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Survey: Businesses more upbeat, but not hiring

The Associated Press 12:07 a.m. EST January 27, 2014 (FILES)A banner reading "Jobs" hangs on the facade of the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington,DC in this February 22, 2011 file photo. The US economy generated 227,000 jobs in February, and the overall unemployment rate held at 8.3 percent, the Labor Department said March 9, 2012. The number of unemployed people was also stable at 12.8 million, the Labor Department said. The official jobless rate held steady after falling for five straight months, meeting the expectations of analysts who say the economic growth has slowed in the current quarter after a burst of energy at the end of 2011. AFP PHOTO/Nicholas KAMM (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images) ORIG FILE ID: 509514879(Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM AFP/Getty Images)Story HighlightsFor the fourth quarter of 2013, only about 25% of businesses added jobs, survey saysEconomic growth for 2014 is expected to be between 2.1% and 3% at an annual rateThe unemployment rate fell to 6.7% in December, lowest point in more than 5 yearsBusinesses expect their companies to perform better this year but that optimism still isn't translating into a push to hire more workers, according to a new survey from the National Association for Business Economics out Monday.Of the 64 members who responded to NABE's January survey, most said they saw stronger sales in the final months of 2013, and 43% expect their companies to modestly hike selling prices this year. That's the highest percentage in more than 12 months.Most respondents don't expect the new health care law or the Federal Reserve's easing of its stimulus policies to have a major impact on business, either. However only 37% expect to create jobs in the next six months, the same as in NABE's October survey.MORE: Will 2014 be the year of the raise?[1]For…
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FBI warns retailers of more cyber attacks

Alistair Barr, and Donna Leinwand Leger, USATODAY 6:45 p.m. EST January 24, 2014 The J. Edgar Hoover FBI building is pictured in this July 1, 2005, file photo in Washington.(Photo: Jim Watson, AFP/Getty Images)SAN FRANCISCO -- The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation warned U.S. retailers that there will be more cyber attacks in a "disturbing" report describing how vulnerable the $5 trillion industry is to hackers trying to steal valuable customer data.Leaders at the National Retail Federation said they reviewed the FBI's report. It outlines techniques used by cyber criminals to access personal data and warns retailers to be wary, general counsel Mallory Duncan said.The hackers, the report said, are prolific and sophisticated, Duncan added."This is a very disturbing report and obviously, there is a great deal of work that's going to have to be done by all of the parties," Duncan said. "There is a fundamental flaw in the current card payment system, and until we can remedy that, and that's a reliance on easily copied numbers and data, that flaw is going to plague us."The report comes in the wake of an attack against Target which compromised the data of more than 100 million people during the busy holiday shopping period. Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus said this week that a similar attack earlier in 2013 affected 1.1 million cards.TIMELINE: Hacks against Target and Neiman[1]The FBI report, dated Jan. 17, describes risks posed by "memory-parsing" malware that infects point-of-sale (POS) systems, Reuters reported, citing the document "Recent Cyber Intrusion Events Directed Toward Retail Firms."The FBI has discovered about 20 hacking incidents in the past year involving similar malware used in the Target breach, Reuters[2] added.INTERVIEW: How retailers rationalize lack of breach disclosure[3]"In 2014, we expect to see one or more of these major breaches a month," said JD Sherry,…
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Only one small car passes tough crash test

AutoplayShow ThumbnailsShow CaptionsLast SlideNext Slide[1][2]Honda Fit performed poorly in IIHS tests(Photo: IIHS)Story HighlightsOnly Chevrolet Spark is rated 'acceptable' in the small overlap front crash testHonda Fit was the worstThe smallest cars fared poorest as a group of any class of vehiclesThe smallest cars on the road carry the biggest injury risk in a common and deadly type of crash, a report released Wednesday reveals.Only one of 11 small city and minicars passed the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's small front overlap crash test in which a car hits a barrier with the front driver's side corner at 40 miles per hour. It simulates clipping another car head-on or hitting a tree or pole.The worst performer was the Honda Fit, which earned a "poor" rating in the test along with five other models and all but one of the rest were "marginal."Just one car among the 2013 and 2014 models tested received an "acceptable" rating in the tough test -- the Chevrolet Spark. Thus, Spark is the only one in the group to earn the IIHS Top Safety Pick designation."We're geeked," says Chevrolet spokeswoman Annalisa Bluhm about the passing grade. She says improvements were made when the car was introduced into the U.S.but no modifications were added to pass the specific test. The car is a global product that was developed by General Motors' GM Korea unit.The group performed worse than any other car category on the test, which was instituted in 2012. None received the highest rating of "good.""Small, lightweight vehicles have an inherent safety disadvantage," Joe Nolan, a senior vice president for the institute, the safety arm of the insurance industry, says in a statement.But spokesman Russ Rader says there is no reason they can't be re-engineered to perform well in the tests. Often, he says the problem is…
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Van stunt isn't easy for 'Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit'

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Super Bowl marketers play up musical tie-ins

NFL coaching legend Mike Ditka in Pepsi's ad promo for its mock halftime show at the Grammys. Pepsi is sponsoring the very real halftime show at this year's Super Bowl.(Photo: Pepsi)Story HighlightsPepsi, sponsor of the Super Bowl halftime show, will have Mike Ditka singing and dancingOther sponsors also plan big music tie-insPop music raises the entertainment value of an ad and connects with culture-oriented consumersPepsi, Bud Light and other major Super Bowl XLVIII advertisers hope to strike a chord with consumers by playing up musical tie-ins.This year's promotions will include some familiar marketing techniques such as companies sponsoring concerts and using catchy songs in Super Sunday ads. There will also be some unexpected notes, such as Pepsi hosting a mock halftime performance at the Jan. 26 Grammy Awards.Pepsi, which will sponsor the Super Bowl halftime show, will run a two-and-a-half-minute ad featuring past NFL players Shannon Sharpe, Mike Ditka, Terry Bradshaw and Deion Sanders singing and dancing. Dancing With the Stars' pro Mark Ballas choreographed the routine.SEE PEPSI'S TEASER AD: Promo for mock halftime show at Grammys[1]The spot will run midway through the Grammy telecast."For years and years, Super Bowl halftime has been about music on sports' biggest stage," says Seth Kaufman, vice president for marketing colas at Pepsi North America Beverages. "We thought, 'What if we flipped it around and Pepsi brought football to music's biggest night?'"The Grammy performance is one of several stunts Pepsi has planned to hype the Super Bowl halftime show, which will star Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.On Jan. 4, the beverage company hosted a concert in Milligan, Neb. — which Pepsi says it picked because it is halfway between Los Angeles and New York — featuring country singer Lee Brice.On Jan. 6, the company organized an event at which Broadway legend…
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Budget deal puts squeeze on financial regulators

The U.S. Capitol in Washington.(Photo: Mark Wilson, Getty Images)Story HighlightsCFTC would receive $93 million less than last yearSEC would get $324 million less than Obama requestWatchdog groups say funding raises risk of another crisisWatchdog groups say the budget compromise unveiled by Congress this week drastically underfunds financial regulatory agencies and undermines the sweeping reform legislation that grew out of the financial crisis."It puts Americans at needless risk of another financial crisis," says Dennis Kelleher, president of Better Markets, an advocacy group.The spending bill includes $1.35 billion for the Securities and Exchange Commission, $29 million above the fiscal 2013 level but $324 million below President Obama's budget request.But Kelleher's biggest concern is the low funding levels that the $1.1 trillion fiscal 2014 spending bill allocates to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is tasked with overseeing derivatives that were at the center of the crisis. The bipartisan bill provides $215 million to the CFTC, $100 million less than President Obama's budget request and $93 million less than the fiscal 2013 budget, according to the CFTC.Yet, the notional value of the markets the agency will regulate is mushrooming tenfold from $45 trillion in commodities swaps to a nearly $400 trillion derivatives trading industry, he says."It's like you're taking half the cops off the street, and they don't have guns, radios or bullets," Kelleher says. "The CFTC is literally crippled and unable to do its job."Lisa Donner, head of Americans for Financial Reform, contends the CFTC budget was slashed at the behest of Wall Street lobbyists seeking to undercut the effectiveness of financial reform. The budget savings are so miniscule that "it's not plausible that the real issue is budget numbers," she saysDerivatives are securities whose value depends on the movement of something else, such as interest rates or commodity prices. Derivatives tied…
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