Hot Property: In 2015, new digs on the block

What we will see in Greater Boston residential real estate this year will be a lot like what we saw last year.

Another big wave of high-end apartment complexes will open between winter and spring, including 315 apartments at the Ink Block in the South End, 378 in neighboring Troy Boston, 359 apartments at 100 Pier 4 in the Seaport District and 398 units at the Ava Theater District. One Greenway in Chinatown will add another 217 market-rate apartments by summer.

East Cambridge's NorthPoint area will see two large apartment complexes opening this year: 355 units at Twenty 20 and 392 apartments at the Zinc at 22 Water St., near the new Lechmere Green Line station.

Over in the Fenway, two large luxury apartment projects will debut this spring: the Viridian with 322 units and the Van Ness with 172 units. And One Canal will add 320 new apartments on the Greenway this fall.

Whether the Hub can absorb this second wave of high-end rentals will indicate whether Boston is seeing exponential job growth and an increasing influx of millennials, empty-nesters and internationals, or if there's an oversupply, which will result in cutthroat competition that reduces rents.

"The first half of 2015 will be a lot like what we saw last year, with lots of new luxury apartments and a restricted condo inventory," said real estate columnist and William Raveis agent David Bates.

Bates sees the growth of emerging markets such as East Boston, and Dorchester neighborhoods such as Fields Corner and Savin Hill, as places for buyers looking in the $500,000 range as more are priced out of neighborhoods such as South Boston and Jamaica Plain and most of Cambridge and Somerville.

The city is seeking to encourage building denser housing in corridors along Dorchester Avenue between Broadway and Andrews and around the Forest Hills Orange Line station, but there will remain a shortage of more moderately priced condos and apartments for the foreseeable future. But a few, such as the 43-apartment Parkside on Adams in Roslindale, are slated to open this year.

And the shortage also goes for the high-end condo
market. Twenty Two Liberty in the Seaport District will debut at the end of the year, but its 109 condos are nearly sold out. So, too, are almost all of the 83 units at Sepia in the South End opening in the fall.

Two big luxury condo projects are breaking ground on Dalton Street near the Christian Science Center. Construction also will start on Lovejoy Wharf, 40 Trinity Place and Copley Place Tower, but delivery on these are two years away.

What will be available this year are smaller condo projects such as the 12-unit Royal in the South End and small South Boston and Back Bay projects.

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Car-charging station planned for Brattleboro

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — Tesla Motors Inc. is opening a Supercharger site in Brattleboro, Vermont, where drivers of the company's electric cars can recharge.

The Brattleboro Reformer reports (http://bit.ly/1bI41RH) the eight-bay charging station has been built in the Price Chopper parking lot. Tesla is waiting on its permit to attach the charging stations to the electric grid.

The Supercharger can charge a battery in one of the company's Model S electric vehicles, halfway, in about 20 minutes.

Tesla has been adding to its Supercharger network since 2012. It has about 150 charging stations in the United States and hopes to have a station every 120-150 miles in the next few years.

Tesla recently opened a station in Hooksett, New Hampshire. Plans for stations include West Lebanon, West Springfield, Massachusetts, and White River Junction.

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Information from: Brattleboro Reformer, http://www.reformer.com/

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Former Krispy Kreme vice president dies at 95

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — William Lewis Rudolph, a former Krispy Kreme vice president who helped to build the company, has died.

Rudolph's brother, Vernon Rudolph, opened the first Krispy Kreme in North Carolina in the 1930s. The Tennessean reports (http://tnne.ws/1Bp5rcJ) the successful business expanded, and the Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corp. was incorporated in 1947. Vernon Rudolph served as president and chairman of the board while William Lewis Rudolph was vice president.

In the late 1950s, Rudolph returned to Nashville from Winston-Salem to buy two Krispy Kreme shops. He opened two more in the 1960s.

In 1976, Krispy Kreme merged with Beatrice Foods Company. When sales slumped, franchisees, including Rudolph, rallied around a buyout. He retired from the doughnut business in 1985.

Harpeth Hills funeral home in Nashville said Rudolph died Sunday at age 95.

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Smart devices prey to hackers

An unprecedented boom in wearable technology and smart homes will make 2015 a year of huge rewards for American consumers — and terrifying opportunities for hackers.

Did you think North Korea's hack into Sony Pictures was bad? Try a hack of your insulin pump, your heart monitor, your light bulbs or your door locks.

Data thefts are about to hit us where we live. As sensors on your wrists and your walls become ubiquitous, the data derived from them is being collected and stored — and its security is about to be tested in a major way in 2015.

Central to the year's digital plot line is what is known as the Internet of Things — think of it as a revolution akin to the World Wide Web in the 1990s.

Instead of wiring computers together, we're wiring devices together, bringing online nearly everything that was previously inert.

Exhibit A: Google has acquired digital thermostat-maker Nest. Exhibit B: Apple's upcoming release of the iWatch.

From your thermostat to your health tracker, everything will start to have its own Internet protocol, or IP Address, starting this year.

The opportunities for the tech industry are huge.

Cable companies and wireless providers alike are trying to dominate in this space, offering monthly smart-home packages with huge install costs and monthly fees. But they'll fail.

What's likely to win out are the easy-setup piecemeal options that communicate well together. Those include the Philips Hue connected light bulbs, Microsoft's Kinect sensor, which straddles the line of smart home and fitness devices, the Apple HealthKit platform and, of course, Nest.

Eventually, smart home technology and wearables will work seamlessly together and you'll think of both as part of one big category, the Internet of Things.

But here's the spark that will ignite a revolution: The biggest providers of cloud computing, Amazon and Microsoft, have made it easier than ever for smaller startups to have the capability to analyze the reams of data coming from all those sensors.

Within the past several months, smaller companies have been able to take these massive quantities of intel — streams of data so big and so smart they're more like neural networks — and apply a type of artificial intelligence known as "machine learning" to them. That's when computers become so smart they program themselves.

That would usually take millions of dollars in capital investments. But advances in cloud computing mean the cost is close to zero.

In 2015, companies will start to be able to provide amazing services we can't even anticipate today, driving the entire smart home and health revolution forward and solidifying it as a central part of our consumer culture.

But as all this data is pulled and stored, access points for cyberattackers increase. And no matter what these companies tell you, our security capabilities have not caught up — and won't in 2015.

Devices that digitally secure your home may seem smart now, but what if a state-sponsored group implanted them with a virus programmed to lay dormant until one day it unlocks all the homes in a particular city? Or those smart thermostats that provide great intel on when people are home and even in a particular room? They might give rise to smart burglars.

So while corporations are worried about being the next Sony Pictures, my concern for 2015 is an attack on the Internet of Things — the digital epitome of a double-edged sword.

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Hyundai, Kia brace for weakest growth in a decade

SEOUL, South Korea — Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. are forecasting their weakest growth in yearly car sales in more than a decade as competition intensifies and the global economy slows.

Hyundai Motor Group, the world's fifth largest automaker, said Friday the two carmakers aim to sell a combined 8.2 million vehicles this year.

That would be an increase of just 2.5 percent from last year's sales about of about 8 million vehicles. Sales grew 4 percent in each of the past two years.

Chairman Chung Mong-koo told employees in his New Year's speech that the group should cut costs, increase productivity and share components to fend off competition from Japanese rivals boosted by a cheap yen.

Sales of Hyundai and Kia cars grew at double digit rates until 2011 as the group weathered the 2008 financial crisis by introducing new designs and marketing. The Korean group was also aided by a weak local currency. In 2010, car sales at Hyundai and Kia jumped 24 percent combined as exports surged.

But that momentum has slowed since 2012 as the won strengthened against the yen and as foreign auto brands gained popularity in South Korea, hurting Hyundai and Kia's domestic sales. A series of recalls and quality issues also challenged Hyundai at home and overseas.

Chung said the auto group will put priority on improving its brand and boosting its research and development. The group will increase investment in eco-friendly technologies and its brand this year.

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Business leaders bullish on 2015

After a year of strong economic growth in Boston, local business leaders tell the Herald they predict booming startups, cheap gas and steady development in 2015. Here are their forecasts:

Robby Bitting, marketing director at MassChallenge, on Boston startups: "We're super optimistic on 2015. There's a lot of momentum and success. On one hand, you see the big IPOs from this year with Wayfair and HubSpot that have generated a lot of excitement and ... attention for the startup community in Boston. But, on another level, what's really important is there's a lot of activity for earlier-stage entrepreneurs. Not only do you see it in the consumer web and enterprise software, but you also see that in healthcare, biotech and energy, and even in social enterprises."

Oil expert Andrew Reed, principal of ESAI Energy: "The price decreases (for heating oil and gasoline at the pump) we saw in the last few months put us at a new level where we should be staying — not just this winter, but for the next several years. OPEC ... had a decision coming for some time: Either you cut production (of crude oil) to defend the price or you keep producing to protect your market share. They've chosen the latter, which means there's a lot of crude oil out there."

Ernie Boch Jr., CEO of Boch Enterprises: "2014 was a great year for the automotive industry. 2015 looks like a better year, as long as the domestic (automakers) keep their production in line. In 2014, there was a great balance of supply and demand, but there were signs that the domestics were starting to over-produce, which could be dangerous."

Pat Moscaritolo, CEO of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau: "We've had three consecutive years of strong growth and are hitting new highs in visitors and hotel activity and tax revenue generated." International visitors have been the strongest market segment. "That's been fueled by the aggressive marketing that we've been doing internationally for Boston and Cambridge, but also the success of Massport's new international air service activity."

John B. Hynes III, CEO of Boston Global Investors, on real estate development: "I think you're going to see an average development year, with another 4 or 5 million square feet put under construction citywide. I would like to think it will be good for another million square feet of starts in Seaport Square, having started a million feet this year."

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Hasbro to replace penis-shaped Play-Doh toy

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — It was an embarrassing Christmas for Nivea Cabrera after she was accused by her fiance's mother of letting her 5-year-old granddaughter play with a sex toy. A mortified Carbrera asked the child where she got the penis-shaped plastic cylinder.

"It's from my Play-Doh," the girl replied.

Hasbro, the Pawtucket-based toy company, is now doing damage control over the extruder tool in its Play-Doh Cake Mountain toy. The two-piece syringe-like tool, which includes a tube with corkscrew-type ridges around the outside and a dome-shaped top with a hole at the tip, can be used to squeeze Play-Doh to look like decorative cake frosting.

Complaints have been surfacing since at least November, when Tulsa, Oklahoma, TV station KTUL showed the tool to parents and asked them what they thought. The station blurred the image of the tool during the piece, saying it was due to parents' reactions. One woman told the station it was "a pretty phallic cake-decorating piece."

After Christmas, comments started pouring in to Play-Doh's Facebook page, including from Cabrera, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She said Hasbro called her after she posted a photo of the tool and asked about the shape on Christmas Day. She said the company offered to send her a replacement tool in a different shape, which she has not received.

Erin Rivers, a mother of two from Melbourne, Florida, thought it was hilarious when she helped her 6-year-old daughter open the box.

"I pulled out this extruder tool, and I just started cracking up at it, I couldn't help it. Then I immediately put the Play-Doh in it and took a picture of," she said.

Then, she posted it on Facebook.

"My friends have just as dirty minds as I do," she said. "It was hysterical to me. And then I gave it my daughter to play with."

She said her daughter and 4-year-old son don't notice anything strange about the toy.

Hasbro Inc. has received thousands of comments on the Play-Doh Facebook page pointing out the obvious.

"We are in the process of updating all future Play-Doh products with a different tool," it said in a statement posted on the page Tuesday.

It also offered to replace the tool for anyone who has complaints.

Rivers, who works in a pediatric dental office, says she's not upset at all. But she is flabbergasted that the toy slipped past so many layers of people at Hasbro.

"They have to have someone who creates it, someone who makes the plastic mold, someone who plays with it," she said. "I can't imagine that as many people that probably saw the toy, not one person said, 'Does anyone else think this looks like a penis?'"

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US stocks post sixth straight year of gains

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks ended a strong 2014 with moderate declines Wednesday.

Even with the losses, the Standard & Poor's 500 index finished the year up 11.4 percent, or 13.7 percent when dividends are included. It was the sixth straight year of gains for the stock market.

Oil, by contrast, had its worst annual performance since 2008, ending down 45 percent for 2014 after a sharp slump in the second half of the year.

The market's annual gain exceeded even most optimistic forecasts made at the beginning of the year.

"It turned out to be a great year for U.S. economic growth, which got us higher corporate profits as well," said Cameron Hinds, regional chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Bank.

Most strategists believe the stock market will also rise in 2015, but they expect more modest gains of between 4 percent and 6 percent.

There was no major catalyst for Wednesday's selling. Trading has been slow all week because of the holidays and most fund managers have closed their books for the year. However, some investors do reshuffle their portfolios in the last few days of the year for tax purposes.

Roughly 2.6 billion shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange, compared with the 3.6 billion traded on an average day.

Energy stocks edged lower as the price of oil fell. Benchmark U.S. crude dropped 85 cents to $53.27 a barrel in New York. Oil has plunged by half since June amid abundant supplies and weak global demand.

Oil drillers fell the most Wednesday. Diamond Offshore was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500, declining 3.6 percent. The energy component of the S&P 500 is down 10 percent this year

"I think most of the selling you're seeing today is related to the fall in oil, as well as repositioning before the end of the year," Hinds said.

U.S. markets will be closed Thursday for New Year's Day and will reopen on a normal schedule on Friday.

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 160 points, or 0.9 percent, to 17,823.07. It ended 2014 up 7.5 percent, lagging behind the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.

The Nasdaq lost 41.39 points, or 0.9 percent, to 4,736.05. The Nasdaq rose 13.4 percent in 2014.

The S&P 500 fell 21.45 points, or 1 percent, to 2,058.90.

Prices for U.S. government bonds rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged down to 2.17 percent. Bonds were an unexpected strong spot for the market in 2014. The 10-year note started 2014 at around 2.99 percent. Bond yields fall as prices rise.

Gold fell $16.30 to $1,184.10 an ounce. The precious metal barely budged in 2014, falling 0.2 percent, compared with its drop of 28.3 percent in 2013.

Silver fell 68 cents to $15.60 an ounce and copper fell three cents to $2.83 a pound.

In other futures trading on the NYMEX:

— Wholesale gasoline fell 1.8 cents to $1.435 a gallon.

— Heating oil fell 2.2 cents to close at $1.847 a gallon.

— Natural gas fell 20.5 cents to close at $2.889 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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Sony hack hits actors in Boston

The massive Sony hack that has spurred an FBI investigation and nearly canceled the rollout of "The Interview" is hitting home with Boston actors who this week received a letter from Sony stating they may be vulnerable to identity theft.

"When I received the letter, I was like, 'I cannot believe this,' "
said Jan Waldman, who was an extra in "The Equalizer," a movie shot in Boston, "I mean, I am such a small player in a huge thing, and if my information is compromised, it's an incredible hassle,'"

The 54-year-old from Swampscott has been a full-time actress for the past two years.

Chris Weigel was on the same set for two days working as an extra and said when he originally heard about the Sony hack he thought it was awful that someone had hacked into a major corporation and leaked information about executives. "There was never even a thought that it was affecting me," he said.

"I never thought it would touch me," echoed Andrea Petrino, 43, of South Boston, who in the past 15 years has been in nine Sony-produced films — a welcome source of extra income to her real estate salary.

According to the letter, the stolen information may include their full names, addresses, Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, passport information and other information given to Sony for payroll and tax purposes.

"I don't know too much about what you really need to steal your identity or how about going to do that, but I am pretty sure that's like the basic information right there," said Weigel, a teacher who lives in Watertown and acts on the side.

Sony suffered its huge hack on Nov. 24, and since then a tidal wave of information has leaked — including salaries of top executives, embarrassing email exchanges and full-length feature films not yet released in theaters. A threat by the hackers to attack theaters on Christmas Day spurred Sony to briefly cancel the rollout of "The Interview," a comedy about an assassination attempt on the leader of North Korea.

A group calling itself Guardians of Peace has claimed responsibility for the cyberattack. The U.S. has blamed North Korea.

The letter reveals the ripple effect of the hack could be much larger than the small group of well-paid Sony executives and actors.

Sony — which last month offered identity theft protection to directors and writers — now has offered to pay for one year of ID protection for the actors through a company called AllClear ID.

But Weigel said the one-year protection is not enough. Once personal information is out there it can be accessed at any point — and Social Security numbers don't change after a year, he noted.

"I'm kind of hoping that Sony steps in and maybe realizes that this isn't enough," he said.

Sony did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.

The studio is now releasing "The Interview" on cable, satellite and telecom services, as well as PlayStation. Showings of the movie will also expand to 580 theaters.

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State clears dispensary to grow, sell medical pot in Salem

A Massachusetts company will begin growing cannabis and selling medical marijuana from a Salem dispensary, thanks to the first certificate of registration issued by the state.

The state Department of Public Health yesterday announced the clearance for Alternative Therapies Group Inc.

Alternative Therapies plans to sell its medical marijuana — which Massachusetts law requires must be grown from seed — to 1,526 patients in its first year, according to its filing with the state. The plants will be grown at its Amesbury cultivation site.

"Providing safe patient access is a priority of the Medical Use of Marijuana Program, and we are proud to take this important step forward," state Health and Human Services Secretary John Polanowicz said in a statement. "Selecting dispensaries that meet our high standards takes time, but ensuring a launch of this new industry the right way for the people of Massachusetts is a top priority."

State public health officials visited Alternative Therapies' dispensary and cultivation sites to review its floor plans, security and cultivation operations to ensure product safety and quality; its storage and transportation standards; and responsiveness to patient needs, the DPH said.

The company will be subject to further oversight, including inspection of its transportation plans and testing of its marijuana plants once they are grown, before it's permitted to move or sell its marijuana for medical use. Ongoing oversight will include unannounced inspections before and after sales begin.

Other companies seeking to operate medical marijuana dispensaries in Massachusetts are in the inspection phase.

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Here’s a look at the top local business stories of the year

1. The Market Basket saga made headlines nationwide as a months-long worker walkout and customer boycott, prompted by the firing of chief executive Arthur T. Demoulas, brought the grocery chain to its knees. The family feud ended after "Artie T." was reinstated and his rival cousin Arthur S. Demoulas agreed to sell.

2. The state Gaming Commission finally awarded three coveted licenses, including one to Wynn Resorts for its $1.6 billion resort casino in Everett.

3. Oil prices plunged, sending average gas prices in the Bay State to $1 lower than a year ago and putting cash back in motorists' pockets in time for a boffo holiday retail season.

4. The biotech industry boomed as 17 local companies went public and three were acquired or are in the process of being bought, including Cubist Pharmaceuticals, purchased by Merck for a cool $8.4 billion.

5. The year ended with the massive Sony Pictures hack, as hundreds of companies, including Staples, Home Depot and JPMorgan Chase, had sensitive customer data stolen.

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A look at number of people enrolled in health plans for 2015

More than 4 million people signed up for the first time or re-enrolled in health plans in the first month of the latest sign-up period under the Affordable Care Act, according to a report released Tuesday. A look at how many people in each state enrolled in a marketplace health plan for 2015:

State-Based Marketplaces using their own marketplace platforms
California	118,770
Colorado	36,238
Connecticut	77,042
District of Columbia	2,069
Hawaii	1,903
Idaho	73,262
Kentucky	82,651
Maryland	50,742
Massachusetts	32,266
Minnesota	17,446
New York	42,982
Rhode Island	12,347
Vermont	21,709
Washington	63,411
Total	632,838
State-Based Marketplaces using the Healthcare.gov platform
Nevada	40,285
New Mexico	17,556
Oregon	73,152
Total	130,993
Federally-Facilitated Marketplace states
Alabama	64,926
Alaska	9,325
Arizona	72,932
Arkansas	19,900
Delaware	8,956
Florida	673,255
Georgia	187,654
Illinois	121,243
Indiana	88,733
Iowa	18,913
Kansas	39,023
Louisiana	56,651
Maine	36,132
Michigan	123,208
Mississippi	28,452
Missouri	102,087
Montana	22,618
Nebraska	32,213
New Hampshire	23,210
New Jersey	105,306
North Carolina	249,784
North Dakota	8,528
Ohio	88,927
Oklahoma	44,129
Pennsylvania	180,046
South Carolina	75,075
South Dakota	8,817
Tennessee	87,137
Texas	379,525
Utah	49,740
Virginia	164,884
West Virginia	12,283
Wisconsin	92,398
Wyoming	9,020
Total in states using the HealthCare.gov platform	3,416,023
Marketplace Total	4,048,861

Source: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Health and Human Services Department.

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Easton man sentenced for rent-to-own scam

FALL RIVER, Mass. — An Easton man who exploited first-time home buyers or people with poor credit in a real estate rent-to-own scam has been sentenced to jail.

Joshua Leventhal was sentenced Tuesday in Fall River Superior Court to two years behind bars, with 10 months to serve and the remainder suspended for 10 years of probation. He was also ordered to pay $112,000 in restitution

The 44-year-old Leventhal pleaded guilty to four counts of larceny of more than $250.

Leventhal had described his program as a way for first-time home buyers or people with poor credit to rent a property, with the goal of ultimately buying that property.

The investigation revealed none of Leventhal's customers ever purchased property under his program and he kept the money for his own use.

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Applications for US jobless aid rise, but growth looks solid

WASHINGTON — More Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, but the number of applications continues to be at historically low levels that suggest solid economic growth will continue.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that applications for unemployment benefits climbed 17,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 298,000.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose 250 to 290,750. That average has plummeted 17.5 percent in the past 12 months.

Applications are a proxy for layoffs. For almost four months, applications for jobless aid have hovered at relatively low sub-300,000 levels. That suggests that employers expect strong economic growth to continue, causing them to hold onto their staff and potentially hire additional workers.

As fewer people have sought unemployment benefits, job growth has steadily accelerated and helped fuel the economy.

The economy expanded at an annualized rate of 5 percent during the July-September quarter, the strongest performance in 11 years. That follows a 4.6 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, the government reported last week.

As growth has strengthened, so has hiring.

Employers added 321,000 jobs in November, bringing the total for the first 11 months of 2014 to 2.65 million new jobs. That already makes 2014 the best year for hiring since 1999.

The unemployment rate held steady at 5.8 percent, down from 6.7 percent at the start of the year.

Still, wage growth has lagged hiring. Average wages increased only 2.1 percent in the past 12 months. That means that incomes are only barely outpacing inflation, with core consumer prices — which excludes volatile energy and food costs — up 1.7 percent over the past 12 months.

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Applications for US jobless aid rise, but growth looks solid

WASHINGTON — More Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, but the number of applications continues to be at historically low levels that suggest solid economic growth will continue.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that applications for unemployment benefits climbed 17,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 298,000.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose 250 to 290,750. That average has plummeted 17.5 percent in the past 12 months.

"The claims data still point to relatively upbeat conditions in the labor market," said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan Chase, noting that there are routinely ups and downs in the weekly figures.

Applications are a proxy for layoffs. For almost four months, applications for jobless aid have hovered at relatively low sub-300,000 levels. That suggests that employers expect strong economic growth to continue, causing them to hold onto their staff and potentially hire additional workers.

As fewer people have sought unemployment benefits, job growth has steadily accelerated and helped fuel the economy.

The economy expanded at an annualized rate of 5 percent during the July-September quarter, the strongest performance in 11 years. That follows a 4.6 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, the government reported last week.

Hiring has improved as layoffs have waned.

Employers added 321,000 jobs in November, bringing the total for the first 11 months of 2014 to 2.65 million new jobs. That already makes 2014 the best year for hiring since 1999.

The unemployment rate held steady at 5.8 percent, down from 6.7 percent at the start of the year.

The four-week moving average of jobless claims is consistent with monthly job gains of at least 250,000, said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at the forecasting firm MFR

Still, wage growth has lagged hiring. Average wages increased only 2.1 percent in the past 12 months. That means that incomes are only barely outpacing inflation, with core consumer prices — which excludes volatile energy and food costs — up 1.7 percent over the past 12 months.

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Effort underway to clarify casino ATM placement

BOSTON — A state lawmaker wants to clarify where banks can place ATMs in the state's newly-licensed casinos.

The Boston Globe  reports that state Sen. Stephen Brewer has proposed a measure that would ban banks from situating automated teller machines on the gambling floor, but allow them elsewhere in casinos.

The thinking is that if gamblers have to leave the floor to access an ATM, it would give them time to consider whether they want to risk more money.

The Barre Democrat also wants to even the playing field for state-charted and federally-chartered banks.

One interpretation of current law is that state-chartered bank ATMs are prohibited from casinos, while federally chartered banks are not.

The state has authorized full casinos in Everett and Springfield, and a slots parlor in Plainville.

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Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.bostonglobe.com

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Nearly 50,000 sign up and pay for health coverage

BOSTON — Nearly 50,000 Massachusetts residents have signed up for an insurance plan through the state's health connector and made their first month's payment.

Health Care connector officials said as of Sunday night, about 49,900 residents had taken the steps needed to guarantee they have coverage on Jan. 1.

The original enrollment deadline was Dec. 23, but connector officials had given thousands of people who had chosen a plan but not yet paid for until Sunday to do so.

Some people may receive their health plan's ID cards a few days after Jan. 1, but their coverage will be in effect at the start of the month.

Officials say the revamped connector website has been operating without major glitches since it was launched Nov. 15, replacing one that was hobbled by technical problems.

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Matthew McConaughey cruises L.A. in new Lincoln hybrid commercials

On New Year's Day, two new Matthew McConaughey commercials for the Lincoln MKZ hybrid will debut during the college football games as part of a multiyear deal with the "Lincoln Lawyer" star. Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn ("Drive"), the spots feature McConaughey in deep thought, contemplating the purpose of the gas-saving automobile. According to him, "It's not about tree hugging."

"You gotta find that balance where taking care of yourself takes care of more than just yourself," he drawls in a voice reminiscent of his "True Detective" character Rust Cohle.

In one spot, McConaughey drives the atmospherically rain-slicked streets of L.A. after exiting a restaurant (shot at Blair's in Silver Lake), while the other has him surveying the L.A. skyline from the familiar vantage point of Griffith Park.

Earlier this year, the Oscar winner starred in another Lincoln ad, describing how to move forward with life, which requires "taking a step back." This triggered an "SNL" parody by Jim Carrey, who pointed out irony in McConaughey's new ad deal.

"Sometimes you gotta go back to actually move forward," Carrey said. "I mean, take a big step back. Like go from winning an Oscar to doing a car commercial."

McConaughey said earlier that he appreciates the ability to be himself in these commercials.

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

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US home price growth slows for 11th consecutive month

WASHINGTON — U.S. home prices rose in October at a slightly slower pace, as real estate sales have fallen and affordability has increasingly become a challenge for potential buyers.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index increased 4.5 percent in October from 12 months prior. The figures reported Tuesday mark the eleventh straight month of price gains decelerating and the smallest gain since October 2012.

The slowdown in price growth comes after surging double-digit increases for much of 2013. Home values climbed as the market recovered from bottoming out in 2011 in the aftermath of the housing bust and the Great Recession. But home prices have outpaced lackluster wage growth, leaving many potential buyers unable to afford homes and causing both sales and price growth to stall this year.

The recent decline in mortgage rates has yet to bring more buyers into the market. Simultaneously, there are fewer distressed properties and bargains coming onto the market that attract investors as buyers. All of that has occurred despite an improving U.S. economy that has generated 2.65 million new jobs so far this year, as the unemployment rate has dropped to 5.8 percent from 6.7 percent at the start of 2014.

Prices barely budged over the past 12 months in Cleveland (up 0.9 percent), Chicago (1.9 percent), New York (2 percent), Phoenix (2.1 percent) and Washington, DC (2.2 percent).

Still, there are signs that broader improvements in the U.S. economy may be causing prices to rise faster in some cities. Compared to September, eight cities reported stronger year-over year prices growth in October. This includes San Francisco (up 9.1 percent), Denver (7.2 percent) and Tampa (6.1 percent).

"We are seeing hints that prices could end 2014 on a strong note and accelerate into 2015," said David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The Case-Shiller index covers roughly half of U.S. homes. The index measures prices compared with those in January 2000 and creates a three-month moving average. The October figures are the latest available.

Other housing reports confirm a broader slowdown.

The National Association of Realtors estimate that 2014 sales will end up below 2013 levels. The trade group forecasts that 4.94 million existing homes will be sold this year, down 3 percent from 5.09 million in 2013. Analysts say sales of roughly 5.5 million existing homes are common in a healthy real estate market.

The Commerce Department said last week that new home sales slid 1.6 in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 438,000. That remains significantly below the annual rate of 700,000 seen during the 1990s.

The real estate brokerage Redfin reported Monday that its market tracker found that home sales plummeted 5 percent in November compared to 12 months earlier. Nearly a third of the buyers surveyed by Redfin said that their biggest obstacle to purchasing a home was affordability.

Stan Humphries, chief economist at the real estate data firm Zillow, noted that slower price growth should ultimately be helpful for the economy. When prices rise at levels closer to wages, more people are usually able to buy a home.

"A slower-moving housing market is inherently more stable, more balanced between buyers and sellers and more sustainable over the long-term," Humphries said.

Buying could be helped by average 30-year mortgage rates staying closed to a 19-month low. Rates nationwide averaged 3.83 percent last week, according to the mortgage company Freddie Mac.

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US consumer confidence rises in December

WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer confidence rose in December, a private survey shows.

The Conference Board says its consumer confidence index climbed to 92.6 from a revised 91 in November.

Consumers registered a more favorable view of current economic conditions. But their expectations for the near future fell slightly. Still, those expectations are rosier now than they were when 2014 began.

The U.S. economy is showing considerable strength. Economic output grew from July through September at the fastest pace in 11 years. And employers are hiring 241,000 workers a month, the strongest hiring since 1999.

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