Snowden charged with espionage, theft in NSA case

WASHINGTON — Edward Snowden, the former government contractor who says he revealed that the National Security Agency collects Americans' phone records and Internet data from U.S. communication companies, now faces charges of espionage and theft of government property.

Snowden is believed to be in Hong Kong, which could complicate efforts to bring him to a U.S. federal court to answer charges that he engaged in unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information.

In addition to those charges, both brought under the Espionage Act, the government charged Snowden with theft of government property. Each crime carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The one-page criminal complaint against Snowden was unsealed Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Va., part of the Eastern District of Virginia where his former employer, government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, is headquartered, in McLean.

The complaint is dated June 14, five days after Snowden's name first surfaced as the person who had leaked to the news media that the NSA, in two highly classified surveillance programs, gathered telephone and Internet records to ferret out terror plots.

It was unclear Friday whether the U.S. had yet to begin an effort to extradite Snowden from Hong Kong. He could contest extradition on grounds of political persecution. In general, the extradition agreement between the U.S. and Hong Kong excepts political offenses from the obligation to turn over a person.

Hong Kong had no immediate reaction to word of the charges against Snowden.

The Espionage Act arguably is a political offense. The Obama administration has now used the act in seven criminal cases in an unprecedented effort to stem leaks. In one of them, Army Pfc. Bradley Manning acknowledged he sent more than 700,000 battlefield reports, diplomatic cables and other materials to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. His military trial is underway.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, welcomed the charges against Snowden.

"I've always thought this was a treasonous act," he said in a statement. "I hope Hong Kong's government will take him into custody and extradite him to the U.S."

But the Government Accountability Project, a whistle-blower advocacy group, said Snowden should be shielded from prosecution by whistle-blower protection laws.

"He disclosed information about a secret program that he reasonably believed to be illegal, and his actions alone brought about the long-overdue national debate about the proper balance between privacy and civil liberties, on the one hand, and national security on the other," the group said in a statement.

Michael di Pretoro, a retired 30-year veteran with the FBI who served from 1990 to 1994 as the legal liaison officer at the American consulate in Hong Kong, said "relations between U.S. and Hong Kong law enforcement personnel are historically quite good."

"In my time, I felt the degree of cooperation was outstanding to the extent that I almost felt I was in an FBI field office," di Pretoro said.

The U.S. and Hong Kong have a standing agreement on the surrender of fugitives. However, Snowden's appeal rights could drag out any extradition proceeding.

The success or failure of any extradition proceeding depends on what the suspect is charged with under U.S. law and how it corresponds to Hong Kong law under the treaty. In order for Hong Kong officials to honor the extradition request, they have to have some applicable statute under their law that corresponds with a violation of U.S. law.

Hong Kong lawmakers said Saturday that the Chinese government should make the final decision on whether Snowden should be extradited to the United States.

Outspoken legislator Leung Kwok-hung said Beijing should instruct Hong Kong to protect Snowden from extradition before his case gets dragged through the court system.

Leung urged the people of Hong Kong to "take to the streets to protect Snowden."

In Iceland, a business executive said Friday that a private plane was on standby to transport Snowden from Hong Kong to Iceland, although Iceland's government says it has not received an asylum request from Snowden.

Business executive Olafur Vignir Sigurvinsson said he has been in contact with someone representing Snowden and has not spoken to the American himself. Private donations are being collected to pay for the flight, he said.

"There are a number of people that are interested in freedom of speech and recognize the importance of knowing who is spying on us," Sigurvinsson said. "We are people that care about privacy."

Disclosure of the criminal complaint came as President Barack Obama held his first meeting with a privacy and civil liberties board and as his intelligence chief sought ways to help Americans understand more about sweeping government surveillance efforts exposed by Snowden.

The five members of the little-known Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board met with Obama for an hour in the White House Situation Room, questioning the president on the two NSA programs that have stoked controversy.

One program collects billions of U.S. phone records. The second gathers audio, video, email, photographic and Internet search usage of foreign nationals overseas, and probably some Americans in the process, who use major Internet service providers, such as Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Yahoo.

___

Associated Press writer Jenna Gottlieb in Reykjavik, Iceland, contributed to this report.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

FAA moving toward easing electronic device use

WASHINGTON — Relief may be on the way for airline passengers who can't bear to be separated even briefly from their personal electronic devices. The government is moving toward allowing gate-to-gate use of music players, tablets, laptops, smartphones and other gadgets, although it may take a few months.

Restrictions on cellphone calls and Internet use and transmission are not expected to be changed.

An industry-labor advisory committee was supposed to make recommendations next month to the Federal Aviation Administration on easing restrictions on using electronic devices during takeoffs and landings. But the agency said in a statement Friday the deadline has been extended to September because committee members asked for extra time to finish assessing whether it's safe to lift restrictions.

"The FAA recognizes consumers are intensely interested in the use of personal electronics aboard aircraft; that is why we tasked a government-industry group to examine the safety issues and the feasibility of changing the current restrictions," the statement said.

The agency is under public and political pressure to ease the restrictions as more people bring their devices with them when they fly in order to read e-books, listen to music, watch videos, and get work done.

Technically, the FAA doesn't bar use of electronic devices when aircraft are below 10,000 feet. But under FAA rules, airlines that want to let passengers use the devices are faced with a practical impossibility — they would have to show that they've tested every type and make of device passengers would use to ensure there is no electromagnetic interference with aircraft radios and electrical and electronic systems.

As a result, U.S. airlines simply bar all electric device use below 10,000 feet. Airline accidents are most likely to occur during takeoffs, landings and taxiing.

Using cellphones to make calls on planes is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission. There is concern that making calls from fast-flying planes might strain cellular systems, interfering with service on the ground. There is also the potential annoyance factor — whether passengers will be unhappy if they have to listen to other passengers yakking on the phone.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that a draft report by the advisory committee indicates its 28 members have reached a consensus that at least some of the current restrictions should be eased.

A member of the committee told The Associated Press that while the draft report is an attempt to reach consensus, no formal agreement has yet been reached. The member was not authorized to discuss the committee's private deliberations and requested anonymity.

There are also still safety concerns, the member said. The electrical interference generated by today's devices is much lower than those of a decade ago, but many more passengers today are carrying electronics.

Any plan to allow gate-to-gate electronic use would also come with certification processes for new and existing aircraft to ensure that they are built or modified to mitigate those risks. Steps to be taken could include ensuring that all navigational antennas are angled away from the plane's doors and windows. Planes that are already certified for Wi-Fi would probably be more easily certified.

Although the restrictions have been broadly criticized as unnecessary, committee members saw value in them.

One of the considerations being weighed is whether some heavier devices like laptops should continue to be restricted because they might become dangerous projectiles, hurting other passengers during a crash, the committee member said. There is less concern about tablets and other lighter devices.

FAA officials would still have the final say. An official familiar with FAA's efforts on the issue said agency officials would like to find a way to allow passengers to use electronic devices during takeoffs and landings the same way they're already allowed to use them when planes are cruising above 10,000 feet. The official requested anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak by name.

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta told a Senate panel in April that he convened the advisory committee in the hope of working out changes to the restrictions.

"It's good to see the FAA may be on the verge of acknowledging what the traveling public has suspected for years — that current rules are arbitrary and lack real justification," Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., one of Congress' more outspoken critics of the restrictions, said in a statement. She contends that unless scientific evidence can be presented to justify the restrictions, they should be lifted.

Edward Pizzarello, the co-founder of frequent flier discussion site MilePoint, says lifting the restriction is "long overdue."

"I actually feel like this regulation has been toughest on flight attendants. Nobody wants to shut off their phone, and the flight attendants are always left to be the bad guys and gals," said Pizzarello, 38, of Leesburg, Va.

Actor Alec Baldwin became the face of passenger frustration with the restrictions in 2011 when he was kicked off a New York-bound flight in Los Angeles for refusing to turn off his cellphone. Baldwin later issued an apology to fellow American Airlines passengers who were delayed, but mocked the flight attendant on Twitter.

"I just hope they do the sensible thing and don't allow people to talk on their cellphones during flight," said Pizzarello, who flies 150,000 to 200,000 miles a year. "There are plenty of people that don't have the social skills necessary to make a phone call on a plane without annoying the people around them. Some things are better left alone."

___

Mayerowitz reported from New York.

___

Follow Joan Lowy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Southwest cancels 57 flights after computer glitch

CHICAGO — A system-wide computer failure forced Southwest Airlines to ground its entire fleet of airplanes preparing for departures late Friday, and at least 57 flights had to be canceled even after service was fully restored hours later, a company spokeswoman said.

Michelle Agnew told The Associated Press that 43 of the cancellations were flights scheduled for late Friday night departures in the western half of the country. The other 14 were Saturday morning flights scattered across the U.S. because crews were not able to get to airports in time to make the scheduled takeoffs.

An estimated 250 flights — most of them on the West Coast — were grounded at least temporarily Friday night. The glitch impaired the airline's ability to do such things as conduct check-ins, print boarding passes and monitor the weight of each aircraft.

Some flights were on the taxiway and diverted back to the terminal after the problem was detected around 8 p.m. PDT Friday, Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins said. Flights already in the air were unaffected.

Shortly after 11 p.m. PDT, Southwest posted on its Twitter page that "systems are operating and we will begin work to get customers where they need to be. Thanks for your patience tonight."

Agnew said the computer system was "running at full capacity" by early Saturday. Before that, though, officials used a backup system that was much more sluggish.

"Backup systems are in place, not the main system, so it's slower," Hawkins said after service resumed. "But we are able to start launching these flights."

He said cancellations were inevitable because the airline doesn't do redeye flights and by the time the problem was fixed, it was near "the end of our operational day."

The late hour of the disruption meant the computer problem affected far more flights on the West Coast, but Hawkins said at least a few on the East Coast were grounded as well. Southwest, based in Dallas, conducts, on average, 3,400 flights a day.

A spokesman for Los Angeles International Airport said of about 25 inbound and outbound flights remaining Friday, only five departing flights were experiencing delays, of 30 to 80 minutes. At LA/Ontario International Airport (ONT), a total of three flights — all departures — were affected.

Four Southwest flights were temporarily held in Seattle, said Christina Faine, a Seattle-Tacoma International Airport spokeswoman.

One flight to Oakland, Calif., had been due to leave at 9:20 p.m. and departed before 11 p.m. Faine said late Friday night that an airport duty manager, Anthony Barnes, told her the others were expected to depart shortly.

Steve Johnson, a spokesman for Portland, Ore., International Airport, said he was not aware of any planes held up there.

___

Associated Press writers Kathy McCarthy in Seattle, Robert Seavey in Phoenix and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Voters in Mass. city weigh in on Wynn casino plan

EVERETT, Mass. — Voters in Everett will be deciding whether to give the green light to Steve Wynn's plan to build a $1.2 billion casino in the city.

Wynn, a Las Vegas casino operator, signed a host community agreement with city officials that calls for $30 million in advanced payments and more than $25 million in annual payments to Everett if the casino opens for business.

The vote on Saturday is the first binding referendum on a casino proposal since the 2011 passage of the state's expanded gambling law.

Voter approval of a host community agreement is required before a developer can seek a casino license from the state gambling commission.

Wynn has also agreed to other conditions including the clean-up of pollution on the proposed site along the Mystic River, which formerly housed a chemical plant.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iran Oil Ministry denies cyberattack

TEHRAN, Iran — An Iranian oil ministry official on Saturday denied a report published by a government agency that it had successfully blocked a cyberattack on an oil sector computer network.

Ahmad Tavallaei, head of IT at the National Iranian Oil Company, said in comments posted on the oil ministry's website shana.ir that a technical problem, not a cyberattack, was the reason for a temporary shutdown of the network.

An Iranian government agency in charge of fighting sabotage said earlier Saturday in its website, paydarymelli.ir, that the networks of the Oil Ministry and the National Iranian Oil Company came under cyberattack the day before.

Iran periodically reports the discovery of viruses and other malicious programs in government, nuclear, oil and industrial networks, blaming Israel and the United States. In May, Iran shut down part of its oil facilities because of another such reported cyberattack.

Israel has done little to deflect suspicion that it uses viruses against Iran.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Burger King delivery service now in Boston

You no longer have to leave the couch or cubicle to get a Whopper and fries thanks to a new program rolling out over the next few weeks.

Burger King yesterday announced an expansion of its delivery service, BK Delivers, to Boston. The fast food restaurant at 100 Washington St. in Dorchester is the only store that is offering delivery right now, and it is limited to a few zip codes, including Dorchester, Roxbury, Ashmont and Dudley Square.

Ordering online was simple and easy, and each item could be customized. Just under 40 minutes later, the food arrived in Dorchester, piping hot and freezing cold where appropriate, along with napkins and condiments. The driver, Pedro Falcon, said the cold food goes in one bag and the hot food in another, and when the bags return to the Dorchester store, they are kept in the freezer and in a heated area.

"Everyone who sees the new service, they're excited," Falcon said.

Near the Franklin Park Zoo, a crowd formed when the food arrived, and many people said they would likely use the service.

"It's going to do great business," said Shantia Elston, 20, of Boston.

The fast-food chain plans to have the service ready to go in two more restaurants in the Boston area within a couple of weeks, and another two over the summer.

"Boston has some of our most loyal guests and the Burger King brand is excited to offer them the opportunity to enjoy the food they love, delivered to them in the comfort of their home, dorm or office," Petru Pusta, Burger King's director of retail innovation, said in a statement.

Burger King already offers delivery in several cities, including San Francisco, New York and Chicago.

"When I pass away, I'll know I was the first Burger King driver" in Massachusetts, Falcon said.

Customers can order online at BKDelivers.com or by calling 1-855-673-3725. A person who picked up the phone yesterday said the average delivery time is about 45 minutes. Delivery requires a minimum order of $10, and is available from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cambridge property turned into stylish, upscale apartments

A little more than two years ago, the Wyeth in Cambridge was an aging Roman Catholic school in need of a complete down to-the-studs demolition.

Enter Broder Properties, a Boston–based developer, with plans to open the Wyeth this September, a 44-unit luxury apartment building at 120 Rindge Ave.

The four-story, LEED Platinum building near the MBTA's Porter Square Station, has raised environmental sustainability to a high-end level of living.

With a multitude of successful developments under his belt, Eric Svenson co-founded Broder in 2006 with his brother, Ben Svenson, and partner Dana Nielsen.

Prior to founding Broder, Eric Svenson and Nielson worked together at The Abbey Group, a prominent real estate development firm.

In an adaptive reuse project with a steadfast focus on sustainability, Svenson said, "We were faced with a unique construction question. What's to be done with all the demolition material? Partnering with a local Cambridge company named Green Goat; our contractor was able to recycle 88 percent of the materials once destined for a landfill. The 330 existing windows, for example, were carefully removed and shipped to Haiti to assist in their rebuilding effort."

Svenson believes that sustainability and luxury can not only coexist, but also enhance one another. From the oversized triple glazed windows that offer hours of natural light to the state of the art HVAC system that circulates fresh, clean air; private balconies or patios in every rental unit, to clean, contemporary finishes and open plan layouts — nearly every square inch has been designed and executed to exceed the highest standards.

The Wyeth also works with local vendors for a concierge service that lets residents have groceries delivered to their units, their cars washed on site, and pets walked.

All units have private parking spaces just steps from their doors, plus visitors spaces. There will be grill stations on the front lawn and on-site bike racks — with visitor bikes. There's a gym and private conference rooms. There will even be a specialty juice bar charging station for electric cars.

The market apparently likes the combination of luxury and sustainability. After less than a month, the Wyeth is almost 40 percent leased for the fall. One-bedrooms range from $3,300 to $3,500, while two, three- and four- bedroom units range in price from $4,400 to $5,000 per month.

Jennifer Athas is a licensed real estate broker. Follow her on Twitter @jenathas.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Apple chases rivals with reboot

Apple's soon-to-be-released new operating system for iPhone plays it safe — so safe it isn't likely to pose any threat to rival Android and Windows.

It's called iOS 7, and it's coming to mobile devices near you this fall. Right now it's in beta, or draft form, which I had a chance to review. And hopefully, there will be some improvements and additions before it's released to the public.

Because the changes aren't big enough. The ideas aren't bold enough. The innovations are largely limited to graphic design, and that just isn't going to win any business back.

First, the good news: You will finally be able to multitask on an iPhone, swiping through a carousel of "cards" that show open apps. A handy control center is accessed by swiping in from the bottom and it reveals easy access to a camera, a calculator, a flashlight, AirPlay, which lets you stream your music over Wi-Fi, and a cool new feature called Airdrop, which lets you transfer files to nearby iPhones.

Cooler still is the way photos and graphics now look. Colors and photos somehow seem more vibrant and real. Icons are no longer three-dimensional-looking. They're simple and clean.

The upcoming system includes more gesture controls. You can close an app by dragging it up and out of view. You can use drag down search mode from the middle of the screen, and more stuff like that, which we've seen in other smartphone brands, including Blackberry, for years.

Now, the bad news. And it's really bad news. What's most striking about iOS 7 — keeping in mind that this could change — is what it lacks. In a nutshell: something new. It doesn't have anything that Android and Windows phones don't already have.

The new Apple operating system — a similar version is expected to be released for iPad — seems to be about playing catch-up.

Siri, for example, is now probably as adept as Google Now at answering your questions.

But iOS 7 lags in how it organizes a user's contacts. The people hub concept, a fundamental innovation of both Android (think Google Plus) and Windows, organizes information from the many social networks we use. And that is now essential for smartphones.

Unless Apple goes back to the drawing board, it's unclear how iOS 7 is going to keep its high-end users — the ones willing to pay $400 for a 64 GB iPhone 5 — from moving to another platform within the next year. And it certainly isn't going to win back any of those who have already switched.

Apple still has the prettiest-looking icons and beautiful graphics. I guess we'll just have to see if that's enough for consumers.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tokyo court backs Apple against Samsung on patent

TOKYO — Apple Inc. has won a patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung Electronics Co. in a Japanese court, one of dozens of legal battles around the world between the technology giants.

The Tokyo District Court issued a partial verdict Friday in favor of Apple. Damages were not announced.

The court said in a summary that further examination is needed to determine if Samsung must pay compensation, and if so, how much. A final verdict is expected later.

Apple and Samsung are embroiled in similar battles in the U.S., South Korea, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Britain, France and Australia.

The latest was over "bounce-back" technology for scrolling on devices. Samsung was found to have infringed Apple's patent on previous models of the Galaxy phone and tablet series. Samsung has since changed its smartphone design to show a blue light, instead of bouncing back.

The two companies are competing fiercely in global markets, and accuse each other of illegally using various technologies.

Samsung said it will study the ruling before deciding whether to appeal.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

New England better on primary care than most of US

PLAINFIELD, Vt. — Ronald Pitkin, 84, remembers the day in the early 1960s when his brother Belmont got a gash in his leg while the two were cutting firewood. They went to the office of the town physician, Dr. Frank Corson.

Corson worked alone, and Pitkin was drafted to be his assistant. "He told me 'You're going to have to scrub up.' I was the operating room nurse that day."

Now Pitkin gets his health care at The Health Center, sleek, modern clinic that houses primary care, dentistry, psychiatry and other specialties under one roof. It's one of eight facilities in small towns around Vermont that charge based on patients' ability to pay. They provide primary care to about 25 percent of the mostly rural state's residents, and experts say they're a key part of the reason why Vermont leads the country in primary care doctors per capita.

"This is a terrific health care center," Pitkin said recently as he waited for a checkup with the center's senior physician, Dr. John Matthew. "It's more care, and help in general, for less dollars than just about anywhere."

With Vermont leading the way, five of New England's six states rank in the top six for primary care doctors per capita, according to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges. The sixth, Connecticut, ranks 12th. As the national shortage of primary care doctors expected to increase after the federal Affordable Care Act takes full effect next year, some are looking to New England's states with an eye to what they've been doing right.

Several factors contribute to New England's relatively strong position. Among them: strong public health programs ensuring that high percentages of residents have health coverage, meaning fewer doctors deliver uncompensated care. Massachusetts, which enacted a universal health care program in 2006, has about 97 percent of its residents carrying health coverage. In Vermont it's about 94 percent.

The high rates of people already insured means "we will not experience the same (influx of newly insured patients) in Vermont as in other states that have very high rates of uninsured people or low Medicaid eligibility," said Mark Larson, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Health Access.

Medical schools in New England, including the University of Vermont College of Medicine and the University of Massachusetts Medical School, have increased their emphasis on educating doctors for primary care in recent years, officials said. Vermont and New Hampshire augment a federal program that offers partial loan forgiveness for doctors willing to work in under-served areas with a similar state program.

In rural northern New Hampshire, Edward Shanshala, executive director of Ammonoosuc Community Health Services, said he tries to use the lifestyle as a lure when recruiting new doctors. "If you like to hike, bike, ski, fish and things like that — great!" he said.

Doctors also have time to see more patients because physician's assistants and nurses deliver some basic care to patients, said Brian Rosman of the Boston-based consumer group Health Care for All.

"The goal is to have everybody working at the top of their license," Rosman said. "Doctors should do things that really need doctors."

Even in New England, though, the picture is "far from rosy," said Dr. Joseph Gravel, president of the Massachusetts Academy of Family Physicians. Starting family physicians at his Lawrence office make $130,000 a year; specialists can make three or four times that much, Gravel said. With many new doctors facing student loan debts in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, the incentives are clear.

A physician workforce study by the Massachusetts Medical Society reported that even a state ranking third in primary care doctors per capita had experienced a shortage for eight consecutive years. Half of all primary care physicians were not accepting new patients, with others reporting long wait times.

MMS spokesman Rick Gulla said the per-capita numbers may overstate access. "Many physicians in the state are teaching, doing research, or other activities. Some of those physicians only see patients a day a month, and this also affects patient access to care."

And the need for care is increasing, too, as the general population ages. Maine has the nation's highest median age; Vermont is second.

"It seems like not only is Maine's general population aging, but a significant percentage of primary care practitioners is also getting to an age of retirement," said Vanessa Santarelli, CEO of the Maine Primary Care Association, which promotes and supports 20 federally qualified health centers across the state.

And sometimes the hiking, skiing and fishing just aren't big enough attractions, Shanshala said. He described some of the lengths to which he's gone to recruit physicians. When doctors in training leave after brief stints, he invites them to return for the company picnic and tries to keep in touch in case they ever want to come back.

Still, the picture New England is better than elsewhere, Gravel said. He cited a 2007 report in the Journal of the American Medical Association saying that among new medical school graduates just beginning their residencies, just 3.3 percent nationwide were going into family practice.

Strong support from the community and from Vermont's political leadership were among the chief satisfactions of Matthew's 40-plus-year career, he said. Good primary care leads to good overall health, he said, noting Vermont has been ranked the healthiest state for several years running — six, according to the United Health Foundation.

"Vermont is a good society," Matthew said. "Everyone is concerned about the least amongst us."

____

AP writers Holly Ramer in Concord, N.H., and David Sharp in Portland, Maine, contributed to this report.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ben Bernanke: Bond buys could end next year

The Federal Reserve ended weeks of speculation yesterday as it said there would be no immediate changes to the central bank's bond-buying program, but it left open the door for a future slowdown in the purchases that have helped keep interest rates low.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said if the economy continues to improve, the Fed's bond-buying program could be reduced later this year in "measured steps" and could end sometime next year.

In its updated economic forecast issued after the end of its two-day policy meeting, the Fed painted a moderately positive economic picture, including predicting a drop in the unemployment rate to 7.2 or 7.3 percent by the end of the year.

"The fundamentals look a little better to us," Bernanke said.

The Fed has been buying $85 million in bonds each month, and said it will continue to do so until the outlook for the job market improves substantially. When the Fed does pull back on the bond-buying program, Bernanke said it will be like a driver taking a foot off the gas, rather than slamming on the brakes.

Alan Clayton-Matthews, an economist at Northeastern University, said the news from the Fed was more of the same.

"It doesn't appear to be any different stance," he said. "It's neutral. It's steady as she goes."

Clayton-Matthews said ending the bond-buying program will be a tricky step to navigate.

"That's the whole point of Fed policy, to time it correctly," he said. "The main purpose of the statement was that financial markets would have some idea of what the Fed's policy would be. It plays down the chance of financial markets being surprised."

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 206 points yesterday, as investors sold off stocks and bonds.

But Clayton-Matthews warned that the effects of the Fed's policy statement would become clearer in 
the coming days.

"Wall Street can respond to this in any number of 
rational or irrational ways," he said.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Globe presses to print Herald papers

The Boston Herald and The Boston Globe announced yesterday that they have reached an agreement that will allow the Globe to print the entire press run of the Herald.

The agreement, which is in effect for 10 years, finishes a process begun in 2012, when the two media outlets announced that the Globe would print and deliver about one-third of the Herald's print circulation.

"The newspaper industry, as well as other traditional media companies, has undergone a radical transformation in recent years. In the face of that change, it has never been more important for newspapers to implement ways in which they can be more efficient," Herald Publisher Patrick Purcell said. "The Herald and the Globe both recognize this. While we will continue to compete for readers and advertisers, we also recognize that we can serve those audiences better and longer by cooperating in areas that are cost effective."

Richard E. Masotta, Globe vice president of operations, said: "This is an important component for the future of our business. This allows the two major publications in Boston to coordinate in order to better meet the structural challenges of our industry."

In January 2012, the Globe began printing and delivering the Herald's city edition Sunday through Friday, as well as the newspaper's full press run on Saturdays. The Globe and the Herald remain separate companies.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Copley Place plan back in play

Stalled plans for a 569-foot residential and retail tower that would rise above Copley Place are back in play with a proposed additional 224 residential units.

Simon Property Group yesterday revealed revisions to the $500 million project that call for a 52-story tower with 109 condos and 433 apartments while keeping the building's height at a previously approved 569 feet.

The changes come a year and a half after the Indianapolis-based mall owner won Boston Redevelopment Authority approval for a 47-story tower with 318 condos, a 54,000-square-foot addition to the Neiman Marcus store and 60,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

"Once we got approval ... we further looked at the market, and we weren't comfortable with (it) at that time and its evolution," said Patrick Peterman, Simon's vice president of development. "We felt like adding apartments was the prudent thing to do. We feel we've really got the right program now."

With a four-year construction timeline — the tower will be built on state-owned air rights over the Massachusetts Turnpike — the company had to "look out to the future," he added.

The tower would be among the city's tallest residential properties. Simon also redesigned both its street-level base and a publicly accessible atrium.

"It should be almost a requirement that projects take a two-year hiatus, because this is much-improved from when the project went on hold," said David Berarducci, a South End resident who is on the project's citizens advisory committee.

Simon's proposed changes require city and state approvals. The company said it would file necessary paperwork with the BRA in the coming weeks with the hope of starting construction in spring 2015.

"We're pleased that Simon Property Group is re-engaging in their Copley Place project, and we're looking forward to working with the community and the development team on next steps," BRA spokeswoman Melina Schuler said.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

AP buys stake in live video service Bambuser

NEW YORK — The Associated Press said Thursday that it has bought a minority stake in the live video service Bambuser, boosting its ability to acquire and distribute video collected by people who have witnessed news events.

Financial terms were not disclosed. As part of the deal, Sandy MacIntyre, AP's director of global video news, will join Bambuser's board as a director.

The deal caps a three-year relationship between the news agency and Bambuser. Last year, the AP signed a deal with Bambuser giving the agency exclusive syndication rights to user-generated content video posted on the service, meaning that if users want to share their video with a news agency, they do it only with the AP, MacIntyre said.

"This investment by the AP is a natural extension of our existing relationship with Bambuser and will ensure that we retain our dominant capability in gathering and verifying UGC video news," he said in a statement.

Bambuser, which was founded in 2007 in Stockholm, allows users to broadcast, watch and share live video through smartphones and computers. The AP said Bambuser's products are designed particularly to cater to the needs of the news industry.

The service is free for individuals and nonprofit groups. To broadcast live, users need to install an app on their smartphones or use a Web browser with Flash technology on regular computers. People can watch videos on Bambuser's website via computers and mobile devices.

Generally, neither AP nor Bambuser pays users to publish the content they post, MacIntyre said.

Access to user-generated content has become increasingly important for media companies like the AP, which has growing demand for live video from its broadcast and online customers.

"Working so closely with the AP over the last year has proven the huge demand for user-generated video content," said Hans Eriksson, executive chairman of Bambuser. "This equity investment is an important milestone in Bambuser's journey, as it not only brings our two organizations closer, but enables us to share our expertise to an even greater extent."

The AP said the deal with Bambuser gives it access to an established community of video contributors around the world. The service also is used by the news agency's own journalists in the field to send video to the AP.

The AP noted that it already uses verified user-generated content regularly, citing the civil war in Syria, the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings and recent storms in Oklahoma as examples of recent stories where such content played a role.

MacIntyre said that through its relationship with Bambuser over the past year, the AP has been able to access footage of breaking news it couldn't get any other way. He also noted that user-generated content is poised to grow in both importance and volume.

"Nearly a fifth of the world's population has a smartphone and that is a phenomenal eyewitness resource that Bambuser makes technologically possible," he said.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Weekly US jobless aid applications rise to 354K

WASHINGTON — Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by 18,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 354,000. Despite the gain, the level remains consistent with moderate job growth.

The Labor Department said Thursday that the less volatile four-week average increased by 2,500 to 348,250.

Applications are a proxy for layoffs. Since January, they have fallen 6 percent. That suggests companies are cutting fewer jobs.

At the same time, hiring has been steady, despite an increase in taxes on Jan. 1 and steep federal spending cuts that began in March. Solid consumer spending and a rebound in housing have helped the economy weather the fiscal drag.

Jennifer Lee, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, said the increase in applications makes it less likely that hiring will accelerate this month but job growth remains moderate.

"The overall U.S. labor market is improving," Lee said.

Employers added 175,000 jobs in May, nearly matching the average monthly gain for the past year. The unemployment rate ticked up to 7.6 percent from 7.5 percent, but for a good reason: More Americans were confident they could find work and began searching for a job.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday offered a brighter outlook for the job market and economy. Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed is likely to reduce its bond purchases later this year and end them in the middle of next year if the economy continues to strengthen.

The Fed expects the unemployment rate will fall to between 6.5 percent and 6.8 percent by the end of 2014. That's lower than their March forecast of 6.7 percent to 7 percent.

About 4.5 million Americans received unemployment benefits in the week ending June 1, the latest data available. That's 18,000 more than the previous week. But the number of recipients has fallen 28 percent in the past year. Some have likely gotten jobs, but many have used up all the benefits available.

The Labor Department said last week that more Americans quit their jobs in April compared with March. That points to confidence in the job market, since most workers don't quit until they have another job or are sure they can find one. More quits also opens up jobs for other workers, or the unemployed, to take.

Also last week, a survey of chief executives at the largest U.S. companies showed that they are more optimistic about sales in the next six months and plan to add more workers.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Economy looking healthier to small business owners

NEW YORK — The economy is looking healthier in the eyes of small business owners, according to a survey released Tuesday.

The Citibank Small Business Pulse shows that 48 percent of owners rate business conditions as good or excellent. That's up from 43 percent a year ago, and twice the 24 percent of three years ago, when the bank began conducting the survey. The number of owners who see business conditions as poor fell to 14 percent, the lowest since the survey's inception.

Small business owners are also upbeat about their own companies. Half say they expect their revenue to rise this year, and 54 percent expect 2014 to be even better.

Twenty-six percent of the owners surveyed said they plan to hire full-time employees in the next 12 months, up from 15 percent last summer. Only 5 percent said they planned to cut their staffs.

The survey, which questioned 750 small business owners during May, follows the trend of others in recent months that have shown that owners are gradually becoming more optimistic about the economy and their companies.

On Monday, Capital One released a survey in which 45 percent of the owners polled said they expect their financial positions to be better in six months. That's up 7 percentage points from Capital One's last survey, taken during the fourth quarter.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

US home construction rises 6.8 percent in May

WASHINGTON — U.S. builders began construction on more single-family homes and apartments in May, encouraged by more buyers and a scarcity of houses for sale.

The overall pace of homes started rose 6.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 914,000, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That followed a 14.8 percent decline in April. May's rate is still below March's pace of more than 1 million — the highest in five years.

Single-family home construction, nearly two-thirds of the market, rose 0.3 percent last month to an annual rate of 599,000. That followed two months of declines.

Apartment construction, which is more volatile, surged 21.6 percent to an annual rate of 315,000. That came after a big drop in April.

Applications for building permits, a gauge of future construction, fell 3.1 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted 974,000, remaining close to a five-year high hit in April.

Overall, the report points to more evidence of a housing recovery that has become sustainable. New-home construction has risen 28.6 percent since May of 2012.

Improved hiring and low mortgage rates have encouraged more people to buy homes. The increased demand, along with a tight supply of homes for sale, has pushed home prices higher.

Stronger housing markets are helping the economy grow and offsetting some of the drag this year from higher taxes and federal spending cuts.

A better outlook for housing has made builders more optimistic, leading to more construction and jobs. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Monday rose to 52 this month, up from 44 in May. That was the highest reading in seven years and the largest monthly increase in more than a decade.

A reading above 50 indicates more builders view sales conditions as good, rather than poor.

Still, some markets are recovering faster than others. In May, housing starts rose 17.8 percent in the South and 5.7 percent in the West. But they fell 13.7 percent in the Midwest and 9 percent in the Northeast.

Many of the nation's major homebuilders have reported strong annual growth in sales during the spring home-selling season. The increased demand has paved the way for builders to raise prices and ramp up construction of more homes, despite lingering concerns over rising costs for land, building materials and labor.

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 revenue, according to NAHB statistics.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Futures rising as Fed gathers in Washington

NEW YORK — U.S. stock futures rose for the second time in as many days as the Federal Reserve opens its two-day policy meeting in Washington.

The government also reported Tuesday that the pace of construction increased again in May as builders tried to keep up with growing demand for houses.

Dow Jones industrial futures rose 32 points to 15,153. The broader S&P futures tacked on 3.4 points to 1,637.10. Nasdaq futures gained 10.25 points to 2,975.

Housing starts increased 6.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 914,000 following a sharp decline in April. But new construction remains below the million-home pace of March, the highest level in five years.

Shares of the nation's biggest homebuilders rose before the market opened.

The Labor Department also reported Tuesday that inflation has been held in check. Rising energy costs were partly offset by cheaper food, and the consumer price index ticked up a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent last month.

It was just the second increase in seven months.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boeing launches plans for longer 787 jet

LE BOURGET, France — Boeing Corp. is starting work on a stretched-out version of its popular 787 Dreamliner jet, in the hope of reigniting interest in the aircraft after battery-related problems.

Boeing announced the formal launch of its 787-10 program at the Paris Air Show on Tuesday and says it already has commitments from several customers, including United Airlines.

The original 787 can seat between 210 and 250 passengers. Boeing is already working on a longer version, the 787-9, that would hold between 250 and 290 passengers, while the 787-10 would seat between 300 and 330.

The air show is a platform for the race for sales between Boeing and its European rival Airbus, which is hoping that the event spark interest in its A350, its long-haul wide-body rival to the 787.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

World's 3 biggest shipping operators unite

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk says the world's three biggest shipping container operators have entered an alliance to reduce fuel consumption and improve service and operations.

Vincent Clerc of the Copenhagen-based company's shipping unit says MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. and CMA CGM of France will form the P3 alliance with Maersk Line.

Clerc said Tuesday that it will mean "even more efficient and competitive" operations.

The alliance will be an independently operated network with 255 vessels and is to start operations next year, depending on regulatory approvals. Maersk stressed the companies will continue to have fully independent sales, marketing and customer service functions.

The P3 alliance will operate a capacity of 2.6 million containers between Asia and Europe, across the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More