Wall Street dips on renewed euro zone fears

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Thursday as comments by the ECB president on the euro raised worries about Europe's outlook and curbed investors' appetite for risky assets.

The euro currency dropped against the safe-haven dollar and yen after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the exchange rate was important to growth and price stability, which investors took as a sign the bank is concerned about the euro's advance in recent days.

Materials shares were among the weakest performers on the S&P 500, with the S&P 500 materials index <.splrcma> down 0.7 percent, while housing stocks also declined. A housing sector index <.hgx> was off 1.4 percent.

Despite the day's decline and weakness earlier this week, the stock market has been in an almost uninterrupted uptrend for most of the year, with the S&P 500 gaining more than 5 percent for 2013.

Many investors could see buying opportunities in the decline.

"I don't think there's the systemic risk that we had some time ago of bank failures in Europe and so forth. They seem to be ahead of that sort of crisis," said Dan Veru, chief investment officer of Palisade Capital Management, in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was down 67.95 points, or 0.49 percent, at 13,918.57. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was down 6.31 points, or 0.42 percent, at 1,505.81. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was down 16.76 points, or 0.53 percent, at 3,151.72.

Top U.S. retailers reported strong January sales after offering compelling merchandise that drew in shoppers facing a hit to their take-home pay from higher payroll taxes.

Macy's Inc rose 1.5 percent to $40.09 after reporting January same store sales rose 11.7 percent.

But Ann Inc dropped 6.7 percent to $30.59 after forecasting fourth-quarter sales below analysts' expectations.

Fund manager David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital on Thursday said it has sued Apple Inc and said the company needs to do more to unlock value for shareholders. Apple shares gained 0.6 percent to $457.43.

Akamai Technologies Inc lost 15.6 percent to $35.06 as the worst performer on the S&P 500 after the Internet content delivery company forecast current-quarter revenue below analysts' expectations.

(Additional reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Kenneth Barry and Nick Zieminski)

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At War Blog: U.S. and Allies Conduct Drills in Persian Gulf, a Signal to Iran

Deterring Iran is a delicate balance of diplomacy, sanctions and military muscle-flexing, all intended to send a strong signal – without proving so provocative that the region is pushed toward war. One piece of the effort – halting the proliferation of illicit weapons – got a practice run in the Persian Gulf this week.

Although the exercise did not explicitly name an adversary, geography certainly pointed to Iran, as well as to militants of Al Qaeda still operating in the region. The exercise, which ended Thursday, included a headquarters simulation to test the policy-making and coordination among the American military and two dozen nations that joined, as well as an extensive component of military drills at sea, in the air and on land.

Pentagon officials do not hide the fact that halting suspected smugglers, and boarding their vessels and inspecting them, is in some ways easier than knitting together a coalition of countries to operate under the decade-old Proliferation Security Initiative.

While there may be quiet agreement that Iran is a threat to regional stability, many nations – especially Iran’s neighbors – want to avoid any appearance of belligerence that might make relations even worse. In fact, several of the countries in this week’s exercise declined to officially confirm their participation.

That alliance cohesion problem is not new. When the Proliferation Security Initiative was begun by the administration of President George W. Bush, South Korea initially refused to join, for fear of angering North Korea. The government in Seoul eventually reversed the decision, and South Korea is among the nonproliferation program’s current members, a number that has expanded to 102 nations from the original 11.

Separate from this current multinational exercise, American and Yemeni officials disclosed last week that a joint operation had interdicted a boat carrying a large load of explosives and weapons, including shoulder-launched antiaircraft weapons. Intelligence indicated that the shipment came from Iran and was destined for Houthi insurgent militants inside Yemen.

Even before the proliferation exercise ended this week, the American military’s Central Command announced the scheduling of another exercise to practice mine countermeasures and maritime security in waters of the Middle East. Those skills would be necessary if Iran tried to close the Strait of Hormuz. More than 20 nations will participate in the exercise, set to begin in May.

But budget difficulties in Washington may make sustaining a large American military presence in the region more difficult. The Pentagon announced this week that, temporarily at least, there would be only one aircraft carrier strike group on patrol in the region, down from the usual two. The reason: the Defense Department needs to save money.

Related Coverage:

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Twitter acquires social TV analytics company Bluefin Labs

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Twitter Inc said on Tuesday it has agreed to acquire advertising analytics company Bluefin Labs.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Twitter Chief Operating Officer Ali Rowghani said in a blog post announcing the deal: “Bluefin‘s data science capabilities and social TV expertise will help us create innovative new ad products and consumer experiences in the exciting intersection of Twitter and TV.”

The deal was reported first by Business Insider.

In the past year the privately held microblogging service has made the integration of Twitter and television the centerpiece of its growth strategy.

Under Chief Executive Dick Costolo, the company has encouraged marketers to incorporate Twitter “hashtags” into their TV ads to generate online chatter, while also nudging its 200 million monthly users to discuss ads that are being aired.

(Reporting by Gerry Shih; Editing by Eric Walsh)

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Miley Cyrus: My Short Hair Is Here to Stay - Forever!

Stylewatch
Style News Now

02/06/2013 at 03:45 PM ET

Getty; WireImage (2)

Hope you weren’t too attached to Miley Cyrus‘s long hair, because she has a message for you: “I could never see myself having long, long hair again.”

“I’m feeling it!” the star tells E! News of her close crop. “My fiancé [Liam Hemsworth] loves it. It’s so much easier to go shave the sides once a week, rather than getting your roots done and all this stuff.”

And it’s not just that she prefers the low maintenance of her new do: she actually hates the way she looks with long locks. “I do not like looking back at [photos of my long hair],” she says. “I wished somebody would have ripped those [extensions] out of my head. I do not miss that in any way.”

Though we initially found the chop surprising, it’s definitely growing on us (no pun intended) — and we love that Cyrus keeps finding new, fun ways to style her shorter do. Tell us: Do you love Cyrus’s awesome attitude about her hair as much as we do?

–Alex Apatoff

PHOTOS: VOTE ON MORE CELEB HAIRCUT AND COLOR CHANGES HERE!

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Critics seek to delay NYC sugary drinks size limit

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents are pressing to delay enforcement of the city's novel plan to crack down on supersized, sugary drinks, saying businesses shouldn't have to spend millions of dollars to comply until a court rules on whether the measure is legal.

With the rule set to take effect March 12, beverage industry, restaurant and other business groups have asked a judge to put it on hold at least until there's a ruling on their lawsuit seeking to block it altogether. The measure would bar many eateries from selling high-sugar drinks in cups or containers bigger than 16 ounces.

"It would be a tremendous waste of expense, time, and effort for our members to incur all of the harm and costs associated with the ban if this court decides that the ban is illegal," Chong Sik Le, president of the New York Korean-American Grocers Association, said in court papers filed Friday.

City lawyers are fighting the lawsuit and oppose postponing the restriction, which the city Board of Health approved in September. They said Tuesday they expect to prevail.

"The obesity epidemic kills nearly 6,000 New Yorkers each year. We see no reason to delay the Board of Health's reasonable and legal actions to combat this major, growing problem," Mark Muschenheim, a city attorney, said in a statement.

Another city lawyer, Thomas Merrill, has said officials believe businesses have had enough time to get ready for the new rule. He has noted that the city doesn't plan to seek fines until June.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other city officials see the first-of-its-kind limit as a coup for public health. The city's obesity rate is rising, and studies have linked sugary drinks to weight gain, they note.

"This is the biggest step a city has taken to curb obesity," Bloomberg said when the measure passed.

Soda makers and other critics view the rule as an unwarranted intrusion into people's dietary choices and an unfair, uneven burden on business. The restriction won't apply at supermarkets and many convenience stores because the city doesn't regulate them.

While the dispute plays out in court, "the impacted businesses would like some more certainty on when and how they might need to adjust operations," American Beverage Industry spokesman Christopher Gindlesperger said Tuesday.

Those adjustments are expected to cost the association's members about $600,000 in labeling and other expenses for bottles, Vice President Mike Redman said in court papers. Reconfiguring "16-ounce" cups that are actually made slightly bigger, to leave room at the top, is expected to take cup manufacturers three months to a year and cost them anywhere from more than $100,000 to several millions of dollars, Foodservice Packaging Institute President Lynn Dyer said in court documents.

Movie theaters, meanwhile, are concerned because beverages account for more than 20 percent of their overall profits and about 98 percent of soda sales are in containers greater than 16 ounces, according to Robert Sunshine, executive director of the National Association of Theatre Owners of New York State.

___

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Wall Street pulls back after recent gains

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks drifted lower on Wednesday as investors pulled back after the recent push to five-year highs on the S&P 500 and as worries about political problems in Europe weighed on sentiment.

Transportation stocks were among the worst performers, pressured by a 9.7 percent drop in CH Robinson Worldwide to $60.48 after the freight transport company posted a lower-than-expected adjusted quarterly profit.

The benchmark S&P 500 index has advanced 6 percent this year and reached to its highest since December 2007. The Dow industrials <.dji> have risen above 14,000 recently, making it a challenge for investors to push stocks higher in the absence of strong positive catalysts.

"The market is starting to feel a little tired, though we're holding together. I think a lot of people are wondering whether this (up trend) continues," said Frank Lesh, a futures analyst and broker at FuturePath Trading LLC in Chicago.

Also, investors have been speculating about leadership changes in Spain and Italy, as well as watching for comments from European leaders. European Central Bank policymakers are due to meet Thursday.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was down 27.37 points, or 0.20 percent, at 13,951.93. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was down 3.66 points, or 0.24 percent, at 1,507.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was down 12.27 points, or 0.39 percent, at 3,159.31.

Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose more than 1 percent on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Transportation average <.djt> was down 0.4 percent after hitting another record high on Tuesday. The average is up 10.4 percent for the year so far and has made a series of new highs since mid-January.

Among shares trading higher, Time Warner Inc jumped 4.4 percent to $52.18 after reporting higher fourth-quarter profit that beat Wall Street estimates, as growth in its cable networks offset declines in film, TV entertainment and publishing units.

Walt Disney Co was up 0.7 percent at $54.66, after the company beat estimates for quarterly adjusted earnings and gave an optimistic outlook for the next few quarters.

According to Thomson Reuters data, of 301 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings, 68.1 percent have exceeded analysts' expectations, above a 62 percent average since 1994 and 65 percent over the past four quarters. In terms of revenue, 65.8 percent of companies have topped forecasts.

Fourth-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are estimated to have risen 4.7 percent, according to the data, above a 1.9 percent forecast at the start of the earnings season.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum, Kenneth Barry and Nick Zieminski)

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The Lede: Video of Protests Across Tunisia After an Opposition Leader Is Gunned Down

Video of a protest outside the interior ministry in Tunis on Wednesday from the blog Nawaat.

As my colleagues Monica Marks and Kareem Fahim report, there were protests across Tunisia on Wednesday following the assassination of Chokri Belaid, a leader of the secular opposition.

Video shot by activist bloggers for the independent Tunisian site Nawaat showed protesters rallying outside the interior ministry on the tree-lined Avenue Habib Bourguiba in Tunis early in the day, and then being chased from the street by police officers who fired tear gas into the crowd and beat demonstrators.

Video from the Tunisian blog Nawaat of police officers attacking protesters in Tunis on Wednesday.

After the avenue was cleared, witnesses reported that a small crowd accompanied the ambulance carrying Mr. Belaid’s body down the same street.

L’avenue vidée par une violente charge policière avant l’arrivée du cortège funéraire

— Maher Tekaya (@MaherTekaya) 6 Feb 13

Les ACAB font tout pour disperser les gens autour de l’ambulance http://t.co/l6ye72HC

— Selim (@Selim_) 6 Feb 13

L’ambulance #ripbelaid http://t.co/r2dsc15p

— Selim (@Selim_) 6 Feb 13

Retour a l’avenue, l’ambulance est la, grande émotion.. http://t.co/k5zxR8Nb

— Amira Yahyaoui (@Mira404) 6 Feb 13

As news of the assassination spread, there were protests in other cities and reports of attacks on the offices of Ennahda, the ruling Islamist party. Mr. Belaid had criticized Ennahda’s leaders for failing to condemn violent attacks on his party’s activists by young Islamists, in a television appearance shortly before his death, the French radio station Europe 1 reported.

Agence France-Presse video showed protesters marching in Sidi Bouzid, the town where the Tunisian revolt began.

More video of the demonstration in Tunis, and a clip of protesters occupying the headquarters of Ennahda in the city of Sfax, was posted online by Jadal, a Tunisian news site set up by the Institute for Peace and War Reporting.

Video from the Tunisian news site Jadal, said to show protesters occupying the offices of the ruling party in Sfax on Wednesday.

A demonstration outside the office of Ennahda in the coastal city of Mahdia was caught on video by a Nawaat blogger.

manifestation ce matin devant le siège d’Ennahdha a #Mahdia #chokribelaid http://t.co/0B3Vp7eK

— Nawaat ~ Tunisia (@nawaat) 6 Feb 13

Before the demonstration at the interior ministry was attacked by the police, activists in the crowd posted updates on the protest on Twitter.

En ce moment à l’avenue. Venez nombreux! http://t.co/8JEZiIat

— Maher Tekaya (@MaherTekaya) 6 Feb 13

“La révolution continue, la mort de Chokri est une leçon pour tous” crit un manifestant http://t.co/Y7cwHEOA

— Selim (@Selim_) 6 Feb 13

Vidéo tremblotante où on voit à la fin qu’ils sont prêts à gazer http://t.co/2MtxaGAW

— Amira Yahyaoui (@Mira404) 6 Feb 13

Among the chants, witnesses reported, were calls for the resignation of the interior minister, Ali Larayedh, a leader of Ennahda who is a former dissident.

“larayedh resignation” is their request http://t.co/HYkBj1nv

— myriam ben ghazi (@myriambenghazi) 6 Feb 13

Mr. Larayedh called the assassination of Mr. Belaid a “terrorist act” and “a blow to the democratic transition experience in Tunisia,” the state news agency reported.

One member of the crowd was Amira Yahyaoui, the president of the rights organization Al Bawsala, who suggested that Tunisians had waited long enough for an overhaul of the country’s notoriously brutal police force. After Mr. Balaid’s death, she wrote, it was “necessary to go inside the interior ministry and clear out the incompetents and, worse, the facilitators” who had allowed such acts of political violence to take place.

Aujourd’hui il faut entrer a l’intérieur de ministère de l’intérieur et en dégager les incompétents, pire, les facilitateurs. #ChokriBelaid

— Amira Yahyaoui (@Mira404) 6 Feb 13

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EU wants to tackle money laundering on gaming sites

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union may try to counter money laundering through online betting sites by extending legislation beyond casinos to include Internet gambling.

The executive European Commission formally proposed on Tuesday to include online gaming in EU-wide legislation that seeks to combat fraud. It could become law within two years if approved by the EU’s 27 member countries.

The Commission said by currently only monitoring casinos, “other areas of gambling (are) vulnerable to misuse by criminals”.

The Commission also proposed reducing the permitted maximum for cash payments for goods and services to 7,500 euros ($ 10,200) from 15,000 euros and submitting shops and traders to a series of checks if they make or receive large payments.

About $ 1.6 trillion was laundered worldwide in 2009 – about 4 percent of the world’s economic output, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Online gambling is growing in popularity and companies such as Britain’s largest bookmaker, William Hill, and rivals SportingBet and Stanleybet, have benefited from the rise in demand, particularly for betting on sporting events.

But gaming firms have also protested against stricter regulation, with some countries such as Germany having increased controls on advertising, as well as limiting the amounts customers can gamble and increasing taxes on betting.

(Reporting by Robin Emmott; editing by Rex Merrifield)

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Sandra Bullock's Son Louis: Was He the Baltimore Ravens's Lucky Charm?

By Patrick Gomez

02/05/2013 at 03:30 PM EST

Sandra Bullock and son Louis with Leigh Ann Tuohy (inset)

Splash News Online; Inset: Getty

The Baltimore Ravens won Super Bowl XLVII – and they may have gotten an assist from Sandra Bullock's son Louis who was watching in the stands.

"The 3-year-old had the lucky No. 3 jersey on! He wore it all through playoffs,” Leigh Ann Tuohy, Bullock's real-life Blind Side inspiration, tells PEOPLE. (Tuohy was at the game with Bullock, her son and the rest of Baltimore Raven Michael Oher's adoptive family.)

"My comment was, 'It better make it to New Orleans!' And it did," she says.

And it seems the blackout in the stadium following Beyoncé's half-time performance was of no concern to the toddler.

"I think Louis was a little more interested in the little lights that would go on your finger [that were passed out in the stands] verses the game, but that is OK,” Tuohy says.

Not wanting to divert attention from the players on the field, Tuohy and Bullock took special care not to be photographed or televised together during the game.

"It wasn't about us. Sandy and I knew that," Tuohy says. "It was about celebrating a young man who worked tremendously hard for the last 11 years to overcome every kind of adverse situation – and [Sunday] he achieved his dream. We're still giddy. We really are."

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Critics seek to delay NYC sugary drinks size limit

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents are pressing to delay enforcement of the city's novel plan to crack down on supersized, sugary drinks, saying businesses shouldn't have to spend millions of dollars to comply until a court rules on whether the measure is legal.

With the rule set to take effect March 12, beverage industry, restaurant and other business groups have asked a judge to put it on hold at least until there's a ruling on their lawsuit seeking to block it altogether. The measure would bar many eateries from selling high-sugar drinks in cups or containers bigger than 16 ounces.

"It would be a tremendous waste of expense, time, and effort for our members to incur all of the harm and costs associated with the ban if this court decides that the ban is illegal," Chong Sik Le, president of the New York Korean-American Grocers Association, said in court papers filed Friday.

City lawyers are fighting the lawsuit and oppose postponing the restriction, which the city Board of Health approved in September. They said Tuesday they expect to prevail.

"The obesity epidemic kills nearly 6,000 New Yorkers each year. We see no reason to delay the Board of Health's reasonable and legal actions to combat this major, growing problem," Mark Muschenheim, a city attorney, said in a statement.

Another city lawyer, Thomas Merrill, has said officials believe businesses have had enough time to get ready for the new rule. He has noted that the city doesn't plan to seek fines until June.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other city officials see the first-of-its-kind limit as a coup for public health. The city's obesity rate is rising, and studies have linked sugary drinks to weight gain, they note.

"This is the biggest step a city has taken to curb obesity," Bloomberg said when the measure passed.

Soda makers and other critics view the rule as an unwarranted intrusion into people's dietary choices and an unfair, uneven burden on business. The restriction won't apply at supermarkets and many convenience stores because the city doesn't regulate them.

While the dispute plays out in court, "the impacted businesses would like some more certainty on when and how they might need to adjust operations," American Beverage Industry spokesman Christopher Gindlesperger said Tuesday.

Those adjustments are expected to cost the association's members about $600,000 in labeling and other expenses for bottles, Vice President Mike Redman said in court papers. Reconfiguring "16-ounce" cups that are actually made slightly bigger, to leave room at the top, is expected to take cup manufacturers three months to a year and cost them anywhere from more than $100,000 to several millions of dollars, Foodservice Packaging Institute President Lynn Dyer said in court documents.

Movie theaters, meanwhile, are concerned because beverages account for more than 20 percent of their overall profits and about 98 percent of soda sales are in containers greater than 16 ounces, according to Robert Sunshine, executive director of the National Association of Theatre Owners of New York State.

___

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