Real Estate Daily News Buzz is designed to give news snippets to readers that our (yet to be award winning) editors thought you could use to start your day. They come from various business perspectives, real estate, government, the Fed, local news, and the stock markets to save you time. Here you will find the headlines and what the news buzz for the day will be.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 115.92 points, or 0.7%, to close at 16,373.86 Tuesday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 19.68 points, or 1.1%, to 1,838.88. The NASDAQ composite index rose 69.71 points, or 1.7%, to 4,183.02. Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.87%. Benchmark U.S. oil for February delivery rose 79 cents to close at $92.59 a barrel in New York.

APPEALS COURT SETS ASIDE INTERNET NEUTRALITY RULES
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a decision that could reshape consumers’ access to entertainment, news and other online content, a federal appeals court Tuesday set aside Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules designed to ensure that transmission of all Internet content be treated equally. The anti-discrimination and anti-blocking rules have barred broadband providers from prioritizing some types of Internet traffic over others. A three-judge panel said that the FCC has the authority to regulate broadband providers’ treatment of Internet traffic. However, the judges concluded that the FCC failed to establish that its regulations don’t overreach.

WELLS FARGO CALLS MEETING TO DISCUSS BITCOIN
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Wells Fargo & Co has called finance executives, virtual currency experts and U.S. government representatives to discuss “rules of engagement” with Bitcoin amid concern about the money laundering risk of the currency, the Financial Times reported. The meeting, scheduled for Tuesday in San Francisco, focuses on the security issues surrounding banking and Bitcoin as financial regulators warn consumers on the risks of using unregulated online currencies, the London-based financial daily reported. The fourth-largest U.S. bank by assets has shown interest in dealing with a potential new Bitcoin economy, but regulatory uncertainty has deterred banks from offering services to virtual currency start-ups, the newspaper said on Tuesday.

Bitcoin, which unlike conventional money is bought and sold on a peer-to-peer network independent of any central authority, has grown popular among users who lack faith in the established banking system. Wells Fargo’s anti-money laundering chief, Jim Richards, has launched a group to examine how the bank might safely offer Bitcoin-related services or banking arrangements to virtual currency entrepreneurs, the Financial Times said, quoting people familiar with the matter. The bank aims to draw up a new set of anti-money laundering rules for financial institutions to follow when dealing with virtual currency start-ups, the paper said, citing a person familiar with the matter.

BOEING CONFIRMS NEW 787 BATTERY INCIDENT
Battery problems resurfaced on Boeing’s 787 on Tuesday, after gas was discovered coming out of a battery on a plane parked in Tokyo. Boeing said the problem on a Japan Airlines 787 was discovered during scheduled maintenance. No passengers were on board. The company said it appears that a single battery cell “vented,” or released gas. The incident comes a year after a fire in a lithium ion battery aboard a Japan Airlines 787 parked at Boston’s Logan International Airport. That was followed nine days later by another battery incident that forced an emergency landing in Japan by an All Nippon Airways 787. Those problems prompted the FAA and other authorities to ground all 787s for more than three months. The planes began flying again after Boeing changed the battery system, adding a tougher box to hold the battery and measures to contain any short-circuit or fire. Boeing said those changes appear to have worked as designed in the battery incident on Tuesday. It said it’s working with Japan Airlines to get the plane flying again.

GENERAL MOTORS’ QUARTERLY DIVIDEND IS BACK
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors Co. says it will resume paying a quarterly dividend, its first since the height of the financial crisis in 2008. The U.S. automaker’s CEO Dan Akerson had hinted that a dividend may be coming and the company confirmed the move Tuesday. General Motors says its dividend of 30 cents per share is payable March 28 to stockholders of record as of March 18. The Detroit-based company says investors should share in the company’s success and that the dividend is a signal of confidence for a profitable future. Competitor Ford Motor Co. halted its dividend payment in 2006 and resumed it in 2012.

HOLIDAY SALES RISE ON DISCOUNTS, ONLINE SHOPPING
NEW YORK – Severe winter weather did not dampen December retail sales as shoppers took advantage of heavy promotions and last-minute deals. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF) – December retail sales, which excludes automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, increased 0.4 percent seasonally adjusted month-to-month, and 4.6 percent unadjusted year-over-year.  Total holiday retail sales, which includes November and December sales, increased 3.8 percent to $601.8 billion, which was in line with NRF’s projected forecast of 3.9 percent and $602.1 billion. In addition, non-store holiday sales, which is an indicator of online and e-commerce sales, grew 9.3 percent to $95.7 billion. It was better than the 3.5% increase in 2012 and the 3.3% average for the past 10 years.

US BUSINESSES BOOST STOCKPILES 0.4% IN NOVEMBER
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. companies built up their stockpiles in November as their sales improved. Continued growth in inventories suggests businesses believe consumers will increase spending in the months ahead. The Commerce Department said Tuesday that business stockpiles grew 0.4% in November. That follows a strong 0.8% gain in October. Sales increased 0.8% in November after a 0.5% gain the previous month. Rising stockpiles should help keep economic growth solid in the October-December quarter. Several economists project growth at a 3 per cent annual rate in that period after a 4.1% rate in the previous quarter. Greater restocking boosts growth because it requires more factory production. Retailers led much of the gains in inventories ahead of the holiday shopping season. Wholesalers also increased their stockpiles. Stockpiling by manufacturers was flat.

DIRECT TV CUSTOMERS LOSE THE WEATHER CHANNEL
LOS ANGELES (AP) — About 20 million DirecTV customers nationwide lost The Weather Channel because of a dispute over fees between the channel and the satellite service. The two companies pointed fingers at each other late Monday as a midnight deadline for renegotiation of carriage fees paid by DirecTV to The Weather Channel passed without an agreement. In a statement, David Kenny, CEO of the channel’s parent company, The Weather Co., said it offered DirecTV the best rate for its programming. Kenny accused the satellite provider of putting profits ahead of public safety. DirecTV called the loss of The Weather Channel “regrettable” but added that it would continue to provide weather news on its WeatherNation channel. According to a statement from Dan York, DirecTV chief content officer, the two sides haven’t stopped talking.

GM GLOBAL SALES HIT 9.7M LAST YEAR, BEATS VW
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors sold 9.71 million cars and trucks last year, probably not enough to beat out Toyota for the global sales crown, but about 200,000 better than Volkswagen. Toyota, the sales champion in 2012, will report its sales next week. It only needs to show a little growth to beat GM again. GM said Tuesday that sales of light vehicles worldwide grew 4 per cent in 2013, led by growth in China and the United Kingdom. The company’s sales in China rose 11 per cent to set a record. U.S. sales were up 7%, slightly below the market’s growth of nearly 8%. Volkswagen said Monday that it sold 9.5 million light vehicles last year, setting a company record for overall sales. Toyota sold roughly 9.7 million cars and trucks in 2012, recapturing the lead it ceded to GM in 2011. GM was the top-selling carmaker for more than seven decades before losing the title to Toyota in 2008. But GM retook the sales crown in 2011 when Toyota’s factories were slowed by an earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The disaster left Toyota dealers with few cars to sell. The Japanese company has since recovered.

BEANIE BABIES CREATOR GETS PROBATION, NO PRISON
CHICAGO (AP) — The billionaire creator of Beanie Babies was sentenced to two years of probation, but no prison time, on Tuesday for tax evasion on $25 million in income he had stashed away in Swiss bank accounts. H. Ty Warner, 69, appeared sombre but composed as he made a brief statement before receiving his sentence in a Chicago federal courtroom, apologizing and saying he felt “shame and embarrassment” for what he had done. He could have been sentenced to up to five years in prison, and prosecutors were seeking prison time for Warner, who pleaded guilty last year to a single tax evasion count. U.S. District Judge Charles Kocoras, however, sentenced Warner to probation and 500 hours of community service, praising the toy magnate for the charity work he’s done.

GOVERNMENTS SEEK TO AVOID TECHNOLOGY PROBLEMS
With well-publicized glitches in the federal government’s new HealthCare.gov website last October, experts who follow how government acquires, develops and deploys computer-based services, were not surprised. Problems occurred when New York City watched the costs of its payroll modernization project grow from $63 million to $700 million before stopping the project. The State of Texas had a seven-year, $863 million outsourcing deal with IBM that was plagued by problems. One IT expert says it sounds obvious, but problems could be avoided when more assumptions are tested before launch, stakeholders are identified, and people on staff have the capability to manage work across departmental boundaries. From Governing: https://bit.ly/1d3zYOZ

STREETCAR CELEBRATION TOMORROW AT UA
TUCSON – The Sun Link Modern Streetcar will be on display tomorrow at Main Gate Square at the University of Arizona. Take your picture with the streetcar, enjoy live music and take advantage of specials and promotions provided by area merchants along the streetcar route. The celebration, sponsored by Friends of the Tucson Streetcar and others, runs from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. The Downtown Tucson Partnership reports the American-made streetcar already has helped generate $800 million in public and private investment along the route, through downtown and the UA.

Real Estate Daily News Buzz is designed to give news snippets to readers that our (yet to be award winning) editors thought you could use to start your day. They come from various business perspectives, real estate, government, the Fed, local news, and the stock markets to save you time. Here you will find the headlines and what the news buzz for the day will be.

On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 28.64 points, or 0.2%, to close at 16,469.99.The Standard & Poor’s 500 index declined 0.61 of a point, or 0.03%, to 1,831.37. The NASDAQ composite fell 11.16 points, or 0.3%, to 4,131.91. Benchmark U.S. oil for February delivery fell $1.48 to close at $93.96 a barrel in New York.

DECEMBER AUTO SALES FALL; 2013 STILL BEST IN 6 YEARS

DETROIT (AP) — December U.S. auto sales slowed a bit from the brisk pace earlier this year, but automakers still were on target to finish 2013 with the best numbers in six years. Nissan posted an 11% gain for December and Chrysler managed a 6% increase. But General Motors, Toyota, Ford and Volkswagen each posted disappointing numbers. Still, most major automakers reported at least a 7% increase for 2013, and analysts expect full-year sales to be up around 8% to 15.6 million when all the numbers are in. That would be the highest sales figure since 16.1 million in 2007. But automakers may need to do more to lure shoppers into showrooms. Analysts say discounts rose in December, and there were signs that automakers were beginning to lower prices to match competitors. That could foreshadow better deals in the new year, especially on pickup trucks and midsize cars.

BERNANKE: 2014 MIGHT BE BETTER YEAR FOR US ECONOMY

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday predicted a stronger year possibly for the U.S. economy in 2014, saying several factors that have held back growth appear to be abating. Americans’ finances have improved and the outlook for home sales is brighter, Bernanke said. He also expects less drag from federal spending cuts and tax increases. The combination “bodes well for U.S. economic growth in coming quarters,” Bernanke said during a speech to the annual meeting of the American Economic Association in Philadelphia. Bernanke made a similar assessment of the economy at a Dec. 18 news conference after the Fed’s last meeting. At the meeting, the Fed announced it would begin in January to reduce its monthly bond purchases from $85 billion to $75 billion, noting signs of an improving economy. The bond purchases are intended to keep long-term interest rates low and encourage more borrowing and spending. Friday’s appearance was expected to be one of Bernanke’s final speeches as Fed chairman. He is stepping down at the end of this month after eight years leading the central bank. The Senate is expected to confirm Janet Yellen on Monday to be the next Fed chairman.

COMBIE USA RECALLS MORE THAN 33,000 CHILD SEATS

DETROIT (AP) — Combi is recalling more than 33,000 child car seats made before January 2013 because the harnesses aren’t strong enough to meet federal safety standards. The Charlotte, N.C., company is recalling the Coccoro, Zeus Turn and Zeus 360. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the seat straps don’t meet minimum strength requirements. If there’s a crash, children may not be properly secured. A company spokeswoman says the seats are still safe to use because the harness as a whole meets safety standards. She says one part of the harness that includes a plastic button failed strength tests. Seats made after January 2013 don’t have the same problem. Combi will notify registered owners and send out free harness replacement kits starting in February.

4 DEAD AFTER CAMBODIAN POLICE FIRE ON PROTESTERS

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — At least four people were killed Friday when police outside Cambodia’s capital opened fire to break up a protest by striking garment workers demanding a doubling of the minimum wage, police and human rights workers said. Chuon Narin, deputy chief of the Phnom Penh Municipal Police, said the four were killed and about 20 others wounded in a southern suburb of the capital after several hundred workers blocking a road began burning tires and throwing objects at police officers. Witnesses said some officers fired AK-47 rifles into the air and that others shot at ground level. Workers at most of Cambodia’s more than 500 garment factories are on strike, demanding an increase in the minimum wage to $160 a month, double the current rate. The government has offered $100 a month. The local human rights group LICADHO said described it as “the worst state violence against civilians to hit Cambodia in 15 years.”

EUROPEAN LENDING LAGS, SIGN RECOVERY REMAINS WEAK

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — New figures show that European banks are lending less to companies — another sign the continent’s economic upswing remains less than robust. The European Central Bank reported Friday that loans to companies slipped by 3.1% in November from a year earlier. The drop was sharper than the previous month’s 3.0%. Analysts say banks can be reluctant to lend given uncertain growth prospects that mean increased risk they won’t be repaid. Some companies, meanwhile, may not want to risk borrowing. Others don’t need credit because they are sitting on adequate cash reserves — but don’t yet see a reason to invest that cash in new production. The economy of the euro currency union — a bloc that grew from 17 to 18 members in the new year with Latvia’s accession — expanded by only 0.1% in the third quarter last year, with Unemployment at 12.1%. Governments’ efforts to reduce debt by cutting spending and raising taxes have weighed on growth.

Real Estate Daily News Buzz is designed to give news snippets to readers that our (yet to be award winning) editors thought you could use to start your day. They come from various business perspectives, real estate, government, the Fed, local news, and the stock markets to save you time. Here you will find the headlines and what the news buzz for the day will be.

Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 52.40 points, or 0.3%, to 15,973.13. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 5.75 points, or 0.3%, to 1,802.62. The NASDAQ composite lost 8.26 points, or 0.2%, to 4,060.49. Benchmark U.S. crude for January delivery gained $1.17 to close at $98.51 a barrel time on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

ONCE-FROTHY NASDAQ TRIES TO REACH DOT-COM PEAK

NEW YORK (AP) — It takes a long time to recover from a bad hangover, especially when you party like it’s 1999. The NASDAQ Composite is up 35% this year, but while other major indexes like the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 have celebrated all-time highs again and again, the NASDAQ remains 20% below its dot-com peak of 5,048.62. That’s a good thing because the biggest beneficiary of the late 90s Internet mania was also its biggest victim. After cresting on March 10, 2000, the index lost nearly 80% of its value over the next two years, touching bottom on Oct. 9, 2002 at 1,114.11. The Dow fell 27% over the same period, and the S&P 500 dropped 44%.

VETERANS’ CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS: TUCSON SETS GOAL

TUCSON – Officials in Salt Lake City say that by the end of this month, their city no longer will have chronically-homeless veterans. In an effort to raise awareness about veterans’ homelessness and to solicit help from landlords, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker proclaimed November “Housing Veterans Month.” In response, roughly 40 landlords contacted the city to say they had units available for veterans. Public and private organizations met in 2012 to discuss ways to reduce homelessness and some Veterans Affairs staff decided to move their operations to a homeless shelter a couple days a week, saying they had a better chance of interacting with the people who need their help. Tucson is one of 25 cities the Obama Administration chose to lead an effort to end veterans’ homelessness by the end of 2015. As of the end of September, 223 homeless veterans in Tucson received housing, surpassing the challenge goal for that date by 15 people.

REPORT: ARIZONA GRADUATED WITH SOME OF THE LOWEST COLLEGE DEBT IN THE NATION IN 2012

TUCSON – Students in four-year colleges in Arizona graduated with some of the lowest college debt in the nation in 2012, according to a new report. The Project on Student Debt said last week that average student debt in Arizona was $20,299 in 2012, the 47th-lowest. The report also said that 54 percent of Arizona graduates were in debt, 38th in the nation. Edvisors.com Publisher Kantrowitz says the main reason for the relatively low debt in Arizona is the fact that most students go to public schools, where tuition is usually lower than private schools. Morgan Abraham, president of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, says despite the report, tuition has been “increasing tremendously over the years.”

MARY BARRA NAMED CEO OF GM, 1st WOMAN TO HEAD CAR COMPANY

DETROIT (AP) — Mary Barra has spent the past three years as General Motors’ product chief, making cars that drive better, last longer and look good in showrooms. Now she will take on an even bigger job. On Tuesday, the board named the 33-year company veteran CEO, making her the first woman to lead a U.S. car company. Barra replaces Dan Akerson, who moved up retirement plans by several months to help his wife, Karin, battle advanced cancer.

TECH FIRMS VIE TO PROTECT PERSONAL DATA, PROFITS

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Even as Silicon Valley speaks out against the U.S. government’s surveillance methods, technology companies are turning a handsome profit by mining personal data and peering into people’s online habits. The industry’s profit machine has become tarnished by revelations that the National Security Agency trolls deep into the everyday lives of Web surfers. As a result, companies including Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo are becoming more aggressive in their attempts to counter any perception that they voluntarily give the government access to users’ email and other sensitive information. The industry’s latest salvo came Monday with the release of an open letter to President Barack Obama and the introduction of a new website calling for more stringent controls on electronic espionage. The public relations manoeuver escalates a battle that Silicon Valley has waged since early June, when media reports based on internal documents revealed the NSA had fashioned an elaborate system to vacuum up some of the user data that U.S. technology companies collect.

US BAN ON HIGH-RISK BANK TRADES APPROVED

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators have taken a major step toward reining in high-risk trading on Wall Street, banning the largest banks from trading for their own profit in most cases. It took three years to write and adopt the Volcker Rule, one of the most critical changes to financial laws in the wake of the 2008 banking crisis. The Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency each voted Tuesday to adopt it.

US-LED PACIFIC TRADE ZONE TALKS END WITHOUT DEAL

SINGAPORE (AP) — The United States and 11 other nations negotiating a free trade zone stretching from Chile to Japan failed to reach a final agreement at talks in Singapore, but indicated they were closing in on a landmark deal. The U.S.-led agreement is a major part of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy shift toward Asia but has been snagged by disagreements between countries on market access, especially for agricultural products, environmental protections and intellectual property. Washington had said it hoped the trade agreement would be completed by the end of the year.

US JOB OPENINGS READ 5-YEAR HIGH

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers advertised the most job openings in more than five years in October, and the number of people quitting also reached a five-year high. The Labor Department said Tuesday that job openings rose 1% to a seasonally adjusted 3.93 million. That is the highest figure since May 2008, three months after the Great Recession began. And the number of workers who quit rose 2.5% to 2.39 million, the most since October 2008. More workers quitting can signal a healthy job market, because most of those people likely either have a new job or are confident they can find one.

US WHOLESALE STOCKPILES GROW 1.4% IN OCTOBER

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. wholesale businesses boosted their stockpiles in October by the most in two years as their sales rose sharply, encouraging signs for economic growth in the final three months of the year. Wholesale stockpiles grew 1.4% in October, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. That’s nearly triple the 0.5% gain in September and the biggest monthly gain since October 2011. Sales at the wholesale level increased 1% in October, the most in five months. Sales rose 0.8% in September. Rising stockpiles boost growth because it means factories have produced more goods. Robust restocking drove roughly half of the 3.6% annualized economic growth in the July-September quarter.

MASTER CARD TO SPLIT STOCK, RAISE DIVIDEND 83%

PURCHASE, N.Y. (AP) — MasterCard will roll back the price of its stock with its first split as a public company. It also plans to reward shareholders with an 83% increase in its dividend and spend up to $3.5 billion buying back its stock. The manoeuvers announced Tuesday is designed to provide another lift to a stock that has soared nearly twentyfold from its initial public offering price of $39 in May 2006. The stock closed Tuesday at $763.61, a run-up driven by MasterCard Inc.’s steadily rising profits as people increasingly rely on debit and credit cards instead of cash. Stock splits are designed to widen the potential pool of investors by making it less expensive to buy individual shares. Although savvy investors often dismiss splits as a gimmick, they tend to generate more buzz about stocks. And a higher dividend pleases investors because it delivers more cash to stockholders as long as they hold on to their shares.

CHINA NOVEMBER AUTO SALES UP 16%

BEIJING (AP) — China’s auto sales rose 16% in November as Japanese automakers extended a rebound in the world’s biggest vehicle market, an industry group reported Tuesday. The figures were an unexpectedly strong performance for automakers that are looking to China to drive global sales amid weakness in U.S., Japanese and European markets. Drivers bought 1.7 million sedans, sport-utility vehicles and other passenger vehicles, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said.

BIGGEST NAMES OF INTERNET BLAST FEDERAL JUDGE’S DECISION

CINCINNATI – From Twitter and Facebook to Amazon and Google, the biggest names of the Internet are blasting a federal judge’s decision allowing an Arizona-based gossip website to be sued for defamation by a former Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader convicted of having sex with a teenager. In court briefs recently filed in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, the Internet giants warn that if upheld, the northern Kentucky judge’s ruling to let the former cheerleader’s lawsuit proceed has the potential to “significantly chill online speech” and undermine a law passed by Congress in 1996 that provides broad immunity to websites. “If websites are subject to liability for failing to remove third-party content whenever someone objects, they will be subject to the ‘heckler’s veto,’ giving anyone who complains unfettered power to censor speech,” according to briefs filed Nov. 19 by lawyers for Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Amazon, Gawker and BuzzFeed, among others.Those heavy hitters “really tell you how major of an issue this is,” said David Gingras, attorney for Scottsdale, Ariz.-based thedirty.com and its owner, Nik Richie, 34, who lives in Orange County, Calif.

HOOTSUITE FOUNDER AIMS TO HELP YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS
VANCOUVER – The founder of the social media management tool HootSuite started two businesses as a teenager, and now he wants to help other young Canadian entrepreneurs make it big for themselves. Ryan Holmes began his rise into the business world by opening a pizza restaurant and a paintball company when he was in his mid-teens. He’s now offering a total of $100,000 in grants to 10 youth between 17 and 22 as part of his recently launched non-profit foundation The Next Big Thing. “About 100 kids have applied from all over the world,” he said of the competition, which is open until Dec. 15. Winners will get the kind of hands-on training that junior entrepreneurs need but can’t access through the typical education route, Holmes said.