Newtown tragedy hits home for developers

PAX East is a celebration of gaming culture, but the aftermath of the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., last year is reverberating at this year's event.

Local developers Dan Higgins and Courtney Pinnell of Lunchtime Studios in Holliston are developing a poker adventure game called "Lords of New York" that takes place during the Prohibition Era, but they are also parents of an 8-year-old boy.

"For almost all people, shooting up a few things in a game actually works to vent frustration and doesn't turn them into mass shooters," Pinnell told the Herald. "Those few who are prone to violence would do it whether or not they play games. They used to say the same thing about Wile E. Coyote cartoons when I was growing up."

"In our game, we're doing the drama of the era without the graphic violence," Higgins added. "And my son's experience with video games has piqued more of an interest in learning about things than shooting them."

"We're an industry that loves research and welcome it," said Monty Sharma, managing director of the Massachusetts Digital Games Institute. "But as of now, no data showing a causal relationship between video gaming and violence has emerged."

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Agriculture disputes threaten new US-EU talks

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama used Washington's grandest stage — the State of the Union speech — to announce negotiations with Europe aimed at creating the world's largest free trade agreement. Just weeks later, there are signs that old agriculture disputes could be deal-killers.

European Union leaders don't want the negotiations to include discussions on their restrictions on genetically modified crops and other regulations that keep U.S. farm products out of Europe. But Obama says it's hard to imagine an agreement that doesn't address those issues. Powerful U.S. agricultural lobbies will do their best to make sure Congress rejects any pact that fails to address the restrictions.

"Any free trade agreement that doesn't cover agriculture is in trouble," said Cathleen Enright, executive vice president at the Biotechnology Industry Organization, which promotes biotechnology, including genetically modified products.

That would threaten the dream of a behemoth free trade deal between the world's two largest trading partners that together account for more than half of the world economy. It would lower tariffs and remove other trade barriers for most industries. Some analysts say the deal could boost each economy by more than a half-percentage point annually and significantly lower the cost of goods and services for consumers.

Agricultural issues have long bedeviled attempts to expand free trade across the Atlantic and have led each side to file complaints against the other before the World Trade Organization, an arbitrator in trade disputes. While the U.S. protests EU restrictions, Europeans want the U.S. to reduce agricultural subsidies.

Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, have been a core part of the dispute. Agricultural scientists change the genetic makeup of agricultural products to improve their quality and boost production. In Europe, there is widespread public opposition to GMOs. The EU argues that the risks of altering the genetic pool are unknown. It has strict rules and imposes a heavy burden of proof before such crops can be grown or imported in the EU.

U.S. companies say that genetically modified products have been proved safe by scientific studies and are being excluded based on irrational fears. They accuse Europe of trying to help their own farmers by keeping out American products.

While they have little expectation that the EU would end the restrictions, they say it would be a victory if it clarified what it describes as opaque rules and also set timelines for considering products. Regulators now take what they call a precautionary approach, declining approval of products until they can be more certain of their safety.

But any move to water down the regulations could provoke a backlash in Europe.

"My reading of the mood in Europe around genetically modified crops is that it's extremely negative," said Paul DeGrauwe, a professor of economics at the London School of Economics. "It's going to be very difficult."

Indeed, the top EU trade negotiator, Commissioner Karel De Gucht, seemed to rule out a compromise in remarks this month: "A future deal will not change the existing legislation. Let me repeat: no change."

The U.S. and the EU have similarly intractable disagreements on what the two sides call sanitary issues in meats. U.S. poultry products are restricted in the EU because U.S. companies use chlorine to sanitize the meat. Pork is also restricted because U.S. farmers use a feed additive that makes pigs leaner. The two sides partially resolved disputes over U.S. beef after an agreement that U.S. farmers would restrict hormones in cows intended for the European market.

Some European officials say the agricultural differences should be discussed after a major trade deal is completed. This month, French President Francois Hollande called for excluding sensitive issues, including the sanitary standards, from the talks. In the past, France has been among the most adamant of the European countries about protecting agricultural interests.

Obama, in a talk with his export council this month, suggested this could be a deal-breaker.

"There are certain countries whose agricultural sector is very strong, who tended to block at critical junctures the kinds of broad-based trade agreements that would make it a good deal for us," he said. "If one of the areas where we've got the greatest comparative advantage is cordoned off from an overall trade deal, it's very hard to get something going."

Powerful U.S. agricultural groups could probably block a trade deal from winning approval in Congress. In interviews, representatives of many of these groups said they would oppose a deal that didn't address the regulatory differences.

Robert Thompson, an academic at Johns Hopkins University and a former economist for the Agriculture Department, said that the agricultural issues could easily upend the talks.

"I'm not expecting an agreement to emerge any time soon," he said. "I'm thinking years."

Of course, the rhetoric at the beginning of talks might not preclude compromise in the end. In his talk with the export council, Obama expressed optimism. He noted that austerity measures in response to the debt crisis in the EU have caused European countries to look to a free trade deal as a rare opportunity to boost the economy and improve competitiveness.

"I think they are hungrier for a deal than they have been in the past," he said.

___

Melvin reported from Brussels.

___

Follow Desmond Butler on Twitter at http://twitter.com/desmondbutler

Follow Don Melvin on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Don_Melvin

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Troubled Calif. nuke plant seeks restart in summer

LOS ANGELES — As part of an effort to convince federal regulators that a nuclear reactor is safe to restart, the operator of the shuttered San Onofre nuclear power plant in California has disclosed it might push for a rewrite of the facility's operating rules.

Southern California Edison disclosed Friday it hopes the move could open the way for the Unit 2 reactor to be back in service by summer, when power demand typically soars in the region.

San Onofre has been shut down since January 2012, after a small radiation leak led to the discovery of unusual damage to hundreds of tubes that carry radioactive water.

Edison has been trying since October to convince the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that it's safe to run Unit 2 at no more than 70 percent power. Company engineers believe the reduced level will limit vibration and friction that can cause excessive wear to tubing.

The tentative proposal amounts to Edison's third attempt to answer a thorny question raised by the NRC: Is the plant that hasn't produced electricity in more than a year capable of running at full power?

In earlier filings, Edison argued that its 70 percent restart target was, in effect, full power. It later submitted another analysis showing the reactor could run at 100 percent power, but the research found the risk of a tube break could reach unacceptable levels after 11 months.

The new proposal could essentially eliminate the debate over the full power threshold.

It calls for capping the plant's power output at 70 percent in the plant's technical operating rules, rather than the now-required 100 percent. It also argues that running the reactor at 70 percent capacity would pose no significant safety risk.

The proposal, known as a license amendment, came as a surprise since Edison has long argued such a revision was unnecessary to restart the plant.

If approved by federal regulators, the move could offer a potentially quicker way to a restart.

"We want to do every responsible thing we can do to get Unit 2 up and running safely before the summer heat hits our region," SCE President Ron Litzinger said in a statement.

Anti-nuclear activists who have opposed the restart accused Edison of trying to circumvent a thorough NRC review of machinery with a history of trouble.

According to Edison documents, members of the public can request a hearing on the amendment, but if NRC staff finds there is no significant hazard, the hearing can be held after the amendment is approved.

"Edison is more focused on making profits than it is in assuring the safety of millions of Southern Californians living near these reactors," Damon Moglen of the advocacy group Friends of the Earth said in a statement.

Daniel Hirsch, a lecturer on nuclear policy at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a critic of the nuclear power industry, said Edison was trying to delay a substantive review until "long after it has already restarted."

"If it is subsequently determined it wasn't safe to do so, it would be way too late," Hirsch said in a statement.

NRC spokesman Victor Dricks said the agency had not received the proposal from Edison.

The problems at San Onofre focus on its steam generators, which were installed in a $670 million overhaul in 2009 and 2010.

Last year, federal regulators blamed heavy tube wear in the generators on a botched computer analysis that they said misjudged how water and steam would flow in the reactors, along with manufacturing problems.

The generators, which resemble massive steel fire hydrants, control heat in the reactors and operate somewhat like a car radiator. At San Onofre, each one stands 65 feet high and weighs 1.3 million pounds, with 9,727 U-shaped tubes inside that are each 0.75 inch in diameter.

Overall, NRC records show investigators found wear from friction and vibration in 15,000 places, in varying degrees, in 3,401 tubes inside the plant's four generators, two in each reactor.

The future of the heavily damaged Unit 3 reactor, where the radiation leak occurred after a tube break last year, is not clear. Edison has said that because of manufacturing differences, Unit 2's generators did not suffer the extent of deep tube wear witnessed in its sister.

Cracked and corroded generator tubing has vexed the nation's nuclear industry for years.

Decaying generator tubes helped push San Onofre's Unit 1 reactor into retirement in 1992, even though it was designed to run until 2004. The following year, the Trojan nuclear plant, near Portland, Ore., was shuttered because of microscopic cracks in steam generator tubes, cutting years off its expected lifespan.

San Onofre is owned by SCE, San Diego Gas & Electric and the city of Riverside.

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New England farmers look for creative ways to grow

DEERFIELD — Atlas Farm is growing more than just food — it is growing its business in ways that bring it more in touch with the everyday consumers it, and all New England farms, needs to survive.

Owner Gideon Porth, who has farmed 55 acres of land on the Connecticut River here since 2006, has bought 40 acres of cropland and a retail farm stand on Route 5 that he plans to open in May. The land and greenhouses on Route 5 will be vital, he said, since they are on the busiest road in his part of Franklin County, and because direct marketing is crucial not just for him, but for farmers all over New England.

"Our farm for the last five or six years has gotten more into wholesale production and sales," he said.

Wholesalers, those who buy produce and move it on to supermarkets, restaurants or to specialty retailers such as Whole Foods, have grown to about two-thirds of Porth's business, he said. Direct-to-consumer channels such as farm shares and farmers markets, as close as Northampton and as far away as Boston, are just a third of the business.

"But wholesale business is less stable," Porth said. "I feel like it is a lot less reliable in certain ways. You are competing in a global marketplace with fresh produce."

Global marketplace? In the organic vegetable business with its hippie ethos?

"Even in the organic world," Porth said. "There are big players in organics these days. If there is cheap organic lettuce coming out of California, we are subject to those pressures. And in California there are 5,000-acre lettuce farms."

He'll also bring the farm-share concept to the stand. Traditional farm shares allow people to pay upfront for a share of a farm's harvest. People get a box of vegetables every week or so.

The stand share will allow folks to pay up front for a selection of produce from the stand, Porth said.

That pressure to compete in a global marketplace with fresh, locally grown food is why more than 500 farmers and aspiring farmers from all six New England States gathered late last month in Sturbridge for the Harvest New England Agricultural Marketing Conference and Trade Show. Attendees ranged from farmers with hundreds of dairy cattle to a woman who raises vegetables on two vacant city lots in Providence, R.I.

It featured seminars and talks from people who have successfully marketed New England food both here and outside the region.

Massachusetts statistics show that there are 7,700 farms in the state. Most are small, averaging just 68 acres in size. Just 1,700 of those farms were big enough to require any hired labor. The total cash receipts from all 7,700 farms totaled $489 million in 2011.

Linda M. Paquette, of Hampden, bought a plot of land in two years ago. She calls it Scantic River Farm and hopes to grow herbs and vegetables. But so far most of her income comes from selling fresh eggs. A nurse by profession, she grew up in Springfield.

"I just always wanted to be a farmer," she said.

And there were plenty of vendors at the show willing to help out, ranging from Oesco, an orchard supply company in Conway with a selection of ladders and cider presses, to companies with seed trays. Then there was Jean McCarthy with North Woods Animal Treats of Keene, N.H., who was looking to wholesale doggy treats to farm store owners looking for impulse-buy items to stock near the cash register.

"All these people want to have retail operations," she said. "All these people might be looking for more things to sell at those retail operations. All the people who are interested in natural foods and would go to those farm retail operations might also be interested in natural pet treats. It is a natural fit."

The future of, and the possible undoing of, New England's farms is in the hands of those health-and-nature conscious customers, said Lorraine Stuart Merrill, commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food.

"There is a great opportunity today to get people to eat fresh, local foods," she said. "It is not a fad. Once a person starts, they never go back."

But all those local customers also pose a threat. They like to buy houses, houses that take up land.

"This drives our high cost of land," she said during a roundtable forum with heads of the agriculture departments from all six New England States. "It is very expensive."

Vermont Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Ross said direct marketing can also bring culture clashes. He reminded the crowd of farmers that Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vt., was faced with death threats last year after word got out on social media that the college was going to put down an aged working ox and serve the beast in the dining hall.

"This is the mentality you are dealing with," he said to the snickers of a knowing audience. "People think their food magically appears at the grocery store."

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Calif. farmers team up to convert beets to ethanol

FIVE POINTS, Calif. — In California's Central Valley, a once-dominant crop that has nearly disappeared from the state's farms is making a comeback: sugar beets.

But these beets won't be processed into sugar. A dozen farmers, supported by university experts and a $5 million state grant, are set to start construction on a Fresno County demonstration plant that will convert the beets into ethanol.

If the demo project succeeds, the farmers will build the nation's first commercial-scale bio-refinery in nearby Mendota to turn beets into biofuel. Europe already has more than a dozen such plants, but 95 of the ethanol in the U.S. is made from corn.

The farmers say the bio-refinery would bring jobs and investment to an area that's dealing with water pumping restrictions and overly salty soils.

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Take these jobs and love it

Patrick administration officials touted yesterday's jobs report, trumpeting that the state has returned to pre-recession employment levels, but the anemic 500 jobs created last month could be one indication that Massachusetts is not out of the woods yet, economists told the Herald.

Statistics for the Bay State show 18,900 jobs were created in January, compared to the 16,100 initially estimated.

Robert Nakosteen, a professor of economics and statistics at the UMass Amherst Isenberg School of Management, questioned the enormous gap between the January and February jobs numbers, which are gleaned from a survey of employers.

"If the numbers are accurate, it's a strange pattern," Nakosteen told the Herald. "It's certainly not part of any trend I can imagine."

There are now 3,318,500 people working in Massachusetts, compared to 3,304,300 in April 2008, when the recession took hold here, according to the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

Last month, the state unemployment rate ticked down to 6.5 percent from 6.7 percent in January. But initial estimates show that only 500 jobs were created in February, with five of 10 sectors losing jobs.

Both Nakosteen and Northeastern University economist Alan Clayton-Matthews said the Massachusetts economy has improved, but they forecast modest growth in the months ahead.

"I expect the state's economy to grow, but the growth to slow a bit because of the increase in the payroll tax and sequestration," Clayton-Matthews said, referring to the across-the-board cuts in federal spending that took effect this month.

Those cuts stand to have a greater impact here than in other states because Massachusetts receives a disproportionate amount of federal funding for research, health care and defense, Nakosteen said.

Frank Conte of the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University said the state should also be worried about the loss of 2,900 manufacturing jobs since February 2012.

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Walmart ad chops Stop & Shop

Walmart takes aim at competing local grocery stores in a new price-comparison advertising campaign, but a Somerville consumer advocate warns such ads are "inherently deceptive."

The Bentonville, Ark.-based retail giant specifically targets Quincy-based Stop & Shop, showing how a shopper saved 14 percent at its Walpole store on items that she had purchased at a Stop & Shop in the same town.

Walmart launched the price-comparison campaign more than a year ago in Charlotte, N.C., and now is shooting commercials in some 50 markets across the country.

"We've had a lot of positive customer feedback, and we think that reflects how much customers appreciate learning about the price differences that exist in their communities and where they can find the most affordable prices," spokesman Bill Wertz said.

In a TV commercial shot Tuesday in Walpole, shopper "Grey" from Wrentham, who was compensated for her appearance, saved a combined 14.3 percent, or $14.75, on 24 items, ranging from Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese (8 oz.: $2.28 at Walmart and $3.04 at Stop & Shop) to Tide Clean Breeze Laundry Detergent (100 oz., 64 loads: $11.97 at Walmart and $14.49 at Stop & Shop). Some items were duplicates, but all except four were cheaper at Walmart, whose comparison excluded non-identical items and random-weight meat and produce on Grey's original Stop & Shop receipt.

But Somerville consumer advocate Edgar Dworsky urges shoppers to "take such comparisons with a grain of salt," noting they generally don't include a big enough sample of random items to mimic the average consumer's shopping experience.

"Do your own comparison for the items you buy," said Dworsky, a former director of consumer education at the state Executive Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation and former state attorney general in consumer protection. "The best shopper is the 'specials' cherry picker. The one who buys the best sales items from a variety of stores is going to save the most. You cannot save the most just going to one store."

Walmart's campaign runs through Monday and includes print, radio, TV and online elements at www.walmart.com/boston.

A Stop & Shop spokeswoman said "we continually strive to bring our customers savings every day." The chain offers weekly specials, "Real Deals" items on sale for multiple weeks and a gas rewards program. It also recently has provided clip coupons in its circulars, according to spokeswoman Suzi Robinson.

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Judge: Aggregator of AP news can't have free ride

NEW YORK — A federal judge ordered an Internet news clipping service to stop reselling stories from The Associated Press, saying the ability of news organizations to perform an "essential function of democracy" was jeopardized when a company is allowed to "free ride" on the costly work of others.

Media observers say the ruling against Meltwater U.S. Holdings Inc. and its Meltwater News Service, if upheld on appeal, could provide strong protection for the news industry as it struggles to survive in an Internet age.

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote rejected Meltwater's claims that its use of Web stories drawn from a scan of 162,000 news websites from more than 190 countries was a fair use of copyright-protected material.

"Through its use of AP content and refusal to pay a licensing fee, Meltwater has obtained an unfair commercial advantage in the marketplace and directly harmed the creator of expressive content protected by the Copyright Act," Cote said.

She said in a ruling released to lawyers in the case Wednesday and to the public on Thursday that investigating and writing about newsworthy events worldwide was expensive, and copyright laws permits the AP to earn money to pay for it.

"Permitting Meltwater to take the fruit of AP's labor for its own profit, without compensating AP, injures AP's ability to perform this essential function of democracy," Cote wrote.

In a statement, Meltwater called the ruling "at odds with a variety of prior decisions that have paved the way for today's Internet," and said it would appeal.

The judge noted that commercial Internet news clipping services like Meltwater perform an important function for their customers, but that "does not outweigh the strong public interest in the enforcement of the copyright laws or justify allowing Meltwater to free ride on the costly news gathering and coverage work performed by other organizations. Moreover, permitting Meltwater to avoid paying licensing fees gives it an unwarranted advantage over its competitors who do pay licensing fees."

Meltwater is a 12-year-old electronic news clipping service that helps its clients monitor how they are covered in the press. In its lawsuit, the AP alleged that Meltwater News had been pilfering current and past material from the AP and other news providers without paying licensing fees.

George Freeman, a media law expert in private practice at Jenner & Bloch, called the ruling "one of the most solid and comprehensive that we've had in this very important field."

Richard Stim, a San Francisco attorney and author of "Getting Permission: How to License & Clear Copyrighted Materials Online & Off," said the ruling is special because most lawsuits against news aggregators get settled out of court.

"It gets a case out there that makes it easier to push people into licensing agreements," he said. "That's its ultimate business function. That's why everybody settles. They don't want a case out there that gives (content owners) the ammunition to say, 'Last time we did it, we won in court.' "

Even on appeal, the case will provide an important precedent, he said.

"The appeal may or may not go the same way," Stim added. "For people who follow these things, there'll finally be some judicial decisions."

Dwayne Buttler, an expert on copyright law and an endowed chair at the University of Louisville, said Cote's ruling was likely not the final word on the matter, since various appellate courts are in disagreement on the subject.

He also cautioned that works that are more factual than creative are given less protection by U.S. copyright law, which does not protect facts or ideas from copying.

"Newspapers are on the borderline of protectability," Buttler said.

The judge rejected Meltwater's claims that it operates like a search engine.

"Meltwater News is an expensive subscription service that markets itself as a news clipping service, not as a publicly available tool to improve access to content across the Internet," she said. "Instead of driving subscribers to third-party websites, Meltwater News acts as a substitute for news sites operated or licensed by AP."

Cote praised the operation of legitimate search engines.

"These interests are complementary. The Internet would be far poorer if it were bereft of the reporting done by news organizations and both are enhanced by the accessibility the Internet provides to news gathered and delivered by news organizations," Cote said.

She also defended the creativity necessary to write the first paragraph of a story, known as a "lede," saying Meltwater "misses the mark" when it argues that ledes are teasers and not summaries of news.

"If anything, the observation emphasizes the creativity and therefore protected expression involved with writing a lede and the skill required to tweak a reader's interest," Cote said.

Meltwater said it believes Cote misapplied the fair-use doctrine.

"Meltwater is especially troubled by the implications of this decision for other search engines and services that have long relied on the fair-use principles for which Meltwater is fighting," the company said.

Jorn Lyseggen, Meltwater's founder and chief executive, said the company was considering options and looked forward to appealing to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

AP CEO Gary Pruitt said the ruling was important for the AP and "others in the news business who work so hard to provide high-quality original news reports on which the public relies."

"For years, all of us have been hearing that if it is free on the Internet, it is free for the taking. The judge in this case just rejected that argument," he said.

Earlier this year, The New York Times, USA Today publisher Gannett Co. Inc., the McClatchy Co. and Advance Publications Inc. said in court papers that their businesses would be jeopardized if Meltwater was permitted to continue as it had.

The publishers said the ability of companies to distribute their content without paying licensing fees jeopardized their websites and other digital businesses that generate revenue through advertising, subscriptions and licensing fees.

One of Meltwater's competitors, BurrellesLuce, joined in a friend-of-the-court brief to say that it operates at a disadvantage because it pays to license content that Meltwater takes for free.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation and Public Knowledge supported Meltwater in a court brief.

Caroline H. Little, president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America in Arlington, Va., which joined an amicus brief on behalf of news companies, called the ruling a "monumental decision" that recognizes the value of newsgathering in society.

"The significant costs associated with global, national, regional and local newsgathering cannot be sustained if news organizations cannot protect the integrity of our publishing process," she said.

Meltwater was founded in 2001 in Oslo, Norway. According to the company's website, it has more than 800 employees working in 55 offices around the world.

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TripAdvisor buys Tiny Post for undisclosed sum

NEWTON  — TripAdvisor Inc. said Friday that it has acquired Tiny Post, an app that that allows users to write over photos and turn them into stories. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Tiny Post's operations will be based at TripAdvisor's Palo Alto, Calif. office.

Newton, Mass.-based TripAdvisor, which allows users to post reviews of airlines, hotels and vacation resorts on its websites, said Tiny Post's app is a great fit and shows the possibilities of combining travel photos with social media and mobile devices.

TripAdvisor shares finished at $51.75 on Thursday.

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‘World of Warcraft’ company announces new game at PAX East

Blizzard Entertainment, creators of the popular multiplayer online role-playing game "World of Warcraft," announced a new strategy card game called "HearthStone Heroes of Warcraft."

The game, which is set in the World of Warcraft universe, will be free to play online. Users will be able to buy and upgrade different card decks through micro-transactions, officials said.

The game, which was announced at the PAX East video gaming confab at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, will be released for the iPad and other Apple computers as well as for the Windows operating system, the company said.

Developing...

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Expo-sure is key for game makers at PAX

Thousands of gamers will be descending on the Seaport District tomorrow — many dressed as their favorite characters — as the highly anticipated PAX East extravaganza kicks off, offering a glimpse of the latest video games while giving independent developers unparalleled exposure and a chance to make it big in a rapidly changing $67 billion industry.

Nearly 80,000 people from around the world are expected to attend the three-day expo at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, making it the largest trade show in New England and the largest gaming industry event on the East Coast.

"The audience at PAX matters," said Monty Sharma of the Massachusetts Digital Games Institute, or MassDiGi. "When it comes to connecting with fans, PAX is really it. Indie developers — small guys — don't have large marketing budgets. So you get 80,000 people walking past your game, and that's a huge boost."

This year's PAX East comes at a time when the marketplace for video games has been expanding to include more women, but shifting away from big games for consoles such as Xbox and PlayStation and toward games for mobile devices including iPads and iPhones, MassDiGi execs noted.

The most high-profile indication of that shift was this week's departure of John Riccitiello as chief executive of Electronic Arts after the big console game producer's recent disappointing financial returns.

"Fifteen years ago, you couldn't play a game on your cellphone. There's a revolution that's been happening in the last five years in the industry with the rise of Facebook games and mobile," said Trevor Stricker, president of Boston-based developer Disco Pixel. Another major shift is toward digital distribution — meaning people can download games without going to a store.

In the past 18 months, Erik Asmussen, the founder of 82 Apps, a Cambridge-based independent developer, has launched three games, including "PWN: Combat Hacking," which was released March 14 and will be showcased at PAX.

"Games that cost $50 million to make means they're riskier," Asmussen said. "The advantage to being a small developer is I'm giving my own time, and I'm not incurring massive debt. It allows me to be a little more risky, a little more nimble. I can go to shows like PAX and talk directly to the audience and hear what they want."

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Device blocks cell use in cars

The West Bridgewater Police Department is touting a device they say can save lives by preventing people from texting, emailing or calling while driving.

Sgt. Tim Nixon said the department will describe the Cellcontrol Trigger to parents today at West Bridgewater High School's Safety Night and give away 10 of the devices as door prizes.

"When my kids are old enough to drive, they will be having something like this," Nixon said. "It takes the thought process out of the equation for the driver. The parent is the one who chooses the control options."

The Trigger works by plugging into a vehicle's on-board diagnostics port, which is located just under the steering wheel.

Once connected, the device automatically transmits information to the driver's mobile phone, deactivating such features as email, phone, text and the Internet the moment the vehicle begins to move.

The phone remains on, but the driver can't use it except to call 911 or a number the parent has put on an approved list.

The Trigger, which retails for $89, can also be used with tablets and laptops, and by companies with fleets of vehicles, said Chad Kennedy, senior vice president of engineering for Cellcontrol.

In 2011, 3,331 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver, compared to 3,267 in 2010, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Another 387,000 people were injured in such crashes in 2011.

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Managers have ball in their court

Some companies blame March Madness for distracting workers and sapping office productivity, but other firms say the college basketball tourney actually boosts morale and can be a team-building tool.

ZeroTurnaround, a Hub-based Java productivity tools maker, is among the companies that uses the tournament to boost competition between sales staff to generate new opportunities and deals.

"Our 'March Madness' is about hitting our March numbers, and if people are hitting their numbers, I don't care if they check ESPN," ZeroTurnaround President and COO Alex Laats told the Herald. "If you just recognize that it's on people's minds and if you can turn that around and turn it to your advantage, then you can boost productivity and have fun with it."

At Jumptap, employees rally around March Madness through group polls and viewing parties after work. Later this month, Jumptap's MobileSTAT, a monthly report that shows mobile audience trends, will include March Madness-themed data, said spokeswoman Christina Feeney: "For Jumptap as a business, it's absolutely a positive."

The hoops competition heats up today and tomorrow as 64 teams face off on the road to the national championship.

A recent Challenger, Gray & Christmas study found that the tournament's first two days of play will cost American companies at least $134 million in "lost wages" as an estimated 3 million employees will spend one to three hours following the basketball games instead of working.

Even President Obama took time out of his busy schedule to release his tourney picks. The commander-in-chief has Indiana beating Louisville to win the national championship.

But Katie Loehrke, an editor at J.J. Keller & Associates, said March Madness can give workers with little in common something to bond over.

"One of the things that can really influence morale in a positive way is employees who feel like they're trusted," she said. "If they're trusted to get their work done and still be able to flip over to ESPN.com for five minutes ... that can boost morale."

Hub-based online fantasy sports startup DraftKings has an internal bracket challenge going on among its 13 employees that's designed to help them generate better products and experiences for customers.

"There's no better way to know what a sports fan wants than to live it," said CEO Jason Robins.

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Average for US jobless claims at fresh 5-year low

WASHINGTON — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment aid barely changed last week, while the average over the past month fell to a fresh five-year low. The decline in layoffs is helping strengthen the job market.

Weekly unemployment benefit applications rose just 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 336,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Over the past four weeks, applications have dropped by 7,500 to 339,750. That's the lowest since February 2008, just three months into the recession.

Economists pay close attention to the four-week average because it can smooth out week to week fluctuations. The steady decline in unemployment claims signals that companies are laying off fewer workers. That suggests many aren't worried about economic conditions in the near future.

"Improvement in labor market conditions continues," Julia Coronado, an economist at BNP Paribas, said in a note to clients.

The four-week average has fallen nearly 15 percent since November. The trend has coincided with acceleration in the job market.

Employers have added an average of 200,000 jobs per month since November. That's nearly double the average from last spring.

And in February, the unemployment rate fell to a four-year low of 7.7 percent.

Jennifer Lee, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, said the drop in the average number of unemployment applications over the past month suggests job gains in March could top 200,000.

Nearly 5.4 million people were receiving unemployment aid as of the week ended March 2, the latest data available. That was about 250,000 fewer than the previous week. The data on total unemployment benefit recipients are not seasonally adjusted and is volatile.

The job market is benefiting from stronger auto sales and a healthy recovery in housing. Homebuilding permits jumped to their highest level in 4 ½ years in February, suggesting that recent strong gains in home construction will continue. New-home sales jumped 16 percent in January to the highest level since July 2008. Auto sales, meanwhile, rose in January and February after hitting a five-year high in 2012.

The housing and auto sectors are being helped by the Federal Reserve's efforts to keep interest rates low, policies the Fed stood by Wednesday after a two-day meeting.

The Fed reinforced its plan to keep short-term interest rates at record lows at least until unemployment falls to 6.5 percent, as long as the inflation outlook remains mild. And it said it would continue buying $85 billion a month in bonds indefinitely to keep long-term borrowing costs down.

During a news conference after the meeting, Chairman Ben Bernanke acknowledged the job market has accelerated but said the Fed wants to see sustained improvement before altering its stimulus policies. Unemployment benefit applications are one of the measures Bernanke said the Fed is closely monitoring.

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Massachusetts jobless rate drops to 6.5 percent in February

Only 500 jobs were created in Massachusetts in February, but a separate employment survey shows the jobless rate dropping from 6.7 percent to 6.5 percent for the month. The number of jobs created in January was revised upward to 18,900 from an earlier estimate of 16,100, helping to explain the rate drop.

That bump in jobs prompted the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development to say that Massachusetts has finally surpassed pre-recession employment levels.

Because of the revised numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the state says there are now 3,318,500 jobs in Massachusetts, compared to 3,304,300 in April 2008.

bizsmart@bostonherald.com

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GM recalls about 34K vehicles to fix transmissions

DETROIT — General Motors is recalling nearly 34,000 Buicks and Cadillacs in the U.S., Canada and elsewhere to fix a problem with the automatic transmissions.

The recall affects Buick LaCrosse full-size cars and Cadillac SRX crossover SUVs from the 2013 model year.

The company says a software problem can cause transmissions to unexpectedly shift into sport mode. That can override any slowing effect from the transmission, increasing the risk of a crash.

GM says no crashes or injuries have been reported.

GM will reprogram the transmission at no cost to the owners. The recall is expected to start March 28.

The Buicks were built from April 25, 2012 through March 6, 2013. The Cadillacs were built from May 29, 2012 through Feb. 18, 2013.

Most of the cars and SUVs, about 27,000, were sold in the U.S., with another 1,300 sold in Canada. The rest were sold in Mexico and exported to other parts of the world, GM said.

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Fed is expected to maintain stimulative programs

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve is expected to maintain its resolve to keep borrowing costs at record lows despite growing signs that the economy is strengthening.

The Fed will end a two-day meeting today with a policy statement and updated economic forecasts. Afterward, Chairman Ben Bernanke will hold a news conference.

Most analysts think policymakers will acknowledge the economy's improvements but leave the Fed's stimulative policies unchanged.

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American Realty makes $5.74B bid for Cole Credit

NEW YORK — American Realty Capital made a $5.74 billion cash-and-stock bid for Cole Credit Property Trust III on Wednesday after saying that it had not heard back from the fellow real estate investment fund about an earlier buyout offer.

American said that it was surprised there was no response when, earlier this month, Cole announced that it was acquiring external adviser Cole Holdings Corp. for $20 million in cash and approximately 10.7 million in stock.

The company said it hopes that constructive talks can be held and that Cole Credit will contact it promptly. But American Realty said that it is "prepared to consider all alternatives to complete this transaction."

The offices of Cole Credit Property in Arizona were not open at the time the offer was announced and officials there could not be reached for comment.

American Realty says the offer, which it values at $9 billion including debt, is a better deal for Cole, and that it would create the biggest publicly traded REIT in the net lease sector.

Right now, American Realty said that it will pay at least $12 per share for Cole Credit's stock. Cole Credit has 478 million outstanding shares. Cole Credit stockholders could choose cash or 0.80 shares of American Realty for each share they own.

It said, however, that it would reconsider its bid and possibly decrease the offer if Cole Credit goes through with plans to buy Cole Holdings.

American Realty, which invests mostly in retail and office properties, said it would fund the cash portion of the deal with cash on hand and borrowings under its existing credit line. It anticipates that the deal would result in annual general and administrative savings of at least $30 million.

Shares of American Realty Capital Properties Inc. gained 14 cents to $14.07 in premarket trading.

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Portugal debt sale unaffected by Cyprus crisis

LISBON, Portugal — Portugal has raised 1.5 billion euros ($1.94 billion) in a debt auction that saw the bailed-out country's longer-term interest rate fall, suggesting investor jitters about the financial fate of Cyprus are not contaminating other frail eurozone nations.

The government debt agency said it sold 1.2 billion euros in 18-month Treasury bills Wednesday at a rate of 1.506 percent, down from 1.963 percent in January.

It paid a yield of 0.757 percent to sell 300 million euros of 3-month Treasury bills, slightly up from 0.737 last month.

Portugal needed a 78 billion euro rescue in 2011 when, after a decade of low growth and mounting debts, it was engulfed by the eurozone's financial crisis.

Austerity measures contributed to a 3.2 percent economic contraction last year and record unemployment of 17.2 percent.

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New RBS Citizens group focuses on medical, dental practices

RBS Citizens said this week it has launched its HealthCare Practice Banking Group, a team of bankers focused entirely on meeting the financial needs of medical and dental practice groups in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Products and services to be offered by the new practice group include lines of credit and term loans for equipment purchases, practice acquisitions, startups, renovations and expansions; commercial mortgage financing; and WorldPay merchant credit card processing services with next-day funding.

RBS Citizens said it will also provide assistance in creating efficient cash management processes to improve the cash flow of a practice, including the ability to make deposits directly from a medical or dental office via the RBS Citizens E-Z Deposit service.

The new Healthcare Practice Banking Group is led by Lisa Enright, and also includes former Wells Fargo executive Kathleen Ells and Citizens Bank Business Banking Relationship Manager Rich Rougier.

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Lululemon pulls yoga pants _ too revealing

NEW YORK — Lululemon has yanked its popular black yoga pants from store shelves after it found that the sheer material used was revealing too much of its loyal customers.

The company insisted it had not changed the specifications for the clothing, but is warning of a shortage of the extraordinarily popular clothing items, which make up make up about 17 percent of all women's pants and crop pants in its stores.

Shares dropped more than 5 percent in morning trading Tuesday and one analyst that follows the company stripped it of its "buy" rating.

Sam Poser of Sterne, Agee & Leach advised clients to take a wait-and-see approach until the problem is resolved, downgraded the company's shares to "neutral."

There appears to be a "major quality control problem" in Asia where the "Luon" pants are made, Poser said. While Lululemon has used the same factories to make its fabrics since 2004, he said it doesn't seem as though the company has the proper oversight in place.

The Luon pants are one of the retailer's product staples and Cowen analyst Faye Landes said that if there is any comfort to be found, it is that Lululemon is not facing a demand problem. Lululemon has been a star for investors, as well as yoga devotees, with shares rocketing from less than $3 in 2009, to around $65 this year.

But the announcement comes just before the company posts earnings for the final quarter and full year on Thursday.

Lululemon Athletica Inc., based in Vancouver, British Columbia, cut its first-quarter revenue forecast as a result of its decision to withdraw the pants. The company now anticipates first-quarter revenue between $333 million and $343 million. Its prior guidance was for $350 million to $355 million. Analysts polled by FactSet expect revenue of $352.1 million.

It also lowered its first-quarter outlook for comparable store revenues, from 11 percent, to 5 percent and 8 percent.

Lululemon is offering full refunds or exchanges to customers.

Its shares dropped $3.41, or 5.2 percent, to $62.49 in late morning trading Tuesday.

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Court sides with student in case over textbooks

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that textbooks and other goods made and sold abroad can be re-sold online and in discount stores without violating U.S. copyright law.

In a 6-3 opinion, the court threw out a copyright infringement award to publisher John Wiley & Sons against Thai graduate student Supap Kirtsaeng, who used eBay to resell copies of the publisher's copyrighted books that his relatives first bought abroad at cut-rate prices.

Justice Stephen Breyer said in his opinion for the court that once goods are sold lawfully, whether in the U.S. or elsewhere, publishers and manufacturers lose the protection of U.S. copyright law.

"We hold that the 'first sale' doctrine applies to copies of a copyrighted work lawfully made abroad," Breyer said.

Had the court come out the other way, it would have crimped the sale of many goods sold online and in discount stores, and it would have complicated the tasks of museums and libraries that contain works produced outside the United States, Breyer said. Retailers told the court that more than $2.3 trillion worth of foreign goods were imported in 2011, and that many of these goods were bought after they were first sold abroad, he said.

In a dissent for herself and Justices Anthony Kennedy and Antonin Scalia, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the court was ignoring Congress' aim of protecting "copyright owners against the unauthorized importation of low-priced, foreign-made copies of their copyrighted works."

Justice Elena Kagan, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, said in a separate opinion that Congress is free to change the law if it thinks holders of copyrights need more protection. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas also were part of the court's majority.

Kirtsaeng sold $900,000 worth of books published abroad by Wiley and others and made about $100,000 in profit. The international editions of the textbooks were essentially the same as the more costly American editions. A jury in New York awarded Wiley $600,000 after deciding Kirtsaeng sold copies of eight Wiley textbooks without permission.

The high court wrestled with what protection the holder of a copyright has after a product made outside the United States is sold for the first time. In this case, the issue was whether U.S. copyright protection applies to items that are made abroad, purchased abroad and then resold in the U.S. without the permission of the manufacturer.

The court already has rejected copyright claims over U.S.-made items that were sold abroad and then brought back to the United States for resale.

The justices heard a similar case in 2010, but Kagan did not take part because she worked on it while serving in the Justice Department. The court divided 4-4 in that case, involving discount seller Costco and Swiss watch maker Omega.

The case handled Tuesday is Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, 11-697.

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Study: Therapy as good as surgery for knee repair

You might not want to rush into knee surgery. Physical therapy can be just as good for a common injury and at far less cost and risk, the most rigorous study to compare these treatments concludes.

Therapy didn't always help and some people wound up having surgery for the problem, called a torn meniscus. But those who stuck with therapy had improved as much six months and one year later as those who were given arthroscopic surgery right away, researchers found.

"Both are very good choices. It would be quite reasonable to try physical therapy first because the chances are quite good that you'll do quite well," said one study leader, Dr. Jeffrey Katz, a joint specialist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

He was to discuss the study Tuesday at an American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons conference in Chicago. Results were published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.

A meniscus is one of the crescent-shaped cartilage discs that cushion the knee. About one-third of people over 50 have a tear in one, and arthritis makes this more likely. Usually the tear doesn't cause symptoms but it can be painful.

When that happens, it's tough to tell if the pain is from the tear or the arthritis — or whether surgery is needed or will help. Nearly half a million knee surgeries for a torn meniscus are done each year in the U.S.

The new federally funded study compared surgery with a less drastic option. Researchers at seven major universities and orthopedic surgery centers around the U.S. assigned 351 people with arthritis and meniscus tears to get either surgery or physical therapy. The therapy was nine sessions on average plus exercises to do at home, which experts say is key to success.

After six months, both groups had similar rates of functional improvement. Pain scores also were similar.

Thirty percent of patients assigned to physical therapy wound up having surgery before the six months was up, often because they felt therapy wasn't helping them. Yet they ended up the same as those who got surgery right away, as well as the rest of the physical therapy group who stuck with it and avoided having an operation.

"There are patients who would like to get better in a 'fix me' approach" and surgery may be best for them, said Elena Losina, another study leader from Brigham and Women's Hospital.

However, an Australian preventive medicine expert contends that the study's results should change practice. Therapy "is a reasonable first strategy, with surgery reserved for the minority who don't have improvement," Rachelle Buchbinder of Monash University in Melbourne wrote in a commentary in the medical journal.

As it is now, "millions of people are being exposed to potential risks associated with a treatment that may or may not offer specific benefit, and the costs are substantial," she wrote.

Surgery costs about $5,000, compared with $1,000 to $2,000 for a typical course of physical therapy, Katz said.

One study participant — Bob O'Keefe, 68, of suburban Boston — was glad to avoid surgery for his meniscus injury three years ago.

"I felt better within two weeks" on physical therapy, he said. "My knee is virtually normal today" and he still does the recommended exercises several times a week.

Robert Dvorkin had both treatments for injuries on each knee several years apart. Dvorkin, 56, director of operations at the Coalition for the Homeless in New York City, had surgery followed by physical therapy for a tear in his right knee and said it was months before he felt no pain.

Then several years ago he hurt his left knee while exercising. "I had been doing some stretching and doing some push-ups and I just felt it go 'pop.'" he recalls. "I was limping, it was extremely painful."

An imaging test showed a less severe tear and a different surgeon recommended physical therapy. Dvorkin said it worked like a charm — he avoided surgery and recovered faster than from his first injury. The treatment involved two to three hour-long sessions a week, including strengthening exercises, balancing and massage. He said the sessions weren't that painful and his knee felt better after each one.

"Within a month I was healed," Dvorkin said. "I was completely back to normal."

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AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner in Chicago contributed to this report.

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Marilynn Marchione can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

Lindsey Tanner can be followed on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner

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US housing starts rise, permits at 4 ½-year high

WASHINGTON — U.S. builders started more houses and apartments in February and received building permits for future construction at the fastest pace in 4 ½ years. The increases point to a housing recovery that is gaining strength.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that builders broke ground on homes last month at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 917,000. That's up from 910,000 in January. And it's the second-fastest pace since June 2008, behind December's rate of 982,000.

Single-family home construction increased to an annual rate of 618,000, the most in 4 ½ years. Apartment construction also ticked up, to 285,000.

The gains are likely to grow even faster in the coming months. Building permits, a sign of future construction, increased 4.6 percent to 946,000. That was also the most since June 2008, just a few months into the Great Recession.

And the figures for January and December were also revised higher. Overall housing starts have risen 28 percent higher over the past 12 months.

Separately, a private report showed the number of Americans with equity in their homes increased last year. That suggests one of the biggest drags from the housing crisis is easing. It could also clear the way for more people to put homes on the market.

"The road ahead for housing is still, so far, looking promising," Jennifer Lee, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, said in a note to clients.

The pair of positive housing reports helped drive gains on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 24 points in morning trading. Homebuilder stocks jumped. Hovnanian Enterprises rose 4.2 percent to $6.24, while Lennar Corp. rose 0.4 percent to $41.74.

Housing starts jumped in the Northeast and Midwest, while they fell in the South and West. Permits rose in the South, West and Midwest, falling only in the Northeast.

The U.S. housing market is recovering after stagnating for roughly five years. Steady job gains and near-record-low mortgage rates have encouraged more people to buy.

In addition, more people are seeking their own homes after doubling up with friends and relatives in the recession. That's leading to greater demand for apartments and single-family homes to rent.

Still, the supply of available homes for sale remains low. That has helped push up home prices. They rose nearly 10 percent in January compared with 12 months earlier, according to CoreLogic, the biggest increase in nearly seven years.

Higher prices mean that more Americans have equity in their homes. Last year, about 1.7 million Americans went from owing more on their mortgages than their homes were worth to having some ownership stake, CoreLogic reported Tuesday. That benefits both home owners and the broader economy.

When homeowners have some equity stake, it makes it easier for them to sell or borrow against their homes. Still, 10.4 million households, or 21.5 percent of those with a mortgage, remain "under water," or owe more on their home than it is worth.

The number of previously occupied homes for sale has fallen to its lowest level in 13 years. And the pace of foreclosures, while still rising in some states, has slowed sharply on a national basis. That means fewer low-priced foreclosed homes are being dumped on the market.

Those trends, and the likelihood of further price gains, have led builders to step up construction. Last year, builders broke ground on the most homes in four years.

Homebuilders have become much more confident over the past year. But in March, a measure of home builder confidence fell for the second straight month over concerns that demand for new homes is exceeding supplies of land, building materials and workers. In the short term, that could slow sales.

Still, the survey noted that the outlook for sales over the next six months rose to its highest level in more than six years.

Though new homes represent only a fraction of the housing market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to statistics from the homebuilders.

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Cyprus seeks to shield small depositors from raid

NICOSIA, Cyprus — The Cypriot government sought Tuesday to shield small savers from a plan that is intended to raise €5.8 billion ($7.5 billion) toward a financial bailout by seizing money from bank accounts.

The plan, which is part of a larger bailout package being negotiated with other European countries, has been met with fury in Cyprus and has sent jitters across financial markets.

Banks in Cyprus will stay shut until Thursday to prevent a bank run before Parliament has backed the plan to seize a percentage of bank deposits. If the bill goes through some savers could still try to get their money out.

Just hours ahead of the expected debate and vote in the country's 56-member Parliament, officials sought to limit the impact on small savers. They also hinted that the country was looking to limit the amount it has to raise from the grab on deposits. The new plan would leave a shortfall in the amount Nicosia has been told it must raise.

About 300 protesters gathered outside parliament, which was cordoned off by police.

A vote in favor of the bank account confiscation is needed if Cyprus is to get €10 billion ($12.9 billion) in rescue loans from its euro partners and the International Monetary Fund. The money will be used to prop up its banks.

A new draft bill discussed in Parliament's finance committee proposed to spare all deposits below €20,000 ($25,900). Those between €20,000 and €100,000 ($129,290) would still have a 6.75 percent charge imposed, and those above €100,000 would have to give up 9.9 percent of their deposits, in line with the original plan put forward over the weekend.

In a sign of the scale of disagreement over the deposit charge, the country's central bank governor, Panicos Demetriades, recommended that no accounts below €100,000 be touched. That level represents the amount of savings that are supposed to be insured if a bank collapses.

"The credibility of, and trust in the banking sector depends on this," said Demetriades, who conceded that he expects at least 10 percent of deposits to be withdrawn when the banks eventually re-open.

Failure to pass the bill could mean no bailout money from the eurozone and IMF and lead to Cyprus's bankruptcy, which could reignite concerns in financial markets over the single currency's future. That would likely put deposits in the country's banks under even more threat.

Although Cyprus is the smallest eurozone country to be bailed out, the details of the plan sent shockwaves through the single currency area as it was the first time savers' banks accounts have been directly targeted. Other bailed out countries such as Greece, Ireland and Portugal have raised funds by imposing new taxes.

Proponents of the deposit seizure argue that this way gets foreigners who have taken advantage of Cyprus's low-tax regime to share the cost of the bailout of the banks, which have been hit hard by their over-exposure to bad Greek debt.

About a third of all deposits in Cypriot banks are believed to be held by Russians.

Finance Minister Michalis Sarris was flying to Moscow Tuesday afternoon to meet with his Russian counterpart. Andreas Charalambous, a senior official at the ministry, said the aim is to extend repayment of a €2.5 billion loan Russia granted Cyprus in late 2011 when the country could no longer borrow from international markets.

But he admitted there was a bigger ambition than just an extension of the loan and that Cyprus is looking for "potential interest for further investment in the country."

Opponents say a blanket charge on people's bank accounts will hurt ordinary Cypriots more, and could shake the confidence of all in the country's banking sector. And by going after deposits, European policymakers have set a precedent that could be repeated in the future. The worry of bank runs across Europe lies at the heart of market concerns.

Charalambous said Cypriot authorities believe depositors should be protected, but that a wholesale exemption for those below €100,000 would mean a "disproportionate" burden on large savers, and a "very detrimental" knock-on effect on economic growth.

"Because of the size of the estimated (bailout) needs, the burden on those above €100,000 would be such that it would again impact small people because it would destroy the ability of the country to attract foreign investment," Charalambous said.

In a Monday night teleconference, eurozone finance ministers concluded that small depositors should not be hit as hard as others. They said Cyprus should stagger the seizures more, but insisted that the overall take should stay the same.

President Nicos Anastasiades, who was elected less than a month ago, told German Chancellor Angela Merkel Monday night that "the possibility of reducing the requirements from self-raised funds is being explored," a Cypriot government spokesman said.

The two leaders were expected to speak again on Tuesday, he added.

Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund which is participating in Cyprus's bailout, said in Frankfurt that the IMF was "extremely supportive of the Cypriot authorities' intentions to introduce more progressive rates in the one-off tax."

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Suntech announces default, search for financing

BEIJING — Suntech, one of the world's biggest solar panel manufacturers, said Monday it has defaulted on a $541 million bond payment in the latest sign of the financial squeeze on the struggling global solar industry.

Suntech Power Holdings Ltd.'s announcement was a severe setback for a company lauded by China's Communist government as a leader of efforts to make the country a center of the renewable energy industry. Its founder, Shi Zhengrong, became one of the industry's most prominent entrepreneurs and a billionaire, only to see most of his fortune evaporate as the company's share price plummeted.

The company is "exploring strategic alternatives with lenders and potential investors," David King, who replaced Shi as a CEO last year, said in a statement.

Suntech was due to make a $541 million bond payment on Friday but ran short of cash following heavy losses over the past year.

The company said it reached agreement with holders of 60 percent of the bonds to postpone payment but Monday's announcement said the bonds' trustee had declared a default. It said that triggered defaults on other debts to the International Finance Corp. and Chinese lenders.

"It is currently a very difficult time for our company and our industry, but the management and board of Suntech are committed to finding a way forward that will take into account the rights and interests of all of its constituents, including shareholders, note holders, lenders, customers, suppliers and employees," King said.

A sharp drop in solar panel prices over the last several years has erased the profits of solar panel makers around the world.

Suntech has also been hurt by a revelation in July that a business partner faked $680 million in collateral for a loan Suntech had guaranteed.

Suntech's U.S. shares tumbled in the days leading up to the debt deadline as fears rose that the company could be forced into bankruptcy. The stock, down nearly 80 percent in the past 12 months, dipped another 2 cents to 68 cents in morning trading Monday.

Suntech said it is negotiating with note holders and other lenders in hopes of reaching a deal to restructure its debt. About 60 percent of the note holders agreed last week not to exercise their rights under the notes until May 15.

The company said it is unaware of any legal proceedings taken against it by any of its note holders.

China's solar producers have been battered by a glut of supply in the market brought on by their own government's efforts to promote the industry.

Lured by tax breaks and subsidies, hundreds of small Chinese producers piled into the industry and new arrivals were springing up as late as 2011, when weak demand and a supply glut forced producers to slash prices.

Other major Chinese producers including Yingli Green Energy Ltd., LDK Solar Co. and Trina Solar Ltd. have reported heavy losses. That has prompted expectations that the government will intervene and force companies to merge or shut down.

Prices of polysilicon wafers used to make solar cells plunged by 73 percent from 2010 to last year. The price of cells fell by 68 percent and that of modules by 57 percent.

Major manufacturers amassed debts of $17.5 billion, according to Maxim Group, a research firm in New York City.

Deep-pocketed Korean conglomerates are moving into the solar industry, adding still more competition.

Chinese producers also have been hit with U.S. anti-dumping tariffs imposed to offset what Washington says are improper subsidies from Beijing. European solar producers also have filed anti-dumping complaints, with the European Union asking for higher tariffs on Chinese imports.

Shi has publicly criticized the tariffs, saying Suntech receives no improper government support.

Last week, Suntech announced the closure of its U.S. factory in Goodyear, Arizona, and the elimination of 43 jobs.

Forbes magazine estimated Shi's fortune at $2.9 billion at its peak in 2008. It said last year that it had tumbled to about $500 million as Suntech's share price plunged.

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Associated Press Business Writer Bree Fowler in New York contributed to this report.

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Russian money in Cyprus hit by savings seizure

MOSCOW — Cyprus has for decades been a favorite place for Russian businessmen to place their savings and for corrupt Russian officials to stash ill-gotten gains. Like all deposits in Cyprus, that money is expected to be taxed as part of a bailout deal that Cyprus is receiving from its fellow members in the eurozone.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday criticized the decision as "unjust, unprofessional and dangerous," according to his spokesman. Here's a glance at why Russians keep so much money in Cypriot banks and how Russia can be affected by the island nation's crisis.

HOW MUCH MONEY DO RUSSIANS KEEP IN CYPRUS?

Russians keep about $19 billion in deposits in Cyprus, mainly through companies they set up there, according to the Moody's ratings agency. Russian banks also had around $12 billion placed with Cypriot banks at the end of last year and have loaned about $40 billion to Cypriot companies of Russian origin.

WHY DO RUSSIANS KEEP SO MUCH MONEY IN CYPRUS?

Russia boasts some of the world's lowest income and corporate taxes — both flat at 13 percent. But over the past two decades, Russian businessmen have preferred to place their savings in offshore, partly to escape political uncertainty and corruption in Russia. Cyprus offers a 10 percent corporate tax rate and relatively stable political situation.

Cyprus is also believed to be a top destination for money-laundering. It is much safer for a corrupt Russian official to keep proceeds from illegal activities abroad, hiding information about their fortunes and holdings away from the prying eyes of Russian banking regulators.

Russian officials estimated that about $49 billion, which is equivalent to 2.5 percent of Russia's gross domestic product, was wired to foreign accounts illegally last year. Sergei Ignatyev, outgoing chief of the Russian Central Bank, has said that these transfers might be linked to drug trafficking and corruption activities.

DO ORDINARY RUSSIANS KEEP MONEY IN CYPRUS?

No, middle-class Russians mainly keep their savings and investments at home.

HOW COULD DEVELOPMENTS IN CYPRUS AFFECT RUSSIA'S ECONOMY?

Tens of billions of dollars have left Russia in recent years, mainly because businessmen are anxious about Russia's politics and corruption, analysts say. Russian officials, however, do not expect troubles in Cyprus to bring the money back home. Deputy Economic Minister Andrei Klepach said Monday that he does not think that developments in Cyprus will affect capital flows in either direction.

More than $56 billion was transferred from Russia to other countries last year.

WHAT ARE THE DANGERS FOR RUSSIAN BANKS?

Russian banks have given loans worth about $40 billion to Cyprus-based companies of Russian origin, according to Moody's. If investors start pulling big sums of money out of Cyprus, the government there could freeze capital flows. That would block loan repayments to the Russian banks.

Ivan Tchakarov, chief economist at the Moscow-based Renaissance Capital investment bank, said in a morning note to investors that if Cyprus were to impose capital controls, "Russian banks could face significant losses amounting to almost 2 percent of the GDP."

CAN RUSSIA HELP BAIL CYPRUS OUT?

Russia has loaned Cyprus money before. The island nation is now anxious to delay payments for a 2011 loan of €2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) it received from Moscow.

Cyprus is also seeking a new €2 billion loan from Russia. Putin has said Russia would be willing to help Cyprus once a European rescue package is in place, but many senior cabinet ministers have spoken strongly against lending money to Cyprus.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, who is expected to host his Cypriot counterpart on Wednesday for loan talks, said last week that Russia may in exchange ask Cyprus for information on the Cypriot companies registered by Russians.

Siluanov on Monday complained that Russia had not been informed of the decision to levy a tax on deposits despite an agreement for Russia and the EU to coordinate their efforts. Siluanov said that the ministry will have to reconsider whether to provide Cyprus with financial aid "in the light of the new situation."

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Mass. gas prices down another 4 cents

Mass. gas prices down another 4 cents

BOSTON — Massachusetts gas prices are down another four cents, and have now dropped seven cents per gallon in the past month.

AAA Southern New England reports Monday that the average cost of a gallon of self-serve, regular has fallen to $3.65 in the past week.

The current price is three cents below the national average and eight cents less than the local price at the same time a year ago.

AAA found self-serve, regular selling for as low as $3.51 per gallon and as high as $3.89.

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Defense starts for companies in Gulf spill trial

NEW ORLEANS — The owner of the drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 has started to present its defense at a trial designed to determine the causes of the deadly disaster and assign fault to the companies involved.

Transocean Ltd. called its first witness Monday on the 13th day of the trial.

A federal judge already has heard testimony by more than a dozen witnesses called by the Justice Department and attorneys for Gulf Coast businesses and residents who claim the spill cost them money.

The plaintiffs' lawyers still expect to call another witness to the stand this week, an employee of cement contractor Halliburton.

Halliburton and Macondo well owner BP PLC also will call their own witnesses after Transocean finishes presenting its case.

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US builder confidence falls on weak supply, labor

Confidence among U.S. homebuilders fell this month because of concerns that increased demand for new homes is exceeding supplies of ready-to-build land, building materials and workers.

In the short term, those constraints could slow sales. But builders' outlook for sales over the next six months has reached its strongest point in more than six years.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Monday fell to 44 from 46 in February. It was the second decline since January, which was preceded by eight straight monthly gains. A measure of current sales conditions declined from February's reading.

Readings below 50 suggest negative sentiment about the housing market. The last time the index was at 50 or higher was in April 2006.

The index began trending higher in October 2011, when it was 17. That increase coincided with the start of a housing recovery.

An improving job market, persistently low mortgage rates and rising home values have helped fuel U.S. homes over the past year. New-home sales jumped 16 percent in January to the highest level since July 2008.

The combination of heightened demand and a tight supply of previously occupied homes for sale have motivated builders to ramp up construction. Builders started work on the most homes last year since 2008.

Despite the positive sales trends, many builders are facing higher costs for building materials and competition for land cleared for development. Some also are having trouble obtaining financing to buy land and cover construction costs.

Meanwhile, builders large and small have reported that a shortage of workers in markets where residential construction has picked up sharply, such as Texas and Arizona.

While U.S. residential construction jobs increased 3.1 percent in February from a year earlier, they remain about 40 percent below the peak reached during the housing boom.

Many construction workers — from roofers and drywall installers, to framers and carpenters — appear to have fled to other fields, such as the booming oil and natural gas industry.

"The road to a housing recovery will be a bumpy one until these issues are addressed, but in the meantime, builders are much more optimistic today than they were at this time last year," said David Crowe, the NAHB's chief economist.

The latest builder confidence index, based on responses from 341 builders, comes as the critical spring home-selling season is under way.

A gauge of current sales conditions fell four points to 47, but a measure of traffic by prospective buyers improved three points to 35, while builders' outlook for sales in the next six months improved one point to 51, the highest level since June 2006.

Though new homes represent only a fraction of the housing market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to NAHB statistics.

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Rowling to UK govt: Don't let down hacking victims

LONDON — Celebrities like J.K. Rowling and Hugh Grant accused the British government on Sunday of letting down the victims of media intrusion and urged tough new measures to rein in Britain's unruly press.

Lawmakers are to vote Monday on rival plans for tougher controls in the wake of the country's phone-hacking scandal.

The Conservative-led government says it will propose a new press watchdog with the power to levy fines of up to 1 million pounds ($1.5 million). But hacking victims say the regulator must be backed by a new law to give it real teeth — something Prime Minister David Cameron opposes.

"Harry Potter" author Rowling — who testified previously to a media ethics inquiry about the impact of intrusive media upon her family — said she and other victims felt they "have been hung out to dry" by the government.

Grant, who won damages for phone hacking by Rupert Murdoch's now-defunct News of the World tabloid, said hacking victims supported a rival plan by the Liberal Democrats and the Labour party for stronger media measures. The actor said lawmakers "promised victims to do right by them, and they have that chance on Monday."

Debate about how to control the press has raged in Britain since revelations in 2011 that tabloid journalists had eavesdropped on voicemails, bribed officials for information and hacked into computers in a relentless quest for scoops.

The scandal has brought the demise of one newspaper — Murdoch's News of the World — along with dozens of arrests and resignations, scores of lawsuits against Murdoch's media empire and a public inquiry into media ethics.

That inquiry, led by Lord Justice Brian Leveson, last year recommended the creation of a strong press watchdog body dominated by non-journalists and backed by government regulation.

But negotiations between Cameron's Conservatives and others over how to implement those recommendations have stalled amid an increasingly acrimonious debate. Politicians are divided about whether a new press watchdog should be set up through legislation — as recommended by Leveson — or through a Royal Charter, an executive act that does not require a vote in Parliament.

Proponents say passing a law will put the watchdog on a firmer footing and give it more power to discipline rogue newspapers. Opponents believe that passing a media law would endanger the country's free press.

In fact, the proposals aren't all that different. A new law would set up an independent press watchdog, not control the media directly. And the regulator would only have the power to impose fines or demand published apologies from newspapers — not to stop articles being published.

But the language of the debate has been fierce, with opponents fearing the demise of Britain's free press and advocates seeing a bullying media riding roughshod over people's rights.

"The idea of a law — a great, big, all-singing, all-dancing media law ... would have been bad for press freedom, bad for individual freedom," Cameron said.

Rowling accused the prime minister of letting down hacking victims by ignoring Leveson's proposals.

"I believed David Cameron when he said that he would implement Leveson's recommendations 'unless they were bonkers,'" she said. "I did not see how he could back away, with honor, from words so bold and unequivocal.

"Well, he has backed away, and I am one among many who feel they have been hung out to dry."

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Cyprus parliament delays vote on bank deposits tax

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus' parliament on Sunday postponed a debate and vote on a controversial levy on all bank deposits that the cash-strapped country's creditors had demanded in exchange for €10 billion ($13 billion) in rescue money.

The vote, which had been expected later Sunday, has been pushed back to Monday afternoon, parliamentary official Antonis Koutalianos said.

The announcement set off an immediate scramble among top European officials, with reports that the European Central Bank was pressuring Cypriot authorities to hold the vote without delay.

The stakes are high for the tiny island nation of one million people, because a rejection of the levy by lawmakers could push Cyprus into bankruptcy and possibly out of the common euro currency. Officials also fear a massive run Tuesday on Cypriot banks — after a national holiday on Monday — no matter which way the voting goes.

The state-run Cyprus News Agency said President Nicos Anastasiades had personally requested the postponement, but no reason was given.

The decision by Cyprus' 16 eurozone partners and the International Monetary Fund to impose a one-time tax of 6.75 percent on all deposits under €100,000 ($131,000) and 9.9 percent over that amount has enraged Cypriot politicians, who have condemned it as unfair and disastrous. That brings into sharp doubt its approval in the 56-seat parliament.

It marks the first time that the IMF and the 17 eurozone nations have dipped into people's savings to finance a bailout, a move that analysts worry may roil international markets and jeopardize Europe's fragile economy.

"There are two choices, voting in favor which allows the country to avoid a disorderly bankruptcy, or rejection, which will have us face a disorderly bankruptcy with all that that entails," said Averof Neophytou, deputy chief of the ruling Democratic Rally party.

It's not only Cypriot depositors who will take a hit but foreign nationals as well, including many Russians who are estimated to have some €20 billion ($26.2 billion) sitting in Cypriot banks.

At their peak, Cypriot banks had assets totaling eight times the country's €17.5 billion economy. Those numbers have prompted accusations from some European countries, primarily Germany, that Cypriot banks serve as money laundries for dirty Russian cash.

"It's a lose-lose situation. There will be a huge deposit withdrawal from Cypriot banks with or without a (levy)," said Cyprus Greens lawmakers Giorgos Perdikis. "We should have the courage to make the right decisions that will restore the public's confidence which was drastically shaken."

To counterbalance their cash loss, depositors will receive Cypriot bank bonds. Neophytou said there are efforts to back up those bonds — which have little value now — with Cyprus' newfound offshore gas reserves, although extraction is still several years away.

"Now the faith in Cyprus as a place where it is convenient to keep one's money will be undermined,"  Anatoly Aksakov, president of the Association of Regional Banks of Russia, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

Aksakov also suggested some of the Russian money now deposited in Cypriot banks will move back to Russia.

Meanwhile, Britain's Treasury chief said the government will compensate about 3,500 U.K. troops who will lose money to Cyprus's bailout tax.

British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said Sunday the government would compensate troops and civil servants. But those among the 59,000 British residents of Cyprus who not working for the U.K. military or the government could still be out of pocket.

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AP Writer James Heintz in Moscow contributed.

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Yukon Denali’s tires just won’t stop leaking air

The tires on my 2007 Yukon Denali keep losing air. The dealer said it is most likely because the rims are rusted. They recommend buying new rims or, for a temporary fix, resealing the rims, which would cost approximately $300. Do you think it's really necessary to buy new rims?

Slow loss of air from alloy or steel rims that have had several sets of tires mounted on them is not uncommon. Residue from previous tires along with road dirt and debris can prevent the new tire from seating. Trapped moisture can lead to corrosion. But before spending big bucks for new rims, have the tire from one of the leaking rims dismounted for a careful inspection of the "bead" seating areas on the rim. Unless the corrosion is severe, the rim can be sanded to clean and remove corrosion and sealed to stop air loss. If the rims cannot be saved, it might be possible to find a used set in a salvage yard at a reasonable price.

• • •

I have a pristine 2001 Cadillac DeVille DHS with 96,000 miles. I took it to my Cadillac dealer, because the "Service Engine Soon" light was on. I was told that it could be a sticking torque converter clutch solenoid and would require a transmission rebuild for $4,000. I was also told that the transmission won't go into overdrive with the bad solenoid. At 65 miles per hour, the engine runs at 2,000 rpm. Does this indicate it's not going into overdrive? I believe I'm seeing three shifts when accelerating. And if the solenoid does need replacing, does that require an entire transmission rebuild for $4,000?

There are a number of possible causes for this problem, including low, contaminated or overheating transmission fluid, a sticking TCC solenoid or a stuck-closed TCC control, regulator or feed valve.

A scan tool can record the "freeze frame" data and failure records, then clear the fault code. During a test drive, the scan tool can command the TCC solenoid "on" and monitor the slippage rate for the torque converter clutch. If the slippage is slightly above designated limits, fluid contamination or a stuck valve might be the cause. But if the converter slippage rate is high, the solenoid may be stuck in the "off" position.

All of this points toward a torque converter, solenoid or electronic problem, not necessarily a failing transmission. I'd start with a careful check of fluid level and condition.

And, yes, the higher rpm at road speed indicates no TCC engagement or overdrive.

• • •

We have a 2007 Ford Five Hundred with just over 60,000 miles that we bought new. I have noticed that the hood paint is chipping on the very front edge or lip. Dealers told us that unless there is rust or corrosion there was nothing they would do. The hood is made of what looks like galvanized metal so it can't rust. My wife contacted Ford to no avail.

First of all, galvanized metal can rust. The galvanization process involves applying a coating of zinc to protect the metal for a number of years. Most corrosion warranties from carmakers offer protection for rust that occurs from inside out, meaning the corrosion originates on the base metal and ultimately bubbles the paint.

Typically, rust on the front edge of a hood is caused by abrasion and tiny chips in the paint from road debris allowing moisture under the paint.

The solution is to have the rust properly removed, the metal repaired and the hood repainted. Transparent anti-chip film or a front end "bra" or cover can protect this area from future damage.

Paul Brand, author of "How to Repair Your Car," is an automotive troubleshooter, driving instructor and former race-car driver. Readers may write to him at: Star Tribune, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn., 55488 or via email at paulbrandstartribune.com. Please explain the problem in detail and include a daytime phone number. Because of the volume of mail, we cannot provide personal replies.

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Home run: For many, value of house is going up

WASHINGTON — Home equity is back! And it's growing fast: According to the latest data from the Federal Reserve, Americans' net 
equity holdings in their houses jumped by nearly half a trillion dollars during the last three months of 2012, and have increased by $1.7 trillion since the spring of 2011.

What does this mean to you? Depending on where you own your home, it could mean that finally the market value of your property has risen enough to put you into positive equity territory. Or closer to break-even equity than you assumed. Zillow Real Estate Research estimates that nearly 2 million American owners exited negative equity status during 2012 alone.

It also could mean that should you wish to sell your house, you're now in a better position to do so. And if your home is located in one of dozens of local markets that are experiencing severe shortages of listings for sale combined with strong demand from buyers, this spring could bring you a higher price than at any time in the past seven years.

Here's what the Fed found in its "flow of funds" study released March 7:

• Thanks to recovering housing values, total home equity is now at its highest level — about $8.2 trillion — since the bust and gaining rapidly. From January 2012 through December, it rose by a stunning $1.2 trillion.

• Outstanding mortgage debts continued to fall as owners paid down their balances and refinanced into smaller loans, taking advantage of unprecedented low mortgage rates. Foreclosures and principal forgiveness by lenders also have helped whittle away mortgage debt. Americans now owe about $1 trillion less on their homes than they did in 2008.

Jed Kolko, chief economist for Trulia.com, an online real estate research and information company, said growing home equity has three key effects. First, owners feel wealthier and are more likely to spend some of that perceived wealth — even if it's in the form of real estate 
equity — on goods and services. Second, higher equity stakes reduce the likelihood of mortgage defaults. People have a deeper financial stake in their properties and are less willing to risk loss through foreclosure.

Fewer delinquencies, in turn, Kolko said in an interview, "mean less stress on the financial system," thereby reducing the probability of another banking crisis a la 2008-2009. Finally, by encouraging owners to consider selling, growing equity holdings allow the real estate market to work better, with more transactions, more mobility for families, more new construction, more jobs and so on.

Doug Duncan, chief economist for mortgage investor Fannie Mae, said the recent jump in equity holdings "puts us back on track toward where we were prior to the crisis," and represents a "transition to normal" conditions in the housing market. Though there are local markets where last year's double-digit price gains look bubbly and unsustainable to Duncan — notably in some of the inland cities of California — the increases in values elsewhere tend to be more modest and solid, simply making up for the declines experienced in the latter half of the past decade.

One major market does concern him, however: Washington, D.C., and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs. Though D.C. has seen significant year-to-year gains in prices recently, Duncan said prices could "flatten out" if the federal budget sequestration and cutbacks in government jobs and defense spending continue.

Despite the impressive increases in equity reported by the Fed, there's a sobering flip side: There are still millions of owners — nearly 14 million according to Zillow — who remain in negative equity positions. They are often the folks who purchased at the wrong time — near the peak of their local markets from late 2005 through 2006 — or used mortgages that required little or no down payment to buy bigger houses than they could afford.

In Miami and Phoenix, roughly 40 percent of owners have mortgage debt in excess of property value. In Tampa it's 41.5 percent; Chicago, 37 percent; Seattle, 33.5 percent; Columbus, Ohio, 29 percent; San Diego and Washington, D.C., about 28 percent; and Los Angeles, 24 percent.

The bittersweet news from the Fed for most of these owners: The odds are good that you are not as deep in negative territory today as you were 12 months ago.

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MGM says Springfield casino plan to begin review

SPRINGFIELD — MGM Resorts International says it's ready to begin an environmental review for its proposed casino in Springfield.

As required by state law, MGM must send copies of its environmental notification form to communities that may be affected by possible environmental impacts. The Republican reports  that Agawam, Chicopee, East Longmeadow, Longmeadow, Ludlow, West Springfield and Wilbraham will be notified.

The proposed $800 million MGM Springfield in the city's South End falls will compete with Penn National Gaming, which is proposing a casino in Springfield's North End neighborhood.

Connecticut-based Mohegan Sun wants to build a luxury hotel, resort and gambling facility on 152 acres in Palmer.

Three casino licenses are being granted in Massachusetts, one each for three geographic regions.

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Information from: The Springfield (Mass.) Republican

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