The Ticker

Judge: Apple to modify e-book contracts

Looking to force Apple to obey antitrust laws, a judge yesterday ordered the technology giant to modify contracts with publishers to prevent electronic book price-fixing and said she will appoint an external compliance monitor to review the company's antitrust policies and training.

Stocks finish flat as traders mull weak jobs data, Syria tensions

The stock market ended flat yesterday as traders hoped for more economic stimulus from the Federal Reserve, and worried about escalating tensions between the U.S. and Syria.

Stocks opened slightly higher but soon fell after Russian media reported that Navy ships were en route to Syria, raising worries of a wider conflict and sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunging by as much as 148 points in the first half-hour of trading. The Dow rose as high as 15,009 and dropped as low as 14,789 — a 220-point range.

Vegas newspaper buyout bid a go

The corporate owners of the Las Vegas Review-Journal cleared one hurdle yesterday in a bid to buy out the family publishers of their crosstown rival and end a joint operating agreement with the Las Vegas Sun.

U.S. District Judge James Mahan decided it was too early to block Stephens Media from trying to buy Sun newspaper and Internet interests from four Greenspun family member trustees.

Ticketmaster revises sales process

Fans of popular artists or sports teams are painfully aware how difficult it is to find good seats to live events at affordable prices. With a new ticket resale system, Ticketmaster is trying to show you what seats are available in one place — both unsold ones and those up for resale — so you can price-shop more easily.

The nation's largest ticket-seller quietly began rolling out its system, called TM+, for certain shows, including a Black Sabbath concert in Massachusetts in August. More than two dozen professional sports teams have signed up, including many in the NFL.

THE SHUFFLE

• Deborah Hadden, left, has been appointed port director by Thomas P. Glynn, CEO of the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport). In her new role, Hadden will be responsible for directing the planning, development, marketing, operation, security, financial management, administration and maintenance of Massport's non-aviation properties in the Port of Boston.
• MacAulay-Brown Inc., a National Security company providing engineering and technical solutions to Defense, Intelligence, Homeland Security and Federal agencies, announced that it has promoted Fred Norman to senior vice president and general manager of MacB's Mission Systems Group. He will report directly to MacB President and CEO Sid Fuchs.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nissan rolls out a sleeker Altima

Fully redesigned for 2013, the Nissan Altima is a smart choice for competitively priced, comfortable driving. A quiet cabin features upgraded materials throughout with excellent visibility and well-thought-out controls.

The car may not be a sports sedan, but hop into the NASA-aided-design "no fatigue" seats, grab hold of the leather-wrapped steering wheel, hit the push-button start, flip the paddle shifters, crank the easy-to-use infotainment system and away you go.

Nissan has smoothed out much of the conservative roundness of earlier versions of the car, streamlining it with a tighter grill, lowered roofline, sleeker fender curves and chrome-tipped dual exhaust, adding much to the curb appeal of this popular midsize. The car is slightly wider and longer, and the cabin and trunk are huge. The iconic bug-like headlamps fit well into the new body style with the taillights curling into rear fenders.

Engine choices remain the same from prior years. The midlevel 3.5 SV tester we drove had the 3.5 liter V-6 coupled to a CVT that produced a robust 270 horsepower, allowing the car to easily cruise on the highway and giving me plenty of pop from stop. Gas mileage estimates run from 22 in the city to 31 on the highway, and I averaged 26, right in the middle of the range.

The handling of the sedan left me underwhelmed and wishing for more road feel. The soft and cushy steering response is what prevents Altima from being classed as a sport sedan. However, this daily commuter provides solid footing and a compliant ride, and I think most folks will enjoy driving the car and find maneuvering around town quite easy.

I found the cabin to be very relaxing and the controls well-placed and easy to use. The redesign carries over here, too, with a nice mix of soft and hard surfaces. It replaces the heavily chromed cockpit shape with a slick combination of brushed aluminum and polished surfaces, and the dash is more appealing with streamlined vents and gauges — ending a decade-old design of round, oversized, protruding pieces. My Bluetooth phone-based Pandora streamed with a touch of a button through the stereo, highlighting a new infotainment center that is keyed off the navigation screen.

Nissan has pushed the Altima up into the same crowded class as the Honda Accord, Ford Fusion, Toyota Camry, Mazda 6, VW Passat and Hyundai Sonata vying for market share. At a base MSRP of $27,780 and tested at $29,335, this well-appointed SV has only one trim level higher that primarily adds leather seats and is a worthy entry in the class. The base model starts at $22,000, and with eight models you should be able to configure a nice car for a price point that's affordable.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Jobs news rattles Fed

An unexpectedly poor jobs report yesterday that included significant downward revisions for employment in June and July has brought uncertainty to the market, and has analysts questioning the timing of the Fed's plan to taper its $85 billion bond-buying program later this month.

The U.S. economy added just 169,000 jobs last month, below analysts' estimates, while the number of jobs added in June and July was revised down by 74,000, the Labor Department said.

The lower-than-expected numbers are likely to cause Federal Reserve Bank chairman Ben Bernanke to think twice about tapering the central bank's $85 billion bond buyback program later this month, experts said.

"A good report would have sealed the case for tapering to being in September," said Nigel Gault, co-chief economist at the Parthenon Group. "The report has thrown everything up in the air."

The central bank was expected to begin tapering its bond-buying program — credited with keeping interest rates low — after its meeting Sept. 17 and 18.

"This report really questions whether the Fed should be doing that," Gault said.

The jobless rate fell to 7.3 percent, but only because labor force participation fell to 63.2 percent, its lowest level in 35 years.

Bernanke has set a target unemployment rate of 7 percent, but Gault said that number does not hold much significance after yesterday's report.

"It's not going to take that long to get the unemployment to 7, but it's getting there for the wrong reasons," he said.

"The Fed's got themselves in a bit of a pickle in my view."

With labor force participation at its lowest level since 1978, Frank Conte of the Beacon Hill Institute said "prospective workers have little confidence about the ability of this economy to create full-time jobs."

Yesterday, two members of the Federal Reserve panel responsible for voting on tapering came out on opposite sides of the issue.

Charles Evans, president of the Chicago Fed, spoke before the job numbers were announced and expressed concerns about the strength and momentum of the economy. Esther George, president of the Kansas City Fed, speaking after the job numbers were announced, called for tapering of $15 billion a month.

Gault still expects the Fed to begin to taper, but not as aggressively as they otherwise would have.

"There's a huge question mark there," he said. "It does suggest that maybe the path to tapering could be a bit longer than anticipated."

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Talk turns to tossing tech tax

The Patrick administration is mulling a repeal of the controversial software tax that has threatened Massachusetts' reputation as a tech hub — but only if Beacon Hill leaders can find another way to raise the revenue, according to the state's top economic development official.

"We're actively considering that the tax ought to be replaced with something else that could generate a comparable amount of revenue," Greg Bialecki, secretary of Housing and Economic Development, said yesterday of the debate concerning the software services tax, which has spawned potential ballot initiatives, phone-line protests and a statewide outcry from the tech industry.

"It's not an easy question," Bialecki said. "There are no taxes or other ways to raise revenue that we can think of that are easy and popular."

Gov. Deval Patrick and top Democratic lawmakers took heat from business leaders during a 90-minute, closed-door meeting this week. The business bigwigs, Bialecki said, made it very clear the tax "simply cannot be clarified" and that the Department of Revenue's efforts to sort out its implications are "not going to be the fix."

Repealing the tax — which imposes a 6.25-
percent tax on everything from website design to application work — is now on the table even as administration officials are still working to "interpret" the tax for businesses.

The hitch is finding another way to generate the $161 million the state is counting on from the tech tax to put toward transportation projects. Past Patrick proposals, including changing the income tax code, have admittedly "come and gone," Bialecki said.

"We are open to ideas," he said. "We are working with the parties ... to see if there's an alternative way to raise that revenue that has less of an effect on the issues that we care about."

Republicans, meanwhile, are pushing to repeal the tech tax, sparked by GOP gubernatorial hopeful Charlie Baker, who condemned it this week.

Beacon Hill minority leaders Brad Jones and Bruce Tarr plan to unveil new legislation Monday.

Some Democrats, including state Sen. Karen Spilka — who is running for U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey's vacant congressional seat — have already changed their tune, saying they now want to kill the tax, after they pushed it earlier this year.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mass. cyber security firms untangle Web attacks

A string of high-profile hackings over the last year has turned out to be a boon to Bay State companies that specialize in cyber security.

At the Xconomy summit on innovation, technology and entrepreneurship at Babson College, Tom Leighton, CEO of Akamai, the Cambridge company that delivers nearly a third of global Web traffic, said 74 percent of U.S. companies experienced one or more cyber attacks in the last year. That has translated into a windfall for local cyber security companies such as Dynamics Research Corp. of Andover, which this week became one of 17 winners of a $6 billion blanket purchase agreement with the Department of Homeland Security to provide continuous monitoring throughout the federal government.

As cyber attacks become more common, demand for DRC's services has soared, pushing up its stock price and catapulting its revenues from $225 million in 2007 to more than $300 million last year.

Likewise, Bedford-based RSA, the security division of EMC, has seen its revenues increase from $828 million in 2011 to $888 million last year.

"The part of our business growing fastest is small to medium-sized businesses," said Chester Wisniewski, senior security advisor at Sophos in Burlington. "Even mom-and-pop shops that thought they were immune to cyber attacks now are realizing they have to do something to protect themselves."

Josh Neffinger, president of the New England chapter of the Information Systems Security Association, said there has been particular demand for companies that sell software and services that guard against persistent threat attacks.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Better economic reports, sales send stocks higher

NEW YORK — Stocks are opening slightly higher on Wall Street after some positive news about the U.S. jobs market and higher sales from major store chains.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 51 points, or 0.4 percent, at 14,983 after the first few minutes of trading Thursday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up six points, or 0.4 percent, at 1,659. The Nasdaq composite was up 16 points, or 0.4 percent, at 3,664.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week dropped to a five-year low. Also the payroll company ADP reported that private sector employment rose by 176,000 jobs last month.

Costco and Walgreen's reported stronger sales last month, beating analysts' forecasts.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.94 percent.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Average US 30-year mortgage rate up to 4.57 pct.

WASHINGTON — Average fixed rates on U.S. long-term mortgages neared their highs for the year this week amid signs of further strength in the economy.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year loan was 4.57 percent this week. That's up from 4.51 percent last week and close to the high this year of 4.58 percent reached Aug. 22.

The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage rose from 3.54 percent to 3.59 percent. That's near the year's high of 3.6 percent.

Long-term mortgage rates have risen more than a full percentage point since May, when Chairman Ben Bernanke first signaled that the Federal Reserve could reduce its bond purchases later this year if the economy continued to strengthen. The bond purchases have been intended to keep long-term loan rates ultra-low.

Among the indicators the Fed will weigh in deciding whether to slow its bond buying is the government's estimate that the economy grew at a 2.5 percent annualized rate from April through June — much faster than previously estimated. Economists expect growth to stay at an annual rate of around 2.5 percent in the second half of the year.

The Fed will meet Sept. 17-18, after which most analysts expect it to announce that it will scale back its bond purchases.

Mortgage rates remain low by historical standards. But the recent increases in rates could slow the housing recovery's momentum. The increases have spurred some homebuyers to close deals quickly.

U.S. sales of newly built homes dropped 13.4 percent in July to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 394,000, the lowest level in nine months.

But spending on construction projects rose in July to its highest level since June 2009, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

Mortgage rates have been rising because they tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. The yield has climbed 1.3 percentage points in the past four months as bond traders have anticipated that the Fed will slow its bond-buying stimulus to the economy.

The 10-year note's rate rose to 2.89 percent on Wednesday from 2.86 percent Tuesday. It jumped to 2.96 percent Thursday morning.

To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday each week. The average doesn't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.

The average fee for a 30-year mortgage was unchanged at 0.7 point. The fee for a 15-year loan also held at 0.7 point.

The average rate on a one-year adjustable-rate mortgage increased to 2.71 percent from 2.64 percent. The fee rose to 0.5 point from 0.4 point.

The average rate on a five-year adjustable mortgage rose to 3.28 percent from 3.24 percent. The fee was unchanged at 0.5 point.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Chobani recalls some Greek yogurt cups

NEW YORK — Chobani says it's recalling some of its Greek yogurt cups that were affected by mold, a move prompted by reports of illnesses by some customers.

The recall comes about a week after the company first started asking retailers to pull the products from shelves, saying some cups were "swelling and bloating." Chobani had previously said it wasn't issuing a formal recall.

But the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that it was in talks with the company about the matter.

Chobani said that most of the affected products have already been pulled from shelves. The company, based in New Berlin, N.Y., said the affected products came from its Idaho facility and represents less than 5 percent of its total production.

The containers are marked with the code 16-012 and expiration dates Sept. 11 to Oct. 7.

In an interview, Chobani CEO Hamid Ulukaya said it was the company's decision to move to a recall, not the FDA's. He said the problem was caused by a type of mold that is commonly found in dairy environments. The issue has been "totally fixed," he said, noting that the mold became a problem because Chobani doesn't use preservatives in its products.

Ulukaya did not say exactly how many reports of illnesses the company received, but said it was not in the hundreds or thousands.

"Everybody in the company took this hard," Ulukaya said. "It shook us up."

This week, the company was responding online to customers who were complaining about their yogurt. One person said her yogurt was "unnervingly fizzy" and another said it tasted like "wine."

The affected products include a number of different size containers:

— Chobani 6 ounce cups

— Chobani 16 ounce tubs

— Chobani 32 ounce tubs

— Chobani 3.5 ounce cups

— Chobani Bite 3.5 ounce cups

— Chobani Flip 5.3 ounce containers

____

Follow Candice Choi at www.twitter.com/candicechoi

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Stocks edge higher after encouraging jobs reports

NEW YORK — Stocks edged higher Thursday after a pair of reports provided more evidence that the U.S. is maintaining a slow but steady economic recovery.

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped last week and is near the lowest level since June 2008, the Labor Department said Thursday. Weekly applications are just 1,000 above a five-year low reached last month.

Also, a survey from the payroll company ADP showed that American businesses added 176,000 jobs in August, fewer than in June and July but roughly in line with the monthly average for the year.

The encouraging reports came one day before the government releases its closely watched employment survey for August. Many investors believe that a strong report will ensure that the Federal Reserve will decide to pull back on its economic stimulus at meeting later this month.

The U.S. central bank is buying about $85 billion in bonds a month to keep long-term interest rates low and to stimulate the economy. Fed stimulus has helped fuel a bull market in stocks that has lasted more than four years.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 15 points, or 0.1 percent, to 14,946 as of 11 a.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose four points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,656. The Nasdaq composite gained eight points, or 0.2 percent, to 3,656.

Retail stocks were among the biggest gainers.

Costco rose $3.08, or 2.8 percent, to $114.60 after the discount store chain said revenue at stores open at least a year rose 4 percent in August, slightly faster than Wall Street's expectations. Walgreen's also gained after reporting a strong rise in sales last month. Walgreen's rose $1, or 2 percent, to $50.49 after reporting a 4.8 percent increase in sales.

In government bond trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed to 2.97 percent from 2.90 percent. The yield has risen 1.3 percentage points in four months as bond traders anticipate that the Federal Reserve will cut back on its economic stimulus.

Rising yields on Treasury notes matter for the economy because they dictate the direction of mortgage rates and other key interest rates. It appears, however, that investors are getting more comfortable with higher borrowing costs.

"We don't anticipate that a gradual rise in rates will choke off the economy," said Dave Roda, regional chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Bank. "We are still looking at very low rates historically."

In commodities trading, the price of oil rose 11 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $107.36 a barrel. Gold fell $21 to $1,369 an ounce.

Among other stocks making big moves, Conn's, a consumer finance company, fell $6.34, or 9.3 percent, to $61.82 after the company reported second-quarter earnings that missed Wall Street expectations.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

United recalls almost 600 pilots from furlough

CHICAGO — United Airlines is recalling almost 600 pilots who had been on furlough.

The airline said on Thursday that it needs the pilots to meet its future staffing needs.

United has about 12,000 pilots.

United and Continental merged in 2010. The pilots being recalled are from the United side of the business.

The recall news comes just as United is almost ready to merge the two groups of pilots, now that they have a joint union contract and a combined seniority list, which was announced Wednesday.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

New India central bank chief announces reforms

MUMBAI, India — India's new central bank chief has kicked off his first day in office by announcing measures to stabilize the country's troubled economy and tumbling currency.

Raghuram Rajan acknowledged he is taking over the Reserve Bank of India at a tough time but insisted Wednesday that India has "a fundamentally sound economy."

He announced in a televised speech that existing banks would be able to open new branches without RBI permission and said new banking licenses would be issued by January. He also said the central bank would issue inflation-indexed savings certificates.

Rajan takes control of the central bank amid fears of a currency crisis. India's economic growth slowed to 4.4 percent in the April-June quarter and the Indian rupee has lost more than 20 percent of its value since May.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sony launches camera phone with add-on lenses

BERLIN — Sony Mobile has unveiled a new addition to its Xperia smartphone line-up that sports a massive 20.7-megapixel resolution camera capable of taking add-on lenses.

The Xperia Z1 is Sony's attempt to leapfrog rivals such as Nokia and Samsung in the race for the phone with the best camera.

The company presented the phone in Berlin on Wednesday, two days ahead of the opening of the annual IFA consumer electronics show in the city.

The Z1's standout features are the in-built camera and detachable lenses that can be controlled from the phone's 5-inch screen.

It's the handsets' camera features are supported by dedicated apps and a large image sensor.

The Android-powered phone, previously codenamed Honami, also comes with a 2.2 gigahertz processor, waterproof aluminum case and the latest mobile broadband connectivity.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Liberia rejects pleas to release jailed editor

MONROVIA, Liberia — Liberia has rejected calls to release an editor jailed last month for reporting on the results of an official graft investigation, in a case international press groups say undermines the government's commitment to free speech.

Rodney Sieh, publisher and editor of the independent newspaper FrontPageAfrica, was arrested Aug. 21 after failing to pay $1.5 million in damages awarded to former Agriculture Minister Chris Toe. In 2010, Sieh's newspaper published several articles about findings by the country's anti-corruption watchdog that the ministry could not account for millions of dollars.

Two days after Sieh's arrest, law enforcement closed the paper's offices. Sieh then launched a hunger strike and was hospitalized last week with malaria.

Despite calls from CPJ and Reporters Without Borders for Sirleaf to intervene on Sieh's behalf, Liberia's information ministry said Tuesday that the verdict against Sieh should be respected.

Toe has denied allegations of wrongdoing, though he resigned from his position and was never put on trial. He has said the newspaper's reports were libelous because he was never convicted, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

In a letter to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Monday, CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said the case against Sieh was flawed and asked the government to facilitate his release.

"We believe the punishment meted out against FrontPageAfrica is disproportionate and that the case is tainted with political undertones," Simon said.

The $1.5 million damages award is more than 30 times the yearly operating budget for FrontPageAfrica, according to Sieh, who in a New York Times op-ed over the weekend said the case was a clear attempt to silence Liberia's most aggressive and ambitious newspaper.

Sieh also wrote that two jurors claimed they were paid to find him guilty.

"So long as Mrs. Johnson Sirleaf's advisers can tell the courts how to rule, the government will continue to intimidate the press at home while maintaining an undeserved positive image abroad," Sieh said.

Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, last year became the second African head of state to sign the Declaration of Table Mountain, which calls for the continent-wide repeal of defamation and "insult" laws.

Yet multiple libel convictions have been handed down since she came to power in 2006, and no newspaper has won a libel case during that time, according to the Press Union of Liberia. A lawsuit filed by Sirleaf's office in 2009 for $5 million against the New Broom newspaper led to that paper's closure.

The information ministry faulted Sieh for not appealing the verdict, though Sieh has said the process is prohibitively expensive.

Sirleaf has not addressed the case herself. Wade Williams, an editor at FrontPageAfrica who has been running the paper in Sieh's absence, said she suspected many government officials would be happy to see the paper shut down.

"They're all using their influence to get to Rodney, punishing him for exposing them over the years," Williams said. "That's why (Sirleaf's) not saying anything. She herself has not been happy with FrontPageAfrica for some time now."

The newspaper has continued to publish online even though its offices remain closed and an important source of revenue — print advertisements — has dried up.

Toe, the former agriculture minister who brought the libel case, said Tuesday he had been "injured" by FrontPageAfrica's coverage but that he was open to talks with Sieh's lawyers.

Williams, however, said she questioned what purpose the talks might serve. "I don't think there should be any negotiation on the part of a newspaper reporting on public officials just to appease them," she said. "It will be a sign of weakness on the part of the media."

___

Associated Press writer Robbie Corey-Boulet contributed reporting from Dakar, Senegal.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

UMaine submits proposal for offshore wind project

AUGUSTA, Maine — The University of Maine has submitted a proposal for a long-term contract for an offshore wind energy project, the state Public Utilities Commission said on Tuesday.

The university's bid comes after lawmakers approved legislation in July to reopen the bidding process for an offshore wind project to let the university compete for a contract.

Norwegian energy company Statoil and the utilities commission had agreed to terms in January for a $120 million project to put four 3-megawatt wind turbines a dozen miles off the coast on floating spar-buoy structures tethered to the seabed. But the company said in July that it will delay and may abandon the project because the reopening of competition created uncertainty.

Critics of the legislation, which was backed heavily by Republican Gov. Paul LePage, said reopening the bidding process and changing the rules on Statoil sends a bad message about the way Maine does business.

The University of Maine said in a statement that its submission is a "strong proposal" based, in part, on a wind turbine it has been testing off the coast since June. The VolturnUS is a 65-foot-tall prototype that's one-eighth the size of a full-scale turbine.

Utilities commission spokesman Harry Lanphear said Tuesday that the written proposal is confidential.

The commission will review the proposal and work with the university to come up with a term sheet or contract. It is expected to decide whether to authorize a contract by Dec. 31.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Automakers report sales up double-digits in August

DETROIT — Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Chrysler and General Motors all reported double-digit U.S. sales gains last month as strong sales of pickup trucks and small cars led the industry toward its best month in six years.

Toyota posted the biggest gain, with sales up nearly 23 percent over August of last year. Nissan sales were up 22 percent, the best August in company history. At General Motors, sales were up almost 15 percent for the company's best month since September of 2008. Chrysler and Ford each reported 12 percent gains.

It was Chrysler's best August in six years, while August was Toyota's best month in more than five years. All major automakers report sales numbers Wednesday.

Industry analysts say August could be the best sales month since May of 2007, when $3 a gallon gasoline set off panic buying of fuel-thrifty vehicles. LMC Automotive, an industry consulting firm, is predicting that total U.S. sales last month were close to 1.5 million, about 12 percent higher than a year ago.

In May of 2007, automakers sold more than 1.56 million cars and trucks, due largely to a boom in small cars as the nationwide average for gas topped $3 a gallon for the first time. This time, small cars did well, but weren't the only big sellers. Analysts say consumers are buying everything from tiny Honda Fits to big pickup trucks as an improving economy keeps pushing auto sales higher.

"The auto industry continues to be a bright spot in the economic recovery," Bill Fay, the Toyota division's group vice president, said in a statement. "August capped a great summer for new vehicle sales."

Chrysler and GM are predicting that total U.S. sales in August ran at an annual rate above 16 million, a pace last seen before the Great Recession.

The strong numbers are more proof that businesses are gaining confidence and buying trucks to replace their aging fleets. The average age of a pickup in the U.S. is 11.3 years, according to the Polk research firm.

Ford sold more than 70,000 F-Series pickups last month, the second month this year that sales have topped 70,000 for the nation's top-selling vehicle. Sales of Chrysler's Ram pickup rose 31 percent to more than 33,000. GM's Chevrolet Silverado was up 14 percent to nearly 44,000.

At Chrysler, Jeep sales rose 8 percent for the brand's best August in 11 years. Grand Cherokee SUV sales were up 40 percent. All five of Chrysler's brands reported sales increases as the company recorded its 41st straight month of year-over-year sales gains.

Sales of truck-based vehicles were extremely strong for Chrysler, at more than 120,000. That's nearly three times the company's car sales and may indicate that Chrysler is once again becoming overly reliant on trucks for its profits.

Ford reported sales of more than 221,000 vehicles. Fusion midsize car sales were up almost 14 percent to nearly 25,000.

At GM, sales rose to nearly 276,000, led by pickups and the Sonic subcompact with sales up 31 percent. The Buick and Cadillac brands posted sales increases of more than 36 percent.

Toyota passed Ford in August sales to take the No. 2 spot behind GM. Toyota sales rose to nearly 232,000 vehicles for the month.

At Nissan, the company set an August sales record at just over 120,000.

Of automakers to report sales on Wednesday, only Volkswagen posted a decline, down nearly 2 percent after posting huge gains last year.

Although Americans have become used to paying more than $3 for a gallon of gas, some consumers still find pump prices steep enough that they're buying small cars. Others have noticed that smaller vehicles are better designed, far quieter and safer with more features, said Tom Libby, lead North American analyst for the Polk automotive research firm. Analysts from Kelley Blue Book predict that compact and subcompact cars could challenge midsize cars as the largest segment in the U.S.

Still, gas prices aren't the sales catalyst they were back in 2007 and 2008. Gas this August was the cheapest in three years, averaging $3.57 a gallon, compared with $3.62 in 2011 and $3.69 last year.

Last month, Toyota had to discount the Prius gas-electric hybrid to boost sales. Toyota discounted the average Prius by $1,462, more than triple the incentives from a year ago, according to TrueCar.com, an auto pricing website.

Compare that to 2007, when the price of gasoline jumped from $2.15 a gallon at the end of January to more than $3 in early May. That May, sales of the Prius nearly tripled as consumers flocked to a vehicle that got 46 miles per gallon in city and highway driving.

"Consumers like stability," said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of sales forecasting for LMC. Now that they're used to higher gas prices, "it's less of a shock than in May of 2007," he said.

Buyers also are paying record prices for their cars and trucks, according to the TrueCar.com auto pricing web site. The average U.S. vehicle sold for an estimated $31,252 last month, up almost $1,000 over August of last year and $24 higher than the previous record in December of 2012. Five automakers, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Nissan and Volkswagen, all had record-high selling prices last month, according to TrueCar.

The industry tracking firm Experian said earlier this week that nearly 28 percent of people who financed cars leased them, a record high. High trade-in values are allowing automakers to offer attractive low-cost lease deals.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Surveys: China manufacturing improves in August

HONG KONG — Chinese manufacturing improved last month, two surveys showed, in the latest signs that a painful and prolonged slowdown in the world's No. 2 economy may be stabilizing.

The private HSBC purchasing managers' index released Monday showed a slight expansion in August after three months of contraction while an official survey the day before showed that output jumped to the highest level in 16 months.

"The two series are both on an improving trend, serving as another confirmation of a much-strengthened growth momentum in the third quarter," Societe Generale's China Economist Wei Yao said in a research note.

HSBC's PMI rose to 50.1 in August, after falling to an 11-month low in July, as output and new orders edged up slightly and order backlogs rose at the fastest pace in two years.

On Sunday, an official survey by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing showed manufacturing expanded for the second month in a row, rising to 51.0 from July's 50.3.

Both indexes use a 100-point scale on which numbers below 50 indicate contraction.

Domestic demand looks to be driving the improvement in manufacturing. HSBC's survey, which is tilted to small- and medium-sized private enterprises, found new export orders continued to decline because of sluggish demand in the U.S. and Europe. The federation's survey, meanwhile, gives an outsize representation to China's big state-owned enterprises, which hardly compete in export markets.

The signs of improvement in China's massive manufacturing industry will offer encouragement to China's leaders, who are trying to reverse a slowdown that's pulled economic growth to a two-decade low of 7.5 percent in the latest quarter.

"Growth in China's manufacturing sector has started to stabilize on the back of a modest rebound of new orders and output," said HSBC's chief China economist, Qu Hongbin. "This was mainly driven by the initial filtering through of recent stimulus measures and companies' restocking activities."

China's leaders say they're comfortable with slower growth as they try to steer the economy away from an export-driven model to one based on domestic consumption. They've opted for measures to bolster individual areas of the economy such as railways and small businesses rather than an across-the-board stimulus.

Analysts said the upbeat manufacturing reports ease pressure on policymakers to unleash more stimulus.

HSBC's survey, based on responses from 420 companies, confirms a preliminary version released last month.

Other recent signs of possible improvement in China's economy include a 10.9 percent surge in July imports that beat expectations, while exports grew 5.1 percent.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Some flu vaccines promise a little more protection

WASHINGTON — It's time to get your flu vaccine, and this fall some brands promise a little extra protection.

For the first time, certain vaccines will guard against four strains of flu rather than the usual three.

They're called quadrivalent vaccines, and they're so new that they'll make up only a fraction of the year's supply.

All the nasal spray vaccine sold in the U.S. this year will be the four-strain kind, and a few varieties of shots.

Specialists say that's just one of many flu vaccine options to choose from, not necessarily a better one.

The government recommends a yearly flu vaccine for nearly everyone, starting at 6 months of age.

Early fall is the ideal time, so protection kicks in before flu starts spreading.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Chinese, European growth signs support stocks

LONDON — Evidence of a rebound in manufacturing activity in China and Europe helped global stock markets rise Monday, though Wall Street's closure for Labor Day kept trading volumes light.

The possibility of a U.S. military strike against Syria in retaliation for alleged chemical weapons use against civilians continued to overhang markets but the initial concern has abated. U.K. lawmakers voted against involvement and President Barack Obama decided to seek approval from Congress.

Germany's DAX index was up 1.9 percent to 8,255.14 while France's CAC-40 advanced the same rate to 4,007.65. Italian and Spanish stocks were also up after surveys showed manufacturing activity rose in the two countries, which are in recession and have been focal points of Europe's debt crisis.

In Britain, the FTSE 100 added 1.8 percent to 6,527.72, with shares in Vodafone up 4.8 percent on expectations it is due to close a deal to sell its U.S. mobile phone business to Verizon.

Global sentiment was earlier boosted by two surveys that showed China's manufacturing sector also improved last month after prolonged weakness.

The HSBC purchasing managers' index rose to 50.1 points in August, a level that indicates expansion as output and new orders edged up slightly and order backlogs rose at the fastest pace in two years. The official China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing PMI rose to 51.0 from July's 50.3, which was the highest level and biggest increase this year.

Both indexes use a 100-point scale on which numbers below 50 indicate a contraction.

The signs of improvement in China's massive manufacturing industry are encouraging news for its overseas suppliers as Chinese leaders try to reverse a slowdown that's pulled economic growth to a two-decade low of 7.5 percent in the latest quarter.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average gained 1.4 percent to close at 13,572.92. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 2 percent to 22,175.34. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1 percent to 5,188.30. Benchmarks in South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines fell.

Last week, markets had been buffeted by weak U.S. economic data. The U.S. government reported Friday that Americans' income and spending both increased just 0.1 percent in July. The scant rise suggested that economic growth was off to a weak start in the second half of the year. It followed other reports showing steep drops in new-home sales and orders for long-lasting manufactured goods in July.

Benchmark crude for October delivery was down $2.04 at $106.75 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange as fears of military strikes on Syria continued to fade. The contract fell $1.15 on Friday.

In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3207 from $1.3202. The dollar rose to 99.28 yen from 98.19 yen.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Grange membership falling, recruitment a challenge

DEER ISLE, Maine — At its peak, the Deer Isle Grange had close to 100 members. But this summer, the fraternal organization folded because it couldn't attract even seven members to its meetings, the number required to keep its state charter.

In an age when the Internet and television have replaced potluck dinners as a favored pastime, the Deer Isle Grange is the latest grange to go by the wayside. The Maine State Grange once had more than 60,000 members and was one of the most powerful lobbying forces in the state. Now there are about 135 community granges with just under 5,000 members, said Vicki Huff, master of the Maine State Grange.

Declining membership is perhaps the biggest challenge facing the Grange, the nation's oldest farm and rural public interest organization. Nowadays, it's hard to persuade younger people to join, she said.

"It's a concern for any fraternal organization," she said. "To keep things going, you need new members. To get word out to the community, that's sometimes difficult."

Nobody knows that more than Jeanette Taylor, who headed the Deer Isle Grange for 11 years before it shut down in July. That grange was started in 1888, but its membership this year had dwindled to just 20.

"But most of them are well over the age of 70, so it was hard to keep it going," Taylor said.

The national group, officially called the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, was the first nationwide farm organization when it was founded in 1867, advocating for the causes of farmers. Local chapters, or granges, popped up across the country, their grange halls offering places where farmers could hold community events, meet neighbors, compare farm prices and band together for the good of the community.

But since topping out in the 1950s, membership has fallen steadily. From 1991 to 2012, active membership fell from about 270,000 to 70,000, and the number of local granges declined from roughly 3,900 to 2,000, according to the National Grange.

The heyday for Maine granges was in the 1950s, said Stanley Howe, a longtime grange member who wrote a book about the history of Maine's granges.

"For years the Grange ran the Maine Legislature. It was a very powerful organization. Almost everybody belonged to the Grange up until the 1950s," he said.

But membership started falling when television became popular in the '50s, giving people something else to do with their time, he said.

The latest two casualties were the Victory Grange in Orland, which closed last spring and merged with a Blue Hill grange, and the Deer Isle Grange.

But not all is doom and gloom, with several new granges opening up across the country the past couple of years.

In Maine, a new grange formed in Montville last summer, and a grange was revived in West Bath in June after being closed for a few years.

The West Bath Seaside Grange now has about 30 members, said John Brigance, 46, the grange master who helped get it off the ground. The grange, he said, will provide a place where people can get involved in the community by working together to help local organizations, schools and people in need.

The grange has a Facebook page and members as young as high school age. Still, it's difficult to recruit people, he said.

"In this day and age, to get people away from their television and computers for five minutes is a challenge," he said. "It's a challenge to show people it's still relevant."

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

US probes Nissan Pathfinder fluid leak

NEW YORK — U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating complaints that transmission cooler lines can leak fluid in some 2013 Nissan Pathfinders and Infiniti JX models, leading to a sudden loss of transmission power.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has received reports of problems from five owners of Pathfinders. No injuries have been reported. The probe covers an estimated 110,000 cars.

The NHTSA has begun an evaluation to assess the size and safety-related consequences of the issue. Such probes can often lead to recalls.

Emails were sent seeking comment from Nissan but they were not immediately returned.

The Nissan Pathfinder and the Infiniti JX are both sport utility vehicles.

___

Online: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/RecentInvestigations

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More