US auto industry to post another good sales year

In this Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011 photo, a Lime Squeeze Metallic 2012 Ford Fiesta SE, left, and an Ingot Silver Metallic 2012 Ford Focus Titanium 5-Door Hatchback are shown at the Maroone Ford of Miami dealership in Miami. Ford, GM and Chrysler saw their combined share of the U.S. market rise by 200,000 cars and trucks between the end of 2010 and November, 2011. U.S. auto sales are poised for a second straight year of growth in 2012 _ the result of easier credit, low interest rates and pent-up demand for cars and trucks created by the Great Recession. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

In this Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011 photo, a Lime Squeeze Metallic 2012 Ford Fiesta SE, left, and an Ingot Silver Metallic 2012 Ford Focus Titanium 5-Door Hatchback are shown at the Maroone Ford of Miami dealership in Miami. Ford, GM and Chrysler saw their combined share of the U.S. market rise by 200,000 cars and trucks between the end of 2010 and November, 2011. U.S. auto sales are poised for a second straight year of growth in 2012 _ the result of easier credit, low interest rates and pent-up demand for cars and trucks created by the Great Recession. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

This photo taken Dec. 11, 2011, shows 2012 Chrysler Jeep Wranglers for sale at a auto dealership in Springfield, Ill. After hitting a 30-year low in 2009, U.S. auto sales are poised for a second straight year of growth in 2012 _ the result of easier credit, low interest rates and pent-up demand for cars and trucks created by the Great Recession. Auto website Edmunds.com forecasts a 37 percent rise in sales at Chrysler Group LLC in December. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

DETROIT (AP) ? After hitting a 30-year low in 2009, U.S. auto sales are poised for a second straight year of growth ? the result of easier credit, low interest rates and pent-up demand for cars and trucks created by the Great Recession.

The sales forecast bodes well for the industry's continued recovery and for the broader American economy.

In 2009, Detroit automakers were in peril. Car sales plunged as unemployment soared, and loans became harder to get. Chrysler and General Motors filed for bankruptcy protection. Ford avoided bankruptcy only by borrowing billions.

Now credit is more available, interest rates are low and Americans need to replace old cars and trucks they kept during and after the downturn. Millions of drivers in their teens and 20s are expected to buy vehicles, too. That could mean more jobs, more factory shifts and overall growth.

Vince Powell, a retiree from Winfield, Pa., recently traded in his wife's 7-year-old Chrysler 300 luxury sedan for a 2011 model. The old car had 145,000 miles on it, but it was the deal he got that most attracted him: a low interest rate (2.7 percent per year), a six-year loan term and a big discount off the $31,900 sticker price.

"I'm getting a $300 per month payment," he said just before closing the sale at Beaver Motors in Beaver Springs, Pa., near Harrisburg. "I've never had a new car for 300 bucks a month."

In their effort to survive, all three automakers downsized and positioned themselves to turn profits ? even if sales remained depressed. Now that sales are rising, the outlook has brightened considerably.

Automakers report U.S. sales for 2011 on Wednesday. When final figures are calculated, sales of new cars and trucks are expected to reach 12.7 million, up from 11.5 million in 2010 and 10.4 million in 2009, the worst year since 1982.

In 2012, they could climb as high as 13.8 million, close to what experts consider a healthy market ? around 14 million.

December sales could reach an annual rate of 13.4 million, which would make it the second-strongest month of the year. Only November was better. Auto website Edmunds.com forecasts a 37 percent rise in sales at Chrysler Group LLC in December, thanks to new and revamped products such as the Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV and the Chrysler 200 midsize sedan.

Carmakers have announced plans to crank up factories and add thousands of jobs. Last January, Ford said it would hire 7,000 workers over the next two years. During the summer, GM said it would add 2,500 at the Detroit factory that makes the Chevrolet Volt electric car. Volkswagen hired 2,000 for a new plant in Tennessee, and Honda added 1,000 in Indiana. The industry will add 167,000 jobs by 2015, a 28 percent increase over current levels, predicts The Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich.

During the summer, the auto industry was adding jobs at a faster pace than airplane manufacturers, shipbuilders, health care providers and the federal government. It kept adding jobs even when the national unemployment rate rose above 9 percent, Standard & Poor's downgraded U.S. debt for the first time and the stock market tumbled.

Government estimates show Americans spent roughly $40 billion more on new cars and trucks in 2011 than in 2009. Based on annualized figures from the first quarter of 2011, new-car spending totaled $206 billion, or 1.3 percent of the gross domestic product, Commerce Department data shows. That compares with $166 billion in 2009, about 1.2 percent of the country's economy.

And the momentum in auto sales is likely to continue because people need to replace aging cars, said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting for LMC Automotive, an automotive consulting company in Troy, Mich. The average American car is now 11 years old.

U.S. auto sales peaked at 17 million in 2005, when Detroit's automakers were much bigger and overproduced cars that they were forced to discount heavily. Sales could eventually reach that level again around 2018, said Schuster, because of 70 million so-called millennials born between 1981 and 2000 who need to set up households and buy cars.

Other trends emerged in 2011. Many people bought smaller vehicles as gas prices hit a record average of $3.53 per gallon. Fuel-efficient compact cars, which have been vastly improved by automakers, are likely to unseat the midsize sedan as America's favorite passenger car for the first time in 20 years.

At the other extreme, pickups rebounded as businesses started to replace older trucks. Sales for the year were expected to rise 11 percent, and Ford's F-Series will remain the country's top-selling model, a title it has held for more than three decades.

For much of the year, U.S.-based automakers took advantage of Japanese car shortages to increase sales, especially in the compact car segment normally dominated by the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. Japanese companies ran short of popular models after an earthquake and tsunami disrupted production in Japan in March.

Ford, GM and Chrysler saw their combined share of the U.S. market rise by 200,000 cars and trucks between the end of 2010 and November, 2011. The Detroit Three's market share rose from 45.1 percent last year to 47 percent through November of last year. At the same time, Honda's share fell 1.6 percentage points to 9 percent, while Toyota's dropped 2.5 percentage points to 12.7 percent.

Schuster expects Japanese carmakers to take back some of the sales they lost.

Geoff Pohanka, who runs a chain of car dealers in the Washington area, said his December has been strong, thanks especially to the restocking of cars at his Honda and Toyota showrooms. He predicts Japanese car companies will offer incentives to regain lost sales.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-02-US-Auto-Sales-Preview/id-40f58d3526134e00b78791eb0ced5198

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Rupert Murdoch Is Now On Twitter!

Rupert Murdoch Is Now On Twitter!Check it out, kids, our favorite octogenarian media tychoon has joined Twitter. I have to admit I love his Twitter picture. And he's pretty active too. Here's a sample:

Vacations great time for thinking. St Barth's too many people. Thoughts best kept private around here. Like London!

Happy 2012. May itbe better than all experts predict. Has to be! Must change everything to create jobs for all, especiallyyoung

I LOVE the film "we bought a zoo", a great family movie. Very proud of fox team who made this great film.

Ah, there hasn't been so much joy in the world since Hitler invaded Poland. [Twitter]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/excerpts/~3/zCxurp5fs9g/hey-look-rupert-murdoch-is-on-twitter

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BJJinMMA: This new and improved Lesnar was about as good as that new Windows Vista stuff

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NJTODAY: Union Library Announces Viewer?s Choice Film Series - http://t.co/G6W6gqp0 #NJ

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Which GOP rivals would vote for Ron Paul if he's GOP nominee?

Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and Mitt Romney are on the record about how they would vote. Other Republican candidates have sidestepped the matter, saying Ron Paul won't be the GOP nominee.

With libertarian-leaning Ron Paul riding high in polls of Republican voters in Iowa, a simple question has become a hot one in recent days for his rivals in the presidential race: If the Texas congressman were to win the Republican nomination, would they vote for him?

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So far Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum have said yes.

Newt Gingrich has said no.

And all six of Representative Paul's rivals have strongly criticized his views, notably on foreign policy.

On Wednesday, former Massachusetts Governor Romney, the other candidate at the top of polling in Iowa, weighed in with a yes.

?I?ve already crossed that river, if you will, by saying [in Republican debates] ... that all of the people on stage would be superior to the president we have,? Romney told CNN interviewer Wolf Blitzer. ?So yes, I would vote for him.?

On Friday, however, Mr. Romney sounded decidedly less enthusiastic, while stopping short of reversing his position. "I don't think Ron Paul represents the mainstream," he said. "I'm working harder than anyone to make sure he's not the nominee."

Romney's use of "mainstream" echoed another GOP candidate, former House Speaker Gingrich, who gave a flat "no" when asked if he could vote for Paul.

"I think Ron Paul's views are totally outside the mainstream of every decent American," Gingrich said Tuesday in his own chat with Mr. Blitzer. "There will come a morning when people won't take him as a serious person."

Gingrich said Paul had allowed "racist" content to go out in newsletters bearing his name, is "a person who thinks the United States was responsible for 9/11," and is "a person who believes it doesn't matter if the Iranians have a nuclear weapon."

At the same time, Gingrich didn't commit his vote when asked to make a choice between Paul and Barack Obama. He referred to President Obama as "very destructive to the future of the United States."

All the other Republican candidates have stood at odds with Paul on foreign policy, where he supports noninterventionism and a pullback of American military presence worldwide.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/4wSEe7rhlsY/Which-GOP-rivals-would-vote-for-Ron-Paul-if-he-s-GOP-nominee

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Strong Earthquake Jolts Japan: No Tsunami Warning Has Been Issued

A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 jolted eastern and northeastern Japan on Sunday, according to the U.S. Geolegical Survey. However, there were no immediate reports of injuries or damages, and no tsunami warning was issued.

The earthquake measured 4 in central Tokyo, Fukushima, and their surrounding areas on the Japanese intensity scale, which measures ground motion, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, which uses a different measuring system than the USGS.

A Tokyo Electric Power Co. representative said there were no reports of any abnormalities at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plan following the quake.

Some high-speed train services in northern Japan were suspended after the earthquake, but soon resumed operations, Kyodo news reported.

The earthquake, at a depth of nearly 217 miles, was recorded off Japan's southeastern Izu islands on Sunday at 2:28 p.m. local time (0528 GMT, the USGS reported.

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The Hawaii-based U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has not issued a tsunami warning following the earthquake located south-southwest of Hachijo-jima in the Izu islands.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

Last March 11, the northeastern coast was struck by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake, the strongest quake in Japan on record, and a massive tsunami, which triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years since the Chernobyl disaster in the former Soviet Union.

The March disaster resulted in 23,000 dead or missing.

(Singapore world desk, additional reporting by Taiga Uranaka and Kiyoshi Takenaka)

Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/274983/20120101/strong-earthquake-jolts-japan-tsunami-warning-issued.htm

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Panetta Extends New Year's Wishes to Deployed Troops

Panetta Extends New Year's Wishes to Deployed Troops

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 1, 2012 ? Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta kicked off 2012 today making phone calls?to four deployed service members to extend New Year's greetings and thank them for their service and sacrifices, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little reported.

Panetta placed calls to a soldier, Marine and airman deployed to Afghanistan and to a sailor aboard USS Mesa Verde in the U.S. Fifth Fleet area of responsibility.

?He wished them and their families a Happy New Year, and praised them for being outstanding examples of service to the nation,? Little said. ?The secretary asked about their families and expressed his appreciation to them for the sacrifices they make, especially during the holiday season.?

Panetta and two service members traded insights on college and professional football, including recent college bowl games. During one call, the secretary said, ?I never cease to be amazed at how dedicated people are? in the military, Little reported.

Panetta ended each call reiterating his thanks to the service members for their service and wishing them a safe 2012, Little said.

Service members who received Panetta?s New Years calls today were:

* Army Sgt. 1st Class Neal H. Bryant, an infantryman with 19 years of service, currently deployed to Afghanistan.? Based in Kabul, he is currently assigned as personal security officer for the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command's sergeant major.?Bryant served two tours in Iraq, in Mosul from 2004 to 2005 and in Baghdad from 2009 to 2010.? He was awarded the Combat Infantryman?s Badge in Iraq, and the Combat Action Badge in Afghanistan, for actions under hostile fire.

* Marine Corps Cpl. Jake W. Porter, who currently serves as a financial management resource analyst in Helmand province, Afghanistan.? During five years and eight months of military service, Porter has been deployed to Afghanistan for the past 10 months.? He was recently selected as Marine of the Quarter for Task Force Belleau Wood for his exceptional service as the non-commissioned officer in charge of travel orders and claims.

* Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Adam Tabor, a boatswain?s mate who has been as on active duty since 2008. Tabor deployed in March 2011 aboard the amphibious ship USS Mesa Verde. The ship?s crew is currently supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

* Air Force Tech. Sgt. Charles Heathman, who is serving the third month of his third deployment to Afghanistan.? Heathman is a rotary wing maintenance supervisor who has supported security missions for Afghan loya jirgas, or grand assemblies, and trained Afghans on the maintenance of aircraft and other equipment.? Based in Kabul, he supports critical quality assurance and supply functions.

Source: http://www.defense.gov//news/newsarticle.aspx?id=66641

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WHO: Bird flu research raises safety questions (AP)

GENEVA ? The World Health Organization is warning that dangerous scientific information could fall into the wrong hands after U.S. government-funded researchers engineered a form of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus more easily transmissible between humans.

In a strongly worded statement Friday, WHO said it was "deeply concerned about the potential negative consequences" if the results of the study were used to create biological weapons or the mutated virus was accidentally released.

"This is not the kind of research that you would want to have out there," WHO's top influenza expert, Dr. Keiji Fukuda, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

At the same time, WHO was concerned that all credible researchers should be able to access the study to better understand how to prevent a deadly H5N1 pandemic, Fukuda said.

H5N1 rarely infects humans and usually only those who come into close contact with poultry. But among those infected, up to 60 percent die, and scientists are closely watching the virus for any signs it is becoming more easily transmissible from human to human.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health last week asked scientists at Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands and the University of Wisconsin-Madison to refrain from publishing full details of their work on how to make the H5N1 virus more easily transmissible between humans.

The unprecedented step by NIH prompted concern in the scientific community that researchers with a legitimate need to know about these dangerous mutations, particularly in Asia, would be prevented from accessing the data.

Fukuda said there was a danger that perceived censorship of scientific results could harm the so-called Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework, an international agreement painstakingly hammered out only recently by the global body's 194 member states.

"We don't want the concerns or controversies surrounding this H5N1 research to pose a risk to the implementation of that framework because we see it as a very important public health step," Fukuda told The Associated Press.

"But at the same time we recognize that the research raises questions about what are appropriate safeguards, what kind of procedures should be in place, what are the right mechanisms for reducing any risk," he said.

Fukuda said WHO itself had had not obtained the results of the two groups' research yet, and might not even ask for it.

"I'm hoping that we are privy to as much of the details as possible, but like anybody else one of the questions for us is what kind of information do we need to know," he said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111231/ap_on_re_eu/eu_who_bird_flu

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Russian rocket launches 6 satellites into space

A Russian Soyuz rocket launched a pack of communications satellites into orbit Wednesday (Dec. 28) in a successful flight that comes less than a week after a similar rocket crashed somewhere in Siberia.

The Soyuz 2 rocket launched six new satellites for Louisiana-based communications provider Globalstar at 12:09 p.m. EST (1709 GMT) in an apparently smooth liftoff from the snow-covered central Asian spaceport of Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. ?

The rocket lifted off from the same site used by another Soyuz 2 booster on Friday (Dec. 23), but that earlier launch met with disaster when it crashed in Siberia, destroying a Russian military communications satellite.

Today's launch used a Soyuz 2-1a version of Russia's usually dependable Soyuz workhorse rocket. The booster design uses an older third stage rocket engine than the one used in the Soyuz 2-1b booster that crashed on Dec. 23, according to Spaceflight Now.

Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) is investigating the recent rocket failure ? which was the fifth space mission failure in 2011 for the country ? and is expected to present an initial report to the Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin on Thursday (Dec. 29), according to Russia's ITAR-TASS news service.

  1. More space news from msnbc.com

    1. Where will Russian probe fall? Too early to say

      Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Will Russia's doomed Phobos-Grunt spacecraft fall in Afghanistan? Experts say it's way too early to be that precise about a prediction.

    2. Rare slow-spinning star reveals space oddity
    3. Sun storms may super-charge northern lights
    4. Christmas Eve fireball sparked by falling rocket debris

Last week, Russian space agency chief Vladimir Popovin said that an engine failure was the most likely cause of the Dec. 23 rocket crash, though more investigation was needed to be sure.

Today's Soyuz 2 rocket launch was overseen by the European launch provider Arianespace via its Russian affiliate Starsem. ?The booster carried six second-generation Globalstar satellites ? each weighing 1,543 pounds (700 kilograms) ? into an initial 572-mile (920-km) orbit. The satellites are destined for an operational orbit that reaches an altitude of about 878 miles (1,413 km).

The mission is the third in a series of Globalstar satellite launches, Arianespace officials said. Twelve satellites were launched on two earlier missions, each orbiting six of the craft, in October 2010 and July of this year, they added.

Another six satellites will be launched for Globalstar in 2012, Arianespace officials said.

You can follow SPACE.com Managing Editor Tariq Malik on Twitter @tariqjmalik. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45807627/ns/technology_and_science-space/

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