Big sales on Small Business Saturday

When Joanne Rossman opened her namesake gift store 12 years ago she didn't bother buying a cash register — instead stuffing her profits in a Dunkin' Donuts cup behind the counter — because she thought her boutique amid empty storefronts could never compete with large retailers.

But her Roslindale Village business has flourished in recent years, and mom-and-pop shop supporters gave Rossman an extra boost yesterday on Small Business Saturday.

"It's been incredible. Every year it just gets better and better," said Rossman, who racked up huge sales during the shopping event sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

The campaign to support independent mom-and-pop businesses amid the holiday rush at big-box retailers and Internet sites is a way for shoppers to show love of community, said Karen Mills, head of the federal Small Business Administration, who browsed Roslindale stores yesterday.

Mills said 100 million shoppers participated in last year's campaign — including President Obama, who headed to another independent book store yesterday — and she expects that number to rise this year.

"It's really become a movement. I think it's not just about supporting the community. It's about saying 'thank you' to people in our community," she said.

Maureen Tisei of West Roxbury has done her Christmas shopping locally on the Saturday after Thanksgiving for the past three years.

"I come out to support my community. I look forward to it," she said.

Business owners said many customers whipped out credit cards from American Express, which created the campaign in 2010 and offered $25 credits for those spending at least that amount at local stores.

"Last year Small Business Saturday was my best sales day ever — in the three years I had been open at the time. We're hoping for a repeat," said Elizabeth Swanson, owner of Birch St. House & Garden.

Antone Wilson, who stopped into Diane's Bakery yesterday, said he prefers locally made sweets over chain-store goods.

"I like a real doughnut. If you've never had one, you don't know what you're missing," he said.

"Small Business Saturday has really helped highlight local retail," said Ruth Kennedy, whose family opened Birch Flower Shop 70 years ago.

"It's a great idea. We always shop locally to help the little guy," she said. "You get better service."

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Egypt's stock market plummets after Morsi's decree

CAIRO — Egypt's benchmark stock index has plunged 9.5 percent halfway through the first trading session since the country's Islamist president issued decrees to assume near absolute powers.

Sunday's losses on the Egyptian Exchange's EGX30 index are among the biggest since the turbulent days and weeks after the ouster of authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak last year.

The fall follows the announcement Thursday by President Mohammed Morsi of a package of decrees that place him above any oversight, including judicial, and extend the same protection to two Islamist-dominated bodies: a panel drafting a new constitution and parliament's upper chamber.

Morsi says his measures are designed to "protect the revolution," but they triggered an uproar among non-Islamist political groups now vowing to press on with street protests to force him to back down.

© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Hobbits, superheroes put magic in New Zealand film industry

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A crate full of sushi arrives. Workers wearing wetsuit shirts or in bare feet bustle past with slim laptops. With days to go, a buzzing intensity fills the once-dilapidated warehouses where Peter Jackson's visual-effects studio is rushing to finish the opening film in "The Hobbit" trilogy.

The fevered pace at the Weta Digital studio near Wellington will last nearly until the actors walk the red carpet Nov. 28 for the world premiere. But after "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" hits theaters, there's more work to be done.

Weta Digital is the centerpiece of a filmmaking empire that Jackson and close collaborators have built in his New Zealand hometown, realizing his dream of bringing a slice of Hollywood to Wellington. It's a one-stop shop for making major movies — not only his own, but other blockbusters like "Avatar" and "The Avengers" and hoped-for blockbusters like next year's "Man of Steel."

Along the way, Jackson has become revered here, even receiving a knighthood. His humble demeanor and crumpled appearance appeal to distinctly New Zealand values, yet his modesty belies his influence. He's also attracted criticism along the way.

The special-effects workforce of 150 on "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy a decade ago now numbers 1,100. Only five of Weta Digital's workers are actual employees, however, while the rest are contractors. Many accept the situation because movie work often comes irregularly but pays well. Union leaders, though, say the workers lack labor protections existing in almost any other industry.

Like many colleagues, Weta Digital's director, Joe Letteri, came to New Zealand in 2001 to work on the "Rings" trilogy for two years. The work kept coming, so he bought a house in Wellington and stayed.

"People come here because they know it's their chance to do something really great and to get it up on the screen," he said in a recent interview. "And you want to do it in these next two weeks, because the two weeks after the movie's finished are useless."

Jackson, who declined to be interviewed for this story, launched Weta in 1993 with fellow filmmakers Jamie Selkirk and Richard Taylor. Named after an oversized New Zealand insect, the company later was split into its digital arm and Weta Workshop, which makes props and costumes.

Loving homages to the craft are present in Weta Digital's seven buildings around the green-hilled suburb of Miramar. There are old-time movie posters, prop skulls of dinosaurs and apes, and a wall of latex face impressions of actors from Chris O'Donnell to Tom Cruise.

Its huge data center, with the computing power of 30,000 laptops, resembles a milk-processing plant because only the dairy industry in New Zealand knew how to build cooling systems on such a grand scale.

Little of Weta's current work was visible. Visitors must sign confidentiality agreements, and the working areas of the facilities are off-limits. The company is secretive about any unannounced projects, beyond saying Weta will be working solidly for the next two years, when the two later "Hobbit" films are scheduled to be released.

The workforce has changed from majority American to about 60 percent New Zealanders. The only skill that's needed, Letteri says, is the ability to use a computer as a tool.

Beyond having creativity as a filmmaker, Jackson has proved a savvy businessman, Letteri says.

"The film business in general is volatile, and visual effects has to be sitting right on the crest of that wave," Letteri says. "We don't get asked to do something that somebody has seen before."

The government calculates that feature films contribute $560 million each year to New Zealand's economy. Like many countries, New Zealand offers incentives and rebates to film companies and will contribute about $100 million toward the $500 million production costs of "The Hobbit" trilogy. Almost every big budget film goes through Jackson's companies.

© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Jeff Kaye, voice of NFL Films, dies at 75

PHILADELPHIA — If you were going to follow John Facenda on the air, you had to have a great voice.

Maybe nobody could match the legendary Facenda, whose familiar baritone was called the "voice of God" when he broadcast for NFL Films.

But Jeff Kaye brought it off. After Facenda died in 1984, Jeff became the voice of NFL Films, lending his own sonorous baritone to the pro-football features of the Mount Laurel, N.J.-based company.

Maybe not quite God, but close to it.

"I can say to this day, when I look at some of the shows Jeff narrated over the years, I am still fascinated by the way he told a story," said Kevin McLoughlin, director of post-production for NFL Films.

"His voice — so smooth, yet booming — was always a pleasure to listen to. He had some big shoes to fill after John Facenda passed away.

"Jeff narrated hundreds of films for NFL Films over the years, from team highlights, to 'Road to the Super Bowl.' One of best voices of NFL Films."

Jeff Kaye, born Martin Krimski in Baltimore, winner of four Emmy Awards for broadcasting, whose radio career surged in Boston and Buffalo, N.Y., died of cancer Friday at the age of 75. He lived in Binghamton, N.Y.

Jeff's voice was a familiar presence in Philadelphia for some 30 years, yet hardly anybody knew his name. For years, it was his voice that announced the news broadcast on WPVI-TV: "Action News, the Delaware Valley's leading news program."

He also did voice-overs for Phillies games and commercials, advertising products and services ranging from Budweiser to NJ Transit. In Buffalo, Jeff became something of a legend in 1968 when he scripted and produced his own version of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds" as program director of WKBW-AM.

The broadcast wasn't as terrifying as Orson Welles' version in 1938, but it still scared the pants off many listeners with its realistic-sounding reporting by actual WKBW staffers of a supposed Martian invasion.

Jeff was a popular boss in Buffalo. Sandy Beach, a former WKBW staffer, said Jeff "had such class, style, and talent. He encouraged us to 'go for it' every time we were on the air. He recognized, hired and nurtured talent."

In the early '80s, Jeff moved to WHEN Radio in Buffalo, before coming to Philadelphia and NFL Films, where he worked with the late Harry Kalas. Jeff almost lost his voice in 1996 when a cancerous tumor was found on his left vocal cord. The growth was successfully removed, and he returned to the air.

His first broadcasting job was in Providence, R.I., after his service in the Air Force, where he was a meteorologist. He retired in 2006.

He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Suzanne; three daughters, Anne Schoonover, Judith Krimski and Sarah Krimski-Smith; a son, Peter Krimski; and seven grandchildren.

———

©2012 Philadelphia Daily News Visit the Philadelphia Daily News at www.philly.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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In need of a bailout, FHA trying to raise more revenue

WASHINGTON — You may have seen headlines last week about the Federal Housing Administration needing a taxpayer "bailout" by the Treasury and wondered: Uh oh. Is the FHA heading down the fiscal drain like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have required billions in federal assistance just to stay in business?

The good news answer for FHA's traditional borrowers — who are primarily moderate-income, first-time purchasers, people with limited cash for down payments and less-than-perfect credit histories — is no. There is a strong possibility that FHA will not require any money transfer from the Treasury, which in any event would not occur until next September. Meanwhile FHA is making tweaks to its program rules that could affect some loan applicants in the months ahead, and which are designed to improve revenue flows to the agency and cut back on losses.

Among the most immediate changes, new borrowers early next year are likely to be charged slightly higher annual mortgage insurance premiums — 1.35 percent of the loan balance rather than 1.25 percent at present. On loans above $625,500 in high-cost areas such as California and metropolitan Washington, D.C., the annual premium will go from 1.5 percent to 1.6 percent. This will not be a major problem for most people, but it could cause some buyers to check out FHA's competitors' private mortgage insurers whose monthly premiums on loans for applicants with high credit scores may be more attractive than FHA's.

To increase revenue streams long term, FHA is also abandoning its practice of allowing borrowers to cancel their annual mortgage insurance premium payments when their loan balance drops to 78 percent of the property value. In effect, this will mean that borrowers obtaining 30-year FHA loans could be paying premiums for decades.

Is this a big deal? Clem Ziroli Jr., president of First Mortgage Corp. in Ontario, Calif., thinks it could encourage some higher credit quality borrowers to "refi out" of their FHA loans and seek better deals in the conventional marketplace. But Paul E. Skeens, president of Colonial Mortgage Group in Waldorf, Md., sees it differently: With fixed 30-year mortgage rates in the mid- to upper-3 percent range and virtually certain to increase — maybe significantly if the economy improves in the coming years — "everybody is going to want to keep these loans forever," he predicts. "They're not going to want to refi."

Other changes on the FHA horizon:

L More financial counseling for applicants who have low FICO credit scores, are purchasing their first homes, and are seeking to make minimum 3.5 percent down payments.

L A new short-sale program that reaches out to existing FHA homeowners who are seriously delinquent and heading toward foreclosure. FHA Acting Commissioner Carol J. Galante said the agency plans to streamline the short-sale option — where owners are permitted to sell their house for less than the balance on the mortgage — in order to avoid the huge costs of foreclosures.

L Structural alterations to FHA's reverse mortgage program, which allows senior homeowners to withdraw funds based on the equity in their properties. The program dominates the industry and accounts for the vast majority of outstanding reverse loans in the country, but has produced inordinate losses to the FHA insurance fund because of home-value declines and the failure of some borrowers to make their property tax and insurance payments, thereby triggering foreclosures. Though few details are yet available and Congress would have to approve any statutory changes, Galante said the agency plans to restrict the amounts that seniors can draw down in a lump sum up front, among other remedial actions next year.

The bottom line on FHA's forthcoming program tweaks? Jeff Lipes, vice president of Rockville Bank in Hartford, Conn., put it this way: FHA isn't making fundamental changes. Its basic mix of enticements — low down payments, low credit score requirements and generous underwriting rules compared with competitors — aren't going away, "so I don't think the tweaks will have that great an impact on most FHA buyers."

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Cyber Monday to be super

Experts estimate that Cyber Monday will top a record-breaking $1.5 billion in sales to become the largest online shopping event in history, with blockbuster deals that rival or exceed Black Friday doorbusters.

"We believe you'll find better deals and savings if you shop online from the comfort of your home or work," said Howard Schaffer, CEO of the Internet deal aggregator Offers.com. "We don't see any reason to risk going to the store and having to deal with the chaos of parking."

Consumers are increasingly savvy about online discounts. And in an increasingly mobile landscape, 45 percent of consumers are likely to use a smartphone or tablet to shop this holiday season, according to RetailMeNot.

Fueled by this growth in mobile commerce, the number of U.S. online holiday shoppers is expected to grow 3 percent from last year. But the amount of money those shoppers spend is increasing even more, according to a recent report by Forrester Research. The average U.S. holiday shopper will spend $419 online, a 12 percent jump over last year, Forrester estimates.

Cyber Monday spending has more than doubled from the time the term was coined in 2005 to last year, when consumers spent $1.25 billion.

This year, shoppers are expected to "showroom" certain products beforehand, with 42 percent heading to stores to do an in-person check of an item with the intention of purchasing it on Cyber Monday, according to CouponCabin.com.

The online bonanza is shaped by market conditions that have retailers offering better deals than last year because they are more focused on marketshare than profits, said PriceGrabber spokesman Rojeh Avanesian.

"We got politicians talking about the fiscal cliff, high unemployment and the recent Hurricane Sandy," he said. "Retailers are responding accordingly with deep discounts."

Avanesian said shoppers should be able to purchase a 55-inch 3D LCD TV for under $1,400 for the first time this year, and get a decent laptop for under $200.

Other Cyber Monday highlights include:

• Walmart.com will offer the Xbox 360 Skylanders Family Fun Bundle for $159, a nearly $100 savings.

• Radioshack.com will offer 24 so-called amazing deals in 24 hours, including a digital camera at 44 percent off and a GPS Navigation System for $70 off at $60.

• Macys.com will lower its free shipping threshold to a $75 minimum on all online purchases.

Kmart.com and Sears.com are expected to pull out all the stops this year, Schaffer said. But as with most retailers, the details of sales won't be divulged in advance.

One big reason to shop Cyber Monday: Four in 10 online retailers are expected to offer free shipping without conditions, according to Shop.org's eHoliday survey.

The online analytics service comScore advised retailers: "Consumers are showing renewed signs of optimism heading into this year's shopping season, and it's never too early for online retailers to win a fair share of their spending."

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Tablet app to teach languages

Vicky Wu Davis has always wanted her son to embrace his heritage, but a year ago, when he was 3, he began to shun all things Chinese.

So Wu Davis developed the Adalia Enrichment Program, a weekly class in Andover that teaches children ages 2 to 6 Mandarin Chinese through storytelling, play and scientific discovery.

"I didn't want glorified flash cards," she said. "If you wrap it up in fun things, they don't even realize they're learning another language."

By making ice cream from scratch, for example, the children learn in Chinese about water, solids, temperature and taste.

They also learn how plants grow and how bees make honey.

They dance to Chinese songs. And in milder weather, they go on treasure hunts.

It's a formula that has paid dividends. Wu Davis' son now teaches her husband Mandarin.

But while other children in her class also have flourished, their parents, some of whom speak only English, often ask her how they can reinforce at home what their children learn in class.

Last week, Wu Davis, a serial entrepreneur, launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $60,000 by Dec. 17 to fund Peach Ice Cream Adventures, the first of several planned language learning games for tablets.

Built from an existing technology platform, PICA is designed for 3- to 6-year-olds and comes with a dashboard to allow parents to watch their children's play and switch languages.

Like Adalia, it teaches language by spiraling: Children cycle back to prior words and build vocabulary through repeated use in different contexts.

"Having no Chinese background, we would love to have some way for us to learn together as a family," said Juliet Correll Wright, whose 4 1⁄2-year-old daughter, Willow, takes Wu Davis' class. "PICA would reinforce what she's learned and would engage her with technology in a meaningful and purposeful way."

Correll Wright wants her daughter to learn Chinese because it has becoming an increasingly important language as China has become an economic powerhouse, and she feels there's a narrow window of opportunity for children to naturally pick up another language.

Waipeng Lee, another Andover parent, signed on to develop the content for PICA after enrolling her own 5-year-old daughter in Wu Davis' class.

"With an application, she would be able to learn (Chinese) any time," said Lee, 45. "I feel like if my daughter can be more independent using an app, she'll be more confident speaking Chinese."

As of Friday, 90 people had pledged a total of nearly $5,000 to fund the Kickstarter campaign.

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UN to launch new round of talks on global warming

DOHA, Qatar — As nearly 200 countries meet in oil-and-gas rich Qatar for annual talks starting Monday on slowing global warming, one of the main challenges will be raising climate aid for poor countries at a time when budgets are strained by financial turmoil.

Tim Gore of British charity Oxfam said Sunday that developing countries, including island nations for whom the rise in sea levels poses an existential threat, stand before a "climate fiscal cliff."

Existing commitments for climate aid expire this year, as does the only binding treaty to limit carbon emissions — the Kyoto Protocol. Negotiators in the Qatari capital of Doha will discuss renewing both, and will start work on a new global climate pact that is set to be adopted in 2015.

© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Anti-gambling Holyoke mayor now backs casino plan

HOLYOKE - A western Massachusetts mayor whose opposition to casino plans helped him win last year's election at age 22 is now supporting a bid to bring a gambling resort to town.

Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse is expected to announce Monday that he is backing plans for a casino near Interstate 91 on the side of Mount Tom.

Morse says he changed his mind because a casino would be a big boost to the city's struggling economy. He acknowledges flip-flopping on the issue and is prepared for a backlash, but he says it's in the best interests of the city.

A 1-year-old law allows up to three resort-style casinos in Massachusetts, but just one in the western part of the state. Three major casino operators have proposed gambling resorts in Springfield.

© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Lorillard appeals in Mass. cigarette samples case

BOSTON - Willie Evans remembers all the things his mother tried to quit smoking: the patch, the gum and even hypnotism.

Her attempts all failed. Marie Evans died of lung cancer in 2002 at the age of 54.

Willie Evans sued Lorillard Tobacco Co., arguing that the company got his mother hooked on smoking by giving away free cigarette samples to children in her Boston housing project in the 1950s and '60s.

A jury awarded $152 million in damages, an amount that was later reduced to $116 million.

Lorillard's appeal is set to go before the highest court in Massachusetts next month. The company argues that the trial judge made a series of rulings that prevented the company from getting a fair trial.

For Willie Evans, the appeal is another step in the process for finding justice for his mother.

"We think today of what our reaction would be if a tobacco company were to go into a playground and give cigarettes to kids, and we would be outraged," he said.

"My reaction is one of outrage that they would target kids at such a young age."

During the 2010 trial, Evans' lawyers said Marie Evans first received free samples of Lorillard's Newport cigarettes when she was 9 or 10 years old. She said she initially gave them to her older sisters or traded them for candy, but then began smoking Newports herself regularly when she was about 13.

One of Marie Evans' sisters testified that the cigarettes were delivered in a white truck that attracted adults and children in the Orchard Park housing project in the Roxbury section of Boston.

In a videotaped deposition shown to jurors, Marie Evans said the giveaways had a "large impact" on her.

"Because they were available ... I didn't worry about finding money to buy them," she said.

Evans said she made about 50 attempts to quit but always went back to smoking.

"I was addicted. ... I just couldn't stop," she said.

Lorillard's lawyers argued during the trial that Evans made the decision to start smoking and continued to smoke even after she suffered a heart attack in 1985 and her doctors urged her to quit.

The company denied giving away cigarette samples to children. In its appeal, Lorillard said it was denied a fair trial, in part because the judge allowed the jury to hear about Evans' claim that the company marketed its cigarettes to African-Americans and children.

© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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