'Selma' director calls Sony emails 'sickening and sad'

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- On the same day that she became the first black woman to receive a Golden Globe nomination for best director, "Selma" filmmaker Ava DuVernay took a moment to remark on the controversial email exchange that, for some, has highlighted a dispiriting lack of progress in some of the higher echelons of Hollywood.

"I have two words: sickening and sad," DuVernay told Variety at Thursday night's Washington, D.C., premiere of "Selma." "That's really all I have to say."

The director was referring to one of many conversations between producer Scott Rudin and Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chair Amy Pascal that were made public as a result of the massive Sony hack attack by Guardians of Peace, a group protesting the upcoming release of the studio's North Korea-skewering satire "The Interview." In the exchange in question, Pascal and Rudin traded quips about President Obama's movie tastes -- which, the two speculated, might run toward the likes of "Django Unchained," "12 Years a Slave," "The Butler" and the comedies of Kevin Hart.

A later version of that conversation might well have included mention of "Selma," which re-creates the 1965 voting-rights marches led by Martin Luther King Jr. in heavily segregated Alabama. On Thursday morning, the much-lauded Paramount release picked up Golden Globe nominations not only for DuVernay's direction but also for picture and best actor for David Oyelowo for his portrayal of King.

During the post-screening Q&A held at the Newseum in D.C., the first question taken from the audience concerned the Sony hacking scandal. While DuVernay was circumspect about the matter onstage, "Selma" producer Dede Gardner spoke at greater length, acknowledging that Pascal and Rudin were being judged on the basis of a private communication.

"It's confusing because it's obviously a private conversation that was exposed and made public to the world, and it's hard, I think, for people who know those people," Gardner said. "You get let into spaces that you're not meant to be in."

"I'd like to think that it can be a very valuable lesson in how powerful the slightest words can be, and how lasting and impactful they are," she added. "It is no joke. There are not grades of racism. There's racism."

Pascal and Rudin both issued apologies for their remarks on Thursday, with Pascal personally reaching out to Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, who had criticized the emails in question. He wasn't alone. Earlier that day, Shonda Rhimes wrote on Twitter: "Calling Sony comments 'racially insensitive remarks' instead of 'racist'? U can put a cherry on a pile of sh*t but it don't make it a sundae."

The "Selma" Q&A, which was well attended by local elected officials and moderated by "NewsHour" co-anchor Gwen Ifill, also included actors Oyelowo and Lorraine Toussaint, producers Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner (who are both among the producers of "12 Years a Slave") and cinematographer Bradford Young. But the undisputed star of the panel was congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis, a 25-year-old version of whom is portrayed in the film by Stephan James.

"I was deeply moved and touched to see myself played by a young guy, with all of his hair," Lewis said to much laughter, before turning sober and reflective. "You know, when I was growing up in rural Alabama, a few miles from Selma ... when we went to the theater as young black children, we had to go upstairs to the balcony. And all of the white children headed downstairs to the first floor."

"You didn't see anybody who looked like you on that screen," Ifill said.

Lewis replied, "Seeing myself being played is almost too much."

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

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Jeep’s built to cross the Rubicon

Since the first Jeep was made in 1941, few other vehicles have been able to excel off road quite like it. The Wrangler Rubicon X is no exception to this legacy. It is "trail rated" by the Nevada Automotive Test Center, meaning that it is ready to maneuver off-road, climb rocks, and ford streams.

What makes this vehicle so capable off road is a locking front and rear axle and a disconnecting front sway bar, which allow its driver to keep wheels in contact longer to take on rugged terrain and hop rocks. Other aspects like plenty of ground clearance and hill descent control also bolster the Rubicon's status as king of the mountain.

The Rubicon evokes a sense of its World War II heritage with a red imprint on its 17-inch polished black wheels featuring the icon of the original Jeep. The imprint, along with the fact that the look of the vehicle stays true to its origins, is a symbolic nod to its predecessor.

This Wrangler features a 3.6-liter V-6 engine rated at 285 horsepower. It has plenty of power, but gets only 18 mpg on average. The Rubicon X is equipped with four tow hooks, in case your off-roading goes a little too extreme and you land yourself in the mud.

There's a loud hum from the 7.5-inch wide tires, which the soft top does little to muffle. Highway and traffic noise also make their way through this thin membrane. The soft top is going to be great in the summer, but practice and patience with zippers are needed to secure cargo in the rear Extra time will have to be spent in order to access the trunk.

The Rubicon X is equipped with very comfortable accent-stitched leather-trimmed seats, but access to the rear seats in this two-door is hampered by clumsy mechanics for the folding seats.

The leather-wrapped steering wheel has audio controls for the Alpine audio system, which features a built-in hard drive, CD, DVD, MP3 and a very good GPS. The system has a 6.5-inch touch screen, but lacks variable volume, which would increase with speed. This feature would be helpful given the amount of road noise while driving.

The Rubicon X is incredibly easy to park. There's no need for a back-up camera as you can see everything that's behind you by merely looking over your shoulder.

The test vehicle was equipped with slush mats, which are nice, but a step below ones offered by Weathertech.

It takes a while to get used to driving the Rubicon on the highway. It goes without saying that it will be more at home off road than on paved roads. At highway speeds, this two-door machine wants to swerve.

The power window controls are hard to find until you remember that the doors are removable. With winter-like weather, removing the doors wasn't tested, but the process seems easy enough.

The lighting inside the Rubicon X is not good. Lose your wallet inside this Jeep at night and get ready to use your smartphone flashlight to find it. Another feature the Rubicon X is missing is a 2-inch receiver hitch, which can always be added later, but seems like an oversight.

Its lack of space means you'll have to choose between passengers and cargo. If you are considering the purchase of a Wrangler Rubicon, the four-door seems to be a better choice than the two-door. It's most likely a trade off of some off-road capabilities by going this route, but better highway stability and increased cargo capacity are going to make it worth it.

The bottom line is that the Rubicon X is an awesome off-road specimen with predictable shortcomings.

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White House: public likely 'cringed' when reading Sony e-mails

White House spokesman Josh Earnest on Friday said he thinks "a lot of people cringed a bit" when reading Amy Pascal's hacked Sony emails in which she jokes with producer Scott Rudin about President Obama's tastes in movies.

Pascal apologized for the racially tinged emails, which she called "insensitive and inappropriate but are not an accurate reflection of who I am."

Speaking at the White House press briefing, Earnest noted that "at least one of the Sony executives whose emails were made public has apologized for the contents of those emails, and I think that was appropriate."

"I think a lot of people who read those emails, maybe not everybody, but I think a lot of people cringed a bit when they were reading them," Earnest said.

CBS News' Major Garrett pressed Earnest on what he meant, saying, "Because [the emails] were what?"

Earnest joked, "Garrett may think it is my first day here."

Earnest said that he had not spoken to Obama about the stolen emails.

Pascal and Rudin apologized for the emails on Thursday after Buzzfeed published the leaked exchange.

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

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Sony emails reveal failed efforts to recruit 'Lego' directors to run animation unit

Stolen emails from Sony Pictures reveal the studio tried and failed last summer to recruit Phil Lord and Chris Miller to take over its animation division.

The emails from the hacked documents, obtained by Variety, show studio toppers Amy Pascal and Michael Lynton looking to animation "to turn the studio around." They hoped to install a Pixar-style "brain trust" of filmmakers at the top of Sony Pictures Animation. Lord and Miller were being courted to head that group; other names being floated included Brad Bird.

Lord and Miller, who directed "The Lego Movie" as well as SPA's "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" and the studio's "Jump Street" live-action comedy hits, met with Pascal last summer to discuss what such a brain trust might look like. Lord and Miller even suggested they would approach Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg to join that team. "Can you imagine that world -- the projects, the talent we'd attract, the money we'd make," Pascal wrote to Lynton.

Pascal acknowledged in the email that Lord and Miller were tied up making four "Lego" pictures at Warner Bros. through 2015. But when the pair were asked to detail any concerns they might have about coming to Sony, Lord wrote an email to Hannah Minghella, the former Sony Pictures Animation chief who now works for Pascal exclusively on the live-action side. He cited the bad reputation of Sony Pictures Animation and the studio's visual effects unit Sony Pictures Imageworks, a reputation that developed from the loss of key talent from both divisions and Imageworks' move to Vancouver.

"It's too hard to do great work there," wrote Lord to Minghella, in answer to Sony's query.

Their assessment was only slightly harsher than an internal assessment that Minghella had sent to Pascal a day earlier. On July 31, she emailed Pascal, with subject line "Confidential" (ellipses in original):

"Objective: We want the creative direction of the company, and the projects, to be run by creatives… either an individual or a brain trust: Lord & Miller, Brad Bird, Will Gluck… (Lindsay Doran)."

Minghella outlined how such a brain trust might work, then turned to:

"Current Problems:
- low morale negatively impacts talent retention.

- studio reputation negatively impacts talent recruitment
- only one (proven) director in-house: Genndy.
- SPA no longer has the competitive edge it had before Fox, Universal, and Paramount started their animation divisions.

- ImageWorks moving to Vancouver also impacts the competitive edge that came from being LA based
- limited financial success compared with other animated titles - what are the drivers of this: Quality? Originality? Marketing? Dating?
- limited number of active projects/franchises - Cloudy, Hotel T, Smurfs, Popeye
- does the relationship with ImageWorks help or hinder SPA?"

(Genndy is "Hotel Transylvania" director Genndy Tartakovsky.)

The ensuing emails suggest that until they attempted to recruit Lord and Miller, Sony's top brass was generally uninformed about the decline of Imageworks and the ill will that the studio's personnel practices had generated in the vfx and animation community.

After receiving Minghella's honest assessment, Pascal had an email exchange with Lynton about their efforts to make Lord & Miller "our john lassiter" (sic). Pascal wrote to Lynton that Lord & Miller were excited about taking such a leadership role, but:

"... they say we have lost every good person we had there and it's a travesty"

She also added that Lord & Miller had floated the idea of approaching Rogen and Goldberg, among others, to join that brain trust. "i'm having lunch with brad bird today to talk about it with him as well…this is our shot," wrote Pascal.

Lynton responded: "why have all the good people left our place????"

Later that morning Lord emailed Minghella a list of key talent that had left Imageworks; according to Lord and Miller's reps, they sent that message in response to a request from Sony for feedback on why they were reluctant to return. Lord wrote that he and Miller felt that at Sony "artists have been treated like paper, and it's too hard to do great work there," adding, "What's not measured by who left is who never came because the reputation was so bad." Minghella forwarded the message to Pascal.

Lynton wrote to Pascal and pointed a finger at Sony Pictures Digital president Bob Osher, who oversees Sony Animation and Imageworks. Lynton implied that Osher would have to be fired. Pascal responded that Osher's "cost savings stuff" at Imageworks was "amazing."

"I am only sorry that left bob to his own devices and let it get to this point. And we just renewed Bob which is also a problem given what we will probably have to do. That being said we should do it," Lynton said in his email to Pascal.

Pascal wrote back to Lynton about the brain drain at SPA and Imageworks. She repeated some of the names Lord had provided and added: "we gotta hold on to these folks."

"we know this is an impossible situation… a much tooo great an asset to waste not to mention a real way to turn the studio around…..we have lost the competitive advantages we had when we were th eonly option for people who wanted to leave disney dreamworks or pixar as well as the advantages we had to get local talent when imageworks was one of the few remaining la based options. more than ever we have to rely on our reputation as a place for creative innovation and excellence and we don't have that reputation or reality anymore."

In the early years of this century, Imageworks was known for driving up wages for vfx pros, to the dismay of management at its competitors. One of the "big four" vfx studios, along with Industrial Light & Magic, Digital Domain and Rhythm & Hues Studios, it was a regular Oscar contender and would work on several tentpoles each year, in addition to supplying the animation for SPA. Imageworks planned to support the low-margin vfx business with profits from animation, which has been successful for every other studio.

But SPA's pictures have underperformed relative to the competition. One of the studio's biggest hits was Lord and Miller's "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs."

Over the years Imageworks shifted away from permanent jobs to a crew model, where artists are hired only for the duration of a show, which slashed personnel costs. Imageworks shifted more and more work from Los Angeles to Vancouver, and employees have complained that they were pressured to move to Vancouver, only to find that there was no job waiting for them, just an opportunity to be hired onto the next Imageworks project. In May, the division moved its HQ and all production to Vancouver.

During the summer of 2013, Imageworks did not work on a single summer tentpole. This year it had Sony's own "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" and contributed to Marvel's releases.

All this has larger implications. First, Lord and Miller's complaints about the move to Vancouver bolster arguments that runaway production -- and the unchecked pursuit of short-term profit -- will ultimately do these companies more harm than good.

Second, it suggests that Sony's top leaders were somehow unaware of the issues afflicting not just Imageworks, but the entire vfx industry, despite numerous news reports, public protests, and even the grievances raised by the Imageworks unionization org SPI Union.

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

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House intelligence chairman: evidence points to North Korea in Sony hack attack

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said that evidence seems to be pointing to North Korea's involvement in the hacking attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment.

According to the Hill, Rogers said on Friday that even though the North Korean government has denied responsibility, they praised the action.

"I would argue as a former FBI guy, that when a nation state says that this group who doesn't know who we are but did this on behalf of the North Korean people ... and we appreciate it...As we would say in the FBI, 'That is a clue.'"

He declined to say what what he has been told in intelligence briefings, but said that public information is pointing toward North Korean responsibility.

He also said that the hack attack on Sony was a"game changer" when it came to cybersecurity, although legislation he has been championing has stalled in the Senate.

North Korea has condemned Sony's release of the movie "The Interview," a comedy in which Seth Rogen and James Franco play entertainment journalists recruited to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jung-un.

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

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Stocks rebound on Nov. retail sales, despite oil dip

Renewed optimism, thanks to increased retail sales, caused U.S. stocks to begin to rebound yesterday from a three-session loss streak, but waned as oil fell to a new, five-year low and efforts to block a spending bill in the House renewed worries of a government shutdown.

At one point, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 225 points on news that retail sales rose 0.7 percent in November, the largest increase in eight months.

The Labor Department also reported fewer people filed unemployment claims last week.

"There's no question the numbers were encouraging," said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts.

"The key is whether they'll be sustained next month because, on average, November and December combined make up about 20 percent of the year's total sales."

Just hours before the House of Representatives passed a spending bill and the Senate passed a temporary bill to avert a U.S. government shutdown, the Dow ended at 17,596.34, up 63.19 points, or
0.4 percent, after crude oil dropped below $60 per barrel.

The latter is good news for the economy, for now, because the less people need to spend on gas, the more they can spend on other things, said Alan Clayton-Matthews, associate professor of economics and public policy at Northeastern University.

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Golden age for Netflix, Amazon

The 72nd Golden Globe Awards may be a month away, but the winners and losers have already been selected.

Winners: Amazon and Netflix. Losers: Cable companies.

The fact that two online streaming services have received such resounding acclaim should put an end to any argument that the networks and cable have the market cornered on the art of acting, writing and directing.

Once just a way to access network shows on-demand, streaming services can now produce award-winning content themselves. An unintended consequence: television sales could dip in favor of tablets and smartphones because, let's face it, you no longer need a TV to watch good TV.

Though Netflix has competed at the Emmys and Golden Globes before, the nod for Amazon's breakout hit "Transparent" as best comedy TV series means that the creative success of Netflix — with seven nominations this year — isn't a fluke. It paves the way for the Hollywood elite to look toward Sony's new PlayStation TV, Microsoft Xbox, Roku and more as legitimate and promising places to lend their talents. Web series — like the Boston-set drama "Beacon Hill" — could also see a rise in interest both with viewers and Hollywood itself.

Such a scenario would act as a shot across the bow of overpriced and customer service-challenged cable providers. I wouldn't be surprised if, by this time next year, some top television shows are shopping themselves to those services as opposed to the networks that cable companies are currently holding hostage.

Of course, the awards also set up a serious faceoff between the two streaming titans-turned-TV-newbies. The seven nominations for Netflix original series shows "House of Cards," "Orange is the New Black" and "Derek" did not come as a surprise.

Amazon's nod for the hilarious show "Transparent," starring best actor in a comedy nominee Jeffrey Tambor, was more of a surprise. But to its huge credit, Amazon aggressively pursued the honor.

There's no doubt that Amazon's roster of 50 million subscribers to its Prime service will rise as a result, more so if Tambor wins. But there's plenty of room for streaming service competition and plenty of untapped market share to be had.

Rather than a monthly cable subscription, increasing numbers of consumers are paying for an a la carte menu of streaming services that allows them to view their own shows and still pay less than a monthly cable bill would cost.

One thing's for sure: Networks and cable companies will care about the 2015 Golden Globes for the first time in a long time.

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Merger of Staples, Office Depot predicted

Activist investor Starboard Value's disclosure that it bought a 5.1 percent stake in Framingham's Staples Inc. and upped its Office Depot Inc. holding to 9.9 percent indicates the New York hedge fund will push for a merger of the two office supplies chains, according to analysts.

And while that would leave a single dominant U.S. office supplies retailer, Starboard is confident the Federal Trade Commission would approve it, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The FTC signed off on Office Depot's $1.2 billion merger with OfficeMax last year without imposing conditions.

Starboard did not return calls for comment. Its regulatory filings stated that Staples' and Office Depot's shares were "undervalued and represented an attractive investment opportunity" and outlined possible future actions including "making recommendations or proposals … concerning changes to the ... ownership structure ... industry consolidation or potential business combinations."

B. Riley & Co. analyst R. Scott Tilghman sees far more reluctance on the part of struggling Staples' to pursue an acquisition or merger than Office Depot. "Staples historically has had the belief that as the frontrunner of the industry, they understood how to operate and, over time, would continue to gain share over their rivals," he said. "Unfortunately, in recent years, especially after the Office Depot-OfficeMax merger announcement, that hasn't been the case."

Starboard's stakes in both retailers hint at a possible merger in the works given its involvement in the Office Depot/OfficeMax merger, Citi analyst Kate McShane said "If they cannot achieve this, due most likely to FTC concerns, we think they will push to have one or both of these companies sold," she said.

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Hot Property: Penthouses become highly desirable

Penthouses have always had a cachet, but it's only in the last 10 years that Boston has gone vertical enough to create a lot of them.

Buildings like the Ritz- Carlton Residences, the W, 45 Province St., the Mandarin Oriental and The Clarendon put the high-style urban penthouse on the Hub map. Upcoming buildings will raise the ante. The Millennium Tower is offering a 13,000-square-foot penthouse atop the 60th floor for $37.5 million, the city's most expensive listing ever. And projects like One Dalton Street in the Back Bay and Twenty Two Liberty on Fan Pier are also building spectacular pent­houses.

"Big building penthouses are like bespoke suits — custom made" says Wayne Lopez, who sold six at 45 Province St. and is now working for Millennium Partners. "These are people who don't buy cars off lots or suits off the tracks."

Lopez says new penthouses are often sold as raw space, letting buyers customize floor plans and finishes, noting a family with young children bought a 45 Province St. penthouse because they could alter the layout to fit their needs.

For those buyers who want a penthouse, but can't wait two to three years for a build-out, there are usually several on the market.

Gibson Sotheby's Beth Dickerson is listing a 16th-floor two-bedroom corner penthouse at One Charles for $3,195,000 that features both a wraparound terrace off the living areas and a private one off the master bedroom, with panoramic views of the city on two sides.

"Having outdoor space is huge and increases the value of a penthouse by 20 percent," said Dickerson, who sold one for $13 million at the Mandarin Oriental. "And corner pent­houses are very hard to find."

Dickerson says penthouses are high on the bachelor pad wish list and those of people who like to entertain. There are the much-touted wealthy foreign buyers looking for a trophy penthouse, but also local empty nesters. Coldwell Banker agent Albert Lynch is a buyer's broker for a suburban Boston couple with two grown children.

"Some buyers want to be in flag buildings, those that mix condos with a hotel offering amenities such as room service." Lynch said. "Others, like my client, are looking for a full-service building that's quieter."

Lynch said tall building penthouses are a different animal than penthouses in other neighborhoods. In penthouse units he recently sold on Beacon Hill and in the Leather District, exclusive rights to roof decks were a top amenity

Penthouses along the Water­front or in Charlestown aren't as high up but offer spectacular views. Penthouse 230 for sale at Flagship Wharf for $2,149,000 has 2,434 square feet of space, floor-to-­ceiling windows and two private terraces that look out over Boston Harbor.

"Whether you want water or city views, if you're looking for a condo with more than 2,000 square feet or three bedrooms in the city, these will generally be penthouse units," Dickerson said.

Why pay more, when the views a few floors below are nearly as good?

"It's the cachet of living in a one-of-a-kind space where you live at the top" Lynch said. "Some people want to be able to say they live in a penthouse and will pay extra for the privilege."

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Fox News reporter dies of apparent suicide

Veteran Fox News correspondent Dominic Di-Natale, who recently reported on the riots in Ferguson, Mo., has been found dead of an apparent suicide.

He was 43.

Officials discovered Di-Natale's body Wednesday in Jefferson County, Co., where the international reporter owned property. The coroner said that he took his own life.

According to Fox News, the U.K. born journalist had been dealing with undisclosed health issues.

"We were extremely saddened to learn of Dominic's passing and send our deepest condolences to his family and friends," said a statement from a Fox News spokesperson. "He was an esteemed journalist and an integral part of our news coverage throughout the Middle East."

Di-Natale, who began as a contributor to BBC World, covered international stories for Fox News and worked out of the network's Los Angeles bureau.

He also reported on the 2011 raid that killed Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.

Fox News' Megyn Kelly expressed her condolences on Twitter.

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

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Merck buy to boost Mass. biotech

Drug giant Merck is buying Lexington-based Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a whopping $9.5 billion deal a top state official said will spur growth in the Bay State's life sciences sector.

"These huge, global companies continue to show an interest in Massachusetts companies, which makes one of the cases for why they want to be here," said Susan Windham-Bannister, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.

"Rather than consolidate, they've really invested to grow their presence in Massachusetts, so we have every reason to anticipate that Merck is going to further expand its footprint here," Windham-Bannister said.

The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center awarded Cubist $1.7 million in tax incentives in 2009, according to Windham-Bannister. She said the Lexington company has added all the jobs it said it would as a condition of those incentives and maintained them for the last five years.

Windham-Bannister said she expects Merck to allow those jobs to remain in Massachusetts, as Takeda did when it acquired the Cambridge oncology company Millennium in 2008.

The deal includes $8.4 billion in shares, and Merck will assume $1.1 billion in debt. Merck said the deal will strengthen its hospital acute care business and help it address antibiotic resistance. Shares of Cubist closed yesterday at $100.60, up 35.29 percent, after the deal was announced.

Companies like Cubist serve a vital role in the development of antibiotics to treat diseases that have proven resistant to drugs, Windham-Bannister said.

"One of the biggest challenges we face in the world is that diseases can adapt and become resistant to drugs, so companies like Cubist are incredibly important," she said. "It has made Massachusetts even more of a global focal point for the development of antibiotics, especially ones for infections that have become drug-resistant."

Cubist pulls in most of its revenue from the antibiotic Cubicin. Another treatment, Zerbaxa, targets urinary tract and intra-abdominal infections.

The Food and Drug Administration is expected to make a decision on that drug later this month, and European regulators also are reviewing it. Cubist paid more than $1 billion last year to buy two rival antibiotic developers: Trius Therapeutics and Optimer Pharmaceuticals Inc.

"Cubist is a global leader in antibiotics and has built a strong portfolio of both marketed and late-stage pipeline medicines," said Merck CEO Kenneth C. Frazier. "Combining this expertise with Merck's strong capabilities and global reach will enable us to create a stronger position in hospital acute care while addressing critical areas of unmet medical need, such as antibiotic resistance."

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The Ticker

Renovated Huntington Ave. YMCA unveiled

The Huntington Ave. YMCA, America's first Y and The YMCA of Greater Boston's flagship branch, unveiled its expanded and renovated 102-year-old building to the public yesterday.

The $40 million renovation provides elevator access to all floors and a handicap entrance in the front of the building. The new aquatics center is also accessible to individuals with mobility challenges. The expansion of space includes the installation of additional spin, yoga and Zumba studios and family locker rooms.

The new facility offers a wider range of programs and support services to members. A dedicated teen space, complete with a gameroom and study center, is also part of the remodel. It also features a community kitchen that will be used for nutrition courses and cooking demonstrations to educate youth and families about healthy food preparations.

American, US Airways traffic drops

American Airlines Group Inc. said yesterday that traffic dipped in November, hurt by weaker international travel, and a key fourth-quarter revenue figure is likely to be about flat with last year.

American said that it expects revenue for each seat flown one mile in the fourth quarter to range from a drop of 1 percent to a gain of 1 percent.

American, which owns US Airways, said passengers on the airlines and their regional affiliates flew 16.16 billion miles last month, down .5 percent from November 2013.

Build your own burgers at McDonald's

As sales continue to slide in the U.S., McDonald's plans to expand a test that lets people build their own burgers by tapping on a touchscreen to pick the bread, cheese and toppings they want.

The company says it will bring the "Create Your Taste" option to 2,000 of its more than 14,000 U.S. locations next year.

McDonald's said yesterday that U.S. sales fell 
4.6 percent in November at established locations.

Today

 Commerce Department releases wholesale trade inventories for October.

 Labor Department releases job openings and labor turnover survey for October.

TOMORROW

 Treasury releases federal budget for November.

THE SHUFFLE

Northeast Utilities has named William Akley as the new president of the company's gas business unit, which includes Yankee Gas in Connecticut and Nstar Gas in Massachusetts. Akley comes to NU from National Grid, where he most recently served as senior vice president of U.S. gas operations.

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Fenway concert OKs put on hold as neighbors push back

The Fenway Park summer concert series is filling up, with James Taylor and the Foo Fighters joining the proposed lineup — but two mystery bands have yet to 
be announced.

At a hearing yesterday before Consumer Affairs and Licensing Director Patricia A. Malone, Larry Cancro, senior vice president of Fenway affairs for the Red Sox, requested permission for the Foo Fighters to play at the stadium July 18 with Royal Blood and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and July 19 with Mission of Burma and the Dropkick Murphys, and James Taylor to play Aug. 6 with Bonnie Raitt. Fenway Park executives have negotiated with two other acts to play July 16 and Aug. 7, 8 and/or 9.

"But in the concert industry, nothing is final until the act announces the show," Cancro said, declining to name them.

There had been speculation that U2, which is playing the TD Garden July 10 and 11, might also play Fenway. But Cancro said, "U2 is doing all arenas this year, so I wouldn't speculate that."

Malone took all of the dates under advisement after hearing concerns about the proposed concerts from Friends of Ramler Park and the Fenway Civic Association.

"Our organization is receiving an increasing number of complaints from residents in regards to excessive noise levels, drunk and disorderly behavior, traffic and parking issues associated with the concerts," said Tim Horn, the association's treasurer, who suggested that the Sox limit concerts to three weekends a month, require that they end no later than 10:30 p.m. and pay for additional police details.

But Pam Beale, president of the Kenmore Association and owner of Cornwall's Pub, called the concerts a "real boon for the area."

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Fed proposing big US banks boost capital cushions

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators are proposing that the eight biggest U.S. banks be required to further increase the amount of capital they set aside to cushion against unexpected losses.

The proposed requirements are aimed at lessening the chances of future taxpayer bailouts of troubled banks, while also encouraging the behemoths to shrink so they pose less of a risk to the financial system.

The Federal Reserve governors are expected to vote at a meeting Tuesday to advance the so-called "capital surcharges."

The eight banks, considered so big and interconnected that each could threaten the financial system if they collapsed, are JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Bank of New York Mellon and State Street Bank.

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Nuts! Korean flight delayed by first class spat

SEOUL, South Korea — Forget dust-ups over reclining seats in economy class. There's a new and exclusive twist on inflight anger: Nut rage in first class.

A recent Korean Air Lines flight was delayed when its chairman's daughter, who was also vice president responsible for cabin service at the airline, ordered a senior crew member off the plane. The crime? Allowing her and other passengers in the pointy end of the aircraft to be served bagged macadamia nuts instead of nuts on a plate.

The executive, Cho Hyun-ah, resigned Tuesday amid a storm of public criticism in South Korea. The airline had earlier excused her behavior even as it apologized for inconveniencing passengers.

South Korean media reported this week that the flight from New York City to Incheon, South Korea returned to the gate after Cho told the head of cabin crew to leave the plane. The reports said Cho quarreled with crew in the first class cabin and the flight departed 20 minutes late.

Cho, 40, is the oldest child of Korean Air's chairman, tycoon Cho Yang-ho. Her two siblings are also executives at South Korea's largest airline.

The incident caused uproar in South Korea where it was seen as an example of over-mighty behavior by the offspring of the moneyed elite.

The South Korean economy is dominated by family-controlled conglomerates known as chaebol. Family members often wield greater influence over major companies than shareholders and executives with no blood ties to the founding family. The Cho family own about 10 percent of Korean Air Lines, part of a business empire than spans the travel, logistics, hotel and leisure industries.

Korean Air Lines confirmed that Flight 86 was delayed at John F. Kennedy airport on Dec. 5 due to the nut incident. But the company said the decision to disembark the crew member was made by the flight's captain.

South Korea's government said it is investigating whether Cho violated aviation safety law. Cho could face legal action if the probe shows that she interrupted the flight or endangered safety by using threats, her status or violence.

Korean Air Lines Co. said Tuesday before Cho's resignation that it was "natural" for her to fault the crew's ignorance of procedures.

The airline's cabin crew are required to ask first class passengers whether they want nuts, partly to avoid serving them to people with allergies. The nuts also should have been served on a plate.

The airline said it will step up training to improve customer service and safety.

Cho was not available to comment.

People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, a civic group, said it would file a complaint against Cho with prosecutors.

"The anger and the concern from the public were so big because safety and procedures related to important services were simply ignored" due to Cho's status, the group said.

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Booting Up: ’Tis the season of tablets

Welcome to the first holiday season that has a tablet for everyone, whether you're a buying for a novice or dealing with a stocking-stuffer budget.

Fitting in one hand and starting at $99 for the 8GB model, the Amazon Fire HD 6 has the distinction of being the first tablet that could serve as a stocking-stuffer. It's perfect for a child's first tablet experience. This durable, no-frills device has great battery life and the ability to handle up to six user accounts. Buyers should beware of any of the no-name tablets that boast $50 price tags. The Fire HD is the best bang-for-your-buck tablet, and spending less on one of the no-names could turn out to be a total waste of money.

If you're buying for someone who watches lots of TV and reads lots of books, again look to Amazon. The Fire HDX 8.9, at $379 for the 16GB version, is a solidly designed media device with the incredibly helpful Mayday button — with 24/7 access to live, impossibly chipper customer service professionals right on your tablet. That makes this the go-to tablet for tech novices. With all the media that Amazon Prime offers, not many people think of the Fire as a productivity tablet — and it's not. But the WPS Office software suite, compatible with Microsoft Office, is a nice bonus for anyone who has to review the occasional document or spreadsheet.

This year I'm also partial to the Google Nexus 9, a premium Android tablet running the new Lollipop operating system, starting at $399. A nice size that sits in between Google's 7-inch and 10-inch Nexus models, this is a perfectly sized powerhouse of technology that is light, slim and easy to hold. Its supreme graphics make this the choice for the gamer in your life.

Microsoft has come much closer this year to producing a device that can replace your tablet and your laptop, and that's why the Surface Pro 3 makes the list. The thinner, lighter design along with the usual Windows features secures its place as the best productivity tablet on the market, starting at a price that reflects its laptop alter-ego: $799. And that's without the keyboard type-cover. This is a great gift for overachieving high school seniors on their way to college. They can buy the type cover in the fall and have all the fun that a premium tablet allows until then.

And that brings us to the Cadillac of tablets: the iPad. Starting at $499 and going all the way up to $829 for the highest storage option and a cellular connectivity, the iPad Air 2 is almost offensively sleek, thin and fast. Apple got rid of the air gap between the screen and the actual display, making this gorgeous high-res screen one of the best reasons to buy the Air 2. If you're looking to win "best gift" this year and you're not on a tight budget, look no further. It will not disappoint.

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Sony's PlayStation store suffers suspected hack

TOKYO — Sony's online PlayStation store was inaccessible to users for part of Monday in the latest possible cyberattack on the electronics and entertainment company.

Sony Computer Entertainment in Tokyo said Monday the problem lasted two hours but has been fixed globally. It said the cause is under investigation, but there is no sign of any material being stolen.

Last week, the computer systems of Sony Pictures Entertainment were disrupted by a cyberattack and confidential information including unreleased movies was leaked on the Internet.

North Korea was among the suspects, but it has denied responsibility.

The FBI is investigating threatening emails sent to some employees of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and trying to identify the person or group responsible.

There was no indication of a link between the PlayStation and Sony Pictures incidents.

A hacker group calling itself Lizard Squad appeared to take responsibility for the attack on its Twitter account, tweeting "PSN Login #offline."

Earlier this year, Lizard Squad warned that explosives might be on a flight that included a Sony executive among its passengers, and claimed responsibility for a disruption to the PlayStation network. American Airlines diverted the domestic U.S. flight to a nearby airport.

In that incident, hackers orchestrated a so-called denial-of-service attack against Sony, which involved overwhelming the company's game network with fake visits so that legitimate users couldn't get through.

In 2011, hackers compromised the company's network including the personal data of 77 million user accounts. Since then, the company has repeatedly said its computer security has been upgraded.

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Yuri Kageyama on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

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New Delhi bans Uber after alleged rape by driver

NEW DELHI — The Indian capital on Monday banned taxi-booking service Uber after a woman accused one of its drivers of raping her.

Transport official Satish Mathur made the announcement as the 32-year-old suspect appeared in a New Delhi court.

The court ordered Shiv Kumar Yadav held for three days for police questioning over allegations that he raped the finance company employee after being hired to ferry her home from a dinner engagement on Friday night. The court also ordered Yadav's cellphone confiscated, according to Press Trust of India.

The case, almost two years after a young woman was fatally gang raped on a bus in the capital, has renewed national anger over sexual violence in India and demands for more effort to ensure women's safety.

The government rushed through legislation last year to double prison terms for rape to 20 years and to criminalize voyeurism, stalking and the trafficking of women. But activists say much more needs to be done, including better educating youths and adding basic infrastructure such as street lights and public bathrooms.

The CEO of San Francisco-based Uber, Travis Kalanick, said the company would do "everything to bring the perpetrator to justice and to support the victim and her family in her recovery."

He also sought to deflect some of the blame on to officials, saying the company would work with the government to establish clear background checks that are "currently absent in their commercial transportation licensing programs."

It was not immediately clear if Uber itself performed any background check, nor was it clear whether Yadav would even have been flagged. Police told Press Trust of India they were working to verify Yadav's claims that he had been acquitted of rape charges in 2011, after spending seven months in jail. PTI did not give any further details or name the police source.

The New Delhi ban is a blow for Uber, which has courted acclamation and controversy around the world with a service based on hailing taxis from a smartphone app. It has faced restrictions in other countries after licensed taxi operators claimed the service was competing unfairly.

The service, which uses private cars rather than licensed cabs, promises a quicker response time that is often less than 10 minutes. Drivers respond using their own Uber-provided smartphones mounted on the dashboard and follow a GPS map to an exact location.

Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the government "strongly condemns this dastardly act" and pledged justice in the case.

He said the 26-year-old victim had fallen asleep during the ride home. When she woke up, she found the car parked in a secluded place. The driver then threatened her, raped her and then took her home around 1 a.m. Saturday.

Police arrested the driver Sunday night in his hometown of Mathura, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the capital, after he had abandoned the Uber-registered car and fled New Delhi. The car has been brought to Delhi for forensic examination, Singh told parliament.

Dozens of angry protesters rallied outside the home minister's house on Monday morning to demand more action to ensure women's safety. Police detained several people who were part of another anti-violence protest group that burned an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in front of his political party's headquarters.

___

Associated Press writers Nirmala George and Chonchui Ngashangva contributed to this report.

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Markets weighed down by Asia growth concerns

LONDON — Soft Chinese trade figures combined with news that Japan's recession is deeper than initially thought to weigh on most global stock markets on Monday. Oil prices resumed their slide, too, falling to five year lows.

KEEPING SCORE: In Europe, France's CAC 40 was down 0.8 percent at 4,387, while Germany's DAX fell 0.6 percent to 10,034. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was 0.8 percent lower at 6,691. Wall Street was poised for a subdued opening with Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures down 0.3 percent.

ASIA FOCUS: Developments in Asia are the main focus in markets. From China, the world's number 2 economy, there was disappointment that export growth slumped last month and imports unexpectedly contracted. Both developments reinforce growth concerns. However Chinese stocks jumped as investors hope the government will dole out more stimulus. Meanwhile, in Japan, figures showed that the world's No. 3 economy shrank 1.9 percent in the July-September period.

ANALYST TAKE: "An implosion in Chinese trade data and a bigger than expected Japanese contraction in the third quarter demonstrate the constraints that Asia's two largest economies are putting on global growth," said Jasper Lawler, market analyst at CMC Markets.

OIL PRICE IMPACT: The prospect of weaker growth in Asia put further pressure on oil prices. The benchmark New York rate was down $1.62 at $64.22 a barrel. Meanwhile, Brent crude, which is used to price oil sold on international markets, dropped $2.01 to $67.04. Both prices are at their lowest levels since 2009.

US JOBS: The concerns over China and Japan have offset the growing optimism over the state of the U.S. economy. Figures last Friday showed that U.S. employers added 321,000 jobs last month in the biggest burst of hiring in nearly three years. It's the latest round of upbeat data on the world's biggest economy that reinforces expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next year.

ASIA'S DAY: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up 0.1 percent to close at 17,935.64. South Korea's Kospi dipped 0.4 percent to 1,978.95 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.2 percent to 24,047.67. The Shanghai Composite in mainland China broke through the psychological 3,000 barrier, soaring 2.8 percent to 3,020.26, a level it hasn't closed at since April 2011. The index is up 25 percent in the past month.

CURRENCIES: The dollar was having a mixed day. The euro was down 0.2 percent at $1.2258 while the dollar fell 0.3 percent to 121.09 yen.

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Markets weighed down by Asia growth concerns

LONDON — Soft Chinese trade figures combined with news that Japan's recession is deeper than initially thought to weigh on most global stock markets on Monday. Oil prices resumed their slide, too, falling to five year lows.

KEEPING SCORE: In Europe, France's CAC 40 was down 0.8 percent at 4,387, while Germany's DAX fell 0.6 percent to 10,034. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was 0.8 percent lower at 6,691. Wall Street was poised for a subdued opening with Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures down 0.3 percent.

ASIA FOCUS: Developments in Asia are the main focus in markets. From China, the world's number 2 economy, there was disappointment that export growth slumped last month and imports unexpectedly contracted. Both developments reinforce growth concerns. However Chinese stocks jumped as investors hope the government will dole out more stimulus. Meanwhile, in Japan, figures showed that the world's No. 3 economy shrank 1.9 percent in the July-September period.

ANALYST TAKE: "An implosion in Chinese trade data and a bigger than expected Japanese contraction in the third quarter demonstrate the constraints that Asia's two largest economies are putting on global growth," said Jasper Lawler, market analyst at CMC Markets.

OIL PRICE IMPACT: The prospect of weaker growth in Asia put further pressure on oil prices. The benchmark New York rate was down $1.62 at $64.22 a barrel. Meanwhile, Brent crude, which is used to price oil sold on international markets, dropped $2.01 to $67.04. Both prices are at their lowest levels since 2009.

US JOBS: The concerns over China and Japan have offset the growing optimism over the state of the U.S. economy. Figures last Friday showed that U.S. employers added 321,000 jobs last month in the biggest burst of hiring in nearly three years. It's the latest round of upbeat data on the world's biggest economy that reinforces expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next year.

ASIA'S DAY: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up 0.1 percent to close at 17,935.64. South Korea's Kospi dipped 0.4 percent to 1,978.95 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.2 percent to 24,047.67. The Shanghai Composite in mainland China broke through the psychological 3,000 barrier, soaring 2.8 percent to 3,020.26, a level it hasn't closed at since April 2011. The index is up 25 percent in the past month.

CURRENCIES: The dollar was having a mixed day. The euro was down 0.2 percent at $1.2258 while the dollar fell 0.3 percent to 121.09 yen.

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Clearing up shifting opinions on transmission fluid

I recently purchased a 2008 Chevy Equinox with 81,000 miles. It has the non-GM Aisin AF33 five-speed transmission. The owner's manual states to use only T-IV automatic transmission fluid. I pointed this out to the shop when I had the transmission fluid changed. However, they used a machine to flush out the used T-IV fluid and replaced it with Dexron VI fluid. They told me that using Dexron VI is not a problem, but I read on several Internet blogs and forums that using Dexron VI can damage this transmission. I asked two Chevy dealers, an independent garage and another transmission shop and I'm getting conflicting information. I would appreciate it if you could get to the bottom of this.

Hey, if it's on the Internet it must be true, right? The T-IV automatic transmission fluid meets industry specification JWS3309. Here are several automatic transmission fluids that are listed as suitable for T-IV applications: Valvoline MaxLife Dex/Merc ATF, Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF, Castrol Trans-Max Synthetic ATF, Quaker State Ultimate Synthetic Multi-vehicle ATF, Pennzoil Multi-Vehicle Automatic Transmission Fluid — to name just a few. Mobil ATF 3309 is a JWS3309-spec transmission fluid engineered for this application.

Like you, I found conflicting information on Dexron VI compatibility with JWS3309-spec Type T-IV fluid. Part of the issue is Dexron VI's "backward compatibility," meaning it is suitable for transmissions using previous Dexron ATFs. Aisin specifically recommends against using Dexron III in the T-IV transmission.

Remember this: Transmission manufacturers do not manufacture or produce their own lubricants. Oil companies do. I believe we can trust the product information on specific lubricants and their compatibility with specific vehicle components. So as long as the fluid used to refill your transmission meets the JWS3309 specification — no worries.

My 1986 Corvette is doing some weird things. The other night after parking the car, a few minutes later I heard a strange noise in the garage. It was the electric radio antenna going up and down on its own. I had turned off the radio and the keys were in my pocket. How could the antenna motor still be running?

My first guess would be a stuck antenna motor relay, which is located under the lip at the back of the rear hatch on the left side. Perhaps water intruded from the hatch opening into the relay and caused it to rust and stick.

GM service bulletin No. 882099A from 1988 says a power interruption to the radio with the ignition on can cause the power antenna to malfunction, typically ending up stuck in the up position.

I'm betting on the relay.

I drive only around 3,000-4,000 miles a year. In the past I have done oil changes twice a year based on Acura's severe driving conditions recommendation. I now have a 2014 Acura TL that has a computer that tells me when an oil change is due. At the moment it says my oil is still 80 percent good, and I have been driving since the end of April and have only put 1,700 miles on the car. Should I continue to do oil changes twice a year or wait until the car computer tells me it's time?

My Alldata database shows Acura's recommended oil change intervals at 7,500 miles under normal conditions and 3,750 miles under severe conditions. Why not simplify the issue and change oil and filter once per year? That's what I do with my low-annual-mileage vehicles.

Is there anything I can spray on my brake rotors for rust protection when vehicles are stored for six months?

I spray Deep Creep on the brake rotors of my stored vehicles. Any light aerosol lubricant should do the job of protecting the rotors from serious rust for six-month storage. To satisfy the worrywarts reading this, flush and clean the rotors with aerosol brake cleaner before driving again.

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The Ticker

Merck in talks to buy Lexington's Cubist

Merck & Co. is in talks to acquire Lexington-based Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc., a maker of antibiotics, in a deal valued at more than $7 billion, a person familiar with the matter said.

Merck would pay about $100 a share, and an agreement could be announced as early as next week, the person said. An offer in that range would represent a 
34 percent premium over Cubist's closing share price Friday.

Cubist has said it plans to introduce four new drugs by 2020 to combat bacterial infections that are resistant to other treatments because of overuse.

TUESDAY

• Commerce Department releases wholesale trade inventories for October.
• Labor Department releases job openings and labor turnover survey for October.

L The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston has announced the appointment of Eva Respini, left, as Barbara Lee Chief Curator. Respini is currently curator in the Department of Photography at The Museum of Modern Art, where she organized the critically acclaimed retrospectives of Cindy Sherman and Robert Heinecken. She will assume her new position at the ICA in March 2015.

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Expert: Expect more TV programming blackouts

TV viewers in Boston should get used to programming blackouts caused by showdowns between networks and cable and satellite providers, a local expert says, as CBS and TV provider Dish Network announced yesterday they had reached an agreement that ends a dispute that affected thousands of Hub customers.

"We're likely to see more, rather than fewer, of these play out over time," said Daniel Lyons, a Boston College law and telecommunications professor.

The fees that providers pay networks to rebroadcast their copyrighted content, Lyons said, has become increasingly important for their bottom line due to thinning subscriber numbers.

"Cable companies are more price sensitive than they used to be," he said.

In the latest dispute, CBS had blocked Dish from carrying the local channels of CBS-owned TV stations for about 12 hours starting around 7 p.m. Friday. The 18 markets affected included New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston and Miami.

In a joint statement yesterday, the companies said they had ended their skirmish by reaching a deal that will allow Dish to carry CBS-owned TV stations nationwide as well as various cable channels.

"We are pleased to continue delivering CBS programming to our customers while expanding their digital access to Showtime content through Showtime Anytime," Warren Schlichting, a Dish senior vice president, said in a statement.

Ray Hopkins, president of television networks distribution for CBS, said the deal met the company's economic and strategic objectives.

"We look forward to having Dish as a valued partner for many years to come," he said.

The brief blackout was the latest skirmish between television companies that are seeking higher payments for their programming and the cable and satellite companies that distribute the programming and say the higher programming costs will lead to higher bills for their customers. Verizon and Cox Media Group, the owner of Fox 25, settled a similar dispute last week after Verizon Fios customers lost access to the Fox channel for several days.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Mortgage-lending restrictions are finally easing

WASHINGTON — When it comes to buying a house, are you in the "no way I could possibly qualify" category? Not enough cash in the bank for a down payment or closing costs? Credit scores good, but not great? So much deferred student loan debt that you assume any lender would slam the door?

Join the crowd. Large numbers of Americans feel the same, in part because they read and hear that qualifying standards for mortgages are the strictest they've been in decades. A study based on a statistical sample of potential homebuyers conducted earlier in the year by the mortgage company loanDepot found that nearly 60 percent of people who say they want to buy a home aren't pursuing it because they think there's just no point — they are convinced their applications would be rejected. Three-quarters of them, however, concede that they haven't done a thing to check out current lender requirements.

But here's some good news for these folks: Changes are underway in the mortgage market that could give you a better shot at qualifying. Start with recent policy shifts at giant mortgage investors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two dominant funding sources for new loans. Late in November, both companies announced procedural changes that should encourage lenders to be less fearful that the mortgages they approve will be subject to costly "buy back" demands if borrowers go delinquent.

In a buy back, an investor such as Fannie Mae requires the lender who originated the mortgage to repurchase it because of alleged defects in underwriting that ultimately led to the borrower's non-payments. To avoid buy backs, lenders in recent years not only have ratcheted up their underwriting requirements, but have added extra fees — so-called "overlays" — that are designed to compensate them for losses on loans to borrowers who have below-average credit scores, small down payments and minimal assets in reserve.

Though the technical details of the recent changes would glaze most consumers' eyeballs, their intended net effect is important. They tell lenders: OK guys, you can loosen up a little on mortgage applicants, give some breaks on credit scores and other criteria that you wouldn't have previously. David Lowman, a Freddie Mac executive vice president, was explicit about the desired end result. The policy revisions "should encourage 'lenders' to serve a broader range of qualified borrowers," he said. His counterpart at Fannie Mae, Andrew Bon Salle, said he expected lenders to make "mortgages available to more borrowers."

Another big change in the wings: Fannie and Freddie plan to resume lending to buyers who can make down payments as low as 3 percent. Currently their minimum is 5 percent down. The Federal Housing Administration requires 3.5 percent down payment, but its insurance premiums often make its loans more expensive than Fannie's and Freddie's. So cutting the minimum back to just 3 percent could prove helpful for many cash-short borrowers, even if the two companies impose other requirements such as pre-purchase financial counseling.

Lenders and private mortgage insurers strongly support Fannie's and Freddie's recent moves to open the lid on the credit box a little wider. They want to make more mortgages, especially to qualified first-timers, but don't want to be penalized for doing so.

Major insurers such as MGIC are telling realty agents, banks and personal-financial advisers that they should get the word out to consumers who are sitting on the sidelines. Borrowers need to know that gifts can cover 100 percent of their down payment. They need to know that minimum credit score standards may no longer be as high as they feared. The average FICO score for all types of closed loans during October was 726, not the widely assumed 750-760, according to the software firm Ellie Mae. At FHA, the average for successful purchasers was just 683 during the same month. Vance Edwards, marketing program manager for MGIC, the large home loan insurer, said "there are many 'people' who can now afford to buy a home and qualify for a mortgage, but simply don't realize it."

The message here: Getting a mortgage can still be tough — you still have to be able to make the payments — but there is an easing process underway that you shouldn't ignore.

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NKorea denies Sony hack, calls it 'righteous deed'

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea released a statement Sunday that clearly relished a cyberattack on Sony Pictures, which is producing an upcoming film that depicts an assassination plot against Pyongyang's supreme leader.

While denying responsibility for an attack last week that disrupted Sony's computer system and spewed confidential information onto the Internet, an unidentified spokesman for the North's powerful National Defense Commission acknowledged that it "might be a righteous deed of the supporters and sympathizers" of the North's call for the world to turn out in a "just struggle" against U.S. imperialism.

"We do not know where in America the Sony Pictures is situated and for what wrongdoings it became the target of the attack, nor (do) we feel the need to know about it," the statement carried in state media said. "But what we clearly know is that the Sony Pictures is the very one which was going to produce a film abetting a terrorist act while hurting the dignity of the supreme leadership of" North Korea.

North Korea has built a cult of personality around the Kim family, which has ruled for three generations, and sees any outside criticism or mockery of its leader as an attack on its sovereignty. It recently opened fire on anti-Pyongyang propaganda balloons that North Korean defectors in the South were floating across the border into the North.

The Sony movie in question, "The Interview," is a comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, and its plot concerns an attempt on the life of leader Kim Jong Un.

Pyongyang is not amused.

The statement said the North's enemies, the United States and South Korea, had "groundlessly linked the hacking attack with" Pyongyang, but the denial also included a threat.

The United States should know that "there are a great number of supporters and sympathizers with (North Korea) all over the world as well as the 'champions of peace' who attacked the Sony Pictures," the statement said. "The righteous reaction will get stronger to smash the evil doings."

Some cybersecurity experts say they've found striking similarities between the code used in the hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment and attacks blamed on North Korea that targeted South Korean companies and government agencies last year.

Experts are divided, however, over the likelihood that North Korea or independent hackers were involved.

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