Stocks that could benefit from a GOP-led Congress

NEW YORK — Lower taxes for medical device makers. Lighter regulations for coal. If the new Republican-led Congress manages to push through these policy changes it could lift stocks in the health and energy industries, market strategists say.

To be sure, President Obama still has two years left in the White House and can use his veto power to stop legislation. A Republican Congress can't repeal the entire Affordable Care Act. Any big tax or immigration reform ideas will have to be reached through compromise.

"Those big issues are off the table and on hold until after the presidential election in 2016," says David Lebovitz, global market strategist at JPMorgan Funds.

Still, specific industries that could benefit from successful Republican legislation include:

MEDICAL DEVICE COMPANIES:

The GOP-controlled House of Representatives has tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act's medical device tax several times only to see their efforts die in the Democratically-controlled Senate. With the Senate under Republican control starting next year, the 2.3 percent excise tax is likely to be on the chopping block, market strategists and Washington watchers say.

The nation's biggest medical device makers — Johnson & Johnson, Boston Scientific, Medtronic and others — could benefit from the elimination of the tax. Boston Scientific had $73 million in expenses related to this tax, while Johnson & Johnson paid approximately $200 million in 2013 in expenses related to the tax. Removing the tax could give a modest boost the industry's bottom line, investors say.

ENERGY:

The GOP-controlled House and Senate will likely put pressure on the White House to approve TransCanada's Keystone XL Pipeline next year. The pipeline, which would help carry crude from Canada to refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast, has been in regulatory purgatory for several years, awaiting approval. While the State Department has the authority to greenlight the pipeline, Congress can adopt a bill that would overrule it by approving the project.

TransCanada's stock was up 2.4 percent the day after the election. Suncor Energy, a Canadian oil sands company, rose 4 percent.

Coal stocks might also do well, analysts at Brunswick Group say. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, will almost certainly become the Senate Majority Leader, and a big energy supporter, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, is likely to become chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works committee.

Coal companies have faced strict pollution regulations under the Obama Administration. Congress could take up legislation to pull back some of those regulations.

Obama, however, is likely to veto any legislation related to coal plants and carbon and it's unclear if the Senate has enough votes to override him.

Peabody Energy was up 12 percent, Arch Coal rose 32 percent and Alpha Natural Resources was up 49 percent for the week.

BANKS:

Smaller, regional banks may benefit under the new Congress, analysts say. There is talk of pulling back some of the Dodd-Frank regulations for banks under $10 billion in assets.

However, big banks are unlikely to see any significant regulatory changes, analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods say. The Dodd-Frank financial reform act is unlikely to be repealed while Obama remains in office. Also the "too big to fail" regulations, which require the big banks to hold higher amounts of capital because of the crucial role they play in the economy, are generally popular among both Democrats and Republicans.

A regional bank, Zions Bancorporation, climbed 2.4 percent for the week.

MIDTERM BOOST:

It's not just new legislation that could help stocks; history also favors the market right now. In the past, U.S. stocks have done well in the quarter that includes midterms. Data by Strategas Research Partners shows that the Standard & Poor's 500 index, going all the way back to 1930, rose an average of 2.1 percent in the fourth quarter of a midterm election year. That compares with a return of 0.4 percent for the entire year.

Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at Nuveen Asset Management, says the gain is because elections remove uncertainty for investors and help provide clarity on which way the country might be headed.

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China trade growth decelerates

BEIJING — China's trade growth decelerated in October but still was relatively robust as Chinese leaders try to reverse a deepening economic slowdown.

Exports rose 11.6 percent to $206.9 billion, down from September's 18-month high of 15.3 percent growth, trade data showed Saturday. Imports rose 4.6 percent to $161.5 billion, below forecasts.

Weaker trade represents a new source of possible risk after economic growth slipped to a five-year low of 7.3 percent in the quarter ending in September.

In an apparent effort to shore up growth, Chinese leaders have approved tens of billions of dollars of spending in recent weeks on building new railway lines and airports.

The Communist Party leadership is trying to nurture growth based on domestic consumption and reduce reliance on trade and investment. But trade-driven manufacturing employs millions of Chinese, and the government's reform plans depend on preserving those jobs.

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Volvo V60 no ordinary wagon

A brilliant red paint job on my Volvo tester dismissed any notion that the V60 was an ordinary wagon.

This, of course, was validated by a turbocharged, 6-cylinder engine that yielded 325 horsepower. Our test model, which topped out at just under $50,000, had Volvo's R-Design trim package that gave the wagon a sporty edge with an upmarket interior.

Low-profile summer tires mounted on 19-inch wheels combined with shallow ground clearance and sport-tuned suspension gave the V60 impressive handling. While the blend made the wagon exhilarating to drive, the downside was a harsh ride, especially in the city and over bridge expansion joints on the highway.

A silky, six-speed automatic transmission produced brisk acceleration. Aluminum paddle shifters, tucked behind the steering wheel, were ready at the finger- tips to wind out those gears. All-wheel-drive certainly makes the V60 an attractive choice for the New England driver, but a second set of all-weather tires is a must. My V60 tester did 19 miles per gallon in the city and 28 on the highway in fuel economy.

An understated interior, finished in flat black, blended comfort and luxury. Brushed aluminum highlights on the leather-wrapped steering wheel, center console and doors broke up the darkness. Leather seats were supportive and fatigue-reducing.

Volvo's climate package takes heated components to another level.

In addition to heated front and rear seats, the V60 had a heated steering wheel, windshield, windshield nozzles, and mirrors.

Rear seating was decent, but lacked footroom with two adults in the front. Three children across the back was a squeeze. While our tester had an opening over the cockpit, a panoramic moonroof would help to brighten the backseat environment and provide better light for the deep, rear storage compartment.

Volvo includes an abundance of safety and security features as standard equipment on the V60's base model. Our tester also had a $900 exterior sensor technology package that included blind spot warning, cross traffic alert, lane change merge, and parking assist.

Volvo also offers a smartphone app that not only provides a remote starter, but also provides access to the V60's dashboard to check fuel levels and maintenance warnings, and provides a journal of where the wagon has been. I liked the fact that I could tap my iPhone to confirm if the doors where locked before I went to bed.

I looked forward to every opportunity to get behind the wheel of the V60 as the combination of modest power and sharp handling made the wagon entertaining to drive. An entry level V60 starts at just under $36,000 and Volvo offers 4- and 5-cylinder engine options.

I recommend taking a close look at the sport wagon segment to anyone considering a compact SUV. Other wagons to consider are the Audi Allroad, Subaru Outback, or the Volkswagen Jetta. The Volvo V60 is a sports car disguised as a wagon.

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Contemporary offers space, style

This custom-built contemporary in Georgetown is shaped like a barn — with an attached silo — and has a huge garage ideal for car collectors.

The three-bedroom home at 282 Andover St., built in 2003, sits on almost two acres of land behind the 10th hole of the Black Swan Country Club golf course.

This unique 4,660-square-foot home, with a green metal roof, light-colored vinyl siding and an attached silo that holds the kitchen, a billiards/game room and an elevator, is on the market for $850,000.

Its ground level has a 2,300-square-foot garage with four overhead access doors that has room for nine vehicles. It may not be for everyone, but if you like buying and fixing up cars, the garage gives you ample space to restore and to store them — and a bathroom with a shower stall to clean up.

Most of the living space is on the second level, which has radiant heated floors, central vacuum and handicapped accessibility fixtures and handles as well as an elevator. Almost all rooms on this level, including the great room, kitchen and master bedroom, open out onto a multi-tiered outdoor deck with great views of the golf course.

The showpiece space on the second level is a great room with oak floors, a wall of side windows and 30-foot vaulted ceilings. This space serves as an open living/dining/family room with a full-wall media center built-in at one end and a dining area with a gas fireplace at the other. There's also a wood-topped wet bar with a sink.

Behind the great room, in the five-sided silo bumpout, sits the home's expansive kitchen with custom wood cabinets, commercial grade appliances including an oversized Sub-Zero refrigerator, two dishwashers and two ovens. There are four windows, track lighting, a ceramic tile floor with patterned wood inlays, and a large dark granite-topped pendant-lit island with a six-burner gas cooktop that can seat at least a half dozen diners.

Also on this floor is the home's expansive master bedroom suite, with Pergo floors, a wrought-iron chandelier, a gas fireplace, a walk-in closet and a large three-part Palladian window. The en-suite bathroom features dual pedestal sinks, a custom built-in linen cabinet, a whirlpool tub plus a large beige marble walk-in shower.

There's a second bedroom on this level with its own ceramic tile bathroom, as well as a pocket-doored home office/study with dentil crown molding, two built-in desks and a built-in bookcase/cabinet. A laundry room holds a side-by-side washer, storage cabinets and dryer and a sink.

Off the third-floor landing above the great room sits a vaulted-ceiling loft bedroom as well as a full and a half bathroom. In the silo bumpout sits a custom billiards/gaming room (table included) with wood-paneled wainscoting and Pergo floors. The game room also has sliding doors out to a third-floor deck.

The large driveway with a circular stone planter in the center can hold an additional 20 vehicles.

Home Showcase

• Address: 292 Andover St., Georgetown
• Bedrooms: Three
• Bathrooms: Four full, two half
• List price: $850,000
• Square feet: 4,660
• Price per square foot: $182
• Annual taxes: $11,167
• Location: A mile to Georgetown Shopping Center including 
a Crosby's supermarket
• Built in: 2003
• Broker: Gail Tyrrell of ReMax Advantage Real Estate at 781-760-0670

Pros:

• Open living dining/family great room with 30-foot vaulted ceilings, wall of windows
• Large kitchen with custom cabinetry, large island and commercial grade appliances
• Master bedroom suite with three-part Palladian window, large marble walk-in shower
• Multi-tiered wide deck with views of golf course

Cons:

•  Huge garage with multiple overhead doors may not fit with potential buyer's lifestyle

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NStar wants to charge 29 percent more on Jan. 1

NStar is seeking to hike its electricity rates by 
29 percent beginning Jan. 1, citing constraints in the pipelines that bring natural gas to regional generating companies.

The utility filed the rate increase request with state regulators yesterday. If the Department of Public Utilities approves the proposal, the average customer using 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity would see a $28 monthly bill increase to $123.41, said Mike Durand, an NStar spokesman.

"This change we've filed represents the exact price we pay for the electricity we buy from generators on behalf of our customers," Durand said.

That price has increased, he said, because more than half of New England's electricity is now produced using natural gas. And although gas remains an abundant and inexpensive fuel, regional pipelines are not equipped to meet the growing dependence on gas to produce electricity, Durand said.

Mary-Leah Assad, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, said the Patrick administration and the Department of Public Utilities are working with all of the state's electric utilities to ensure residents and businesses are aware of the programs available to help manage energy costs this winter.

"The basic-service rate increases underscore the importance of continued aggressive investments in energy efficiency and a diverse energy mix to stabilize prices and secure our energy future," Assad said.

National Grid, Massachusetts' other major electric utility, proposed a 
37 percent rate hike earlier this fall, prompting Attorney General Martha Coakley's office to request that the company's winter electricity rates be recalculated to spread the impact over a 12-month period. But the Department of Public Utilities denied the request, saying it would be contrary to department precedent and disrupt the competitive market, potentially resulting in higher future prices.

Yesterday, Jillian Fennimore, a spokeswoman for Coakley, said: "Our office remains very concerned about these increases in electricity bills, and we will continue to advocate for ways to mitigate rate hikes this winter season and in the future. We have encouraged the DPU to educate and protect consumers considering alternatives offered by competitive suppliers, and examine additional solutions to help reduce this impact on ratepayers in Massachusetts."

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Foxwoods sees new mall as competition for visitors

MASHANTUCKET, Conn. — Foxwoods Resort Casino says the mall it's building will ratchet up the competition for gamblers and shoppers being lured by Massachusetts.

Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council that runs Foxwoods in eastern Connecticut, said the $120 million Tanger Outlets will set Foxwoods apart. He says casinos planned in Massachusetts will be "spectacular," but will not offer shopping.

Mashantucket and Foxwoods officials offered a tour of the mall construction site Thursday. They estimate the outlet center will draw 3 million to 4 million more people a year.

The opening is set for May 21, 2015.

Stores will include Nike, American Eagle Outfitters, Ann Taylor Factory Store, Banana Republic Factory Store and several others.

Massachusetts awarded the first resort casino licenses Thursday to Wynn Resorts in Everett and MGM Resorts International in Springfield.

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State eyes fee hikes on beaches, rinks, parks

It's going to get more expensive to hit the beach, rent ice time and camp on state property in Massachusetts under proposed fee changes that also include new charges for other activities.

The Department of Conservation and Recreation hasn't raised its fees since 2008 for day-use areas such as state parks, 2007 for ice rinks and 2003 for campgrounds, according to spokesman Bill Hickey. It's holding public hearings this month on the proposed changes, which would take effect next year.

"Even with these proposed modest increases, Massachusetts will be on the lower end of the median when compared to other New England state park fees," Hickey said.

MassParks Passes, which cover parking for a year at DCR properties including beaches, would jump from $35 to $60 for residents and from $45 to $85 for nonresidents.

Nonresidents using DCR properties also face new charges that are higher than those proposed for Bay Staters. DCR cabin rentals in state forests, for example, would rise from $30 per day for a one-room cabin for all campers to $50 for residents and $55 for nonresidents.

Daily coastal campsite fees, meanwhile, would increase from $15 to $22 for residents, and from $17 to $27 for nonresidents. Electric and water hookups would double to $6 and $4 per day.

Ice rink rentals would jump between $15 and $25 in peak season, to $200 to $250 per 50 minutes.

Among the proposed new fees are $50 per day for group picnic areas, $250 to $2,000 per day for outdoor venue rentals for company events at a DCR property, and $250 per day for commercial film productions.

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Good things come in small packages at North Point

A new AvalonBay Communities' apartment complex features micro-unit and larger studios carved out of a former hot dog factory in East Cambridge, with access to first-class amenities at its luxury rental tower across the street.

The Avalon North Point Lofts have 103 units in the six-story former Maple Leaf Franks building. AvalonBay purchased the rights to redevelop the building as part of a deal with Archstone to buy the adjacent North Point luxury apartment complex with 426 units that was built in 2008.

The lofts are a different type of apartment for Avalon­Bay, whose local portfolio includes traditional luxury apartments and its tech-­focused AVA brand geared to millennials.

"We did a complete gut rehab of the factory and added a lot more windows to make unique loft spaces," said Michael Roberts, vice president for development at AvalonBay. "The rents are also lower than our luxury or AVA apartments."

The loft rents, which range between $1,850 and $2,400, include free use of Avalon North Point's extensive amenities, including an indoor pool, gym, yoga and massage studio, hospitality room with kitchen and movie theater. Parking at the garage runs an extra $175 a month.

"People like the price point and efficient use of space, and we're getting a mix of grad students and professionals who work nearby," said property manager Sarita Gonzales, who said that 57 percent of the lofts have been rented after just a few months on the market.

Ranging in size from 329 square feet to 700 square feet, some studios have separate living and sleeping areas, while others are open-plan lofts. The apartments have ceilings over 11 feet high, and most have floor-to-ceiling windows.

The LEED Silver building emphasizes its factory origins, with polished concrete floors, large columns and exposed ductwork.

We took a look at two model units. Unit 105, a 450-square-foot micro studio with separate living and sleeping areas that's renting for $1,900, makes efficient use of space with a kitchen area with white quartz counters, about a half-dozen cabinets, a G.E. refrigerator and an electric cooktop with a microwave above. The adjacent living room is divided from a sleeping area by a three-quarter wall. There's a full bathroom with ceramic tile shower as well as an in-unit washer and dryer.

Unit 103, a 379-square-foot corner micro-unit, has a full kitchen with quartz counters, and an open plan living and sleeping area for $1,850 a month.

AvalonBay also is planning a six-story 300-unit apartment building in the NorthPoint neighborhood scheduled to break ground next year.

"We think NorthPoint has its momentum back," said Roberts. "There's still a lot of pent-up apartment demand and the long-term prospects for this area are good."

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Aereo lays off staff in Boston, New York

Aereo, which put its service on hold after it lost a Supreme Court ruling in June, is laying off a majority of its staff, including employees in New York and Boston, although the company says that it is continuing to "chart our path forward."

Several media outlets reported that the company informed employees in Boston that it was closing its office there and laying off 43 employees as of Nov. 12.

Virginia Lam, a spokeswoman for the company, said that "in an effort to reduce costs, we made the difficult decision to lay off some of our staff in Boston and New York. We are continuing to conserve resources while we chart our path forward. We are grateful to our employees for their loyalty, hard work and dedication. This was a difficult, but necessary step in order to preserve the company."

A small executive team of about a dozen people will remain.

The Supreme Court ruled in June that Aereo's service -- which offered digital broadcast streams to subscribers via dime-sized antennas -- violated the Copyright Act. The company has so far been unsuccessful in pursuing another approach in the courts, that because it resembles a cable service it should be entitled to transmit broadcast programming.

The FCC, meanwhile, is mulling a proposal in which Internet TV providers, including Aereo, would receive the same classification as a cable or satellite company, something that would give over-the-top services access to broadcast channels. But it is likely that Aereo would still have to pay restransmission fees to local stations.

© 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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US employers add 214K jobs; rate dips to 5.8 pct.

WASHINGTON — Three days after voters registered their sourness about the U.S. economy, the government said Friday that employers added a solid 214,000 jobs in October, extending the healthiest pace of hiring in eight years.

The Labor Department also said a combined 31,000 more jobs were added in August and September than it had previously estimated. Employers have now added at least 200,000 jobs for nine straight months — the longest such stretch since 1995.

The burst of hiring lowered the unemployment rate to 5.8 percent from 5.9 percent. It is the lowest rate since July 2008. Yet workers' average hourly pay rose only slightly, a glaring weak spot in an otherwise solid report.

Voters identified the economy as their top concern in Tuesday's elections. That suggested that economic improvement hasn't yet been felt by many Americans. The sluggish pace of pay growth is a likely factor.

Average hourly pay rose 3 cents in October to $24.57. That's just 2 percent higher than the average wage was 12 months earlier and is barely ahead of the 1.7 percent inflation rate.

"While the labor market is improving and in many respects has already healed, employee bargaining power remains virtually nonexistent," Dan Greenhaus, an analyst at the brokerage firm BTIG LLC, said in a research note.

Still, the brightening jobs picture led more people to start looking for work last month. The percentage of Americans who either have a job or are looking for one rose in October to 62.8 percent. And 267,000 people who had been out of work said they were now employed. Their hiring reduced the number of unemployed to just under 9 million.

The job gains were broad-based, though many lower-paying industries posted especially large increases. Retailers added 27,100 jobs. Restaurants, hotels and entertainment firms gained 52,000.

Some higher-paying industries also showed progress. Manufacturers added 15,000 jobs, up from 9,000 the previous month. Transportation and shipping companies gained 13,300. And professional and business services, which includes accountants, engineers and other higher-skilled fields, added 37,000.

Analysts say the economic expansion remains strong enough to support the current pace of hiring. Over the past six months, the economy has grown at a 4.1 percent annual rate.

U.S. manufacturers are expanding at the fastest pace in three years, according to a survey by the Institute for Supply Management, a trade group. A measure of new orders showed that factory output will likely continue to grow in coming months. A separate survey by the ISM found that retailers, restaurants and other service companies grew at a healthy pace last month.

Home sales rose in September at their fastest rate this year, a sign that housing could pick up after a sluggish performance for most of this year.

Still, faltering global growth could create trouble for the U.S. economy in the months ahead. Exports fell in September, the government said this week, widening the trade deficit. That led many economists to shave their predictions of economic growth in the July-September quarter to an annual rate of 3 percent or less, down from the government's initial estimate of 3.5 percent.

___

Contact Chris Rugaber at http://Twitter.com/ChrisRugaber .

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City ramps up housing inspections

Boston's Inspectional Services Department is finding chronic code violations as its inspectors begin to fan out to rental units across the city to enforce an ordinance — given new teeth last year — that will prompt 90,000 apartment inspections over the next five years.

Since beginning the inspections in early October, ISD has hit 43 units and found chronic issues that need addressing, such as water stains, rodents and unsanitary kitchen equipment including sinks and ovens, said Dave Rini, assistant director of rental housing inspections, who was hired to coordinate enforcement of the rental ordinance. Citations aren't yet being written under a grace period that gives landlords 30 days to correct problems.

"We're finding in general that a good number of the properties are not passing their initial inspections," Rini said, "but the program is set up to allow landlords to correct any violations."

The City Council and former Mayor Thomas M. Menino strengthened a decades-old rental housing inspection ordinance last year. It now compels landlords to report how many units they own and where to the ISD, which creates a data­base to ensure they are inspected on a five-year cycle. Previously, the ordinance called on landlords to report to the city when units turned over, which was hardly ever happening, ISD said.

"We're really trying to stay on top of it and make this a standard part of ISD's responsibilities," ISD Commissioner William "Buddy" Christopher said. "It lets us be very proactive if we see deteriorating conditions or deferred maintenance that is not taking place the way it should be."

This year, ISD is focusing on units with a recent history of code violations and a high number of housing court cases, as well as foreclosed properties.

Mayor Martin J. Walsh said his administration "is committed to continuously improving our efforts to educate owners and tenants alike about their rights and responsibilities, and these inspection requirements will protect tenants and promote safe housing."

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Governments push for more Facebook data

Government requests for Facebook data jumped sharply in the first half of this year, according to the social media giant — the second company in recent months to say such inquiries have increased.

Requests for data from Facebook rose 24 percent, to 34,946 between January and June, compared to the last six months of last year, according to the company. The U.S. government was responsible for a little less than half those requests.

"We continue to work with our industry and civil society partners to push governments for additional transparency and to reform surveillance practices necessary to rebuild people's trust in the Internet," Facebook deputy general counsel Chris Sonderby said in a statement.

Facebook gave data to governments in roughly 80 percent of the requests.

Sonderby said Facebook is fighting back against the requests when possible, including a request for "nearly all data from the accounts of nearly 400 people" that will be heard later this year by a New York appeals court. Sonderby called the request "unprecedented."

"We scrutinize every government request we receive for legal sufficiency under our terms and the strict letter of the law, and push back hard when we find deficiencies or are served with overly broad requests," Sonderby said.

In September, Google said government requests for data had increased 15 percent in the first half of this year.

Facebook began re­leasing transparency reports in June 2013, after details of the National Security Agency's secret Internet surveillance program, Prism, emerged.

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Repeal dead, Walsh ready to deal with Wynn Resorts

With casinos now here to stay, Mayor Martin J. Walsh said he is ready to talk turkey with Wynn Resorts on improvements to Boston roadways leading to its $1.6 billion gambling palace just over the city line in Everett.

"We have a lot of outstanding questions that we have to figure out when it comes to traffic, and I think they have their own questions with the land over there and some of the environmental issues around the land," Walsh said yesterday. "As far as Boston goes, I'm going to talk about Sullivan Square, Rutherford Ave., benefits for the people of Charlestown. The people of Charlestown are going to be the most impacted by this casino, so I'm going to go back to work now and see what I can do."

All seven of Charlestown's precincts voted to repeal expanded gaming Tuesday, the only neighborhood in the city to skew so anti-casino. Statewide, the ballot question failed by a 60-to-40 margin.

Walsh had his first face-to-face meeting with Vegas gaming titan Steve Wynn two weeks ago in a low-key affair at the Parkman House, which the mayor described as "mostly small talk" because the repeal vote was in the offing.

"We really didn't get into much of a conversation about the benefits, although he said, 'You can work with me, I'm a person you can work with,'" Walsh said. "So I take him at his word, and I look forward to seeing if we can hammer out some type of agreements here for the city of Boston."

Wynn's project, which will receive its formal license award today from the state Gaming Commission, is expected to generate 31,000 new vehicle trips on an average day. Wynn executives expressed confidence that tensions with Walsh and any other permitting and legal hurdles will be smoothed over.

"Anything that comes along I think can be dealt with," said Robert DeSalvio, president of Wynn Mass LLC.

Wynn needs permits from Boston for road alterations, and pledged to submit Sullivan Square fixes to the city's Public Improvements Commission within 90 days after the referendum.

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Schools, industry plan security consortium for cybersecurity

University, private industry and governmental support is being corralled for a New England research consortium to tackle cybersecurity issues confronting the financial services industry, become a regional force in vying for large federal grants and create a cyber­security talent pipeline.

Organizers of the New England Cyber Security Research Consortium have a $2 million commitment from an undisclosed industry source toward the estimated $8 million to $10 million needed for the first four years of operation, according to William Guenther, founder and CEO of Boston consulting and research firm Mass Insight Global Partnerships.

Mass Insight and the 3-year-old nonprofit Advanced Cyber Security Center plan a formal launch of the consortium next year. They so far have letters of support from the Univer­sity of Massachusetts, Northeastern University, MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, State Street Corp., the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, .406 Ventures and the city of Boston.

The consortium would have university faculty and students working alongside industry researchers on projects such as developing automated, real-time, threat-sharing networks to aid in cyberattack defense and building the security of mobile payments. It would serve as an incubator for emerging businesses.

"This is outsourcing from industries to univer­sities," Guenther said.

The effort will enable New England universities to access large-scale government funding, said Jack Wilson, UMass president emeritus and professor of higher education, emerging technologies and innovation. State and federal governments give preference to regions with strong industry/university partnerships when awarding grants in the $30 million to $70 million range, according to Guenther.

The consortium would take a multidisciplinary approach to cybersecurity, tapping sources in information technology, social and behavioral sciences, economics, law and policy. Developing a "new breed" of talent with well-rounded skills is important, as is collaboration with industry partners sharing the same problems, said John McKenna, Liberty Mutual Group's chief information security officer. "We can't solve these things alone," he said.

A search is underway for a downtown Boston location for the consortium, but much of the work will be done virtually, via connections to partner universities.

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Microsoft releases Office apps for iPhones, iPads

SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft is releasing new, beefed-up versions of its popular Office software apps for iPhones and iPads, part of the company's push to stay relevant to workers in an increasingly mobile world.

It's also working on new versions for Android tablets and phones, although they're not yet ready for general release.

As more workers use smartphones and tablets along with — or instead of — desktop PCs, they want to have the same capabilities on all their devices, says Michael Atella, director of Microsoft's Office apps product management. Microsoft has been working for the last two years to build new web-based versions of its software and apps that can be easily used on the much smaller screens of mobile devices, but still seem familiar to people who use the traditional desktop tools.

The free updates, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint, replace a limited iPhone version and upgrade a more powerful set of apps that the company released for iPad tablets in March, which has been downloaded 40 million times. The older iPhone version allowed users to view files and make simple editing changes, but the new apps will resemble the iPad versions and have more of the capabilities found in Office software used on desktop computers. And unlike earlier iPad versions, the new apps don't require a subscription to create new files or documents. While the apps are free, Microsoft hopes to make money by selling premium features, including security tools for business users, through its Office 365 subscription service.

Microsoft's Office software is widely used by businesses, but it faces competition from web and mobile programs made by Google Inc., Apple Inc. and other rivals. Although most of Microsoft Corp.'s revenue still comes from traditional software, CEO Satya Nadella wants to shift the company's focus to mobile and web-based products. The Redmond, Washington company recently said it delayed producing a new version of Office for Apple's Mac computers so it could focus on mobile apps.

One big challenge for Microsoft stems from the complexity of building different versions of each app for competing mobile operating systems. Apple's iPhones and iPads are far outnumbered by smartphones and tablets that use Google's Android mobile operating system. But different versions of Android run on a variety of devices from different manufacturers. Microsoft also has its own mobile operating system, although it's not as widely used.

Microsoft is inviting Android users to sign up for a test version of its new Office apps for Android tablets this week, but Atalla said the finished apps won't be released until early next year. He said new apps for Android phones are in the works, but declined to give a time frame.

In another move to keep up with shifting work habits, Microsoft this week announced a software partnership with Dropbox, an online storage company that's increasingly popular with people that want to store documents, photos and other files and share them with others. The two companies are integrating their software so documents stored in DropBox can be easily edited with Microsoft's Office tools. Microsoft also has its own online storage service, while Google and Apple offer competing services with their apps.

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CVS earnings soar on sales of specialty drugs

CVS Health Corp.'s third-quarter earnings exceeded Wall Street expectations, as growing sales of specialty drugs helped offset the loss of tobacco products, which the company stopped selling in September.

The nation's second-
largest drugstore chain's net income fell to $948 million, or 81 cents per share, from
$1.25 billion, or $1.02 per share a year earlier.

Adjusted to extinguish debt and for amortization costs, earnings were $1.15 per share, topping the $1.14 per share that was the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research. Revenue also surpassed expectations, rising to $35.02 billion, compared to the $34.65 billion analysts had forecast, according to Zacks.

Revenue from the Woonsocket, R.I.-based company's pharmacy benefits management, or PBM, side increased 16 percent, and operating profit from that segment grew 7.3 percent, helped by new business and the growth of expensive specialty drugs for complex chronic health conditions.

"PBM revenue growth and profitability were above our estimates, boosted by net new business and growth in specialty pharmacy, including ... contributions from Specialty Connect," a new program that allows CVS customers with these prescriptions to either pick them up or get them through the mail, according to Meredith Adler, a Barclays Capital analyst.

CVS said revenue from its retail pharmacy business increased 3 percent, but the loss of tobacco sales hurt earnings by 3 cents per share. The full-year impact of missing tobacco products will reduce earnings by 7 to 8 cents per share, the company said.

"As expected, the tobacco exit negatively impacted," Peter Costa, a Wells Fargo Securities analyst, said in a note. "We expect this impact may nearly double in Q4."

Herald wire services contributed to this report.

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Raytheon buys Blackbird Technologies for $420M

NEW YORK — Raytheon Co. said Wednesday that it bought privately held cybersecurity company Blackbird Technologies for about $420 million.

Raytheon, a defense contractor based in Waltham, Massachusetts, said the acquisition will help expand its surveillance and cybersecurity services to clients. Blackbird, headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, has customers in the defense, intelligence and law enforcement industries.

"Blackbird expands Raytheon's already-established footprint in the intelligence community market while helping to grow our cyber operations and special missions support to the Department of Defense," said Lynn Dugle, president of Raytheon's intelligence information and services unit, in a statement.

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Report: State foreclosures spike again

The number of foreclosure petitions in Massachusetts grew for the seventh straight month in September, but one expert says the numbers are not an accurate reflection of what is happening in the housing industry right now.

Foreclosure petitions rose 68 percent from September 2013, while foreclosure deeds — finalized foreclosures — rose 5 percent from a year before, according to a report from The Warren Group. Petitions rose to 734 across the state and deeds rose to 294.

The spike is not concerning, said Cassidy Murphy, editorial director of The Warren Group.

"Most of what is happening right now is people clearing out their backlogs of what they didn't do," Murphy said. "It's not much to write home about."

The increase is because of an artificially suppressed foreclosure market last year while lenders waited for new legislation to be passed.

"(Lenders) were waiting to hear what they needed to do," Murphy said. "We were not seeing them do (foreclosures) at a normal rate."

Murphy said even the inflated number of foreclosure deeds pales in comparison to the height of the housing crash.

"There were thousands of foreclosures a month, now we're down to a couple hundred," she said.

She said the backlog of foreclosures that has been building up while lenders wait for legislative guidance may not be cleared until late next year.

"Things will be bouncing around a little bit," she said.

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New school music to charter’s ears

A music-oriented Boston charter school stands to be part of Roxbury's revival after signing a purchase-and-sale agreement for land to build a permanent facility about a quarter-mile from Dudley Square.

The 16-year-old Conservatory Lab Charter School plans to consolidate two temporary Brighton and Dorchester locations into a new school for about 450 pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade students. The land is part of the planned $140 million mixed-use Bartlett Place development.

"We're very excited to be where we are right now in terms of the process," Head of School Diana Lam said. "Most of our students come from Roxbury and the surrounding area, and we feel that also it is right at the center of the city."

The Conservatory Lab is "music-infused," with a focus on project-based learning and daily music instruction. All students play an instrument, and the school has 10 orchestras.

Plans call for a 70,000- to 72,000-square-foot school.

"We are engaged in trying to get the money together," Lam said. "The building may cost anywhere from $30 (million) to $35 million, but we don't need to raise all of that because we will have a stream of revenue."

The school receives tuition-reimbursement funds from the state to the tune of about 
$5.8 million this year.

The 1.6-acre building site is in the former 8.5-acre MBTA Bartlett bus yard bought in 2010 by Nuestra Comunidad Development Corp. and Dorchester's Windale Developers. Their Bartlett Place plans include 323 mixed-income apartments and owner-occupied homes, 55,000 square feet of retail and commercial space — including a 12,000-square-foot Harvest Co-op Market — in addition to the school.

"We have three buildings that could go into construction next year, which is exciting for Roxbury," said David Price, Nuestra Comunidad's executive director. The charter school could be the first, because it needs to open by mid-2016, he added.

The school would be open to the community at night and weekends for classes, workshops and music lessons.

"We're very excited to expand the services that we can provide to community members in Roxbury and to students that may not attend our school, but who live in Roxbury," Lam said.

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Survey: US businesses add 230,000 jobs in October

WASHINGTON — U.S. companies added 230,000 jobs in October, a private survey said, the most in four months and a sign that businesses are still willing to hire despite signs of slowing growth overseas.

Payroll processer ADP said Wednesday that the job gains were slightly ahead of the 225,000 added in September, which was revised up from an initial estimate of 213,000. Job gains above 200,000 are usually enough to lower the unemployment rate.

The data indicates that steady growth in the past six months has encouraged businesses to step up hiring. That could lead to a healthy job gain in Friday's government report on jobs and unemployment. The ADP numbers cover only private businesses and sometimes diverge from the government's more comprehensive report, which includes government agencies.

Economists forecast that the government's report will also show that employers added 230,000 jobs in October, according to a survey by FactSet.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, said that faltering economies in Europe, China and Japan haven't yet caused U.S. employers to pull back on adding workers.

"I don't think what's going on overseas is going to undermine the very strong numbers we're seeing right now," he said.

However, it's too early to say that other international trends, such as the strengthening dollar, will have no impact in the coming months, Zandi added. A stronger dollar makes U.S. exports more expensive overseas.

In fact, U.S. exports slowed in September, the government said earlier this week, a sign that weakness overseas may already be hitting some companies. Weaker overseas sales caused the trade deficit to jump 7.6 percent in September.

The job gains in the ADP report were broad-based: Construction firms added a solid 28,000 jobs, while manufacturing gained 15,000 positions. Professional and business services, which include mostly higher-paying positions such as accountants and engineers, gained 53,000.

Hiring has been strong this year, partly fueled by average growth of about 4 percent at an annual rate in the April-June and July-September quarters. Employers have added an average of 227,000 jobs a month in 2014, which puts this year on pace to be the strongest year for job creation since 1999.

Other recent reports suggest that Friday's government jobs report could be a healthy one. Manufacturers hired at a faster pace in October than in the previous month, according to a survey by the Institute for Supply Management, a trade group.

And applications for unemployment benefits have fallen to 14-year lows, evidence that employers are cutting very few jobs.

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UK spy chief says Web is command center for terror

LONDON — U.S.-based social media have become "command-and-control networks" for terrorists and criminals, and tech companies are in denial about their misuse, the new head of Britain's electronic eavesdropping agency said.

Writing in Tuesday's Financial Times, GCHQ chief Robert Hannigan said British intelligence agencies know that IS extremists use messaging services like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp to reach their peers with ease. He said spy agencies need to have greater support from the U.S. technology companies which dominate the Web in order to fight militants and those who host material about violent extremism and child exploitation.

"However much (tech companies) may dislike it, they have become the command-and-control networks of choice for terrorists and criminals." he wrote.

Twitter declined to comment on the story. Facebook — which owns WhatsApp — had no immediate comment.

Yet the problem is larger than the question of social media, said Thomas Rid, professor of security studies at King's College London. Companies like Apple, cognizant of the privacy concerns of its customers, are installing powerful encryption programs on their devices. That leaves agencies like GCHQ facing the onset of encryption on a massive scale.

"You cannot make the Internet super safe and keep it unsafe for pedophiles and terrorists," Rid said of GCHQ's dilemma.

Although Edward Snowden's leaks have focused the world attention on the mass surveillance powers of the National Security Agency, Snowden has accused GCHQ of being far more aggressive.

Hannigan said intelligence agencies need to enter the public debate about privacy.

Eva Galperin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an online privacy group that is partly funded by tech companies, told BBC radio that intelligence agencies' "powers are already immense. I think that asking for more is really quite disingenuous."

__

Associated Press writer Jill Lawless contributed to this report.

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Cast & Crew launches Obamacare-compliant insurance plan

Cast & Crew Entertainment Services, the provider of payroll and production accounting services, is launching an insurance program that's compatible with the Affordable Care Act and designed to simplify employers' administrative tasks.

Dubbed Cast & Crew Open Health, the plan provides coverage for all non-union employees working in the entertainment industry and is portable for the employer irrespective of payroll-service provider.

It's also portable for the employees it covers and is eligible for most state tax incentive programs.

Under ACA's employer responsibility requirements, large employers must provide health insurance for their employees or pay a penalty. The penalties are scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2015.

"The ACA presents very specific challenges to our industry, given its transient workforce," said Cast & Crew CEO Eric Belcher. "To ensure we clearly understood employer concerns and objectives before rushing to market with a quick-fix product or one that doesn't work, we talked with numerous studios and production companies over the past several months so we could develop a comprehensive solution."

"Employers told us they want a simple solution that eliminates the administrative burden, so they can focus on their productions - not the ACA," Belcher continued. "They also told us they want it to address the very specific employee challenges we have as an industry."

The plan "simplifies budgeting and significantly lessens employers' administrative burdens," said Shardell Cavaliere, Cast & Crew senior VP. "It removes the need to track employee hiring status and terminations, and because it is billed as a fringe there is no need to allocate premiums down to productions."

To bring this type of coverage to the industry, Cast & Crew established the Plan as a multiple-employer health plan. It's designed to provide medical coverage that satisfies ACA requirements to all non-union employees who are required to be offered coverage under the ACA. Accordingly, employers can ensure ACA compliance by participating in the plan.

Cast & Crew says it's the only plan of its kind offering the non-union production employees a guild-like program. Developed with insurance brokers, attorneys and entertainment human resources experts, it provides employers with large-group pricing and benefits, according to Cast & Crew, that are superior to market-based coverage that can be obtained elsewhere. Its fee structure is based on a percentage of gross wages.

Coverage is provided through Anthem Blue Cross and includes HMO/PPO options as well as optional dental, vision and life.

© 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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US trade deficit expands in September

WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit rose in September as exports slumped, a sign that the world's biggest economy is starting to feel the impact of weakening global growth.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that the trade deficit rose 7.6 percent to $43 billion in September. That marks the first increase in four months. A deficit occurs when a country imports more than it exports.

Economic slowdowns in Europe and China appear to have hurt demand for American-made goods. Since September, the dollar has appreciated in value more than 4 percent against the euro to $1.25, making U.S. products less competitively priced abroad.

Exports fell 1.5 percent to $195.6 billion, led by declines in shipments of industrial supplies, consumer products and capital goods such as engines and computers.

September imports held steady at $238.6 billion for the second straight month.

The trade gap has been tempered this year by the boom in U.S. energy production, which has reduced dependence on foreign oil and increased U.S. petroleum exports. So far this year, petroleum imports are 7.6 percent below the level of a year ago. Part of that decline has come from falling oil prices, with crude imports costing 3.1 percent less so far this year.

Petroleum exports will likely fall in the months ahead, as oil prices have slipped below $80 a barrel from more than $100 a barrel in June.

"The collapse in crude oil prices means that the trade deficit will narrow again before the end of this year," said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics.

The politically sensitive trade deficit with China surged 17.6 percent to $35.6 billion in September, an all-time high. The release of the new Apple iPhone likely fueled much of the 12.7 percent increase in imports from China, just as growth in that economy has slipped and caused U.S. exports to fall 3.2 percent.

The deficit with China is on track to set another record for the entire year, creating more pressure for Congress and the Obama administration to take steps to curb what critics call unfair trade practices in China.

U.S. manufacturers say that China is manipulating its currency for a trade advantage. They accuse China of undervaluing the yuan to make the goods it manufactures cheaper when they are exported, and American products more expensive in China.

U.S. exports to the European Union also fell in September, decreasing 6.5 percent compared to August as several nations on that continent are grappling with the risk of a recession.

Through September, the trade deficit totaled $378.1 billion, compared to $363.9 billion for the same period last year. For all of 2013, the deficit totaled $476.4 billion, 11.4 percent lower than in 2012. Many economists believe the trade deficit will rise slightly in 2014, as a stronger U.S. economy is drawing in more imports.

The trade deficit is a drag on overall growth. That's because U.S. producers are selling less abroad compared to foreign companies, while imports subtract from gross domestic product.

Steven Ricchiuto, chief economist at Mizuho Securities, estimated that the October figures could reduce the estimate of 3.5 percent annual GDP growth in the third quarter by 0.4 percent.

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US stocks open lower as energy stocks slide

NEW YORK — Stocks edged mostly lower on Tuesday, led by a drop in energy stocks as the price of oil fell to its lowest in four years following reports that Saudi Arabia has cut its prices to the U.S.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped three points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,014 as of 10:13 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 17 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,381 points. The Nasdaq composite fell eight points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,629.

OIL TUMBLES: U.S. benchmark crude slumped $2.05, or 2.6 percent, to $76.72 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell $2.34, or 2.8 percent, to $82.43 a barrel. Oil has fallen sharply in recent weeks as global supplies rise while demand for fuel trails earlier expectations. Energy stocks in the S&P 500 index dropped 2.2 percent.

EUROPE'S DAY: The European Union cut its already low economic growth forecasts further on Tuesday, indicating the recovery will remain sluggish amid problems for the biggest economies, particularly France and Germany. The official forecast for growth this year in the 18-country eurozone was cut to 0.8 percent from a prediction of 1.2 percent made in the spring. The institution also cut its forecast for next year.

Germany's DAX was flat at 9,248 while France's CAC-40 fell 0.6 percent to 4,168. The FTSE 100 of leading British shares was flat at 6,486.

SUPPLEMENT SLUMP: Herbalife shares sank in after the company reported disappointing third-quarter results and a weak outlook late Tuesday. The seller of supplements and weight-loss products reported a profit of $11.2 million, or 13 cents per share, for the most recent quarter. That's down 92 percent from the $142 million, or $1.32 per share, earned last year.

BONDS AND CURRENCIES: The dollar's surge against the yen abated Tuesday after rising to its highest point in almost seven years on Monday. The US currency traded flat at 113.65 against the yen. It was also little changed against the euro, trading at 1.25 euro per dollar.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was unchanged from Monday at 2.34 percent.

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Williams: Seidel didn't relieve himself in snow

NEW YORK — It's a story important enough for NBC's "Nightly News": Weather forecaster Mike Seidel did not relieve himself in the snow.

NBC's Brian Williams said on Monday's broadcast that Seidel "was the victim of some wild misinformation" that floated after his aborted live report on a snowstorm in North Carolina on Saturday's edition of the network's national newscast.

Anchor Lester Holt introduced Seidel, who apparently could not hear him or know that he was on camera. Seidel, who also works for The Weather Channel, had his back to the camera and was slightly hunched over, both hands near his waist. Holt quickly ended the report.

The clip spread online and generated some media reports that suggested Seidel had been caught in the act of relieving himself, even though there was no evidence of that to the naked eye.

"Social media owes our friend Mike Seidel an apology," Williams said Monday, as "Nightly News" replayed the scene.

Williams said Seidel had lost cellphone contact with NBC's control room, so he didn't know Holt had introduced him. The reporter turned his back to the camera — and to the wind — to dial his phone.

"That's when the rumors hit the Web that he was perhaps writing his name in the snow," Williams explained to the newscast's 8 million viewers, many of whom likely hadn't seen the clip in the first place. "It was just Mike working to make it right."

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Court won't hear dispute over Sherlock Holmes

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court won't take up a copyright dispute over the right to depict Sherlock Holmes in a new anthology of stories.

The justices on Monday declined to hear an appeal from heirs of legendary writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who say anyone portraying characters from the popular detective series must seek permission or pay a licensing fee.

A U.S. district court ruled that copyrights had expired on all Sherlock novels and stories published before 1923, but not on the final 10 stories published after that. The lower court said author Leslie Klinger could use characters from pre-1923 works and a federal appeals court agreed.

The Doyle estate argued that the characters continued to develop in later works so they should remain off-limits until remaining copyrights run out in 2022.

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High court won't hear crisis pregnancy center case

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is leaving in place a portion of a New York City law aimed at regulating crisis pregnancy centers that are run by anti-abortion organizations.

The court rejected a free-speech appeal Monday in which the centers argued that the law's requirement that they disclose whether a licensed medical provider works at the facilities is unconstitutional under the First Amendment.

City officials said the 2011 law protects consumers and demands truth in advertising.

Courts have blocked other parts of the law, including a requirement that centers disclose whether they provide referrals for abortion, emergency contraception or prenatal care.

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Nissan, Honda, Chrysler report US sales increases

DETROIT — Chrysler, Nissan and Honda all reported U.S. sales gains last month as falling gas prices and an improving economy boosted sales of pickup trucks and SUVs.

Chrysler said its U.S. sales rose 22 percent to 170,480 for its best October since 2001, while both Nissan and Honda posted their best October ever. Nissan sales were up 13 percent over a year ago, while Honda's rose nearly 6 percent.

The early reports Monday were a strong sign that the auto sales boom would continue at pre-recession levels through the rest of the year. Industry analysts are expecting a 6 percent sales gain after automakers report their U.S. numbers on Monday.

Nissan said low gas prices and high consumer confidence pushed up sales across most of its model lineup.

"We expect that these factors will continue to boost auto sales for the last two months of 2014." said Fred Diaz, Nissan's U.S. sales and marketing chief.

The Japanese automaker said its Nissan and Infiniti brands sold just over 103,000 cars and trucks last month. Nissan sales rose almost 15 percent while the Infiniti luxury brand was down 1 percent. Nissan was led by the Rogue small crossover SUV, with sales up almost 14 percent.

At Chrysler, the red-hot Jeep brand led the way with a 52 percent increase over a year ago. The company sold nearly 16,000 Cherokees as the small SUV again unseated the Grand Cherokee as the brand's top seller. Ram pickup sales continued to be strong, up 33 percent for the month.

Honda said its sales rose to 121,172. Honda brand sales were up 5.5 percent, while luxury Acura brand sales rose 8 percent on thanks to demand for the new TLX sedan.

Sales of Honda's best-seller, the CR-V small crossover SUV, jumped 30 percent to 29,257, while sales of the recently redesigned Fit subcompact were up 83 percent. But sales of the Civic small car dropped 12 percent as buyers generally sought bigger cars and crossovers. Accord midsize car sales were up 8 percent.

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US approved Ferguson no-fly area to keep press out

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government allowed police in Ferguson, Missouri, to restrict more than 37 square miles of airspace for nearly two weeks in August for safety reasons, but audio recordings show that local authorities instead wanted to keep news helicopters away during violent street protests.

On Aug. 12, amid demonstrations following the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, Federal Aviation Administration managers struggled to redefine an earlier flight ban so police helicopters and commercial flights at nearby Lambert-St. Louis International Airport could fly through the area — but not others.

"They finally admitted it really was to keep the media out," said one FAA manager about the St. Louis County Police Department in a series of recorded telephone conversations obtained by The Associated Press. "But they were a little concerned of, obviously, anything else that could be going on."

At another point, a manager at the FAA's Kansas City center said police "did not care if you ran commercial traffic through this TFR (temporary flight restriction) all day long. They didn't want media in there."

The conversations contradict claims by the St. Louis County police, which said the restrictions had nothing to do with limiting the press and instead were imposed because of gunshots fired at a police helicopter.

But county police officials told the AP recently there was no damage to their helicopter, and they were unable to provide a report on the shooting. On the tapes, an FAA manager described reports of the helicopter shooting as unconfirmed "rumors."

The AP obtained the recordings under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act. They raise serious questions about whether police were trying to suppress aerial images of the demonstrations and the police response by violating the constitutional rights of journalists with tacit assistance by federal officials.

Such images would have offered an unvarnished view of one of the most serious episodes of civil violence in recent memory. The recordings also offer a rare look into government operations, especially as local public-records requests to Ferguson officials by the AP and other news organizations were denied or met with high processing fees.

"Any evidence that a no-fly zone was put in place as a pretext to exclude the media from covering events in Ferguson is extraordinarily troubling and a blatant violation of the press's First Amendment rights," said Lee Rowland, an American Civil Liberties Union staff attorney specializing in First Amendment issues.

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said in a statement Sunday his agency will always err on the side of safety. "FAA cannot and will never exclusively ban media from covering an event of national significance, and media was never banned from covering the ongoing events in Ferguson in this case."

Huerta also said that, to the best of the FAA's knowledge, "no media outlets objected to any of the restrictions" during the time they were in effect.

An FAA manager, in the recordings, lamented that procedures for defining a no-fly area didn't have an option that would accommodate only excluding news helicopters. "There is really ... no option for a TFR that says, you know, 'OK, everybody but the media is OK,'" he said, later working out wording they felt would keep news helicopters out of the controlled zone but not impede other air traffic.

The less restrictive change by the FAA practically served the authorities' intended goal, an official said: "A lot of the time the (lesser restriction) just keeps the press out, anyways. They don't understand the difference."

The Kansas City FAA manager then asked a St. Louis County police official if the restrictions could be lessened so nearby commercial flights wouldn't be affected. The new order allows "aircraft on final (approach) there at St. Louis. It will still keep news people out. ... The only way people will get in there is if they give them permission in there anyway so they, with the (lesser restriction), it still keeps all of them out."

"Yeah," replied the police official. "I have no problem with that whatsoever."

KMOV-TV News Director Brian Thouvenot told the AP his station was prepared at first to legally challenge the flight restrictions, but was later advised that its pilot could fly over the area as long as the helicopter stayed above 3,000 feet. That kept the helicopter and its mounted camera outside the restricted zone, although filming from such a distance, he said, was "less than ideal."

None of the St. Louis stations was advised that media helicopters could enter the airspace even under the lesser restrictions, which under federal rules should not have applied to aircraft "carrying properly accredited news representatives." The FAA's no-fly notice indicated the area was closed to all aircraft except police and planes coming to and from the airport.

"Only relief aircraft operations under direction of St. Louis County Police Department are authorized in the airspace," it said. "Aircraft landing and departing St. Louis Lambert Airport are exempt."

The same day that notice was issued, a county police spokesman publicly denied the no-fly zone was to prevent news helicopters from covering the events. "We understand that that's the perception that's out there, but it truly is for the safety of pilots," Sgt. Brian Schellman told NBC News.

Ferguson police were widely criticized for their response following the death of Brown, who was shot by a city police officer, Darren Wilson, on Aug. 9. Later, under county police command, several reporters were arrested, a TV news crew was tear-gassed and some demonstrators were told they weren't allowed to film officers. In early October, a federal judge said the police violated demonstrators' and journalists' rights by forcing them to stay in constant motion.

"Here in the United States of America, police should not be bullying and arresting reporters who are just doing their jobs," President Barack Obama said Aug. 14, two days after police confided to federal officials the flight ban was secretly intended to keep media helicopters out of the area. "The local authorities, including police, have a responsibility to be transparent and open."

The restricted flight zone initially encompassed airspace in a 3.4-mile radius around Ferguson and up to 5,000 feet in altitude, but police agreed to reduce it to 3,000 feet after the FAA's command center in Warrenton, Virginia, complained to managers in Kansas City that it was impeding traffic into St. Louis.

The flight restrictions remained in place until Aug. 22, FAA records show. A police captain wanted it extended when officials were set to identify Wilson by name as the officer who shot Brown and because Brown's funeral would "bring out the emotions," the recordings show.

"We just don't know what to expect," he told the FAA. "We're monitoring that. So, last night we shot a lot of tear gas, we had a lot of shots fired into the air again. It did quiet down after midnight, but with that ... we don't know when that's going to erupt."

One FAA official at the agency's command center asked the Kansas City manager in charge whether the restrictions were really about safety. "So are (the police) protecting aircraft from small-arms fire or something?" he asked. "Or do they think they're just going to keep the press out of there, which they can't do."

___

On Twitter, follow Jack Gillum at https://twitter.com/jackgillum and Joan Lowy at https://twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy

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Sony Pictures Animation to fund Youtube animated comedy shorts, teaming with toon guru Fred Seibert

Sony Pictures Animation and Fred Seibert's Frederator Networks have launched a contest to find new toon talent, with the winner to be granted a deal for a series that will run on Frederator's Cartoon Hangover channel on YouTube.

Under the companies' new Go! Cartoons incubator project, Sony Pictures Animation will fund 12 five-minute animated shorts, one premiering every month on Cartoon Hangover's YouTube channel starting in the fall of 2015. One of those shorts will then be picked to become a limited series for the channel, which has more than 1.3 million subscribers.

"This is a great opportunity for Sony Pictures Animation to find new talent that might not emerge from more traditional platforms," said Bob Osher, president of Sony Pictures Digital Prods.

Osher called Fred Seibert "a force of nature in animation," noting that Seibert has developed multiple series from similar incubator projects including "The Powerpuff Girls," "The Fairly OddParents" and "Adventure Time." In addition, Genndy Tartakovsky, director of Sony's "Hotel Transylvania," was also discovered through one of Seibert's incubator initiatives, when Tartakovsky pitched the idea for series "Dexter's Laboratory."

With Go! Cartoons, Sony Pictures Animation and Frederator said they're looking for character-driven comedy toons between four and five minutes, appealing primarily to a family audience. Entries should be stand-alone shorts, not a series or pilot. Go! Cartoons is a "great way to shake the trees for new talent thanks to the involvement of a major animation studio like Sony Pictures Animation -- and we'll continue to fund and produce content our own unique way," Seibert said.

Seibert, who has a film-development deal with Sony Pictures Animation, is an industry vet who helped launch MTV in 1981 (creating the network's mutating logo) and later ran Hanna-Barbera. Frederator Networks, Seibert's media division, launched Cartoon Hangover in October 2012 and the channel's "Bravest Warriors" series became one of the most-watched scripted series out of the YouTube funded-channels project.

Cartoon Hangover's most recent incubator lab, Too Cool! Cartoons, resulted in new series including "Bee & PuppyCat" from Natasha Allegri, which has more than 4 million views. Frederator Studios launched a Kickstarter campaign for the series and 18,209 fans contributed $872,000 to bankroll the animated series.

Sony Pictures Animation's movies franchises include "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" and "The Smurfs." The studio will be releasing "Hotel Transylvania 2" next fall, once again directed by Tartakovsky, and a fully animated, yet-untitled Smurfs feature in August 2016.

© 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Cos. step up to help displaced homeless

At 5 a.m. on Oct. 9, Mariann Bucina Roca checked her email and found an urgent plea for help from Boston Public Health Commission Homeless Services: The previous day, the Long Island bridge had been shut down for safety reasons, forcing the evacuation of about 700 homeless people, recovering addicts and troubled teens, who left, literally, with only the clothes on their backs.

"All we knew was this really traumatic thing had just happened to hundreds of people," said Bucina Roca, executive director of Friends of Boston's Homeless. "Clean underwear, socks, toothbrushes — all that was left behind. So we were like, OK, we've got to get moving."

And that is when the Boston business community began stepping up.

Friends' staff of two immediately began making calls to their longtime donors, businesses including Charles River Apparel in Sharon, which began packing 75 boxes with about $25,000 worth of outerwear, sweatshirts, polo shirts and other clothes.

"As a family, we very much want to give back, and this was an emergency," said Deb Lipsett, the company's director of community partnerships. "To think that these people were being displaced again, without any notice, and couldn't return — it's heartbreaking."

Goodwin Graphics in Cohasset donated more than 200 pairs of socks.

"For the last few years, we've gone to the fundraiser the Friends of Boston's Homeless holds every year on Long Island, but when we found out the bridge was closed, I was thinking: I've got to do something more impactful," said owner Ron Goodwin. "For every homeless person, there's a story that goes with them. Any one of us could be that person on the street."

TD Garden, Liberty Mutual and Eastern Bank each gave money. Stacy's Pita Chip Co. donated healthy snacks. And Dependable Cleaners has been doing laundry weekly for about 50 people who were in transitional programs on Long Island.

"I've never seen a community come together in such a united way," said Beth Grand, bureau director for Boston Public Health Commission Homeless Services. "And to see the impact on our clients — they are very appreciative of what everyone's done to help them through this."

The agency has managed to find temporary shelter for all of the people who were displaced and is working with Mayor Martin J. Walsh to find more permanent housing.

"These are people who've earned the right to move into permanent housing," said John Rosenthal, founder and chairman of Friends of Boston's Homeless.

Other critical needs remain, including toiletries, coats and underwear; new men's sweatshirts and hoodies; new hats, gloves, scarves and socks; duffel bags and backpacks; packaged food such as Ensure for the elderly and granola bars, as well as decks of cards, dominoes, and museum or movie passes.

"A lot of it," Bucina Roca said, "is just providing comfort at a time of incredible stress."

To help, visit the Friends' Web site at www.fobh.org, or call (617) 942-8671.

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AP survey: China slowdown to bruise global economy

WASHINGTON — China's roaring economy for years has pulled much of the rest of the world with it, soaking up oil, iron ore and other commodities from developing countries and autos and luxury goods from Europe.

But its role as a global engine is fading as its economy slows — and many other nations, in the view of economists, will feel the pain. An Associated Press survey of 30 economists has found that 57 percent of them expect China's decelerating economy to restrain growth in countries from Brazil and Chile to Australia and South Korea.

A notable exception is the United States, which the economists see as largely insulated from China's troubles.

China's once-explosive growth has slowed in part because of its government's efforts to restrain its speculative real estate sector and shift its economy toward consumer spending. China's economy expanded 7.3 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, its slowest pace since 2009. A growth rate above 7 percent would be the envy of most major economies. But for China, it marked a sharp slowdown after three decades of double-digit expansion.

Last week, the Conference Board, a business group, forecast that China's growth would slump to 4 percent by 2020.

China's deceleration is rippling around the world. Brazil and Australia are selling it less iron ore, a key ingredient in steel, as China's construction boom slows. Chile is exporting less copper to China. Indonesia is selling it less oil and lumber.

And South Korea's electronics exports have faltered, hampering its growth, as Chinese consumers buy fewer smartphones or choose cheaper domestic alternatives.

China is also cracking down on corruption, which threatens European designer brands. Sung Won Sohn, an economist at California State University's Smith School of Business, estimates that one-third of luxury Swiss watches are exported to China. In addition, China is the fastest-growing market for Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

U.S. automakers, particularly General Motors, also sell lots of cars in China. But nearly all are built in China and don't contribute much to the U.S. economy, Sohn said. That's true of many other U.S. goods sold in China, including electronics. As a result, weaker sales in China wouldn't much hurt the United States. Capital Economics, a forecasting firm, calculates that only 6.5 percent of U.S. exports go to China — equal to just 0.9 percent of the U.S. economy.

"It's hard to see a slowdown in China having a really significant impact on the U.S. economy, barring a complete collapse," said Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics.

The AP surveyed a range of corporate, Wall Street and academic economists from Oct. 24 through 29. Among their other views:

— If Republicans wrest control of the Senate from Democrats in Tuesday's elections, it would probably cause political gridlock but would have little effect on the U.S. economy. A few economists said such an election result might lead to tax reforms that would boost long-term growth.

— Retail sales will pick up during this holiday shopping season. The economists think sales will rise 4.1 percent from a year ago, up from 3.8 percent in 2013. Lower gas prices and greater hiring should boost Americans' spending power.

— Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has done a better job than her counterpart at the European Central Bank, President Mario Draghi. The economists gave Yellen an average score of 3.8 on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 the best and 1 the worst. Draghi earned 3.2. Most economists say they wish the ECB would take bolder steps to spur growth in the 18-nation eurozone, which may be on the brink of its third recession in seven years.

Most of surveyed economists think the U.S. economy can expand at a respectable annual rate of 2.5 percent to 3 percent through next year even if Europe, Japan and China stumble.

On Friday, Japan's central bank unexpectedly intensified its stimulus efforts to try to invigorate its chronically anemic economy. The Bank of Japan will buy more government bonds and other assets lift inflation and spur more spending. That announcement helped lift financial markets around the world.

Oil prices have fallen more than 25 percent since summer, partly because China is using less of it and thereby reducing global demand for oil. With demand slowing, the national average price of gasoline in the United States fell 33 cents in October to $3.00 even, according to AAA. The average dipped below $3 this weekend for the first time in four years.

Robert Johnson, an economist at Morningstar, an investing service, noted that the United States has been recovering steadily from the Great Recession even as China's economy has weakened. China was growing at a double-digit pace in 2010, when the U.S. was still struggling to escape the recession. Now, the U.S. economy has expanded at a 4 percent annual pace over the past six months.

Still, if China's growth does slow significantly, eventually it could diminish growth in the United States.

"China is such a big market," Sohn said. "Sooner or later, we will feel the impact."

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Contact Chris Rugaber at http://Twitter.com/ChrisRugaber

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Take your reputation with you to next job

A Boston company has launched a new social media site that allows users to review and recommend individual lawyers, hair stylists and other professionals — combining the popular elements of services such as Yelp and LinkedIn.

Dunwello, founded early this year, gives customers a chance to review specific employees, instead of the companies for which they work

"There's no clear place (right now) you can go and see what individual professionals are really great at," said Matt Lauzon, co-founder of Dunwello.

When people start a new job, Lauzon said, they have to start from scratch with online reviews while the old employer keeps the good ratings. With Dunwello, recommendations follow the employee, not the company.

"The individual's livelihood is based on their reputation, (but) when they're moving place to place, those reviews don't follow them," he said. "You don't have a portable reputation."

Lauzon said an increasing number of employees go from job to job, and are forced to carve out loyal customers from the beginning.

Dunwello users rate how likely they are to recommend the person to others, which adds up to an overall score. Only positive reviews show up, although every review is sent to the professional.

"We don't believe in public shaming," Lauzon said, adding that anyone can see a pro's overall score.

Dunwello is focusing on a few professions to start, including lawyers, hair stylists and personal trainers.

Dunwello has raised 
$1.4 million in venture financing. Lauzon also founded Gemvara, a company that offers custom jewelry online.

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Spaceship co-pilot was experienced test pilot

MOJAVE, Calif. — The pilot killed in a test flight of Virgin Galactic's prototype space tourism rocket was as capable behind the controls of experimental aircraft as he was tackling technical challenges in the offices where the vehicle was designed.

He was also known as a devoted husband and father of two young children.

Michael Alsbury, 39, was "a respected and devoted colleague," according to a statement Saturday from Scaled Composites, the company developing the spaceship for Virgin Galactic. Alsbury was co-pilot of the ill-fated test of SpaceShipTwo. His body was in wreckage found in the Mojave Desert.

"Without mincing words or really embellishing anything ... I consider Mike Alsbury the renaissance man," said Brian Binnie, another test pilot who worked at Scaled Composites for 14 years before leaving the company in February. "He could do it all. He was an engineer. He was a pilot. He worked well with others. He had a great sense of humor. I never heard him raise his voice or lose his cool."

Peter Siebold, 43, who piloted the mission and parachuted to safety, was described as alert and talking with his family and doctors.

Alsbury had at least 15 years of flight experience and logged more than 1,600 hours as a test pilot and test engineer, according to a biography posted on the Society of Flight Test Engineers' website. He was listed on the website as an event speaker for the group last year.

At Scaled Composites, Alsbury participated in the flight testing of nine different manned aircraft and co-piloted SpaceShipTwo when it broke the sound barrier during its first powered flight last year. He was also sitting in the co-pilot's seat when the craft first dropped in 2010 from its carrier aircraft several miles above the Earth for an unpowered glide test.

Alsbury flew primarily as the craft's co-pilot, logging at least seven trips from 2010 to early 2014, according to test-flight logs.

Alsbury's next-door neighbor in Tehachapi, California, Patricia Kinn, had known him for years and described him as a devoted father of a young son and daughter. The last time she saw him, he was playing with the kids in his yard.

"He was a very down-to-earth family man," Kinn said. "He was very humble. He never bragged, never boasted."

Kinn, who works in flight testing for another company, said the aerospace community is a close one connected with businesses at the Mojave Air and Space Port and nearby Edwards Air Force Base.

"It was a horrible day yesterday for everyone," she said "What's hard is the family is suffering the loss of their dad. And they were very tight."

Alsbury earned a degree in aeronautical engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He was the recipient of Northrop Grumman's President's Award for Innovation-for-Affordability Excellence this year.

Binnie said Alsbury was a "home-schooled, home-brewed" pilot who earned his way up through the ranks at the company, starting as an engineer. Alsbury had also put himself through commercial pilot school and was certified as a flight instructor.

"He was definitely the kind of guy who had a vision for himself, and he did what he thought would get him where needed to be to fly SpaceShipTwo," Binnie said. "Mike loved what he did. I think his career ended with him doing exactly that. ... That yesterday ended up in a tragedy was kind of heart-breaking for many of us."

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Boston eyes next-gen networks

Boston is teaming up with more than two dozen other cities across the country to tackle one of the most complex infrastructure questions of the century: how to ensure the next-generation Internet connectivity that will be crucial for civic success.

"Where we stand today does not represent a network that is going to carry us and our many industries ... into the next few decades of the century," said Jascha Franklin-Hodge, chief information officer for the city of Boston.

Next Century Cities, a group of 31 cities across the country that are in the process of upgrading their internet infrastructure, is a collaborative organization that will meet regularly to discuss challenges and progress.

"The goal is to help a number of cities that already have interesting initiatives have better access and collaborate and learn from each other," said Chris Mitchell, policy director for Next Century Cities. "Having them all together makes it easier."

The networks of the future will need to be so-called gigabit networks, capable of speeds dramatically higher than a majority of today's networks.

"Twenty years from now, people are going to need gigabit connectivity," Franklin-Hodge said.

There is no specific plan in place to improve Boston's internet infrastructure, but the city is working to put one in place, he said.

"We're working hard to identify what options we have, there's a sense of urgency about this," he said. "There are so many different models, and there are people trying things all over the country that may be the right fit for Boston."

The Next Century Cities collaboration is intended to help guide Boston.

The city has been plagued by slow internet access for years — blamed in part on Verizon's refusal to build its FiOS network in the city as well as the infrastructure challenges that any old city faces.

The problems have been especially pronounced in the Innovation District.

And Boston's specialized industries require a high-quality network more than many cities, said Blair Levin, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy program and a former chief of staff for former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt.

"Boston has enormous strength in institutions of higher education, healthcare, and finance, and technology," he said. "Those are all going to require huge bandwidth."

But any network built by the city or a private company will have to take into account some unique qualities when designing its next-generation network, he said.

"The great disadvantage for Boston is that it's an old city, which increases the cost of construction," he said. "The advantage that Boston has is that it has a number of institutions ... if those folks all aggregate their buying power ... they can change the economics of deployment."

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