrition () shares gained after two U.S. government agencies said they have completed their investigation of Enfamil and found the baby formula safe to use. The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had stepped in after a newborn baby died of a rare bacterial infection that they suspected could be linked to the powder-based infant formula.

World markets: European stocks also rose. Britain’s FTSE 100 () added 2%, the DAX () in Germany added 1.5% and France’s CAC 40 () gained 0.4%.

The Hang Seng () in Hong Kong added 2.4%. Markets in Shanghai () and Tokyo () were both closed for an extended New Year holiday.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen.

Oil for February delivery added $4.20, or 4.2%, to $103.03 a barrel.

Gold futures for February delivery rose $33.70 to end at $1,600.50 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 1.96% from 1.87% late Friday.  

Source

Asian policy makers eager to sustain growth in 2012 may put their economies at risk with interest- rate cuts or fiscal stimulus that some can ill-afford.

The likelihood of

Best Buy has alerted some customers that it will not be able to fill their online orders, just days before Christmas.

The largest U.S. specialty electronics retailer said late Wednesday that “overwhelming demand for some products from Bestbuy.com has led to a problem redeeming online orders made in November and December.

The Minneapolis company declined Thursday to specify how many orders are affected or which products are out of stock.

The shortages are a black eye for Best Buy, which has beefed up its online campaign to fight off intense competition from online retailers and discount stores. And the holiday season is crucial for retailers like Best Buy because it can make up to 40 percent of annual sales.

Some glitches should not be a surprise with such a massive surge in online shopping this year, analysts said, but there is a risk of a backlash.

“It is a hiccup for the company,” said Morningstar analyst R.J. Hottovy. “They were kind of behind the curve building out their online channel. They’ve done a good job investing in it, but if you make a lot of rapid changes, inevitably there are going to be growing pains.”

The canceled orders probably won’t make a big difference for Best Buy’s holiday sales this year, but it may lead to more customers looking elsewhere in the future, he said.

“The risk is any consumers affected by canceled orders will be willing to explore other alternatives for online shopping in years to come,” Hottovy said.

Online sales are up 15 percent to $32 billion so far this holiday season, while total sales are up just 2.5 percent.

Even though online sales are a huge boon for retailer, the shift has already created some problems. Discount retailer Target Corp’s site crashed in September because of overwhelming demand for Missoni for Target, a limited designer line of clothing, home goods and accessories.

Best Buy benefitted when its now-defunct rival Circuit City went out of business more than a year ago, but its suffering as Americans hold off on big ticket items and search for deals online and at discounters.

In order to compete, Best Buy has expanded its online offerings, cut back on square footage in the U.S. by closing stores and sought to expand internationally. In its most recent third quarter ending Nov. 26, Best Buy said its net income fell 29 percent as it cut prices in popular categories such as tablets and TVs to drive sales and traffic during the holiday season.

Best Buy shares rose 8 cents to $22.96 in midday trading.

Source

The federal government is moving ahead with the first auction of offshore petroleum leases in the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon disaster _ despite a lawsuit challenging the sale.

Interior Department spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz said bids will be opened as scheduled on Wednesday in New Orleans.

Four environmental groups are challenging a study used to clear the sale _ but aren’t seeking a federal court order to stop the auction. Instead, an attorney said a judge might decide later to throw out the results if he agrees with the suit.

The sale covers the western Gulf off the coast of Texas. Officials said the auction has attracted 241 bids from 20 companies on 191 tracts.

Source

A person briefed on the matter says leaking coolant is the likely cause of fires that broke out in the Chevrolet Volt’s battery after government crash tests.

The person says General Motors engineers are developing structural changes to make the electric car and the battery pack more crash-resistant.

The person says the coolant did not catch fire, but it crystallized and created an electrical short that caused the fires. The person didn’t want to be identified because the findings are not final.

Federal safety regulators started investigating the Volt’s battery last month after three fires.

The flames came seven days to three weeks after the crash tests. GM says there’s no threat of fire right after a crash. It also says no Volts have caught fire after real-world crashes.

Source

The leaders of France and Germany called forcefully Monday for a new European Union treaty that would automatically punish countries that use the euro if they violate existing limits on overspending.

Stocks and the euro rose while European government bond yields dropped sharply as investors viewed the proposal for a closer fiscal union among the 17 countries as an important step to save the euro.

Implementing treaty changes could take months, but a commitment to tighter coordination could open the way for further emergency aid from the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund or some combination.

“Our wish is to go on a forced march toward re-establishing confidence in the eurozone,” French President Nicolas Sarkozy said at a press conference alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “We don’t have time. We are conscious of the gravity of the situation and of the responsibility that rests on our shoulders.”

Investors have been hopeful that the pair will get what they want at a summit in Brussels on Friday, where failure could doom the euro.

There is a risk that implementing the proposals won’t move fast enough for markets or the most heavily indebted countries. Countries like Italy and Spain need help now to keep their bond yields _ the cost of their borrowing _ down.

Sarkozy said he and Merkel would prefer that the treaty be agreed by all 27 members of the European Union, but he left the door open to one that just covers the eurozone and anyone else “who wants to join us.”

Sarkozy and Merkel made several proposals, some of which could be enshrined in a new treaty. They included:

_ automatic punishment for any government that allows its deficit to exceed 3 percent of GDP. Governments are supposed to follow this rule already, but many, including France, have flouted it;

_ requiring countries to enshrine in law a promise to balance their budgets;

_ never again asking private investors to take losses, as a bailout of Greece did;

_ making Europe’s bailout fund permanent by the end of next year, rather than mid-2013;

_ and holding monthly European summits until the crisis is over.

Worries about the stability of the euro reached a high in recent weeks as Italy’s bond yield, indicative of the rate it would pay to borrow on markets, jumped to record peaks above 7 percent. That level is considered unsustainable and has eventually forced Greece, Ireland and Portugal to require financial aid. By comparison, bond yields in Germany, Europe’s largest and most stable economy, are roughly 2 percent.

But Europe can’t afford to rescue Italy, the eurozone’s third-largest economy, so the crisis went into high gear in recent weeks when it looked like the country might need a lifeline.

Source

They were lined up 300 deep before the store opened at 8 a.m.

Fans of Maple Leaf Gardens and Loblaws came to see how Canada’s most famous hockey arena looked now that it’s home to the supermarket chain’s newest urban grocery store.

They came from outside the city, from places like Malton, or from Toronto neighbourhoods, like Forest Hill and Riverdale. Ordinary citizens, hockey players and local politicians were among the first customers.

They weren’t disappointed.

The store, with its soaring ceilings, blonde wood, grey concrete and black tiles, forms a hip urban backdrop to a smorgasbord of fresh and prepared food the company hopes will cement its reputation as a leader in food retailing.

“The Loblaw store you’re about to shop, in our judgment, re-imagines a large urban supermarket at once recognizing the diversity of the neighbourhood that surrounds it and the national significance of the site,” Loblaw executive chairman Galen G. Weston said just prior to the opening.

The store pays homage to its past as Canada’s best known hockey arena, from the original lights, exposed brick and Maple Leaf-shaped wall sculpture in the atrium made from arena seats to the red dot on the floor in aisle 25 that marks centre ice.

But it’s also Loblaw’s biggest bet on its future since Weston took over from his father, W. Galen Weston, five years ago.

The store is the first full-service conventional grocery store the company has built in 12 years, Weston told reporters. It follows an ill-fated expansion into superstores that carried both food and general merchandise.

“I’m a Leaf fan. I’ve been a season ticket holder for over 30 years. I saw games here. This has great memories for me. I’m really happy they left a big historical site,” said Mike Seiden, who lives in Forest Hill but came down to see what the buzz was all about.

“I met Galen Weston. And his wife. I got a picture with him. He was signing autographs,” Seiden added. “He’s a great guy. I love him.”

Paula Firmino and Reg McLean, who live in Toronto’s Riverdale neighborhood, also stopped to congratulate Weston on the store and get their picture taken with him payday loan.

“After all the hype I wanted to see what it was really like. I love it. What they’ve done here is make it an experience to shop,” Firmino said.

“There was such a shortage of grocery stores downtown for many years. Now, with all the condos being built, it’s nice to have a place to walk to and shop, other than those tiny little places everywhere where everything is very expensive and you don’t get much of a selection,” McLean added.

Former city councilor Kyle Rae, who represented the area, said he was delighted with how the store had turned out. “The attention to detail is remarkable. For the community, it’s a real win, a great grocery store. For the rest of the city it’s going to be a destination to come and see what’s been done here.”

Former Toronto Maple Leafs hockey player Dickie Duff recalled how the Gardens was home to him for the 10 years he played with the Leafs in the 1950s and ‘60s.

“The Loblaw guys deserve a lot of credit. They’ve done a super nice job,” said Duff, who clinched the 1962 Stanley Cup for the Leafs when he scored the winning goal against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 6.

Some of the store’s features, such as its in-house executive chef and kitchen, will be unique to the Gardens location, said Jane Marshall, executive vice-president of Loblaw Properties division.

The kitchen serves the “Canteen,” which serves “prêt-a-manger” style fresh ready made sandwiches and salads.

The store features a sushi bar run by its subsidiary T&T Supermarkets, an Asian food chain.

The store serves a potential market of about 100,000 people, who live in the area, and another 25 to 30 per cent who work in the surrounding office towers and retail outlets, Marshall said.

It’s also the only downtown grocery store with parking, she noted. One of the biggest challenges of the renovation was digging under the building to add 154 underground parking spaces, she said.

At 82,000 square feet, the store is considered large by inner city standards though Loblaw operates bigger stores in suburban markets.

Source

The newspaper coverage was troubling: London’s huge international showcase was beset by planning problems, local opposition and labor woes _ and the transport was a mess.

It sounds like the 2012 Olympics, but this was the Great Exhibition of 1851 generating stories of late trains, unscrupulous landlords and dangerous overcrowding.

Coverage of the event is found in 4 million pages of newspapers from the 18th and 19th centuries being made available online Tuesday by the British Library, in what head of newspapers Ed King calls “a digital Aladdin’s Cave” for researchers.

The online archive is a partnership between the library and digital publishing firm Brightsolid, which has been scanning 8,000 pages a day from the library’s vast periodical archive for the past year and plans to digitize 40 million pages over the next decade.

A glance at the stories of crime and scandal shows some things haven’t changed _ including grumbling letter-writers complaining about disruption caused by the 1851 exhibition, held inside a specially built Crystal Palace in London’s Hyde Park.

“People were saying, ‘This isn’t good, I can’t ride my horse in Hyde Park,’” said King. One regional newspaper editor complained that the “celebrated p.m. fast train service to London” arrived two hours late and warned visitors “not to trust themselves to the tender mercies of the numerous private housekeepers” renting out rooms at exorbitant prices.

The library hopes the searchable online trove will be a major resource for academics and researchers. The vast majority of the British Library’s 750 million pages of newspapers _ the largest collection in the world _ are currently available only on microfilm or bound in bulky volumes at a newspaper archive in north London, where the yellowing journals cover 20 miles (32 kilometers) of shelves.

“We’ve got 200 years of newspapers locked away,” King said. “We’re trying to open it up to a wider audience.”

There will be a cost to download articles online, though they can be accessed for free at the library’s London reading rooms.

Most of the first batch of 4 million pages are from the 19th century, and include stories about huge international events, freak accidents and local crimes, as well as articles about Victorian celebrities such as Florence Nightingale, whose nursing of troops in the Crimean War made her famous.

There are stories of war and famine, crime and punishment, alongside birth and death notices, family announcements and advertisements for soap, cocoa, marmalade, miracle cures and treatments for baldness.

Crime columns provide a glimpse at rough 19th-century justice. Newspapers printed lists of people transported to Australia for stealing money, silver, cloth, hay and, in one case, “seven cups and five saucers.”

The archive includes national and regional newspapers from Britain and Ireland, as well as more specialized publications. The Cheltenham Looker-On reported on society, fashions and gossip in the genteel English spa town. The Poor Law Unions’ Gazette contained vivid accounts of workhouse life, and descriptions of inmates who had absconded.

King said the library hopes the archive will also help amateur genealogists find information about their ancestors.

Library staff have already highlighted a few links to the famous, including an 1852 appearance in insolvency court by Simon Cowell’s great-great-great grandfather, Michael Gashion, and a local newspaper item about the great-great grandfather of actress Kate Winslet, who was “embedded in a mass of bricks and timber” when a hotel facade fell on him in 1903.

Bob Satchwell of press trade group the Society of Editors welcomed the archive _ some good news for newspapers amid all the negative press from Britain’s ongoing phone hacking scandal.

He said the website “opens up a magical new window on a magnificent treasure trove of real history, recording the lives of ordinary people doing extraordinary things in vibrant communities, rather than merely the cold facts of politics and pestilence.”

Source