Stocks move higher on earnings, acquisition news

NEW YORK -- Stocks shook off last week's doldrums and finished sharply higher Monday, driven by a round of corporate deal news and strong earnings from Citigroup.

Investors cheered AECOM Technology's $4 billion acquisition of engineering and construction services company URS Corp., sending URS' stock up 11.6 percent and AECOM 8.6 percent.

Citigroup rose 3 percent after the bank turned in better-than-expected results and disclosed it has agreed to pay $7 billion to settle a federal probe into its mortgage securities business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs, due to report earnings Tuesday, also got a lift.

All told, the three major stock indexes notched their second gain in two days. That's a turnaround from last week, when the Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 0.9 percent, its worst showing since April.

Concern about Portugal's Espirito Santo International, which reportedly missed a debt payment last week, harked back to issues that spawned Europe's debt crisis.

On Monday, investors appeared to be reassured any problems would be contained.

"Investors are saying if this Portugal thing really isn't significant from an impact standpoint, and the earnings are coming in good ... stocks ought to be going higher," said Phil Orlando, chief equity strategist at Federated Investments.

The major indexes rose in premarket trading as investors digested Citigroup's earnings. They opened in the green and held steady through the entire session.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 9.53 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,977.10. The index is down 0.4 percent from its most recent all-time high of 1,985.44 set July 3.

Nine of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 rose, led by energy stocks. Utilities fell the most.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 111.61 points, or 0.7 percent, to 17,055.42. The Dow is down slightly from its July 3 record of 17,068.65.

The Nasdaq composite gained 24.93 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,440.42.

The three stock indexes are all up for the year.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.54 percent from 2.52 percent late Friday.

With the market trading near all-time highs, investors will be focused this week on a large number of corporate earnings, including quarterly reports from General Electric, Google, Bank of America and Johnson & Johnson.

So far investors like what they see.

"We got started off with a very good report out of Citibank this morning," Orlando said. "And economic news this week — retail sales, capacity utilization, housing data, confidence data — is all supposed to be pretty good."

Citigroup rose $1.42, or 3 percent, to $48.42.

Several other big investment banks also rose. Morgan Stanley added 40 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $31.81, while Goldman Sachs rose $2.20, or 1.3 percent, to $167. JPMorgan Chase climbed 49 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $56.29.

Recent data point to an improving U.S. economy after a slow start this year.

Employers added 288,000 jobs last month, the fifth straight month of gains above 200,000. And the national unemployment rate slid to 6.1 percent, a 5 1/2-year low.

More people with jobs means more paychecks, which could boost consumer spending and growth.

"You're starting to stack up some fairly impressive jobs numbers," said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab & Co. "There's a lot of momentum to this market."

That momentum is helping drive corporate deals. On Monday, generic drugmaker Mylan said it agreed to buy Abbott Laboratories' generic-drug business in developed markets for $5.3 billion. Mylan's stock added $1.04, or 2.1 percent, to $51.24, while shares of Abbott gained 52 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $41.82.

Meanwhile, Kindred Healthcare said it would pay $16 per share to buy up to a 14.9 percent stake in Gentiva Health Services. That's just short of the 15 percent limit imposed by a shareholder rights plan that Gentiva's board adopted earlier this year. Kindred climbed 36 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $24.74, while Gentiva gained 39 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $16.21.

In other deal news, Kodiak Oil & Gas agreed to sell itself to Whiting Petroleum in an all-stock deal. Kodiak rose 68 cents, or 4.8 percent, to $14.91. Whiting jumped $6.04, or 7.7 percent, to $84.58.

Alcoa signs $1.1B deal to make jet engine parts

NEW YORK -- Alcoa on Monday signed a $1.1 billion deal to make jet engine parts for a unit of United Technologies Corp.

Alcoa said it will provide the first aluminum fan blade for jet engines, designed to reduce weight and boost fuel efficiency.

Alcoa mines and refines aluminum, but with low aluminum prices, it has increasingly shifted into making parts for aerospace, autos and other industries using aluminum, titanium and nickel.

Last month, the Pittsburgh-based aluminum company said it planned to spend nearly $3 billion to buy British jet engine component company Firth Rixson.

The 10-year deal with Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of United Technologies, was signed at the Farnborough Air Show in England.

Shares of Alcoa Inc. rose 13 cents to $16.11 in afternoon trading. Earlier its shares rose as high as $16.25, their highest point since July 2011. Shares of Hartford, Connecticut-based United Technologies, which makes elevators, helicopters and jet engines, rose 73 cents to $114.86.

New reindeer corral being built near St. Michael

NOME, Alaska -- Volunteers are in the process of building a new corral for a reindeer herd on St. Michael Island.

KNOM reports (http://is.gd/21sTZl) the first fence posts went up Thursday at the new site, located about three miles southeast of the community of St. Michael.

The lease expired at the former site, owned by the Stebbins Native Corp., which is using that land for gravel excavation.

The herd is jointly owned by the Native Village of St. Michael, the Stebbins Community Association and the Katcheak family.

One of the owners and the lifelong reindeer herder, Theodore Katcheak, said construction should take about two weeks.

He says the herd does not make a profit, so they must rely on volunteers.

St. Michael is located about 120 miles southeast of Nome.

Juan Manuel Santos: Colombia is ripe for investment

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was in Miami on Monday, prospecting for foreign investment as his country puts an era of drug violence and guerrilla conflict behind it.

Santos came to Miami with three key members of his economic team — Finance Minister Mauricio Cárdenas, Luis Fernando Andrade, president of the National Infrastructure Agency, and Clemente del Valle, president of the National Development Finance Co. — to take part in a private Goldman Sachs investor conference on Colombia at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

Making his first U.S. trip since winning reelection on June 15, Santos noted at a later news conference that “practically half the country is ripe for investment.” He said Colombia had a very ambitious development agenda that added up to investment opportunities of $26 billion. Santos will be sworn in to a new four-year term on August 7.

As Colombia’s political environment has stabilized, economic growth has increased. Stephen Scherr, chief strategy officer for Goldman Sachs, said that he had “every expectation that the market will respond positively” to Colombia’s overtures for foreign investment.

Cárdenas, who will continue as finance minister, said economic policy during Santos’ second term would have a “social emphasis’’ and an effort would be made to include the poorest Colombians in economic development.

Colombia is South Florida’s second most important trading partner after Brazil. Last year, trade between the Miami Customs District and Colombia totaled $9.34 billion, 5.3 percent lower than the previous year. The Miami district accounted for more than 23 percent of all U.S. trade with Colombia in 2013.

Among Colombia’s top exports to South Florida are gold, fresh-cut flowers, gasoline, and platinum. Its top imports from the Miami district were cellphones and related equipment, computers and civilian aircraft and engines.

Although Santos has said his election win over former Finance Minister Iván Zuluaga has given him a mandate to speed up the peace process with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas, he declined to talk about a specific timetable.

“We have learned that setting deadlines is counter-productive,’’ Santos said. But he said he was hopeful that the ongoing peace negotiations with the FARC might be concluded by the end of the year.

On a lighter note, Santos said he was proud that FIFA had awarded its Fair Play prize to the Colombian team during the recently concluded World Cup. Santos said the award was especially meaningful because it also represented “a fundamental part of what we want in the country, to change the culture.... to have clean play in respect to institutions.’’

Crumbs files for Chapter 11; could be acquired

NEW YORK -- An investor group that includes investor and reality TV star Marcus Lemonis said it plans to acquire Crumbs Bake Shop out of bankruptcy.

Crumbs, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization Friday in New Jersey, said it agreed to be acquired by Lemonis and Fischer Enterprises, the company behind Dippin' Dots ice cream. It hopes to close a sale in about 60 days pending approval from the bankruptcy court.

Lemonis, the CEO of RV retailer Camping World and star of CNBC's "The Profit," plans to provide financing to Crumbs with the ultimate goal of acquiring the company. Fischer Enterprises made $5 million in credit available to Crumbs in January.

In a press release on Friday, Lemonis and Fischer Enterprises said they want to create a privately held Crumbs company and reopen its stores. They said they would take the company beyond just cupcakes, possibly adding items such as ice cream and popcorn and other snacks, to attract more customers.

Last Monday Crumbs Bake Shop Inc. closed all of its remaining stores after a string of losses. On Thursday the New York company said it was exploring its options with "interested parties."

Stocks snap higher on Wall Street; Citigroup up

Stocks are closing sharply higher as the market shakes off its worst weekly performance in three months.

Citigroup rose 3 percent after the bank turned in better results than Wall Street expected. The bank also said it had reached a settlement in an investigation into its mortgage securities business.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 111 points, or 0.7 percent, to 17,055 on Monday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose nine points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,977. The Nasdaq composite rose 25 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,440.

Mylan rose 2 percent after the company said it will buy Abbott Laboratories' generic-drug business.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.55 percent.

China indicts US, British corporate investigators

BEIJING -- Chinese authorities have indicted British and American investigators hired by GlaxoSmithKline on charges of illegally obtaining and selling private information, state media reported Monday, as the Briton blamed the pharmaceutical company for misleading and using him.

Prosecutors in Shanghai filed charges of illegally obtaining and selling private information against British investigator Peter Humphrey and his wife Yingzeng Yu, a U.S. citizen, at the city's No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The move paves the way for the couple to stand trial.

The official Xinhua News Agency said it is the first time foreigners have faced such charges in China. Humphrey, 58, and Yu, 61, are part of an industry of investigators who help corporate clients screen potential partners and employees or watch for embezzlement and other employee misconduct.

The couple's arrest last year coincided with a Chinese investigation of accusations that GlaxoSmithKline paid bribes to doctors and officials to use its medications. Glaxo said it hired Yu and Humphrey last year to investigate a security breach involving a top manager.

The indictment received prominent coverage in China. Reports by state broadcaster CCTV showed Humphrey and his wife being separately interviewed by Chinese reporters. In CCTV's footage, they were shown seated and wearing orange vests that are typical uniforms of detainees, as they spoke to reporters.

According to Xinhua, the couple are accused of illegally selling a "huge amount" of personal information on Chinese citizens, including home addresses, information about family members, details about real estate and vehicles and records of travelers entering and leaving the country.

The investigators are accused of obtaining such information by illegally buying it from others as well as with hidden cameras or by following people, Xinhua said.

Yu and Humphrey would compile the information gathered on the subjects of their investigations and sell the reports to clients that were mainly multinational companies based in China such as GSK China, the report said.

In Chinese media reports on Monday, Humphrey said he had been contacted in April last year by GSK's then-China manager, Mark Reilly, who wanted him to find out who leaked allegations of bribery at the firm to Chinese authorities and senior executives at the firm.

Reilly, who is British, is at the center of a major investigation into corruption in China's medical industry. In May, he was accused of leading a sprawling scheme to bribe doctors and hospitals to use GSK's drugs. Reilly's case has been turned over to prosecutors.

Humphrey said on state television that he found out during his investigation that the bribery claims were true and if he had known that earlier he would not have carried out the probe. Humphrey said he felt "betrayed and used" by the pharmaceutical firm.

Executives at GSK did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.

VW to build new SUV in Tennessee, add 2,000 jobs

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Volkswagen plans to build a new seven-passenger SUV at its factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, adding about 2,000 factory jobs as it tries to reverse U.S. sales that have fallen for the past two years.

The German automaker announced Monday that it will invest $600 million to expand the factory and set up a new research center that will employ about 200 engineers. The research facility will coordinate products for North America to quickly include customer feedback into planned and existing models, the company said.

The announcement comes after months of political wrangling over the role of organized labor at the factory, which now employs about 2,400 workers and makes only one model, the Passat midsize car.

Production of the new SUV, based on the CrossBlue concept vehicle unveiled in Detroit last year, is scheduled to start at the end of 2016. It gives VW an entry into an important segment of the U.S. market — the family people hauler.

VW sales fell almost 7 percent last year and are down more than 13 percent so far this year, largely because the company doesn't have competitive products in key market segments. VW had a big year in 2012, with sales rising 35 percent to more than 438,000. But sales fell to about 408,000 last year, and the brand sold only 179,000 through June this year.

"The Volkswagen brand is going on the attack again in America," Martin Winterkorn, chairman of Volkswagen AG's management board, said in a statement, repeating the goal of selling 800,000 Volkswagen brand vehicles in the U.S. by 2018.

Michael Horn, VW's CEO in America, said seven-passenger, three-row SUV sales in the U.S. have almost doubled since 2009 to 1.4 million per year. He also said the new engineering center will broaden VW's portfolio with more new products.

The company plans to add about 538,000 square feet to the existing factory to build the new SUV.

Negotiations over state incentives for the expansion of the plant hit a snag over a union vote at the plant in February that was narrowly lost by the United Auto Workers. Republican politicians had warned that a vote for the union could have hurt the chances of the Legislature approving more than $300 million in incentives.

The new incentive package wasn't announced Monday, and it's unclear whether ongoing attempts by the UAW to be recognized at the plant will affect legislative approval of the deal.

David Smith, spokesman for Gov. Bill Haslam, said there's no need for a special legislative session to approve the incentives. The state, he said, is providing a $165.8 million grant to help with site development, infrastructure, production equipment acquisition and installation, and building construction. It also is offering a $12 million grant for training new employees, he said.

VW, Smith said, is waiving its right to claim tax credits directly related to the expansion.

Lawmakers aren't scheduled to return to session until January, and the matter likely will be taken up at that time.

State House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, a Chattanooga Republican who has been a vocal critic of the UAW organizing effort at the plant, said he doesn't expect the incentive package to face major obstacles.

UAW Secretary-Treasurer Gary Casteel thanked Haslam in a statement "for extending the state and federal incentive funds necessary to make the economics work for the new product line."

VW wants to create a German-style works council representing both salaried and hourly employees, but can't do so without the involvement of an independent union.

UAW leaders announced last week that they had reached a "consensus" in discussions with Volkswagen and expect the German automaker to recognize the union if they sign up enough workers at the plant.

The union in February suffered a bitter setback in its effort to organize its first foreign-owned plant in the South when workers at the Chattanooga plant rejected UAW representation by a 712-626 vote.

Casteel said last week he is confident VW will recognize the union if it signs up a "meaningful portion" of Volkswagen's workforce in Chattanooga, though he did not elaborate on what the threshold would be.

Volkswagen spokesman Scott Wilson issued a statement saying that the company has "no contract or other formal agreement with UAW on this matter."

"Just like anywhere else in the world, the establishment of a local organization is a matter for the trade union concerned," the company said.

Also Monday, Volkswagen AG announced that Bernd Osterloh, chairman of the company's works council representing workers, will join the company's Board of Directors.

Krisher reported from Detroit.

BC-Cotton Bale

NEW YORK -- Cotton futures No. 2 closed 70 cents a bale lower to $1.55 higher Monday.

The average price for strict low middling 1 & 1-16 inch spot cotton declined 10 cents to 70.04 cents per pound Monday for the seven markets, according to the Market News Branch, Memphis USDA.

State public pension funds earn 18 percent returns

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Two of the nation's largest public pension funds are reporting investment returns of more than 18 percent for the fiscal year.

The Sacramento Bee reported (http://bit.ly/1sgna4M ) Monday that the California Public Employees Retirement System had earnings of 18.4 percent for the fiscal year that ended June 30. For the California State Teachers Retirement System, the return was nearly 18.7 percent.

The funds pay the retirement and health care benefits of public employees. Both have an annual target investment return of 7.5 percent.

In January, the state Department of Finance estimated almost $218 billion in total pension and retiree health care liabilities for CalPERS, CalSTRS, the University of California system and judges.

That's the amount the funds would need to fully fund all their promised financial commitments to retirees.

Man United clinches $1.3B Adidas kit deal

MANCHESTER, England -- Manchester United secured a record-breaking $1.3 billion sponsorship deal with Adidas on Monday, signaling the club's enduring global appeal despite its worst Premier League campaign and strengthening its financial muscle for player transfers.

The 10-year kit deal, worth at least 75 million pounds ($128 million) a year from July 2015 for an overall 750 million pounds ($1.3 billion), was negotiated after Nike decided that trebling the cost of its existing 13-year contract for having its name on United shirts was not good value for the company.

United finished seventh in the league last season at the start of the post-Alex Ferguson era. But the eagerness of Adidas to make United kits and sell replicas is an indicator of the expected durability of the Red Devils' brand — and a worldwide following which the club claims to be around 660 million supporters.

The German sportswear firm said it expects to generate 1.5 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) in sales during the decade-long deal with United. Adidas currently pays around $50 million a year to Chelsea and Real Madrid, and United could generate far more over the decade from football's biggest kit sponsorship, describing the headline figure of 750 million pounds as a "minimum guarantee."

In 2005 the Glazer family paid 790 million pounds — just 40 million pounds more than the Adidas windfall — for the entire club. Ten percent of the Old Trafford-based team is now listed on the New York Stock Exchange and shares rose two percent to $18.14 in morning trading on Monday.

Adidas, which also makes the kit of newly-crowned World Cup winner Germany, saw shares rise by 2.85 percent in Frankfurt to close at 73.57 euros ($100) on Monday.

"Our new partnership with Manchester United clearly underlines our leadership in football and will help us to further strengthen our position in key markets around the world," Adidas chief executive Herbert Hainer said in a statement. "At the same time, this collaboration marks a milestone for us when it comes to merchandising potential."

Nike has one more season as kit maker, recently unveiling jerseys featuring a gold Chevrolet logo for the start of the American automaker's $559 million, seven-year jersey sponsorship deal with the team.

Adidas last held the United contract between 1980 and 1992 just before the club ended its 26-year wait for an English title in 1993, ushering in a period of dominance under Ferguson.

But United is now in a period of rebuilding again after going from winning a 20th English title before Ferguson retired in 2013 to a sudden slump with David Moyes in charge.

Moyes was fired before the end of the season, and Louis van Gaal now has the task of returning United to the Champions League in 2015, fresh from leading the Netherlands at the World Cup. The Dutch secured a third-place finish by beating host Brazil 3-0 on Saturday.

Despite the grueling campaign in South America, Van Gaal is taking just two days off before formally taking charge at United this week and beginning the tour of the United States on Friday.

"I don't need a holiday," the 62-year-old former Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Ajax coach said on United's website. "It's great to have such an exciting challenge. To work daily with young people is something that I don't need time off to rest for."

Van Gaal's first match in charge of United will be on July 23 in a friendly against the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Rose Bowl. While the new manager has been in Brazil, United has signed midfielder Ander Herrera and defender Luke Shaw.

Haslam-owned truck-stop chain to pay $92M fine

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Authorities say the truck-stop company owned by Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has agreed to pay $92 million in fines for cheating customers out of promised rebates and discounts.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Pilot Flying J has accepted responsibility for the criminal conduct of its employees, ten of whom have pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme.

The agreement was signed by attorneys for the nation's largest diesel retailer Friday. The agreement does not protect any individual at Pilot from prosecution and requires the company to cooperate with an ongoing investigation of current and former employees.

Jimmy Haslam has said he was unaware of the scheme. Tenn. Gov. Bill Haslam is not involved in Pilot's day-to-day operations.

AbbVie, Shire enter detailed talks on combination

Drugmakers AbbVie and Shire have entered detailed talks about a possible combination after AbbVie raised its bid once again and offered to give Shire shareholders a bigger stake in the resulting company.

Shire said Monday that North Chicago, Illinois-based AbbVie is now offering a cash-stock combination valued at 53.20 British pounds ($91.10) for each share of Shire, which is headquartered on the British island of Jersey.

The new offer totals roughly $53.68 billion and represents an increase from AbbVie's previous proposal, which amounted to more than $51 billion. Shire PLC shareholders also would own about 25 percent of the combined new company, up from the 24 percent stake proposed in the most recent offer.

Shire had rejected several unsolicited bids from AbbVie Inc. before it asked for another revised proposal earlier this month. Shire said its board would be willing to recommend the latest bid to its shareholders if the companies resolved some other terms in the offer, which it did not detail.

The drugmaker said its board has entered "detailed discussions" with AbbVie over those terms.

Shire makes the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medication Vyvanse as well as rare disease and gastrointestinal treatments. AbbVie was spun off from Abbott Laboratories at the start of last year. Its products include branded prescription drugs like the blockbuster anti-inflammatory drug Humira.

AbbVie executives have said the product portfolios of the two companies complement each other. The U.S. company also is interested in the tax break it could achieve through the deal.

AbbVie has said it expects the combined company to pay a tax rate of about 13 percent by 2016 after AbbVie reincorporates on Jersey. That would be down from its current rate of roughly 22 percent.

Several other U.S. companies are using or trying to use these overseas combinations called inversions to lower their tax rates. These moves are raising concerns among U.S. lawmakers since they can cost the federal government billions in tax revenue.

At 35 percent, the United States has the highest corporate income tax rate in the industrialized world. The European Union, by contrast, averages about 21 percent.

In addition to the higher tax rate, the United States also taxes income companies earn overseas once they bring it back home. The percentage taxed is the difference between the tax rate in the company where it was earned and the U.S. rate.

"We tax income where ever it is earned around the world once you bring it back home, and almost nobody else does that," said Donald Goldman, a professor at Arizona State's W.P. Carey School of Business.

Inversions can happen if a U.S. company merges with a foreign company and shareholders of the foreign entity own at least 20 percent of the newly merged business. The foreign company would either acquire the U.S. one or the two would create a new firm overseas, but the U.S. company can keep its corporate offices, and executives wouldn't have to move overseas.

AbbVie's stock fell 2.4 percent, or $1.31 to $53.65 in pre-market trading Monday after Shire announced the deal update. U.S.-traded shares of Shire rose by $4.30 to $253.36.

Judge orders mediation in US Rep. Sanford divorce

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- A judge has ordered U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford and his ex-wife, Jenny, to work with a mediator to resolve a dispute over money for their two youngest sons.

The two appeared in Family Court on Monday after Jenny Sanford had earlier accused the congressman of violating their 2010 divorce decree.

The issue is trust funds for the two youngest of their four boys. In their 2010 divorce decree, the two said they would "work together to attempt to equalize the trust accounts" for their youngest who were 10 and 12 at the time.

The provision said the couple would try to make the amount comparable to what was put in their older two boys' accounts, which were bigger because they were closer to college age.

The two divorced after Sanford, then governor, disappeared for five days five years ago. He returned from Argentina to acknowledge an affair with a woman to whom he is now engaged. Sanford was elected to Congress last year to the seat he held for three terms in the 1990s.

Jenny Sanford testified she and two of her attorneys have emailed Sanford a number of times in recent months about the trust account issue. "To date he has refused to respond to any email from me or anyone else," she said, adding her ex-husband has not put money into the accounts.

But Mark Sanford testified he has also sent his ex-wife dozens of emails, asking to discuss not only the trust funds, but other issues including visitation. "There has been a pattern of taking me to court about issues that could be resolved by reasonable people," he told the judge.

The Republican congressman said he has a stipulation in his will that the younger children will get money to equalize the accounts and that his two state retirement accounts will also go to them. He said he had not told his former wife about the provisions.

He added the boys also receive money from operations at his family farm in Beaufort County.

Judge Paul W. Garfinkel gave the couple a month to begin mediation.

Jenny Sanford had no comment afterward while Mark Sanford said "I'm sure hopeful" mediation will work.

Last year, the couple settled another complaint that Sanford violated the divorce agreement by being in his ex-wife's home without permission. Sanford said he was there watching the 2013 Super Bowl with his son.

More than 26 million watch World Cup final in US

NEW YORK -- Even without the home team involved, the World Cup final between Germany and Argentina set a television viewership record in the United States, capping a tournament that exceeded expectations for interest on both ESPN and Univision.

The month-long World Cup also was responsible for more than 3 billion interactions on Facebook and 672 million messages on Twitter, the social media companies said on Monday.

An estimated 26.5 million people in the U.S. watched Germany's extra-time win on Sunday afternoon, the Nielsen company said. The game had 17.3 million viewers on ABC and another 9.2 million on the Spanish-language Univision. In addition, just over 750,000 people were watching the game during a typical minute online through services provided by each network.

The 2010 finale between Spain and the Netherlands, along with the U.S. team's 2-2 draw against Portugal earlier in this year's tournament, both had 24.7 million viewers.

Given the growing interest in the tournament as it went along, the size of the audience for the final game wasn't that big a surprise, said Scott Guglielmino, ESPN senior vice president of programming. The tournament as a whole exceeded expectations for ESPN, and surprised Guglielmino in the way it permeated U.S. culture as no World Cup has before.

The average viewership for all 64 World Cup matches was up 39 percent over 2010 on ESPN and its sister station ABC, and 34 percent on Univision, Nielsen said.

"We all knew that everything was in place to be well-delivered to the audience and we needed a good performance by the teams, and that happened," said Juan Carlos Rodriguez, Univision sports president.

At least until some cautious games in the knockout round, play was more wide-open with increased scoring and that was appealing to viewers, the executives said. The event also had stories that transcended the games itself, with Uruguay's Luis Suarez suspended for biting another player and host Brazil's historic meltdown against Germany.

On ESPN, tournament games averaged 4.56 million television viewers, compared to the 1.04 million viewers for games in the 2002 World Cup that were in Korea and Japan.

World Cup organizers FIFA said that more than a billion fans worldwide accessed information about the tournament through its digital platforms. "This has been the first truly mobile and social World Cup," said FIFA President Sepp Blatter.

Facebook said 88 million people made a total of 280 million posts or "likes" about the final game. The most social "moment" of the tournament on Facebook, however, was right after Germany scored four goals in seven minutes during its semifinal victory against Brazil.

On Twitter, the Brazil-Germany match exceeded the final game for most tweets.

Both ESPN and Univision invested heavily to make the tournament an immersive experience, signing up former players for hours of discussion between match times.

Univision went high-tech, with virtual reality displays that pitted famed players from different eras against one another. The company also worked with an Israeli company to invest in technology that allowed its feed of games to appear on the network some five or six seconds before its English-speaking rival.

"We're the real home of soccer in America, regardless of language," Rodriguez said. He predicted that ratings for the Copa America Centenario tournament in 2016, which will match the best teams in North and South America, will exceed this year's World Cup on his network.

The ratings performance was a little bittersweet for ESPN and Univision, however. Both networks were outbid for the rights to broadcast the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

So there was a little gamesmanship involved. Guglielmino said the intention was to create a "high bar" for Fox when it broadcasts the 2018 tournament. Given that the games in Russia will take place at inconvenient times in the U.S. market, Fox may be hard-pressed to beat these ratings.

"At the end of the day, a lot of us are just as competitive as some of the people we cover," Guglielmino said.

David Bauder can be reached at dbauder@ap.org or on Twitter@bauder. His work can be found at http://bit.ly/1jn2ReL.

Portugal bank gets new boss but stock still falls

LISBON, Portugal -- A new chief executive has been appointed for Portugal's biggest bank, but Banco Espirito Santo's share price is still falling sharply as investors continue to fret about its financial health.

The bank said Monday that Vitor Bento, a distinguished economist, is now CEO and Joao Moreira Rato, head of the government debt agency, is the new chief financial officer.

The bank had been run by the wealthy and influential Espirito Santo family since the 19th century.

The changeover was orchestrated by the Bank of Portugal as the regulator seeks to calm markets spooked by Banco Espirito Santo's exposure to debt piled up by other parts of the Espirito Santo group.

Banco Espirito Santo's shares fell more than 8 percent in early trading Monday, while Lisbon and other European exchanges rose.

Massachusetts gets $47M share of settlement

BOSTON -- Massachusetts will receive an almost $46 million share of a $7 billion federal-state settlement over Citigroup's mortgage-backed security activities, the state attorney general's office said Monday.

In the deal announced Monday, Citigroup will make a $4 billion civil monetary payment to the Justice Department, and another $500 million in compensatory payments to state attorneys general and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The bank will provide $2.5 billion in consumer relief, which will include financing for construction and preservation of affordable housing, as well as principal reduction and forbearance for residential loans.

The settlement stems from the sale of securities made up of subprime mortgages, which led to both the housing boom and bust that triggered the recession at the end of 2007.

Massachusetts, one of five states that entered into the agreement, will receive a direct cash payment of $45.7 million as a result of the settlement, Attorney General Martha Coakley said.

More than $15 million would go to direct consumer relief, and $6.5 million would help offset losses in the state's pension fund.

The national settlement also stipulates that at least $10 million of the $2.5 billion in consumer relief paid by Citigroup would be available for borrowers in Massachusetts, according to the attorney general.

Coakley, a Democratic candidate for governor, said in a statement that her office has been a leader in holding large Wall Street firms accountable for their actions.

She cited six previous cash settlements her office had reached that were related to the subprime mortgage crisis.

Hezbollah suffers casualties in fight to root out rebels

HERMEL, Lebanon: Further fighting broke out Monday night along the Lebanese-Syrian border following fierce battles which flared over the weekend between Syrian rebels and Hezbollah as the group seeks to root out the last opposition fighters from the region.

At least seven Hezbollah fighters and over 30 Syrian rebels were killed in the clashes, which erupted Saturday night in the border area between Baalbek, Arsal and the Syrian village of Nahleh, sources told The Daily Star.

In April, Syrian forces backed by allied fighters from Hezbollah retook control of most of the Qalamoun region. According to a high-level source, Hezbollah started mobilizing more than 200 fighters along with medium and heavy weaponry about a week ago in a bid to smoke out the last remaining pockets of resistance in the area.

Saturday night, fighters began fanning out from the outskirts of Baalbek toward Qalamoun to surround the opposition, and cut it off from the Bekaa Valley town of Arsal, whose residents highly sympathize with the Syrian Opposition.

However, upon their approach to one of the areas where rebel groups were known to be active, Hezbollah cadres came under heavy gun and missile fire, and several fighters were killed. Their companions responded in kind and the battle raged into Sunday.

The source said Hezbollah succeeded in removing most of its dead and wounded during the clashes by creating a new road on the outskirts of Baalbek, which the group uses to facilitate movement of fighters over the border and back while remaining hidden from Lebanese Army soldiers stationed on the outskirts of Baalbek. The Hezbollah casualties were identified as Zakaria Faisal Sajad from Hermel; Mohammad Ali Hammoudi from Srifa, Bilal Keserwani from Nabatieh, Nadim Mohammad Moqdad from Maqneh, Yahya Mohammad al-Zarkali from Baalbek, and Ali al-Nimr from Kouwakh. Another 50 were wounded and taken to Dar al-Hikmah hospital in Baalbek. The seventh killed fighter could not be immediately identified. The funerals of some of the dead were held in areas across Lebanon.

The body of three Syrian fighters, including one identified as Omar Birdawi, were taken to a field clinic in Arsal, along with pieces of an unidentified body and about 10 others who were wounded in the fighting. Security sources said that Lebanese Ahmad Yaqzan, a senior Nusra Front commander, was killed in the battles.

At least four civilians were also being treated from shrapnel wounds at Rahma Hospital in Arsal. They were identified as Badria Hammoud, 16, Fatoum Hammoud, 22, Fatima Amoun, 23, and Nidal Idriss, 23. A doctor in Arsal reported some of the wounded civilians had been working the cherry harvest nearby, including a pregnant woman whose condition was critical.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Hezbollah managed to capture 14 fighters from the Nusra Front and Islamic Battalion.

The Lebanese Army Monday launched an air and ground search for militants who potentially crossed the border into Lebanon from Syria, the National News Agency said. The state-run agency said the military was looking for the militants and wanted individuals in the outskirts of Ras Baalbek and other border areas to the east, but did not refer to the ongoing fighting there.

Meanwhile, armed men from Labweh opened fire on a pick-up truck belonging to Lebanese national Khaled Hujeiri, who was wounded in his stomach and legs. He was taken to Dar al-Amal hospital in Baalbek, then transferred to Riyaq Hospital for treatment. – Additional reporting by Elise Knutsen

Parliament set to convene over extra spending

BEIRUT: Parliament will likely convene Thursday to pass laws authorizing Eurobonds and extra-budgetary spending necessary to pay public sector employees, politicians from across the political spectrum said Monday.

“I believe Parliament will convene Thursday, as all groups are eager not to paralyze [the state institutions],” Future MP Bassem Shabb told a local radio station.

Shabb said he believed the Future Movement would contact Speaker Nabih Berri in order to reach an agreement on holding the session Thursday once former premier Fouad Siniora returns to Lebanon.

Siniora, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk, and Nader Hariri, aide to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, are currently in Jeddah for talks with the Future Movement leader.

Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil, from the Amal Movement, said last week that Parliament should pass a law that would allow the required extra-budgetary spending.

Should Parliament fail to endorse the bill, public sector employees might not receive their salaries by the end of July.

The government is also in need of a law enabling it to issue Eurobonds to finance state needs.

But Shabb said that while various political factions agree on the need to legalize extra-budgetary spending and issue Eurobonds, disputes lingered over a salary scale demanded by civil servants and teachers.

“The salary scale legislation is different, there are differences over its content and how to finance it. This issue can be postponed,” he said.

Echoing Shabb, a March 8 ministerial source said he also believed the legislature would convene Thursday.

Efforts to achieve an agreement to hold the session began during talks launched recently between the Future and Amal movements.

Thursday’s anticipated session marks the first since May 25, when Lebanon was plunged into a presidential vacuum.

March 14 MPs and lawmakers from the Free Patriotic Movement have boycotted legislative sessions, arguing that during presidential void, they would only attend legislative sessions aimed at passing urgent bills.

The March 14 coalition argues that Khalil’s demand for a law to legalize extra-budgetary spending is aimed at pressuring its lawmakers to attend the session.

The Kataeb Party said Monday in a statement after its weekly meeting that public sector employees had the right to be paid, adding that this issue should not be used as a political tool.

The group said that the payment of salaries did not require a law to be passed by Parliament, calling on the Cabinet to issue the required decrees.

Meanwhile, ministers reached out Monday to soothe Prime Minister Tammam Salam’s anger over disputes within the Cabinet, saying they were willing to facilitate the government’s work.

Education Minister Elias Bou Saab, Economy Minister Alain Hakim and Minister of State for Administrative Development Nabil de Freij held separate talks with Salam at the Grand Serail, days after reports said the premier was aggravated over disputes within his Cabinet.

Salam had said he would refrain from scheduling a Cabinet session for this week due to lingering differences among ministers over key issues, particularly Lebanese University’s contract professors.

“We have full confidence in Salam’s method to administering [government] affairs in this difficult time, and we are convinced that his wisdom preserves stability ... we have no intention to disrupt the Cabinet,” Bou Saab told reporters after meeting the prime minister.

The Cabinet postponed discussion on the long-awaited LU decree, which includes two vital items – making contract professors full-timers and appointing deans to the university council due to disputes. De Freij, a Future lawmaker, said his party was behind the prime minister all the way if no agreement was reached among ministers.

“Everything happening in the country requires solidarity and we should all be responsible,” he told reporters.

Meanwhile, the economy minister defended his party against claims that the Kataeb was behind delays in passing the LU decree.

“The Kataeb does not want to disrupt the government’s work. We have a candidate for the dean of the Faculty of Medicine whose name I presented to Minister Bou Saab along with the name of another candidate for the government commissioner in the Lebanese University council. We insist on having a presence in the council just like everyone else,” Hakim said.

But Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt supported the appointment of Pierre Yared, currently the acting dean of the Faculty of Medicine, as a full-fledged dean. In sign of disagreement, Bou Saab’s press office said Monday that a meeting between the minister and Hakim scheduled for Tuesday to discuss the LU problem was postponed.

Separately, Hariri is to make a speech via video link during a Future Movement iftar banquet Friday.

Hezbollah, Israel not looking for trouble

TYRE, Lebanon: The three rocket barrages from south Lebanon since Friday may have caused little damage and no casualties in Israel, but they represent the most intense flurry of cross-border rocket fire since the end of the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.

That fact alone illustrates just how stable and calm the border has remained since the month-long conflict eight years ago. The Lebanese army and UNIFIL have stepped up their anti-rocket patrols, including greater presence of UNIFIL vehicles along the roads at night in an effort to deter would-be rocket launchers.

Nevertheless, despite the uptick in rocket fire triggered by the latest Israel-Hamas confrontation in Gaza, the anonymous rocket attacks are unlikely to seriously destabilize the Lebanon-Israel border. Both Hezbollah and Israel have no desire at the current time to be drawn into a debilitating encounter when both parties are engaged in conflicts elsewhere.

The three rocket attacks have followed much the same pattern as previous incidents post-2006. The stretch of orange orchards and banana plantations along the coast south of Tyre, specifically between Ras al-Ain and Wadi Hamoul near Naqoura, have been used in the past to fire rockets toward Nahariyah in northern Israel. Saturday’s rocket launch originated 2 kilometers south of the Rashidieh Palestinian refugee camp close to the beach. Only one of the three 122mm rockets fired reached Israel, exploding harmlessly between Shelomi and Nahariyah. The rocket firing early Monday occurred two kilometers southwest of Qlaya beside a narrow lane cutting through an orange orchard. Two of the three rockets launched landed in the sea. The third impacted near Shelomi. Friday’s attack emanated from olive groves east of Khiam, close to the Ain Arab-Meri road, an area that has been the source of past rocket attacks toward northern Galilee.

The attacks also appear to share a degree of amateurism in using crude launch platforms of plastic tubing or wooden planks. In the case of Friday’s attack, a 107mm rocket exploded prematurely wounding one of the perpetrators which allowed him to be identified and arrested when he sought treatment at a hospital.

There is an element of the routine in such attacks; a cross-border rocket launch as a reaction to Israel’s punishing air strikes against Gaza was widely expected. Israel understands the rules of the game when it comes to isolated and amateurish rocket salvos from Lebanon and responds accordingly. Israeli press reports said that the Israeli army shelled the sources of rocket fire in Lebanon. In fact, the Israeli military avoided striking the launch sites – even though its counter-battery radars should have picked up the origin of fire. Instead, in response to Friday’s rocket attack, the Israeli artillery gunners shelled the wooded slopes of a hill near Kfar Shuba, 5 kilometers northeast of the rocket launching site. Similarly, in retaliation to the rocket attacks Saturday and Monday, the Israeli army shelled unpopulated wadis between Majdal Zoun, Azzieh, Shamaa, Zibdin and Teir Harfa – nine and 4.5 kilometers distance respectively from the two rocket launch sites.

Israel has no wish to become embroiled in a new front any more than Hezbollah which explains the efforts to avoid any possibility of incurring civilian casualties in Lebanon which could drag Hezbollah into an escalation. Israel demonstrated similar forbearance last August after the Abdullah al-Azzam Brigades fired four extended-range 122mm Grads across the border from a location just south of Tyre. Instead of shelling the launch site, which given its proximity to Tyre raised the risk of inadvertent civilian casualties, the Israelis chose to bomb the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command base at Naameh, south of Beirut, a traditional recipient of Israeli displeasure when it can find no other more appropriate target.

It is easy to make light of these isolated rocket attacks as they carry a limited risk of catalyzing an escalation along the border. Nevertheless, Timur Goksel, a former long-serving UNIFIL official, used to place great standing in “local dynamics” in which events would take on a life of their own, dragging both Hezbollah and Israel into escalations of violence that served the interests of neither side. If one of these Grad rockets were to strike a vehicle, house or school and cause civilian fatalities, Israel would be forced into a stronger response than its wink-wink, nudge-nudge shelling of empty wadis and hillsides. That would also carry an increased risk of causing casualties on the Lebanese side. During the 1990s when Israel was occupying south Lebanon, dozens of mini escalations had their origins in the most minor of incidents.

Security situation may spark spy wars in Lebanon

A security official who spoke to The Daily Star did not sugarcoat the risks that he outlined in a recent report that he will soon file to his superiors.

“The security situation in Lebanon is very fragile and vulnerable to many possibilities, necessitating a serious emergency plan,” he said.

This report is filled with sensitive information, much of which is attributed to Western security sources that have been tracking the growth and spread of fundamentalist movements in some Palestinian camps. Some of these groups have pledged loyalty to the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), Jund al-Sham, or the Nusra Front, after they were infiltrated by emissaries that came into the country from Syria and Iraq.

The report speaks of the fear circulating in diplomatic circles that despite the extraordinary efforts of the security forces and the support of international actors who would prefer to see Lebanon stabilized, the country is in danger of falling prey to the bad intentions of certain regional and international parties.

These fundamentalist groups receive political support and cover from known regional powers and they are planning a new wave of bombings and assassinations that have a purely political goal, it claims.

Lebanese security sources said they have received verified information from their Western counterparts that certain militant parties with ties to several intelligence agencies are preparing a major attack on the institutions or symbols of certain states that play a major role in regional conflicts. Other plans include attacks on military barracks in specific areas, Lebanese Army checkpoints, and a plot to abduct Lebanese soldiers in order to exchange them for Islamist prisoners in Roumieh.

According to the sources, recruiters from fundamentalist organizations bearing French, German and Chechen passports have already entered the country and started training groups of boys between the ages of 17 and 19 to use explosive belts and carry out suicide operations.

The sources warned of security flare-ups related to events in Iraq and the Gaza Strip, especially the conflagration taking place in Iraq due to the exclusionary policies of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the military gains made by ISIS.

The sources were particularly concerned about a possible resurgence in Israeli spy activity in reaction to the spike in fundamentalist mobilization. These actors are attempting to draw Lebanon into the turmoil sweeping the region in order to increase their leverage in any possible Arab, regional or international agreement.

In a private meeting between a European official and some Lebanese parliamentarians, the European official expressed his concern that the Mossad would reactivate its sleeper cells in Lebanon. Some of these cells have been infiltrated by the Lebanese authorities, resulting in the identification of a number of suspected spies, including a man who was arrested in Tripoli. More arrests are expected in the near future.

Security and Army officials have also decided to boost their coordination in order to protect Lebanon from foreign intelligence services, which may attempt to provoke or intervene in conflicts in order to achieve the greatest possible gain for their countries.

Judge recommends death penalty for terror suspects

Three Syrians drown in sea off Lebanon

The bodies of two Syrian nationals are found on Lebanese beaches after they drowned Sunday night, and a search is...

Fneish’s brother released after drugs sentence

Brother of Hezbollah minister released on bail

The brother of Mohammad Fneish, who was convicted of illegally importing drugs into the country, is released on bail.

Atlantic City casino revenue, minus closure, rises

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Like a ship struggling to right itself in a roiling sea, Atlantic City's casinos are trying mightily to find balance amid a rapidly contracting and constantly changing gambling market.

On Monday, they got some unexpected good news, even if it might not last long.

Not counting the Atlantic Club, which closed in January, the 11 casinos that operated in both 2014 and 2013 increased their revenue by nearly 4 percent in June. Most of that improvement was due to the $9.5 million in Internet gambling winnings that did not exist a year ago.

The numbers come as Atlantic City's casino market is experiencing a rapid contraction. Trump Plaza sent out closing notices to 1,153 workers Monday, the Showboat is closing Aug. 31, and Revel says it also will shut down if a buyer can't be found at a bankruptcy court auction next month. That could result in a quarter of Atlantic City's casinos shutting down in just nine months in the oversaturated northeastern gambling market.

With the Internet money and without the Atlantic Club, the casinos won $235.9 million in June, up from $227.1 million in June 2013, when Internet gambling was not yet legal in New Jersey. Although it still helped the bottom line, Internet gambling registered its third straight monthly decline.

When the Atlantic Club's revenue numbers are factored in, however, the casinos' revenue was down 5.7 percent for the month.

Trump Plaza posted the biggest decline in June, down nearly 32 percent from a year ago to $4.7 million. Showboat was down 16.6 percent to $14.1 million, and Revel was down 1.9 percent to $11.3 million.

The Golden Nugget posted the biggest monthly increase, up more than 34 percent to $14.3 million. The Tropicana was up nearly 23 percent to $25.8 million.

Among Internet gambling sites, the Borgata continued to lead the market with $3.4 million in online winnings. Caesars Interactive had $2.6 million, the Tropicana had $1.7 million, the Golden Nugget had $710,635 and the two Trump casinos each had about a half million in online revenue in June.

MTA head cites wide gulf in LIRR contract talks

MINEOLA, N.Y. -- Unions negotiating with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said Monday that talks aimed at avoiding a walkout at the nation's largest commuter railroad have collapsed.

Anthony Simon, the workers' chief negotiator, said the eight Long Island Rail Road unions are now proceeding with strike plans.

"They continue to insist the unions agree to a contract worth less than the value of the compromise recommendations of two Presidential Emergency Boards," Simon said in a statement. "The strike will begin at 12:01 a.m. this Sunday."

MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas Prendergast planned to comment on the talks later Monday at MTA headquarters in Manhattan. He said in a brief statement leaving the talks that the MTA wants to give the raises the union has sought, but added "We want to do it in a fiscally responsible way and we're not able to get there."

The unions representing 5,400 workers have said they intend to strike unless an agreement is reached by July 20.

A walkout would affect 300,000 daily riders who travel in and out of New York City from Long Island. The MTA last week released a contingency plan that includes shuttling commuters by school bus from selected LIRR stations to subway stops in New York City, and opening several large park-and-ride parking lots, but officials concede a strike would snarl traffic throughout the region and create a commuting nightmare for millions.

Several members of the New York House delegation told Prendergast in Washington last week that neither side should count on Congress to resolve the long-running contract dispute.

Rep. Steve Israel, a Long Island Democrat, said the breakdown in the talks was "frustrating. Both sides claim they are not as far away as it looks. I don't know if they are playing the clock, but they can't play with commuters. We need certainty."

Israel urged both sides to return to the negotiating table.

"If they're putting their eggs in the Congress basket, it's not a very tenable basket," he said.

The railroad's unions have been working without a contract since 2010. President Barack Obama appointed two emergency boards to help resolve the dispute, but the MTA rejected both non-binding recommendations.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo indicated previously that he would not intervene in the dispute. He did not immediately comment on the unions' announcement that talks had collapsed.

The emergency board's last proposal called for a 17 percent raise over six years while leaving work rules and pensions alone. The MTA offered a 17 percent wage increase over seven years and also is seeking concessions including requiring current employees to contribute 2 percent of regular pay toward health care costs.

Blindner reported from New York City.

The First-Ever White House Summit on American Apprenticeship

To create new opportunities for more hard-working Americans, the President and his team are committed to advancing job-driven training initiatives that help American workers acquire the skills they need to succeed in good jobs that are available now. Expanding quality apprenticeship is a key strategy to make education and training programs more job-driven.

As part of that effort, today, we hosted the first-ever White House Summit on American Apprenticeship to gather the best ideas and to catalyze action to dramatically increase apprenticeship in America. More than 60 attendees presented their ideas — including leading employers, big and small, like IBM, Bank of America, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and Oberg Industries; labor unions like the IBEW and SEIU; training providers like Ivy Tech and Lone Star Community Colleges; and local workforce leaders from states as diverse as Pennsylvania and South Carolina.

Hands-on apprenticeships, where workers earn and learn at the same time, are a proven path to good, secure middle-class jobs. In fact, 87 percent of apprentices are employed after completing their programs, with an average starting wage above $50,000. And apprentices earn a significant premium for their skills — as much as $300,000 more than their peers over a lifetime, according to some studies.

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Indiana may consider work share program again

MUNSTER, Ind. -- Supporters of a program that would give businesses an alternative to laying off employees during an economic downturn are planning to propose the idea again in the next state legislative session even though it failed to advance from committee earlier this year.

Republican Rep. Tom Dermody of LaPorte, who sponsored the work-share legislation last session, told The Times of Munster rted (http://bit.ly/1jr3rg5 ) there has been some discussion about the program not being needed as much now because the state's economy is improving. But he said the state needs to be prepared for another economic downturn.

The program allows workers to receive partial unemployment benefits if their employer reduces their work hours to avoid layoffs. The proposal was supported by business, labor and anti-poverty groups but opposed by the state's Department of Workforce Development.

Department spokesman Joe Frank said initial unemployment insurance claims in the state are at their lowest in 14 years and added: "the challenges and risks, including fraud, outweigh the benefits." Indiana's unemployment rate peaked at 10.8 percent during the recession in 2009 but has since dropped to 5.7 percent in May compared with a national rate of 6.3 percent, according to U.S. government figures.

Other states have adopted the work share program. Michigan and Ohio passed legislation to put the work share program into effect in their states, and Missouri recently reauthorized its program.

As part of The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, which was supported by Gov. Mike Pence when he was a congressman, Indiana would have been eligible for a $691,620 in implementation funds to launch the program this year and $1,383,241 in outreach funds to educate employers about the program.

The Center for Economic and Policy Research estimated in a 2012 policy paper that Indiana potentially could save more than $17.1 million in state unemployment costs through federal funding provided for three years under the program.

Dermody believes opposition to the program is because it can be viewed as a government entitlement and opponents feel government should keep out of the workings of private business. Frank said his department believes the program could hurt the solvency of the state unemployment trust fund.

Dermody sees the program as a way to help a segment of the population that politicians often say needs assistance.

"Everybody talks about the middle class, and this is a way to keep them working during the downturn," he said.

Airbus launches new planes in wide body family

FARNBOROUGH, England -- Airbus has launched updated versions of its A330 wide body aircraft in a bit to improve fuel efficiency, increase range and help the aircraft compete against Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.

Airbus told reporters Monday the new designs for the A330-800neo and the A330-900neo will reduce fuel consumption by 14 percent per seat and boost the model's range by 400 nautical miles.

Air Lease Corp. of Los Angeles on Monday agreed to buy 25 of the new A330-900s as well as 60 A320neos. No financial details were immediately disclosed at the world's premier aviation event in the south of England.

The launch comes as Airbus struggles to find buyers for the larger A350 model.

Emirates recently cancelled an order for the A350, and opted for Boeing aircraft of a similar size.

AbbVie, Shire enter detailed talks on combination

Drugmakers AbbVie and Shire are in detailed talks about a possible combination after AbbVie once again raised the deal price and gave Shire shareholders a bigger stake in the new company.

Shire says North Chicago, Illinois-based AbbVie is now offering a cash-stock combination valued at 53.20 British pounds ($91.10) for each share of Shire, which is headquartered on the British island of Jersey.

The new offer totals roughly $53.68 billion and represents an increase from AbbVie's previous proposal, which amounted to around $51.3 billion pounds.

Shire Plc shareholders also would own about 25 percent of the combined new company, up from the 24 percent stake proposed in the most recent offer.

Shire had rejected three unsolicited offers from AbbVie Inc. before asking for a revised proposal earlier this month.

Blatter awards Brazil 9.25 mark for special WCup

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazil got 9.25 out of 10 from FIFA President Sepp Blatter for organizing a World Cup that was "very special" because of high quality football.

Giving his tournament report on Monday, Blatter also criticized the organization he heads for not better tackling incidents of fan discrimination in stadiums.

Blatter said he spoke with Russia President Vladimir Putin at Sunday's final about making the issue a priority at the 2018 World Cup there.

That tournament will be the third straight involving a huge building project of stadiums and public works in one of the BRICS group of emerging nations.

"We have improved, you have improved, Brazil has improved since South Africa," said Blatter, who awarded a 9 mark four years ago to another World Cup which defied doubts and tight deadlines during troubled preparation.

The players and matches have been widely acclaimed in Brazil after so many disappointed in South Africa.

Blatter said he knew when the Netherlands beat Spain 5-1 in the tournament's third match that this time would be different.

"Especially in the second half," Blatter said, meaning the Dutch team's four-goal rout of the defending champion. "Something was on in this World Cup, something very special."

Still, many Brazilian people remain unhappy at their government and the estimated $13 billion spent for the 32-day tournament.

Blatter dismissed jeers targeted at him and Brazil state President Dilma Rousseff when they presented the trophy at Maracana Stadium on Sunday to Germany captain Philipp Lahm.

"This is normal," said Blatter, who was booed also at the 2010 final in Johannesburg. "If you are in this business you have to live with that."

Russia's Putin-backed World Cup has a $20 billion budget, including building or renovating 12 stadiums, plus additional rail projects.

Blatter suggested that could be reduced to 10 venues in talks scheduled in September with organizers.

"We are in discussions now what is the ideal number," said Blatter, suggesting a "feasible, reasonable, controllable" project to avoid white elephant stadiums.

Russian organizing committee head Alexei Sorokin said after Blatter's briefing that there had been no talks yet and there were no plans to cut stadiums, though FIFA had the final decision.

On football matters, Blatter said he was "a little bit surprised" to present the trophy for best player to Lionel Messi, whose Argentina team lost the final after he failed to score since the group stage.

The FIFA leader would not be drawn on the merit of a nine-match, four-month ban imposed on Uruguay forward Luis Suarez for biting an Italy opponent.

"I feel that such a punishment it hurts, it hurts," Blatter said. "I do hope he will be back."

Suarez has completed a transfer from Liverpool to Barcelona, and will ask the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland to freeze the ban during his appeal process.

"He is now in the one of the greatest clubs in the world and I do hope he will have a place there," Blatter said.

Blatter declined comment on an investigation by Rio de Janeiro police into alleged ticket scalping involving a longtime FIFA commercial services provider, MATCH.

FIFA fought against illegal ticket sales "at 1,000 percent," secretary general Jerome Valcke said.

"I am sure that there will be other stories but what you cannot say is that FIFA is not fighting permanently against this business," Valcke said.

ECB's Draghi set for grilling as industry falters

LONDON -- European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is likely to face a barrage of questions Monday from lawmakers asking what can be done to reduce the value of the euro amid further signs the recovery in the 18-country eurozone is faltering.

The ECB is coming under increasing pressure to do more to stem the strength of the euro, which is hurting exporters and keeping a lid on the region's recovery from recession.

At around $1.36, the euro is down from its 2014 high of just below the $1.40 mark in May but remains well above its historic average. Everyone from German carmakers to Greek yoghurt makers are finding it more difficult to sell their wares.

Figures earlier suggested that the recovery in the eurozone is flagging. Official figures showed industrial production down a monthly rate of 1.1 percent in May. That took the annual rate of decline to 0.5 percent and stoked fears that industry will fare worse in the second quarter of the year than the first, thereby dampening growth. During the first quarter of 2014, the eurozone grew by a paltry 0.2 percent.

"Although the decline is likely to have been temporary, the disappointing numbers add to evidence that economic growth in the region is slowing," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit.

With the economy barely growing and not creating many jobs, politicians are piling pressure on the central bank. If needed, the ECB could further loosen its monetary policy through interest rate cuts or launch a monetary stimulus similar to those undertaken by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England. Those programs involve injecting new money into the economy by buying large amounts of bonds and other financial assets.

Few economists think Draghi and the ECB want to go down that route, partly because of technical problems such as how to buy assets — and which ones — across a currency bloc comprising 18 countries. However, Draghi has said such a program, called quantitative easing or QE, is within the bank's mandate and could be used if needed.

For now, Draghi is expected to resist the pressure.

"For the time being, it seems likely that Draghi will stick with attempting to talk the euro lower," said Jane Foley, senior currency strategist at Rabobank International.

The calls on Draghi to do more may become more acute in the coming months if growth remains anemic and inflation, at 0.5 percent, stays below the ECB's target of just below 2 percent.

The ECB has not sat on the sidelines in recent months and is currently reviewing the finances of Europe's largest financial groups and given them cheap loans to help get credit to businesses. It has reduced its benchmark interest rate to a record low of 0.15 percent and set a negative rate for the deposits bank keep at the central bank in the hope that pushes them to lend more.

Asian stocks rebound after Portuguese bank scare

BEIJING -- Asian stocks rebounded Monday from jitters about a struggling Portuguese bank as investors looked ahead to a busy week of data releases in the U.S., China and Europe.

Oil edged up to stay above $100 after tumbling more than $2 last week amid expectations more Libyan crude will soon hit markets.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 0.4 percent to 15,219.59 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.4 percent to 23,326.78. Seoul, Taiwan and Sydney also rose.

Traders regained confidence following concern about the soundness of Portugal's Espirito Santo International, which reportedly missed a debt payment last week, echoing issues that spawned Europe's debt crisis. Investors appeared to have been reassured any problems would be contained.

"Concerns about a widespread spill-over across Europe eased," said Mizuho Bank in a report. "Sentiment improved across the board."

China's Shanghai Composite Index was flat at 2,047.98.

Investors were looking ahead to announcements Tuesday about monetary policy in Australia and Japan and European inflation. U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen is due to testify before a congressional committee.

On Wednesday, China is due to report quarterly economic growth. The country's top economic official, Premier Li Keqiang, said last week performance improved compared with the first quarter, when growth tumbled to 7.4 percent, but gave no details.

Seoul's Kospi gained 0.5 percent to 1,998.32 and Taiwan's Taiex added 0.5 percent to 9,545.99. Sydney's S&P ASX 200 rose 0.4 percent to 5,511.70. New Zealand also gained.

Last week, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE 100 ended 0.1 percent higher while France's CAC-40 gained 0.4 percent.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 both gained 0.2 percent. The Nasdaq composite was up 0.4 percent.

Benchmark U.S. crude for August delivery gained 1 cent to $100.84 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract plunged $2.10 to close at $100.83 in the previous session on expectations of higher supplies and muted global demand.

In currency markets, the dollar rose to 101.37 yen from 101.32 yen late Friday. The euro fell to $1.3603 from $1.3608.

Boarding house once sought by Trump up for auction

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- A former boarding house at the center of a David and Goliath battle between an elderly woman and Donald Trump is going up for auction.

In the 1990s, Trump had wanted to tear down Vera Coking's building and convert the land into a parking lot for his Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino. Coking fought the state Casino Reinvestment Development Authority from condemning the property through eminent domain. The state Supreme Court sided with her in 1998, ruling the redevelopment agency could not seize the lot.

Much has changed since. Coking, a widow who is now 91, has moved to California. Atlantic city's real estate market is sagging, as is its casino business. Trump Plaza may close in September.

The now-vacant 29-room boarding house has been listed for $995,000 since September. The starting bid for the July 31 auction is $199,000.

"The fact that she trumped Trump — that was the story," real estate agent Nate Chait told The Press of Atlantic City (http://bit.ly/1qY9Lwn ).

"I give her credit for standing up for what she believed in," he said. "She didn't want to leave her home, and money wasn't going to buy her out. Whatever people think about that, it's admirable she held her ground and prevailed."

Information from: The Press of Atlantic City (N.J.), http://bit.ly/1nyHwDi

IRS drops screening requirements for many charities, Time reports

The Internal Revenue Service won’t carefully screen four of every five organizations seeking tax-exempt charitable status every year -- a change that could mean less scrutiny of questionable use of the tax code by political groups, according to a new report in Time Magazine.

It reported that starting this month, any organization will “automatically be allowed to accept donations that are tax-deductible for the donors" if it: pays a $400 fee; says in its online form that its annual income is less than $50,000; has assets worth less than $250,000; and is in compliance with a charity’s tax requirements.

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen told Time the changes would mean “a faster and better review” of bigger nonprofits and help reduce a huge backlog of groups waiting years to begin a charity. He said that on the new short form, “people certify that they’ve gone through the instructions” under penalty of perjury. In the past, applicants had to fill out a lengthy form and submit detailed documentation.

The IRS has been under fire for targeting of some conservative groups for special scrutiny.

The (c)(4) groups could participate in political activity if they spent more than half their funds for that purpose. The 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court ruling expanded their reach, so they could buy ads while not revealing donors. Groups seeking special tax status increased, and Time reported that in the 2012 campaign, (c)(4)s spent about $300 million dollars on political activity, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

“Much of that money was spent attempting to motivate voters by advertising positions on specific issues that divide candidates,” Time said.

Soil prep, tests yield better food plots

JACKSON, Miss. -- It won't be long before the annual pilgrimage begins. Pickups and flatbed trailers loaded with ATVs, fertilizer and bags of seed will be common sights on the highways as hunters travel to deer camps for work days.

Hunters will become farmers for a weekend as they disc, plant and fertilize food plots in hopes of luring that buck of their dreams into green fields. Unfortunately, many of those food plots will never produce their full potential.

"I see this all the time," Bronson Strickland, Mississippi State University Extension Wildlife Specialist, said. "I go to a food plot and over the years someone has thrown out some seed and some 13-13-13 (fertilizer).

"Nine times out of 10, you're going to have a low pH then you're adding phosphorous that you don't need to. You get to a point that it's counterproductive."

Low pH, or acidic soil, is common in Mississippi. Strickland said other than some areas of the Delta the average pH level is about 4.7. For a food plot to produce best, the soil needs a pH closer to 7.

"A pH of 6 is acceptable," Strickland said. "If you get to 6.5, you're golden."

Strickland said a simple soil test will show exactly what is needed to maximize the biomass produced in a food plot. Kits are available through county extension offices and soil samples are sent to MSU for analysis and recommendations.

The cost? A whopping $6.

"It's the best money you can possibly spend on a food plot," Strickland said. It can also be a money-saver.

Strickland said tests have shown in soil with a pH level of 4.5, 70 percent of the fertilizer applied is not absorbed by the plants. With a pH of 5, 50 percent is unused. In soil with a pH level of 6.5, only about 10 percent of the fertilizer is unused.

Given the price of agriculture lime used to raise the pH level in soil versus the cost of fertilizer, getting the soil right means less waste.

"People allocate money to the wrong resource," Strickland said. "Lime is a heck of a lot cheaper than fertilizer."

"13-13-13 is what most people use," said Nancy McCardle of Copiah County Co-op. "The recommended rate is 200 pounds per acre, so you're looking at around $60 for 200 pounds." If 50 percent is wasted, that's a loss of $30 per acre.

Lime is similar in cost per acre.

"Without a soil sample, (lime) is recommended a ton per acre," McCardle said. "You're looking at $55 a ton."

While lime does increase the cost initially, Strickland said a food plot may not need to be limed again for 3-4 years and subsequent applications will not be as heavy as the first. So, over a four-year period, a $55 investment in lime could reduce waste of fertilizer by $96, assuming the pH level remains around 6.5.

While fuel, time and varying application rates may negate any real savings, in the end, it's about results.

Strickland said not only will proper soil preparation increase the nutrition quality of the forage, the biomass production increases substantially.

"I would not be surprised if you get double the yield from a plot that has been limed and fertilized according to the recommendations."

Jeffrey Wood, of Stringer, is a guy who doesn't necessarily believe everything he's told when it comes to deer hunting. He likes to put things to the test.

"At first, we just fertilized," Wood said. "Here in the last 10 years, I started doing soil samples and I learned about pH and all that."

While Wood said he immediately saw thicker, greener plots, he wanted to know if the deer on his land were equally as impressed with the results. His experiment involved two plots planted side-by-side in game mixes.

"We went old school on one plot — we went the cheapest we could go," Wood said. "We just put 13-13-13 on it was all we did."

On the other, he went with the soil sample recommendations.

"We limed it and did everything ideal and it did a lot better," Wood said. "It was a whole lot darker green and lush."

Not wanting to leave much to interpretation, Wood set out game cameras to record the deer's reactions.

"I was just amazing how deer would walk right through that old school plot to get to the other one," Wood said. "The deer would just come in there and mow it down.

"When you plant something side-by-side, you can really tell the difference."

And so can the deer.