Patriots fan’s paradise

The owner of this new Brookline home will be neighbors with Patriots owner Robert Kraft and quarterback Tom Brady.

The 6,000-square-foot shingle-style home at 324 Heath St. occupies nearly an acre in the wealthy Chestnut Hill enclave of south Brookline, on one of two pieces of land recently sold by Pine Manor College. The other parcel, which is 5.2 acres, went to Brady, whose palatial home is scheduled to be completed by next summer.

Designed by Cambridge architect Peter Quinn, 324 Heath is elegant without being ostentatious, with some farmhouse-style touches such as low-set windows and a wraparound covered rear deck. It has hand-stained oak floors, high-quality window and door moldings, coffered ceilings, stone fireplaces and lots of windows to bring in natural light. Each of its six bedrooms has an en-suite bathroom, and there are porches off most of them.

The home, with expansive living spaces and an attached three-car garage with a media room/guest bedroom above, is on the market for $4,699,000, just reduced by $200,000.

There's a low stone wall in front of the property, and much of its front yard is a U-shaped paver driveway for outdoor parking that also connects to the garage.

The exterior of the home is gray clapboard with large gables with second-floor porches and rounded bumpouts in the back. The covered front entrance is flanked with stone walls, and you enter a two-story foyer with hand-stained oak floors, coat closets, a turning staircase with a Rococo chandelier, a built-in display cabinet and even a stone chimney wall.

To the right is a formal living room where the other side of the chimney wall is a gas fireplace with a carved wood mantel above. There's a backlit coffered ceiling, recessed lighting and five windows.

On the other side of the foyer is a formal dining room with paneled wainscoting, a back-lit coffered ceiling and a Rococo chandelier. Off this room is a butler's pantry with gray granite countertops and a wine cooler.

The formal living spaces open into a huge open family room/kitchen area. The high-end kitchen features white cabinets, gray granite counters and gray glass mosaic tile backsplashes. There's a large center island with built-in microwave. Appliances are high-end stainless steel G.E. Monogram, including an oversized refrigerator, a dishwasher and professional grade gas stove with a white marble tile backsplash and a stainless steel hood. The eat-in area has seven windows overlooking the backyard and a door out to a wraparound covered back deck.

The backyard has a large bluestone patio and grass area edged by a stone wall. From this vantage point you can see some of the acreage of the Kraft and Brady properties on either side.

Back inside, the adjacent family room has a backlit ceiling as well as a rounded bumpout with a wall of windows also overlooking the backyard.

There's a second front entrance on the far left end of the home, with a foyer with a porcelain-tiled half bathroom, direct access to the garage and a set of back stairs to the second floor.

The main foyer's staircase leads up to the oak-floored master bedroom suite with recessed lighting and a gas fireplace with a wood mantel set into a stone chimney. There's a large walk-in closet with custom wardrobe built-ins. The showpiece of the master bathroom is a freestanding soaking tub. It also features porcelain tile floors that are radiant heated, a white marble-lined steam shower, and a granite-topped vanity with two sinks.

The other bedrooms all have oak floors, large closets and en-suite radiant-heated porcelain tile bathrooms. The second bedroom has cathedral ceilings and glass doors out to a balcony. The third bedroom opens onto a back porch. There's a wall of windows in the fourth bedroom. The large fifth bedroom, which also makes a great family/media room, sits above the garage and has three closets,

Also on this floor is a laundry room with a long granite countertop for folding, a sink and storage cabinets.

The sixth bedroom and full bathroom is on the first floor, down a set of back stairs.

The home is prewired so a smart-home. surround sound and alarm systems can be easily installed.

There's a huge unfinished basement that can accommodate more living space. The basement also houses the home's five-zone gas-fired heating and central cooling system.

Broker: Scott Miller of Realty Executives at 617-216-9260

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Feds eye food defense vs. terrorism

The Food and Drug Administration yesterday proposed a rule that would require the largest food businesses to take steps to prevent its facilities from becoming the target of terrorists trying to contaminate the food supply.

The proposed rule would apply to both domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture, process, pack or hold food and are required to register as a food facility under federal law. The rule does not apply to farms or to businesses that have less than $10 million in total annual sales of food.

"This is not being triggered by new intelligence about a potential attack," said Don Kraemer, senior policy advisor at the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. "It's a low-probability event, but the potential consequences could be quite devastating."

The FDA has identified four key activities within the food system that are most vulnerable to attack: bulk liquid receiving and loading, liquid storage and handling, the handling of secondary food ingredients before they are combined with the primary one, and activities such as mixing.

Facilities would be required to review their production system to determine if they have any of these types of activities or complete their own vulnerability assessment. They would then be required to implement a written food defense plan that identifies steps to reduce the risk of intentional contamination, establish monitoring procedures and corrective actions, verify that the system is working, ensure that employees assigned to the vulnerable areas receive training and maintain records.

The proposed rule will be available for public comment from Dec. 24 to March 31.

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Ariad’s stock soars after drug approved by FDA

Ariad Pharmaceuticals' stock rose 16 percent yesterday after the company announced that the Food and Drug Administration had approved revised prescribing information and other steps the FDA required to allow Ariad to resume marketing and distribution of its leukemia drug, Iclusig.

Commercial distribution of the drug is expected to begin by mid- to late-January after the Cambridge company agreed to change Iclusig's label to include new warnings about the risks of blood clots and heart failure, and to revise recommendations about dosage and administration of the drug.

"We are committed to ... helping patients and their physicians make informed decisions about the most appropriate use of Iclusig in the context of the revised product label," said Dr. Frank Haluska, Ariad's senior vice president and chief medical officer.

At the FDA's request, the company agreed on Oct. 31 to voluntarily suspend marketing of the drug because of concerns that patients taking it could suffer life-threatening blood clots.

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Boston OKs new farming rules

Boston officials are hoping to open up new opportunities for urban farmers by debuting city land-use regulations that make clear businesses growing fresh produce for inner city consumers are not only accepted, but welcomed.

Outgoing Mayor Thomas M. Menino this week announced the Boston Zoning Commission approved new zoning rules, after a three-year push to raise urban agriculture to a commercial level. The effort brought together city agencies and companies that had pioneered farming in the city.

"Growing food within our city limits means better access to food and economic empowerment, all while cultivating a sense of neighborhood unity and greening our city," Menino said, indicating he will sign the new rules into law.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority worked with the mayor's office in 2010 to launch two pilot "micro-farms" on city-owned land in Mattapan that helped shape the new zoning rules.

Jessie Banhazl, owner of Green City Growers, a Somerville firm that builds horticulture projects in city spaces, said Boston ordinances did not discourage city farming but neither did they regulate it, leaving urban farmers worried about how they would weather opposition from neighbors.

"I think, because of the visibility the ordinances bring to urban agriculture, it will make people more confident to take this on as a career choice," Banhazl said. "I think there's no limit to what will be possible."

There are other communities ahead of Boston, she said, but the new regulations put the Hub at the forefront of big cities in the country pushing commercial agriculture in urban patches and on rooftops.

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Obama names China envoy, economic ties in mind

WASHINGTON — The nomination of veteran Sen. Max Baucus as U.S. ambassador to China reflects the importance to Washington of advancing the economic relationship with the Asian power despite recent strains on security issues.

The Montana Democrat lacks foreign policy credentials but has a track record in pressing Beijing over trade barriers and its currency exchange rate. If his appointment is confirmed by the Senate, he will be looking to see that U.S. companies can benefit from market reforms the ruling communist party promised in November.

While the economic relationship between the countries is loaded with its own problems, including accusations of rampant Chinese cybertheft of U.S. trade secrets, it is one where their national interests are more aligned than on security, as China challenges decades of U.S. military pre-eminence in the Asia-Pacific.

China's declaration of an air defense zone over disputed territory in the East China Sea and a near-collision of U.S. and Chinese naval vessels this month brought those concerns to the fore. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Thursday described China's conduct in the Dec. 5 incident in the South China Sea as "irresponsible."

But when President Barack Obama announced Friday his intent to nominate Baucus as ambassador, he was stressing the senator's work over two decades on economic agreements with China that he said have created millions of American jobs. "He's perfectly suited to build on that progress in his new role," Obama said in a statement and called for a swift confirmation.

Baucus pushed for China's inclusion in the World Trade Organization in 2001, a key step in its integration in the world economy. Since then China has emerged as world's second-largest economy after the U.S., and America's second-largest trading partner. Two-way trade is projected to reach $558 billion in 2013.

But China's record on its WTO obligations is mixed, and trade with the U.S. is skewed heavily in China's favor. As chair of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, which oversees trade, Baucus has in recent years sponsored legislation to punish China for undervaluing its currency to benefit its exporters. The measure never made it into law. He's also criticized China for shutting out U.S. beef imports. But he's remained a strong advocate of expanding trade.

"The economic and financial relationship with China is crucial," said Cheng Li, a China expert at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. "If that part of the relationship is healthy it can spill over and have a positive effect in other areas. But if it's jeopardized it can adversely affect other areas, including on security."

He expected China's leaders to welcome Baucus' appointment, given his stature as a six-term senator and close ties with Obama.

China's Global Times newspaper, which is affiliated with the ruling party, said Baucus' experience made him a good pick for the job.

"We hope and believe that Mr. Baucus can bring his Capitol Hill experience and personal relationship with the president to use in furthering U.S.-China trade ties and the building of a new type of major state-to-state relationship," the paper said, using Beijing's buzzword for its desire to be treated by Washington as an equal.

Comments on China's Twitter-like Weibo microblogging service were also largely positive, although some wondered whether the 72-year-old would be able to adapt to the Chinese capital's notorious smog.

The incumbent is former commerce secretary Gary Locke. As the first Chinese-American ambassador to Beijing, Locke has been a well-known and generally well-liked figure in China. He created a buzz among ordinary Chinese even before he arrived in Beijing after he was photographed wearing a backpack and trying to use a coupon to buy coffee at Seattle's airport. Many Chinese Internet users pointed out the contrast with Chinese bureaucrats, who routinely have aides carry their bags and attend to minor tasks.

Locke has navigated choppy waters in the relationship, notably when dissident lawyer Chen Guangcheng in 2012 sought refuge in the U.S. Embassy on the eve of high-level U.S.-China talks in Beijing. China subsequently allowed Chen to leave for New York, and the talks proceeded.

The latest turbulence has centered on China pressing its territorial claim against U.S. ally Japan in the East China Sea. China's effort to control air space in the region was criticized this week by Secretary of State John Kerry, who said it "clearly increases the risk of a dangerous miscalculation or an accident."

Given the prickly state of the relationship, Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, voiced surprise that Obama did not select an envoy with more clout on hard security issues.

She said the nomination of Baucus reflected the president's tendency to focus on the economic aspects of the relationship with China, as he seeks to boost exports and reduce unemployment at home.

His administration wants to "level the playing field" for American companies: curb cybercrime and theft of intellectual property and improve market access, particularly in the heavily restricted services sector. The U.S. has welcomed China's intent to open state-dominated industries wider to private competition and ease limits on foreign investment.

Erin Ennis, vice president of the U.S.-China Business Council, said a key U.S. priority for Baucus should be to negotiate a strong bilateral investment treaty. She said discussions on a text are expected to start early next year, and as new ambassador, Baucus could help China understand what it will take for an agreement to win Senate ratification.

_____

Associated Press writer Christopher Bodeen in Beijing contributed to this report.

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Lost piece of Chinatown to rise again

In the 1950s, Paul Lee's family was forced to leave a stretch of Hudson Street that was demolished to build the Southeast Expressway.

Lee, now board chairman of the Asian Community Development Corp., recalled that the block "was full of Chinese families out on the stoops."

"My dad worked in a local restaurant and my mom in a local garment factory," Lee said. "It was a real neighborhood where people looked out for one another."

Now ACDC and joint venture partner New Boston have broken ground on a residential development on that same block, known as Parcel 24, that will bring 50 affordable condos and 95 affordable apartments to a 362-unit complex called One Greenway, which sits at the end of the mile-long swath on top of the Big Dig tunnel.

"We saw it as a time to bring this site back as part of Chinatown that was lost so many years ago," said ACDC Executive Director Janelle Chan.

With many developers saying that luxury housing is the only option in central Boston because of land and construction costs, the developers of One Greenway are out to prove that a project that has a significant amount of affordable housing — 40 percent — can be financially feasible.

The state Department of Transportation controls the long, narrow 64,000-square-foot lot, and awarded the site in 2008, later signing a 99-year ground lease with the developers.

"It helped that the ground lease only charges for the market-rate units," said Sean Sacks, vice president of development for New Boston, which brought its experience in mixed-income development and its commitment to affordable housing in its $190 million Urban Strategy America Fund.

"This is a great opportunity for us and our investors as well, but to do this sort of project requires a commitment," said Sacks, who said that New Boston has been on board since 2005. "It takes more patient money with a triple bottom-line mission."

The complex project has taken many years to develop and finance, but One Gateway was able to get more than $10 million from state and city programs, including city linkage funds.

The first phase, opening in summer 2015, will include a 21-story tower fronting on Kneeland Street with 217 market-rate apartments, and rents ranging from $2,500 for a studio up to $5,500 for a three-bedroom. The units will have all the amenities young professionals are looking for, including a skydeck with city views, a gym and fitness studio.

For the developers, it's not luxury versus affordability.

"We need the market-rate apartments to be successful because these and the affordable component are dependent on one another," Chan said.

The 95 affordable apartments will be in a connected 10-story building, also part of the first phase, and those making less than 50 percent of Boston's area median income will pay about $866 for a one-bedroom, Chan says. Some of the units will be reserved for very low-income and even formerly homeless people, who will pay no more than $531 a month for a one-bedroom. The maximum for a two-bedroom will be around $1,275, with those making 50 percent of the median paying about $1,063.

The second phase of the project, the 50 affordable condominiums, will be farther down Hudson Street in a six-story building, separated from the apartments by a one-third-acre park — much needed green space in this dense neighborhood.

The average two-bedroom condo is expected to cost about $200,000 for those who meet the income guidelines, and will be chosen by lottery.

The affordable condos, scheduled to be finished in summer 2016, are being designed with families in mind, with many three-bedroom units.

"There are very few opportunities for family-sized, affordable ownership here," Chan said.

She said ACDC's mission is also to ensure that Chinatown continues to be a gateway community for new immigrants.

"We know we have to build, not just preserve," said Chan. "The neighborhood has to grow so it doesn't become a ghost of itself as other citys' Chinatowns have. New immigrants bring new life."

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Robert DeLeo: We’re not changing Mass. gaming law for Wynn

House Speaker Robert DeLeo yesterday said he doesn't think Massachusetts' gaming law should be modified to suit casino operators, as Las Vegas billionaire Steve Wynn suggested this week.

"When we had written the casino law ... we wanted to make sure we kept that balance between the state getting adequate money and the casinos making adequate profits so that they could hopefully build and create more jobs," DeLeo said. "... I'll take a look at any and all requests to make it better. But my feeling is we have a very good law, and I'm not inclined to make any changes to it. I'm pleased with what we have."

The Winthrop Democrat declined to say whether he had met with Wynn or whether he favored Wynn's proposed casino in Everett over Mohegan Sun's Revere proposal at Suffolk Downs.

Michael Weaver, a Wynn spokesman, said in an email yesterday that it "appears that the speaker and Wynn have the same objectives: to benefit the state while creating jobs and successful enterprises."

But DeLeo took issue with Wynn's remarks during a break from a Gaming Commission hearing earlier this week when he suggested the state's 2011 gaming law may need revisiting.

"In our conversations with the state, we're attempting to get issues resolved that will comfort us," Wynn said. "We're expected to make unequivocal commitments — both in the way we do our business, financially, and everything else — to the state of Massachusetts. And we want to make sure that we have the same thing in return."

"Is it the duty of the state to talk about comforting Mr. Wynn or anyone else?" DeLeo said yesterday. "No."

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Anti-Koch activists post T bus-stop ads

Environmental activists are launching a new wave of protests against conservative billionaire and WGBH board bigwig David Koch, sponsoring ads at MBTA bus stops with his image and the station's logo calling for his ouster.

"We've discovered that as locals are learning about David Koch's connection to WGBH, their first reaction is one of shock and their second reaction is one of disgust," said Emily Southard, campaign manager for Forecast the Facts. "We are disappointed that WGBH has resisted our calls to kick Koch off the board. That's why we're ... taking it to the local community."

The ads read "Boston: We have a Koch problem," and are located at Harvard University, near Charles River Ventures, Ruggles Station, and Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge by MIT.

The ads cost about $2,400, she said. The group has received about $5,000 in donations since launching its Koch protests.

"This has probably been one of our most successful fundraisers for Forecast the Facts," said Southard.

The group — including a sign-waiving Elmo — protested outside the WGBH Brighton studios in October and urged trustees to kick Koch off their board.

WGBH spokesman Michael Raia told the Herald that Koch and other board members do not influence programming and that Koch is staying put.

"Nothing has changed with the board," said Raia. "We welcome the diversity of opinions and we appreciated the time Forecast the Facts took. We heard them. The board plans no action."

A spokeswoman for Koch said, "Mr. Koch has never interfered with or tried to influence WGBH's programming decisions and he has no intention to resign from the WGBH board."

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AG targets chain after data breach

Hackers targeting Target Corp. hit the bull's eye, but the nation's second largest discounter said it has resolved a security breach that gave cyber-criminals access to the credit and debit card information of some 40 million customers during the busiest shopping period of the year.

The U.S. Secret Service and state Attorney General Martha Coakley yesterday said they're investigating the breach — believed to be the second largest in U.S. history and which 
Reuters tied to hackers hitting Target's terminals that customers use to swipe the magnetic strips on their credit and debit cards.

The breach left vulnerable customer names, credit and debit card numbers, and the cards' expiration dates and security codes from purchases made Nov. 27 to Dec. 15 at Target's 1,700 U.S. stores.

"We have moved swiftly to address this issue, so guests can shop with confidence," CEO Gregg Steinhafel said in a statement.

Target said it notified authorities and financial institutions when it discovered the breach. But, citing the investigation, spokeswoman Katie Boylan declined to confirm how the information was accessed, when Target discovered the problem and how many customers already reported being victimized.

The breach is likely to get the attention of the Federal Trade Commission and class-action lawyers, said Chris Zoladz of Navigate LLC, a Maryland information protection and privacy advisory firm. "If this breach is as large as it has been reported to be, there had to be a fairly substantial failure in some internal control," he said.

In 2009, TJX Cos., the Framingham owner of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, agreed to pay $9.75 million and implement a new data security program after a 2005-2006 data breach that affected at least 45.7 million card users.

The Target breach could deter consumers from shopping there in the tail-end of the holiday season.

"For those who shopped during that period, they may think twice about returning in the near-term," said analyst Joseph Feldman of New York's Telsey Advisory Group.

Target customer Heather Tinlin, a victim of credit theft 20 years ago, admitted to panicking and immediately checking her account. "It happens from
time to time, knock on wood, you just have to be careful," she said yesterday at the Target in Dorchester.

Sara Lawson wasn't taking any chances. "I was a little nervous, and I will be paying cash today, just to be on the safe side," she said.

Andrew Blom contributed to this report.

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Walgreen fiscal 1Q profit jumps 68 percent

Walgreen's fiscal first quarter earnings soared 68 percent, helped in part by investments that the nation's largest drugstore chain has made in other companies.

The Deerfield Ill., company said Friday that it booked a total of $376 million in income during the quarter that ended Nov. 30 from its stakes in European health and beauty retailer Alliance Boots and U.S. pharmaceutical wholesaler AmerisourceBergen Corp.

Last year, Walgreen acquired a 45 percent stake in Alliance Boots, which runs the largest drugstore chain in the United Kingdom, and it has an option to buy the rest of the company in 2015.

Earlier this year, it also bought an ownership stake in AmerisourceBergen and entered a supply agreement with the company for its drugstores, mail order and specialty pharmacy businesses.

Analysts have said they like the potential for future growth that these deals give Walgreen.

Overall, Walgreen earned $695 million, or 72 cents per share, in its fiscal first quarter, up from $413 million, or 43 cents per share a year ago, when the company took a $24 million hit after Superstorm Sandy forced it to temporarily close hundreds of stores.

Revenue climbed 6 percent to $18.33 billion.

Adjusted earnings, which exclude one-time items, also totaled 72 cents per share.

Analysts forecast adjusted earnings of 72 cents per share on $18.36 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.

Walgreen also said prescription sales at stores open at least a year jumped 7.2 percent in the quarter, while sales from the front end, or the store areas outside its pharmacy, climbed 2.4 percent.

The company had said earlier this year that a soft economy was hurting its front-end results, and it was making improvement a priority. Walgreen also said Friday that an increase in promotions hurt its profit margin, as did a drop in the benefit it saw from generic drugs.

The bottom lines of Walgreen and other drugstore chains have benefited in the past several quarters from a wave of new generic drugs that is starting to wane.

Walgreen shares slipped 95 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $55.59 Friday before markets opened. The stock was up 54 percent so far this year through Thursday. The shares have set new all-time high prices several times in 2013, according to FactSet.

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Target: 40M card accounts may be breached

Target says that about 40 million credit and debit card accounts may have been affected by a data breach that occurred just as the holiday shopping season shifted into high gear.

The chain said that accounts of customers who made purchases by swiping their cards at terminals in its U.S. stores between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15 may have been exposed. The stolen data includes customer names, credit and debit card numbers, card expiration dates and the three-digit security codes located on the backs of cards. The data breach did not affect online purchases.

The breach affected all cards, including Target store brand cards and major card brands such as Visa and MasterCard.

The Minneapolis company said it immediately told authorities and financial institutions once it became aware of the breach and that it is teaming with a third-party forensics firm to investigate and prevent future breaches. It said it is putting all "appropriate resources" toward the issue.

Target Corp. advised customers to check their statements carefully. Those who see suspicious charges on the cards should report it to their credit card companies and call Target at 866-852-8680. Cases of identity theft can also be reported to law enforcement or the Federal Trade Commission.

Target didn't say exactly how the data breach occurred, but said it had since fixed the problem and that credit card holders can continue shopping at its stores. When asked whether there's a certain time when shoppers know their accounts will no longer be vulnerable, a Target spokeswoman said, "We encourage everyone to be vigilant."

But news of the breach comes at the height of the critical holiday shopping season and threatens to scare away shoppers worried about the safety of their personal data. The November and December period accounts for 20 percent, on average, of total retail industry sales.

The issue is particularly troublesome for Target because it has has used its red branded credit and debit cards as a marketing tool to lure shoppers with a 5 percent discount.

The company said during its earnings call in November that as of October the percentage of customers who have the Target branded cards topped 20 percent. This holiday season, Target added other incentives to use its cards. Two days before Thanksgiving, Target.com ran a special review sale with 25 exclusive offers, from electronics to housewares for those who used the branded card.

As a result of these incentives, Target says its continues to see that households who activate a Target-branded card have increased their spending at the store by about 50 percent on average.

"This is how Target is getting more customers in the stores," said Brian Sozzi, CEO and Chief Equities Strategist. "It's telling people to use the card. It's been a big win. If they lose that trust, that person goes to Wal-Mart."

Target is just the latest retailer to be hit with a data breach. TJX Cos., which runs stores such as T.J. Maxx and Marshall's, had a breach that began in July 2005 that exposed at least 45.7 million credit and debit cards to possible fraud. The breach wasn't detected until December 2006. In June 2009 TJX agreed to pay $9.75 million in a settlement with multiple states related to the massive data theft but stressed at the time that it firmly believed it did not violate any consumer protection or data security laws.

An even larger hack hit Sony in 2011. It had to rebuild trust among PlayStation Network gamers after hackers compromised personal information including credit card data on more than 100 million user accounts. Sony was criticized for slowness in alerting users to the breach.

"Target's first priority is preserving the trust of our guests and we have moved swiftly to address this issue, so guests can shop with confidence. We regret any inconvenience this may cause," Chairman, President and CEO Gregg Steinhafel said in a statement Thursday.

Target has 1,797 U.S. stores and 124 in Canada.

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Daimler, Aston Martin in engine development deal

BERLIN — Daimler AG and British sports car maker Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd have signed a deal that will see the two companies develop engines together and the German company get a stake in Aston Martin.

The companies said Thursday that Aston Martin and Daimler subsidiary Mercedes-AMG will develop V8 engines for a new generation of Aston Martin cars.

Daimler will get a nonvoting stake of up to 5 percent in Aston Martin in several steps as the two companies' partnership progresses. It will receive observer status on the Aston Martin board.

The companies say they're working to conclude a further agreement on supplying electronic components and will look into other areas where they can cooperate.

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Facebook to offer 70 million shares

MENLO PARK, Calif. — Facebook plans to offer 70 million shares of its Class A stock in a sale that includes more than 41 million shares from chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who also will buy Class B shares that carry more voting weight.

The secondary offering of stock comes as the social media network prepares to join the Standard & Poor's 500 index. Its shares fell more than 4 percent in premarket trading Thursday.

The Menlo Park, Calif., company said Thursday that the Class A shares will be offered mainly to index funds whose portfolios are based on stocks included in the index. The S&P 500 will add Facebook on Friday after markets close. The index is a list of companies that have a market capitalization over $4 billion and is meant to be a snapshot of the U.S. economy.

At Wednesday's closing price of $55.57 per share, that would put the total value of the offering, not counting expenses, at about $3.89 billion. Zuckerberg's offering of 41.3 million shares would generate about $2.3 billion based on Wednesday's close, not counting expenses.

The company said Zuckerberg will use most of the proceeds from his sale of Class A shares to pay taxes he will incur in connection with exercising an option to buy 60 million shares of Class B stock.

Each Class B share gives the shareholder 10 votes, while each Class A share comes with one vote. The deal will give Zuckerberg control over nearly 63 percent of the voting power of the company's outstanding stock, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Facebook Inc. will offer 27 million Class A shares, and the company expects to use any proceeds for working capital.

The company will have 2.54 billion Class A and Class B shares outstanding after the offering, or about 4 percent more than it had at the end of September.

Facebook's stock went public in 2012. After a rocky start, the company's shares gained momentum and were up more than 46 percent from their initial public offering price of $38, as of Wednesday's close.

The shares then fell more than 4 percent, or $2.32, to $53.26 in premarket trading Thursday 90 minutes before the markets open.

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Weekly US jobless claims hit 9-month high of 379K

WASHINGTON — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits rose 10,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 379,000, the highest since March. The increase may reflect volatility around the Thanksgiving holidays.

The Labor Department said Thursday that the less volatile four-week average jumped 13,250 to 343,250, the second straight increase.

Applications are a proxy for layoffs. Last month, they fell to nearly the lowest level in six years, as companies cut fewer jobs. But two weeks ago, they surged 64,000 to 369,000.

Economists dismissed the spike, saying it likely reflected a Thanksgiving holiday that fell later in the month. That can distort the government's seasonal adjustments. But if the trend continues it would be a troubling sign of rising layoffs.

The number of people receiving benefits rose sharply. More than 4.4 million people received unemployment benefits in the week ended Nov. 30, the latest data available. That was 600,000 more than the previous week. Those figures aren't adjusted for seasonal patterns.

Still, hiring has been healthy for the past four months. The economy added an average of 204,000 jobs a month from August through November, a solid improvement from earlier in the year. The unemployment rate fell in November to a five-year low of 7 percent.

The unemployment rate remains above the historic averages of 5 percent to 6 percent that are associated with strong job markets.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday that he expects the robust job gains to continue. Americans are spending more and the economy is less restrained by higher taxes and government spending cuts, he said.

Those trends have "increased our confidence that the job market gains will continue," Bernanke said at a press conference.

The Fed said Wednesday that it would scale back its monthly bond purchases to $75 billion from $85 billion. The purchases are intended to lower long-term interest rates and encourage more spending. The cut suggests that Fed policymakers think the job market and economy will continue to improve even with less help from the Fed.

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Mass. jobless rate dips, but moves higher than US

BOSTON — For the first in more than six years, the monthly unemployment rate in Massachusetts is higher than the U.S. rate.

The state Office of Labor and Workforce Development said Thursday that the state's jobless rate dropped in November to 7.1 percent from 7.2 percent in the previous month. Preliminary estimates from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics also show the state added 6,500 jobs in November.

The previously announced national unemployment rate dipped to a five-year low of 7 percent in November.

The last time Massachusetts had a monthly unemployment average that was higher than the U.S. as a whole was in May 2007.

The state's jobless rate has climbed by four tenths of a point over the last 12 months, but officials say Massachusetts has also gained more than 55,000 jobs over that same period.

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Higher blood pressure threshold OK in older adults

CHICAGO — Many older adults with high blood pressure can be treated less aggressively, which could mean taking fewer pills to get it under control, according to new treatment guidelines from an expert panel. But not all experts are on board with the advice — including the federal agency that appointed the group.

Panel members stressed that they are not changing the definition of high blood pressure: 140 over 90. For adults aged 60 and older, they are recommending a higher treatment threshold, prescribing medicine only when blood pressure levels reach 150 over 90 or higher.

Too aggressive blood pressure treatment can cause fainting and falls in older patients, or bad interactions with drugs they're already taking for other illnesses, panel members said.

The panel does endorse the lower target of 140 over 90 for younger adults — and for all adults who also have diabetes or kidney disease.

The guidelines released Wednesday are based on a review of the most rigorous kind of medical research — studies in which patients are randomly prescribed drugs or dummy pills — published since the last update in 2003. The research suggests older patients can avoid major health problems like heart attacks, strokes and kidney disease even when their blood pressure is above the current recommended level, the panel said.

For many patients, two or three drugs — or more — are needed to bring their blood pressure down. Many older adults could probably reduce their doses, or take fewer drugs, to reach the new, less strict target, said Dr. Paul James, a panel member and family medicine specialist-researcher at the University of Iowa.

While the guidelines were updated by a government-appointed panel, they don't have the government's endorsement like previous versions. The panel completed its work earlier this year, around the same time that the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute announced that it was getting out of the guidelines business and turning the job over to the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology. Updated guidelines from those medical groups are expected in late 2014.

In the meantime, the heart association is raising concerns about the new recommendations, saying that many studies they are based on didn't last long enough to reveal dangers of undertreated high blood pressure in older patients. The panel also overlooked other evidence suggesting the 2003 government-backed recommendations are sound, said Dr. Elliott Antman, the heart association's president-elect. He noted that his group last month published a treatment formula that echoes the 2003 advice.

Dr. Gary Gibbons, the federal agency's director, issued a statement Wednesday emphasizing that his agency has not sanctioned the panel's report, nor has the broader National Institutes of Health. While noting that the panel decided not to collaborate with the heart groups' efforts, Gibbons said his agency would work with those groups "to transition" the panel's evidence review into their update. His statement did not address whether the agency opposes all the panel's recommendations.

James said panel members chose to release their guidelines independently to get the recommendations out sooner and into the hands of primary care doctors, who treat large numbers of patients with high blood pressure. The guidelines were published online Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Dr. Curtis Rimmerman, a Cleveland Clinic cardiologist, called the guidelines "exceedingly important" given the prevalence of high blood pressure, which affects about 1 in 3 U.S. adults, or 68 million.

Whether many doctors immediately adopt the advice "remains to be seen," he said. Rimmerman predicted that some will continue to push to get older patients' blood pressure lower than the new recommendation, especially those with previous strokes or heart problems.

The panel said their guidelines are simply recommendations, and that doctors should make treatment decisions based on patients' individual circumstances. The experts emphasized that everyone with high blood pressure can benefit from a healthy diet, regular exercise and weight control, which all can help lower blood pressure.

___

Online:

JAMA: http://jama.ama-assn.org

___

AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner

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JPMorgan Chase sues FDIC for more than $1B

JPMorgan is suing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to recover more than $1 billion tied to its purchase of Washington Mutual when that bank failed in 2008.

In a federal court complaint, the New York bank said that the FDIC failed to honor obligations under the Washington Mutual agreement, and that has subjected JP Morgan to massive liability.

The FDIC became the receiver for Washington Mutual, during the largest bank failure in U.S. history. JP Morgan Chase & Co. said the FDIC then made promises to indemnify or protect the bank against liabilities if it stepped in.

JP Morgan said in a court filing Tuesday that the FDIC then declined to acknowledge that claims against JP Morgan for Washington Mutual's conduct should have been claims against the receivership.

The FDIC did not immediately return calls seeking comment from The Associated Press early Wednesday.

The Washington Mutual receivership's assets are about $2.75 billion, according to JPMorgan.

JP Morgan has entered into a series of legal settlements over sales of mortgage-backed securities in the years preceding the financial crisis. As the housing market collapsed between 2006 and 2008, millions of homeowners defaulted on high-risk mortgages. That led to billions of dollars in losses for investors who bought securities created from bundles of mortgages.

Last month, the bank reached a $4.5 billion settlement that covered 21 major institutional investors

Most of JP Morgan's mortgage-backed securities came from Washington Mutual and the investment bank Bear Stearns, which it also acquired in 2008.

The bank has been negotiating with the U.S. Justice Department to resolve U.S. government claims that JPMorgan misled mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac about risky mortgage-backed securities.

The bank said in October that it set aside $9.2 billion in the July-September quarter to cover legal costs.

Shares of JPMorgan climbed 17 cents to $55.89 Wednesday before markets opened. The shares have climbed nearly 27 percent so far in 2013.

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Delta: No voice calls on our planes

MINNEAPOLIS — Delta Air Lines says it won't allow passengers to make voice calls from its planes.

CEO Richard Anderson says the airline's frequent fliers believe that voice calls in the cabin would disrupt the travel experience. Delta says a majority of customers in a survey last year said the ability to make voice calls would make their experience worse, not better.

Anderson also says Delta employees, particularly in-flight crews, are against allowing calls during flights.

The Federal Communications Commission is thinking about lifting its ban on voice calls on planes. However, the Transportation Department is thinking about instituting a ban of its own.

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UK unemployment rate prompts rate rise talk

LONDON — Britain's unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest rate in about four years, official figures showed Wednesday, in a development that's reinforced expectations that the Bank of England will start raising interest rates sooner than previously thought.

The Office for National Statistics said the unemployment rate fell to 7.4 percent for the three months ending in October, down 0.3 percentage points from the previous three-month period.

The decline provides further evidence that the recovery of Europe's third-largest economy is gathering pace and comes just a day after Bank Governor Mark Carney said the British economy was performing better than predicted. The fall takes the rate nearer to the 7 percent threshold the central bank has said will prompt an assessment of policy.

Carney has insisted that the Bank will not act prematurely — or automatically — when the threshold is reached. However, the recent falls in unemployment have prompted economists to predict that the bank will raise interest rates sooner, perhaps as soon as next year.

That was evident in the performance of the pound, which was trading 0.5 percent higher at $1.6353.

The bank has kept its main interest rate at the record low of 0.5 percent since early 2009 in the wake of a financial crisis that caused the country's deepest recession since World War II.

Katie Evans, an economist at the Centre for Economic and Business Research, thinks the unemployment rate will continue to fall to 7.1 percent by the end of 2014, "setting the scene for the Bank of England to increase interest rates in early 2015." The bank's latest forecasts suggest the target may be reached by the third quarter of 2015 rather than the original estimate of 2016.

The minutes of the Bank's last policy meeting showed no sign of any imminent rise. The nine rate-setters on the Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to keep interest rates unchanged and to refrain from pumping more money into the economy.

Members of Britain's Conservative-led government said the unemployment figures provided further evidence that its economic strategy is working.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who is the leader of the smaller coalition partner, the Liberal Democrats, said the figures provide a "clear message that we have built the foundations for healthy UK growth and a stronger economy."

However, a closer analysis of the data underscored concerns that much of the country is still failing to see better times and an improvement in living standards. Wages, more often than not, are being outstripped by price rises, particularly with regard to energy costs.

Matthew Whittaker, the senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said that while the drop in inflation — now measuring at 2.1 percent — will help, it's not enough.

"Wage growth itself still remains historically weak," he said. "Until that picks up, analysts are right to worry about the sustainability of the recovery — with pressure on household incomes from other sources, consumer spending rests heavily on a return to solid wage growth."

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Stocks rise ahead of final Fed statement of 2013

NEW YORK — Stocks were modestly higher in early trading on Wall Street Wednesday as the Federal Reserve ends its last two-day policy meeting of 2013. Homebuilder stocks rose sharply after the government reported that construction of new homes surged in November.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average was up 52 points, or 0.3 percent, to 15,927 in the first 20 minutes of trading. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 4 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,785 and the Nasdaq composite was up 5 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,029.

FED DAY: Policymakers at the Federal Reserve will vote Wednesday on whether to keep up the bank's economic stimulus program. The central bank has been buying $85 billion in bonds a month in an effort to keep interest rates low and stimulate the economy. Investors widely expect the Fed will wind down the program within the next year. Few expect the Fed would do it this week with the end of the year approaching and most of the country heading on vacation in the next two weeks. Many economists expect that the pullback on the Fed's stimulus program is likely to come in March.

JOBS v. INFLATION: The final monthly U.S. jobs report of 2013 was huge. Unemployment fell to 7 percent in November, the lowest in five years, and employers added 203,000 jobs. But inflation remains historically low and well under the Fed's 2 percent target rate. That means consumers and businesses are not spending, and that is making Fed officials cautious about pulling back on its huge bond purchases, which have kept financial markets flush with cash.

BUILDING BLOCKS: Markets are also reacting to good news on the housing front. The Commerce Department says builders broke ground on homes at the fastest pace in more than five years and 23 percent more than in October. Permits for single-family homes rose, indicating that builders are increasingly confident in the market. The homebuilder Lennar surprised Wall Street by reporting a 32 percent profit spike for the fourth quarter. The stock jumped $1.32, or 4 percent, to $36.52.

NOT SO FORD TOUGH: Ford slumped 90 cents, or 6 percent, to $15.81 after the company issued a three-year profit forecast that came in short of investors' expectations. The company cited a large number of vehicle launches in 2014 as well as weakness in overseas markets. General Motors lost 76 cents, or 2 percent, to $40.76.

OVERSEAS: Investors were encouraged by signs the Germany economy is gaining momentum. Germany's DAX rose 1.1 percent to 9,181, France's CAC-40 rose 1 percent to 4,107 and the Britain's FTSE climbed 0.3 percent to 6,503.

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US homebuilder confidence surges in December

U.S. homebuilders' confidence bounced back strongly this month, suggesting many will ramp up construction and hiring in coming months.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index climbed to 58. That's up from 54 in November and matched an eight-year high reached in August. Readings above 50 indicate more builders view sales conditions as good, rather than poor.

This month, builders' view of current sales conditions jumped to the highest level in eight years, while their outlook for sales heading into next year's spring home-selling season also improved.

Builders' outlook is rising again after dimming during the 16-day partial shutdown. The index is 11 points higher than a year ago, reflecting a U.S. housing market fueled by steady job growth and still-low mortgage rates.

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US consumer prices flat as gas costs keep falling

WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer prices stayed flat in November, held down by falling gas prices. Inflation remains low across the broader economy, giving the Federal Reserve latitude to continue its extraordinary stimulus program.

The consumer price index was unchanged last month, after dropping 0.1 percent in October, the Labor Department said Tuesday.

Gas prices declined 1.6 percent in November to keep overall prices down. Over the past 12 months, consumer prices have risen just 1.2 percent. That's well below the Fed's 2 percent inflation target.

Excluding volatile energy and food costs, core prices rose 0.2 percent in November from October and just 1.7 percent over the past 12 months.

High unemployment and small wage increases have kept consumers from ramping up spending, making it difficult for businesses to raise prices since the Great Recession ended.

Low inflation also gives Fed members more reason to hold off scaling back its buying $85 billion a month in bond purchases for a few more months. The Fed's final two-day policy meeting starts Tuesday and many economists expect the Fed to keep the purchases at that level.

"Indeed, inflation is still a distance from the Fed's 2 percent target and this is one report that would give the Fed reason to go easy on tapering," said Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.

Cheaper gasoline costs in recent months have kept inflation extremely weak. Gas prices nationwide are averaging just $3.23 a gallon, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

The November decline in energy costs was offset by higher prices for home rentals, hotels, airfare, and restaurant meals. Grocery prices edged up 0.1 percent last month, led by higher prices for bread, hot dogs, soup and milk.

Prices for new vehicles and clothing fell. But in a sign of potentially changing fashion styles, the price of women's dresses increased 5.7 percent during the past 12 months as the cost of women's suits dropped.

For roughly a year, the Fed has been buying Treasury and mortgage bonds to keep long-term interest rates low and encourage more borrowing and spending. The Fed has also kept its key short-term interest rate near zero since late 2008.

Critics of the bond-buying program fear it will spark higher inflation in the future.

But the inflation has yet to materialize. Moreover, a number of Fed officials say the program is needed because inflation has been too low.

A small amount of inflation can be good for the economy, because it encourages consumers and businesses to spend and invest before prices rise further. But if prices don't increase at all, consumers might pull back their spending on the expectation that goods will be cheaper in the future.

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Jury to weigh ex-BP engineer's case for 2nd day

NEW ORLEANS — A jury will return to a New Orleans courthouse for a second day of deliberations in the trial of a former BP engineer charged with trying to obstruct a federal probe of the company's 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Jurors deliberated for roughly 90 minutes Monday after hearing closing arguments by Justice Department prosecutors and a lawyer for Kurt Mix, who is charged with two counts of obstruction of justice. Their deliberations are scheduled to resume Tuesday morning.

Prosecutors claim Mix was trying to destroy evidence when he deleted hundreds of text messages to and from a supervisor and a BP contractor. Mix's lawyers said their client didn't hide anything from a grand jury that was investigating the spill.

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NGOs: libel must not be criminalized in Romania

BUCHAREST, Romania — Press freedom groups from around the world have urged Romanian leaders not to reinstate a law that makes libel and insult criminal offenses.

The appeal Tuesday to Prime Minister Victor Ponta and the speakers of both chambers of Parliament came after lawmakers voted last week for the change.

Romania decriminalized both libel and insult in 2006 as it reformed its laws to join the EU.

"Criminalization of insult and libel ... works to intimidate voices who criticize the structures of power in society and expose corruption, abuse and other wrongdoings," said the letter, signed by 35 organizations including Reporters Without Borders and the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers.

President Traian Basescu previously has rejected attempts to criminalize libel, but it's not clear if he will veto the law.

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GSK to scrap individual sales targets

LONDON — British drug company GlaxoSmithKline said Tuesday it is to scrap individual sales targets, just months after being embroiled in a bribery scandal allegedly conducted by some of its employees in China.

The pharmaceutical group also said it would stop paying doctors to promote its products at speaking engagements and providing direct financial support to health care professionals to attend medical conferences. However, it left open the possibility of funding through grants.

"It is patients' interests that always come first," Andrew Witty, the company's chief executive, insisted. "We recognize that we have an important role to play in providing doctors with information about our medicines, but this must be done clearly, transparently and without any perception of conflict of interest."

The changes come as GlaxoSmithKline PLC distances itself from the scandal engulfing its operations in China, which Witty has said was conducted by people "acting outside of our processes." In July, he insisted that "99.9 percent" of company employees play by the rules.

Chinese police allege that four employees paid bribes to doctors to encourage them to prescribe medications.

The company says that under its new program, individual sales targets will be replaced by a new system in which GSK employees will be rewarded for their technical knowledge, their quality of service and overall performance. The goal is for the new system to be in place by early 2015.

It added that these changes were influenced by a similar program introduced in the United States in 2011.

"The 'Patient First' program bases compensation for sales professionals who work directly with prescribing health care professionals on a blend of qualitative measures and the overall performance of their business, rather than the number of prescriptions generated," the company said.

The company has also faced issues in the United States. It has paid $3 billion and pleaded guilty to promoting two drugs for unapproved uses and failing to disclose important safety information on a third. The criminal case was accompanied by a civil settlement in which the government said the company's improper marketing included providing doctors with European hunting trips, high-paid speaking tours and even tickets to a Madonna concert.

At the time, the company said it had learned from its mistakes.

Health care advocates welcomed the change in GSK's position, but some, like Tim Reed of Health Action International, said self-regulation remains a big problem in the industry.

"It is like marking your own homework," said Reed, who favors strong state regulation.

Though he did not expect huge changes, Reed said Glaxo's decision may reflect a change of thinking in the industry — away from targeting doctors and toward those who pay the bills, like agencies that make recommendations on which drugs to buy.

"It is possible that the role of health care professionals, responsible for writing prescriptions for medicines are becoming of less value to the pharmaceutical industry, in terms of the promotion of products," he said.

"Rather, it may be those with the ultimate responsibility for paying the bill for medicines, for example insurance companies and governments, so the focus of attention for sales reps may well switch to those making the therapeutic and cost-effectiveness decisions on medicines availability," he added.

GSK's share price was down 1 percent in mid-afternoon London trading at 15.73 pounds.

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US factory output rises solid 0.6 pct. in November

WASHINGTON — U.S. factories increased output in November for the fourth straight month, led by a surge in auto production. The gains show manufacturing is strengthening and could help boost economic growth at the end of the year.

Factory production rose 0.6 percent in November after a 0.5 percent gain in October, the Federal Reserve said Monday.

Production of motor vehicles and parts increased 3.4 percent, rebounding from a 1.3 percent decline in October. Factories also stepped up production of home electronics and chemical products.

Industrial production, which includes manufacturing, mining and utilities, rose 1.1 percent in November. It was the fourth straight gain.

Colder-than-average temperatures drove a 3.9 percent surge in utility production. Mining output jumped 1.7 percent to reverse a similar decline in October.

Overall production for the first time surpassed the pre-recession peak set in December 2007, the month the Great Recession began. Output is now 21 percent above its recession low hit in June 2009, the month the downturn ended.

The report of healthier output at U.S. factories helped drive a rally on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average soared more than 160 points in the first hour of trading.

Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics, said the gains in mining and utilities can be volatile. He noted that the best guide of the underlying trend is manufacturing output.

"It suggests that producers are benefiting from stronger demand at home and overseas," Dales said.

Factories are busier in part because overseas growth has picked up and the housing recovery has driven more demand for furniture and other wood products. Automakers are also having their best year for sales since the recession.

Separately, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said manufacturing in the New York region grew for the sixth time in the past seven months, although the gains were only modest.

The solid gains at U.S. factories follow other positive signs for manufacturing last month.

A closely watched report from the Institute for Supply Management showed factory activity climbed in November at the fastest pace in 2 ½ years. Factories ramped up production, stepped up hiring and received orders at a healthy clip.

And the government's November employment report showed that factories added 27,000 jobs last month, the fourth straight month of gains and the most since March 2012.

The pickup at factories could help an economy that is starting to accelerate.

The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 3.6 percent in the July-September quarter. Nearly half of the growth came from a buildup in business stockpiles, which can be volatile.

Consumer spending slowed to the weakest pace since the end of the recession. But that was mostly because of a decline in utility spending. Spending on goods rose at the fastest pace since early 2012.

Companies could slow their inventory growth in the October-December quarter if they don't see enough demand from consumers. That would weigh on overall economic growth.

Many economists are predicting growth will slow to an annual rate of between 2 percent and 2.5 percent.

Still, a recent government report showed restocking rose in October at the fastest pace in nine months. At the same time, consumers stepped up spending at retail businesses in November. If those trends continue, growth could be stronger.

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Carrefour to buy malls next to its hypermarkets

PARIS — French big box retailer Carrefour plans to buy dozens of shopping malls next to its hypermarket stores.

The retailer said Monday that it and eight investors would buy 127 malls in France, Italy and Spain from Paris-based Klepierre for 2 billion euros ($2.75 billion). Carrefour already owns 45 malls in France. All the shopping centers will be held by one new company.

Carrefour has been struggling for years, even before the European debt crisis decimated its biggest markets, and has seen a dizzying string of strategy changes. Georges Plassat took over as chief executive last year, pledging to cut costs and make the company a leader again in the all-in-one hypermarkets it has historically excelled at.

The deal needs regulatory approval but should close in March or April 2014.

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US stocks sharply higher

Stocks rose sharply on Monday, powered by two big corporate deals and news that suggests the economy is getting stronger.

The gains follow a down week. Stocks have turned volatile ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting that begins on Tuesday, as investors bet on whether the central bank will start to reduce the stimulus that has boosted stock prices this year.

At 9:50 a.m. Eastern, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 169 points, or more than 1 percent, at 15,925. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 16 points, or almost 1 percent, to 1,792. The Nasdaq composite was higher by 40 points, or 1 percent, at 4,041.

All 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 were higher, led by technology stocks.

Two major deals caught investors' attention: Chipmaker Avago Technologies is buying LSI Corp. for $6.6 billion. Avago was up $4.36, or almost 10 percent, to $50, while LSI rose $3.05, or 39 percent, to $10.96. AIG is selling its aircraft leasing business for about $5.4 billion to Dutch leasing company AerCap. AIG has been selling major assets after getting a bailout during the financial crisis. Its shares rose $1.10, or 2.2 percent, to $50.83.

Also Monday, the Federal Reserve said factory production accelerated in November as auto production surged. The gains in manufacturing could help boost economic growth.

Just last week, such positive reports were making investors nervous. That's because they feared that the Fed would think that the economy is doing so well that its $85 billion in monthly bond-buying is no longer needed.

However, economists are almost unanimous in believing that the Fed will not begin winding down its stimulus program just yet. It will release a statement and projections for the economy Wednesday.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up more than 1 percent, while Germany's DAX rose almost 2 percent. The CAC-40 in France was 1.5 percent higher. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index slid 1.6 percent despite a report from Japan's central bank showing improved business sentiment.

Oil rose 71 cents to $97.31 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Trial winds down for former BP engineer

NEW ORLEANS — A federal trial is drawing to a close for a former BP drilling engineer charged with deleting text messages about the company's response to its massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Jurors are scheduled to hear closing arguments Monday in Kurt Mix's trial on two counts of obstruction of justice. Mix didn't testify. It started two weeks ago. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Mix pleaded not guilty to charges that he deliberately deleted text messages to and from a supervisor and a BP contractor to stymie a grand jury's investigation of the spill.

Defense attorney Joan McPhee told jurors Mix deleted the texts "for the most innocent of reasons" and didn't hide anything from the grand jury.

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Court won't hear appeal over news release

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from a CEO convicted because a news release misstated the results of a drug's effectiveness.

The high court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from Dr. W. Scott Harkonen, the chief executive of the biotechnology company InterMune Inc. from 1998 until 2003. He was convicted wire fraud in the marketing of the drug Actimmune, which was supposed to fight the fatal lung disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

The conviction centered on an August 2002 news release that misstated the results of a clinical trial using Actimmune. The release falsely said the test showed Actimmune helped IPF patients live longer.

Harkonen's lawyers say the results of the trial were accurate, and he is being punished for offering a scientific opinion about the results.

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Fuel assistance drying up

Community activists are urging the federal government to increase fuel assistance funding, saying 50,000 households across the Bay State who depend on the aid to heat their homes may be left out in the cold by Christmas.

"We have thousands of households who do not have enough assistance," said John Drew, CEO of Action for Boston Community Development. "We're not in a position to help a lot of people right now."

ABCD has significantly less money this year, in part because of the federal sequester, to provide fuel assistance benefits to those who heat their homes with oil, Drew said.

"We're starting this winter off with about 25 percent less money than last year," he said.

The maximum benefit for the poorest families is $950, and with oil at $4 a gallon, ABCD is only able to fund one tank of oil, he said, meaning those who applied early will use up their benefits soon. ABCD estimates 5,000 households they help are maxed out and may run out by Christmas, and 50,000 across the state are in the same position.

"In past winters, we had enough money to provide two tanks for the winter," Drew said.

ABCD has received more than 17,000 applications for fuel assistance so far.

Maria Cazeau, a 54-year-old minister who was laid off and receives heating assistance, said she depends on the oil ABCD provides.

"I don't have enough money to support me, so I need that help," Cazeau said.

She said her home needs to be kept warm because a sick, elderly woman is staying with her.

In November, Gov. Deval Patrick and governors of 13 other states sent a letter to Congress seeking a boost in the funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program from the current $2.6 billion to $3.6 billion. The letter noted average winter home heating costs have increased by 6 percent.

"LIHEAP is a critical bridge of Americans — many of them elderly, disabled or caring for dependent children — who otherwise may be forced to choose between paying home energy bills and paying for food, medicine or other essentials," the letter said.

Still, Drew said more funding is anything but certain, even with the promise of a newly signed federal budget deal.

"There may be some federal money, and there may not be federal money," Drew said.

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Reading the tech tea leaves

Predictions are a tricky business, but I did tell you last year that 2013 would be the year that Best Buy started to go bye-bye, that wearable devices like the Jawbone Up would be huge and that Apple's stock surge would start to collapse. So I'm reading technological tea leaves again for 2014. Here is my five-part forecast for next year:

5: It will be the year foreign diplomacy goes social. We saw the first hint of this Nov. 23, when the Iranian president retweeted Secretary of State John Kerry's comments following a historic agreement on nukes between the two parties in Geneva.

Though I wouldn't call Kerry and the Iranian president "tweeps," Hassan Rouhani's Twitter olive branch received thousands of retweets and exposed a new way to take foreign policy directly to the people — for better or worse — in 140 characters or less. More foreign leaders, perhaps even some right here at home, are sure to follow suit.

4: Health care will go the way of the wearable. Consumers will begin to see and experience many more devices and apps that help them to monitor personal health and wellness, with metrics like blood-sugar levels, blood pressure and more. These devices will begin to automatically send information on you to your doctor, and will be pushed by health insurance carriers who see their value in disease prevention.

3: Google Glass will not come to market. Though I'm as jazzed as anyone about the prospect of augmented reality goggles that make my line of sight a whole lot smarter, I don't see how they get the price down to a level that consumers will be willing to pay. Despite many pronouncements that the product will be available to consumers in 2014, I see the device remaining with a select group handpicked by Google for their beta-testing program, at least for the next year.

2: Haptics will be the next big thing. That's a field of technology devoted to tactile feedback, or in some cases tricking your nerves into thinking they feel virtual objects that aren't actually present.

We'll start to see the first rumblings of tablets that allow you to virtually "feel" a sweater before you buy it online.

1: The next holiday shopping season will feature a new addition: 3-D printers and pens. A beneficiary of this hopefully will be the fine folks at Somerville's Formlabs, whose pioneering 3-D printer, the Form 1, is a sleek-looking producer of three-dimensional objects.

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How the AP-GfK poll was conducted

The Associated Press-GfK poll on the health care overhaul was conducted by GfK Public Affairs and Corporate Communications Dec. 5-9. It is based on online interviews of 1,367 adults who are members of GfK's nationally representative KnowledgePanel.

The original sample was drawn from a panel of respondents recruited via phone or mail survey methods. GfK provides Internet access to panel recruits who don't already have it. With a probability basis and coverage of people who otherwise couldn't access the Internet, online surveys using KnowledgePanel are nationally representative.

Interviews were conducted in both English and Spanish.

As is done routinely in surveys, results were weighted, or adjusted, to ensure that responses accurately reflect the population's makeup by factors such as age, sex, race, education and phone usage.

No more than 1 time in 20 should chance variations in the sample cause the results to vary by more than plus or minus 3.5 percentage points from the answers that would be obtained if all adults in the U.S. were polled.

There are other sources of potential error in polls, including the wording and order of questions.

The questions and results are available at http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com .

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An unsettling time for real estate owners and investors

WASHINGTON — For one of the least productive congressional sessions in modern history, the final word about tax reform last week was entirely in character: Nothing's happening.

But is that good news or bad news for homeowners, buyers and small-scale real estate investors? A bit of both.

When House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) announced that not only will he not reveal the details of his long-awaited comprehensive tax reform bill this year but he also will not seek passage of a so-called "extenders" bill for expiring tax code benefits, it was a sweet and sour mix for real estate interests.

Camp's big reform bill — which would attempt to lower individual and corporate income tax rates to a maximum of 25 percent, is expected to call for significant cutbacks — possibly elimination — of prized real estate deductions for home mortgage interest, local property taxes and other write-offs in order to pay for lower marginal rates. With major changes like these now pushed back well into 2014 for even preliminary debate — in the middle of a re-election year for Congress — 
homeownership advocates are at least moderately relieved.

But there's a key negative here as well: The failure of tax writers to put together an extenders bill means that important expiring Internal Revenue Code provisions affecting large numbers of 
homeowners — especially relief from taxation on mortgage debt forgiveness by lenders in most states, plus current deductions for mortgage insurance premiums and energy-saving home improvements — will lapse Dec. 31. California owners are not affected by the debt forgiveness expiration because state law exempts them from taxation when lenders cancel mortgage principal debt as part of short sales. The IRS has announced that it will not levy taxes on such transactions in California even if the federal exemption for owners elsewhere expires.

Complicating matters even more: Though they were tucked away in eye-glazing discussion drafts and attracted little attention before Thanksgiving, Senate tax writers' reform-bill proposals for real estate should be unsettling for anyone owning residential investment property, such as rental houses.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, (D-Mont.) would terminate one of the oldest financial planning techniques used by real estate investors — tax-deferred exchanges under Section 1031 of the code. In a 1031 exchange, property owners can defer taxes indefinitely when they swap "like kind" investment real estate within specified time periods following IRS regulations. Under current law, investors can exchange rental real estate without incurring immediate tax liability — even if they've racked up huge paper gains on their properties. Taxes generally are not due until the investors actually sell their real estate for money.

Baucus also would increase sharply the depreciation period for residential investment real estate from the current 27.5 years to 43 years. Stretching out the depreciation schedule means investors would be able write off less per year on their properties than at present.

On top of that, the Senate reform proposal also would tax so-called "recapture" of depreciation — where the IRS requires payback of a portion of an investor's earlier write-offs — at property owners' ordinary income tax rates, rather than at lower capital gains rates, as at present.

Under Baucus' plan, mom-and-pop real estate investors — people who've purchased a small portfolio of rental houses or condos — could be hit hard. Besides the depreciation deduction stretch-out, the inability to exchange properties tax-free for others of similar or greater value would put a severe crimp on their ability to grow and manage their investments over time.

William Horan, president of Realty Exchange Corp. of Gainesville, Va., says "if Section 1031 of the code is repealed, then small investor owners would be facing massive taxes and most likely would not sell their properties. Real estate values for everyone would be lowered by removing vital investors from the market."

A more immediate concern for homeowners, however, is Congress' inability — or unwillingness — this year to extend key tax laws. Tops on the list is the mortgage debt forgiveness law. Unless Congress agrees to a retroactive extension, large numbers of owners could face big tax bills following short sales, foreclosures or loan modifications next year when lenders cancel a portion of the balances owed them.

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AP-GfK poll: Health law seen as eroding coverage

WASHINGTON — Americans who already have health insurance are blaming President Barack Obama's health care overhaul for their rising premiums and deductibles, and overall 3 in 4 say the rollout of coverage for the uninsured has gone poorly.

An Associated Press-GfK poll finds that health care remains politically charged going into next year's congressional elections. Keeping the refurbished HealthCare.gov website running smoothly is just one of Obama's challenges, maybe not the biggest.

The poll found a striking level of unease about the law among people who have health insurance and aren't looking for government help. Those are the 85 percent of Americans who the White House says don't have to be worried about the president's historic push to expand coverage for the uninsured.

In the survey, nearly half of those with job-based or other private coverage say their policies will be changing next year — mostly for the worse. Nearly 4 in 5 (77 percent) blame the changes on the Affordable Care Act, even though the trend toward leaner coverage predates the law's passage.

Sixty-nine percent say their premiums will be going up, while 59 percent say annual deductibles or copayments are increasing.

Only 21 percent of those with private coverage said their plan is expanding to cover more types of medical care, though coverage of preventive care at no charge to the patient has been required by the law for the past couple of years.

Fourteen percent said coverage for spouses is being restricted or eliminated, and 11 percent said their plan is being discontinued.

"Rightly or wrongly, people with private insurance looking at next year are really worried about what is going to happen," said Robert Blendon, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, who tracks public opinion on health care issues. "The website is not the whole story."

Employers trying to control their health insurance bills have been shifting costs to workers for years, but now those changes are blamed increasingly on "Obamacare" instead of the economy or insurance companies.

Political leanings seemed to affect perceptions of eroding coverage, with larger majorities of Republicans and independents saying their coverage will be affected.

The White House had hoped that the Oct. 1 launch of open enrollment season for the uninsured would become a teaching moment, a showcase of the president's philosophy that government can help smooth out the rough edges of life in the modern economy for working people.

Instead, the dysfunctional website became a parable for Republicans and others skeptical of government.

At the same time, a cresting wave of cancellation notices hit millions who buy their policy directly from an insurer. That undercut one of Obama's central promises — that you can keep the coverage you have if you like it. The White House never clearly communicated the many caveats to that promise.

Disapproval of Obama's handling of health care topped 60 percent in the poll.

With the website working better and enrollments picking up, Democrats are hoping negative impressions will quickly fade in the rearview mirror. The poll found that Democrats still have an edge over Republicans, by 32 percent to 22 percent, when it comes to whom the public trusts to handle health care.

But other potential bumps are just ahead for Obama's law.

It's unclear whether everyone who wants and needs coverage by Jan. 1 will be able to get it through the new online insurance markets. Some people who have to switch plans because their policies were cancelled may find that their new insurance covers different drugs, or that they have to look for other doctors.

In the poll, taken just after the revamped federal website was unveiled, 11 percent of Americans said they or someone in their household had tried to sign up for health insurance in the new marketplaces.

Sixty-two percent of those said they or the person in their household ran into problems. About one-fourth of all who tried managed to enroll. Half said they were not able to buy insurance, and the remaining quarter said they weren't sure.

Phyllis Dessel, 63, of Reading, Pa., believes she is finally enrolled after 50 attempts online. The retired social worker, a political independent, currently has her own private insurance.

When Dessel described her experience, she jokingly asked, "Do you mind if I cry?"

Thanks to tax credits available under the law, she was able to save about $100 a month on her coverage. But she had to switch carriers because a plan with her current insurer cost more than she was willing to pay. She hasn't gotten an invoice yet from her new insurance company.

The premiums were "not at all" what she expected, said Dessel. "They were much, much higher."

A supporter of Obama's overhaul, she believes changes are needed to make the coverage more affordable.

"I think with a lot of amendments or updates, it could be very, very helpful and beneficial," said Dessel. "I know a lot of people who don't have insurance. My hairdresser, my plumber don't have insurance and they're not going to get it if it's not affordable."

The AP-GfK Poll was conducted Dec. 5-9 and involved online interviews with 1,367 adults. The survey has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for all respondents.

The survey was conducted using KnowledgePanel, a probability-based Internet panel designed to be representative of the U.S. population. Respondents to the survey were first selected randomly using phone or mail survey methods, and were later interviewed online. People selected for KnowledgePanel who didn't otherwise have access to the Internet were provided with the ability to access the Internet at no cost to them.

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AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius and Associated Press writer Stacy A. Anderson contributed to this report.

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Online:

AP-GfK Poll: http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com

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