Obama calls on Congress to extend jobless benefits

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is calling on Congress to extend benefits for the long-term unemployed before they expire at the end of the year.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama says more than one million Americans will lose benefits if lawmakers don't act. He says unemployment insurance is one of the most effective ways to boost the economy and that providing benefits does not stop people from trying to find work.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has said he is willing to consider extending the jobless benefits.

In the Republican weekly address, North Carolina Rep. Renee Ellmers calls on Obama to delay his health care law's requirement that all Americans purchase insurance. She says the law is particularly impacting women, who often make health care choices for their families.

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Sturdy Swede quite sporty

Always on the fringe of the sports sedan market, Volvo hurtles into the mix with the impressively reworked 2014 S60 T6 R-Design.

When mentioning the class led by luminaries BMW, Audi and Mercedes -Benz, the sturdy Swede rarely gets a nod. But the S60 R needs to be considered when test-driving the field.

Sporting a 3-liter inline six cylinder twin-scroll turbo producing 325 horsepower and all-wheel-drive geared through a six-speed automatic transmission, the Volvo is a quick and powerful machine. Spinning on blacked-out 19-inch Platinum Edition Ixion spoked wheels, the low-profile tires confidently cut into the road, gaining traction from the race-inspired front MacPherson struts and multilink rear suspension. The firm driver feedback through the rack-and-pinion steering not only gives the driver a confident ride but also makes handling the car a breeze.

The turbo purrs to life and needs little prompting to get you scooting comfortably and quickly down the road. The upgraded blue digital display lets you know when the turbo is demanding more, although the seat of your pants is a better indicator. Premium gas mileage for this sporty Scandinavian is 18 miles per gallon around town and 25 on the highway.

Aside from the mechanicals, what helps separate this car from wannabe sports sedans is the interior refinements highlighted by elegant piped leather seats — perhaps some of the more comfortable I've sat in — clean intuitive controls, brushed aluminum trim, and a robust 160-watt 8-speaker sound system. A 7-inch LCD monitor with back up camera, blind spot monitoring, Xenon active bending headlights and a sunroof round out some of the details of the car.

Sweeping body lines flow from the rakishly lowered front end with a small grille into a well-tied-together revamped rear end accented with a small spoiler, giving the sedan a striking presence on the road. The rear seats suffer some though and passengers will be a touch cramped. The trunk space is limited but both rear seats can fold down to make for extra room. There's also a ski slot through the armrest.

The base MSRP of $42,700 for the R-Design quickly gets to $49,315 with the Platinum Package, blind-spot monitoring and heated seats added in, and this is the one spot I'll pick on. Oddly, a car that has always led the industry in safety innovation and includes "City Safe" stopping does not include blind-spot monitoring or back-up warnings as part of its base cost. And extra for heated seats? In a car from the north country? After all, these are quite common features in even lower-priced cars.

The R-Design is the top of three trim levels although you can get a nice driver in a base S60 for about $33,000. I really enjoyed driving this car and, despite some expensive options, this is a good value if you're considering a sports sedan.

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Fort Point loft is perfect combination

One of the largest condos in South Boston's Fort Point district, this 3,009-square-foot loft was designed by well-known Hub architect David Hacin.

Hacin, who also designed the FP3 condo complex and the District Hall innovation center in the neighborhood, combined two fourth-floor units in Fort Point Place, a 126-unit complex at 21 Wormwood St. that was converted to condos in 2000-01.

The combined Unit 415 was made into a three-bedroom corner loft with a large, open living/kitchen area and adjacent dining room, and a large master bedroom suite with dressing/exercise room. It has original wood beams and exposed brick and ductwork throughout, as well as maple floors. The architect has designed built-ins, room dividers, shelving and pocket doors that enhance the space. The condo, which includes two deeded parking spaces, one in a garage below, is on the market for $1,649,000.

The complex features contemporary art in the lobby and has a semi-industrial look, with jelly jar lighting in the common hallways and stainless-steel doors on the units.

Unit 415 has two entrances and foyers, each with closets for two gas-fired heating and cooling systems as well as built-ins for clothes storage. Both foyers lead to a wide central hallway with wide-plank maple flooring that is featured throughout the unit.

At one end of the hallway sits an open kitchen/living area with eight large windows with Financial District and Seaport District views. The track-lighted living area has wood-beam ceilings, maple floors and exposed brick walls and ductwork.

The adjacent kitchen has a large built-in at one end, as well as a central custom-made bi-level wood island with a breakfast bar that seats four. There are white-painted wood cabinets, including several that are pantry-sized, above and below Uba Tuba granite counters. Appliances are Jenn-Air stainless steel, including a refrigerator, dishwasher and four-burner gas stove with microwave above.

Behind the living area is the third bedroom, now used as formal dining room, a long narrow space with brick walls and one window and a pocket-door entrance. The room feels a little claustrophobic, especially with the pocket door closed.

But the other two bedrooms are open and airy, particularly the master bedroom suite off the far end of the hall, which has pocket doors to close it off from the rest of the loft if desired. The sunny master bedroom has four large windows with nice views of Fort Point and the Seaport District. It also has maple floors, wood-beam ceilings, brick walls and has track lighting and built-in storage areas. A curving custom-made room divider has bookcases on the bedroom side and wardrobe storage shelves on the other, which has been partitioned off into a dressing/exercise room. Adjacent to the dressing area sits the maple-floored master bathroom with two large closets, one of which holds a stacked Asko washer and dryer. There's a white ceramic-tiled shower with glass doors and rainhead fixture and a cultured marble-topped vanity.

The second bedroom, currently used as a den/family room, is also good-sized with exposed brick walls and built-ins as well as a divider that creates a dressing area. There's a home office area fronting on the hallway, and this whole area can also be closed off if desired.

Across the hall is a second full bathroom with a pocket-door entrance and maple floors. This bathroom has a stainless-steel vessel sink, a white subway-tile shower with glass doors and two large closets.

The unit comes with two deeded parking spaces, one in a garage below the building and the other in an outdoor lot behind the building. There is no common outdoor space, but there is a pocket park across the street and a small urban market on the building's first floor.

Broker: Richard Greer of Kimball Borgo Real Estate at 857-919-4368.

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Chinese firm paid US gov't intelligence adviser

WASHINGTON — A longtime adviser to the U.S. Director of National Intelligence has resigned after the government learned he has worked since 2010 as a paid consultant for Huawei Technologies Ltd., the Chinese technology company the U.S. has condemned as an espionage threat, The Associated Press has learned.

Theodore H. Moran, a respected expert on China's international investment and professor at Georgetown University, had served since 2007 as adviser to the intelligence director's advisory panel on foreign investment in the United States. Moran also was an adviser to the National Intelligence Council, a group of 18 senior analysts and policy experts who provide U.S. spy agencies with judgments on important international issues.

The case highlights the ongoing fractious relationship between the U.S. government and Huawei, China's leading developer of telephone and Internet infrastructure, which has been condemned in the U.S. as a potential national security threat. Huawei has aggressively disputed this, and its chief executive, Ren Zhengfei, has said the company has decided to abandon the U.S. market.

Moran, who had a security clearance granting him access to sensitive materials, was forced to withdraw from those roles after Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., complained in September to the intelligence director, James Clapper, that Moran's work on an international advisory council for Huawei "compromises his ability to advise your office."

"It is inconceivable how someone serving on Huawei's board would also be allowed to advise the intelligence community on foreign investments in the U.S.," Wolf wrote.

Moran, who earlier had declined to discuss the matter, said in a statement Friday to the AP, "I was totally transparent." He said he told the National Intelligence Council in 2010 about his membership on Huawei's advisory panel.

"I complied with all conflict of interest reports and procedures of the National Intelligence Council," Moran said.

A spokesman for Clapper's office confirmed Friday that Moran was no longer associated with the intelligence council "effective September 2013" but declined to answer further questions, citing the U.S. Privacy Act.

Moran's resignation also was confirmed by Wolf and two federal officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly.

"If he wants to make a lot of money advising Huawei, that's his prerogative," Wolf told the AP. "But he shouldn't be on a critical advisory board that provides intelligence advice on foreign investments in our country."

In a policy paper distributed by Huawei, Moran wrote in May that, "targeting one or two companies on the basis of their national origins does nothing for U.S. security in a world of global supply chains." Moran criticized what he described as "a policy of discrimination and distortion that discourages valuable inward investment from overseas, while providing a precedent for highly damaging copycat practices in other countries."

The House Intelligence Committee last year said Huawei and another firm, ZTE, posed a threat that could enable Chinese intelligence services to tamper with American communications networks. The committee said it could not prove wrongdoing but recommended that the companies be barred from doing business in the country.

"To the extent these companies are influenced by the state or provide Chinese intelligence services access to telecommunication networks, the opportunity exists for further economic and foreign espionage by a foreign nation-state already known to be a major perpetrator of cyber espionage," the committee wrote in its report.

Huawei's vice president for external affairs, William Plummer, declined to discuss Moran's resignation, but said U.S suspicions about Huawei have created "a political smokescreen." He said the controversy amounted to a "political game that's holding Huawei hostage to somehow gain leverage with the Chinese government. Huawei is no threat to U.S. networks and data."

Plummer said Moran and other advisers discuss trade, policy and commerce with Huawei's executives.

Earlier this year, as a condition of allowing SoftBank Corp. to buy Sprint for $20.1 billion, the Obama administration forced the companies to promise not to use Huawei equipment and seek approval for future vendors.

In 2007, Huawei joined with Bain Capital, the private equity firm founded by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, to buy 3Com Corp., an American computer equipment firm. Romney had left the firm by then. The bid collapsed amid national security concerns cited by Congress and the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, an inter-agency panel that scrutinizes financial moves by foreign firms inside the U.S.

Last month, two Senate committee chairmen asked Clapper about the potential national security threat posed by Huawei's growing partnership with South Korean telecom firms.

The intelligence director's office would not describe Moran's duties for its panel on foreign investment or the National Intelligence Council. It was not immediately clear whether Moran's previous work was being reviewed for possible bias or if the government was investigating whether other intelligence advisers also may have been paid by foreign companies. It also did not explain why Moran was forced to step down now, three years since he had been hired by Huawei and after he had disclosed his affiliation as early as 2011 in biographical material published as part of his participation in a conference in Vienna.

Wolf, in a letter to the intelligence director, asked for a list of other members and advisers to the National Intelligence Council and a copy of its conflict-of-interest policy but he never received the information.

___

Associated Press writer Nedra Pickler contributed to this report.

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Brockton vocational class teaches business savvy

BROCKTON, Mass. — The design and screen printing program at the Keith Center in Brockton pushes students to use their creativity to produce a product, said Robert Leary, who teaches the course.

He noted, however, that the class does more than just teach students how to design apparel.

"I think it helps them by giving insight into how a small business would run," he said. "They know what things cost and how to meet customers' demands. It also gives them the opportunity to use their creativity when designing the shirts."

The students do good work, he added.

For instance, you might have spotted players and coaches of two high school football heavyweights, Brockton and Bridgewater-Raynham, sporting sweatshirts designed by the budding designers during the Cape Cod Cafe Bowl, he said

The sweatshirts for that event were sponsored by Tuxedos by Merian and Cape Cod Cafe, who also purchased the screens, he said.

The class, at 175 Warren Ave., has enrolled 34 students who attend alternative schools The Goddard School, B.B. Russell and Champion High School.

Before taking it on, Leary taught design and screen printing at Southeastern Regional High School as well as to inmates at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility, he said.

In the course, the process of designing and printing the shirts is done by the students, with Leary supervising. First, students create a design, or that of their client's, and enter it into the computer. Then it gets printed, he said.

From there, the artwork is placed on a silk screen for exposure, then washed. It's then put on the press, where Leary said the ink is wiped off. The item is then dried in an oven. Students then prepare the merchandise for delivery.

Besides designing the garb for the football game, students also designed apparel for the South Shore Boxing Club and Brockton Children's Fund.

Still, Leary said he and his class welcome more business.

"I'm hoping that nonprofits and businesses consider us when they're doing events like a walk," he said. "We'd be happy to do them."

Proceeds made from any sale go to the Brockton Educational Fund, he said.-

-DAFNEY TALES, The Patriot Ledger

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China bars banks from handling bitcoins

BEIJING — Bitcoins suffered a new setback after China's central bank said Thursday its banks and payment systems are barred from handling the virtual currency.

The central bank said bitcoins did not qualify as a currency but private individuals still are allowed to trade them at their own risk.

Bitcoins are created, distributed, and authenticated independently of any bank or government. Their relative anonymity holds out the promise of being able to spend money across the Internet without scrutiny.

"Bitcoins are virtual goods that have no legal status or monetary equivalent and should not be used as currency," said a Chinese central bank statement.

It said financial institutions and payment systems were not allowed use bitcoin prices for products and could not sell, trade or store bitcoins.

"Ordinary people are free to participate in transactions at their own risk," the central bank said.

Despite wild swings in value, the virtual currency has been moving toward broader acceptance. A growing number of companies accept bitcoins, which can be converted into cash.

Last month, the biggest private university in Cyprus said it would accept bitcoins for tuition.

But other governments are wary of the cybercurrency. In July, Thailand's central bank banned trading and use of bitcoins.

Bitcoins are actively traded in China, possibly due to relatively limited options for investment.

Just over 2 million bitcoins were traded over the past month on China's biggest exchange, BTC China, according to bitcoincharts.com, which follows trading in the cybercurrency.

This week, Chinese police announced the detention of three people operating an online bitcoin trading platform who are suspected of stealing investors' assets.

Operators told users the platform based in the eastern province of Zhejiang allowed them to trade bitcoins like stocks, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Users may have lost as much as 25 million yuan ($4 million) when the platform shut down in October, Xinhua said.

In Cyprus, the country's biggest private university said last month it will begin accepting bitcoins for tuition.

Also last month, the U.S. Federal Election Commission said political organizations cannot accept contributions in the form of bitcoins. The commission's chairwoman cited the possibility of foreign or anonymous donations, which both would be illegal, flowing to candidates or outside political groups.

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Plans escalate for big Quincy Market upgrade

Faneuil Hall Marketplace would be set for dramatic changes to its historic Quincy Market building — including the addition of escalators — under preliminary design plans that manager Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. is floating with the city.

The New York real estate investment firm is proposing a redesign of Quincy Market that includes a pair of new, two-story tenant additions encased in glass "sheds," according to an 80-page document submitted to the Boston Landmarks Commission. One of the new spaces is designated for a Uniqlo store, the Japanese fast-fashion retailer that's on an East and West Coast expansion spree, according to the documents.

"It's a preliminary design that we wanted feedback on," said Joe Press, Ashkenazy's senior vice president of asset management.

Plans the firm is scheduled to present at the Landmarks Commission's meeting Tuesday call for the removal of "temporary tenant installations." But Kristen Keefe, Faneuil Hall Marketplace's general manager, could not say whether they include pushcarts or other vendors.

Ashkenazy purchased the city-owned tourist center's lease for $136 million in 2011. The city's blessing was based in large part on Ashkenazy's promise of a capital investment in the property that included upgrades to draw locals.

But the city has expressed frustration with the firm's slow pace on a master plan to redevelop the property — a plan it initially had said would come in the spring of 2012. Ashkenazy since has hired Boston's Elkus Manfredi Architects, Watertown planning and design firm Sasaki Associates and New York's Biederman Redevelopment Ventures Corp. to help create the master plan.

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The Ticker

Owner explores sale of Providence Journal

The Dallas-based parent company of the Providence Journal, A.H. Belo, has hired a consultant to explore the sale of the paper, the company said in a statement.

The Journal is the only newspaper owned by Belo outside of Texas, after the sale of the Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif., last month.

The company said the eventual sale of the Journal is not guaranteed, and is dependent on finding an appropriate buyer.

MGM Springfield inks deal with Ludlow

MGM Springfield has signed its first surrounding community agreement with the town of Ludlow, the casino giant said. The town will receive $50,000 up front and a minimum of $100,000 per year, according to MGM. MGM is proposing an $800 million casino in the South End of Springfield. The project was endorsed by Springfield voters in July.

State income tax to drop Jan. 1

State Revenue Commissioner Amy Pitter has certified that the state's income tax will be lowered from the current 5.25 percent to 5.2 percent Jan. 1.

In a letter yesterday to Secretary of Administration and Finance Glen Shor, Pitter said tax collections have exceeded benchmarks and have met the threshold required under state law to trigger an automatic .05 percent reduction in the income tax. Officials say the tax cut will result in an estimated loss of $65 million in the fiscal year that runs through July 1.

Robot can solve Rubik's Cube

Humanoid robot Baxter, made by Boston-based Rethink Robotics, can now solve a Rubik's Cube, the company said. In a video posted online, the robot used primarily for monotonous manufacturing tasks recognizes the different colors of the cube and then figures out the necessary steps to solve the puzzle.

TODAY

• Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims.
• Commerce Department releases third-quarter gross domestic product.
• European Central Bank's governing council meets to set monetary policy for the eurozone.

TOMORROW

• Labor Department releases employment data for November.
• Commerce Department releases personal income and spending for October.

THE SHUFFLE

• Marjorie Cappucci, left, has joined Needham Bank's Medfield office as branch manager. She has more than 17 years of banking experience.
• Snom, a developer of IP desktop business phones, has appointed Brian J. Kelley as chief executive officer. Kelley had previously been managing snom's business in the Americas.

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Mass. gambling chief steps aside on Everett ruling

BOSTON — The head of the Massachusetts gambling commission is withdrawing from a crucial review of the land deal for a proposed casino in Everett because he is a longtime friend and former business partner of one of site's owners.

Stephen Crosby says he has known Paul Lohnes, co-owner of the 29-acre site, since they were in the National Guard in the 1970s and that they were business partners from 1983 to 1990.

If Wynn Resorts wins the right to develop the former Monsanto chemical site into a $1.3 billion casino, the land sale would potentially be worth millions of dollars to Lohnes.

Crosby tells The Boston Globe (http://bo.st/1cZjvgB ) he's confident he could remain impartial, but recused himself to preserve public trust in the casino selection process.

___

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

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Survey: Job cuts hold steady in November

CHICAGO — Planned job cuts in November were little changed from October.

Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas says its monthly survey of employers found they planned to cut 45,314 workers from their payrolls in November, just 0.9 percent less than a month earlier.

However, the November cuts were down 21 percent from the same month a year ago, for a second straight month of year-over-year declines.

For the year to date, employers say there are 2.5 percent fewer job cuts than during the first 11 months of 2012.

The financial sector had the most job cuts through November, more than 59,000. Challenger says that's largely because the flood of foreclosures and refinancing after the recession has been waning, and banks are shedding the extra workers who were added to handle them.

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Herald execs talk up future of news

Rumors of the death of newspapers have been greatly exaggerated, if Herald Publisher Patrick J. Purcell and Editor in Chief Joe Sciacca have anything to say about it — and they certainly did yesterday at a panel discussion on how news organizations can survive in a tech-addicted world of information overload and short attention spans.

"The challenges facing newspapers are not being faced by newspapers alone," Sciacca told an audience at Boston law firm Mintz Levin, which hosted the panel. "We know CNN has lost half its audience in the past year. AM radio is going away. A quarter of teenagers, the only way they interact with the Web is on their smartphone. We know that people don't want to be lectured anymore by legacy media ... they want to interact. We need to look for a (business) model that adjusts to that."

Stephen Mindich, publisher and CEO of Phoenix Media, who had to close the Boston Phoenix this year, predicted more newspapers will fail due to financial problems. But Purcell said, "Somehow or other we have been able to stay profitable. All I keep saying is, 'Let's keep our heads above water and see what happens.'"

The panel discussion, which also featured former Miami Herald Executive Editor turned Boston University dean Thomas Fiedler, was moderated by Mintz lawyer Jeffrey Robbins.

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The Ticker: Hilltop Steakhouse auction and more...

U.S. sales up 1% 
over weekend

National retail sales climbed a mere 1 percent to an estimated 
$22.2 billion during the four-day Black Friday weekend that started on Thanksgiving for most of the nation, according to Chicago tracking firm ShopperTrak. Sales in the Northeast fell 1 percent, and store foot traffic dropped 9.8 percent. Record online sales on Cyber Monday, meanwhile, rose 20.6 percent from 2012, according to IBM. Mobile sales accounted for more than 17 percent of the sales, up 55.4 percent year-over-year.

Hilltop items to be sold at auction

The contents of the former Hilltop Steakhouse, the landmark Saugus restaurant that closed in October after 52 years, will be sold at an onsite auction Dec. 14. Restaurant equipment will be sold starting at 10 a.m., and furnishings, memorabilia and decorative items will go on the block at 
2 p.m. Among the items will be mounted bison heads, 11 carved wood cigar store Indians from the 1960s and Hilltop buttons, pins and menus. A preview is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 13 and from 8 a.m. on auction day.

Kristin Pados joins Nara Logics Inc.

Nara Logics Inc., a computational neuroscience company that provides personalization to deep Web data, announced the appointment of Kristin Pados to its executive team. Pados will be joining the company at its Cambridge headquarters as senior vice president, product and general manager.

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German giant to venture into Hub

The venture arm of one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies is opening its first U.S. office in Kendall Square, pledging to make $130 million in investments to life sciences companies.

"We chose Boston because it is unique," said Martin Heidecker, who will lead the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, an affiliate of Ingelheim, Germany-based Boehringer Ingelheim, citing the area's renowned universities and established biotech companies.

Heidecker said he will invest in early stage life sciences startups, and expects to give about $13 million to each company to help them grow and develop their technologies.

"We have a long-term perspective," Heidecker said, adding there is no time limit for the fund to be invested.

Although the main goal is to invest in companies that can eventually be acquired by Boehringer Ingelheim, Heidecker said he believes the products he ends up investing in will be difference-makers regardless of his parent company's involvement.

"The products result in solving the medical problems we have in the future," such as cancer, Alzheimer's and dementia, he said.

One of the reasons the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund is different is its penchant for molding companies, Heidecker said.

"This is very hands on, very early" in a company's life, he said.

Although Heidecker will look for companies to invest in around the country, locating the office in Cambridge will naturally mean more investment in the local area, said Peter Abair, director of economic and global affairs for the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council. The average investment in Bay State biotech companies was about $8 million last year, he said.

"We do know venture capital does tend to stay close to where the VC firms can keep an eye on the companies," Abair said.

Heidecker, who has been in Cambridge for a month, said he has already found companies he is interested in backing.

"There will be investments in the near future," he said.

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Hub-Beijing travel ‘traffic’ spurs flights

Hainan Airlines' move to start nonstop flights between Boston and China was spurred by the already large number of travelers between the two destinations and the expectation for future growth, a company official said.

"There's a tremendous amount of traffic between Boston and China because of the educational travel, the leisure travel and the business travel in both directions," said Joel Chusid, Hainan's U.S. executive director. "It's a good thing for both economies. The market is also growing. We expect (it) is going to be further stimulated because of the nonstop service."

The Chinese airline confirmed yesterday that it plans to start direct flights between Logan International Airport and Beijing's Capital International Airport on June 20, as the Herald first reported last week. The flights initially will be four times weekly.

Hainan, Massport officials and Gov. Deval Patrick are set to announce the new service today. "Nonstop service from Boston to Beijing will open up new commercial and economic opportunities, and I thank Hainan Airlines for their partnership in achieving this significant milestone," Patrick said in a statement.

Hainan will start taking reservations within a few days for flights aboard Boeing 787s that will take a little more than 13 hours.

"It means a great deal because there are a large number of high-tech and not so high-tech companies in the Boston area that have very important trade relations with Chinese companies," said attorney Samuel Shafner, co-chairman of Burns & Levinson LLP's China practice. "The ability to easily make that trip may reduce a temptation for those companies to be located in markets like New York, where they have a direct flight."

Hainan, whose first nonstop U.S. service started in Seattle in 2008, had talked of Boston being its first U.S. destination since at least 2005. In his 2006 state of the city address, Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced Hainan expected to start air cargo service between Boston and Beijing and Shanghai that summer and passenger service that December. That plan was derailed by delays in the delivery and certification of the 787, Chusid said.

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In Japan, General Motors has high hopes, low sales

TOKYO — General Motors says it's in Japan for the long haul despite sales of Cadillac and Chevrolet models barely surpassing 1,000 vehicles a year.

There has never been much appetite in Japan for left-hand drive gas guzzling U.S. autos, and there are many informal barriers to foreign automakers making it here.

But GM executives see a glimmer of hope in the fact sales of its luxury nameplates have doubled in the past three years.

The automaker is trying to lure Japanese buyers with the new Cadillac CTS and Chevrolet Corvette, which it says boast better quality and mileage.

GM Japan Managing Director Sumito Ishii declined to give a sales target Wednesday, but said part of the Detroit automaker's sales strategy is to approach buyers who may not have preconceptions about GM.

General Motors Co. has also begun to offer models with the steering wheel on the right, which is standard in Japan.

"We have just begun our fight," Ishii told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Tokyo. "We offer attractive qualities that you can't find in Japanese and European cars."

Ishii and Gregg Sedewitz, director of sales and marketing, said the cars represent American luxury and are synonymous with risk taking, coolness and Hollywood celebrities.

The Cadillac CTS comes packed with the latest technology, such as a lightweight structure and a direct injection turbo engine, and sells for 5.99 million yen ($59,900) and 6.99 million yen ($69,900).

The Corvette, which ranges from 9.29 million yen ($92,900) to 11.59 million yen ($115,900) including the convertible models, is the greenest Corvette ever, delivering 12.3 kilometers per liter.

They go on sale in Japan from April and May next year.

Japanese consumers have historically favored European imports and home-made cars over American models, including luxury brands.

Annual sales of the Lexus, the luxury offering from Toyota Motor Corp., the world's top automaker, total about 40,000 vehicles in Japan. Annual sales for the BMW are about that same number.

Sedewitz acknowledged there was "no magic bullet" to boost sales volume in Japan.

"The numbers speak for themselves," he said. "We are in it for the long term."

___

Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at twitter.com/yurikageyama

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Tumblr brings hipster twist to year-end lists

SAN FRANCISCO — Tumblr is where the Internet's cool kids hang out. That's why Yahoo paid $1.1 billion to buy the blogging site in one of this year's most buzzed-about deals.

Now, Tumblr is flaunting its hipster credentials with a first-ever breakdown of the year's hottest trends, topics and celebrities.

The retrospective starts Tuesday at http://YearinReview.tumblr.com with an exploration of 20 categories ranging from the most popular musical groups to the most interesting architecture of 2013. Boasting a plethora of images, the review will continue through December with daily posts that will culminate on New Year's Eve with the best fireworks displays featured on Tumblr during the year.

Similar end-of-the-year lists are annual rites at Yahoo, Google and other websites equipped with search engines that sort through billions of requests for information to determine which topics piqued people's interests.

Tumblr's musings figure to stand out because they are drawn from a younger audience that differs from the more conventional crowds that flock to general-purpose search engines.

More than half of Tumblr's 170 million users are under 35 years old, a demographic that has helped turn the service into a free-wheeling forum filled with provocative imagery, snarky humor and occasionally ribald commentary.

"The people on Tumblr never cease to amaze me with their creativity and their wit and the amount of fun they are having online," said Danielle Strle, Tumblr's director of product for content and community. "There are certain things they are crazy about that I am sure that a more general Internet audience is not super nuts about."

Tumblr's eclectic tastes are evident in some of the categories featured in the service's year-end roundup. Entire sections will be devoted to photo bombing, fingernail art, unicorns, bacon, pretty colors, student loans and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.

In contrast, the annual lists released by the mainstream search engines tend to be more prosaic and predictable recitations that pore through the most popular celebrities, movies, singers, TV shows, and news stories.

Microsoft Corp.'s Bing search engine also reviewed the most popular social media services in its year-end list released Monday. (Tumblr ranked sixth behind Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.)

Tumblr's look back delves into some of that well-worn territory, too, though its selections may send some people scurrying to a search engine to find out more. For instance, the most blogged-about actor on Tumblr during this year was Benedict Cumberbatch, an English performer who has primarily had supporting roles in U.S. films (he most recently played the villain Khan in "Star Trek Into Darkness.")

Cumberbatch doesn't appear in a separate year-end roundup to be released Tuesday by Yahoo, but "Star Trek Into Darkness" tops Yahoo's rankings of the most-searched movies on its site.

Other Tumblr items unlikely to show up in other year-end roundups include shots of brides throwing cats into the air instead of wedding bouquets and school notices explaining the reasons for students' detention.

In a tip to Tumblr, Yahoo is highlighting three of the blogging site's categories in its own breakdown.

Now Yahoo Inc. wants 6-year-old Tumblr to start selling more ads. One of the categories in Tumblr's retrospective highlights the best ads that appeared on the service this year.

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Detroit to get crucial ruling in bankruptcy case

DETROIT — A judge was expected to announce Tuesday whether Detroit can come up with a plan to get rid of $18 billion in debt in the largest public bankruptcy in U.S. history, a case that ultimately could crack a shield protecting public pensions and also put the city's extraordinary art collection up for grabs.

Judge Steven Rhodes will declare whether Detroit is eligible to stay in court, more than four months after filing for Chapter 9 protection. It's the most critical decision so far because it could give local officials a green light to scrub the balance sheet and slowly improve the quality of life in a city that has lost more than 1 million residents since 1950.

Rhodes postponed his decision by an hour to give the public more time to get through courthouse security.

"Eligibility means working down a specific checklist and making sure the city has done what it needed to do to be in court. If the city gets its ticket punched, it's game on," said Michael Sweet, a bankruptcy expert who has advised struggling local governments in California.

Rhodes' task at this stage is limited to deciding if Detroit has met certain conditions to be in bankruptcy. A local government must do more than claim it's broke. There must be evidence that Detroit tried to negotiate in "good faith" with creditors or that such talks were simply impossible because of the number of parties and other factors.

During a nine-day trial, unions and pension funds with much to lose in bankruptcy vigorously fought the city on the good-faith requirement, saying a month was not enough time to make deals and avoid the historic filing last summer. Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr offered just pennies on every dollar owed to creditors.

If Rhodes finds Detroit isn't eligible for bankruptcy, it likely means the city would have to sit down again with creditors and try to reach an agreement outside of court. If that fails, the city could return and file again for Chapter 9.

But Orr is predicting an "Armageddon-like scenario" if the Chapter 9 petition is rejected Tuesday. He said creditors who have been owed money since July will clog the courts with lawsuits to get anything they can while the city attempts to stay afloat.

"The issue at this point is very narrow. ... I think Detroit will be ruled eligible," Sweet said. "I think the judge will find, given the factors the city and the emergency manager had to deal with, they did the best they could with what they had."

Detroit's largest creditors include two pension funds that are underfunded by $3.5 billion, according to Orr. The Michigan Constitution protects public pensions, but Orr believes bankruptcy law trumps that provision. If the city is found eligible for bankruptcy, pension cuts for 23,000 retirees are possible in the final plan. Most get less than $20,000 a year.

The city's art trove at the Detroit Institute of Arts also could be vulnerable. New York auction house Christie's is working on an appraisal of works that could be worth billions. Orr hasn't signaled a strategy yet, but even creditors are demanding a role in determining whether art could be used to raise money.

Jacqueline Esters, 66, said she's willing to take a hit to her $1,006 monthly pension if it means the city can turn itself around. She retired in 1998 after 30 years with the health department but found another job as a community college teacher.

Esters is concerned about her street. She believes her house might fetch just $30,000 if she put it up for sale, compared to $80,000 a decade ago. Someone broke a window on a vacant home just two doors away, meaning vandals are lurking.

"My idea of bankruptcy is you can start all over again," Esters said. "I don't know how much will happen in the neighborhoods. Until people are held accountable, the city is going to look like a dump."

Orr was appointed emergency manager in March under a Michigan law that allows a governor to send a manager to distressed cities, townships or school districts. A manager has extraordinary powers to reshape local finances without interference from elected officials. But by July, Orr and Gov. Rick Snyder decided bankruptcy was Detroit's best option.

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Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwhiteap .

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Mass. conference explores Internet-based network

BOSTON — Massachusetts officials will host a conference to discuss the transition from a traditional telecommunications network to an Internet-based network in Massachusetts and New England.

The state Department of Telecommunications and Cable will hold the New England Internet Protocol Transition conference Tuesday at Suffolk University Law School.

Issues, developments and controversies associated with the transition are expected to be discussed, including the effects on economic development and consumer protection.

Participants are expected to include: Gregory Bialecki, Mass. Secretary of Housing and Economic Development; Vermont Public Service Board member John Burke; and Cameron Kerry, former general counsel and acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

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More Mass. communities join solar energy program

AMHERST, Mass. — Fifteen more communities are participating in the second round of a grassroots solar energy program run by the Amherst-based Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and the state Department of Energy Resources.

Solarize Massachusetts includes solar energy marketing, education and a group-buying program designed to increase adoption of solar energy while reducing the cost. The program started in 2011 offers residents a five-tier pricing program that increases savings as more people sign up.

The new participants are Adams, Amherst, Andover, Bedford, Chesterfield, Egremont, Great Barrington, Lexington, Needham, Salem, Swampscott, Watertown, Wellfleet, Whately and Williamsburg.

In western Massachusetts, Great Barrington will partner with Egremont, and Williamsburg, Whately and Chesterfield will work as a group.

In the greater Boston area, Salem and Swampscott will be partners, and Lexington will partner with Bedford.

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World stock markets down, but Japan up on weak yen

MANILA, Philippines — World stock markets mostly fell Tuesday as investors awaited a slew of U.S. economic data this week to gauge when the Federal Reserve will start reducing its monetary stimulus.

But Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.6 percent to 15,749.66 on the yen's weakness, which helps the stock prices of export-reliant companies that dominate the Japanese stock market. The yen has resumed falling on expectations the central bank will maintain or even expand its super easy monetary policy until inflation reaches 2 percent

Other Asian markets were lower, but Thailand's index gained 0.3 percent after violent anti-government protests diminished as the country prepares to mark the 86th birthday Thursday of its revered monarch.

European benchmarks fell and U.S. stock futures were slightly lower, auguring a muted opening on Wall Street.

"There's a lot of U.S. data out at the end of the week and a lot of people are trying to front run what we are seeing coming out of the Fed," said Evan Lucas, market strategist of IG Markets Limited in Australia. "If they do start to have good numbers, it's not good for emerging markets."

The Fed's $85 billion of monthly bond purchases have kept U.S. interest rates low to encourage economic recovery but also sent a flood of money into stock markets worldwide in search of higher returns. A jobs report on Friday will be crucial in shaping expectations about whether the U.S. central bank will start reducing its stimulus this month or next year.

In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.3 percent to 6,573.78 and Germany's DAX was 0.4 percent lower at 9,367.41. France's CAC-40 was down 0.9 percent at 4,247.15.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.5 percent to 23,910.47. China's Shanghai Composite recovered from early losses, finishing 0.7 percent higher at 2,222.67. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.4 percent to 5,256.07. South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.1 percent to 2,009.36.

In energy markets, benchmark crude for January delivery was up 30 cents to $94.12 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.10 to close at $93.82 on Monday.

The euro climbed to $1.3568 from $1.3540 late Monday in New York. The dollar rose to 103.10 yen from 102.93 yen.

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