Stock index futures trade flat to higher

LONDON (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a flat to higher open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.1 percent at 0844 GMT.
Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 futures were unchanged.
European shares were also flat, with the FTSEurofirst 300 <.fteu3> just shy of a two-year high. The pan-European index has risen almost 3 percent since the start of the year.
The U.S. economy is expected to grow by 2.5 percent in 2013, improving to 3.5 percent growth in 2014, top Fed official Charles Evans said on Monday. Evans also forecast the U.S. unemployment rate would be 7.4 percent, easing to about 7 percent in 2014. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks at 2100 GMT. [ID:nL4N0AJ1JA]
Americans are beginning to feel the pinch from austerity measures. Paychecks across the country have shrunk over the last week due to higher federal tax rates, and workers say they are cutting back on spending.
Apple Inc has almost halved its order with suppliers of LCD panels for the iPhone 5 in the current quarter due to weak demand, Japanese daily Nikkei reported on Monday.
Oracle Corp released an update to its Java software for surfing the Web on Sunday, which security experts said fails to protect PCs from attack by hackers intent on committing cyber crimes.
Transocean Ltd said billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn bought a 1.56 percent stake in the offshore rig contractor and is looking to increase his holding.
Japan Airlines Co (JAL) said on Sunday that a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner jet undergoing checks in Tokyo following a fuel leak at Boston airport last week had leaked fuel during tests earlier in the day.
Pickup truck sales are expected to outpace the broader U.S. auto market this year helped by a recovering housing market and a slew of new models from the three big U.S. automakers, executives and analysts said on Sunday.
American International Group Inc has filed a lawsuit against a vehicle created by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to help bail out the insurer, in a bid to preserve its right to sue Bank of America Corp and other issuers of mortgage debt that went sour.
Bank of America Corp directors have reached a $62.5 million settlement to resolve investor claims over the bank's acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co, a person familiar with the matter said, after a federal judge expressed reservations about an earlier version of the accord.
JPMorgan Chase & Co's board is expected to dock the 2012 bonuses of Chief Executive James Dimon and another top executive because of the "London Whale" trading debacle, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people close to the company.
The first big earnings week of 2013 features major banks Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase & Co, as well as online retailer eBay on Wednesday. Thursday's reports include Citigroup, Bank of America and chip maker Intel . General Electric, the largest U.S. conglomerate, is due to post fourth-quarter earnings on Friday.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 17.21 points, or 0.13 percent, to 13,488.43. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> dipped 0.07 points to 1,472.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> added 3.88 points, or 0.12 percent, to 3,125.64.

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Morgan Stanley to trim Dubai staff amid global cuts: sources

DUBAI (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley Inc , the sixth-largest U.S. bank by assets, is trimming staff at its Dubai office, mainly by cutting jobs in its equities division, as part of a global plan to reduce costs, three sources aware of the matter said.
The bank plans to slash 1,600 jobs globally, many of whom work in its securities unit, sources told Reuters last week.
Big U.S. and European institutions are cutting investment banking jobs in the Middle East as the promise of emerging markets is overshadowed by the need to slash costs and a dearth of deal activity.
UBS , Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Nomura Holdings have all cut jobs in their investment banking teams for the region in recent months.
"The Dubai cuts are part of the bank's global plan. Obviously, the bank is trying to focus on growth opportunities in the region and there has been little growth on the equities side barring Saudi," one of the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the matter has not been made public.
Morgan Stanley's equities business will now focus on Saudi Arabia, the source said, adding that planned cuts at other divisions in the Middle East were minimal.
Morgan Stanley declined to comment.
Equity capital markets issuance in the Middle East was $9.4 billion in 2012, according to Thomson Reuters data, down 5 percent from the previous year. Trading volumes in most Gulf Arab markets are down sharply from the highs of 2005-07.
It was not immediately clear how many Morgan Stanley employees in Dubai would be affected by the move, but a second source said the cuts in the emirate might be limited to fewer than 10 employees.
The U.S. bank's mergers & acquisitions head for the Middle East and North Africa left the bank recently, sources told Reuters in December.
Morgan Stanley was one of the advisers to telecom operator Etisalat in a block sale of its 9.1-percent stake in Indonesia's PT XL Axiata last year. The UAE telco got a $117 million gain on the deal.
The bank also advised French lender Societe Generale in the sale of its Egyptian arm to Qatar National Bank in December, and is one of the banks involved in the planned state-backed merger of Abu Dhabi property firms Aldar Properties and Sorouh Real Estate .

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Swatch in $1 billion deal for Harry Winston brand

GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland's biggest watch maker, Swatch Group AG, says it has agreed to pay about $1 billion to acquire Canada's Harry Winston watch and jewelry brand.
The Biel, Switzerland-based company says it will pay $750 million to acquire the brand from Toronto-based Harry Winston Diamond Corp. and will also assume as much as $250 million in debt.
The acquisition includes the Harry Winston production company in Geneva and more than 500 employees globally.
Swatch Group's chairwoman, Nayla Hayek, said in a statement Monday that the addition of a jewelry-watch brand "brilliantly complements the prestige segment" of Swatch's portfolio, helping it compete against luxury watch makers.
Harry Winston Diamond Corp.'s chairman, Robert Gannicott, said that his company would change its name to Dominion Diamond Corporation.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval.

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Pierre and Joan Delva Share a Glimpse of their Life and Journey in New Book

“The Biography of a New Canadian Family” offers a fascinating look into modern medical history and how it converged with the authors’ lives.

Ontario, Canada (PRWEB) January 10, 2013
In “The Biography of a New Canadian Family: Volume II”, author Pierre L. Delva and his wife Joan Campbell-Delva once again shares an insightful glimpse into the field of modern medicine as it converged with their own personal and professional lives. This book is a continuation of a collaborative work aimed to trace and remember the journey that became the key to unlocking the worthy positions and legacy that the authors have now.
From Europe to America, this biography takes into account the life models that helped shape the course of the couple’s journey. It is also revelatory of how the Delvas placed utmost importance on their families and society and how these two helped fomented their growth as individuals and as a family. More than a journal that chronicles the events of the past, this work is an infusion of the many elements (from the historical to the philosophical) that make and shape the life of the intellect. The following quote by Winston Churchill captures in essence the significance of the Delvas’ work: “The longer you look back, the further you can look forward.” In writing this account of their life and times, the authors have not only paid a literary homage to the people, events and life models that honed them but also bridged the past to the present and, finally, the present to the future.
“The Biography of a New Canadian Family: Volume II” captures the essence of the human spirit and how it strives to remain strong amidst uncertainty and change. The Delvas’ book also offers a fascinating depiction of modern medical history as it relates to changes and developments relevant to the field and, most important of all, as it has been perceived and experienced by the authors themselves.
For more information on this book, interested parties may log on to http://www.Xlibris.com.
About the Author

Pierre Delva was mostly educated by a dying father, a Belgian GP in East London, UK. Acquired several specialty certificates in Canada, then asked to create a new department for teaching new doctors Family Medicine in the second largest school in the country, L’Université de Montreal.
The Biography of a New Canadian Family * by Pierre L. Delva and Joan Campbell-Delva

Volume II

Publication Date: 10/18/2012

Trade Paperback; $19.99; 297 pages; 978-1-4691-6038-2

Trade Hardback; $29.99; 297pages; 978-1-4691-6039-9
Members of the media who wish to review this book may request a complimentary paperback copy by contacting the publisher at (888) 795-4274 x. 7879. To purchase copies of the book for resale, please fax Xlibris at (610) 915-0294 or call (888) 795-4274 x. 7879.

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Historian Reviews Southern General’s Record, Revises it via New Critical Study

In ‘John Bell Hood: Extracting Truth From History,’ author Thomas J. Brown has written an important work on a formidable but misrepresented Confederate general.

Spreckles, CA (PRWEB) January 10, 2013
Does the Battle of Gettysburg represent the turning point of the American Civil War, or did that occur elsewhere? As the United States celebrates the sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) of the Civil War, many people across America remain unaware of anything but the rote details. Thomas J. Brown has written a book to remedy these misconceptions. John Bell Hood: Extracting Truth From History discusses a controversial and often criticized Southern general and brings to the forefront the importance of the western theater in the Civil War.
In connection with the Southern defeat, Lost Cause advocates, those great pro-Confederacy propagandists, found convenient scapegoats to blame. One of these is Confederate General John Bell Hood. The thesis that is the basis for this book contends that the Lost Cause is wrong and Hood’s historical treatment has been unjust. Standard critical works of John Bell Hood over the years have tended to characterize him as rash, overaggressive, and lacking in strategic imagination. For such prejudiced historians, Hood appears as old-fashioned and limited logistically to the frontal assault. These accounts mainly stress Hood’s negative aspects as a general and tend to center around the Battles of Franklin and Nashville. This book, by analyzing each battle that Hood commanded as a leader of the Army of Tennessee, reveals him as a bold, imaginative, and complex leader. He was arguably a capable brigade and division commander in the Confederate States Army (CSA), but historians tend to blame him for the decisive defeats in Atlanta and the Franklin-Nashville campaign. This book revises that view convincingly while also exploring the historical treatment of his Union counterpart General George Henry Thomas.
For more information on this book, interested parties may log on to http://www.Xlibris.com.
About the Author

Thomas J. Brown was born in Oakland, CA on April 10, 1950. He was an accomplished athlete, historian, teacher, and coach. Tom loved learning and returned to college at San Jose State University in 2002, where he pursued a Masters Degree in U.S. History. He completed his thesis project on Confederate General John Bell Hood in 2011, and the opus was nominated as Thesis of the Year. Tom was an active member of the Monterey Scottish Society, the American Civil War Association, and the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. He was proud to claim General George Henry Thomas as his link to the association. In addition to his historical pursuits, Tom was a passionate rider of a Harley Davidson Road King, a lover of all animals, and a wonderful husband, son, and brother. He passed away of prostate cancer on November 14, 2011.

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Allen Cookson’s New Book Integrates Economics and Science in Analyzing Human Ecological Predicament

Allen Cookson’s New Book Integrates Economics and Science in Analyzing Human Ecological Predicament
Allen Cookson relates the fundamental physical and ecological principles to Economics.

(PRWEB) January 10, 2013
Looming over humanity are impending ecological crises. If they occur, the present global financial crisis will be seen in hindsight as a relatively minor inconvenience, but an ignored warning of worse things to come. Cookson brings to bear in support of his arguments the weight of evidence provided by generations of scientists and economists. Readers will find searching examination of the reasons for our addiction to unsustainable economic growth, and ways of overcoming it without undue discomfort.
Prosperity, Poverty or Extinction written by Allen Cookson, relates in an unprecedented way, fundamental physical and ecological principles to economics so that the detachment of current economic practices from physical reality becomes obvious. Sustainable alternative economic models are proposed in this book and almost all the material is derived from the work of great minds of the past and the present. References will enable readers to check things they have doubts about, including current controversies.
This book is aimed at the educated layman and the student. Its eclecticism will ensure even academics find ideas that are new to them. It includes some technical details that will be of interest to readers with strengths relevant to them. Mathematical or technical bits can be skipped over without losing the thread.
Prosperity, Poverty or Extinction is for intelligent, educated lay people, students and academics. Readers with interest in biology, chemistry, economics, demography, education, engineering, farming, geography, politics, physics, psychology, religion, and other subjects will find the book widens their mental horizons by linking these subjects. The author hopes that it will empower them in directly or indirectly influencing policy makers to bring about positive changes.
For more information on this book, log on to http://www.Xlibris.co.nz.
About the Author

New Zealander Allen Cookson spent most of his life as a secondary school science teacher. A family discussion about the state of the world, and the poor prospects for future generations, led to a challenge from his son to do something about the present unsustainable practices. As it appeared to the author that flawed economics was a major factor impeding essential changes, he embarked upon and completed an economics degree. This enabled him to integrate economics and science in this book’s analysis of the human ecological predicament. His wide interests include conservation and tramping in New Zealand’s mountain country.

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The "Dig Into Yamhill Valley” Campaign Offers Visitors a New Way to Experience Oregon Wine Country

DIG Into Yamhill Valley features once-in-a-lifetime experiences hosted by wineries, restaurants, and other local businesses, in addition to discounts on accommodation and activities to round out any Oregon wine country vacation. With a different theme each month, there's plenty of ways to experience the valley where imagination still takes flight and you’re never too old to stay and play.

Yamhill Valley, Oregon (PRWEB) January 08, 2013
Travel Yamhill Valley has launched the “DIG Into Yamhill Valley” Campaign, offering visitors a wide selection of new ways to experience Oregon's Wine Country. The DIG Campaign (http://www.digourvalley.com) features once-in-a-lifetime experiences hosted by wineries, restaurants, and other local businesses, in addition to discounts on accommodation, dining and activities to round out a visit to Yamhill Valley. Once travelers find their ideal vacation components, they can click on direct links to providers for reservations.
Yamhill Valley is home to a wide variety of attractions, including world-renowned vineyards, fine dining, unique historic districts, hot air ballooning and other recreational opportunities. Located in the heart of Oregon's Wine Country, the Yamhill Valley is easily accessible and filled with opportunity for families, couples and individual travelers.
Giving guests everything they need for a fun-filled vacation, the DIG Campaign will focus on a different theme each month:
JANUARY: Epicurean Excursion

Take advantage of the valley’s agricultural riches with unique dining options that pair local ingredients with world class wines.
FEBRUARY: Oenophile’s Outing

If rubbing elbows with the winemaker and relaxing in a cozy tasting room sounds like heaven to you, then plan your escape to Yamhill Valley Wine Country in February.
MARCH: Family Foray

Spring Break! Round up the kids and prepare for fun: waterslides, space museums, biking trails, and unique historical districts wait for you in Yamhill Valley.
APRIL: Agricultural Adventure

Spring is breaking through the damp, Oregon ground to reveal all her glory in a million shades of green! What a perfect time to dig in and find a new path to adventure.
Comprised of a collection of small towns, Yamhill Valley is brimming with opportunities to experience the good life. Yamhill Valley is authentic Oregon: a place where the good life is cultivated every day, where world-class wineries dot the verdant rolling hills and roadside farm stands intersect with bicycle paths… where historic main streets meet urban-style bistros… where imagination still takes flight and you’re never too old to stay and play.
Travel Yamhill Valley is a private, not-for-profit membership organization of business and professional people whose mission is to develop regional tourism in the Yamhill Valley. Some of Travel Yamhill Valley members are directly involved in tourism, including wineries, lodging providers, restaurants and attractions, while others are more indirectly involved, such as general merchants, service providers, banks and realtors. Travel Yamhill Valley is almost entirely volunteer driven.

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Turning Point for Reviving New England’s Historic Mills: The Architectural Team Celebrates 30 Year Milestone ofAward-Winning Adaptive Reuse of Boston Chocolate Factory

Beginning in 1983 with construction of the Baker Chocolate Factory Apartments, the firm has shown how to preserve the region's industrial heritage through adaptive reuse of New England’s historic mills, hospitals, schools and office buildings into sustainable, livable communities.

BOSTON, MA (PRWEB) January 08, 2013
This year, The Architectural Team will celebrate a 30-year milestone for one of the firm’s signature specialties: the master planning and conversion of defunct historic mills and factories into vibrant new destination places for people to live, work and play. The occasion is the 30th anniversary of new multifamily housing at the award-winning Baker Chocolate Factory, which over the decades saw the conversion of eight abandoned mill buildings into a thriving – even trendy – multigenerational, mixed-income development.
Since the firm’s founding 42 years ago, The Architectural Team’s design and master planning has led scores of mill conversions in the Northeast helping to revitalize neighborhoods, preserve American architectural heritage, and revive what were, in many cases, decaying urban environments. Today, these historic factories have become the cornerstones of bold master plans, new affordable housing, and high-performance, sustainable architecture.
The notable milestone in 2013 – one that also epitomizes the firm’s successes with mill conversions – marks how 30 years ago the Baker Chocolate Factory campus in Boston’s Dorchester Lower Mills area broke ground on Phase One of its decades-long renovation. Its transformation began in earnest in 1983 with the late Bob Keuhn, Keen Development Corp – a visionary for historic rehabilitation, affordable housing and community development —when 143 mixed-income apartments opened to the public. After its completion, President Ronald Reagan honored The Architectural Team for its work on the historic factory reuse, bestowing the 1988 National Historic Preservation Award to the architects. Over the next few decades, Baker Chocolate Factory grew to encompass three phases of master planning and adaptive reuse to convert its centuries-old building and factory facilities into live/work artist lofts, affordable rentals, an assisted-living facility (ALF) and market-rate apartments developed by Beacon Development Company and WinnDevelopment.
Revitalizing a neighborhood
With sprawling courtyards and access to the adjacent Neponset River, the development has become a catalyst for new businesses and active street life in Dorchester Lower Mills, which began to suffer declining prominence and creeping urban blight in 1965. That year, production of Baker's Chocolate moved to Delaware, leaving the site subject to decay and vandalism. Yet, nearly a half century later, the neighborhood is enjoying the reinvented property as a memorable, attractive and safe place to live, shop and visit – a renaissance largely due to the conversion of the Baker Chocolate Mill 14-acre site.
“Reflecting on our firm’s four decades-plus of historic restoration and adaptive reuse provides us with a unique opportunity to examine the lessons learned, and apply them moving forward to other buildings and sites,” says Robert J. Verrier, FAIA, managing principal of The Architectural Team. “One of our firm’s primary goals is to help a new generation of young professionals develop the expertise, skill sets, collaborative mindset and creativity needed to design new uses for these amazing historic structures – and develop them in thoughtful, sustainable and innovative ways. With that, we can delight our clients and help these communities celebrate the legacy of their industrial past through the new uses.”
With more than 150 historic adaptive-reuse developments designed by the firm, The Architectural Team is nationally renowned and respected for its urban revitalization strategies, its deep knowledge of materials, expertise in recognizing the opportunities and anticipating the challenges inherent in adaptive reuse, and methods for successful historic building preservation. “These projects aren’t just about preserving our past,” Verrier adds. “Our planning and architecture firm is – in the words of the futurist David Zach – all about ‘designing useful things that connect us into life in this world, and designing good tomorrows.’”
After 30 years of opening its brick walls and cobblestone walks to the neighbors – many of whom had family members who worked at the factory – the Baker Chocolate redevelopment is regarded as a national model for other gateway cities like Boston with evolving industrial bases. The techniques that transformed the facilities into highly desirable homes and real estate for residents, businesses and others are being emulated in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere along the East Coast. Case studies of the firm’s earliest mill conversions include the first U.S. power-loom textile mill, Francis Cabot Lowell Mill in Waltham, Mass., now a senior housing community.
Projects like these reveal important lessons for stakeholders with economic development interests, including:

    Multiple strategies for blended federal and state historic tax-credit financing;
    Enlisting key allies including developers, preservationists and nonprofits;
    Novel building techniques that make adaptive reuse projects easier;
    Engendering community and local agency support; and
    Accelerated paths to LEED certification.
Since the Baker Chocolate Factory was first converted to apartments three decades ago, the remaining historic factory structures have been restored and adapted in three phases to adding senior housing, artist work/live lofts, and both affordable and market-rate housing. In 2010, the firm completed the conversion of its final phase with The Watermill Lofts at Lower Mills — formerly the factory’s boiler room and now home to 17 loft-style apartments. This final conversion phase earned the 2011 Preservation Achievement Award from the Boston Preservation Alliance.
150 historic conversions, thousands of affordable units
Over the years, hundreds of industrial-era mills in New England have been spared the wrecking ball, thanks to savvy developers and master planning and design firms like The Architectural Team, at the vanguard of this trend. The firm’s four decades of over 150 historic conversions have seen not only the completion of three phases of Dorchester's Baker Chocolate Factory, but also more recent developments to include The Apartments at Boott Mills (Lowell, MA), Loft Five50 (Lawrence, MA), Linwood Mill (Northbridge, Mass.), Canal Lofts (Worcester, Mass.), Curtain Lofts (Fall River, Mass.), the LEED Silver Certified Bourne Mill (Tiverton, R.I.) and Rice Silk Mill (Pittsfield, Mass.).

From pr eserving sturdy stone foundations, intricate masonry walls, and massive wood timbers, the architectural and historic character of these buildings has been restored and maintained while also creating vibrant, sustainable neighborhoods.
These projects are the epitome of true sustainability, saving energy and conserving resources while simultaneously preserving a community’s historic fabric,” says Michael Binette, AIA, a partner at The Architectural Team. “We employ, as part of each building’s rehabilitation program, state-of-the-art green design techniques and technologies to create a healthy space and to help ensure high-level performance and contribution to the community well into the future. The lessons learned at Baker Chocolate transcend historic preservation techniques and instead present new ideas about improving the quality of life for residents by providing innovative affordable housing and attracting new businesses to the neighborhood.”
“It’s a catalyst for positive change,” Binette adds. “And in the process, we’ve helped secure the legacy of the mill’s architecture with a unique mix of uses.”

The Architectural Team’s broad portfolio of historic conversions includes a range of unique building types that have been converted to new use: former trolley car barns, U.S. Navy joinery buildings, schools, hospitals and police stations, to name just a few. By utilizing a combination of subsidies, federal and state low-income housing (LIHTC) and historic tax credits (HTC), developers are able to continue transforming communities while preserving America’s architectural heritage for future generations.
Currently, the firm is working on numerous historic adaptive-reuse developments including Cliftex Mills in New Bedford, Mass., which has been applauded by Governor Deval Patrick as a project that is “revitalizing our gateway cities, and providing a much needed boost in terms of jobs, economic development, and affordable housing.”
###
PRESS CONTACT: For information, photographs and interviews,

contact Chris Sullivan at 914.462.2096 or chris@ccsullivan.com.
About The Architectural Team, Inc.

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Performing and Recording Artist Aleksandra Maslovaric Acquires Violin From Los Angeles Violinmaker Benning

Renowned Los Angeles-based violin virtuoso Aleksandra Maslovaric, has acquired a master violin crafted by luthier Eric Benning. The violin, made by Benning in 2009 after a celebrated Stradivarius model, will be used to record the violinist's next recording of classical works written by women composers.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) January 08, 2013
Concert violinist Aleksandra Maslovaric, an artist well-known for her performances and recordings of compositions written by women composers, has recently acquired a violin crafted by master violinmaker Eric Benning. Benning Violins is a distinguished violin shop that has been offering sales of fine violins, violas and cellos, crafted by past and present masters, to the music scene of Los Angeles since 1953.
Benning, whose shop long maintained the violins of Jascha Heifetz, considered by many to be the violinist of the century, is used to premier players, concert performers and recording artists purchasing the fine instruments he crafts. But he admits that there was something special about this particular acquisition.
"Aleksandra has been a client for over a decade and I know her to be a highly discerning musician," said Benning. "It's that much more of an honor that she selected my violin to record her new album."
Maslovaric has performed concerts and recitals throughout North America, Europe and in her native Serbia, appearing regularly on stage, television and radio broadcasts, and has been recognized by critics for her virtuosic technique. A large part of her repertoire consists of compositions written by noted though unrecognized female composers such as Emilie Mayer of Germany, Italian composer Maddalena Lombardini Sirmen and American composer Beth Anderson.
The violin acquired by Maslovaric was crafted by Benning in 2009 on a Stradivarius pattern. It's a stunning instrument," said Benning. "There's something very special about it in that I used an antiqued varnish, which makes the sound rich and warm and clear. It is resonant and powerful."
Aleksandra Maslovaric began carving her niche in 2000 by performing and recording classical works composed by women after she, herself, began composing music. Her passion for these compositions allowed her to uncover many works by women long overdue for recognition by performing her own musicology research. Her debut album, "Feminae in Musica", was released in 2009 and continues to receive airplay on classical radio stations worldwide. Her new CD will be recorded this year and released in 2014.
"I admire what Aleksandra is trying to accomplish," states Benning. "It's important work and it's courageous work. By bringing this neglected repertoire to light, she is making a huge contribution to music appreciation and musicology as well as challenging what one could argue is male dominance in the Classical music genre. In as much as Aleksandra will be playing my violin, I'm honored to be a part of it."

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Senator Reid rejects Boehner "fiscal cliff" backup plan

 House Speaker John Boehner's backup plan that would simply extend low income tax rates for households with incomes below $1 million a year "cannot pass both houses of Congress," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Tuesday.
Reid, a Democrat, said Boehner instead should focus on reaching a broad deficit-reduction deal with President Barack Obama. "Now is the time to show leadership, not kick the can down the road," Reid said.
Last July, Reid's Democrats passed a bill in the Senate that would have continued low tax rates, which are set to expire on December 31, for families with net incomes below $250,000.

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White House defends offer as 'good faith effort'

 The White House is defending President Barack Obama's proposal to set a higher threshold for tax increases than what he vowed to do during his presidential campaign. The White House says Obama has moved halfway to meet House Speaker John Boehner on a "fiscal cliff" deal that raises $1.2 trillion in tax revenue, down from the $1.6 trillion Obama had initially requested.
White House spokesman Jay Carney says that offering to raise taxes on taxpayers earning more than $400,000 rather than the $200,000 he ran on demonstrates, in Carney's words, Obama's good faith effort to reach a compromise.
The new tax proposal is contained in a broader plan that Obama gave Boehner Monday that would cut spending further and lower cost-of-living increases for most Social Security beneficiaries.

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Factbox: U.S. House "Plan B" tax bill likely to have short shelf life

The U.S. House of Representatives is likely to vote this week on what is being called "Plan B" on avoiding the "fiscal cliff."
The Republican-sponsored legislation aims to extend current low tax rates for most families. Without such action by Congress, across-the-board income tax rates will rise on January 1.
The combination of $500 billion in tax hikes and $100 billion in spending cuts, which are scheduled to start in the new year, could push the U.S. economy into recession, according to experts.
House Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, and Democratic President Barack Obama have been trying for weeks to avoid the fiscal cliff with an alternative tax and spending-cut deal. Boehner says he is offering this very limited alternative in case negotiations with Obama fail.
Here are key elements of Boehner's Plan B:
* A House vote is expected on Thursday.
* Boehner expressed confidence on Wednesday that the measure would pass but some House Republican aides were not yet predicting that.
* The White House has said Obama would veto the Boehner Plan B in the unlikely event it made it to his desk.
* Democrats are viewing Plan B as nothing more than a diversion from attempts to reach a broad deficit-reduction deal to avoid the fiscal cliff. They see it as a way for Boehner to give his conservatives a vote on a measure that they can tout as a tax-cut bill for all but the wealthiest and inoculate them against Democratic accusations of obstruction.
* Republicans argue that they are acting responsibly by providing a backstop against massive tax increases in case the Obama-Boehner negotiations fail.
* Once Plan B is dealt with, all attention will shift to whether Obama and Boehner can work out a broad agreement by December 31 or whether the country will go off the cliff. If that happens, there is speculation that some sort of deal might be worked out in the early weeks of January to avoid the full brunt of the tax hikes and spending cuts.
* Under Boehner's Plan B, current low tax rates would be made permanent for families with net annual incomes of up to $1 million. The measure would let tax rates rise on income above $1 million. Without action by Congress, all income tax rates are set to rise on January 1 with the expiration of tax cuts enacted a decade ago by then-President George W. Bush.
* Plan B includes a grab bag of other expiring tax provisions. It would permanently fix the alternative minimum tax so that middle-class taxpayers do not creep into a tax bracket intended for the wealthiest. Annual AMT fixes have prevented tens of millions of households from paying a higher tax rate.
Also included are moves to maintain estate taxes at their current 35 percent rate per individual after a $5 million exemption. The White House backs reverting to the 2009 estate tax levels of 45 percent tax after a $3.5 million exemption per individual, though some moderate Democrats back keeping the current law.
Plan B legislation would raise dividend and capital gains tax rates for those earning $1 million and over to 20 percent, from its current 15 percent for most who pay such taxes. Most Democrats back raising the current 15 percent tax rate on investment income to 20 percent for households earning more than $250,000.
* The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the plan would reduce U.S. revenues by around $4 trillion over 10 years.
* The plan does not address spending issues, including automatic across-the-board spending cuts also looming at year's end.
* The bill does not address how to resolve a looming stand-off over the government's borrowing authority. The government will need to raise the "debt ceiling" in the next few months to avoid default, and Obama wants higher borrowing authority approved promptly. House Republicans continue to want to hold back and use it as leverage in ongoing fiscal cliff talks, according to aides.
* Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid already has warned there are not the votes in his chamber to pass Boehner's plan. But if the House sent the Senate such a bill, Reid could respond in one of a few ways. He could declare that the Senate in July passed its version of this legislation, but with a $250,000 threshold, and take no further action. Or, he could offer a variation of the Senate-passed bill. Obama has proposed a $400,000 cut-off for maintaining low income tax rates. Reid could embrace that level or another one.
* The legislation is being inserted into an existing bill that originally had to do with Burma trade policy. A House Rules Committee spokesman said this was being done to avoid some potential procedural delays.

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U.S. charges three Swiss bankers in offshore account case

Three Swiss bankers accused of conspiring with American clients to hide more than $420 million from the tax-collecting U.S. Internal Revenue Service were indicted, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan said on Wednesday.
The indictment named Stephan Fellmann, Otto Huppi and Christof Reist, all former client advisers with an unnamed Swiss bank. None of the bankers have been arrested, authorities said.
Their attorneys were not immediately known.
The indictment said the unnamed bank did not have offices in the United States.
Banking secrecy is enshrined in Swiss law and tradition, but it has recently come under pressure as the United States and other nations have moved aggressively to tighten tax law enforcement and demanded more openness and cooperation.
In April, two Swiss financial advisers were indicted on U.S. charges of conspiring to help Americans hide $267 million in secret bank accounts.
In January, prosecutors charged three Swiss bankers with conspiring with wealthy taxpayers to hide more than $1.2 billion in assets from tax authorities.
UBS AG, the largest Swiss bank, in 2009 paid a $780 million fine as part of a settlement with U.S. authorities who charged the bank helped thousands of wealthy Americans hide billions of dollars in assets in secret Swiss accounts.

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"Fiscal cliff" turmoil could hit 100 million taxpayers: U.S. IRS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. tax authorities warned on Wednesday that as many as 100 million taxpayers - far more than previously estimated - could face refund delays if lawmakers' "fiscal cliff" negotiations fail to fix the alternative minimum tax (AMT) before year-end.
The Internal Revenue Service said in a letter to lawmakers that it was raising its estimate on AMT impact from 60 million.
"It is becoming apparent that an even larger number of taxpayers - 80 to 100 million of the 150 million total returns expected to be filed - may be unable to file," IRS Acting Commissioner Steven Miller wrote.
The AMT is a levy designed to ensure that high-income taxpayers pay a minimum tax. Democrats and Republican typically agree to adjust the tax for inflation to prevent unintended taxpayers from being hit by it.
This year, however, its fate is tied to heated negotiations - primarily between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner - over future taxes and federal spending as they try to avoid the automatic tax increases and spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff.
The AMT fix for calculating 2012 income tax has broad bipartisan support, but so far been drowned out by the larger federal budget questions.
Without action soon to fix the AMT, there could be "lengthy delays of tax refunds and unexpectedly higher taxes for many taxpayers," Miller said.
The IRS needs congressional authority to update tax-filing software and forms so that Americans can start their tax returns next year. Inaction by Congress on the AMT has left IRS unsure which taxpayers will need to pay the AMT tax.
An IRS spokesman declined to comment on the agency's AMT preparations to date.
"Failure to act on the fiscal cliff will throw the 2013 tax filing season into chaos," Representative Sander Levin, a Michigan Democrat, said in a statement.
About 4 million taxpayers pay the AMT now because Congress routinely "patches" it for inflation to keep it from reaching down into middle-income tax brackets.
Without a patch for 2012, up to 33 million taxpayers will have to pay the AMT, according to IRS.
Obama's most recent offer to Republicans included a permanent AMT patch.
House Republicans plan to vote Thursday on a bill to address the fiscal cliff that also includes an AMT patch.

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First Person: What My College Degree Means to Me

*Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Do you have a personal finance story that you'd like to share? Sign up with the Yahoo! Contributor Network to start publishing your own finance articles.
My college degree helped me pursue a successful 30-year career in advertising and public relations. However, it only happened after I realized I had not made the right decision in choosing my college major.
Pursuing The Major Course I Wanted
It all began when I had earned four years of tuition under the GI Bill of Rights by serving in the U.S. Navy. Ever since childhood, I had wanted to be an artist, and that was my chance to enroll as a fine arts freshman at the Philadelphia Museum College of Art (now the University of the Arts).
An Enjoyable Fine Arts Education
Throughout my undergraduate years, I appreciated the challenges and encouragement of the school's excellent teaching staff. My courses consisted of drawing, painting, sculpture and other fine arts classes. Some of my paintings were accepted for exhibition at local galleries. I was graduated with top honors and the degree of bachelor of fine arts.
Then it was time for me to earn a living from what I had learned in four years of college. I made the rounds of the many galleries in Philadelphia and New York selling my art, and had some moderate success. However, the sales were few and far between, and my income wasn't nearly enough to support myself.
Had I Made an Error in Judgment?
After a year, I came to the conclusion that I had chosen a field that, while traditionally attractive, wasn't practical in the reality of today's business world. While I hadn't wasted my four years of fine arts studies, they had not prepared me for the necessity of making a living.
I had several choices. I could go on painting, get some kind of part-time job to pay my bills, and hope I'd eventually become a successful exhibiting artist. The other choice was to go back to college and major in practical business subjects.
Fortunately, an application I'd sent to the University of Pennsylvania earned me a lab assisantship and free tuition at the Annenberg Graduate School of Communications there. I majored in mass communications and public relations, with a minor in graphic arts. After two years, and armed with a much more practical resume, I began another job search.
A Favorable Career Turn
Another fortunate opportunity coincided with earning my Master of Arts in Communications degree. Prudential Financial, Inc. was just establishing an Eastern regional office in a Philadelphia suburban area, and hiring a staff of more than 3,000 employees. I applied for the newly-created position of Public Relations and Advertising Manager, and was hired to direct the 30-person creative staff.
I recently retired after 30 years with Prudential. Today I consider my education choices and experiences may be of value to college students in the same situation I was after earning my bachelor's degree. Looking back, I had not realized then the impracticality of attempting a fine arts path in the real world where income opportunities are very limited.
Business-related degrees are essential in finding practical career promises. I believe my decision to enhance my education goals beyond fine arts to communications offered me those opportunities. For today's students, armed with the right credentials and personal determination, there's no limit to the heights that talent, hard work and ambition can earn for them.

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Low prices boost SF home sales to 5-year Jan. high

 Home sales in the San Francisco Bay area reached a five-year high for January, as prices and mortgage rates plunged, a real estate tracking firm reported Thursday.
However, many of those purchases involved properties that were subject to foreclosures or short sales, indicating the housing market is far from recovered.
The survey by San Diego-based DataQuick also showed the median sales price in the region fell nearly 3 percent last month from December to $326,000 — less than half the peak price of $665,000 reached in 2007 but up from the low of $290,000 recorded in 2009.
A total of 5,479 new and existing homes were sold in the nine-county area, according to DataQuick. The figure was down nearly 27 percent from December but marked a 10.3-percent improvement over January 2011.
The December-to-January drop was normal for the season, while the January-to-January jump showed real improvement, DataQuick said.
The year-over-year increase in January marked the seventh annual jump in a row, the firm said.
Home sales were buoyed by "lower prices, ultra-low mortgage rates, a modestly improved economy and a record level of investor purchases," DataQuick said in a statement.
The lower median price in January was "a reflection of how skewed the market has become toward distressed, lower-cost properties," DataQuick President John Walsh said in the statement. "The higher-end sales have slowed in recent months as many struggle to qualify for loans and others just sit tight."
Distressed property sales — the combination of foreclosure and short sales — made up more than half of all sales of existing homes. Absentee buyers, who mostly are investors, bought more than a quarter of all homes sold, DataQuick reported

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Why the Slowest Investors Win the Race

Anyone who attended kindergarten remembers Aesop's fable about the tortoise and the hare. The story's moral has implications for investors: Slow but steady wins the race.
Hare investors try to sprint to the finish line of a comfortable retirement without girding their portfolios against the perils of volatility — frequent ups and downs in asset value. So they tend to lag far behind tortoise investors, who take these precautions, which I'll explain in a moment.
Volatility reflects uncertainty, and markets tend to punish uncertainty with lower prices. Yet just because an investment is volatile doesn't mean it has no place in your portfolio. Because they may be less likely to go down with other assets in the portfolio, volatile investments may add highly beneficial variety, known as diversification.
Let's say you own tech stocks like Apple and IBM. Adding more tech stocks to your portfolio doesn't decrease overall risk, so you add a gold-mining stock instead. Though highly volatile in itself, the gold-mining stock is less likely to go up or down with tech stocks, so it increases the portfolio's diversification.
Because there's little correlation between gold-mining stocks' price movements with those of tech stocks, these categories are said to have a low correlation. That sounds complicated, but you can easily look up the differences in price movements between different types of investments to see whether they're correlated, and if so, how closely.
Aware of the downsides of volatility, tortoises avoid it by assembling highly diversified portfolios. That means traditional investments such as U.S. stocks and bonds, mixed with a dash of non-traditional (alternative) assets. These may include emerging market stocks, Treasury bonds and real estate securities. The price movements of these investments have a history of not being highly correlated with U.S. stocks or bonds.
Tortoises are like a savvy retailer on a tropical resort island who wisely sells umbrellas as well as sunscreen to help cover losses during rainy periods. Every once in while, the rain falls on everything -- which is what happened in late 2008, much to the dismay of investors. In the financial meltdown, stocks, bonds and real estate both in the US and abroad swooned, leaving little quarter for investors.
Tortoise-style investors add a touch of alternative investments, knowing this may cut their overall returns some years, but they'll sleep more peacefully with the knowledge that it can counter-balance heavy losses in traditional investments.
Hares aren't focused on this balanced approach. Instead, they assemble highly aggressive portfolios of assets that tend to rise or fall in lockstep. They're not concerned with cutting their losses because, compelled by greed, they're not planning to have any losses ior they believe they can defy gravity. This was not unlike the employees who loaded up on their company's shares before the recession, only to see their investment go south along with their job.
Like the Aesop's hare, hare investors are overconfident and turn a blind eye to the ravages of volatility, which take a long time to recover from. Tortoises, having sustained less damage, continue their slow but steady progress.
The math of recovering from hits may astonish you. Let's say your portfolio loses 33 percent of its value, leaving you with two thirds of what you had. Many believe they'd be back where they started if they gain 33 percent. But this gain wouldn't restore their losses. They would actually need to make a 50 percent gain to get back to where they started. The reason is that the gain is based on a lower value than what you started with.
Heavy gains followed by just a large losses from volatile investments is comparable to the hare in Aesop's fable sprinting for periods and then, winded, lying down to take a nap. Like the tortoise, investors with adequately diversified portfolios don't tend to need as much recovery time.
Such losses are even more damaging than they appear at first blush. Not only do hare portfolios lose time that could be used to make progress toward the goal, but they also miss out on the benefits of compounding from reinvested gains . Though tortoises' gains may be far lower than those made by hares during their sprints, they're more likely to enjoy the benefits of compounding.
These awkward reptiles plod steadily toward the finish line while the halting progress of hares leaves them far behind.

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US rate on 30-year mortgage hits record 3.83 pct.

Average U.S. rates for 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages fell to fresh record lows this week. Cheap mortgage rates have made home-buying and refinancing more affordable than ever for those who can qualify.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan ticked down to 3.83 percent. That's the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s. And it's below the previous record rate of 3.84 percent reached last week.
The 15-year mortgage, a popular option for refinancing, dropped to 3.05 percent, also a record. That's down from last week's previous record of 3.07 percent.
Low mortgage rates haven't done much to boost home sales. Rates have been below 4 percent for all but one week since early December. Yet sales of both previously occupied homes and new homes fell in March.
There have been some positive signs in recent months. January and February made up the best winter for sales of previously occupied homes in five years. And builders are laying plans to construct more homes in 2012 than at any other point in past 3 1/2 years. That suggests some see the housing market slowly starting to turn around.
Still, many would-be buyers can't qualify for loans or afford higher down payments required by banks. Home prices in many cities continue to fall. That has made those who can afford to buy uneasy about entering the market. And for those who are willing to brave the troubled market, many have already taken advantage of lower rates — mortgage rates have been below 5 percent for more than a year now.
Mortgage rates are lower because they tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. Slower U.S. job growth and uncertainty about how Europe will resolve its debt crisis have led investors to buy more Treasurys, which are considered safe investments. As demand for Treasurys increases, the yield falls.
To calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week.
The average rage does not 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 30-year loans was 0.7 last week, down from 0.8 the previous week. The fee on 15-year loans also was 0.7, unchanged from the previous week.
The average on one-year adjustable rate was 2.73 percent last week, down from 2.7 percent the previous week. The fee on one-year adjustable rate mortgages was 0.5, down from 0.6.

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US rate on 30-year mortgage rises to 3.71 pct.

Average rates on fixed mortgages rose this week, the first increase in seven weeks. But mortgage rates remain near historic lows, boosting prospects for home sales this year.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year loan increased to 3.71 percent. That's up from 3.67 percent last week, the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.
The average rate on the 15-year mortgage, a popular refinancing option, rose to 2.98 percent. That's up from 2.94 percent last week, also a record low.
The rate on the 30-year loan has been below 4 percent since early December. Low rates are a key reason the housing industry is showing modest signs of a recovery this year.
In April, sales of both previously occupied homes and new homes rose near two-year highs. Builders are gaining more confidence in the market, breaking ground on more homes and requesting more permits to build single-family homes later this year.
Low rates could also provide some help to the economy if more people refinance. When people refinance at lower rates, they pay less interest on their loans and have more money to spend.
Still, the pace of home sales remains well below healthy levels. Economists say it could be years before the market is fully healed.
Many people are still having difficulty qualifying for home loans or can't afford larger down payments required by banks. Some would-be home buyers are holding off because they fear that home prices could keep falling.
The economy is growing only modestly and job creation slowed sharply in April and May. U.S. employers created only 69,000 jobs in May, the fewest in a year.
Mortgage rates have been dropping because they tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. Uncertainty about how Europe will resolve its debt crisis has led investors to buy more Treasury securities, which are considered safe investments. As demand for Treasurys increase, the yield falls.
To calculate average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week.
The average does not 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 30-year loans was 0.7 point, unchanged from last week. The fee for 15-year loans also was unchanged at 0.7 point.
The average rate on one-year adjustable rate mortgages slipped to 2.78 percent from 2.79 percent last week. The fee for one-year adjustable rate loans was 0.5, up from 0.4.

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Toll Brothers 4Q net income soars on tax benefit

NEW YORK (AP) — Toll Brothers says its fiscal fourth-quarter net income soared, helped by a large income tax benefit and a 48 percent rise in revenue. The luxury homebuilder delivered more homes and its order backlog increased.
CEO Douglas C. Yearley Jr. said in a statement on Tuesday that higher home prices, low interest rates, pent-up demand and improving consumer confidence prompted buyers to return to the housing market this year.
Last week a batch of government reports showed that rising home values, more hiring and lower gas prices pushed consumer confidence in November to the highest level in nearly five years. On Tuesday, Core Logic reported that a measure of U.S. home prices rose 6.3 percent in October compared with a year ago, the largest yearly gain since July 2006.
For the three months ended Oct. 31, Toll Brothers Inc. earned $411.4 million, or $2.35 per share. That's up sharply from $15 million, or 9 cents per share, a year ago.
The latest quarter included an income tax benefit of $350.7 million.
Excluding the tax benefit and other items, earnings were 35 cents per share.
Analysts expected earnings of 25 cents per share for the quarter, which typically exclude one-time items, according to a FactSet poll.
Revenue increased to $632.8 million from $427.8 million, topping Wall Street's forecast of $565.1 million.
Homebuilding deliveries climbed 44 percent to 1,088 units, while net signed contracts jumped 70 percent to 1,098 units. The average price of homes delivered increased to $582,000 from $565,000 a year earlier.
Toll Brothers, based in Horsham, Pa., may benefit by catering to the luxury sector. Its target market includes households that typically make more than $100,000 a year, can afford to make a down payment of as much as 30 percent, have great credit record and an unemployment rate about half that of the general population.
Backlog, a measure of potential future revenue, rose 54 percent to 2,569 units. The cancellation rate declined to 4.6 percent from 7.9 percent.
The company's full-year net income jumped to $487.1 million, or $2.86 per share, from $39.8 million, or 24 cents per share, a year earlier. Annual revenue climbed 27 percent to $1.88 billion from $1.48 billion.
Toll Brothers anticipates delivering between 3,600 and 4,400 homes in 2013 at an average price of $595,000 to $630,000 per home.
Its shares fell 57 cents, or 1.8 percent, to close at $31.86 Tuesday. Its shares peaked for the past year at $37.08 in mid-September.
The company has operations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington

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