In giant “garage sale”, Japan’s TV giants hawk $3 billion of assets

TOKYO (Reuters) – Panasonic Corp, Japan‘s struggling maker of Viera brand TVs, owns more than 10 million square meters of office and factory space, dormitories for its workers and sports facilities for its rugby, baseball and women’s athletics teams.

As it battles for Christmas shoppers’ wallets in the year-end holiday season, the sprawling electronics conglomerate is also seeking buyers for some of those properties to trim its fixed costs and improve cashflow at a time of intense competition, particularly from South Korean rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co.

Japan’s other troubled TV makers, Sony Corp and Sharp Corp, are also selling buildings and businesses in a giant ‘garage sale’ that could raise a combined $ 3 billion.

Panasonic plans to raise $ 1.34 billion from offloading property and shares in other Japanese companies by end-March, the group’s chief financial officer Hideaki Kawai told Reuters.

“We have a lot of land and buildings in Japan and overseas,” he said in an interview at the company’s head office in Osaka, in western Japan. He declined to list which properties would go on the block, but said most are in Japan.

Included is a 24-storey central Tokyo block – built in 2003 with more than 47,300 square meters and housing 2,000 Panasonic workers – a source familiar with the plan told Reuters.

Kawai added that Panasonic would raise about a quarter of the sell-off funds by getting rid of shares it owns in other companies – a common practice of cross-shareholdings in Japan.

The proceeds would help bolster free cashflow to 200 billion yen ($ 2.43 billion) for the business year to March, Kawai said, and allow Panasonic to reduce its debt and maintain its crucial research and development effort as it revamps its business portfolio.

It will sell more assets in the year starting in April if cashflow dips below 200 billion yen, Kawai added. Panasonic President Kazuhiro Tsuga has promised to shut or sell businesses operating at below a 5 percent margin. Those sales could start as soon as April.

Panasonic’s fixed assets of $ 21 billion are around 30 percent more than those of Apple Inc, and are almost double the company’s market value. The company, founded almost a century ago as a small electrical extension socket maker, trades at around half its book value – which includes intangible assets such as patents. Sony trades at 39 percent of book, Sharp at 30 percent.

The fixed assets – buildings, land and machinery – of the three companies that were not so long ago a byword for innovation in household gadgetry total around $ 42 billion, while their combined market value is $ 24 billion.

CASHFLOW IS KING

The three firms have been downgraded by credit ratings agencies, making it tougher to raise funding on capital markets, and making asset sales more urgent.

Selling assets “is good in terms of their credit ratings because, for all three, it will lower fixed costs and they can reduce their capex requirements. Eventually, this could improve operating margins and, more importantly, cashflow,” said Alvin Lim, an analyst at Fitch Ratings in Seoul.

Fitch, which makes its ratings without input from company management, last month cut Panasonic to BB and Sony to BB minus, the first time one of the major agencies has relegated either company to junk status. Sharp is ranked B minus, adding to its borrowing costs.

“We rate Panasonic as investment grade, and it should have various funding options. Selling assets it can do without, to avoid raising additional borrowing, can be an option,” said Osamu Kobayashi, an analyst at Standard & Poor’s.

While Korean rivals have also benefited from a weaker local currency, data from the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association shows that Japanese production of consumer electronic equipment fell to just above $ 15 billion last year from more than $ 19 billion a decade ago. Output in September was just $ 980 million, half last year’s level.

“The gap with Korean makers seems to be widening. It’s going to be very difficult for them to regain their top-tier position,” said Fitch’s Lim.

As the three Japanese firms, all under new leadership, have sketched out restructuring plans, the cost of insuring their debt against defaulting in 5 years has dropped from spikes just a month ago. Credit default swaps for Sharp and Sony are down to levels last seen 3 months ago, while Panasonic’s have dropped 40 percent in the past month.

THREE PATHS

While Panasonic is looking to revamp its business around batteries, auto parts and household appliances, Sony is doubling down on smartphones, gaming and cameras. Sharp, meanwhile, is focusing on display screens and is forging alliances with the likes of Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry and U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm Inc.

Sony may also take the real estate sale route to raise much-needed cash, with a possible sale of its 37-storey New York headquarters, dubbed by New Yorkers as the ‘Chippendale’ because of its design that is reminiscent of the period English furniture. Selling that jewel could raise $ 1 billion, media have reported.

The maker of Vaio laptops, PlayStation gaming consoles and Bravia TVs may also sell its battery business, which makes lithium ion power packs for tablets, PCs and mobile phones. The company has been approached by investment banks offering to sell the unit, which employs 2,700 people and has three factories in Japan and two overseas assembly plants. Sony values the business’s fixed assets at $ 636 million.

Potential buyers could include BYD Co Ltd, a Chinese carmaker backed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, and Taiwan’s Hon Hai – which part owns Sharp’s advanced LCD panel plant in Sakai, western Japan, and is in talks to buy TV assembly plants in China, Malaysia and Mexico for $ 667 million, Japan’s Sankei newspaper has reported.

Sharp has mortgaged nearly all its properties to secure a $ 4.6 billion bailout from Japanese banks and so has few assets to offer in a grand garage sale.

Instead, it’s selling part of the garage.

Qualcomm has agreed to buy a 5 percent stake in Sharp, making it the largest shareholder. Hon Hai, which earlier this year agreed to invest in Sharp – before its stock slumped in the wake of record losses – has said it remains interested in taking a stake.

“Whatever they can get to get through this fiscal period by scaling down their operation is a critical step for them to remain afloat,” said Fitch’s Lim.

($ 1 = 82.4700 Japanese yen)

(Additional reporting by Reiji Murai; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Kick Off Special Series of Las Vegas Shows

By Mark Gray

12/09/2012 at 05:00 PM EST

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill

Denise Truscello/WireImage

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill looked at each other, their hands on each others knees and shared a passionate kiss just after midnight Sunday morning.

The moment was a long time coming – it capped off their first weekend as a Las Vegas headlining act.

Earlier in the 90 minute show, McGraw told the crowd at the Venetian that he and his wife were going to "have fun tonight" and it genuinely seemed like they did, singing with each other for several songs while still letting the other perform their solo hits. Though the show – called the Soul2Soul series – is technically not the same "residency" show Las Vegas is known for, the couple will perform for 10 weekends through April.

At a press conference several months ago, McGraw and Hill promised a "personal" show, and they delivered in a big way. In fact, it got very personal as McGraw complimented his wife on her flowing black dress, saying, "It's gonna look good on the floor later."

The duo also took a moment to sit down and speak with the crowd. Though they didn't field any questions, they spoke about the most common questions they get asked. "We always get asked what was the music we heard first, who influenced us," Hill said.

Rather than answer it, the duo then sing a few of their main influences – Hill sang George Strait; McGraw sang The Eagles.

"I love doing other people's music, better than my own," McGraw joked.

With few bells and whistles, the show puts the focus squarely on it's two superstars, and considering the rousing ovations McGraw and Hill received Saturday, that's perfectly fine with their fans.

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Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.

Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they cheered and sparked up in unison.

A few dozen people gathered on a sidewalk outside the north Seattle headquarters of the annual Hempfest celebration and did the same, offering joints to reporters and blowing smoke into television news cameras.

"I feel like a kid in a candy store!" shouted Hempfest volunteer Darby Hageman. "It's all becoming real now!"

Washington and Colorado became the first states to vote to decriminalize and regulate the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana by adults over 21. Both measures call for setting up state licensing schemes for pot growers, processors and retail stores. Colorado's law is set to take effect by Jan. 5.

Technically, Washington's new marijuana law still forbids smoking pot in public, which remains punishable by a fine, like drinking in public. But pot fans wanted a party, and Seattle police weren't about to write them any tickets.

In another sweeping change for Washington, Gov. Chris Gregoire on Wednesday signed into law a measure that legalizes same-sex marriage. The state joins several others that allow gay and lesbian couples to wed.

The mood was festive in Seattle as dozens of gay and lesbian couples got in line to pick up marriage licenses at the King County auditor's office early Thursday.

King County and Thurston County announced they would open their auditors' offices shortly after midnight Wednesday to accommodate those who wanted to be among the first to get their licenses.

Kelly Middleton and her partner Amanda Dollente got in line at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Hours later, as the line grew, volunteers distributed roses and a group of men and women serenaded the waiting line to the tune of "Chapel of Love."

Because the state has a three-day waiting period, the earliest that weddings can take place is Sunday.

In dealing with marijuana, the Seattle Police Department told its 1,300 officers on Wednesday, just before legalization took hold, that until further notice they shall not issue citations for public marijuana use.

Officers will be advising people not to smoke in public, police spokesman Jonah Spangenthal-Lee wrote on the SPD Blotter. "The police department believes that, under state law, you may responsibly get baked, order some pizzas and enjoy a 'Lord of the Rings' marathon in the privacy of your own home, if you want to."

He offered a catchy new directive referring to the film "The Big Lebowski," popular with many marijuana fans: "The Dude abides, and says 'take it inside!'"

"This is a big day because all our lives we've been living under the iron curtain of prohibition," said Hempfest director Vivian McPeak. "The whole world sees that prohibition just took a body blow."

Washington's new law decriminalizes possession of up to an ounce for those over 21, but for now selling marijuana remains illegal. I-502 gives the state a year to come up with a system of state-licensed growers, processors and retail stores, with the marijuana taxed 25 percent at each stage. Analysts have estimated that a legal pot market could bring Washington hundreds of millions of dollars a year in new tax revenue for schools, health care and basic government functions.

But marijuana remains illegal under federal law. That means federal agents can still arrest people for it, and it's banned from federal properties, including military bases and national parks.

The Justice Department has not said whether it will sue to try to block the regulatory schemes in Washington and Colorado from taking effect.

"The department's responsibility to enforce the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged," said a statement issued Wednesday by the Seattle U.S. attorney's office. "Neither states nor the executive branch can nullify a statute passed by Congress."

The legal question is whether the establishment of a regulated marijuana market would "frustrate the purpose" of the federal pot prohibition, and many constitutional law scholars say it very likely would.

That leaves the political question of whether the administration wants to try to block the regulatory system, even though it would remain legal to possess up to an ounce of marijuana.

Alison Holcomb is the drug policy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and served as the campaign manager for New Approach Washington, which led the legalization drive. She said the voters clearly showed they're done with marijuana prohibition.

"New Approach Washington sponsors and the ACLU look forward to working with state and federal officials and to ensure the law is fully and fairly implemented," she said.

___

Johnson can be reached at https://twitter.com/GeneAPseattle

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Shares crawl higher as China, U.S. data brighten outlook

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian shares touched a 16-month high on Monday as investors took heart from rising factory output growth in China and a falling unemployment rate in the United States that raised hopes about the outlook for the world's top two economies.

The positive mood was tempered by Chinese trade data that saw both exports and imports come in below forecasts, but equities and commodities such as copper and oil remained in the black. European shares were seen opening flat-to-higher.

"At this point, bad data is not as much of a surprise for the market as good data is," said Christian Keilland, head of trading at BTIG in Hong Kong.

The euro was under pressure, having been knocked by the prospect of a recession in Germany and political uncertainty in Italy after Prime Minister Mario Monti, an investors' favorite, said at the weekend he intended to resign early.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> inched up 0.2 percent and Tokyo's Nikkei share average <.n225> firmed 0.1 percent.

Financial spreadbetters called London's FTSE 100 <.ftse>, Paris's CAC-40 <.fchi> and Frankfurt's DAX <.gdaxi> to open up about 0.1 percent. <.t><.l><.axjo/>

The MSCI index rose more than 1 percent last week, its third successive weekly gain, taking it to levels not seen since early August 2011. There was a further boost for regional markets on Sunday when China reported a November pick-up in factory output and retail-sales growth to eight-month highs.

However, data released by China on Monday showed exports rose in November at a much weaker pace than expected, while imports were flat.

"The export slowdown shows external demand faces uncertainty due to concerns over the fiscal cliff in the US," said Zhang Zhiwei, chief China economist at Nomura in Hong Kong. "Nonetheless it does not change our view that growth is on track for a strong recovery in Q4, as (growth) is mostly domestically driven."

On Wall Street, the Dow <.dji> and S&P 500 <.spx> had risen modestly on Friday after an unexpected fall in the U.S. jobless rate. S&P 500 futures were flat on Monday. <.n/>

MARKETS WATCH ITALY

In Europe, investors will be hoping the weakness in external demand evident in the Chinese export number is not a pointer for German trade data due later on Monday.

The euro slid in early trading towards a two-week low of $1.2876 plumbed on Friday, before popping back above $1.29. Investors had sold the euro after Germany's central bank on Friday warned that the euro zone's biggest economy could soon enter recession.

Italian Prime Minister Monti's surprise announcement at the weekend came a few days after former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi abruptly withdrew support for Monti's technocrat government, formed over a year ago in an effort to restore Italy's credibility with investors.

"If Monti's pro-euro stance is to back off, that should raise concerns about the euro," said Junya Tanase, chief currency strategist at JPMorgan Chase in Tokyo.

Italian bond yields will be closely watched on Monday. The 10-year yield, the main barometer of investor confidence, stood at 4.5 percent at the end of last week, 323 basis points higher than the yield on the lower risk German equivalent but well below the 7.3 percent peak hit last year, when the spread over German Bunds hit 550 points.

The U.S. dollar rose about 0.3 percent against a basket of major currencies <.dxy>.

Commodity markets were also generally firmer, with copper, which draws strength from expectations of Chinese industrial demand, rising 0.9 percent to around $8,105 a metric ton (1.1023 tons) and oil rising around 0.5 percent.

Brent crude traded around $107.60 a barrel and U.S. crude fetched about $86.40.

"Investors are slightly more optimistic about China's economic recovery than before and that is supportive for oil," said Ken Hasegawa, a commodity sales manager at Newedge Japan.

The easy outlook for monetary policy continued to support gold, with the U.S. Federal Reserve expected to signal this week it will continue to pump money into the economy in 2013. Also, there was talk of a possible rate cut next year by the European Central Bank.

Spot gold firmed 0.2 percent to around $1,707 an ounce.

(Additional reporting by Thuy Ong in Sydney and Manash Goswami in Singapore; Editing by Richard Borsuk)

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Karzai Implicates Pakistan in Attack on Afghan Spy Chief

KABUL, Afghanistan — The suicide bomber who tried to assassinate Afghanistan’s powerful new intelligence chief came from Pakistan and the attack was organized with the help of a sophisticated foreign intelligence service, President Hamid Karzai said Saturday.

Mr. Karzai said he would ask for clarification from Pakistan’s president, when the two men meet later this month, on whether Pakistan’s intelligence service was involved in any way. He said he wanted Pakistan’s help in easing ordinary Afghans’ suspicions that Pakistani interests were behind the attack — if not directly organizing it, then at least providing help.

The audacious assassination attempt on Asadullah Khalid, who had been leading the National Directorate of Security since September, has taken out of action an important figure in the war against the insurgency. It took place on Thursday when an unidentified attacker smuggled a bomb into a meeting at a guesthouse in central Kabul with Mr. Khalid.

“We will be seeking a lot of clarifications from Pakistan because we know that this man who came in the name of a guest to meet with Asadullah Khan Khalid came from Pakistan,” Mr. Karzai said at a news conference at the presidential palace here. “We know that for a fact, it is clear.”

The bomb, which Afghan authorities said was concealed around the attacker’s groin, left Mr. Khalid seriously injured.

The Taliban claimed responsibility, but Mr. Karzai said the attack was too sophisticated to be the work of the Taliban alone.

“This is not the work of Taliban,” he said. “This is a very professional and well-engineered attack. Taliban are not able to do this, but there are strong and skilled hands involved in the attack.”

Mr. Khalid, in his ascendancy to the top of the Afghan intelligence service, had emerged as one of the Taliban’s fiercest opponents and was also a strong critic of Pakistan’s influence in the country.

Mr. Karzai provided no evidence linking the attack to Pakistan. The government regularly accuses Pakistan of involvement in attacks, and has done so after assaults on other senior Afghan officials in recent years.

The president drew a distinction between different groups of the Taliban and said some were clearly controlled by the intelligence agencies of neighboring countries, although he said he had no evidence of where. “This is the work of a complicated, sophisticated and professional intelligence agency,” he said.

Mr. Karzai also said the attack was an effort to undermine progress toward meaningful negotiations. “Whenever the peace talks are getting closer to a conclusion or success being achieved in the peace process or hopes being achieved, we face such attacks,” he said.

Many Afghans have raised questions about how an attacker could get so close to such a powerful man regarded as an extremely sophisticated operator.

Mr. Karzai admitted that a security screening had failed, but the government’s statement that the bomb was concealed around the attacker’s groin suggests why it was not detected: an invasive search would have violated Afghanistan’s traditional mores.

Mr. Karzai said Mr. Khalid himself had prevented a more thorough search out of respect for his guest and Afghan tradition.

Mr. Karzai also said Mr. Khalid had told him the evening before the attack about the planned meeting. There was no information about who the attacker was, but Mr. Khalid told him that he hoped the meeting would advance the country’s peace and security, the president said.

Mr. Karzai visited Mr. Khalid on Thursday at a hospital in Kabul before he was taken to better medical facilities at Bagram Air Base, one of the largest coalition bases in Afghanistan.

According to Western officials, Mr. Khalid has serious abdominal injuries and will need multiple operations. Mr. Karzai on Saturday offered few details of the injuries, but said that Mr. Khalid was improving and was now fully conscious and able to speak, and move his hands.

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Michelle Branch's Daughter's Dream Job Is For the Birds - Literally

Mom & Babies
Celebrity Baby Blog

12/03/2012 at 02:00 PM ET

Sthanlee B. Mirador/Shooting Star

It seems as if Michelle Branch‘s daughter won’t be following in her musical footsteps any time soon.

While the Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter and her husband, bass player Teddy Landau, are no strangers to the stage, 7-year-old Owen Isabelle has found her niche in nature.

“I think because my husband and I are both musicians, she kind of feels like she has to do something a little bit more serious than her mom and dad,” the Cook Taste Eat host, 29, tells PEOPLE.

“Since she was 3 or 4 years old, she was always into science and dinosaurs and watching nature shows.”

In particular, all-things aviary has struck a chord with the little girl, who has already happily declared her future dream job.

“She’s obsessed with birds. She’s been begging to have a pet bird, which I will not allow,” saya Branch. “[Owen] claims she’s going to be an ornithologist when she grows up. Literally, it’s birds 24/7 — every book she wants is birds, stickers, drawings, clothes, everything.”

And as sure as she is of her pending career plans, Owen is just as confident in her political views. Happy to reveal who would have earned her support, the little girl has no qualms about divulging the deciding factor during the recent Presidential election.

“Around election time she said, ‘You know Mom, if I could vote, I would vote for Barack Obama.’ And I said, ‘Oh, really, that’s so interesting. Why?’” Branch recalls.

“And she said, ‘Well, remember that one time we got to go to the White House and meet him? I don’t vote for strangers.’”

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Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.

Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they cheered and sparked up in unison.

A few dozen people gathered on a sidewalk outside the north Seattle headquarters of the annual Hempfest celebration and did the same, offering joints to reporters and blowing smoke into television news cameras.

"I feel like a kid in a candy store!" shouted Hempfest volunteer Darby Hageman. "It's all becoming real now!"

Washington and Colorado became the first states to vote to decriminalize and regulate the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana by adults over 21. Both measures call for setting up state licensing schemes for pot growers, processors and retail stores. Colorado's law is set to take effect by Jan. 5.

Technically, Washington's new marijuana law still forbids smoking pot in public, which remains punishable by a fine, like drinking in public. But pot fans wanted a party, and Seattle police weren't about to write them any tickets.

In another sweeping change for Washington, Gov. Chris Gregoire on Wednesday signed into law a measure that legalizes same-sex marriage. The state joins several others that allow gay and lesbian couples to wed.

The mood was festive in Seattle as dozens of gay and lesbian couples got in line to pick up marriage licenses at the King County auditor's office early Thursday.

King County and Thurston County announced they would open their auditors' offices shortly after midnight Wednesday to accommodate those who wanted to be among the first to get their licenses.

Kelly Middleton and her partner Amanda Dollente got in line at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Hours later, as the line grew, volunteers distributed roses and a group of men and women serenaded the waiting line to the tune of "Chapel of Love."

Because the state has a three-day waiting period, the earliest that weddings can take place is Sunday.

In dealing with marijuana, the Seattle Police Department told its 1,300 officers on Wednesday, just before legalization took hold, that until further notice they shall not issue citations for public marijuana use.

Officers will be advising people not to smoke in public, police spokesman Jonah Spangenthal-Lee wrote on the SPD Blotter. "The police department believes that, under state law, you may responsibly get baked, order some pizzas and enjoy a 'Lord of the Rings' marathon in the privacy of your own home, if you want to."

He offered a catchy new directive referring to the film "The Big Lebowski," popular with many marijuana fans: "The Dude abides, and says 'take it inside!'"

"This is a big day because all our lives we've been living under the iron curtain of prohibition," said Hempfest director Vivian McPeak. "The whole world sees that prohibition just took a body blow."

Washington's new law decriminalizes possession of up to an ounce for those over 21, but for now selling marijuana remains illegal. I-502 gives the state a year to come up with a system of state-licensed growers, processors and retail stores, with the marijuana taxed 25 percent at each stage. Analysts have estimated that a legal pot market could bring Washington hundreds of millions of dollars a year in new tax revenue for schools, health care and basic government functions.

But marijuana remains illegal under federal law. That means federal agents can still arrest people for it, and it's banned from federal properties, including military bases and national parks.

The Justice Department has not said whether it will sue to try to block the regulatory schemes in Washington and Colorado from taking effect.

"The department's responsibility to enforce the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged," said a statement issued Wednesday by the Seattle U.S. attorney's office. "Neither states nor the executive branch can nullify a statute passed by Congress."

The legal question is whether the establishment of a regulated marijuana market would "frustrate the purpose" of the federal pot prohibition, and many constitutional law scholars say it very likely would.

That leaves the political question of whether the administration wants to try to block the regulatory system, even though it would remain legal to possess up to an ounce of marijuana.

Alison Holcomb is the drug policy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and served as the campaign manager for New Approach Washington, which led the legalization drive. She said the voters clearly showed they're done with marijuana prohibition.

"New Approach Washington sponsors and the ACLU look forward to working with state and federal officials and to ensure the law is fully and fairly implemented," she said.

___

Johnson can be reached at https://twitter.com/GeneAPseattle

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Wall Street Week Ahead: "Cliff" worries may drive tax selling

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors typically sell stocks to cut their losses at year end. But worries about the "fiscal cliff" - and the possibility of higher taxes in 2013 - may act as the greatest incentive to sell both winners and losers by December 31.

The $600 billion of automatic tax increases and spending cuts scheduled for the beginning of next year includes higher rates for capital gains, making tax-loss selling even more appealing than usual.

Tax-related selling may be behind the weaker trend in the shares of market leader Apple , analysts said. The stock is down 20 percent for the quarter, but it's still up nearly 32 percent for the year.

Apple dropped 8.9 percent in this past week alone. For a stock that gained more than 25 percent a year for four consecutive years, the embedded capital gains suddenly look like a selling opportunity if one's tax bill is going to jump sharply just because the calendar changes.

"Tax-loss selling is always a factor (but) tax-gains selling has been a factor this year," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont.

"You have a lot of high-net-worth individuals in taxable accounts, and that could be what's affecting stocks like Apple. If you look at the stocks that people have their largest gains in, they seem to be under a little bit more pressure here than usual."

Of this year's top 20 performers in the S&P 1500 index, which includes large, small and mid-cap stocks, all but four have lost ground in the last five trading sessions.

The rush to avoid higher taxes on portfolio gains could cause additional weakness.

The S&P 500 ended the week up just 0.1 percent after another week of trading largely tied to fiscal cliff negotiation news, which has pushed the market in both directions.

A PAIN PILL FROM THE FED?

Next week's Federal Reserve meeting could offer some relief if policymakers announce further plans to help the lackluster U.S. economy. The Federal Open Market Committee will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday. The policy statement is expected at about 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday after the conclusion of the meeting - the Fed's last one for the year.

Friday's jobs report showing non-farm payrolls added 146,000 jobs in November eased worries that Superstorm Sandy had hit the labor market hard.

"After the FOMC meeting, I think it's going to be downhill from there as worries about the fiscal cliff really take center stage and prospects of a deal become less and less likely," said Mohannad Aama, managing director of Beam Capital Management LLC in New York.

"I think we are likely to see an escalation in profit-taking ahead of tax rates going up next year," he said.

MORE VOLUME AND VOLATILITY

Volume could increase as investors try to shift positions before year end, some analysts said.

While most of that would be in stocks, some of the extra trading volume could spill over into options, said J.J. Kinahan, TD Ameritrade's chief derivatives strategist.

Volatility could pick up as well, and some of that is already being seen in Apple's stock.

"The actual volatility in Apple has been very high while the market itself has been calm. I expect Apple's volatility to carry over into the market volatility," said Enis Taner, global macro editor at RiskReversal.com, an options trading firm in New York.

Shares of Apple, the largest U.S. company by market value, registered their worst week since May 2010. In another bearish sign, the stock's 50-day moving average fell to $599.52 - below its 200-day moving average at $601.38.

"There's a lot of tax-related selling happening now, and it will continue to happen. Apple is an example, even (though) there are other factors involved with Apple," Aama said.

While investors may be selling stocks to avoid higher taxes in 2013, companies may continue to announce special and accelerated dividend payments before year end. Among the latest, Expedia announced a special dividend of 52 cents a share to be paid on December 28.

To be sure, the big sell-off in stocks following the November 6 election was likely related to tax selling, making it hard to judge how much more is to come.

Bruce Zaro, chief technical strategist at Delta Global Asset Management in Boston, said there's a decent chance that the market could rally before year end.

"Even with little or spotty news that one would put in the positive bucket regarding the (cliff) negotiations, the market has basically hung in there, and I think it's hung in there in anticipation of something coming," he said.

(Wall St Week Ahead runs every Friday. Questions or comments on this column can be emailed to: caroline.valetkevitch(at)thomsonreuters.com)

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Jan Paschal; Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for:; 3000 Xtra: visit Reuters Top News; BridgeStation: view story .134; For London stock market outlook please click on .L/O; Pan-European stock market outlook .EU/O; Tokyo stock market outlook .T/O; Wall St Week Ahead runs every Friday.)

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Bombs Found in Northern Ireland on Eve of Clinton Visit

Paul Mcerlane/European Pressphoto Agency

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton with Peter Robinson, center, the first minister, and his deputy, Martin McGuinness.

BELFAST, Northern Ireland — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton flew here on Friday for a brief, valedictory visit that contrasted calls for peace with the discovery of two bombs unconnected with her diplomacy, underscoring the continued power of sectarian passions almost 15 years after a formal peace accord brokered partly by her husband.

The discovery of the devices elsewhere in the country came after days of chaos on Belfast’s streets when unionists, who seek continued ties with Britain, blocked traffic to protest a decision by the City Council to limit the number of days when Britain’s Union Jack flag is flown at City Hall.

“The violence is a reminder that, although much progress has been made, the hard work of reconciliation and fostering mutual understanding must continue,” Mrs. Clinton said after meeting some of Northern Ireland’s political leaders.

“The only path forward is a peaceful, democratic one that recognizes the right of others to express their opinions but not to resort to violence,” she said. “There can be no place in the new Northern Ireland for any violence. Any of the remnants of the past need to be quickly and unequivocally condemned.

“The United States will continue to strongly support all those who stand on the side of peace and reconciliation.”

Mrs. Clinton arrived from Dublin. Hours earlier, four men were arrested late on Thursday when a homemade explosive device was found in the city of Londonderry, police officials said. The bomb was discovered in a car rammed by officers investigating the activities of splinter groups that have broken away from the mainstream republican movement opposing British sovereignty in Northern Ireland.

The explosive device was described by the police as “viable.” Army experts defused the bomb after nearby homes were evacuated.

The police also reported on Friday that a letter bomb had been discovered in another part of Northern Ireland after a man was observed acting suspiciously near a mailbox.

Officers did not specify the name or address on the letter, but they described the bomb as “a viable device capable of causing death or serious injury.”

The tensions are not related to Mrs. Clinton’s visit, analysts and officials said, but they offer a sobering backdrop to what has been depicted as a celebratory visit recalling President Bill Clinton’s diplomatic triumphs in promoting the Northern Ireland peace process in the 1990s along with the leaders of Britain and Ireland.

On Friday, Mrs. Clinton noted that while “I will soon be a private citizen again” — a reference to her decision to step down as secretary of state — she looked forward to “continuing this work, so the people of this land can prosper in the peace and security that they have worked so hard for, and that they so richly deserve.”

The Clintons command broad popularity in Northern Ireland, a factor that weighs with Irish-American voters in American politics. It was her second visit as secretary of state since 2009.

In prepared remarks before her departure for Washington, she again invoked the peace effort and the challenges to it. Addressing the people of Northern Ireland, she said: “You are the ones who reminded the world that while a peace deal may be signed at a negotiating table, peace itself takes life at the kitchen table. It must be nurtured in the hearts of people, in the way they live their daily lives and treat their fellow citizens, in the lessons they teach their children.”

Peace, she said, “is always a work in progress. There are still — and perhaps always will be — those who seek to divide rather than unite.” 

The causes of the current spike in tensions in Northern Ireland are diverse, but spring from familiar roots.

One issue is the opposition among dissident republicans, who seek a unified Ireland, to the designation of Londonderry as a United Kingdom City of Culture in 2013.

The name of the city is itself contentious, with Roman Catholics referring to it as Derry, its name before the British authorities changed it to Londonderry centuries ago.

Last month, a prison officer, David Black, was shot dead in Northern Ireland, and a republican splinter group said it carried out the killing to protest conditions at a jail where guards perform strip searches on detained dissidents.

The discovery of the devices came after days of apparently unconnected protests by unionist groups. The passionate flag debate reflects a broader battle of symbols that delineate the feuding republicans and unionists and, in part, sustain their confrontation.

The unionist protests spread to other parts of Northern Ireland, illustrating the enduring and emotive pull of sectarian passions despite the 1998 Good Friday agreement that cemented peace after 30 years of conflict, known as the Troubles, in which more than 3,500 people were killed.

During her visit, Mrs. Clinton spoke with political leaders at Stormont, the seat of the power-sharing Northern Ireland administration, and visited a new center devoted to the Titanic, the doomed ocean liner built in Belfast and launched in 1911 before it sank on its maiden voyage after striking an iceberg in 1912.

Michael R. Gordon reported from Belfast, and Alan Cowell from London.

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T-Mobile to Offer Cheapest iPhone 5 in 2013

T-Mobile, the smallest of the “big four” wireless carries in the United States, already offers the country’s cheapest iPhone service — if you have an unlocked iPhone. And according to Engadget’s Brad Molen, more than a million unlocked iPhones are on T-Mobile‘s network already.

Now, T-Mobile has announced that it will “add Apple products to its portfolio in the coming year,” according to parent company Deutsche Telekom AG. And while that could mean anything from the new iPad Mini to an as-yet-unreleased Apple product of some kind, many expect T-Mobile to finally get the iPhone, making it the last major carrier in the United States to get it.

If T-Mobile does, and it continues to offer its $ 30 “Unlimited Web & Text with 100 Minutes” plan, that may make T-Mobile’s iPhone the cheapest one out there — even if it costs hundreds of dollars more up front than on AT&T.

Subsidies aren’t just for big corporations

Most of the big-name wireless carriers in the United States offer what are called “subsidized” smartphones, meaning you don’t pay their whole cost up front. Instead, you pay a discounted price (which can be as little as $ 0.01), but are locked into a wireless contract for up to 2 years. Wireless customers who switch before their contract is up have to pay an “early termination fee,” which can go over and above the actual cost of the smartphone.

Buy now, save later

With prepaid smartphone plans, on the other hand, you pay the whole cost of the phone up front and afterward it’s yours to keep (whether its SIM card is locked into one network or not). And with the announcement that T-Mobile is going prepaid-only starting next year, that means any iPhone the company carries will be of the unsubsidized variety.

Apple currently sells the 16 GB iPhone 5 for $ 649, contract-free, on its website. It also sells the 16 GB iPhone 4S for $ 549, however, while contract-free carrier Virgin Mobile sells the same phone unsubsidized for $ 449 with a $ 35 per month data plan — not too much more expensive than T-Mobile’s.

Lessons of the past​

It’s hard to say how much T-Mobile would offer an iPhone 5 for if the device landed on its network. Virgin Mobile started out charging more up front and offering a $ 30 plan, while Cricket currently sells the contract-free iPhone 5 for $ 499 but its service starts at $ 55.

Assuming T-Mobile continues to offer its current “web exclusive” $ 30 unlimited plan for a hypothetical iPhone 5 on its network, it’s not likely to be discounted much if at all from Apple’s asking price. Just paying for 5 GBs of data per month from AT&T would cost $ 1,200 over 2 years, however, plus the $ 199 cost of a subsidized iPhone (and you have to pay for voice minutes and texting on top of that). Meanwhile, it’s possible right now to buy an unlocked iPhone 5 from Apple and get 2 years of T-Mobile’s $ 30 service for $ 1,369. That includes 5 GBs of data before connection speed throttling, plus unlimited texting and 100 voice minutes per month.

​Looking to the future

T-Mobile offers the cheapest iPhone 5 service right now. And if the “Apple products” T-Mobile is getting next year include the iPhone 5, T-Mobile customers may see even better offerings coming their way in the near future.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.

Linux/Open Source News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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