Wall Street dips at open, Boeing drags

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell off five-year highs on Wednesday as concerns about global economic growth offset strong bank results and shares of Boeing weighed on the Dow after two Japanese airlines grounded their Dreamliner fleets.

Goldman Sachs shares hit an 18-month high as its earnings nearly tripled on increased revenue from dealmaking and lower compensation expenses, while JPMorgan Chase said fourth-quarter net income jumped 53 percent and earnings for 2012 set a record.

JPMorgan shares were last down 0.8 percent at $46 and Goldman added 2 percent to $138.26.

Concern about global economic growth was weighing on the markets, said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments in Lisle, Illinois.

A slow economic recovery in developed nations is holding back the global economy, the World Bank said on Tuesday, as it sharply scaled back its forecast for world growth in 2013 to 2.4 percent from an earlier forecast of 3.0 percent.

Shares of Dow component Boeing fell 3.5 percent to $74.25 on concerns about the safety of its new Dreamliner passenger jets. Japan's two leading airlines grounded their fleets of 787s after an emergency landing, adding to safety concerns triggered by a ream of recent incidents.

"It's certainly going to pull averages down, given Boeing's large market cap, but I don't see it as having broader market implications," Jankovskis said.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> fell 61.79 points or 0.46 percent, to 13,473.1, the S&P 500 <.spx> lost 4.39 points or 0.3 percent, to 1,467.95 and the Nasdaq Composite <.ixic> dropped 2.72 points or 0.09 percent, to 3,108.06.

Losses on Nasdaq were limited by gains in Apple shares, which were up 2 percent at $495.75.

Talks to take Dell Inc private were at an advanced stage, with at least four major banks lined up to provide financing, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Shares fell 3.6 percent to $12.69 after jumping more than 21 percent over the past two sessions.

U.S. consumer prices were flat in December, pointing to muted inflation pressures that should give the Federal Reserve room to prop up the economy by staying on its ultra-easy monetary policy path.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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The Female Factor: New Delhi Only Seems Far Away

LONDON — Only an estimated 15 percent of female victims of rape and sexual assault in England and Wales report the crime to the police. Many of the rest say they chose not to because it was “embarrassing” or they considered the attack “too trivial or not worth reporting,” or because they “didn’t think the police could do much to help,” according to new official statistics released last week.

The publication by the Justice Ministry and the Home Office for the first time of “An Overview of Sexual Offending” also revealed that one in five of all women had been the victim of a sexual offense since the age of 16 and that there were about 400,000 adult female victims of sex crimes every year, including 69,000 victims of rape or attempted rape.

The release of these startling figures was followed a day later by the police report on the full scale of the sexual crimes committed by the late BBC host Jimmy Savile, which noted 34 rapes among 450 individual complaints and disclosed that the vast majority of victims who overcame their embarrassment to report assaults during Mr. Savile’s lifetime were not believed.

The information has triggered a wave of sober introspection about attitudes toward rape here — forcing a judderingly abrupt shift of geographical focus. For the past month, newspapers and news channels in Britain have devoted considerable attention to the unfolding details of the gang rape and murder of a physiotherapy student in New Delhi, with commentators lining up to discuss how India is a country battling deep-seated misogyny and to condemn official reluctance to tackle seriously the issue of violence against women.

Blithely criticizing failings in attitudes toward women thousands of miles away is easy. Focusing on why it is that so few women come forward to report crimes in this country has proved harder.

The director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, last Friday apologized to Mr. Savile’s victims and called for victims of any sexual abuse who felt that their complaints had not been dealt with seriously to contact the police again and have their cases reviewed by new panels that are to be set up across the country. This would be a “watershed moment” in the way that victims of sexual assault would be dealt with, he promised, stressing that it was important that victims be believed.

Campaign groups are also hoping that this will be a turning point.

“We must change the cultures and attitudes which allow abusive behavior to go unchecked,” a statement from the End Violence Against Women Coalition declared. “There is a real opportunity now to make the U.K. a global leader in how it deals with sexual and other violence against women and girls.” The low conviction rates for rape are probably part of the reason that so many women here believe that the police cannot “do much to help.”

Campaigners have previously estimated that only 6 percent of allegations of rape reported to the police resulted in a conviction for rape, but this widely cited figure has always been controversial, contested by the police and increasingly seen as part of the problem because it makes victims so cynical about the system that they decide not to press charges.

The latest statistics from the report last week suggest that conviction rates are improving, if you look at cases that get to court; of those cases prosecuted in court, 62.5 percent ended in a conviction.

Police guidelines for the sensitive handling of rape cases have been in use for some time. Staff members investigating sexual violence are trained how to talk to victims who have been raped. Those interviewers know that while they can ask any of the when, where, what and how questions, they must never ask “Why?” and particularly “Why did you do that?” because this questions a woman’s own decisions and suggests shifting some of the blame from attacker to victim.

A visit to one of Britain’s well-respected sexual assault referral centers (where victims are sensitively fast-tracked through police questioning and medical examination so no evidence is lost) shows that where they are well staffed and funded, they provide an excellent service.

But while considerable work has been done to improve police attitudes toward rape cases, the general public (which makes up the juries that listen to rape cases in court) remains very judgmental. Burglary victims are not expected to prove that they have been burgled, because people tend to believe them; rape victims still find themselves having to prove that something has happened to them and needing to justify their actions.

And it is remarkable how frequently unhelpful attitudes are revealed by people who should know better. The senior Conservative politician Kenneth Clarke got into trouble last year when he was justice secretary for giving an interview in which he talked about “serious rape,” inadvertently suggesting that he thought there were categories of less serious rape.

Then there was the senior BBC editor who, when explaining why he had chosen not to air a program about Mr. Savile’s crimes last year, breezily said there was not enough substance to the material, using the now notorious line that there were “just the women” — only the testimonies of the victims themselves.

With attitudes like these, it is hardly surprising that so many of the 85 percent of victims who were asked why they did not report the attack indicated that the process was too embarrassing and ultimately futile to undertake.

Amelia Gentleman is a journalist with The Guardian. Katrin Bennhold is on sabbatical leave.

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The Golden Globes, Starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and Nobody Else

We realize there’s only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cell phone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today:  

RELATED: The Way the World Could Have Ended

Now, we know what you’re thinking. Forget the rest of the show. And the red carpet. And the after-parties. And Lena Dunham, and maybe even Unimpressed Tommy Lee Jones. Now if only someone could just put together all the Tina Fey and Amy Poehler bits from last night’s Golden Globes — what little their was after that fantastic monologue, anyway. Well, you’re in luck. Don’t thank us, thank Flavorwire. Oh, fine, thank us a little bit:

RELATED: The Only ‘Kiss From a Rose’ Cover You’ll Ever Need

RELATED: Let’s Get Honest with ‘The Avengers’

If you were wondering, we were totally rooting for the fish: 

RELATED: ‘Roseanne’ Predicted Internet Addiction; A Weather Alert from Hell

RELATED: Yes, Someone Turned Their Dead Cat Into a Helicopter

As you may have heard, it is very cold in Los Angeles. As you also may have heard, cold in Los Angeles is very different than cold anywhere else, and, well, it’s quite funny watching them squirm:

And, finally, here is a cat using its feline agility to maneuver itself into a hammock. Yes, we are jealous: 

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Elizabeth Banks: Why I'm Really a Mom Now

Michael Simon/Startraks

Elizabeth Banks has hit official mom status.

Since welcoming her second son Magnus Mitchell in November, the actress — also mom to son Felix — admits she’s feeling the full effects of motherhood.

“Two is very different from one. When you have one kid, you feel like you can jet set around and you can throw him on the hip and you get your life done,” Banks told PEOPLE at the launch of babyGap’s Peter Rabbit collection at Gap at The Grove in L.A. Saturday.

“You don’t realize how easy one is until you have two. Now I’m really a mom. Oh, I am a mom now! This is for serious — I am responsible for two people now.”

The reality of her new family of four finally hit home when Banks and her husband Max Handelman decided to celebrate the holidays with their sons — sans hired help.

“[We] had no help, no nannies, no babysitters. It was crazy. You forget how difficult it is to wake up in the middle of the night, how exhausting it is,” she admits, adding being a hands-on mom took on a whole new meaning. “I lost all my nails. I did dishes and cleaned bottles for 10 days so I lost all those nails!”

Fortunately, making life easier has been Felix’s smooth transition into his role as the “sweetest” big brother. “He loves to say how cute Magnus is and he loves to give him kisses and he’s very gentle,” Banks, 38, shares.

“He loves to bring him gifts — sometimes that means shoes that are thrown in the bassinet, but that’s okay.”

The 22-month-old’s tough love tactics may be seemingly sweet now, but Banks isn’t holding out hope the brotherly bond will last long.

“I would say [Felix] is mostly unaware of what’s going on because Magnus doesn’t touch his stuff,” she explains. “I’ve heard that around 10 months — when baby can actually influence the realm of Felix — that Felix will not be happy. We’ll see how that goes.”

One thing that’s for sure? Banks and Handelman hit a home run when playing the name game. “Felix means happy in Latin and he is very happy go lucky,” the proud mom says.

“Magnus is definitely more serious. He’s going to be the deep thinker of the family for sure.”

– Anya Leon with reporting by Jennifer Garcia

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Wall Street opens lower on debt limit concern

DEAR ABBY: Recently my husband, "Byron," and I had an argument, and he took off in his truck. He didn't return until after work the following day. He had he spent the night at our friend "Arlene's" house. She is divorced and lives alone. Byron assures me "nothing happened" between them. I want to believe him, but ever since this incident, Arlene will not look me in the eye or speak to me.I love Byron and trusted him until now. It hurts to think that our marriage may be ruined over a stupid argument. ...

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IHT Rendezvous: 2012: The Year of Extreme Weather

The weather reports are in. 2012 was the hottest and the most extreme year on record in many places.

While parts of China are enduring the harshest winter in 30 years, the Antarctic is warming at an alarming rate. In Australia, out of control bushfires are the partially the result of record-breaking weather (new colors were added to weather forecast maps, to account for the new kind of heat). In the United States, where Hurricane Sandy devastated parts of New Jersey and New York and where extreme drought still lingers in the Midwest, the average temperature in 2012 was more than a whole degree Fahrenheit (or 5/9 of a degree Celsius) higher than average – shattering the record.

On Friday a long-term weather forecast for the United States was released, when the National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee published a draft of the third Climate Assessment Report. Like last year’s weather, the assessment does not pull its punches.

“Climate change threatens human health and well-being in many ways, including impacts from increased extreme weather events, wildfire, decreased air quality, diseases transmitted by insects, food, and water, and threats to mental health,” write the authors as part of their key findings.

Experts from 13 federal agencies, including NASA, the State Department and the Department of Defense put together the report under the auspices of the United States Global Change Research Program.

While some predictions have been adjusted upward from previous reports, the difference in tone in this newest assessment is striking. The second assessment, published in 2009, predicted of thresholds that will be crossed, while the 2013 draft presents a reality in which some of the changes are already irreversible.

“As a result of past emissions of heat-trapping gases, some amount of additional climate change and related impacts is now unavoidable,” wrote the authors in the executive summary.

Adaptation to climate change is discussed in the new draft, which is open for public comment before it is officially released early in 2014. The authors write:

Planning and managing based on the climate of the last century means that tolerances of some infrastructure and species will be exceeded. For example, building codes and landscaping ordinances will likely need to be updated not only for energy efficiency, but also to conserve water supplies, protect against insects that spread disease, reduce susceptibility to heat stress, and improve protection against extreme events.”

The authors predict that within the next several decades, temperatures will go up between 2 and 4 degrees Fahrenheit, roughly 1 and 2 degrees Celsius. The experts discuss a possible 10 degree Fahrenheit (or more than 5 degrees Celsius) warming by the end of the century, in the case that not enough is done to curb emissions. (The World Bank recently released a report of the dangers of a world warmed by 4 degrees Celsius).

Sea levels could rise up to four feet, or 1.2 meters, within the century, according to the experts.

Though official assessments, predictions and studies like these serve to reinforce what many already fear, they do not necessarily lead to policy change. Andrew Restuccia predicted in a Politico article that the new report would ultimately do little to change the embittered climate-change politics in that country. He wrote:

“But don’t hold your breath for serious action on climate change in Congress. Republicans and some moderate Democrats remain opposed to measures to address climate change. The Obama administration, meanwhile, is moving forward with its own efforts on climate change, including beefed-up fuel economy standards and greenhouse gas regulations for new power plants.

Sometimes official assessment reports provide substance for those who question man-made climate change.

My colleague Andrew C. Revkin recently reported on how a revision by Britain’s Weather and Climate Agency on short-term global temperature forecast became fodder for climate change deniers. The fact that the government agency had revised its numbers downward allowed climate change skeptics to argue that the world was not significantly warming after all.

In December, Alec Rawls, a climate-change skeptic, made a name for himself by leaking an unpublished Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, one of the major global players in climate change assessment. Mr. Rawls tried to argue that the panel’s language on solar radiation was an admission that much of the warming trends were caused by the sun, not human activity.

As Andrew reported at time, his claims were mostly debunked.

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BlackBerry service outage hits Europe [updated]

BlackBerry subscribers using Vodafone in Europe, the Middle East and Africa were hit with a service outage on Friday morning that left many with no access to data services. Vodafone confirmed the outage to ZDNet but did not indicate what might have caused the service interruption. “We are aware that some BlackBerry customers are experiencing issues,” Vodafone said in a statement. “Vodafone is working closely with Research in Motion (RIMM) to restore full service as soon as possible.” Email, BlackBerry Messenger and other key services were all impacted by the outage, and Vodafone has subsequently told TechCrunch that service is in the process of being restored.

[More from BGR: How computer scientists are trying to stop smartphones and tablets from breaking the Internet]

UPDATE: RIM has issued a statement confirming that the issue lies with Vodafone and it is supporting the carrier’s efforts to restore service:

[More from BGR: ‘Apple is done’ and Surface tablet is cool, according to teens]

All BlackBerry services are operating normally but we are aware that a wider Vodafone service issue is impacting some of our BlackBerry customers in Europe, Middle East and Africa. We are supporting Vodafone’s efforts to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

This article was originally published on BGR.com

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Robin Roberts: 'I'm Coming Home'

TV Watch

By Andrea Billups and Sharon Cotliar

01/14/2013 at 09:25 AM EST

She's healthy and coming back to television soon!

"It's a matter of weeks, not months," Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts, speaking from her apartment, told viewers live on Monday's show. "I'm coming home."

Looking healthy and resplendent in purple, an emotional Roberts, 52, said she would be coming to work next week for what she described as a "dry run" – taking measure of where she goes on set, her stress level in the studio and her skin's reaction to the lights, all in preparation for a full return to the air.

"My last bone marrow aspiration showed no abnormalities – praise God," Roberts said to the delight of her GMA colleagues. "What all this means is, doctors were waiting for this information so that I can began the process of returning to the anchor chair."

She won't be hosting the program again immediately, but she is working up to that moment when she will – likely some time in February.

"I haven't been live on television since August," Roberts said. "My heart is beating so fast right now, but it means that I am alive. I am so grateful to be as inspired as I am. I can't wait 'til I get back."

Roberts's visit to the show came amid much excited speculation from fans that her permanent return was imminent. She underwent a bone marrow transplant on Sept. 20 after being diagnosed with a rare blood disorder, myelodysplastic syndrome. She has recently been recovering at home.

The anchor was fortunate that her sister, Sally-Ann Roberts, was not only willing to be her donor but was a perfect match. "I'm so happy. I'm so grateful," said Robin, who also demonstrated Monday that she hasn't lost her sense of humor.

Sporting her shorn look, Roberts noted that when she does her trial run next week, she'll be doing "hair and makeup." Pause. "Well, makeup," she said good-naturedly. "We'll talk about the hair later."

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Flu more widespread in US; eases off in some areas

NEW YORK (AP) — Flu is now widespread in all but three states as the nation grapples with an earlier-than-normal season. But there was one bit of good news Friday: The number of hard-hit areas declined.

The flu season in the U.S. got under way a month early, in December, driven by a strain that tends to make people sicker. That led to worries that it might be a bad season, following one of the mildest flu seasons in recent memory.

The latest numbers do show that the flu surpassed an "epidemic" threshold last week. That is based on deaths from pneumonia and influenza in 122 U.S. cities. However, it's not unusual — the epidemic level varies at different times of the year, and it was breached earlier this flu season, in October and November.

And there's a hint that the flu season may already have peaked in some spots, like in the South. Still, officials there and elsewhere are bracing for more sickness

In Ohio, administrators at Miami University are anxious that a bug that hit employees will spread to students when they return to the Oxford campus next week.

"Everybody's been sick. It's miserable," said Ritter Hoy, a spokeswoman for the 17,000-student school.

Despite the early start, health officials say it's not too late to get a flu shot. The vaccine is considered a good — though not perfect — protection against getting really sick from the flu.

Flu was widespread in 47 states last week, up from 41 the week before, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. The only states without widespread flu were California, Mississippi and Hawaii.

The number of hard-hit states fell to 24 from 29, where larger numbers of people were treated for flu-like illness. Now off that list: Florida, Arkansas and South Carolina in the South, the first region hit this flu season.

Recent flu reports included holiday weeks when some doctor's offices were closed, so it will probably take a couple more weeks to get a better picture, CDC officials said Friday. Experts say so far say the season looks moderate.

"Only time will tell how moderate or severe this flu season will be," CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said Friday in a teleconference with reporters.

The government doesn't keep a running tally of adult deaths from the flu, but estimates that it kills about 24,000 people in an average year. Nationally, 20 children have died from the flu this season.

Flu vaccinations are recommended for everyone 6 months or older. Since the swine flu epidemic in 2009, vaccination rates have increased in the U.S., but more than half of Americans haven't gotten this year's vaccine.

Nearly 130 million doses of flu vaccine were distributed this year, and at least 112 million have been used. Vaccine is still available, but supplies may have run low in some locations, officials said.

To find a shot, "you may have to call a couple places," said Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, who tracks the flu in Iowa.

In midtown Manhattan, Hyrmete Sciuto got a flu shot Friday at a drugstore. She skipped it in recent years, but news reports about the flu this week worried her.

During her commute from Edgewater, N.J., by ferry and bus, "I have people coughing in my face," she said. "I didn't want to risk it this year."

The vaccine is no guarantee, though, that you won't get sick. On Friday, CDC officials said a recent study of more than 1,100 people has concluded the current flu vaccine is 62 percent effective. That means the average vaccinated person is 62 percent less likely to get a case of flu that sends them to the doctor, compared to people who don't get the vaccine. That's in line with other years.

The vaccine is reformulated annually, and this year's is a good match to the viruses going around.

The flu's early arrival coincided with spikes in flu-like illnesses caused by other bugs, including a new norovirus that causes vomiting and diarrhea, or what is commonly known as "stomach flu." Those illnesses likely are part of the heavy traffic in hospital and clinic waiting rooms, CDC officials said.

Europeans also are suffering an early flu season, though a milder strain predominates there. China, Japan, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Algeria and the Republic of Congo have also reported increasing flu.

Flu usually peaks in midwinter. Symptoms can include fever, cough, runny nose, head and body aches and fatigue. Some people also suffer vomiting and diarrhea, and some develop pneumonia or other severe complications.

Most people with flu have a mild illness. But people with severe symptoms should see a doctor. They may be given antiviral drugs or other medications to ease symptoms.

Some shortages have been reported for children's liquid Tamiflu, a prescription medicine used to treat flu. But health officials say adult Tamiflu pills are available, and pharmacists can convert those to doses for children.

___

Associated Press writers Dan Sewell in Cincinnati, Catherine Lucey in Des Moines, and Malcolm Ritter in New York contributed to this report.

___

Online:

CDC flu: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/index.htm

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Wall Street edges lower at open as Apple drags

MELBOURNE, Jan 14 (Reuters) - A nervous Sam Stosur survived the first test of her annual battle with stage-fright at the Australian Open, but the spotlight is set to focus on the ninth seed after all of her compatriots were dumped from the first round on Monday. Australia's hopes of a home-bred champion at the year's first grand slam have gone unfulfilled for 34 years and, with Lleyton Hewitt crashing out against eighth seed Janko Tipsarevic late in the evening, appeared set for further frustration. ...

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