UPDATE 1-Baseball-MLB, players agree to expand drug testing

* HGH and testosterone testing to be used this season
* WADA-accredited lab hails toughness of new MLB testing (Adds details, quotes)
Jan 10 (Reuters) - Major League Baseball and the players' union have agreed to expand their drug program to include random in-season blood testing for human growth hormone and a new test for testosterone, they said on Thursday.
The advanced testing will start this season, in what will be the sternest doping program in major North American professional sports.
"This agreement addresses critical drug issues and symbolizes Major League Baseball's continued vigilance against synthetic human growth hormone, testosterone and other performance-enhancing substances," MLB commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement.
The new steps moved baseball well ahead of the National Football League, which does not test for HGH or testosterone.
"Players want a program that is tough, scientifically accurate, backed by the latest proven scientific methods, and fair," said Michael Weiner, MLB Players' Association executive director in a statement.
"I believe these changes firmly support the players' desires while protecting their legal rights."
The announcement came one day after the players' union criticized results of the balloting for the Baseball Hall of Fame, in which no one received enough votes for enshrinement in what appeared to be a referendum on widespread doping during what has become known as the game's 'Steroids Era'.
All-time home run king Barry Bonds and seven-time Cy Young winning pitcher Roger Clemens, have resumes that would have ordinarily made them certain Hall of Famers.
But both players have been linked to performance enhancing drugs and punished by voters, receiving about half the ballots votes required for election.
Major League Baseball, striving to remove the taint of doping, was the first major sport in the United States to test for HGH in an agreement with the union in November 2011.
MLB has been conducting random blood testing for the detection of HGH among minor league players since July 2010 and had previously been testing major leaguers during spring training and off-season.
To detect testosterone use, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited Montreal laboratory will establish a program in which a player's baseline testosterone/epitestosterone (T/E) ratio and other data will be maintained in order to enhance its ability to detect use of the drug and other banned substances.
Christiane Ayotte, the Director of the Montreal Laboratory, praised the steps baseball has taken.
"The addition of random blood testing and a longitudinal profiling program makes baseball's program second to none in detecting and deterring the use of synthetic HGH and testosterone," she said in a statement.
Doping in baseball has not disappeared.
In the last year, Melky Cabrera of the San Francisco Giants, who was leading the league in batting average, and Oakland A's pitcher Bartolo Colon tested positive for testosterone and were suspended.
"I am proud that our system allows us to adapt to the many evolving issues associated with the science and technology of drug testing," Selig said. "We will continue to do everything we can to maintain a leadership stature in anti-doping efforts in the years ahead." (Reporting by Larry Fine, Editing by Gene Cherry and Steve Keating)

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MLB to expand blood testing for HGH

PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. (AP) — Major League Baseball will test for human growth hormone throughout the regular season and increase efforts to detect abnormal levels of testosterone, a decision the NFL used to pressure its players.
Baseball players were subject to blood testing for HGH during spring training last year, and Thursday's agreement between management and the Major League Baseball Players Association expands that throughout the season. Those are in addition to urine tests for other performance-enhancing drugs.
Under the changes to baseball's drug agreement, the World Anti-Doping Agency laboratory in Laval, Quebec, will keep records of each player, including his baseline ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone, and will conduct Carbon Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) tests of any urine specimens that "vary materially."
"This is a proud and a great day for baseball," commissioner Bud Selig said following two days of owners' meetings. "We'll continue to be a leader in this field and do what we have to do."
The announcement came one day after steroid-tainted stars Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa failed to gain election to the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.
Commenting on the timing, Selig noted the drug program changes had long been in the works "but it wasn't too bad, was it?"
Selig reflected on how far baseball had come on performance enhancing drug issues.
"This is remarkable when you think of where we were 10, 12, 15 years ago and where we are today," he said. "Nobody could have dreamed it."
Baseball began random drug testing in 2003, testing with penalties the following year and suspensions for first offenders in 2005. Initial penalties were lengthened from 10 days to 50 games in 2006, when illegal amphetamines were banned. The number of tests has gradually increased over the past decade.
Selig called the latest change a "yet another indication how far this sport has come."
Rob Manfred, baseball's executive vice president for economics and league affairs, said each player will be tested at least once.
"Players want a program that is tough, scientifically accurate, backed by the latest proven scientific methods, and fair," union head Michael Weiner said in a statement. "I believe these changes firmly support the players' desires while protecting their legal rights."
Selig praised the cooperation of the players association, once a staunch opponent of drug testing, in agreeing to the expansion.
"Michael Weiner and the union deserve credit," Selig said. "Way back when they were having a lot of problems I didn't give them credit, but they do."
Christiane Ayotte, director of the Canadian laboratory, said that the addition of random blood testing and a "longitudinal profiling program makes baseball's program second to none in detecting and deterring the use of synthetic HGH and testosterone."
She said the program compares favorably with any program conducted by WADA.
HGH testing remains a contentious issue in the National Football League. At a hearing last month, U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, accused the NFL players' union of trying to back out of HGH testing.
"Other professional sports leagues, including the National Football League, must also implement their own robust testing regimes," Cummings and committee chairman Darrel Issa said in a statement Thursday. "Major League Baseball's announcement increases the pressure on the NFL and its players to deliver on pledges to conduct HGH testing made in their collective bargaining agreement that was signed two years ago."
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Thursday "we hope the MLB players' union will inspire the NFLPA to stop its stalling tactics and fulfill its commitment to begin testing for HGH. If the NFLPA stands for player health and safety, it should follow the lead of the MLB players' union and end the delay."
NFLPA spokesman George Atallah says the union is not backing out of anything but was looking to resolve scientific issues surrounding the tests. HGH testing is part of the 10-year labor agreement reached in 2011 but protocols must be agreed to by both sides.
"If the league had held up their commitment to population study, we could have been first," Atallah said.
At the time of last month's congressional hearing, NFL senior vice president Adolpho Birch called the union's insistence on a population study to determine whether current HGH tests are appropriate a delay tactic that threatened that league's leadership in drug testing matters.
"Major League Baseball and the players' union have moved a long way from the inadequate policies that were in place when Congress first addressed ballplayers' use of steroids." said Henry Waxman, ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
NOTES: Owners approved the transfer of control of the Cleveland Indians to Paul Dolan, son of owner Larry Dolan. Paul Dolan is the team's chief executive officer.

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UPDATE 2-Baseball-MLB, players agree to expand drug testing

* HGH and testosterone testing to be used this season
* WADA-accredited lab hails toughness of new MLB testing (Adds USADA comment in paras 5-7)
Jan 10 (Reuters) - Major League Baseball and the players' union have agreed to expand their drug program to include random in-season blood testing for human growth hormone and a new test for testosterone, they said on Thursday.
The advanced testing will start this season, in what will be the sternest doping program in major North American professional sports.
"This agreement addresses critical drug issues and symbolizes Major League Baseball's continued vigilance against synthetic human growth hormone, testosterone and other performance-enhancing substances," MLB commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement.
The new steps moved baseball well ahead of the National Football League (NFL), which does not test for HGH or have a similar test for testosterone.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) challenged the NFL Players' Association (NFLPA) to follow suit in agreeing to such tests.
"This is a strong statement by the players and the league not only confirming the scientific validity of the HGH blood test and the benefit of longitudinal testing, but also the importance of clean athletes' rights and the integrity of the game," USADA said in a statement.
"This agreement, following the recent Congressional hearings on testing in the NFL, leaves no reason for the NFLPA not to step up and implement the same to give its players an equal level of protection and confidence that they deserve a level, drug-free playing field in the NFL."
Michael Weiner, executive director of the MLB Players' Association, said Major League players supported the expanded program.
"Players want a program that is tough, scientifically accurate, backed by the latest proven scientific methods, and fair," said Weiner in a statement.
"I believe these changes firmly support the players' desires while protecting their legal rights."
The announcement came one day after the players' union criticised results of the balloting for the Baseball Hall of Fame, in which no one received enough votes for enshrinement in what appeared to be a referendum on widespread doping during what has become known as the game's 'Steroids Era'.
All-time home run king Barry Bonds and seven-time Cy Young winning pitcher Roger Clemens, have playing records that would have ordinarily made them certain Hall of Famers.
But both players have been linked to performance enhancing drugs and punished by voters, receiving about half the ballots required for election.
Major League Baseball, striving to remove the stain of doping, was the first major sport in the United States to test for HGH in an agreement with the union in November 2011.
MLB has been conducting random blood testing for the detection of HGH among minor league players since July 2010 and had previously been testing major leaguers during spring training and off-season.
To detect testosterone use, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited Montreal laboratory will establish a program in which a player's baseline testosterone/epitestosterone (T/E) ratio and other data will be maintained in order to enhance its ability to detect use of the drug and other banned substances.
Christiane Ayotte, the Director of the Montreal Laboratory, praised the steps baseball has taken.
"The addition of random blood testing and a longitudinal profiling program makes baseball's program second to none in detecting and deterring the use of synthetic HGH and testosterone," she said in a statement.
Doping in baseball has not disappeared.
In the last year, Melky Cabrera of the San Francisco Giants, who was leading the league in batting average, and Oakland A's pitcher Bartolo Colon tested positive for testosterone and were suspended.
"I am proud that our system allows us to adapt to the many evolving issues associated with the science and technology of drug testing," Selig said. "We will continue to do everything we can to maintain a leadership stature in anti-doping efforts in the years ahead.

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Haiti plans low-key ceremony to mark quake

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The Haitian government plans a low-key ceremony to mark the third anniversary of the earthquake that devastated the country.
Haitian President Michel Martelly will preside over what an adviser calls a "subdued" memorial at the grounds of the former national palace.
Presidential adviser Damian Merlo said Saturday's memorial would be a small public event with just senior officials from the government. The palace was destroyed in the quake and most of its rubble has been removed.
The U.N. also plans a small private memorial to mark the anniversary.
Ceremonies and related events last year were more elaborate. The government says the quake killed about 316,000 people. There are still more than 350,000 displaced people living in encampments around the capital.

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Argentine court charges officials for train crash

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — An Argentine court is charging two former government officials and the owners of a train company in connection with a crash that killed 51 people last year.
The Buenos Aires federal court on Friday ratified charges previously filed against former transportation secretaries Juan Pablo Schiavi and Ricardo Jaime.
The court also charged Sergio and Mario Cirigliano, owners of the Buenos Aires Train company.
The court revoked an order by a lower judge last year that relieved the train's machinist and the ex-head of the National Transportation Regulation Committee of any blame.
The train was packed when it slammed into a metal barrier at Buenos Aires' Once station on Feb. 22, 2012.
It marked one of the worst tragedies in Argentina's deteriorating rail system.

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Partial victory for Bolivia in coca fight

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Evo Morales' global crusade to decriminalize the coca leaf, launched in 2006 after the coca growers' union leader was first elected president of Bolivia, has finally attained a partial, if largely, symbolic victory.
A year ago, Bolivia temporarily withdrew from the 1961 U.N. convention on narcotic drugs because it classifies coca leaf, the raw material of cocaine, as an illicit drug.
It has now rejoined, with one important caveat: The centuries-old Andean practice of chewing or otherwise ingesting coca leaves, a mild stimulant in its natural form, will now be universally recognized as legal within Bolivia.
To press for coca's decriminalization, Bolivia's first indigenous president has chewed it at international forums, bestowed coca-leaf art on such figures as former U.S. Secretary of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and promoted the leaf as a "nutritional" ingredient fit for school lunches.
Bolivia's condition for rejoining the convention met resistance from 15 countries, including the United States and the rest of the G8 group of industrial nations, according to U.N. spokeswoman Arancha Hinojal. But the objections received by the United Nations ahead of Thursday's midnight deadline fell far short.
In order to block Bolivia's return to the convention a full third of its signatories — or 63 — needed to object.
Among nations objecting were Germany, Mexico, Russia, Sweden, Britain, Japan, The Netherlands and Portugal. Notably, neither Peru nor Colombia, the world's two other cocaine-producing nations, filed objections. Nor did any other South American nation.
The White House has, since 2008, maintained that Bolivia has failed to meet its international counternarcotics obligations.
"We oppose Bolivia's reservation and continue to believe it will lead to a greater supply of cocaine and increased cocaine trafficking and related crime," said a senior U.S. State Department official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name.
"While we recognize Bolivia's capacity and willingness to undertake some successful counternarcotics activities, especially in terms of coca eradication, we estimate that much of the coca legally grown in Bolivia is sold to drug traffickers, leading to the conclusion that social control of coca (allowing some legal growing) is not achieving the desired results," the official said in a statement.
Morales had long sought to remove language from the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which obliges its signatories to ban the chewing of coca leaves, and temporarily withdrew from it on Jan. 1, 2012.
Morales' government said a celebration was planned for Monday with coca farmers.
"It's a great achievement but much remains to be done," said Rolando Vargas, a coca growers' leader in Cochabamba who belongs to Morales' union.
Coca leaves and coca tea, which fight hunger and alleviate altitude sickness, are widely available in Peru and Colombia and the highlands of northern Argentina. The coca leaf also has deep religious and social value in the Andean region.
Its non-narcotic extract has also been used to flavor the soft drink Coca-Cola.
Bolivia has the world's third-largest coca crop, by U.N. estimate, with 31,000 hectares (120 square miles) under cultivation. More than a third of that crop is legal.
Morales expelled the U.S. ambassador and U.S. counterdrug agents in 2008, accusing them of inciting the opposition.
Washington denies the accusations. Both countries have been working, so far with limited success, to restore relations at the ambassadorial level.
The text of Bolivia's reservation says it "reserves the right to allow in its territory: traditional coca leaf chewing; the consumption and use of the coca leaf in its natural state for cultural and medicinal purposes; its use in infusions; and also the cultivation, trade and possession of the coca leaf to the extent necessary for these licit purposes.

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Venezuela VP to travel to Cuba see Chavez, family

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's vice president said he will travel to Cuba on Friday to visit ailing President Hugo Chavez and his family.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro announced his trip on television, saying he would also meet with Chavez's medical team. The government says the Venezuelan leader is fighting a severe respiratory infection a month after he underwent cancer surgery in Havana.
"I'm leaving for Havana to continue that work of visiting the family, meeting with his medical team, visiting our commander president," Maduro said.
Chavez hasn't spoken publicly or been seen since before his Dec. 11 operation, his fourth cancer-related surgery since June 2011 for an undisclosed type of pelvic cancer.
The government revealed this week that Chavez is receiving treatment for "respiratory deficiency." Medical experts say that might mean he is breathing with the help of a ventilator.
Maduro was making his second trip to Cuba since Chavez's surgery. He said he would meet with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, who also was visiting Havana, and hoped to meet with Peruvian President Ollanta Humala, who arrived Friday in the Cuban capital.
Fernandez arrived at the upscale Hotel Nacional along Havana's waterfront on Friday morning. Authorities have characterized the Argentine leader's trip as a private visit and her foreign minister said Thursday that she intended to meet with Chavez.
She told The Associated Press in Friday afternoon that she would lunch with Cuban President Raul Castro and his retired brother Fidel. "And then surely I will meet with the family of my 'companero' and dear friend Hugo Chavez," Fernandez said.
Arriving at the Havana airport, Humala did not say if had confirmed plans to meet with Chavez.
"Obviously I will ask, I will see, how is President Chavez's situation," Humala told reporters, saying he wishes Chavez a "quick recovery."
Presidents Rafael Correa of Ecuador and Evo Morales of Bolivia have also visited Havana during Chavez's current stay there.
Peruvian analyst Nelson Manrique said Humala's trip was a reflection of the president's personal friendship with Chavez, as well as political.
"There is a sector that would like Peru to be unconditionally aligned with the United States, but this is more prudent politically to develop a multilateral policy," Manrique said. "It doesn't seem probable that Hugo Chavez will continue governing, but in any of the scenarios 'Chavismo' will be a very strong force in Venezuela.
"It's convenient for the Peruvian government to maintain a relationship, leave the door open, and balance the geopolitical relationship with Venezuela as well," the analyst added.
Maduro was designated by Chavez last month as his chosen successor. Maduro said that while he is in Cuba, Electricity Minister Hector Navarro will remain in charge of affairs as acting vice president. The vice president didn't say when he would return.
The vice president's announcement came a day after the government gathered foreign allies and tens of thousands of exuberant supporters to celebrate the start of a new term for Chavez on Thursday, even as he was too ill to return home for a real inauguration.
Despite opposition claims that the constitution demands a Jan. 10 inauguration, the pro-Chavez congress approved delaying the inauguration and the Supreme Court on Wednesday endorsed the postponement, saying the president could be sworn in before the court at a later date.
Jailed former defense minister Raul Baduel urged his countrymen, especially the military, to resist what he called a "new constitutional coup" by Chavez's allies. The former military chief, who is in prison after being convicted of embezzlement and abuse of power, made the remarks in a vaguely worded letter that was released on Friday.
Baduel has insisted he is innocent and dismissed the case against him as a politically motivated reprisal for his opposition to Chavez.
Though he didn't give details about what action he hoped the military would take, Baduel appeared to echo the argument by opposition politicians that Maduro and other Chavez allies are violating the constitution by remaining in office beyond the formal swearing-in date.
The Supreme Court has dismissed that argument, saying the date in the constitution isn't binding if an inauguration is performed before the court rather than the congress, where presidents usually take the oath of office.

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Cubans eager to try new law easing travel rules

HAVANA (AP) — Like many Cubans, 16-year-old Ana Liliam Garcia is excited at the thought of seeing the world beyond this Communist-run island smaller than the state of Pennsylvania.
Once an impossibility, today she dreams of meeting several relatives in Florida — and maybe even Mickey Mouse.
"My cousins and my uncles, they're all in Miami," Garcia said, her eyes lighting up as she talked about a new law taking effect Monday that will let most islanders travel abroad without seeking government permission or paying for costly exit visas. "I would like to see Disneyland in the United States. I'll be able to travel!"
The overhaul of Cuba's decades-old migratory law, announced three months ago, eliminates the much-detested exit visa known as the "white card" and is perhaps the most highly anticipated of a series of reforms initiated under President Raul Castro.
Observers predict it will result in only a modest initial increase in trips by Cubans, who must still get entry visas to travel to most countries, including the United States. And critics note that the law includes a "national security" clause that could be used to bar exits by government opponents, skilled workers and those privy to sensitive information.
But if applied evenhandedly, the opening would eliminate one of the biggest human rights criticisms leveled against a country that has long controlled who can leave, leading opponents to call Cuba an island prison.
"What's important about it is people see this as a symbolic step of some importance more than a substantive one," said Geoff Thale, a Cuba analyst at the Washington Office on Latin America think tank. "It symbolizes the end of the state intruding in the same way it used to in people's regular lives."
The new law has a number of concrete provisions that will benefit many Cubans.
For Garcia, it means a first chance to travel since under the previous rules most minors could only leave Cuba if they planned to do so permanently.
As a dual Spanish citizen, something she and tens of thousands of other Cubans have attained through Spanish ancestry, the teen qualifies to visit Florida without having to worry about a U.S. visa.
Relatives there will help out with airfare and other costs her parents can't afford.
"My aunts and uncles are overjoyed," Garcia said. "In my dreams, I want to see the whole world ... but I always would want to return to where my family and friends are."
The measure greatly simplifies travel by scrapping the exit visa, and doing away with the requirement that Cubans provide a letter of invitation from someone in their country of destination.
In the past nearly all exit visa applications were granted, and relatively quickly, but the costs were prohibitive to many in this country where wages average $20 a month. Between various application and notarization fees, it ran to $300 or more a trip, and some Cubans paid an additional $200 to $300 to people overseas for invitation letters.
Now, islanders need only make a one-time $100 application for a passport, renewable for $20 every two years.
The new rules also raise from 11 to 24 months the amount of time Cubans can be gone without losing residency rights. That will make it easier for people to work or study abroad longer while maintaining ties to the island, potentially sending money to relatives or even returning with hard-currency earnings to invest in newly legalized small businesses or cooperatives.
"It will create more of a revolving door instead of an escape hatch," said Ted Henken, a professor of Latin American studies at Baruch College in New York. "They're removing another thorn in the crown of thorns that a lot of Cubans have to wear."
The migratory law is a PR coup for the Cuban government, which bristles at outside criticism of its human rights record. It also gives Havana ammunition in its crusade against the 50-year U.S. embargo, which bars most Americans from traveling to the island.
"Cuba permits its citizens to come travel here. We don't permit our citizens to travel there without a regulatory framework that is probably stricter than what the Cubans are going to adopt," Thale said. "So it does look hypocritical.
The law also has implications for U.S. policy, which allows Cubans who reach American soil to stay and grants them residency rights after just a year. The Cuban law's 24-month window means there will be a one-year overlap during which immigrants can establish U.S. residency without losing their right of return, potentially spawning a new class of binationals able to move back and forth seamlessly between the two countries.
The stated aim of the United States' Cuban Adjustment Act is to provide refuge for those fleeing oppression, not easy citizenship for those who wish to straddle both worlds, and some Cuban-American lawmakers have already talked of revisiting the policy.
On Friday, the U.S. State Department issued a statement calling the exit visa a "major impediment" to Cubans' travel and welcoming its demise.
"We cannot predict if the change in exit visa requirements will lead to a change in migration patterns from Cuba," spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. "We continue to encourage people not to risk their lives by undertaking dangerous sea journeys and we note that most countries still require that Cuban citizens have entry visas."
As with many things in Cuba, the effect of the reform will come down to how it is implemented.
A key article gives authorities the right to deny passports in some cases, including people facing criminal investigation, those with outstanding debts or for "reasons of Defense and National Security."
The latter provision has widely been interpreted to mean that people in strategic professions, such as military officers, athletes or government figures with access to sensitive information, could be turned down just as they were in the past.
One litmus test will be how Cuba handles dissidents, who are officially considered traitors and are routinely denied travel permission.
Anti-government blogger Yoani Sanchez, who has been barred from leaving at least 19 times, has said state security agents told her in the past she could only leave if it was for good.
"My suitcase is still packed for a trip WITH RETURN!" she tweeted recently. "Will I be allowed to go?"
Berta Soler, a leader of the opposition group the Ladies in White, also said she plans to test the law. If successful, she hopes to finally travel to Strasbourg, France, to receive the European Union's 2005 Sakharov human rights prize.
But dissidents are skeptical their situation will change.
"I think the migratory law is a way of creating the illusion of an opening in the eyes of the international community so Cuba is not criticized so much," said Guillermo Farinas, another Sakharov winner who was turned down for an exit visa in 2006, 2007 and 2010.
There are at least some indications that authorities may be more open to travel in sensitive cases.
This week word emerged of a Health Ministry directive saying doctors are to be treated like all other citizens in their travel requests. The news came as a surprise because health care workers are among those closely guarded to prevent "brain drain" of skilled workers trained at great cost under Cuba's socialist system. It was widely presumed that doctors would fall under the "national security" clause.
That should make life easier for people like Pedro Salazar, a 45-year-old industrial designer. He and his wife, Noelis Rodriguez, have been granted U.S. family-reunification immigrant visas, but have been waiting for Rodriguez, an epidemiologist, to be cleared to leave.
"I'm a professional. What does it matter if I live here or elsewhere?" Salazar said on a recent day outside a migration office. "They educate professionals for free, yes, it's true. But then I spent two years doing social service."
Analysts say islanders will likely not be flocking en masse to the Grand Canyon or the French Riviera anytime soon.
Securing entry visas to Europe or the United States can be difficult for citizens of any developing nation. And low salaries mean millions of Cubans will be priced out.
But experts say more and more islanders will be able to see the outside world, something likely to fuel a demand for more change.
"The new migratory policy is an incentive for (further) reform in politics and the economy," said Arturo Lopez-Levy, a Cuban-born economist at the University of Denver. "The right to travel is a multiplier of rights.

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Manning puts winning streaks on line against Ravens

(Reuters) - Peyton Manning, who has mounted a remarkable comeback with the Broncos, will be aiming to extend two big winning streaks when Denver hosts the Baltimore Ravens in the National Football League playoffs on Saturday.
Manning and the Broncos are gunning for their 12th win in a row this season in the divisional round against the Ravens, a team he has beaten nine consecutive times, with eight of those coming with the Indianapolis Colts dating back to 2002.
The 36-year-old quarterback added to his winning streak against the Ravens with a 34-17 victory last month with a Denver team he joined after missing the entire 2011 season with the Colts after a series of neck surgeries.
Manning picked up where he left off as one of the NFL's preeminent quarterbacks after joining the Broncos, producing a vintage season with his second most touchdown passes (37), second most yards (4,659), second best completion percentage (68.6) and just 11 interceptions.
"Peyton Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history," Baltimore defensive lineman Haloti Ngata told reporters.
"He has bounced back from injury. He has done a lot of great things for Denver. Hopefully, we can have a good week of practice and stop him."
Denver (13-3), as the top-seeded team in the AFC, is coming off a bye, while the Ravens (11-6) defeated the Colts 24-9 last week in their wild-card playoff game.
Quarterback Joe Flacco threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns against the Colts and is the only quarterback in NFL history to win a playoff game in his first five seasons but he is still striving to get all the way to the Super Bowl.
Flacco made many of his biggest throws to veteran wide receiver Anquan Boldin, who had 145 receiving yards in the second half against Indianapolis.
"We're looking forward to this," said Boldin. "I was hoping we'd get Denver again. This time we'll make it different."
The Broncos have speedy pass rushers on one of the fastest defenses in the league, featuring linebacker Von Miller (18.5 sacks) and Elvis Dumervil (11 sacks), on a team that tied for the NFL lead in sacks.
Baltimore has developed a strong one-two punch of runners in all-round back Ray Rice and rookie Bernard Pierce, who emerged late in the season and powered his way to 103 yards last week against the Colts, though in their last game against Denver, they combined for less than 60 yards.
While the Ravens are rallying around soon-to-be retiring linebacker Ray Lewis, Denver can see Manning, who does not take his comeback for granted, hit new heights.
"I remember opening day against Pittsburgh — I remember one year ago I was in a hospital bed watching opening day so ... there's a little reminder of how far I've come," Manning told reporters.
"And then certainly in the month of December, that's when I first got cleared to start throwing. So certainly I have had those checkpoints along the way and...reminders of where I was a year ago.

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Jaguars no longer want hometown hero Tim Tebow

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Tim Tebow won't be playing for his hometown team.
The Jacksonville Jaguars made it clear Thursday that they have no plans to pursue the popular and polarizing New York Jets backup quarterback.
The Jets are likely to release the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner and Jacksonville native during the offseason, and many believed Tebow would land with the Jaguars.
But new general manager David Caldwell nixed that idea at his introductory news conference.
"I can't imagine a scenario in which he'll be a Jacksonville Jaguar — even if he's released," Caldwell said.
And Caldwell won't get any pushback from his new owner.
Shad Khan, who made a run at Tebow last year, said it was Caldwell's call.
"It's not my decision," Khan said. "I want to do whatever to help this team win. Who the players are is really the general manager's and coaches' — it's a football-side operation decision. It's really not my decision."
What has changed for Khan in the 10 months since he wanted Tebow?
"I'm telling them to take a look at Tebow and they're saying, 'We're going to go in a different direction,'" Khan said. "That's the difference."
Tebow starred at nearby Florida, helping the team win two national championship, and created buzz that he would be a huge hit with the Jaguars. He would sell tickets and merchandise, many said, and bring the small-market franchise national recognition and Super Bowl rings.
Despite all the hype, the Jaguars passed on drafting Tebow in 2010 because former general manager Gene Smith didn't view him as a franchise quarterback.
But after Khan took over last year and the Denver Broncos started quietly shopping Tebow, Khan told Smith to look into acquiring the left-hander.
The Jaguars increased their offer several times. By the end of negotiations, Jacksonville had offered a fourth-round pick and agreed to pay $3 million of the $5 million in advance salary the Broncos had already paid Tebow. The money the Jaguars offered was better than the little more than $2.5 million the Jets agreed to pay, and the draft pick was nine spots higher than New York's fourth-round selection.
But it never really got down to the details.
The Broncos told the Jaguars they were allowing Tebow to choose between the teams, and the Jaguars believe Tebow picked the Jets because he felt he would have a better chance to compete for the quarterback job with Mark Sanchez than Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne.
Still, the Jets failed to find a way to effectively use Tebow this season.
Apparently, the Jaguars don't want to try now, either.
"We plan to address the quarterback situation, obviously," Caldwell said. "Blaine is the second-youngest quarterback in the NFL, but we're going to have open competition. Whether it's through draft or through free agency, we'll bring in some more people to compete at the quarterback position. We're going to let the best player win that position."

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Steelers cut Rainey after domestic violence arrest

(Reuters) - The Pittsburgh Steelers have cut rookie running back Chris Rainey following his arrest for a domestic battery, the National Football League team said on Thursday.
"Chris Rainey's actions this morning were extremely disappointing," said Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert in a statement on the team's website. "Under the circumstances and due to this conduct, Chris will no longer be a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers."
Rainey was charged by Gainesville, Florida police with a single count of misdemeanor simple battery following an incident with his girlfriend, according to media reports.
A fifth round selection of the Steelers in last season's draft, Rainey was used primarily on specialty teams during his rookie campaign, returning 39 kickoffs for 1,035 yards while filling in at running back.

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Sony uses movie studio to press ultra-HD advantage

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Sony Corp. is finally pressing its advantage as a conglomerate that owns both high-tech gadgets and the content that plays on them by being the only electronics maker to offer ultra-HD TVs — and a way to get movies to the new super clear screens.
Ultra-high definition TVs, which quadruple the number of pixels of current high definition technology, have been the talk of the International CES gadget show so far. But only Sony has offered a content solution to go with them.
With 84-inch ultra-HD set it launched in November, Sony threw in a tablet and computer server that has 10 movies preloaded on the device — for $25,000. The movies came from the library of Sony Pictures or its subsidiary Columbia Pictures, like "The Amazing Spider-Man" and "The Karate Kid."
On Monday, Sony unveiled 55-inch and 65-inch ultra-HD sets that will sell this spring for an undisclosed price believed to be below $10,000. The Japanese electronics maker said it would launch a download service this summer in the U.S. so buyers of the smaller sets would have access to movies in the clearer format.
For now, it will offer the same 10 movies from its library for download.
After unveiling the service, Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai told reporters that the ultra-HD movies could be made available to other makers like Samsung or LG later. The company is eyeing coordination with other movie studios, but not immediately.
"That's a key differentiator from a Sony perspective that really speaks to the advantage of what we have in terms of both the electronics business and the content business," he said. "For the time being, that's something we bring exclusively to our customers."
Sony is betting big on ultra-HD, and is a leading supplier of a high-end cameras that shoot in the format, which renders moving images at a resolution of 3,840 pixels wide and 2,160 pixels tall. That is twice the length and width of high definition, resulting in four times as many pixels, or more than 8 million.
The company also makes projectors that show movies in so-called 4K, and Hirai said that anyone who has been to the movies lately has probably experienced it firsthand without realizing it.
Getting these higher resolution files to home televisions is no small matter. A Blu-ray disc format has not been created yet and broadcasters are years away from offering TV signals at the higher resolution.
Sony representatives said that buyers of its 55-inch and 65-inch TVs may be asked to buy an ultra-HD server separately, although a final decision hadn't been made. It is also unclear how much downloadable movies will cost.
The company said it would offer Blu-ray discs that are mastered in 4K but compressed to fit on a current Blu-ray disc. The TV's embedded technology presents the compressed movie at close to 4K resolution, but not quite as good as when they are played from the 4K media player.
But with all new technologies, there were glitches.
Hirai had an embarrassing moment Monday when he introduced the world's first ultra-HD TV using organic light-emitting diodes (OLED), only to see the screen go blank as the computer running it had an error.
"This revolutionary TV combines the world's largest OLED display with dazzling 4K resolution, including this beautiful ... interface screen," he said, then turned to see a blank screen as chuckles rippled through the crowd.
Later, Hirai looked back at the 56-inch display only to see the error continue.
"Excellent," he said.
A Sony staffer rolled the TV further away and Hirai carried on his presentation. He later appeared to be good-natured with journalists.
Hirai said the ultra-HD OLED set is a prototype and didn't announce price or availability.
In the Sony booth after the presentation, other ultra-HD OLED screens played without a problem.

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Spending on consumer electronics will climb to $1.1 trillion in 2013

According to the Consumer Electronics Association, worldwide spending on consumer gadgets will reach $1.1 trillion in 2013. The CEA, which organizes the Consumer Electronics Show set to kick off on Tuesday, said global consumer spending on electronics will grow 4% over 2012 after having dipped roughly 1% last year. The estimate comes from Steve Koenig, director of industry analysis for the CEA, and he believes mobile computers, smartphones and tablets will be responsible for more than half of global spending on consumer electronics this year. Koenig warned that the uncertain European economy could have a negative impact on his forecast, however, and tax changes in the U.S. could hurt consumer spending as well.

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With BlackBerry 10, there’s no place like home

Research In Motion (RIMM) has a steep hill to climb as it prepares to unveil its next-generation BlackBerry 10 operating system later this month. Launching sleek new BlackBerry 10 handsets that prompt a healthy portion of its current user base to upgrade is of the utmost importance, of course. Just as important, however, is creating a user experience that showcases compelling differentiation and might draw users away from leading smartphone platforms.
[More from BGR: Apple’s next iPhone to reportedly feature larger screen and ‘brand new exterior design’]
Early glimpses at BlackBerry 10 revealed software that attempts to take a fresh look at the smartphone experience in some ways, but after our first look, we wondered if RIM was going far enough with its new OS. Now that we’re just weeks away from the BlackBerry 10 launch event, RIM appears to have started slowly showing users that BlackBerry 10 will, in fact, provide a unique user experience.
[More from BGR: Smooth sailing is over for Apple]
To highlight one example, RIM’s Donny Halliwell recently took to the company’s BlackBerry blog to discuss BlackBerry 10′s take on smartphone navigation. Unlike iOS and Android, RIM’s new platform does not support a home button, which on other platforms would bring the user back to the home screen from anywhere in the OS.
Why exclude the home button? Halliwell says that BlackBerry 10 is all about “moving forward,” not backward.
“In much the same way you multitask with frames on your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet – keeping one frame in front of you while other frames are minimized – you can keep your most-used apps readily available,” Halliwel wrote while explaining RIM’s new “Flow” interface. He says that like all BlackBerry device owners, he was a “long-time user of the U-turn arrow” and upon first picking up a BlackBerry 10 developer device, he had concerns about navigating the device with no home button.
The Flow interface negates the need for a home button in many respects. Like webOS did before it, Flow presents users with a series of minimized windows representing each open application. The result is a UI that lets users easily jump between apps without the need to return to a home screen between steps. Combined with gesture support, RIM may have indeed simplified the smartphone user experience in several key ways.
“If you think about it, the real world pretty much works the same way,” Halliwell wrote. ”Picture yourself preparing to take a walk: You put on your shoes and coat, grab your keys, and go out the door. The point is that you’re always moving forward in a general ritualistic ‘flow’ toward the goal of taking a walk. You don’t put on your shoes then take them off to put your socks on.”
RIM’s first two next-generation smartphones, the BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry X10, are expected to be unveiled alongside the BlackBerry 10 OS on January 30th.

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AIG decides not to join Greenberg suit against government: WSJ

(Reuters) - American International Group Inc will not join a lawsuit against the U.S. government challenging the terms of the insurer's 2008 bailout, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.
AIG had said its board was meeting Wednesday to consider the possibility of joining the suit filed by former CEO Hank Greenberg.

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Morgan Stanley cuts 1,600 jobs as business languishes

 Morgan Stanley plans to cut 1,600 employees starting this week, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in the latest sign of a pullback on Wall Street as revenue from trading and deal-making remains in the doldrums.
The staff reduction pertains to Morgan Stanley's institutional securities unit - which includes sales, trading and investment banking, and whose staff will be reduced 6 percent - as well as related support staff who work in areas like technology, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
Morgan Stanley Chief Executive James Gorman has pledged to reduce costs, and said in July that he planned to reduce overall staff 7 percent in 2012. The new job cuts are in addition to that plan, the sources said.
The cuts represent roughly 6 percent of the securities unit's staff, the sources said. They represent less than 3 percent of Morgan Stanley's entire estimated workforce at year-end, following other staff reductions in 2012.
"This continues the steady drumbeat of negative news from banks," said Greg Cresci, a Wall Street recruiter with New York-based Odyssey Search Partners. "It's hard to tell where the bottom is, given how many banks have made similar announcements."
The staff cuts are notable because, unlike its chief rival Goldman Sachs Group Inc , which culls the bottom 5 percent of its workforce each year to improve performance, Morgan Stanley does not have such a staff reduction program. But the staff cuts are a symptom of the current ailing business environment in which Wall Street banks are operating, with few areas of revenue growth to improve profits.
For the last two years, trading and investment banking volumes have been on a broad decline, particularly in once-lucrative trading areas. New regulations that ban certain kinds of activity, like proprietary trading, or force banks to hold burdensome amounts of capital, are also prodding banks to exit businesses and reduce staff.
JPMorgan analyst Kian Abouhossein said on Wednesday that he expects Wall Street banks to report a 10 percent decline in revenue for the fourth quarter, compared with the previous period, with double-digit declines in fixed-income and equity trading revenue and a 1 percent uptick in investment banking revenue.
Morgan Stanley's latest job cuts come just a week after Colm Kelleher took full control of the unit on January 1, and add to layoffs across the entire industry that have recently affected tens of thousands of employees.
Morgan Stanley's main rival, Goldman Sachs Group Inc , cut 700 jobs during the first nine months of 2012 as part of a plan to reduce annual expenses by $1.9 billion. Analysts expect the firm's compensation pool to be much lower in the fourth quarter.
Citigroup Inc announced plans last month to cut 11,000 jobs, including some in investment banking and trading, to save $1.1 billion in annual expenses. Credit Suisse Group AG is also cutting securities jobs to reach an annual cost-savings target of 1 billion Swiss francs, while UBS AG said it would cut 10,000 jobs and exit the fixed-income trading business amid losses and new regulations.
Bank of America Corp is also in the process of cutting 30,000 jobs across the firm in a plan unveiled in 2011 aimed at saving $5 billion in annual expenses.
Banks have largely been cutting staff since the subprime housing crisis began to seize markets in late-2007. There was a brief uptick in hiring in 2009 and 2010, when conditions improved temporarily, but since then there has been an almost steady stream of layoff announcements.
On a net basis, U.S. financial companies including lenders, investment banks, insurers and real-estate firms, have cut 5 percent of their staff, or 50,900 employees since the end of 2007, according to U.S. Department of Labor data. The most recent data available run though November.
"We are seeing a redrawing and restructuring of the industry," said John Challenger, chief executive officer of the employment consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "The map continues to be redrawn in terms of regulation, who the competitors are, and the resources banks are willing to commit to the investment banking business."
Although Morgan Stanley's layoffs will affect all staff levels, the likely targets will be more senior employees who take in the biggest paychecks, said one of the sources.
About half of the job cuts will occur in the United States, with the rest affecting international units, said the source.
Morgan Stanley does not regularly disclose the number of employees in its institutional securities business, but it had 57,726 employees worldwide as of September 30. The company is expected to report year-end figures in the coming weeks when it discloses fourth-quarter earnings.

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Wall Street gains as earnings flow in; Boeing up

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose on Wall Street Wednesday after U.S. corporate earnings reports got off to a good start.
The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 61.66 points to 13,390.51, its first gain of the week. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 3.87 points to 1,461.02, and the Nasdaq composite rose 14 to 3,105.81.
Having rallied after a last-minute resolution stopped the U.S. from going over the "fiscal cliff," stocks are facing their first big challenge of the year as companies start to report earnings for the fourth quarter of 2012. Throughout last year, analysts cut their outlook for earnings growth in the period and now expect them to rise by 3.21 percent, according to data from S&P Capital IQ.
"Maybe earnings expectations were a little too low," said Ryan Detrick, a strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research. "You don't need to have great earnings, you just need to beat those expectations" for stocks to rally, Detrick said.
Early indications were decent. Aluminum maker Alcoa reported late Tuesday that it swung to a profit for the fourth quarter, with earnings that met Wall Street's expectations. The company brought in more revenue than analysts had expected, and the company also predicted rising demand for aluminum this year as the aerospace industry gains strength. Alcoa is usually the first Dow component to report earnings every quarter.
Despite the better revenue number, Alcoa's stock performance Wednesday was lackluster. It traded higher for part of the day then ended down 2 cents at $9.08.
Other companies fared better after reporting earnings. Helen of Troy, which sells personal care products under brands including Dr. Scholl's and Vidal Sassoon, rose 2.7 percent, up 90 cents to $34.43 after reporting a 15 percent increase in quarterly net income.
Boeing was the biggest gainer of the 30 stocks in the Dow. It jumped 3.5 percent, up $2.63 to $76.76, following two days of sharp declines triggered by new problems for its 787 Dreamliner. Boeing said it has "extreme confidence" in the plane even as federal investigators try to determine the cause of a fire Monday aboard an empty Japan Airlines plane in Boston and a fuel leak at another JAL 787 on Tuesday.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged down to 1.86 percent from 1.87 percent.
Among other stocks making big moves:
— Wireless network operator Clearwire jumped 7.2 percent, or 21 cents, to $3.13, after Dish network made an unsolicited offer to buy the company, which has already agreed to sell itself to Sprint. Dish rose 88 cents to $36.85, and Sprint fell 9 cents to $5.88.
— Online education company Apollo Group plunged 7.8 percent after reporting a sharp decline in fall-term student sign-ups at the University of Phoenix. The stock fell $1.63 to $19.32.
— Seagate Technology, a maker of hard-disk drives, jumped 6.6 percent, up $2.09 to $33.48, after predicting revenue for its fiscal second quarter that topped Wall Street expectations late Tuesday.
— Bank of America fell 4.6 percent, down 55 cents to $11.43, after Credit Suisse analysts lowered their outlook on the bank to "neutral" for "outperform," saying the current stock price overestimates the improvement in cost reduction that the bank can achieve this year.

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American Football-Alabama crush Notre Dame to win championship

MIAMI (Reuters) - Alabama's 'Crimson Tide' swept aside Notre Dame in the BCS Championship game on Monday, dominating the 'Fighting Irish' 42-14 to win their third college football title in four years.
Notre Dame, 12-0 in the regular season, had been looking for their first national title since 1988 but were all at sea against irresistible Alabama, who set the tone of the game with an utterly one-sided 28-0 first half.
Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron threw four touchdown passes and finished with 264 yards through the air, while running back Eddie Lacy and receiver Amari Cooper had two scores each as the Crimson Tide claimed back-to-back titles.
The victory confirmed Nick Saban as the most successful active coach in college football with four national titles, taking him within two of Alabama great Bear Bryant.
The one-sided nature of a game featuring the top ranked Notre Dame will inevitably lead to further criticism of the ranking system, though a new system is to be introduced in 2014 that will see four teams battle it out for the crown at the end of the regular season.
Regardless of the system, few would argue that Alabama, beaten only by Texas A&M in the regular season, are worthy national champions - a status acknowledged before the game by Las Vegas bookmakers if not the rankings.
The matchup had been described as a return to the pinnacle of college football for Notre Dame but it ended in embarrassment for the team in shiny golden helmets, who have won 11 ‘consensus' national titles but endured some lean years of late.
The chance of a first title since the introduction of the BCS championship game in 1998 drew a huge Notre Dame following to Miami where they made up the bulk of the record 80,120 crowd at the Dolphins' Sun Life stadium.
PULSATING ATMOSPHERE
After marching bands had whipped up the atmosphere, it was quickly apparent that the smaller but wildly enthusiastic Alabama support would be heading home happy.
Alabama's first drive ended in a 20 yard touchdown run from the powerful Lacy, ably assisted by an imposing offensive line that swiftly establish supremacy.
McCarron then found tight-end Michael Williams with a three yard pass as Alabama took a 14-0 first quarter lead.
The second quarter saw a one yard rushing score from T.J. Yeldon and then Lacy collected a pass from McCarron and ran into the end-zone for an 11 yard score.
Alabama's power in the running game was evident in the yards put up by their two main backs - Lacy rushed for 140 yards and Yeldon 108.
Receiver Amari Cooper was left wide-open to score on a 34 yard McCarron pass in the third before Notre Dame gave their fans something to cheer with quarterback Everett Golson running the ball in from two yards out.
McCarron and Cooper combined again for a fourth quarter score before Notre Dame's Golson found Theo Riddick with a six yard pass to make the final score 42-14.
With the game already won and three minutes left on the clock, Saban sent out back-up quarterback Blake Sims and other reserves to get a taste of the glory.

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American Football-Saban completes Crimson dynasty

MIAMI, Jan 8 (Reuters) - University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban secured his status as one of the greats of college football on Monday, guiding the 'Crimson Tide' to their third national title in four years with a crushing 42-14 victory over Notre Dame.
In the same Sun Life Stadium where he endured a brief, fruitless and unhappy experience as an NFL head coach with the Miami Dolphins, Saban tasted college football glory for the fourth time having won earlier in his career with Louisiana State University (LSU).
For the second year in a row, Alabama dominated the national championship game, following up their 21-0 win over LSU last year with an even more convincing display.
Since the BCS Championship game was introduced in 1998 no team has won back-to-back titles but Saban was wary of talking in historic terms.
"I don't think words like 'dynasty' are really words I'm much interested in," said Saban after the game.
"We are interested in accomplishment and consistency in performance and we want to continue to try to do that in the future. Those (words) are for other people to talk about," he said.
"I think it is pretty special what we've accomplished, what the players accomplished and the coaches. One of these days when I'm sitting on the side of a hill watching the stream go by, I'll probably figure it out even more.
"But what about next year's team? You've got to think about that too".
Those are ominous words for Alabama's rivals and it would be a brave person who bets against Saban constructing a third consecutive championship team.
As always Saban was visibly passionate throughout a game in which, as usual, his team was superbly drilled and physically and technically superior to opponents who were unbeaten in their 12-game regular season.
The win is sure to prompt speculation about whether Saban, who had two seasons with the Miami Dolphins, in 2005 and 2006, might now try a second spell in the professional game.
While there will be NFL owners wondering how they might tempt Saban away again from the remarkably successful program he has developed in Tuscaloosa, for now Saban was content to reflect on just what an outstanding team he coached this year.
"I feel great for our players, fans, administration and the people of Alabama," he said.
"Our guys maintained their focus and played through the adversity of winning during a tough season and difficult schedule," he added.
"People talk about how the most difficult thing is to win your first championship. But really the most difficult is to win the next one, because there is always a feeling of entitlement," he said.

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Saban completes Crimson dynasty

MIAMI (Reuters) - University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban secured his status as one of the greats of college football on Monday, guiding the 'Crimson Tide' to their third national title in four years with a crushing 42-14 victory over Notre Dame.
In the same Sun Life Stadium where he endured a brief, fruitless and unhappy experience as an NFL head coach with the Miami Dolphins, Saban tasted college football glory for the fourth time having won earlier in his career with Louisiana State University (LSU).
For the second year in a row, Alabama dominated the national championship game, following up their 21-0 win over LSU last year with an even more convincing display.
Since the BCS Championship game was introduced in 1998 no team has won back-to-back titles but Saban was wary of talking in historic terms.
"I don't think words like 'dynasty' are really words I'm much interested in," said Saban after the game.
"We are interested in accomplishment and consistency in performance and we want to continue to try to do that in the future. Those (words) are for other people to talk about," he said.
"I think it is pretty special what we've accomplished, what the players accomplished and the coaches. One of these days when I'm sitting on the side of a hill watching the stream go by, I'll probably figure it out even more.
"But what about next year's team? You've got to think about that too".
Those are ominous words for Alabama's rivals and it would be a brave person who bets against Saban constructing a third consecutive championship team.
As always Saban was visibly passionate throughout a game in which, as usual, his team was superbly drilled and physically and technically superior to opponents who were unbeaten in their 12-game regular season.
The win is sure to prompt speculation about whether Saban, who had two seasons with the Miami Dolphins, in 2005 and 2006, might now try a second spell in the professional game.
While there will be NFL owners wondering how they might tempt Saban away again from the remarkably successful program he has developed in Tuscaloosa, for now Saban was content to reflect on just what an outstanding team he coached this year.
"I feel great for our players, fans, administration and the people of Alabama," he said.
"Our guys maintained their focus and played through the adversity of winning during a tough season and difficult schedule," he added.
"People talk about how the most difficult thing is to win your first championship. But really the most difficult is to win the next one, because there is always a feeling of entitlement," he said.
"I've never been prouder of a group of young men for what they were able to do."

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Japan PM: Will pursue bold monetary policy, big fiscal spending

 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reiterated on Monday his call for bold monetary easing by the central bank, big fiscal spending and an economic growth strategy as steps towards conquering deflation.
"Above all, the urgent task is to beat deflation," Abe told a meeting of officials from the government and ruling parties.
"A bold monetary policy, a flexible fiscal policy and a growth strategy are aimed at stimulating private investment. With these three pillars, we must aim to beat deflation."
Abe also said the government would do its utmost to quickly enact an extra budget for the current fiscal year and a budget for the next fiscal year to shore up the economy.

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Google executive chairman heading to NKorea

BEIJING (AP) — The Google chairman wants a first-hand look at North Korea's economy and social media in his private visit Monday to the communist nation, his delegation said, despite misgivings in Washington over the timing of the trip.
Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of one of the world's biggest Internet companies, is the highest-profile U.S. executive to visit North Korea — a country with notoriously restrictive online policies — since young leader Kim Jong Un took power a year ago.
Schmidt departed Beijing on Monday aboard a flight to Pyongyang with a delegation led by former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who has traveled more than a half-dozen times to North Korea over the past 20 years. Richardson called the trip a private, humanitarian mission.
"This is not a Google trip, but I'm sure he's interested in some of the economic issues there, the social media aspect. So this is why we are teamed up on this," Richardson said without elaborating on what he meant by the "social media aspect."
"We'll meet with North Korean political leaders. We'll meet with North Korean economic leaders, military. We'll visit some universities. We don't control the visit. They will let us know what the schedule is when we get there," he said.
Richardson also said the delegation plans to inquire about a Korean-American U.S. citizen detained in North Korea.
"We're going to try to inquire the status, see if we can see him, possibly lay the groundwork for him coming home," Richardson said. "I heard from his son who lives in Washington state, who asked me to bring him back. I doubt we can do it on this trip."
The four-day trip, which is taking place just weeks after North Korea fired a satellite into space using a long-range rocket, has drawn criticism from U.S. officials. Washington condemned the Dec. 12 launch, which it considers a test of ballistic missile technology, as a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions barring Pyongyang from developing its nuclear and missile programs. The Security Council is deliberating whether to take further action.
"We don't think the timing of the visit is helpful, and they are well aware of our views," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters last week.
The trip was planned well before North Korea announced its plans to send a satellite into space, two people with knowledge of the delegation's plans told The Associated Press. AP first reported the group's plans last Thursday. Schmidt, a staunch proponent of Internet connectivity and openness, is expected to make a donation during the visit, members of the delegation told AP. They spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to divulge details of the delegation's plans to the media.
The visit is the first by a Google executive to North Korea and comes just days after Kim, who took power following the Dec. 17, 2011, death of his father, Kim Jong Il, laid out a series of policy goals for North Korea in a lengthy New Year's speech. He cited expanding science and technology as a means to improving the country's economy as a key goal for 2013.
Computer and cellphone use is gaining ground in North Korea's larger cities.
However, most North Koreans only have access to a domestic Intranet system, not the World Wide Web. For North Koreans, Internet use is still strictly regulated and allowed only with approval.
Schmidt, who oversaw Google's expansion into a global giant, speaks frequently about the importance of providing people around the world with Internet access and technology.
Google now has offices in more than 40 countries, including all three of North Korea's neighbors: Russia, South Korea and China, another country criticized for systematic Internet censorship.
Accompanying Schmidt is Jared Cohen, a former U.S. State Department policy and planning adviser who heads Google's New York-based think tank. The two collaborated on a book about the Internet's role in shaping society called "The New Digital Age," which comes out in April.

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Global economy: U.S. and China leave feeble Europe in their wake

The economies of the United States, China and much of the developing world have decoupled from Europe, leaving it to wallow in various stages of recession and fiscal disarray.
That is one reason why the key economic event of the coming week will be a European Central Bank meeting almost totally focused on how far policymakers will go to boost growth.
Although there are some signs that a bottom may have been reached in the euro zone's recent economic decline, the pattern of moderate U.S. and Asian growth book-ending feeble Europe is firmly in place for the moment.
Manufacturing surveys published just a few days into 2013 laid out the divide starkly.
The United States and China both came in above the 50 index level that designates growth while the euro zone languished in recessionary territory for the 17th month in a row.
The December U.S. jobs report last Friday also did nothing to dispel the idea of recovery, although the prospect of more wrangling over the U.S. budget still casts a shadow. The dollar has even begun to rise on the distant prospect of an exit from years of stimulus.
"From a growth outlook, it is quite hard for Europe to disappoint," said Michael Metcalfe, responsible for global macro strategy at State Street Global Markets.
He argues that one of the main risks to the current global economic consensus is that there is too much gloom attached to Europe.
ECB MEETS
Most discussion about what the ECB will do at its meeting on Thursday centers on whether it will cut interest rates, something the bank's policymakers discussed last month before opting to hold the refi benchmark at a record low 0.75 percent.
It is an open question among economists about how much use a cut in the refi rate would be. Cutting the deposit rate from zero, meanwhile, would effectively mean charging banks for parking their money.
Part of this refi rate cut talk is because inflation expectations are seen fairly well anchored and because the ECB's own forecasts suggest the euro zone economy will shrink 0.3 percent this year.
"The economic data would support a rate cut," said Sarah Hewin, head of Europe research at Standard Chartered Bank.
The consensus of a Reuters poll in December, however, was for no cut in the first quarter. ECB Executive Board members Yves Mersch and Peter Praet have both dampened expectations of a cut in the main refi rate.
Joerg Asmussen, another ECB board member, also said late last month he would be "very reluctant" about the ECB cutting its deposit rate - now at zero - any further.
Berenberg Bank economist Christian Schulz argues that those against cutting rates have an upper hand at ECB at the moment because ECB President Mario Draghi needs support for his new bond-purchase programme, a backstop to deter investors from selling off debt in countries such as Spain and Italy.
"The commitment to potentially unlimited bond purchases is the key policy tool of the ECB," Schulz wrote in a note.
"To ensure its credibility ... Draghi will have to ensure maximum support for it in the Governing Council, which gives hawks a disproportionate weight and will probably prevent another rate cut to support the economy."
PRICING CHINA
Friday brings China's latest inflation data, once a clear worry for the authorities and financial markets, both of whom feared the economy was growing too fast.
The fact that it is no longer cause for undue concern reflects both the impact of slowing global demand and steady efforts by Beijing to cool things down without a "hard landing" that would have rippled across the world.
Japanese bank Nomura reckons that year-on-year Chinese consumer prices rose 2.2 percent in December, slightly higher than November's 2.0 percent, but way below the peak of 6.5 percent in August 2011.
This would sit well with growth expectations of around 7.7 to 7.8 percent for the year, two full percentage points below growth around two years ago. A soft landing, if you like.
"You had inflation taking off, overheating in real estate and the authorities tightening policy," said Standard Chartered's Hewin.
"(Now) inflation has essentially bottomed out. (The Chinese) authorities are not worried about overheating, nor are they concerned about a hard landing."
"MINI-CLIFF" AHEAD
There is relatively little due from the United States in terms of economic releases, but plenty of issues to chew on.
One is just how widespread the belief is at the Federal Reserve that stimulus should be coming to an end - a surprising discovery in last week's minutes.
The other is the budget. Potential economic disaster was averted at the start of the year with an agreement between the White House and Congress over taxes, avoiding the "fiscal cliff" that threatened huge automatic budget austerity.
But the agreement left many things to be dealt with later.
"In our view, it leaves the door wide open for another debt ceiling fiasco in a matter of weeks, and installed a new "mini-cliff" for government spending in two months," Credit Suisse said in a research note.

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Venezuelan VP says he has visited Chavez twice

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's vice president says he has visited ailing President Hugo Chavez twice in Cuba and plans to return home to Caracas.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro says he spoke with Chavez during their visits. Maduro says the president has "the same strength as always," despite a health situation that he described as complex three weeks after his cancer surgery.
Maduro says he will return to Venezuela on Wednesday.
He made the comments in an interview broadcast Tuesday night by the Caracas-based television network Telesur.

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Venezuelans on edge amid shifting news on Chavez

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Supporters and opponents of President Hugo Chavez alike nervously welcomed the new year Tuesday, left on edge by shifting signals from the government about the Venezuelan leader's condition three weeks after cancer surgery in Cuba.
With rumors swirling that Chavez had taken a turn for the worse, Vice President Nicolas Maduro said in a televised interview in Cuba that he had met with the president twice, spoken with him and planned to return to Venezuela on Wednesday.
Maduro said Chavez faces "a complex and delicate situation." But Maduro also said that when he talked with the president and looked at his face, he seemed to have "the same strength as always."
"All the time we've been hoping for his positive evolution. Sometimes he has had light improvements, sometimes stationary situations," Maduro said in the prerecorded interview, which was broadcast Tuesday night by the Caracas-based television network Telesur.
"I was able to see him twice, converse with him. He's totally conscious of the complexity of his post-operative state and he expressly asked us ... to keep the nation informed always, always with the truth, as hard as it may be in certain circumstances," Maduro said.
Chavez has not been seen or heard from since the Dec. 11 operation, and officials have reported a series of ups and downs in his recovery — the most recent, on Sunday, announcing that new complications from a respiratory infection had put the president in a "delicate" state.
Speculation has grown since Maduro announced those latest troubles, which were a sharp shift from his remark nearly a week earlier that the president had been up and walking.
In Tuesday's interview, Maduro did not provide any new details about Chavez's complications. But he joined other Chavez allies in urging Venezuelans to ignore gossip, saying rumors are being spread due to "the hatred of the enemies of Venezuela."
He didn't refer to any rumors in particular, though one of them circulating online had described Chavez as being in a coma.
Political opponents of Chavez have complained that the government hasn't told the country nearly enough about his health.
Maduro's remarks about the president came at the end of an interview in which he praised his government's programs at length, recalled the history of the Cuban revolution and touched on what he called the long-term strength of Chavez's socialist Bolivian Revolution movement.
He mentioned that former Cuban President Fidel Castro had been in the hospital, and praised Cuba's government effusively. "Today we're together on a single path," Maduro said.
Critics in Venezuela sounded off on Twitter while the interview was aired, some saying Maduro sounded like a mouthpiece for the Cuban government. In their online messages, many Chavez opponents criticized a dearth of information provided by Maduro, accusing him of withholding key details about Chavez's condition. Opposition politicians have demanded that the government provide the country with a full medical report.
Even some of his supporters said on Tuesday that they wished they knew more.
"We're distressed by El Comandante's health," said Francisca Fuentes, who was walking through a downtown square with her grandchildren. "I think they aren't telling us the whole truth. It's time for them to speak clearly. It's like when you have a sick relative and the doctor lies to you every once in a while."
Chavez has been fighting an undisclosed type of pelvic cancer since June 2011. He has declined to reveal the precise location of the tumors that have been surgically removed. The president announced on Dec. 8, two month after winning re-election, that his cancer had come back despite previous surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
"There's nothing we can do except wait for the government to deign to say how he is really," said Daniel Jimenez, an opposition supporter who was in a square in an affluent Caracas neighborhood.
Jimenez and many other Venezuelans say it seems increasingly unlikely that Chavez can be sworn in as scheduled Jan. 10 for his new term.
Venezuelans rang in 2013 as usual with fireworks raining down all over the capital of Caracas. But some of Chavez's supporters had long faces as they gathered in Bolivar Plaza on Monday night holding pictures of the president. A government-sponsored New Year's Eve celebration there had been called off, and instead his supporters strummed guitars and read poetry in Chavez's honor.
Maduro didn't discuss the upcoming inauguration plans, saying only that he's hopeful Chavez will improve.
Chavez has been in office since 1999 and was re-elected in October, three months after he announced that his latest tests showed him to be cancer-free. If he dies or is unable to continue in office, the Venezuelan Constitution says a new election should be held within 30 days.
Before his operation, Chavez acknowledged he faced risks and designated Maduro as his successor, telling supporters they should vote for the vice president if a new presidential election was necessary.
The vice president said that Chavez "has faced an illness with courage and dignity, and he's there fighting, fighting."
"Someone asked me yesterday by text message: How is the president? And I said, 'With giant strength,'" Maduro said. He recalled taking Chavez by the hand, saying "he squeezed me with gigantic strength as we talked.

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Chavez's VP says ailing leader still 'delicate'

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's vice president is returning home Wednesday from a visit with Hugo Chavez in Cuba and says the ailing president's condition remains "delicate" three weeks after his cancer surgery.
With rumors swirling that Chavez had taken a turn for the worse, Vice President Nicolas Maduro said Tuesday that he had met with the president twice and had spoken with him.
"He's totally conscious of the complexity of his post-operative state and he expressly asked us ... to keep the nation informed always, always with the truth, as hard as it may be in certain circumstances," Maduro said in the prerecorded interview in Havana, which was broadcast Tuesday night by the Caracas-based television network Telesur.
Both supporters and opponents of Chavez have been on edge in the past week amid shifting signals from the government about the president's health. Chavez has not been seen or heard from since the Dec. 11 operation, and officials have reported a series of ups and downs in his recovery — the most recent, on Sunday, announcing that he faced new complications from a respiratory infection.
Maduro did not provide any new details about Chavez's complications during Tuesday's interview. But he joined other Chavez allies in urging Venezuelans to ignore gossip, saying rumors were being spread due to "the hatred of the enemies of Venezuela."
He didn't refer to any rumors in particular, though one of them circulating online had described Chavez as being in a coma.
Maduro said Chavez faces "a complex and delicate situation." But Maduro also said that when he talked with the president and looked at his face, he seemed to have "the same strength as always."
"All the time we've been hoping for his positive evolution. Sometimes he has had light improvements, sometimes stationary situations," he said.
Maduro's remarks about the president came at the end of an interview in which he praised Venezuelan government programs at length, recalled the history of the Cuban revolution and touched on what he called the long-term strength of Chavez's socialist Bolivarian Revolution movement.
He mentioned that former Cuban President Fidel Castro had been in the hospital, and praised Cuba's government effusively. "Today we're together on a single path," Maduro said.
Critics in Venezuela sounded off on Twitter while the interview was aired, some saying Maduro sounded like a mouthpiece for the Cuban government. In their messages, many Chavez opponents criticized Maduro for the dearth of information he provided, accusing him of withholding key details about Chavez's condition.
Chavez's political opponents have complained that the government hasn't told the country nearly enough about his health, and have demanded it provide the country with a full medical report.
Even some of his supporters say they wished they knew more.
"We're distressed by El Comandante's health," said Francisca Fuentes, who was walking through a downtown square with her grandchildren Tuesday. "I think they aren't telling us the whole truth. It's time for them to speak clearly. It's like when you have a sick relative and the doctor lies to you every once in a while."
Chavez has been fighting an undisclosed type of pelvic cancer since June 2011. He has declined to reveal the precise location of the tumors that have been surgically removed. The president announced on Dec. 8, two month after winning re-election, that his cancer had come back despite previous surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
"There's nothing we can do except wait for the government to deign to say how he is really," said Daniel Jimenez, an opposition supporter who was in a square in an affluent Caracas neighborhood.
Jimenez and many other Venezuelans say it seems increasingly unlikely that Chavez can be sworn in as scheduled Jan. 10 for his new term. If he dies or is unable to continue in office, the Venezuelan Constitution says a new election should be held within 30 days.
Before his operation, Chavez acknowledged he faced risks and designated Maduro as his successor, telling supporters they should vote for the vice president if a new presidential election was necessary.
Maduro didn't discuss the upcoming inauguration plans, saying only that he is hopeful Chavez will improve.
The vice president said that Chavez "has faced an illness with courage and dignity, and he's there fighting, fighting."
"Someone asked me yesterday by text message: How is the president? And I said, 'With giant strength,'" Maduro said. He recalled taking Chavez by the hand: "He squeezed me with gigantic strength as we talked."

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Fed's Plosser: U.S. unemployment to fall under 7 percent by end - 2013

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Charles Plosser said on Friday that he expected U.S. unemployment to decline to between 6.8 percent and 7.0 percent by the end of this year, helped by economic growth of around 3 percent in both 2013 and 2014.
Plosser also told reporters on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the American Economic Association that he hoped the U.S. central bank would stop buying bonds if the jobless rate indeed fell at this pace, which would bring the level of unemployment close to the Fed's threshold of 6.5 percent.
"Hopefully, if you're getting that close, you will have stopped asset purchases before you get to 6.5 (percent). Otherwise you have really got another problem on your hands," he said. Data released earlier on Friday showed the U.S. unemployment rate held steady at 7.8 percent in December.

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Italy PM Monti says not eyeing role of finance minister in next government

ROME (Reuters) - Outgoing Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said on Friday he was aiming to lead the next government and he was unlikely to agree to be economy minister in another premier's cabinet after February elections.
"I do not think I would have the motivation to commit myself to serve a government that did not agree with me on at least 98 percent of policy," he said when asked whether he would consider the role of economy minister in an interview on La 7 television.

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Fed's Plosser: U.S. potential growth rate has likely been lowered

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Charles Plosser said on Friday that the United States had likely suffered a lasting decline in the trend potential growth rate of its economy as a result of the severe 2007-2009 U.S. recession.
"It certainly looks like we've had a permanent shock," he told a panel discussion on the real business cycle during the annual meeting of the American Economics Association. However, he said that it would take a considerable period of time before the data would be able to verify that trend growth had declined.

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Britain extradites al Qaeda suspect to U.S

LONDON (Reuters) - A Pakistani man accused by British authorities of being an al Qaeda operative who took part in a plot to bomb U.S. and English targets was extradited from Britain to the United States on Thursday to face terrorism charges.
Abid Naseer, 26, was one of a dozen men arrested in April 2009 on suspicion of preparing to cause mass casualties by bombing Manchester city centre in northern England.
He and the other suspects were never charged, but Britain said in addition to the alleged Manchester plot, Naseer was part of a wider al Qaeda cell bent on staging attacks in the United States and Norway.
On Thursday, he was taken by counter-terrorism police from a high security prison in east London to Luton airport, north of the British capital, and handed over to U.S. officials.
He is wanted for trial in the United States for his alleged role in planned suicide bomb attacks on New York City subways in 2009, for which a number of men have already been convicted.
He faces three charges: providing material support to a foreign terrorist organisation; conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation; and conspiracy to use a destructive device.
Naseer and 11 others, mostly students from Pakistan, were arrested in daylight raids in 2009 after Britain's most senior counter-terrorism officer was photographed openly carrying details about the operation.
Britain's then-prime minister, Gordon Brown, said officers were dealing with a "very big terrorist plot", but no explosives were found and all the men were later released as there was not enough evidence to charge them.
Britain's case against them had been based around emails exchanged between Naseer and a Pakistan account believed to be registered to an al Qaeda operative.
British authorities said the emails, which appeared to be discussions about girlfriends and wedding plans, in fact related to ingredients for explosives and they said Naseer posed a serious threat to national security.
The men were ordered to be deported to Pakistan but Naseer won an appeal against the decision because of fears he would be mistreated if he was returned.
He was arrested again in July 2010 when the U.S. warrant was issued, and last month European Court of Human Rights rejected his appeal against the extradition.

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Icelandic girl fights for right to her own name

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Call her the girl with no name.
A 15-year-old is suing the Icelandic state for the right to legally use the name given to her by her mother. The problem? Blaer, which means "light breeze" in Icelandic, is not on a list approved by the government.
Like a handful of other countries, including Germany and Denmark, Iceland has official rules about what a baby can be named. In a country comfortable with a firm state role, most people don't question the Personal Names Register, a list of 1,712 male names and 1,853 female names that fit Icelandic grammar and pronunciation rules and that officials maintain will protect children from embarrassment. Parents can take from the list or apply to a special committee that has the power to say yea or nay.
In Blaer's case, her mother said she learned the name wasn't on the register only after the priest who baptized the child later informed her he had mistakenly allowed it.
"I had no idea that the name wasn't on the list, the famous list of names that you can choose from," said Bjork Eidsdottir, adding she knew a Blaer whose name was accepted in 1973. This time, the panel turned it down on the grounds that the word Blaer takes a masculine article, despite the fact that it was used for a female character in a novel by Iceland's revered Nobel Prize-winning author Halldor Laxness.
Given names are even more significant in tiny Iceland that in many other countries: Everyone is listed in the phone book by their first names. Surnames are based on a parent's given name. Even the president, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, is addressed simply as Olafur.
Blaer is identified as "Stulka" — or "girl" — on all her official documents, which has led to years of frustration as she has had to explain the whole story at the bank, renewing her passport and dealing with the country's bureaucracy.
Her mother is hoping that will change with her suit, the first time someone has challenged a names committee decision in court.
Though the law has become more relaxed in recent years — with the name Elvis permitted, inspired by the charismatic rock and roll icon whose name fits Icelandic guidelines — choices like Cara, Carolina, Cesil, and Christa have been rejected outright because the letter "c'' is not part of Iceland's 32-letter alphabet.
"The law is pretty straightforward so in many cases it's clearly going to be a yes or a no," said Agusta Thorbergsdottir, the head of the committee, a panel of three people appointed by the government to a four-year term.
Other cases are more subjective.
"What one person finds beautiful, another person may find ugly," she acknowledged. She pointed to "Satania" as one unacceptable case because it was deemed too close to "Satan."
The board also has veto power over people who want to change their names later in life, rejecting, for instance, middle names like Zeppelin and X.
When the artist Birgir Orn Thoroddsen applied to have his name legally changed to Curver, which he had used in one form or another since age 15, he said he knew full well the committee would reject his application.
"I was inspired by Prince who changed his name to The Artist Formerly Known As Prince and Puff Daddy who changed his to P. Diddy and then Diddy with seemingly little thought or criticism," he said. "I applied to the committee, but of course I got the 'No' that I expected."
On his thirtieth birthday, he bought a full-page advertisement that read, "From February 1, 2006, I hereby change my name to Curver Thoroddsen. I ask the nation, my friends and colleagues to respect my decision."
"I can understand a clause to protect children from being named something like 'Dog poo,' but it is strange that an adult cannot change his name to what he truly wants," he said.
Thoroddsen is keeping his protest to the media. But Eidsdottir says she is prepared to take her case all the way to the country's Supreme Court if a court doesn't overturn the commission decision on Jan. 25.
"So many strange names have been allowed, which makes this even more frustrating because Blaer is a perfectly Icelandic name," Eidsdottir said. "It seems like a basic human right to be able to name your child what you want, especially if it doesn't harm your child in any way.

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Better margins a bonus for Next as Christmas sales rise

Next, Britain's No.2 clothing retailer, nudged its full-year profit forecast higher after an increase in sales over the Christmas period was supplemented by improved margins due to a renewed attack on costs.
Shares in Next, which has a long-standing policy of never going on sale before December 26, rose 2.3 percent on Thursday, topping the FTSE 100 leader board, after it forecast profit growth in both the 2012/13 and 2013/14 years even though it expects the consumer environment to stay subdued.
With Britain facing a possible triple-dip recession, many retailers have been finding the going tough as consumers fret over job security and a squeeze on incomes.
"I think it is getting slowly better in that the difference between inflation and wages is narrowing and I think will probably continue to narrow," chief executive Simon Wolfson told Reuters.
"But certainly for the rest of 2013 I still think real incomes will drop, albeit at probably a lower rate than they fell last year," said Wolfson, a supporter of Britain's ruling Conservative Party, who sits in the upper house of Parliament.
Next has generally defied the economic gloom, helped by its strong online offer, a constant stream of new store openings and diversification into homewares and overseas markets.
On Wednesday, John Lewis, Britain's largest department store group, posted record Christmas sales, driven by stellar online trade. That performance was mirrored on Thursday by upmarket grocer Waitrose, which is also part of the John Lewis stable.
Kicking off the post-Christmas retail reporting season for listed companies, Next said total sales, excluding VAT sales tax, rose 3.9 percent in the November 1 to December 24 period.
That compared with an increase of 2.7 percent in its third quarter, giving a year to date rise of 3.9 percent - in line with guidance of 3.0-4.5 percent.
Sales at Next's over 500 stores in Britain and Ireland rose 0.8 percent in the November, December period while sales at the Directory home shopping, internet and catalogue business increased 11.2 percent.
Although sales were in line with internal expectations, cost control measures, markdowns and gross margins were all slightly better than expected, the firm said, adding that its post-Christmas Sale had started well.
Wolfson said a host of costs, such as in warehousing, distribution and store operations, had come in below budget. Further cost savings have been identified for the 2013/14 year.
Next now expects a year to end-January 2013 pretax profit of 611-625 million pounds ($995 million-$1.02 billion), up from previous guidance of 590-620 million pounds.
It forecast earnings per share growth for 2012-13 of 14-17 percent, partly reflecting a 241 million pounds share buyback.
Shares in Next, up 38 percent over the last year, were up 84 pence at 3,856 pence at 1122 GMT, valuing the business at 6.2 billion pounds.
"Next remains our top pick of the FTSE 100 Retailers, a core sector holding underpinned by a flexible store base and the benefits of Directory," said Peel Hunt analyst John Stevenson, who raised his 12-month target price to 4,000 pence.
For the 2013-14 year the firm guided to sales growth of 1.5-4.0 percent, with profit up in line with sales and a further 250 million pounds of share buy backs.
"International and online will continue to grow and we will continue to open profitable new space," said Wolfson, flagging 250,000 square feet for 2013-14, with new space skewed to the home area.
He said Next was not seeing any rise in the cost of its spring/summer stock, a lot of which has already been purchased.
"So we can say that with some certainty there will be zero inflation in the price of spring/summer stock in like-for-like product.

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Basque group announces it is dissolving

BAYONNE, France (AP) — The Basque nationalist group known as Batasuna — legal in France but banned in Spain — has announced that it is dissolving after 11 years.
It leaders said Thursday that Batasuna, which means "unity," is dissolving because "the Basque country is witnessing a new political phase."
In Spain, Batasuna has been outlawed since 2003 for its links to the separatist group ETA, but in France it has had a low-profile presence pressing for autonomy for the three French Basque provinces and union with the four Basque provinces in Spain.
A statement by Batasuna noted the ETA's decision to end armed conflict in January 2011. The group said its struggle for a "free, united Basque country" will continue with other "political tools.

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British zoos start annual census

LONDON (AP) — In a sea of flapping black and white flippers, Ricky is hard to miss: He's got spiky yellow feathers, a flamboyant character, and he's the only rockhopper among the dozens of penguins living in the London Zoo.
That's a big help for keepers embarking on their annual stock-taking of all the zoo's residents. It's no easy task, when there are more than 17,500 creatures to count. All animals have to be accounted for, including the tarantulas, locusts and snails.
Zoo managers started the painstaking process on Thursday, and the final tally could take weeks.
Officials hope this year will bring new partners and families to a range of animals. An all-female family of nine otters has been waiting for a new male to arrive, and Ricky, who has been the lone rockhopper in the zoo since 2011, would also appreciate a mate.
"Ricky's quite a unique character — he was rejected by his parents and was hand-reared. He's more interested in zoo keepers than in other penguins," said zoological director David Field. "It's time to get him some rockhopper partners."
The census is required as part of the zoo's license terms, and the data is used for zoo management and international breeding programs for endangered animals.
Most animals in the zoo have microchips in their bodies, making counting a little less daunting. Fish and animals with camouflage properties — like leaf insects — are trickier, and the tiniest ones such as ants are counted in colonies, not as individuals.
New additions to the zoo being counted for the first time included baby Ziggy, an endangered white-naped mangabey monkey, and Maxilla, a black-and-white colobus monkey.
The zoo also welcomed a pair of new Sumatran tigers — male Jae Jae from a zoo in Ohio in the U.S. and female Melati, from Perth, Australia.
The tigers were matched by an international breeding program to ensure a genetically diverse population of animals. They will soon be properly introduced to each other and meet visitors in a newly expanded enclosure in spring.
"We breed them in the zoo because they are running out of time in the wild," said Field, who's hopeful the tigers will soon produce cubs.
The World Wildlife Fund says there are now fewer than 400 of the big cats, which are native to Indonesia.

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