Gas pipeline woes halt National Grid hookups on Cape

Residents of eight Cape Cod towns will have to wait years before new natural gas lines can be installed after National Grid instituted a moratorium on new hookups.

The company will not install any new gas connections for five to seven years after the Department of Public Utilities and National Grid found potentially faulty welds — some almost 60 years old — in a 21-mile pipeline on the Cape, forcing­ National Grid to lower the pressure in the transmission line, which cut the amount of gas it can carry.

The pipeline will not be able to supply gas to more customers until infra­structure fixes are made, work that has no exact timetable.

"We're going to have to do some pretty significant infrastructure enhancement work," said National Grid spokesman Jake Navarro.

The work will prevent potential customers in Dennis, Harwich, Brewster, Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Barnstable and Yarmouth from hooking up to the gas supply.

Navarro said National Grid has about 100,000 customers on the Cape, and was adding between 800 and 1,000 each year.

DPU spokeswoman Mary-Leah Assad said in a statement that the agency is looking into the situation.

"The DPU's Pipeline Safety & Engineering Division is engaged in an on­going investigation to determine the integrity of the gas main and ensure it is in compliance with federal and state regulations," she said.

National Grid does not believe any other pipelines in the state will need the same kind of repairs, Navarro said.

Meanwhile, Nstar yesterday filed for a 12 percent delivery rate increase, citing­ rising costs to deliver gas to homes. That comes after Nstar said it would increase its supply rates by 29 percent due to rising demand for natural gas.

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Fung Wah gets feds’ conditional approval

Nearly two years after shutting it down, federal regulators have given Boston-­based Fung Wah Bus Transportation conditional approval to resume carrying passengers, but authorities say they'll be watching to see if the company slips back into a pattern of safety violations and mismanagement.

"It is essential that all private bus companies operating on our local streets are properly permitted, are following current regulations and guidelines with regard to their business practices, and are picking up and dropping off passengers at locations approved by the city," said Kate Norton, spokeswoman for Mayor Martin J. Walsh.

Effective Dec. 11, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration authorized Fung Wah — known for its cheap fares to New York City — to resume operations, based on a negotiated safety management plan and the company's acceptance of five conditions: that it hire qualified managers responsible for safety and government compliance; that it limit service routes and trips during the first 60 days of operation; that it ensure all drivers are trained and tested, and install on-board devices to record their duty status; that it ensure — through training, monitoring and disciplinary action — that drivers do not exceed the speed limit; and that it agree to heightened monitoring by the FMCSA for four years.

In a statement yesterday, Fung Wah President Pei Lin Liang said: "We are working diligently to resume safe, effective and affordable passenger transportation service between New York and Boston. We are in the process of working with federal, state and local authorities to demonstrate that a new page has been turned."

A spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Utilities, which inspects buses on behalf of the FMCSA, said Fung Wah does not need DPU's authorization to operate.

The MBTA, which owns South Station, has not received a formal request from Fung Wah to resume operations there, spokeswoman Kelly Smith said.

In March 2013, the FMCSA­ shut down the bus company after it refused to turn over safety records. The agency subpoenaed the documents, which showed, among other things, falsified maintenance records and a failure to drug-screen drivers.

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Sony has 'no further release plans' for 'The Interview'

Sony Pictures Entertainment has walked out on "The Interview," deciding against releasing the Seth Rogen-James Franco comedy in any form -- including VOD or DVD.

"Sony Pictures has no further release plans for the film," a spokesman said Wednesday.

The studio issued the statement a few hours after pulling the planned Christmas Day release of "The Interview" in the U.S. in response to the hackers who threatened to attack movie theaters and moviegoers if the comedy were released.

By late Wednesday afternoon, the studio had removed any mention of "The Interview" from its official web site.

The move could open the door for Sony to sell the rights to a rival distributor -- though Hollywood is still reeling from Tuesday's invocation of a possible 9/11-type terrorist attack on exhibitors if they screened "The Interview."

Prior to the decision to pull the film, a Sony Pictures insider had told Variety that the studio was weighing releasing the film on premium video-on-demand. Such a move would have allowed the studio to recoup some of the film's $42 million budget and tens of millions in promotion and advertising expenditures.

Sony's nightmare began on Nov. 24 when the "Guardians of Peace" hackers disabled the studio's computer system and began disclosing internal documents, email messages, film budgets, executive salaries and the social security numbers of thousands of employees.

"The world will be full of fear," the group's Tuesday message said. "Remember the 11th of September 2001. We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time. (If your house is nearby, you'd better leave.)"

In response, most of the country's largest theater chains -- including AMC, Regal, Cinemark, Carmike and Southern Theatres -- announced they would either delay showing the picture or would drop it altogether.

"The Interview" centers on an assassination attempt on North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. There has been speculation that the country may be involved in the hacking as retaliation for the film, though it has denied involvement.

On Wednesday, several published reports said that federal authorities had determined that hackers working on behalf of the North Korean government were behind the hack attack. CNN's Evan Perez said that an announcement is expected on Thursday that would "assign attribution" to the country.

"The Interview" has been scheduled for release in foreign markets starting in late January.

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

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Reports: North Korea ordered the Sony attack

Federal authorities have determined that hackers working on behalf of the North Korean government were behind the attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment, according to published reports.

"We have found linkage to the North Korean government," a source told CNBC.

CNN's Evan Perez said that an announcement is expected on Thursday that would "assign attribution" to the country, which threatened retaliation over the release of "The Interview."

An FBI official said that the agency had no immediate comment because the investigation is ongoing. But they are expected to issue a statement on their findings within the next day. A spokesman for the National Security Council also had no comment.

The New York Times reported that U.S. officials had differences of opinion on whether the hackers were aided by Sony insiders. The Times reported that U.S. officials had determined that North Korea was "centrally involved" in the attacks on Sony.

It's unclear what kind of action the U.S. may take, if any, in response, or whether it would issue any kind of an official statement. The White House had no immediate comment.

In an interview with ABC News on Wednesday, President Obama said that his administration was taking the hacker attack seriously but that "for now my recommendation would be, go to the movies."

Sony announced that it was pulling the movie from release after major theater chains decided not to show it. On Tuesday, the studio said that it was leaving a decision of whether to show the movie to exhibitors. That came after the hackers issued a threat of physical harm and a "9/11" style attack at theaters where the movie was being shown. But an official with the Department of Homeland Security told media outlets that there was "no credible intelligence" showing an active plot.

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

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Seth Rogen surreptitiously picks up Hollywood Hills estate

 So the celebrity real estate scuttlebutt goes, white-hot Hollywoodite Seth Rogen has quietly a gated estate tucked high in to the Nichols Canyon area of the Hollywood Hills for somewhere in the neighborhood of $8 million.

• BUYER: Seth Rogen
• LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA
• PRICE: about $8 million
• SIZE: 3,493 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms

The Canadian-born comedian got his Tinseltown break on the cult fave t.v. show "Freaks and Geeks" and went on to star in a series of silly but seriously successful silver screen comedies ("Knocked Up," "Superbad," "Pineapple Express"). Next up for Mister Rogen, whose soon to be released film "The Interview" with James Franco may indeed be at the heart the Sony hacking scandal, is a plum part as computer nerd/tech tycoon Steve Wozniak in the upcoming Steve Jobs biopic.

As best as we can figure from a careful parse of property records, the gated estate encompasses three parcels that total 7.15 acres set into a heavily treed canyon just below a modestly scaled hacienda style house recently acquired by Twilight superstar Rob Pattinson.

The property, discreetly set off a tight curve of a winding cul-de-sac, was not listed on the open market but listing details Your Mama managed to tease up out of the internets from the fall of 2012 when the property was put out for least at $11,750 per month -- it rented in early 2013 at $10,500 per month as per digital resources -- show the three bedroom and three bathroom wood-shingled main house has 3,493 square feet with flagstone floors and a "gourmet kitchen." The property also includes a separate guesthouse, a swimming pool and spa set into a flagstone terrace below the main house, a lighted paddle tennis court down near driveway gates and, tucked deep in to the sylvan canyon spread, two streams and a 100-foot waterfall.

Our research suggests Mister Rogen, now in his middle 30s, continues to own the 2,853-square-foot Spanish casa in West Hollywood he picked up in the fall of 2006 for $1.65 million.

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

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Ruble slides to new low, Wall St. looking down

FRANKFURT, Germany — Market participants were transfixed Tuesday by a stunning slide in the Russian ruble that presented President Vladimir Putin with one of the biggest challenges of his 15-year rule.

The currency, under pressure from lower oil prices and Western sanctions over Moscow's conflict with Ukraine, fell an astonishing 20 percent before recovering somewhat by afternoon Moscow time to trade around 72 per dollar.

That's a modest improvement on day lows of 78.5 to the dollar. It still means the currency is more than 60 percent down from where it was in January.

Elsewhere, Asian stocks slid after Chinese manufacturing contracted this month but European markets were lackluster and Wall Street was poised to rebound.

KEEPING SCORE: European stocks were mixed. France's CAC 40 was down 0.9 percent to 3,968.55 and Germany's DAX lost 0.3 percent to 9,304.62. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.4 percent to 6,207.64. U.S. stocks pointed down after Monday's losses. Dow futures were 0.2 percent lower at 17,089 while S&P 500 futures fell 0.5 percent to 1,974.

RUSSIAN WOE: The Russian currency sagged despite a massive interest rate increase to 17 percent from 10.5 percent by the Russian Central Bank. The ruble has been sliding as a result of the collapse in oil prices and Western sanctions over Russia's actions in Ukraine.

The euro rose to $1.2525 while the dollar slipped 1.37 percent to 116.91 yen.

THE QUOTE: "No one expected the ruble to hit 60 this year against the dollar, let alone 70 or 80 even. And no one is positioned for this. This will impart huge short term damage to Russia — there is now a huge credibility gap for Russian policy makers in the eyes of the market," wrote Timothy Ash at Standard Bank PLC.

ENERGY: Oil prices are at five-year lows as supply booms while energy demand wanes. Benchmark U.S. crude was down $1.89 to $54.02 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, an international benchmark, fell $1.96 to $59.10 in London.

CHINA FACTORIES: Shanghai shares gained after a preliminary HSBC report on manufacturing showed a contraction for the first time in seven months. While the numbers underscored the persistent weakness in the world's second biggest economy, they also fuelled mainland Chinese investor hopes of more stimulus after a surprise interest rate cut last month. The report, however, was a negative for other Asian markets.

ASIAN SCORECARD: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index tumbled 2 percent to close at 16,755.32 and South Korea's Kospi lost 0.9 percent to 1,904.13. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.6 percent to 22,670.50. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index surged 2.3 percent to 3,021.52. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.7 percent to 5,152.30.

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Stiff upper lip: 007 carries on after script leak

LONDON — Filming is underway on James Bond thriller "SPECTRE," despite the leak of a draft script in a huge hack of material from Sony Pictures.

Daniel Craig and co-star Rory Kinnear took to a London canal in a speedboat on Tuesday for a waterborne sequence.

The Sam Mendes-directed movie is filming at several London locations this week, and will later travel to Italy, Morocco, Mexico and Austria.

The film's title is the name of a terrorist organization featured in several early Bond films, but details of the plot had been a well-guarded secret — until Bond producer EON Productions acknowledged on the weekend that an early version of the script was among material stolen in the Sony cyberattack.

Details of the "SPECTRE" script and executives' email exchanges about it have since circulated online.

Ajay Chowdhury of the James Bond International Fan Club said the Bond franchise would survive the leak, but the attack was damaging.

"If this can happen to Sony it can happen to other studios," he said. "It is a form of economic warfare."

A lawyer for Sony Pictures Entertainment has warned news organizations not to publish details of company files leaked by hackers in one of the largest digital breaches ever against an American company.

But reams of sensitive material have already become public, including embarrassing emails in which executives and producers criticized stars and made racially offensive jokes about President Barack Obama.

Speculation has raged about the identity of the hackers, with some suspecting North Korea struck in retaliation for Sony-produced movie "The Interview." The comedy depicts an assassination attempt on leader Kim Jong Un.

North Korea has condemned the film, but denied the hack.

Chowdhury said the saga was "almost a Bondian plot — the world entertainment industry, a trillion-dollar industry, held to ransom by nefarious hackers."

"SPECTRE" is due for release in November 2015.

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US home construction drops 1.6 percent in November

WASHINGTON — Construction of new homes fell slightly in November, reflecting weakness in construction of single-family homes.

Builders started construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.03 million homes and apartments last month, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. That was a decline of 1.6 percent from October when construction activity had posted a 1.7 percent gain.

The weakness last month came from a 5.4 percent fall in construction of single-family homes, which offset a 6.7 percent rise in the more volatile apartment sector.

Applications for building permits were also down in November, falling 5.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.04 million. Analysts are still looking for housing to regain momentum in 2015, believing that strong increases in employment will help boost home sales.

Economists called the November decline in construction disappointing but said part of the drop was probably caused by cold and snowy weather in many parts of the country. It was the coldest November in 14 years.

Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, noted that October construction activity was revised up by 3.6 percent and that September, October and November all showed construction above the 1-million mark.

She said going forward strong job growth, low mortgage rates and easier lending standards should provide continued support for the housing market.

All regions of the country showed gains in November except the South, which accounts for almost half of all new home activity. That region saw a 19.5 percent drop in construction. Construction showed the biggest jump in the West, an increase of 28.1 percent, followed by gains of 14.4 percent in the Midwest and 8.7 percent in the Northeast

Analysts believe the strong gains in employment this year will give consumers the confidence to buy homes and translate into moderate housing gains in 2015. While still a long way from the boom years of the previous decade, housing has been posting a moderate recovery over the past two years.

The National Associated of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index took a slipped slightly in December but remains in positive territory. The index reading in December was 57, down one point from a reading of 58 in November.

Any reading above 50 indicates that home builders view sales conditions as good, rather than poor.

New home sales reached an annual rate of 458,000 in October, the highest point since May. Home prices continued to climb, increasing to a median price of $305,000 in October, up 16.5 percent from a year ago.

The gains in home prices have held back some activity, particularly among first-time home buyers. Many lack the savings and strong credit history needed to afford a home. Tighter credit standards for potential home buyers and flat wage gains have also acted to dampen home sales.

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

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Amazon extends Christmas shipping deadlines

NEW YORK — Amazon is courting last-minute holiday shoppers by extending its free-shipping deadline by one day to Dec. 19.

Orders over $35 are eligible for free shipping. Last year's deadline was Dec. 18. The e-commerce company says members of its $99 annual Prime loyalty program can order by Dec. 22 for two-day shipping.

One-day shipping for items ordered on Dec. 23 costs $2.99 and up for Amazon Prime members. And same day delivery is available in 12 cities on items ordered by 10 a.m. local time for $5.99 per shipment.

Retailers are hoping to avoid shipping snafus that occurred last year while at the same time getting the last-minute online shoppers dollar.

Wal-Mart said last week the cutoff for orders with standard shipping to reach homes by Christmas is Dec. 19.

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Parents flock to eBay for a royal sweater

LONDON — Parents looking to dress their toddlers like Prince George for Christmas may be too late.

The royal toddler was seen wearing a blue sweater decorated with soldiers of a Guards regiment in bearskin hats and red tunics in official holiday pictures released last weekend.

The "guards" sweater worn by the young prince was on sale at a popular British store for 16 pounds ($25), but quickly sold out.

Not content to wait for retailers to restock, dozens of Christmas shoppers bid on similar second-hand sweaters online Tuesday for a price nearly four times higher.

Other items favored by Prince George in the past have sparked similar online frenzy.

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