WORLD NEWS

miércoles, 12 de noviembre de 2014

U.S. Stocks Trim Early Losses

Forex Settlement, Tepid Eurozone Data Weigh on Markets

Alexandra Scaggs

Updated Nov. 12, 2014 12:28 p.m. ET

1 COMMENTS

U.S. stocks pared early losses to trade near the flat line midday, but remained on track to break a five-session streak of record highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was nearly unchanged, slipping less than 0.1% to 17609. The S&P 500 lost one point, less than 0.1%, to 2039, and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained five points, or 0.1%, to 4665.
Wednesday was a slow day for U.S. economic news, and without major reports to give the market direction, strategists said investors were pausing to re-evaluate after the latest rally to all-time highs. Stocks have recently recovered from a sharp pullback in mid-September and early October. For the year, the Dow has hit 24 closing records and the S&P has closed at 40 highs.
”We’ve been making all-time high after all-time high, so it’s important for the market to find stability along the course of the rally,” said David Lebovitz, global market strategist for J.P. Morgan Funds, which manages $500 billion. “Sometimes that entails a modest pullback.”
Individual-stock news took more of the spotlight than economic factors, traders said. Consumer discretionary stocks rose 0.3%, supported by gains in retailers and home builders amid an ongoing raft of earnings reports.
”It’s more active than the past two days, but. [it’s] stock-specific activity,” said Brian Fenske, head of sales trading at brokerage ITG.
Fossil Group Inc. rose 7.9% after its per-share earnings and revenue beat forecasts.
Macy’s Inc. rose 4.1%, despite posting disappointing sales in the third quarter and cut its earnings and sales view for the year. Per-share earnings rose to 61 cents in the latest quarter from 47 cents a year ago, beating analyst expectations.
Beazer Homes USA Inc. gained 0.2% after it beat analyst forecasts for earnings and revenue, and posted its first full fiscal year of profitability since 2006.
Broadly, recent market moves have been mild, especially when compared to a bout of volatility in October. The Dow has gained for the last six trading sessions in a row, notching a total gain of 1.4%. That compares to the 13 times in October, when the Dow moved by 1% or more in either direction in a single day.

In the Markets

WSJ Investigation: How Troubled Stockbrokers Cluster
Banks Reach Settlement in Foreign-Exchange Probe
OPEC Says Oil Output Fell Sharply | Today’s Markets: Oil Prices Down
U.S. Bonds Gain | Gold Rises
Europe Markets | Asia Markets

European shares fell Wednesday, and have been under pressure recently as worries spread about the outlook for economic growth in the region. The Stoxx Europe 600 declined 1.1%.
”There’s an increasing concern that [Europe’s] economic problems will spread,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank.

U.S. stock futures declined and disappointing eurozone data raised concerns about Europe's growth. WSJ's Polya Lesova and Simon Constable discuss. Photo: AP

That concern was underscored by the Bank of England’s latest quarterly inflation report, in which it noted worsening prospects for the eurozone and global economy. The Bank of England cut its forecasts for growth and inflation and signaled an interest-rate increase is unlikely to come until the second half of 2015.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were among the steepest decliners, as six banks— HSBC Holdings PLC, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, UBS AG , Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase Co. and Bank of America Corp. —reached a settlement to resolve allegations that they had worked together to try to manipulate the foreign-exchange market to boost their profits. The banks agreed to pay a total of about $4.2 billion to U.S., British and Swiss regulators.

Macy's, Zoetis and Susquehanna Bancshares are among stocks to watch. WSJ's Polya Lesova has the details on the News Hub with Simon Constable. Photo: Getty

J.P. Morgan Chase shares fell 1.5% and Goldman Sachs shares fell 1%, marking the biggest declines in the Dow. Bank of America shares fell 0.7% and Citigroup shares fell 0.8%.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.347%. In commodity markets, crude-oil futures fell 0.4% to $77.62 a barrel. Gold futures added slipped 0.1% to $1162.00 an ounce.
In deal news, BB&T Corp. agreed to buy Susquehanna Bancshares Inc.
for about $2.5 billion in cash and stock. Shares of BB&T fell 2%, while shares of Susquehanna surged 33%.

Firefighters Try to Rescue Window Washers at One World Trade Center

: Two workers are stuck on scaffolding at One World Trade Center, about 69 stories above street level. credit: Zachary Prensky; Zachary Prensky

New York City police and firefighters were trying to rescue two window washers stuck on a scaffolding at the 69th floor of One World Trade Center on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.
The workers were tethered to the scaffolding and hadn’t been injured as firefighters tried to find a way to bring them down, a Fire Department of New York spokesman said. The 911 call came in at 12:42 p.m.
“They are in a difficult spot,” a fire department spokesman said. “They are feeling the effects of hanging in there.”
A law-enforcement official said the the New York Police Department’s Emergency Services Unit was in the building and trying to remove a window to reach the washers.
A Fire Department official said a cable appears to have snapped while the motorized scaffolding was returning to the top of One World Trade Center.
The fire official said the scaffolding company was on the scene and doesn’t believe the apparatus was in danger of falling.

Rosetta Mission’s Probe Lands on Comet

European Space Agency’s Philae Is First Craft to Land on Comet in Historic Moment for Space Exploration

Gautam Naik

Updated Nov. 12, 2014 1:43 p.m. ET

99 COMMENTS

DARMSTADT, Germany—A robotic probe has become the first craft to land on a comet, an unprecedented moment for space exploration and one that offers the promise of fresh insights into what comets are made of and how they behave.

ENLARGE The navigation camera on Rosetta shows the boulder-strewn neck region of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on Oct. 28. Associated Press

Applause in the European Space Agency’s headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany, after Philae’s successful landing. Reuters

Rocket scientists at the European Space Agency’s mission control here erupted in cheers as they received the first signal that the Rosetta mission’s probe, called Philae, had touched down more than 300 million miles away on the forbidding landscape of a small comet known as 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. There were even more cheers, hugs and handshakes when it became clear that it had done so safely.
The landing follows a decadelong trek through the solar system to get the up-close-and-personal visit with a comet for a lengthy period of time as it hurtles closer to the sun.
“We made history today,” said Matt Taylor, project scientist for the Rosetta mission, who sported a pair of shorts revealing a tattoo on his thigh depicting a successful Philae landing. “I can’t see anyone doing this again anytime soon.”
Philae is expected to quickly snap a few photographs and beam them back to Earth—in the first images ever taken from the surface of a comet. (It takes nearly half an hour for a signal from the comet to reach earth.) Made of ancient ice, dust and other materials, comets are objects of scientific curiosity because they have survived virtually intact from the earliest days of the solar system, more than 4.6 billion years ago.
The signals indicate that Philae landed on its three legs and was sitting safely in the zone where it was aimed, a relatively flat elliptical landing area about 550 yards in diameter, away from deep crevices, large boulders and sharp peaks.

Rosetta’s lander, Philae, took this parting shot of its mothership shortly after separation. ESA/Rosetta/Philae/CIVA

But the process wasn't without its hitches. A thruster aboard Philae that would have helped anchor the lander to the comet’s surface couldn’t be switched on Tuesday night and harpoons meant to do the job didn’t fire. Ice screws would likely have pushed out of the legs and anchored Philae to the surface.
But if they failed the lander would be an in unstable position, imperiling one of the lander’s more important experiments, which involved drilling beneath the surface and studying the material there, said Stephan UIamec, the lander manager.
The latest data beamed back from the lander is coming back in an intermittent basis, suggesting that it may be resting on a slope. If the slope was greater than 30 degrees, the lander would likely toppled over—but it appears to be on firm footing, ESA scientists said.
Philae separated from the Rosetta spacecraft and drifted slowly toward the comet’s surface over a seven-hour period. Scientists were holding their breath in the a few minutes before the first signal from the lander arrived saying it had reached the comet surface.
“I’m nervous but excited,” said Andrew Coates, a planetary scientist at University College London, whose research prediction on the comet’s nucleus could be confirmed by data collected by a properly functioning lander. Noting that the lander was still drifting down to the comet’s surface purely on the basis of gravity, he added: “At this point, Isaac Newton is in the driving seat.”

Because comets carry water and organic molecules, scientists also hope that the Rosetta mission will provide insights into whether comets could have brought water to Earth and possibly kick-started life here. The most important series of experiments will be done over the first 2 1/2 days, the lifetime of Philae’s primary battery. During that time, a variety of scientific instruments on board will provide high-resolution images and data about the shape, density, temperature and chemical composition of the comet. Corrections & Amplifications Confirmation of the Rosetta probe’s successful touchdown on the comet was expected in a one-hour window around 1602 GMT (11:02 a.m. ET). An earlier version of this article and a headline incorrectly said confirmation was expected around 1702 GMT (12:02 ET). (Nov. 12, 2014)

lunes, 3 de noviembre de 2014

Katherine Heigl Responds to Rumors That She's Rude: "I've Made Mistakes"

Katherine Heigl is boundary-free when it comes to her fans! The State of Affairs actress, 35, opened up to her more than 3 million Facebook followers on Saturday, Nov. 1 in a fan Q&A. In addition to asking the former Grey's Anatomy star about her upcoming NBC drama, one fan asked her about the consistent rumors that she can be difficult to work with.

"I've heard rumors that you're very rude. What's your thoughts," the fan wrote.

"Yeah I've heard those too...honestly I don't think I am...nothing makes me more uncomfortable than confrontation or hurting someones feelings and I would never, ever actively do so on purpose," Heigl replied. "Of course just like any human being I've made mistakes and unwittingly or carelessly spoken or acted but I always try to make any wrong right. That doesn't mean I won't stand up for myself by drawing boundaries and asking to be treated kindly and respectfully but I don't do that with any rude or unkind intentions just with the same strength and honesty I think every one of us is entitled to."

In October, Heigl's former showrunner Shonda Rhimes bashed her in an interview for The Hollywood Reporter.

"I don't put up with bullsh-t or nasty people. I don't have time for it,” Rhimes said after saying there were no "Heigls" working on her current shows.

Taylor Swift pulls all of her albums from Spotify

Singer Taylor Swift performs on ABC's "Good Morning America" to promote her new album "1989" in New York, October 30, 2014. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT)

Taylor Swift has been refusing to put her new album "1989" on Spotify since its release last week, and now she's also pulled her old albums from the streaming service.
It doesn't appear that any of Swift's songs are currently available on Spotify, and a Spotify spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider that she removed all of her albums from the streaming service.
Artists don't make nearly as much money putting their music on Spotify as they do selling digital albums and songs on services like iTunes.
Earlier this month, Jimmy Buffett asked Spotify CEO Daniel Ek for a raise, saying artists who stream their music on Spotify are "at the end of the pipeline" when it comes to the money Spotify pays labels for permission to stream albums.
Spotify says it pays 70% of its revenue to labels — which will amount to about $1 billion this year — but some artists feel they don't get a big enough cut.

The streaming service revealed last year that it pays artists an average of less than a penny per play.

In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal earlier this year, Swift wrote that "piracy, file sharing and streaming have shrunk the numbers of paid album sales drastically."
Swift wrote the editorial to advocate for the future of music, noting that she hopes artists "don't underestimate themselves or undervalue their art."

Spotify is working hard to change Swift's mind. Here's a statement that was just posted on their website:

We love Taylor Swift, and our more than 40 million users love her even more – nearly 16 million of them have played her songs in the last 30 days, and she’s on over 19 million playlists.

We hope she’ll change her mind and join us in building a new music economy that works for everyone. We believe fans should be able to listen to music wherever and whenever they want, and that artists have an absolute right to be paid for their work and protected from piracy. That’s why we pay nearly 70% of our revenue back to the music community.

PS – Taylor, we were both young when we first saw you, but now there’s more than 40 million of us who want you to stay, stay, stay. It’s a love story, baby, just say, Yes.

Swift initially refused to release her 2012 album "Red" on Spotify, but relented several months later.

Spotify is valued at $4 billion and reportedly wants to sell for more than $10 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.

This highlights one issue with Spotify's business model — artists have quite a bit of power over the streaming service if they can yank their albums at any time.

Terminally ill 'death with dignity' advocate dies

Brittany Maynard who ignited aid in dying debate dies

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A terminally ill woman who renewed a nationwide debate about physician-assisted suicide has ended her young life with the lethal drugs available under Oregon's Death With Dignity Law. Brittany Maynard was 29.

Maynard, who had brain cancer, died peacefully in her bedroom Saturday "in the arms of her loved ones," said Sean Crowley, a spokesman for the advocacy group Compassion & Choices.
Weeks ago, Maynard had said she might use the lethal drugs Nov. 1, just a couple weeks short of her 30th birthday. Last week, she said she might delay the day. But she went ahead with her original plan.

Crowley said Maynard "suffered increasingly frequent and longer seizures, severe head and neck pain, and stroke-like symptoms. As symptoms grew more severe, she chose to abbreviate the dying process by taking the aid-in-dying medication she had received months ago."

Before dying, Maynard tried to live life as fully as she could. She and her husband, Dan Diaz, took a trip to the Grand Canyon last month — fulfilling a wish on Maynard's "bucket list."
Maynard has been in the national spotlight for a month since publicizing that she and her husband had moved to Oregon from California so that she could take advantage of this state's Death With Dignity Law. The law allows terminally ill patients to end their lives with lethal drugs prescribed by a doctor.
The debate over physician-assisted suicide is not new, but Maynard's youth and vitality before she became ill brought the discussion to a younger generation.
Working with Compassion & Choices, Maynard used her story to speak out for the right of terminally ill people like herself to end their lives on their own terms.
Maynard's choice to end her life has not been without controversy. Some religious groups and others opposed to physician-assisted suicide have voiced objections.
Janet Morana, executive director of the group Priests for Life, said in a statement after hearing of Maynard's death: "We are saddened by the fact that this young woman gave up hope, and now our concern is for other people with terminal illnesses who may contemplate following her example. Our prayer is that these people will find the courage to live every day to the fullest until God calls them home. Brittany's death was not a victory for a political cause. It was a tragedy, hastened by despair and aided by the culture of death invading our country."

Maynard told The Associated Press last month that she and her husband and other relatives accepted her choice.

"I think in the beginning my family members wanted a miracle; they wanted a cure for my cancer." she said. "When we all sat down and looked at the facts, there isn't a single person that loves me that wishes me more pain and more suffering."

Oregon was the first U.S. state to make it legal for a doctor to prescribe a life-ending drug to a terminally ill patient of sound mind who makes the request. The patient must swallow the drug without help; it is illegal for a doctor to administer it.

More than 750 people in Oregon used the law to die as of Dec. 31, 2013. The median age of the deceased is 71. Only six were younger than 35.

The state does not track how many terminally ill people move to Oregon to die. A patient must prove to a doctor that they are living in Oregon. Some examples of documentation include a rental agreement, a voter registration card or a driver's license.

Oregon voters approved the Death with Dignity Act in 1994, then reaffirmed it with 60 percent of the vote in 1997.

Four other states — Washington, Montana, Vermont and New Mexico — allow patients to seek aid in dying.

Maynard was born Nov. 19, 1984. She received an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master's in education from UC Irvine.

Maynard had an adventuresome spirit. She taught at orphanages in Nepal and also spent time in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Costa Rica. She climbed Kilimanjaro a month before marrying Diaz in September 2012.

She was diagnosed with brain cancer on New Year's Day of this year and was told she had six months to live.

Top 10 tips for being a successful choreographer

Arlene Phillips CBE is a British choreographer and theatre director.

She rose to fame in the 1970s after founding the dance group Hot Gossip.
She went on to choreograph numerous West End and Broadway musicals, films and television shows and has been a judge on both Strictly Come Dancing and So You Think You Can Dance.
Here are her top 10 tips for being a choreographer.

1. Be determined and prepared to make sacrifices

It is absolutely vital to be determined from the start. You have to know that you want to dance as much as you have to breathe if you want to make a career of it.
You have to truly know that and you have to be prepared to give up everything to make that career happen. It really is tough and there is so much competition. You will face rejection all the time and you have to make yourself strong enough to deal with that and keep going.

2. Start young

I grew up in Manchester and I started dancing when I was only two years old. By the time I was eight, dancing was all I could think about and it was all I wanted to do. My parents couldn't afford all the ballet lessons that I wanted and it wasn't easy.

Arlene Phillips says: 'The way that I discovered I was not continuing on Strictly was not the way I would like to have found out'

You could always hear ballet music in our house being played on scratchy records on an old gramophone.
My mother died when I was 15 and it was her love of dance and ballet that inspired me and in some way lives inside me. She was so proud, but I don't think she ever thought that my dancing would build into the career that I have had.

3. Hold your head up and don't be afraid to be different

We lived in Didsbury and I'll always remember going to buy my first pair of ballet shoes with my mother. I can remember shelves and shelves of beautiful pink ballet shoes, but we just couldn't afford them.
And then on the bottom shelf, there was a pair of bright green ballet shoes. They were very cheap and they fitted me so I had to get them! That was fine with me, but I definitely wanted pink ones.
When I walked into my very first class, it was filled with little girls all in pink. The whole room stared at me in my green shoes, but I just held my head up and walked in. I sort of figured that if I could do that, then I truly did want to dance and nothing was going to stop me.

4. Don't take no for an answer

When I was 16 I wrote to Manchester council, to see if I could get a grant to study dance.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

Dancing isn't just steps, it's using the body to tell a story with the movement”

Arlene Phillips

They only gave grants to girls who were going to the Royal Ballet School in London and I wanted to know why they wouldn't give a grant to someone who wanted to study in their home town.

I fought very hard and with the help of my aunt, I eventually did get my way. After four years of studying, I started to teach in Manchester. When I was 23 my boss sent me to London for a week to spend time at a new dance school.
On my last day, I saw a sign for a class up on the wall that I'd never seen before, it said 'Modern American Jazz, Molly Molloy, 8pm'. That class changed everything, and was the day my new life in London began.

5. Don't give up

When dance came on television it seemed that every dancer had a fixed smile glued on to their face. I was making my living by teaching American Jazz and Rock Jazz in London, and I decided to form my own dance group that would have the voice of the street, and the voice of the clubs, sexy, moody, and hot, hot, hot.
I took the best students from my class, turned them into what I thought was the hottest group in London, and for three years, despite having a cult following, could not break into TV, everyone thought they were far too sexy. It took one photograph falling into the hands of one director looking for something new, and everything changed overnight.

6. Learn from your mistakes

Arlene Phillips partnered comedian Ed Byrne for Let's Dance for Comic Relief

If I could go back in time and give my younger self some advice, it would be to be a little softer and kinder. I was so ambitious for many of the students I worked with and so determined for them to succeed, that I demanded everyone worked and pushed themselves in the same way I pushed myself.
Looking back I realise, it worked for some of them but not others, but I think my attitude in the way I deal with people has changed after having my children, and now I search to find another way to discover how to bring out the best in those around me.

7. Realise what's truly important

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

I spend my life listening to music, and I've been very lucky in working with so many different stars from when music videos first began”

Arlene Phillips

The way that I discovered I was not continuing on Strictly was not the way I would like to have found out, however, I had far more important things to deal with as my manager was very ill and passed away the day before the news broke.

He wasn't just a manager of 30 years, but a close friend and someone I depended on so completely that it really put everything into perspective. Sometimes one has to close doors on things and not allow yourself to think about them.

8. There's always a way

I like to get the best out of people, and strive to use very different methods to do this, depending on how and what we are working towards.
I often find that people react in different ways to the same instruction, and if something isn't working I will often find outrageous or unusual ways to make it happen.
Dancing isn't just steps, it's using the body to tell a story with the movement. I like to develop characters and use any ingenious idea I can to bring them to life and get what I want.

9. Really listen to your music

I spend my life listening to music, and I've been very lucky in working with so many different stars from when music videos first began and one could invent and create extraordinary ideas.

Arlene Phillips says you have to be 'ready for anything' as a choreographer

I worked with Aretha Franklin in Detroit, Robbie Williams here at home, Whitney Houston in New York, Elton John all over the world, and with Queen in the strangest of places; one being with 350 dancers in Canary Wharf when it was a wasteland!
Music is so emotive, and I think the one video that always brings back the strongest memories and still takes my breath away today was working on Duran Duran's Wild Boys, trying to create a strange world of the future. Let music take you to where you want to be.

10. Be ready for anything

I'm passionate about working in musical theatre, and I've had some very tough task masters, but I'm always grateful to work with those I respect and can listen to and learn from. Andrew Lloyd Webber truly is a creative genius, working with him is like being on a roller coaster, but I love being on the ride.
As a choreographer, you have to be ready for anything, and I've been rollerskating for Starlight Express, head banging for We Will Rock You, jiving for Grease, pole dancing for Flashdance, disco dancing for Saturday Night Fever, ran down a mountain for The Sound of Music and danced down the yellow brick road for the Wizard of Oz, and that's to name a few! So my advice is, be ready for anything…!

Argentina suspends P&G over tax claims

Procter & Gamble is based in the US city of Cincinnati, Ohio

Argentina has banned the consumer products giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) from doing business in the country, accusing the firm of tax fraud.

A statement on the presidential website, published on Sunday, said P&G had inflated the price of imports by $138m (£87m) in an effort to get money out of the South American country.
It also accused the firm of attempting to avoid taxes.
P&G said it was working to understand and resolve the allegations.
"We don't pursue aggressive tax/fiscal planning practices as they simply don't produce sustainable results," said P&G spokesman Paul Fox.
The alleged fraud involves shipments of razors and other hygiene products.
The statement, published on behalf of Argentina's Federal Administration of Public Revenue (Afip), added that details of the alleged fraud have been sent to its counterpart in the US - the Securities and Exchange Commission.
P&G has been operating in Argentina since 1991 and currently runs three manufacturing plants and two distribution centres in the country.

United Biscuits sold to Turkey's Yildiz for £2bn

The UK company behind the McVitie's, Jaffa Cakes and Penguin brands has been bought by Turkish food group Yildiz Holdings for a reported £2bn.

United Biscuits (UB) was put up for sale by its private equity owners Blackstone and PAI Partners.
UB employs employs about 7,100 people, with 4,600 in the UK at sites including London, Manchester, Carlisle, Glasgow, Halifax and Liverpool.
Yildiz owns Belgium's Godiva Chocolate and America's De Met's Candy Company.
The company has no operations in the UK, but has a presence in the US, Middle East, North Africa, China, and Japan.
America's Kellogg's is thought to have been among several firms interested in buying UB, whose other products include Twiglets and Mini Cheddars.
Yildiz said it would look to drive UB's growth using its own global distribution network.
Chairman Murat Ulker said: "We want to grow United Biscuits to be a global player as part of Yildiz.
"This will include enhancing its position in the UK, where Yildiz currently has minimal presence, so we will continue to invest in the UK and Europe," he said.
Although no sale price was disclosed in United Biscuits' statement, several reports said the figure was around £2bn.
Lionel Assant, European head of private equity at Blackstone, said: "United Biscuits is a great business and has been an excellent investment for us. Yildiz is the best home for the company and will allow UB to fulfil its international growth ambitions."