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.

Read More..

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.

Read More..

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.

Read More..

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.

Read More..

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.

Read More..

Fed becoming worried about stimulus side effects

 Federal Reserve officials are increasingly concerned about the potential risks of the U.S. central bank's asset purchases on financial markets, even if they look set to continue an open-ended stimulus program for now.
In a surprise to Wall Street, minutes from the Fed's December policy meeting, published on Thursday, showed a growing reticence about further increases in the central bank's $2.9 trillion balance sheet, which it expanded sharply in response to the financial crisis and recession of 2007-2009.
"Several (officials) thought that it would probably be appropriate to slow or to stop purchases well before the end of 2013, citing concerns about financial stability or the size of the balance sheet," the minutes said, referring to the narrower group of voting Fed members.
Investors picked up on the report's hawkish tone, with stock prices drifting lower after the announcement, while the U.S. dollar extended gains against the euro. Yields on the 30-year Treasury bond hit 3.12 percent, their highest levels since May.
"The minutes of the Federal Reserve's December monetary policy meeting revealed a somewhat surprising level of concern among the ranks of central bankers regarding the long-term impact of the bank's asset purchase program, or quantitative easing," said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington D.C.
Still, the Fed appeared likely to continue buying assets for the foreseeable future, having announced in December it was extending monthly purchases of $40 billion in mortgage securities and also buying $45 billion in Treasuries each month.
A few of the voting members on the central bank's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee thought asset buying would be warranted until about the end of 2013. A few others highlighted the need for further large-scale stimulus but did not specify an amount or time frame.
Fed officials generally agreed that the labor market outlook was not likely to improve without further nudging from the monetary authorities.
QE "HEEBIE-JEEBIES"
The U.S. economy expanded a respectable 3.1 percent in the third quarter on an annualized basis, but growth is believed to have slowed sharply to barely above 1.0 percent in the last three months of the year.
Data on Thursday showed a solid gain of 215,000 new private sector jobs for December, while analysts polled by Reuters last week were looking for a rise of 150,000 new jobs in the Labor Department's official survey, due out on Friday.
Still, the minutes indicated worries about quantitative easing policies were spreading beyond the usual regional Fed hawks who, like Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, have opposed additional Fed easing.
"What's clear from these minutes is that there is little consensus among the members of the FOMC on how long asset purchases should carry on," said Jason Conibear, trading director at Cambridge Mercantile.
"Some members want more accommodation for as long as it takes, some want more but to start winding it down while others have got the heebie-jeebies about the size of the balance sheet."
In the December meeting, the Fed also launched a new framework of policy thresholds, numerical guideposts that are supposed to give markets and the public a clearer idea of how policymakers will react to incoming economic data.
Officials say they will keep interest rates near zero until the unemployment rate falls to 6.5 percent for as long as estimates of medium-run inflation do not exceed 2.5 percent.
The minutes suggested it took officials some time to build a consensus around the idea.
"A few participants expressed a preference for using a qualitative description of the economic indicators influencing the Committee's thinking," the minutes said.
U.S. unemployment has come down steadily after hitting a peak of 10 percent in late 2009, but remains elevated at 7.7 percent.
Fed officials noted worries about the looming "fiscal cliff," which was dealt with only partly in an agreement earlier this week, were hurting the confidence of businesses and households.

Read More..

Stocks fade after Fed discloses split on stimulus

A two-day rally in the stock market came to an end Thursday afternoon when an account of the Federal Reserve's last meeting revealed a split between bank officials over how long the Fed should keep buying bonds to support the economy.
The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 index treaded water for much of the day, then slid into the red around 2 p.m. Eastern, after the Fed released the minutes from its December meeting.
The Dow ended with a loss of 21.19 points at 13,391.36.
The S&P 500 lost 3.05 points to 1,459.37 and the Nasdaq composite fell 11.70 to 3,100.57.
At last month's meeting of the Federal Reserve's policy-making committee, the central bank pledged to buy $85 billion of Treasurys and mortgage-backed bonds and also keep a benchmark interest rate near zero until the unemployment rates drops below 6.5 percent.
On Thursday, the minutes from that meeting showed Fed officials were divided over the bond purchases. Some of its 12 voting members thought they should continue through this year, while another group thought they should be slowed or stopped much earlier. Just "a few" members saw no need for a time frame, according to the minutes.
"It's pretty surprising," said Thomas Simons, market economist at the investment bank Jefferies. "I think everybody thought there was broad agreement on policy, but now it seems like few of them really wanted to vote for it."
The stock market opened on a weak note after retailers reported mixed holiday sales and as the prospect of a new budget battle in Congress loomed. UnitedHealth Group led the Dow lower. The insurance giant's stock fell $2.55 to $51.99 after analysts at Deutsche Bank and other firms cut their ratings on the stock.
"It's natural to relax a bit after such a huge day as yesterday," said Lawrence Creatura, who manages a small-company fund at Federated Investors.
The Dow soared 308 points Wednesday, its largest point gain since December 2011. The rally was ignited after lawmakers passed a bill to avoid a combination of government spending cuts and tax increases called the "fiscal cliff."
That deal gave the market a jump start into the new year. The Dow and the S&P 500 are already up more than 2 percent.
"We're off to a very strong start," Creatura said. "The dominant reason is the resolution of the fiscal cliff. But January is usually a strong month, as investors all shift money into the market at the same time. When the calendar flips, it's as if you're allowed to begin the race anew."
Economists had warned that the full force of the fiscal cliff could drag the country into a recession. The law passed late Tuesday night averted that outcome for now, but other fiscal squabbles are likely in the months ahead. Congress must raise the government's borrowing limit soon or be forced to choose between slashing spending and paying its debts.
In other Thursday trading, prices of U.S. government bonds fell, sending their yields higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.90 percent from 1.84 percent late Wednesday, a sign that some bond traders believe the Fed minutes hinted at an early end to its bond buying.
Family Dollar Stores sank 13 percent after reporting earnings that fell short of analysts' projections. The company also forecast a weaker outlook for the current period and full year. Family Dollar's stock lost $8.30 to $55.74.
Nordstom Inc. surged 3 percent after the department-store chain reported strong holiday sales, especially in the South and Midwest. Nordstrom's stock was up $1.64 to $55.27.
Among other stocks making big moves:
— Transocean jumped $2.96 to $49.20. The owner of the oil rig that sank in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 after an explosion killed 11 workers reached a $1.4 billion settlement with the Justice Department.
— Hormel Foods, known for making Spam and other meat products, said that it's buying Skippy, the country's No. 2 peanut butter brand, from Unilever for about $700 million. Hormel's stock jumped $1.19 to $33.20.

Read More..

Fiscal-cliff deal no recipe for a robust economy

Housing is rebounding. Families are shrinking debts. Europe has avoided a financial crackup. And the fiscal cliff deal has removed the most urgent threat to the U.S. economy.
So why don't economists foresee stronger growth and hiring in 2013?
Part of the answer is what Congress' agreement did (raise Social Security taxes for most of us). And part is what it didn't do (prevent the likelihood of more growth-killing political standoffs).
By delaying painful decisions on spending cuts, the deal assures more confrontation and uncertainty, especially because Congress must reach agreement later this winter to raise the government's debt limit. Many businesses are likely to remain wary of expanding or hiring in the meantime.
One hopeful consensus: If all the budgetary uncertainty can be resolved within the next few months, economists expect growth to pick up in the second half of 2013.
"We are in a better place than we were a couple of days ago," Chad Moutray, chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers, said a day after Congress sent President Barack Obama legislation to avoid sharp income tax increases and government spending cuts. But "we really haven't dealt with the debt ceiling or tax reform or entitlement spending."
Five full years after the Great Recession began, the U.S. economy is still struggling to accelerate. Many economists think it will grow a meager 2 percent or less this year, down from 2.2 percent in 2012. The unemployment rate remains a high 7.7 percent. Few expect it to drop much this year.
Yet in some ways, the economy has been building strength. Corporations have cut costs and have amassed a near-record $1.7 trillion in cash. Home sales and prices have been rising consistently, along with construction. Hiring gains have been modest but steady. Auto sales in 2012 were the best in five years. The just-ended holiday shopping season was decent.
Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist for the Economic Outlook Group, thinks the lack of finality in the budget fight is slowing an otherwise fundamentally sound economy.
"What a shame," Baumohl said in a research note Wednesday. "Companies are eager to ramp up capital investments and boost hiring. Households are prepared to unleash five years of pent-up demand."
The economy might be growing at a 3 percent annual rate if not for the threat of sudden and severe spending cuts and tax increases, along with the haziness surrounding the budget standoff, says Ethan Harris, co-director of global economics at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Still, Congress' deal delivered a walloping tax hike for most workers: the end of a two-year Social Security tax cut. The tax is rising back up to 6.2 percent from 4.2 percent. The increase will cost someone making $50,000 about $1,000 a year and a household with two high-paid workers up to $4,500.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, calculates that the higher Social Security tax will slow growth by 0.6 percentage point in 2013. The other tax increases — including higher taxes on household incomes above $450,000 a year — will slice just 0.15 percentage point from growth, Zandi says.
Congress' deal also postpones decisions on spending cuts for military and domestic programs, including Medicare and Social Security. In doing so, it sets up a much bigger showdown over raising the government's borrowing limit. Republicans will likely demand deep spending cuts as the price of raising the debt limit. A similar standoff in 2011 brought the government to the brink of default and led Standard & Poor's to yank its top AAA rating on long-term U.S. debt.
Here's how key parts of the economy are shaping up for 2013:
— JOBS
With further fights looming over taxes and spending, many companies aren't likely to step up hiring. Congress and the White House will likely start battling over raising the $16.4 trillion debt limit in February.
Many economists expect employers to add an average of 150,000 to 175,000 jobs a month in 2013, about the same pace as in 2011 and 2012. That level is too weak to quickly reduce unemployment.
The roughly 2 million jobs Zandi estimates employers will add this year would be slightly more than the 1.8 million likely added in 2012. Zandi thinks employers would add an additional 600,000 jobs this year if not for the measures agreed to in the fiscal cliff deal.
Federal Reserve policymakers have forecast that the unemployment rate will fall to 7.4 percent, at best, by year's end. Economists regard a "normal" rate as 6 percent or less.
— CONSUMER SPENDING
Consumer confidence fell in December as Americans began to fear the higher taxes threatened by the fiscal cliff. Confidence had reached a five-year high in November, fueled by slowly declining unemployment and a steady housing rebound. Consumer spending is the driving force of the economy.
But the deal to avoid the cliff won't necessarily ignite a burst of spending. Taxes will still rise for nearly 80 percent of working Americans because of the higher Social Security tax rate.
Since the recession officially ended in June 2009, pay has barely kept up with inflation. The Social Security tax increase will cut paychecks further. And with the job market likely to remain tight, few companies have much incentive to hand out raises.
Thanks to record-low interest rates, consumers have whittled their debts to about 113 percent of their after-tax income. That's the lowest share since mid-2003, according to Haver Analytics. And the delinquency rate for users of bank credit cards is at an 18-year low, the American Bankers Association reported Thursday.
Yet that hardly means people are ready to reverse course and ramp up credit-card purchases. Most new spending would have to come from higher incomes, says Ellen Zentner, senior economist at Nomura Securities.
"We don't see the mindset of, 'Let's run up the credit card again,'" she says.
— HOUSING
Economists are nearly unanimous about one thing: The housing market will keep improving.
That's partly because of a fact that's caught many by surprise: Five years after the housing bust left a glut of homes in many areas, the nation doesn't have enough houses. Only 149,000 new homes were for sale at the end of November, the government has reported. That's just above the 143,000 in August, the lowest total on records dating to 1963. And the supply of previously occupied homes for sale is at an 11-year low.
"We need to start building again," says Patrick Newport, an economist at IHS Global Insight.
Sales of new homes in November reached their highest annual pace in 2½ years. They were 15 percent higher than a year earlier. And October marked a fifth straight month of year-over-year price increases in the 20 major cities covered by the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller national home price index.
Potential homebuyers "are more likely to buy, and banks are more likely to lend" when prices are rising, says James O'Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. "It feeds on itself."
Higher prices are also encouraging builders to begin work on more homes. They were on track last year to start construction of the most homes in four years.
Ultra-low mortgage rates have helped spur demand. The average rate on the U.S. 30-year fixed mortgage is 3.35 percent, barely above the 3.31 percent reached in November, the lowest on records dating to 1971.
Housing tends to have an outside impact on the economy. A housing recovery boosts construction jobs and encourages more spending on furniture and appliances. And higher home prices make people feel wealthier, which can also lead to more spending.
"When you have a housing recovery, it's nearly impossible for the U.S. economy to slip into recession," Zentner says.
— MANUFACTURING
Factories appear to be recovering slowly from a slump last fall. The Institute for Supply Management's index of manufacturing activity rose last month from November. And a measure of employment suggested that manufacturers stepped up hiring in December. Factories had cut jobs in three of the four months through November, according to government data.
Another encouraging sign: Americans are expected to buy more cars this year. That would help boost manufacturing output. Auto sales will likely rise nearly 7 percent in 2013 over last year to 15.3 million, according to the Polk research firm. Sales likely reached 14.5 million last year, the best since 2007. In 2009, sales were just 10.4 million, the fewest in more than 30 years.
And if Congress can raise the federal borrowing limit without a fight that damages confidence, companies might boost spending on computers, industrial machinery and other equipment in the second half of 2013, economists say. That would help keep factories busy.

Read More..

Auto industry posts best U.S. sales year since 2007

U.S. auto sales rose 9 percent in December, led by foreign manufacturers, capping off the best year for the industry since before the recession.
The year's sales were driven by a slowly recovering economy, more available credit and the need for consumers and businesses to replace aging cars and trucks.
General Motors Co posted December U.S. sales growth of 5 percent compared with the year-earlier month, Ford Motor Co increased sales 2 percent and Chrysler Group LLC's sales rose 10 percent.
Wall Street cheered the results, sending GM and Ford stock to their highest levels since July 2011. GM shares ended 2.4 percent higher at $29.82 and Ford shares were up 2 percent to end at $13.46 on Thursday.
Research and consulting firm Polk said it expects U.S. auto sales to hit 15.3 million vehicles in 2013. GM and Ford both predicted industry sales of more than 15 million vehicles, but Toyota Motor Corp offered a more modest forecast of 14.7 million vehicles.
For the year just ended, U.S. auto sales rose 13.5 percent to nearly 14.5 million new vehicles, the best performance since 2007, according to Reuters calculations.
In the decade prior to 2008 when the recession slowed the industry, U.S. auto sales averaged nearly 17 million vehicles a year.
While last month's auto sales showed little impact of jitters caused by the so-called fiscal cliff - which proved largely averted - automakers expressed worry over the fog of uncertainty still emanating from Washington.
The impact of a payroll tax increase that took effect at the start of the year and the upcoming congressional debate over raising the U.S. debt ceiling may keep some consumers out of the market in 2013, several automakers said.
"It would have been nice if all the open questions had been resolved in the 'fiscal cliff' discussion over the holiday, but clearly they weren't, and that does extend this period of uncertainty from a consumer point of view," Jonathan Browning, head of Volkswagen AG's American unit, told reporters on a conference call.
A 2 percentage-point payroll tax increase will take about $1,000 from the average household budget, said Ford economist Ellen Hughes-Cromwick.
"It is something that we're looking at very carefully, as it will crimp the consumer spending scene somewhat in the months ahead," said Hughes-Cromwick.
Jesse Toprak, analyst with TrueCar.com, said the hit to households would be about the same amount as a down payment on a new vehicle.
"The cheap financing and improved income will make up for that, but that's something we're going to have a keep an eye on," he said.
Hughes-Cromwick said the tax increases for the wealthiest Americans will not greatly affect auto sales, because they tend to purchase new vehicles even if taxes change.
Tom Libby, an analyst at Polk, said continued low interest rates along with an improved housing sector and new product offerings from major automakers will make 2013 a bullish year for the industry.
Detroit's automakers showed December U.S. sales gains of 5 percent, slightly better than analysts' expectations, but not enough to stave off market-share gains by Toyota and Honda Motor Co Ltd .
The two largest Japanese automakers in the U.S. market rebounded from poor showings in 2011 when their inventory was constrained after the Japan earthquake and tsunami.
Toyota reported a 9 percent U.S. sales increase for December, which met analysts' expectations. Honda's December sales rose 26 percent but fell short of analysts' expectations. Honda sales are up 24 percent on the year.
Toyota's 2012 U.S. sales rose about 27 percent, compared with gains of 3.7 percent for GM, 4.7 percent for Ford, and 21 percent for Chrysler.
U.S. MARKET SHARE
GM's U.S. market share is now at its lowest level since at least 1960, and probably at a low not seen since 1930, according to industry journal Ward's Auto.
GM and Ford lost market share in 2012, dented by competition from Toyota and Honda which recovered from 2011 earthquake-related setbacks.
GM's 2012 market share fell to 17.9 percent from 19.6 percent in 2011. Its market share was 23.5 percent in 2007, before the recession. Ford's 2012 market share fell to 15.5 percent from 16.8 percent in 2011.
"We're always concerned about market share - always," said Mark Reuss, GM chief in North America. "But we're not going to give it away like we did in the past and burn the residuals and the brand values in anticipation of the biggest product portfolio launch that we've had in history."
Reuss referred to the years before GM's 2009 bankruptcy and taxpayer bailout, when vehicle production outpaced demand and it layered on incentives to lower prices for consumers.
The F-Series pickup truck from Ford, the top-selling vehicle in North America for more than three decades, had its best sales month in December since August 2007.
The F-Series remained the best-selling vehicle in the United States, with annual sales of 645,316, followed again by the full-size Chevrolet Silverado pickup, at 418,312.
BMW WINS LUXURY CROWN
Most luxury brands had a good year. BMW for the second straight year edged German rival Mercedes-Benz for the U.S. sales crown, followed by Toyota's Lexus and Honda's Acura.
The two U.S. luxury brands both saw sales fall in 2012, with Cadillac down 1.7 percent and Lincoln off 4.1 percent.
Japanese models swept the next four places, with Toyota Camry leading the Honda Accord, Honda Civic and Nissan Altima. Chrysler's Ram pickup placed seventh, followed by Toyota Corolla, Ford Escape and Ford Focus.
Both GM and Ford went into the recession that began in late 2007 - and into 2008 when gasoline prices spiked - overladen with low-mileage big pickup trucks and SUVs.
GM said on Thursday that in 2012 it sold in the U.S. market more than 1 million vehicles that get at least 30 miles per gallon in highway driving. And Ford said that in the year it sold the most small cars since 2001.
Sales of high-profile hybrid and electric vehicles were a mixed bag in 2012. GM's Chevrolet Volt tripled sales to 23,461, but still fell well short of the company's original goal of 40,000 vehicles. Nissan's Leaf was virtually flat, at 9,819.
Toyota maintained its lead in the green-car category, with total Prius sales of 236,659, up 73 percent with the addition of three new Prius derivatives in the past year.
Chrysler easily beat analysts' expectations and had its 33rd consecutive month of year-on-year sales gains. Its annual sales rose 21 percent. Its market share in 2012 rose to 11.4 percent from 10.7 percent in 2011. Chrysler is majority-owned by Italian automaker Fiat SpA .
Sales for South Korea's Hyundai Motor Corp and Kia Motors Co rose 5 percent. Hyundai, the larger of the sister companies, reported full-year U.S. sales of 703,007 vehicles, a company record.
Volkswagen reported a monthly increase of 31.5 percent for its namesake brand and luxury brands Audi and Porsche and a 30 percent gain for the full year.
December sales fell 12 percent for Lincoln, Ford's luxury brand.
Aided heavily by consumer incentives that reduce the price of the vehicles, GM in December dramatically trimmed its inventory of full-size pickup trucks to 80 days of supply from 139 days at the end of November. Most automakers like to have about 80 days of supply of these pickup trucks.
For the overall industry, the pace of annual sales increases has been in the double digits since the market bottomed in 2009, when it hit the worst annual sales rate since World War Two, adjusting for population.

Read More..

Huge gadget show gears up in Vegas

Think your high-definition TV is hot stuff — as sharp as it gets? At the biggest trade show in the Americas, which kicks off next week in Las Vegas, TV makers will be doing their best to convince you that HDTVs are old hat, and should make room for "Ultra HDTV."
It's the latest gambit from an industry struggling with a shift in consumer spending from TVs, PCs and single-purpose devices such as camcorders to small, portable do-it-all gadgets: smartphones and tablets. The Consumer Electronics Association estimates that device shipments to U.S. buyers fell 5 percent in dollar terms last year excluding smartphones and tablets, but rose 6 percent to $207 billion if you include those categories.
The trends suggest that the International CES (formerly the Consumer Electronics Show) is losing its stature as a start-of-the-year showcase for the gadgets that consumers will buy over the next 12 months. It started out as a venue for the TV and stereo industries. Later, PCs joined the party.
But over the last few years, TVs and PCs have declined in importance as portable gadgets have risen and CES hasn't kept pace. It's not a major venue for phone and tablet launches, though some new models will likely see the light of day there when the show floor opens on Tuesday. The biggest trendsetter in mobile gadgets industry, Apple Inc., stays away, as it shuns all events it doesn't organize itself.
Apple rival Microsoft Corp. has also scaled back its patronage of the show. For the first time since 1999, Microsoft's CEO won't be delivering the kick-off keynote. Qualcomm Inc. has taken over the podium. It's an important maker of chips that go into cellphones, but not a household name.
None of this seems to matter much to the industry people who go to the show, which is set to be bigger than ever, at least in terms of floor space.
Gary Shapiro the CEO of the organizing Consumer Electronics Association, expects attendance close to the 156,000 people who turned out last year. That's pretty much at capacity for Las Vegas, which has about 150,000 hotel rooms. The show doesn't welcome gawkers: the attendees are executives, purchasing managers, engineers, marketers, journalists and others with connections to the industry.
"We don't want to be over 160,000," Shapiro said in an interview. "We do everything we can not to be too crowded."
Nor do the shifting winds of the technology industry seem to matter much to exhibitors. Though some big names are scaling back or missing, there are many smaller companies clamoring for booth space and a spot in the limelight for a few days. For example, while Apple doesn't have an official presence at the show, there will be 500 companies displaying Apple accessories in the "iLounge Pavilion."
Overall, the CEA sold a record 1.9 million square feet of floor space (the equivalent of 33 football fields) for this year's show.
These are some of the themes that will be in evidence next week:
___ SHARPER TVs
Ultra HDTVs have four times the resolution of HDTVs. While this sounds extreme and unnecessary, you've probably already been exposed to projections at this resolution, because it's used in digital movie theaters. Sony, LG, Westinghouse and others will be at the show with huge flat-panel TVs that bring that experience home, if you have a spare $20,000 or so.
While the sets are eye-catching, they will likely be niche products for years to come, if they ever catch on. They have to be really big — more than 60 inches, measured diagonally — to make the extra resolution really count. Also, there's no easy way to get movies in UHDTV resolution.
"While there's going to be a lot of buzz around Ultra HDTV, we really think what's going to be relevant to consumers at the show is the continued evolution of 3D TVs and Internet-connected TVs," said Kumu Puri, senior executive with consulting firm Accenture's Electronics & High-Tech group.
___ BIGGER PHONES
Unlike TVs, new phones are launched throughout the year, so CES isn't much of a bellwether for phone trends. But this year, reports point to several super-sized smartphones, with screen bigger than five inches diagonally, making their debut at the show. These phones are so big they can be awkward to hold to the ear, but Samsung's Galaxy Note series has shown that there's a market for them. Wags call them "phablets" because they're almost tablet-sized.
___ ACROBATIC PCs
Microsoft launched Windows 8 in October, in an attempt to make the PC work more like a tablet. PC makers obliged, with a slew of machines that blend the boundaries. They have touch screens that twist, fold back or detach from the keyboard. None of these seems to be a standout hit so far, but we can expect more experiments to be revealed at the show.
"All the PC manufacturers recognize that they have to do things differently," Accenture's Puri said.
___ ATTENTIVE COMPUTING
CES has been a showcase in recent years for technologies that free users from keyboards, mice and buttons. Instead, they rely on cameras and other sophisticated sensors to track the user and interpret gestures and eye movements. Microsoft's motion-tracking add-on for the Xbox 360 console, the Kinect, has introduced this type of technology to the living room. Startups and big TV makers are now looking to take it further.
For example, Tobii Technology, a Swedish company, will be at the show to demonstrate "the world's first gaze interaction computer peripheral" — basically a camera that tracks where the user is looking on the screen, potentially replacing the mouse.
PointGrab, an Israeli startup, will be showing off software that lets a regular laptop webcam interpret hand movements in the air in front of it.
Assaf Gad, head of marketing at PointGrab, said that CES is usually full of hopeful companies with speculative interaction technologies, "but this year, you can actually see real devices.

Read More..