Yeshiva World News

The maker of a popular Android mobile app that turns your phone into a flashlight has agreed to settle charges of deceiving customers with the Federal Trade Commission.

According to the FTC, the “Brightest Flashlight Free” app would take note of a phone’s location and the code that uniquely identifies every device on the market. The company would automatically pass that information to marketers, even though its privacy policies said it wouldn’t, and even when consumers rejected the app’s terms of service.

The developer is Goldenshores Technologies LLC. The company won’t pay any financial restitution as part of the settlement. But it has agreed to change its privacy policies, including notifying consumers before it collects information.

(AP)

Jeff Bezos’ idea to let self-guided drones deliver packages may be too futuristic for Washington to handle.

The Amazon CEO is working on a way to use the small aircraft to get parcels to customers in 30 minutes or less. While flight technology makes it feasible, U.S. law and society’s attitude toward drones haven’t caught up with Bezos’ vision.

Amazon.com Inc. says it’s working on the so-called Prime Air unmanned aircraft project but it will take years to advance the technology and for the Federal Aviation Administration to create the necessary rules and regulations.

The project was first reported by CBS’ “60 Minutes” Sunday night, hours before millions of shoppers turned to their computers to hunt Cyber Monday bargains.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in the interview that while his octocopters look like something out of science fiction, there’s no reason they can’t be used as delivery vehicles.

Bezos said the drones can carry packages that weigh up to five pounds, which covers about 86 percent of the items Amazon delivers. The drones the company is testing have a range of about 10 miles, which Bezos noted could cover a significant portion of the population in urban areas.

Bezos told “60 Minutes” the project could become a working service in four or five years.

Unlike the drones used by the military, Bezos’ proposed flying machines won’t need humans to control them remotely. Amazon’s drones would receive a set of GPS coordinates and automatically fly to them, presumably avoiding buildings, power lines and other obstacles.

Delivery drones raise a host of concerns, from air traffic safety to homeland security and privacy. There are technological and legal obstacles, too —similar to Google’s experimental driverless car. How do you design a machine that safely navigates the roads or skies without hitting anything? And, if an accident occurs, who’s legally liable?

Delivering packages by drone might be impossible in a city like Washington D.C. which has many no-fly zones.

But technology entrepreneur and futurist Ray Kurzweil notes that “technology has always been a double edged sword.”

“Fire kept us warm and cooked our food but also was used to burn down our villages,” says Kurzweil.

“It’s fascinating as an idea and probably very hard to execute,” says Tim Bajarin, an analyst with Creative Strategies who sees Bezos as an unconventional thinker. “If he could really deliver something you order within 30 minutes, he would rewrite the rules of online retail.”

Amazon has already done that once. In 1995, with investments from family and friends, Bezos began operating Amazon as an online bookseller out of a Seattle garage. Over nearly two decades, Amazon grew to become the world’s largest online retailer, selling everything from shoes to groceries to diapers and power tools.

Amazon spends heavily on growing its business, improving order fulfillment and expanding into new areas. Those investments have come at the expense of consistent profitability, but investors have been largely forgiving, focusing on the company’s long-term promise and double-digit revenue growth.

The company spent almost $2.9 billion in shipping last year, accounting for 4.7 percent of its net sales.

There is no prohibition on flying drones for recreational use, but since 2007, the Federal Aviation Administration has said they can’t be used for commercial purposes.

“The technology has moved forward faster than the law has kept pace,” says Brendan Schulman, special counsel at the law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP.

Schulman is currently challenging that regulation before a federal administrative law judge on behalf of a client who was using a radio-controlled aircraft to shoot video for an advertising agency. Autonomous flights like Amazon is proposing, without somebody at the controls, are also prohibited.

The FAA is slowly moving forward with guidelines on commercial drone use. Last year, Congress directed the agency to grant drones access to U.S. skies by September 2015. But the agency already has missed several key deadlines and said the process would take longer than Congress expected.

The FAA plans to propose rules next year that could allow limited use of drones weighing up to 55 pounds. But those rules are expected to include major restrictions on where drones can fly, posing significant limits on what Amazon could do. Many of the commercial advances in drone use have come out of Europe, Australia, and Japan. In Australia, for instance, an electric company is using drones to check on remote power lines.

“The delay has really been to the disadvantage of companies here,” Schulman says. “Generally, the government wants to promote the advancement of science and technology. In this case, the government has done exactly the opposite and thwarted the ability of small, startup companies to develop commercial applications for this revolutionary technology.”

Amazon isn’t the only company awaiting guidelines. A Domino’s franchise in the United Kingdom released a test flight video in June of the “DomiCopter,” a drone used to deliver hot pizza.

“We think it’s cool that places like Amazon are exploring the concept,” says Domino’s spokesman Chris Brandon. “We’d be surprised if the FAA ever let this fly in the States — but we will surely stay tuned to see where this all goes.”

Matt Waite, a journalism professor at the University of Nebraska and head of the university’s Drone Journalism Lab, says a bigger problem for Amazon is that the rules are not expected to allow autonomous drones, so a remote pilot would have to be in command of the aircraft at all times.

Indeed, the FAA said Monday that it is moving forward with “regulations and standards for the safe integration of remote piloted (drones) to meet increased demand.” The agency reiterated that “autonomous (drone) operation is not currently allowed in the United States.”

Given the slow pace at which the FAA typically approves regulations, Waite calls Bezos’ prediction of four or five years for approval unrealistic.

Safety concerns could be the real obstacle in delaying drones for widespread commercial use.

“You’re putting a device with eight rapidly spinning blades into areas where people are assumed to be,” Waite says. “The threat to people on the ground is significant.”

It’s not hard to imagine that the world’s biggest online retailer has some significant lobbying muscle and might be able to persuade the FAA to alter the rules.

Amazon spokeswoman Mary Osako says the company has been in contact with the FAA “as they are actively working on necessary regulation.”

One of the biggest promises for civilian drone use is in agriculture because of the industry’s largely unpopulated, wide open spaces. Delivering Amazon packages in midtown Manhattan will be much trickier. But the savings of such a delivery system only come in large, urban areas.

Besides regulatory approval, Amazon’s biggest challenge will be to develop a collision avoidance system, says Darryl Jenkins, a consultant who gave up on the commercial airline industry and now focuses on drones.

Who is to blame, Jenkins asked, if the drone hits a bird, crashes into a building? Who is going to insure the deliveries?

There are also technical questions. Who will recharge the drone batteries? How many deliveries can the machines make before needing service?

“Jeff Bezos might be the single person in the universe who could make something like this happen,” Jenkins says. “For what it worth, this is a guy who’s totally changed retailing.”

If Amazon gets its way, others might follow.

United Parcel Service Co. executives heard a presentation from a drone vendor earlier this year, says Alan Gershenhorn, UPS’ chief sales, marketing and strategy officer.

“Commercial use of drones is an interesting technology, and we’re certainly going to continue to evaluate it,” Gershenhorn says.

The U.S. Postal Service and FedEx wouldn’t speculate about using drones for delivery.

(AP)

It’s the day of the online deal.

Millions of shoppers are expected to click on items on Monday as retailers rev up deals to grab online holiday shopping dollars on the first working day after the busy holiday weekend.

But this year so-called Cyber Monday seems to have stretched into Cyber Week or even Cyber Month, with retailers from Amazon to Wal-Mart rolling out online deals since the beginning of November.

Still, Cyber Monday is expected to be the busiest online shopping day of the year. Research firm comScore expects Cyber Monday expects sales of $2 billion, up from about $1.47 billion last year. Online sales account for about 10 percent of total holiday spending.

(AP)

The holiday shopping season started as a marathon, not a sprint.

More than a dozen major retailers from Target to Toys R Us opened for 24 hours or more on Thanksgiving Day through Black Friday, the traditional start to the holiday shopping period. As a result, crowds formed early and often throughout the two days.

About 15,000 people were waiting for the flagship Macy’s in New York City’s Herald Square when it opened at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Long checkout lines formed at the Target in Colma, Calif., on Black Friday morning. And at North Point Mall in Alpharetta, Ga., Jessica Astalos, 20, had already been shopping for six hours starting on Thanksgiving night as another wave of shoppers made their way into the mall around 5:30 a.m. on Black Friday.

“I like being around crowds of people all doing the same thing,” said Dalton Mason, 22, of Stockbridge, Ga.

The start of the holiday shopping season has transformed into a two-day event. For nearly a decade, Black Friday had been the official start to the busy buying binge sandwiched between Thanksgiving and X-Mas. It was named Black Friday because that was traditionally when retailers turned a profit, or moved out of the red and into the black.

But in the past few years, retailers have pushed opening times into Thanksgiving night. Some like Macy’s opened on Thanksgiving for the first time this year. Others like Gap Inc., which owns Banana Republic, Gap and Old Navy, opened some stores earlier on Thanksgiving than the year before. And many pushed up the discounting that used to be reserved for Black Friday into early November.

The earlier openings and sales were met with some resistance. Some workers’ rights groups had planned protests on both Thanksgiving and Black Friday because they opposed having retail employees miss family meals at home. But as of Thursday afternoon, there weren’t reports of widespread protests.

Some shoppers even had said they would not venture out on Thanksgiving because they believe it’s a sacred holiday meant to spend with family and friends. And at least one who did venture out regretted the decision. By 5 a.m. Friday, Curtis Akins, 51, was sitting on a bench – looking slightly exhausted — inside a mall in Atlanta’s northern suburbs as his wife looked for deals. “I think it’s going to end because it’s taking away from the traditional Thanksgiving,” he said of the Black Friday tradition.

But that sentiment didn’t stop others from taking advantage of the earlier openings and sales. “We like to shop this time of night … We’re having a ball,” said Rosanne Scrom as she left the Target store in Clifton Park, N.Y., at 5 a.m. Friday.

The reception to the double-day holiday shopping start has led some retail experts to question how much further Black Friday will creep into Thanksgiving. Some now even refer to the holiday as Black Thanksgiving or Gray Thursday. “Black Friday is now Gray Friday,” said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a retail consultancy.

It’s unclear whether or not the early openings will lead shoppers to spend more over the two days or simply spread sales between the two days. Last year, sales on Thanksgiving were $810 million last year, an increase of 55 percent from the previous year as more stores opened on the holiday, according to Chicago research firm ShopperTrak. But sales dropped 1.8 percent to $11.2 billion on Black Friday, though it still was the biggest shopping day last year.

Sales figures for this year’s Thanksgiving and Black Friday will trickle out in the next couple days, but some big chains already are proclaiming early Friday morning that the start to the holiday shopping season had gotten off to a successful start.

Most Wal-Mart stores are open 24 hours, but the world’s largest retailer started its holiday shopping sales events at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving, two hours earlier than last year. Wal-Mart said that customers bought 2.8 million towels, two million TVs, 1.4 million tablets, 300,000 bicycles and 1.9 million dolls.

Rival Target, which opened at an hour earlier this year at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, also said that traffic starting in the early morning hours of Thanksgiving on Target.com and at its stores later in the day was “strong.”

Terry Lundgren, Macy’s CEO, said “so far, so good” referring to the overall holiday shopping season. The 15,000 people who showed up for the opening of the flagship store was the most ever, up from 11,000 last year.

“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “Clearly people are in the shopping mood.”

(AP)

FIVE STRAIGHT: The Dow Jones industrial average rose for a fifth straight day, its longest winning streak since March, after some encouraging reports on the jobs market and consumer confidence. The index has closed at an all-time high 44 times this year.

TECH BELLWETHER: Technology stocks got a boost from Hewlett-Packard. The PC maker surged after it posted a $1.4 billion profit for its latest quarter, reversing a year-ago loss thanks to cost cuts from the ongoing restructuring of its business. The company also maintained its previous outlook for the fiscal year.

FALLING OIL: Chevron and Exxon Mobil fell after oil closed below $93 a barrel for the first time in nearly six months. The U.S. government reported the 10th straight weekly increase in crude oil supplies.

(AP)

Average U.S. mortgage rates rose modestly this week, a move that makes home-buying a bit less affordable. Still, rates remain near historically low levels.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Wednesday that the average rate on the 30-year loan increased to 4.29 percent from 4.22 percent last week. The average on the 15-year fixed ticked up to 3.3 percent from 3.27 percent.

Rates have risen nearly a full percentage point since May after the Federal Reserve signaled it might slow its bond purchases by the end of the year. Rates peaked at nearly 4.6 percent in August. But the Fed held off in September and most analysts expect it won’t move until next year.

The increase in mortgage rates has contributed to a slowdown in home sales over the past two months.

To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country at the beginning of each week. The average doesn’t include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.

The average fee for a 30-year mortgage was unchanged at 0.7 point. The fee for a 15-year loan also was unchanged at 0.7 point.

The average rate on a one-year adjustable-rate mortgage edged down to 2.60 percent, from 2.61 percent last week. The fee was unchanged at 0.4 point.

The average rate on a five-year adjustable mortgage edged down to 2.94 percent this week, from 2.95 percent last week. The fee was unchanged at 0.5 point.

(AP)

Ford is recalling the Escape small SUV again, this time to fix oil and fuel leaks that could cause engine fires.

The hot-selling SUV has been recalled seven times since it was redesigned and went on sale in the spring of 2012.

The first of two recalls announced Tuesday affects more than 161,000 Escapes worldwide from the 2013 model year with 1.6-liter four-cylinder engines.

Ford says the cylinder heads can overheat and crack, causing oil leaks.

Of those SUVs, fuel lines on about 12,000 may have been installed incorrectly. They could become chafed and leak gas. Many were repaired under a previous recall.

Ford says the oil leaks caused 13 fires but no injuries. There haven’t been any fires from the fuel line problems.

In documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Ford said it began to get engine fire reports on Escapes in late August, and began investigating. Eventually it was able to duplicate the cylinder head cracking and decided to do a recall. During the investigation, Ford also found warranty claims of fuel line leaks and decided to repair them as well.

In some cases, the fuel lines may have been installed incorrectly by technicians in a previous fuel line recall, the documents said.

Auto safety advocates say the high number of recalls is out of the ordinary for a new model and a sign of quality problems.

But Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker disagreed. “We’re committed to providing our customers with top-quality vehicles and are equally committed to addressing potential issues and responding quickly for our customers,” she said.

The redesigned Escape has been recalled seven times since July of 2012 to fix carpet padding that can interfere with the brake pedals, fuel lines that can crack, coolant leaks, and child safety locks.

Dealers will fix cooling and control systems or inspect and replace fuel lines for free. The recalls start in January.

(AP)

This holiday season, Americans may not spend their green unless they see more red.

Despite signs that the economy is improving, big store chains like Wal-Mart and Kohl’s don’t expect Americans to have much holiday shopping cheer unless they see bold, red signs that offer huge discounts. As a result, shoppers are seeing big sales events earlier and more often than in previous holiday seasons.

Retailers are trying to lure shoppers like Marissa Anwar, who has been doing more bargain hunting compared with last year.

The operations consultant, who lives in Toronto and New York City, said the economy “hasn’t been great” and she’s lost clients. As a result, she cut her shopping budget to $2,800 from last year’s $4,000.

“I was a former ‘spend-aholic,”’said Anwar, 29. “Now, I want to make sure I have the money before I spend it.”

It’s a problem that retailers know all too well. Since the recession began in late 2007, stores have had to offer financially-strapped Americans ever bigger price cuts just to get them into stores. But those discounts eat away at profits.

So far, Wal-Mart, Target and Kohl’s are among more than two dozen major chains that lowered their profit outlooks for either the quarter or the year. A big reason is the expectation that they’ll have to offer huge discounts in order to get shoppers to spend.

There are already signs that retailers are aggressively discounting. Wal-Mart, for instance, on Friday started matching or beating the prices that certain competitors like Best Buy are advertising for some toys and electronics for the day after Thanksgiving — known as Black Friday. Best Buy also plans to match rivals’ prices, even after customers have purchased items. And Target, better known for its whimsical advertising, is touting its prices in holiday TV ads for the first time in at least a decade.

The tempered expectations, earlier discounting and lowered profit outlooks from retailers come even though there are indications that the economy is recovering. The job market is making strides. The housing market is starting to come back. And the stock market keeps hitting new highs. All that would ordinarily lead Americans to spend more.

But so far, those improvements haven’t been enough to shore up consumer confidence. In fact, Americans’ confidence in the economy is at its lowest level since April.

“Stores know that they are well into a fight,” said Ken Perkins, president of the research firm RetailMetrics. “The vast majority of consumers are distressed.”

Not that there aren’t glimmers of hope that Americans will spend again.

Retail sales were up 0.4 percent in October, after being flat the previous month, according to the Commerce Department. Americans spent on big ticket item such as cars and furniture, but that may have left them with less room for more discretionary times like clothing this holiday season.

Overall, The National Retail Federation expects retail sales to be up 3.9 percent to $602.1 billion during the last two months of the year. That’s higher than last year’s 3.5 percent growth, but below the 6 percent pace seen before the recession.

Retailers say economic worries continue to weigh on shoppers heading into the holiday shopping season.

“We continue to see anxiety regarding the economy and the ability to stay within household budgets, particularly among lower and middle-income consumers,” said Kathee Tesija, executive vice president of merchandising for Target, which trimmed its annual profit outlook on Thursday.

In particular, some Americans still are getting used to smaller paychecks because of a 2 percentage point increase in the Social Security payroll tax that started on Jan. 1. That means that take-home pay for a household earning $50,000 a year has been cut by $1,000. That was a concern Wal-Mart noted on Nov. 14 when it lowered its annual profit guidance for the second time in three months.

“It’s going to be as competitive of a market as we’ve ever seen,” said Charles Holley, Wal-Mart’s chief financial officer, adding that among the issues that the discounter faces are “the economic conditions that the customer is under.”

Stores also say customers don’t want to spend because they’re uncertain about their health care costs next year due to the U.S. health care overhaul. Additionally, stagnant wages aren’t keeping up with daily living costs. Not to mention, some people are still out of work.

Leslie Lynch, 52, said she won’t be buying any holiday gifts because she was laid off from her job in marketing at an insurance company in August 2012 and hasn’t been able to find a job since. Lynch, who lives with her wife who works in quality control at a machine shop, said she is behind in mortgage payments and is afraid she will lose her house.

“We will probably have dinner and that’s about it,” said Lynch, who lives in Glastonbury, Conn. “Hopefully, we will have Christmas next summer.”

(AP)

After nine weeks of falling gas prices, the average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline is up 3 cents over the past two weeks.

The Lundberg Survey of fuel prices released Sunday says the price of a gallon of regular is $3.25. Midgrade costs an average of $3.44 a gallon, and premium is $3.59.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said it’s the first price hike since Sept. 6.

Of the cities surveyed in the Lower 48 states, the highest average, $3.58 a gallon, was found in San Diego. The lowest, $2.93, was in Tulsa, Okla.

(AP)

The Federal Communications Commission might be ready to permit cellphone calls in flight. But what about the airlines?

Old concerns about electronics being a danger to airplane navigation have been debunked. And airlines could make some extra cash charging passengers to call a loved one from 35,000 feet. But that extra money might not be worth the backlash from fliers who view overly chatty neighbors as another inconvenience to go along with smaller seats and stuffed overhead bins.

“Common courtesy goes out the window when people step in that metal tube,” says James Patrick II, a frequent flier from Newnan, Ga. “You think the debates and fistfights over reclining the seat back was bad. Wait until guys start slugging it out over someone talking too loud on the phone.”

That’s one of the reasons the country’s largest flight attendant union has come out against allowing calls in flight. The FCC is proposing to lift an existing ban, and airlines would have to decide whether to let passengers make calls. The ban would remain in effect during takeoff and landing.

Delta Air Lines is the only major airline to explicitly state that voice calls won’t be allowed on its flights, even if the FCC allows it. Delta says years of feedback from customers show “the overwhelming sentiment” is to continue prohibiting calls.

Other airlines aren’t as firm.

United Airlines says that if the FCC changes its rules, “we will study it along with feedback from customers and crews.” American Airlines has offered a similar approach. So has JetBlue, which says it would “welcome the opportunity to explore” voice calls but “would prioritize making the cabin comfortable and welcoming for all.”

Confused yet?

Well, to complicate matters even more, the airlines actually don’t need to wait for the FCC. Yes, the government would need to remove the restriction for you to make normal calls in flight. But there are already plenty of ways to make calls legally over airline Wi-Fi networks, while keeping your phone in “airplane mode.” The airlines just choose to block such calls.

Just as many schools and workplaces block access to pornography websites, airlines use similar filters to block access to Skype and other Internet calling services.

Gogo Inc., which provides Internet access on American, Alaska Airlines, Delta, United, US Airways and Virgin America flights, recently announced a new service for passengers to send and receive text messages or make phone calls using Wi-Fi.

A U.S. airline Gogo wouldn’t name will launch the service early next year with only text-messaging capabilities.

“We know that the talk portion for commercial aviation is not really something airlines or their passengers want,” Gogo spokesman Steve Nolan says.

The talk function was designed for private jets and international airlines. Most Middle East airlines and a few in Asia and Europe already allow voice calls on planes.

Gogo’s chief competitor, Global Eagle Entertainment Inc.’s Row 44, will debut gate-to-gate text service for $2 a flight on select Southwest Airlines aircraft Monday.

Tom Wheeler, who became the FCC’s chairman three weeks ago, issued a statement Thursday saying that “modern technologies can deliver mobile services in the air safely and reliably and the time is right to review our outdated and restrictive rules.” Travelers protested to the agency and on social media. On a White House website, a petition opposing the FCC’s move attracted more than 2,000 signatures by Saturday afternoon.

Wheeler backed off Friday. He clarified that “airlines are best positioned” to make decisions about what’s in the interests of passengers. The FCC’s role should just be to decide what is safe or not, and cellphone calls are safe, he said.

“We understand that many passengers would prefer that voice calls not be made on airplanes,” Wheeler said. “I feel that way myself.”

Wheeler declined to speak with The Associated Press. Any change would likely take at least a year to take effect.

Airline consultant Robert Mann says airlines have been using the FCC as an excuse not to allow cellphone use. He believes the agency wants to get itself out of the equation.

Airlines “ought to own up to what the real issues are,” Mann says. “They’re not technology. They’re not regulatory. It’s a business decision.”

The Federal Aviation Administration recently lifted its ban on personal electronic devices, such as iPads and Kindles, under 10,000 feet. But the FCC’s announcement that it would discuss its phone prohibition at its Dec. 12 meeting came as a surprise.

“I was not aware this was anywhere near the front burner. I didn’t even know it was on the stove at the commission,” says Harry Cole, a communications regulations lawyer at Fletcher, Heald and Hildreth in Arlington, Va.

Angela Giancarlo, a former FCC official and now a partner at law firm Mayer Brown, says the proposal was in the works before Wheeler became chairman. She suspects that the FCC expected the proposal would be greeted favorably because it could allow passengers to remain connected.

The FCC banned calls in flight more than two decades ago because of concern they could interfere with multiple cell towers on the ground as planes fly at hundreds of miles per hour. Since then, there has been new technology that can be installed directly on planes. Cellphones in flight would connect to those airborne systems rather than the towers on the ground, eliminating the interference problem. The FCC notes that such systems have been deployed elsewhere around the world without problems.

If phone calls are eventually allowed on planes — whether through Wi-Fi or traditional means — a company still has to install that equipment on aircraft. That company, in partnership with the airline, would likely charge a fee, the way Gogo and Row 44 now charge for Wi-Fi service. Cell carriers probably wouldn’t profit off such calls.

Amtrak and many local commuter railways have created quiet cars for those who don’t want to be trapped next to a loud talker. It’s easy to envision airlines offering “quiet rows,” although there will probably be an extra fee to sit there.

Ultimately, the FCC is going to make its decision based on safety, not public opinion, says Harold Feld, a senior vice president at advocacy group Public Knowledge.

“The decision on this is going to be made on the basis of real engineering facts and not about whether people enjoy being away from cellphones or not,” Feld says.

U.S. airlines have tried in-flight calls before. Some passengers will remember bulky satellite phones that rested on the back of seats. Few travelers paid for the expensive calls. Airlines eventually ripped out the phones in favor of another distraction: seatback TVs.

(AP)

The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 16,000 for the first time Thursday as encouraging news on the job market pushed stocks higher.

The Dow has been on fire lately, propelled higher by a combination of solid corporate earnings, a steadily strengthening economy and easy-money policies from the Federal Reserve.

Since the start of the year, the blue-chip index is up 22 percent. If it holds onto those gains, the Dow will have its best year since 2003. The Dow topped 14,000 in February and 15,000 in May.

“People are getting out of bonds into stocks,” said Steven Ricchiuto, chief economist at Mizuho Securities. “We’re in the early stages of a recovery.”

The Dow rose 109.17 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 16,009.99. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 14.48 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,795.85. The Nasdaq composite rose 47.88 points, or 1.2 percent, to 3,969.15.

In a sign that investors are taking on more risk, small-company stocks rose at a much faster pace than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index jumped 19.83 points, or 1.8 percent, to 1,119.62.

The Labor Department reported before the market opened that applications for unemployment benefits dropped last week to the lowest level since September. The number of applications is close to where it was before the Great Recession.

General Motors rose after the U.S. government said it expects to sell its remaining stake in the company by the end of the year. The Treasury Department still owns 31.3 million shares of the auto giant after bailing it out five years ago. GM gained 43 cents or 1.1 percent, to $38.12.

“Having the Treasury out is probably something that is going to be positive for the shares,” said Jeff Morris, head of U.S. equities at Standard Life Investments. “Some investors are probably a bit spooked by having a meaningful amount of government ownership.”

Johnson Controls was among the biggest gainers after the company, which makes heating and ventilation systems for buildings, said its board approved at $3 billion increase in its share repurchase program. Johnson Controls rose $2.13, or 4.4 percent, to $50.35.

In government bond trading, the yield on the 10-year note edged down to 2.79 percent from 2.80 percent Wednesday. The yield, which is a benchmark used to set interest rates on many kinds of loans, including home mortgages, is the highest it’s been since Sept. 17.

Among other stocks making big moves:

—Williams-Sonoma jumped $4.23, or 7.6 percent, to $59.74 after the company said its third-quarter net income rose 16 percent as customers spent more at its West Elm and PBteen stores.

— Dollar Tree, a discount retailer, fell $2.64, or 4.5 percent, to $56.28 after the company reported earnings that fell short of Wall Street’s expectations.

— Target fell $2.30, or 3.5 percent, to $64.19 after the retailer said its third-quarter net income fell 47 percent after it was stung by costs related to its expansion into Canada.

(AP)

Southwest Airline is now the first U.S. airline to offer gate-to-gate Wi-Fi service.

This means that passengers can answer emails from the moment they sit in their seat until they arrive at their destination, as long as their devices are on “airplane mode.”

Southwest’s new Wi-Fi service relies on the satellite-based Row 44 that works below 10,000 feet. Many other airlines, such as American, United, Delta and Alaska, use Wi-Fi services that use air-to-ground towers, which are switched on only when a plane is above 10,000 feet.

Laptops and devices larger than a tablet must still be stowed during takeoff and landing, and Federal Aviation Administration regulations still prohibit the use of in-flight calls.

This comes after last month’s ruling by the FAA that cleared the way for passengers to use their portable devices from takeoff to landings. United and JetBlue are also reportedly working to install similar technology which may result in gate-to-gate service.

For now, Southwest’s new service costs a reasonable $8, including stops and connections.

(Source: Fox News)

Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages declined this week after two weeks of increases, keeping home-buying affordable.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate on the 30-year loan fell to 4.22 percent from to 4.35 percent last week. The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage dipped to 3.27 percent from 3.35 percent.

Rates had spiked over the summer and reached a two-year high in July on speculation that the Federal Reserve would slow its bond purchases later this year. But the Fed held off in September and now appears poised to wait at least a few more months to see how the economy performs.

Mortgage rates have stabilized since then and are still close to historical lows.

The bond purchases are intended to keep long-term interest rates low.

(AP)

Kia Motors Corp. is recalling nearly 80,000 minivans in the U.S. because a suspension part can break and cause drivers to lose control of the vehicles.

The recall affects Sedona minivans from 2006 through 2012. They were sold or registered in 20 states and Washington, D.C., where salt is used to clear roads in the winter.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the lower control arms near the wheels can rust and break due to salt exposure.

Kia dealers will inspect the parts and rustproof or replace them for free starting next month.

The recall covers vans in Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, West Virginia or the District of Columbia.

(AP)

Renewed jitters over when the U.S. Federal Reserve will start reducing its monetary stimulus kept markets in check Thursday.

The catalyst to the caution was the publication Wednesday of the minutes to the last Fed policy meeting.

The minutes showed that the central bank would likely start tapering off its bond purchases in “coming months” if the job market improved further. Fed members also weighed the possibility of slowing the $85 billion worth of monthly purchases even without clear evidence of a strengthening job market.

The Fed’s stimulus, in its various guises, has helped shore up risky assets such as stocks and emerging market currencies over the past few years as the money created was recycled through financial markets.

The release of the minutes prompted a retreat on Wall Street and that negative finish largely dominated trading in Asia and Europe on Thursday.

“Barring some untoward data in the intervening period, they will embark on the tapering path, quite possibly in December, but at the very latest in January,” said Marc Ostwald, market strategist at Monument Securities.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was flat at 6,681 while Germany’s DAX lost 0.4 percent to 9,170. The CAC-40 in France shed 0.5 percent to 4,248.

Futures suggested a modest recovery on Wall Street, with Dow futures and S&P 500 futures up 0.2 percent.

Earlier in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.5 percent to 23,580.29 and China’s Shanghai Composite eased 0.04 percent to 2,205.77. Seoul’s Kospi was down 1.2 percent to 1,993.78 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 retreated 0.4 percent to 5,288.32.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 bucked the trend to rise 1.9 percent to 15,365.60, boosted by a weaker yen, which helps the competiveness of the country’s exporters. The dollar was up 0.6 percent at 100.76 yen.

The euro, meanwhile, was up 0.3 percent at $1.3466 even though a closely watched survey pointed to a waning economic recovery in the 17-country eurozone.

Financial information company Markit said its purchasing managers’ index — a gauge of business activity — fell in November to a three-month low of 51.5 points from 51.9 the previous month. The fall was unexpected — most economists had been predicting a modest rise to around 52.

Even though the index remained above the 50 mark that indicates expansion for the fifth month running, the decline adds to the recent evidence suggesting that the eurozone recovery is not gaining traction.

“These figures just go to show that the eurozone recovery is not going to be straight forward from here,” said Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari.

(AP)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has reached a record $13 billion settlement with federal and state authorities, resolving claims over the bank’s sales of mortgage-backed securities that collapsed during the U.S. housing crisis.

It is the largest settlement ever between the Department of Justice and a corporation and marks a key chapter for the crisis.

The settlement announced Tuesday requires JPMorgan to pay $9 billion and provide $4 billion in consumer relief, including principal reductions and other mortgage modifications for homeowners facing foreclosure.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who sued JPMorgan in 2012, says the state will get $613 million in cash and about $400 million in relief for struggling homeowners.

The deal resolves claims against JPMorgan, Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual before 2009.

(AP)

Is the stock market due for a pullback?

The Dow Jones industrial average has surged 900 points since early October and crossed the 16,000-point threshold Monday. IPOs are hot again. Small investors, stirred from their post-recession daze, are coming back to stocks. And it’s been more than two years since the market has had a significant slump.

Those trends have raised concerns of a stock bubble. They shouldn’t, money managers say, because even with the broader market’s 26 percent jump this year, stocks aren’t overpriced yet.

“Stocks are not cheap, but that does not mean that the stock market is expensive,” says Russ Koesterich, chief investment strategist with Blackrock.

The ratio of stock prices to projected profits for companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index is 15, according to data from FactSet. That’s slightly below the average of 16.2 over the last 15 years and far below the peak of 25 in late 1990s and early 2000s.

Underneath the rally, most of the fundamentals of this market remain solid. Corporate profit margins are near historic highs and profits are expected to keep rising. There are no signs the U.S. economy, which is still recovering from the 2008 financial crisis and Great Recession, will slip back into a downturn.

All that leaves investors with conflicting feelings. Few see the stock market as attractive as it was at the beginning of the year, but fewer see an alternative where they should put their money.

Bonds are down 2.1 percent this year, according to the benchmark Barclays U.S. Aggregate bond index. Cash has a near-zero return in money market funds. Gold has dropped 24 percent.

“It’s hard to say stocks are expensive when you compare them to any other asset class,” says Brian Hogan, director of equities at Fidelity Investments. “The other options are simply not attractive.”

Bubble or no, there are some signs that stocks are getting pricey.

Individual investors have been returning to the market, often a sign that stocks are reaching their peak. Individual investors poured $167 billion into stock mutual funds this year, according to data from Lipper. In comparison, large institutional investors like hedge funds, pension funds, endowments and insurance companies have only put in $111 billion.

When stocks are valued using an adjusted price-to-earnings ratio developed by Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Shiller, they seem even more expensive. Shiller’s adjusted price-to-earnings ratio averages out the S&P 500′s earnings over 10 years, to smooth out the volatility that comes from the booms and busts. Using Shiller’s formula, stocks are currently trading at 24.4 times their previous 10 years’ worth of earnings, well above the historic average of 16.5 going back to the year 1881.

A few Wall Street professionals remain bearish and think stocks are due to fall by 10 percent or more.

“I think a lot of what’s driven the market higher recently is simply momentum,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer with BMO Private Bank. Ablin thinks stocks are “10 to 15 percent overvalued” at their current levels.

Then there’s the elephant that won’t leave the room: the Federal Reserve.

The Fed has been buying $85 billion in bonds each month in an effort to keep interest rates low and stimulate the economy. Those purchases have pushed up bond prices and made stocks more attractive in comparison.

The Fed was supposed to start pulling back, or “taper” its purchases, in September. But the central bank surprised investors by voting to delay that move. It isn’t expected to change course until early 2014, at the earliest.

Critics say the stimulus has driven too many people into stocks and inflated prices.

Janet Yellen, who has been nominated to lead the Fed starting next year, told the Senate Banking Committee last week that the Fed will keep a close eye on the issue, but said stocks “are not in bubble territory.”

Still, now may not be the time to jump into stocks, at least in the U.S. Few investors expect the market’s gains in 2014 to come close to this year’s.

Analysts at Barclays Capital expect the S&P 500 index to reach about 1,900 by the end of 2014, roughly 6 percent above its current level. Analysts at Goldman Sachs are less optimistic. They see the index closing at 1,850 by the end of 2014.

Not all parts of the market are overvalued, according to some investors. Bank stocks are among the cheapest in the S&P 500, based on the ratio of their price compared to projected profits.

“Typically financials benefit from the next stage of a bull market,” said J.J. Kinahan, chief market strategist with TD Ameritrade.

Energy and information technology stocks are also relatively inexpensive, when looking at price-to-earnings ratios. However, energy stocks have struggled due to lower oil and natural gas prices, so low stock prices may not necessarily mean they are a good value.

Blackrock’s Koesterich says investors should also look outside the U.S., particularly to emerging markets. But don’t focus on one country or continent, he said.

“Bring down your exposure to U.S. and go buy a broad international fund,” he said.

(AP)

Yahoo is expanding its efforts to protect its users’ online activities from prying eyes by encrypting all the communications and other information flowing into the Internet company’s data centers around the world.

The commitment announced Monday by Yahoo Inc. CEO Marissa Mayer follows a recent Washington Post report that the National Security Agency has been hacking into the communications lines of thee data centers run by Yahoo and Google Inc. to intercept information about what people do and say online.

Yahoo had previously promised to encrypt its email service by early January. Now, the Sunnyvale, Calif., company plans to have all data encrypted by the end of March to make it more difficult for unauthorized parties to decipher the information.

Google says many of its services already are encrypted.

(AP)

The Dow Jones Industrial Average cleared 16,000 for the first time, CNBC reported, as investors remained optimistic about ongoing stimulus from the Federal Reserve and looked to economic reports this week on retail sales and manufacturing as a bellwether for the health of the economy. The S&P 500 also broke a record, rising above 1,800 for the first time, while the Nasdaq also gained. The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures investor uncertainty, traded near 12.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)