World stocks higher on China recovery optimism

BANGKOK (AP) — World stock markets rose Monday on optimism that China's economic recovery is firmly taking root.
Many analysts expect China's fourth quarter and 2012 growth figures due Friday to show the world's No. 2 economy continuing to bounce back from its worst slump since the 2008 financial crisis.
Sentiment improved last week after Japan announced a $224 billion stimulus package to boost its recession- and deflation-mired economy. A strong economic recovery has eluded Japan for more than 20 years since the bursting of its financial bubble in the early 1990s.
Britain's FTSE 100 rose marginally to 6,123.87. Germany's DAX gained 0.2 percent to 7,727.68. France's CAC-40 added 0.2 percent to 3,713.79.
Wall Street was set for slight gains, with Dow Jones industrial futures rising slightly to 13,437 while S&P 500 futures gained 0.1 percent to 1,468.20.
Stock markets in Asia posted gains as investors grew more confident about China's economic recovery. China reported improving exports and imports last week, a sign of higher demand both inside and outside the country. More signs of improvement are expected when China releases a slew of data on Friday, including factory output, investment and retail sales.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.6 percent to 23,413.26. South Korea's Kospi added 0.3 percent to 2,002.77 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.2 percent to 4,719.70. Japan's financial markets were closed for a public holiday.
Mainland Chinese stock markets were boosted when Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China's securities regulator, said at a conference in Hong Kong that there was room to raise by "at least" tenfold the quota of foreign institutions allowed to invest in China's domestic stock markets, which are largely off-limits to outsiders because of capital controls.
Mainland China's Shanghai Composite Index soared 3.1 percent to 2,311.74 while the Shenzhen Composite Index for China's second, smaller stock market jumped 3.6 percent to 918.23.
Dariusz Kowalczyk of Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said China's growth likely picked up in the fourth quarter of 2012 to 7.9 percent from 7.4 percent in the three months ended in September. He expects first quarter growth in 2013 to hit 8.5 percent. He said such figures should put to rest worries that China's economy might be in for a hard landing.
"Risks have diminished both externally and domestically, and if they rebound, China has sufficient resources to manage them, so we are upbeat that a relapse will not occur," he said in an email.
Still, a bobble in trade could cause a reversal, while inflation pressure is rising because of poor winter harvests, which would make it harder for Beijing to embark on new stimulus measures without pushing prices up more.
Analysts at Societe Generale have not ruled out a hard landing, which they define as real GDP growth falling below 6 percent, partly because of China's vulnerability to trade shocks.
Among individual stocks, South Korea's SK Telecom advanced 4.2 percent while Hyundai Heavy Industries fell 1.1 percent. In Shanghai, gold retailer Lao Feng Xiang Co. Ltd. jumped 7 percent. China AVIC Avionics Equipment soared 10 percent.
Benchmark oil for February delivery was up 49 cents to $94.05 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract dropped 26 cents to finish at $93.56 a barrel in New York on Friday.
In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3354 from $1.3338 late Friday in New York. The dollar rose to 89.37 yen from 89.20 yen.

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UPS to withdraw TNT Express bid after EC veto

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - United Parcel Service Inc (UPS) said it will withdraw its 5.2 billion euro ($7 billion) bid for TNT Express because it expects the European Commission (EC) to block the deal.
UPS, the world's No. 1 package delivery company, was seeking to buy Dutch peer and European market leader TNT Express to gain access to its network in the fast-growing Asian and Latin American markets.
The EC has informed UPS and TNT Express that it is working on a decision to prohibit the proposed acquisition, the two companies said in separate statements.
"UPS will pay TNT a termination fee in the amount of 200 million euros and will withdraw the offer," once the formal decision is taken, UPS said on Monday.
The collapse of the deal is a blow for TNT Express, which has struggled to turn around in a weak European market.
The U.S. delivery company had offered various concessions in a bid to win EU regulatory approval for its bid, including a proposal to sell warehouses and customer bases in about 15 countries, mainly in eastern Europe.
"We proposed significant and tangible remedies designed to address the EC's concerns with the transaction," Scott Davis, UPS chairman and chief executive said in a statement, expressing disappointment at the decision after months of talks.
"The combined company would have been transformative for the logistics industry, bringing meaningful benefits to consumers and customers around the world, while supporting growth in Europe in particular," Davis added. ($1 = 0.7493 euros)

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Samsung sells 100 million Galaxy S smartphones

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday that global sales of its Galaxy S smartphones surpassed 100 million units since the first model in the series was released less than three years ago.
Samsung said it has sold more than 25 million Galaxy S smartphones, 40 million Galaxy S II smartphones and 41 million Galaxy S III smartphones.
Samsung launched the first Galaxy S model at the end of May 2010, scrambling to catch up with Apple, which was reshaping the market with the iPhone.
But Samsung was quick to narrow the gap with bigger smartphone makers. Research firm IHS iSuppli said last month that Samsung beat Nokia in cellphone sales and Apple in smartphone sales last year.
Apple's iPhone sales hit the 100-million mark in March 2011, nearly four years after the introduction of the phone in 2007.
Analysts expect Samsung to announce the fourth version of the Galaxy S smartphone before this summer.

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Soccer-Ireland full back Kelly swaps Fulham for Reading

LONDON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Ireland full back Stephen Kelly joined Premier League strugglers Reading from mid-table Fulham on Friday on a two-and-a-half year deal.
"I'm delighted to have Stephen here," Reading manager Brian McDermott said in a club statement.
"He has played a lot of games in the Premier League and more than 30 times for his country. He's the kind of player I've been talking about - someone with great experience but at 29 still young in football terms and at a really good stage in his career."
Reading, in their first season back in the top flight, are second bottom after 21 of 38 games and five points from safety.

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Soccer-Thai forward Teerasil trains with Atletico Madrid

MADRID, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Forward Teerasil Dangda trained with Atletico Madrid for the first time on Friday as part of a two-week trial programme involving the Spanish club and Thai side Muangthong United.
The 24-year-old, who has scored 28 goals in 54 appearances for Thailand, worked with La Liga's second-placed team at their training ground just outside the Spanish capital.
"I am very proud and very happy," Teerasil told the Atletico website. "It is a great opportunity to be alongside players and stars that you watch every week on television in my country.
"I hope I will be able to play in Europe one day."
Teerasil, who had an ill-fated few months with Manchester City five years ago, is one of 11 players who have travelled to work with Atletico as part of a collaboration deal agreed between the two clubs in 2010.

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Soccer-Debuchy set for debut in Newcastle's stretched defence

Jan 11 (Reuters) - France right back Mathieu Debuchy is poised to make his Newcastle United debut at Norwich City on Saturday with the stuttering Premier League side hoping for some good news in defence after a period of woe.
The north east club finished fifth last term but are down in 15th this season and have been shipping goals, with a 4-3 loss at Manchester United and 7-3 defeat at Arsenal followed by a 2-1 reverse at home to Everton.
Last weekend they were eliminated from the FA Cup third round by second tier Brighton and Hove Albion and now media reports say influential centre back and captain Fabricio Coloccini wants to return to Argentina for personal reasons.
Boss Alan Pardew once compared Coloccini to England's 1966 World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore but on Friday he was eulogising about Debuchy following his move from Lille.
"Mathieu has come in and been accomplished," Pardew, hit by injuries to his back line all season, told the club website (www.nufc.co.uk).
"He's not really ripped any trees up but he just looks like a proper, senior player who knows the game. I haven't had to give him too much information but a few of our wide players haven't had too much joy against him.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing him in a Newcastle shirt - I think he will add some real quality to us."
Debuchy's France team mate Yohan Cabaye is also in contention to return from a two-month injury layoff at Norwich along with fellow midfielder Jonas Gutierrez but striker Shola Ameobi is banned.

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Factbox: Key companies in the phablet space

(Reuters) - Phablets, a cross between a smartphone and a tablet, are gaining popularity globally as consumers opt for bigger screens to perform multimedia functions.
Here are some companies that will likely benefit or feel the impact of the fast-growing phablet market, which analysts expect to quadruple in value to $135 billion in about three years:
WINNERS
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
LG Electronics Inc
Lenovo Group Ltd
Asustek Computer Inc
Google Inc (Android software runs on most of these devices)
Nuance Communications Inc (develops Swype software for keypads, enabling easier text entry on larger screens)
Nvidia Corp (CPU)
Qualcomm Inc (CPU)
POTENTIAL WINNERS
HTC Corp
Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Panasonic Corp
Sony Corp
ZTE Corp
RIDING THE WAVE
Chinese manufacturers, and their regional partners, are building a niche for themselves. The main players are:
Byond Tech Electronics Pvt Ltd (India)
http://www.byondtech.com/
Cherry Mobile (Philippines) http://www.cherrymobile.com.ph/
Karbonn Mobiles (India) http://www.karbonnmobiles.com/
Micromax (India) http://www.micromaxinfo.com/
MyPhone (Philippines) http://www.myphone.com.ph/
NXG Labs Pvt Ltd (India) http://www.nxglabs.in/
Oppo (China) http://www.oppo.com/
Zopo Mobile (China) http://en.zopomobile.com/
ON THE SIDELINES
Microsoft Corp (its Windows Phone software is only a handful of large-screen devices)
Nokia Oyj (its largest smartphone, the Lumia 920, has a 4.5-inch screen which puts it outside most definitions of a phablet)
Research In Motion Ltd
Dell Inc

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Laboratorio nuclear EEUU aparta tecnología china por temores de seguridad

LONDRES (Reuters) - Uno de los principales laboratorios de armas nucleares de Estados Unidos halló recientemente que sus sistemas informáticos contenían conmutadores para redes hechos en China y reemplazaron al menos dos componentes debido a preocupaciones de seguridad nacional, muestra un documento.
Una carta del Laboratorio Nacional Los Alamos en Nuevo México, fechada el 5 de noviembre de 2012, declara que el centro de investigaciones había instalado dispositivos fabricados por H3C Technologies Co, con base en Hangzhou, China, según una copia vista por Reuters.
H3C comenzó como un emprendimiento conjunto entre la china Huawei Technologies Co y 3Com Corp, una firma de tecnología de Estados Unidos, y se llamó Huawei-3Com durante un tiempo. Hewlett Packard Co adquirió la firma en 2010.
El hallazgo plantea incógnitas sobre las prácticas de adquisición en departamentos estadounidenses responsables por la seguridad nacional. Las autoridades y el Congreso de ese país plantearon preocupaciones sobre Huawei y sus supuestos lazos con el gobierno y las fuerzas armadas de China.
La compañía, la segunda mayor fabricante mundial de equipos de telecomunicaciones, niega que sus productos planteen riesgos de seguridad o que las fuerzas armadas chinas influyan en sus negocios.
Los conmutadores son usados para administrar el tráfico de datos en redes informáticas. No está claro el número exacto de conmutadores de fabricación china instalados en Los Alamos, ni cómo ni cuándo fueron adquiridos, ni tampoco si fueron usados en sistemas sensibles o plantean riesgos de seguridad.
El laboratorio -donde fue diseñada la primer bomba atómica- es responsable del mantenimiento del arsenal nuclear de Estados Unidos.
Un portavoz del laboratorio Los Alamos derivó preguntas a la Administración Nacional de Seguridad Nuclear del Departamento de Energía, o NNSA según su sigla en inglés, que declinó hacer comentarios.
La carta del 5 de noviembre vista por Reuters fue escrita por el director de información a cargo en el laboratorio Los Alamos y estaba dirigida al subdirector de salvaguardia y seguridad de la NNSA.
Declara que en octubre, un ingeniero informático del laboratorio -que no es identificado en la carta- advirtió a sus superiores que los dispositivos de H3C "estaban comenzando a ser instalados en" sus redes.
La carta dice que un equipo de especialistas, parte de la unidad de contrainteligencia del laboratorio, comenzaron a investigar, "con un enfoque en redes sensibles". El laboratorio "determinó que una pequeña cantidad de los dispositivos instalados en una red eran dispositivos de H3C. Dos dispositivos usados en casos aislados fueron reemplazados rápidamente", declara la nota.

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Why 2013 could be the ‘Year of the Phablet’

Few expected Samsung (005930) would spark a global revolution last year when it unleashed its oversized Galaxy Note “phablet.” But now that the Note has proven to be a hit, electronics companies around the world are apparently scrambling to steal Samsung’s thunder by manufacturing their own giant smartphones. Strategy Analytics executive director Neil Mawston tells Reuters that he expects “2013 to be the Year of the Phablet,” with companies such as TCL Communications’ (2618) Alcatel One Touch brand, ZTE and Huawei already bringing their own Note-like devices to the Consumer Electronics Show this week. The big reason that phablets have become so popular, ABI Research analyst Joshua Flood tells Reuters, is that voice calls are simply much less important to users than having a large, attractive screen they can use to read and watch videos. Or as Flood puts it, “smaller was better until phones got smart, became visual.

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Google's Schmidt urges Internet openness in NKorea

BEIJING (AP) — Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said Thursday it's up to North Korea to shed its self-imposed isolation and allow its citizens to use the Internet and connect with the outside world, or risk remaining way behind other countries.
Schmidt was returning from a private trip to North Korea with former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson that was not sanctioned by the U.S. government and has been criticized for appearing to boost Pyongyang's profile after its widely condemned rocket launch put a satellite into space last month.
"As the world is becoming increasingly connected," Schmidt said, "their decision to be virtually isolated is very much going to affect their physical world, their economic growth and so forth. It will make it harder for them to catch up economically. We made that alternative very, very clear."
The nine-member delegation, which also included Jared Cohen, director of the company's Google Ideas think tank, was greeted at the Beijing airport by a throng of reporters at the end of their four-day trip.
"The government has to do something," Schmidt said. "It has to make it possible for the people to use the Internet. It is their choice now. It's in my view time for them to start, or else they will remain behind."
During the trip, Richardson said they also urged Pyongyang to halt all missile and nuclear tests, which have incurred U.N. sanctions, and sought fair treatment for an American who has been detained in North Korea.
Schmidt, CEO of the U.S.-based Internet giant until 2011, has been a vocal proponent of Internet freedom and openness around the world. He and Cohen are publishing a book in April about the power of global connectivity in transforming people's lives, policies and politics.
Cohen doesn't typically accompany Schmidt on Google-sanctioned trips, so his inclusion in the delegation may be a sign that the two men may have mainly been interested in gathering material for their book.
In Pyongyang, Schmidt's group visited a university computer lab and met with students and North Korean officials. They toured the frigid brick building in central Pyongyang that is the heart of North Korea's own computer industry, where Schmidt asked pointed questions about a new homegrown tablet computer as well as its Red Star operating system. He briefly donned a pair of 3-D goggles during the tour of the Korea Computer Center.
Many experts see the country as one of the least connected in the world, where few people have any access to computers, and even those who do are typically able to connect only to a domestic intranet that does not connect with the World Wide Web.
Global broadband Internet is available in North Korea, as well as a 3G mobile network that can't currently connect to the Internet. But few have unrestricted access, though "it would be very easy for them to turn that on," Schmidt said.
The State Department has criticized the trip as "unhelpful" at a time when the U.S. is rallying support for additional U.N. Security Council action against Pyongyang. Schmidt advised President Barack Obama during his 2008 campaign and was once considered a potential candidate for a Cabinet-level appointment, though he has repeatedly said that he has no plans to leave Google for a government job.
Richardson said the message about expanding the use of technology in North Korea was very "well received."
He said the delegation strongly urged the government "to proceed with a moratorium on ballistic missiles and a possible nuclear test" and that they had "very frank discussions" with North Korean officials about the current tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Richardson said the North Koreans were encouraged by recent statements by the new South Korean leader, President-elect Park Geun-hye, who has said she will make efforts in her five-year term to boost aid and engage with the North.
Richardson said they also expressed concern about an American detained in North Korea, and were told his health was good and that judicial proceedings would start soon. Pae Jun Ho, who is known as Kenneth Bae in his home state of Washington, is a 44-year-old tour operator of Korean descent who was arrested in November in the northern city of Rajin.
"The delegation's trip to North Korea was productive, was successful," Richardson said at the airport in Beijing, adding that the group was invited to return. "We do expect to go back."
There are no major U.S. firms operating in North Korea, which fought against the United States in the Korean War of the 1950s. The foes signed a truce in 1953 to end the fighting, but never a peace treaty, and the two countries still do not have diplomatic relations.
Even if Schmidt wasn't officially representing Google in North Korea, the company stands to benefit if the country's leadership loosens its Internet restrictions. For years, the Mountain View, California, company has pushed for more accessible and affordable Internet connections and Web-surfing devices on the premise that its business ultimately will make more money if people spend more time online.

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Bill Richardson says didn't meet detained American on North Korea trip

BEIJING (Reuters) - Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson and Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt failed to secure the release of a Korean-American held in North Korea during a controversial trip to the secretive state that ended on Thursday.
Richardson told a media briefing at Beijing's airport he was unable to meet Korean-American Kenneth Bae, a 44-year-old tourist who was detained late last year and has been charged with unspecified crimes against the state.
Richardson said he was told that judicial proceedings against Bae would start soon, although he gave no details. North Korean authorities assured him of Bae's good health, he said.
"That is encouraging," Richardson said of Bae's condition, adding he was also given permission to "proceed with a letter from his son, and that will happen shortly".
It was unclear if Richardson had left such a letter with North Korean authorities or if it would be sent later. Bae is being held in a location far from Pyongyang, Richardson said.
The timing of the trip by Schmidt and Richardson was criticized by the U.S. State Department. It came after North Korea carried out a long-range rocket launch last month, which Washington considers a provocative test of ballistic missile technology.
Schmidt said his visit to Pyongyang was private and was to talk about a free and open Internet.
"As the world becomes increasingly connected, their decision to be virtually isolated is very much going to affect their physical world, their economic growth and so forth", Schmidt said in brief remarks.
"The technology in North Korea is very limited," Schmidt said, with a 3G cellphone network for about a million phones run by Egypt's Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding SAE that does not support the Internet.
Access to the Internet is available to the government, the military and to universities but not the general public and users are supervised, he said.
"The government has to do something. They have to make it possible for people to use the Internet", he said. "It's their choice now, and time, in my view, for them to start or they will remain behind."
"They showed up and listened to us and asked us a lot of questions", he said.
"NOT PRODUCTIVE"
There was no immediate comment from North Korea about the visit by Richardson and Schmidt other than a report on the official KCNA news agency to say the delegation had left. The trip was met with skepticism across the border in South Korea.
"It wasn't productive on humanitarian grounds", said Chang Yong-seok, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University.
The trip came as the United States, South Korea, Japan and their European allies were pushing at the United Nations to expand long-standing U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea after the North's December 12 rocket launch.
Richardson said the North Koreans he met, including a vice foreign minister and other foreign ministry officials, maintained their missile activity was scientific and peaceful.
"I must say I personally disagree", said Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. "I don't think it is science-based, and it is a violation of the United Nations moratorium."
Pyongyang, according to satellite imagery, is continuing work on its nuclear testing facilities, potentially paving the way for a third nuclear bomb test.
Chang said North Korea would not be budged easily.
"It is possible North Korea will take action after watching to see if the United States changes its policy", Chang said. "It tells us that North Korea is confident and not in a rush; it is going on its own way unyieldingly."
Tensions on the tinderbox Korean peninsula could be reduced following the election of new leaders in South Korea, Japan, and a new secretary of state in the United States, Richardson said.
"The North Koreans were encouraged by the recent statements of the new south Korean president", he said, referring to President-elect Park Gyeun-hye.

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Lowered UK flag sparks Protestant fury in Belfast

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — At Belfast City Hall, the flagpole is bare — and the streets are filled with nighttime fear and fury.
These are dangerous times in Northern Ireland, a long-divided corner of the United Kingdom that is supposed to be at peace after decades of unrest thanks to its hard-won cease-fires and a Catholic-Protestant government. But the lowering of a single Union Jack has exposed a society still split between two competing identities.
Last month, Catholics who narrowly outnumber Protestants on the council voted to reduce the flying of the flag to just 18 official days a year, ending a century when the British national symbol favored by Protestants flew uninterrupted year-round.
Catholics billed the move as a compromise, since they wanted the flag removed completely. On Wednesday, the flag fluttered for the first time since the vote to mark the 31st birthday of Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, but was taken down again at sunset.
Protestant hard-liners have responded with nightly illegal street blockades that often have degenerated into street battles between riot police and masked protesters armed with everything from sledgehammers to snooker balls. Police say 66 officers have been wounded, including six this week, and more than 100 rioters arrested.
Nobody seems to know how, or when, the strife will end. While Northern Ireland suffers intercommunal conflict each summer because of traditional Protestant marches, this is the first time that Northern Ireland has suffered a month straight of angry civil disturbances in the winter.
Some analysts, reflecting on how past Northern Ireland crises have unfolded, suspect that the extremists won't stop until someone is killed.
"The quickest end looks like it would be in an atrocity. I fear that," said Duncan Morrow, a University of Ulster lecturer and former chief of Northern Ireland's Community Relations Council, a group that tries to bridge the persistent divide between Irish Catholics and British Protestants.
At the heart of the resumed conflict is the rapid change in Northern Ireland's population balance and political system.
Northern Ireland was created as a Protestant-majority state in the U.K. shortly before the overwhelmingly Catholic rest of Ireland won independence in 1922. But the days of Protestant domination of politics and the police are distant memories.
The latest census published last month shows Catholics in the majority in Belfast and gaining throughout Northern Ireland. The peace process has produced a new system in which a former Irish Republican Army commander now jointly leads the government, and a decade of preferential Catholic recruitment has produced a more Irish-oriented police force that Protestant militants increasingly view as the enemy.
For many Protestants, the change has overwhelmed the senses. Stripping "their" flag from City Hall has brought their central fear into focus — that they could become the minority in a land that eventually could fly the green, white and orange flag of the neighboring Republic of Ireland.
"The vote on the flag was a touchstone. It transformed Protestant and unionist frustration into outright anger," said Mike Nesbitt, leader of the No. 2 Protestant-backed party, the Ulster Unionists. "Even if you put the flag back up 365 days a year — and I accept it's not going to happen — that would not fix the anger on the streets."
Many shop and restaurant owners in downtown Belfast are fuming, too — about scared-off customers, bills they can't pay and a political culture that wreaks economic havoc over matters of symbolism. They blame Catholic politicians for picking a needless fight right before Christmas, and blame Protestants for inflaming mobs with no ability to rein them back in.
But Peter Robinson, the Protestant first minister of the government who still backs the protests so long as they remain peaceful, insists he's done all he can.

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Soccer-Benitez says time almost over for Chelsea "legends"

LONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Chelsea interim coach Rafael Benitez has heralded a changing of the guard at the Premier League club by saying that new players are needed for them to carry on winning.
The Londoners' joint-second top scorer of all time, Frank Lampard, looks unlikely to be offered a new deal with the 34-year-old's contract expiring at the end of the season, his agent says.
Media reports have said other fan favourites Ashley Cole and captain John Terry could also be sacrificed in the next two years after Chelsea showed they mean business by letting Champions League-winning hero Didier Drogba leave in May.
"I think it's always easy to talk about the legends and you have to have a lot of respect for them," Benitez told British newspapers ahead of Wednesday's Capital One (League) Cup semi-final first leg against Swansea City.
"What they've achieved for this club has been fantastic. But you have to have new players and carry on winning games. That's what the fans are expecting."
The European champions, fourth in the Premier League, also have an eye on big wage earners given the onset of UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules where they have to break even or risk exclusion from European competition.
"Everyone knows the legends who have been here and what they have achieved. That is the good thing about English football, you have good memories and respect people who achieve something for the club, which is very positive," the Spaniard added.

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Soccer-Australia's Rogic to train with Celtic

SYDNEY, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Promising young Australian midfielder Tom Rogic will take part in a training camp with Scottish club Glasgow Celtic but no offer has been tabled for the 20-year-old, his Central Coast Mariners club said on Wednesday.
Rogic won his first international cap in a friendly against South Korea last November and is rated is one of the most exciting young talents in the A-League.
A three-match suspension for a rash tackle in an A-League match last month will allow him to travel to Spain to join the Scottish champions in mid-season.
"This is a great opportunity for Tomas to train with Celtic's first team squad," said Mariners general manager of football Lawrie McKinna.
"Celtic are in their mid-season break and are busy preparing for their Champions League matches against Juventus in February, so Tom will undoubtedly learn a lot from the experience."
Rogic earned his call-up for the Socceroos after scoring twice in an A-League match against Sydney FC in early November.
"Technically he is very sound but he has that element of creativity, he does the unexpected, which can decide a game and can give a certain flavour to a game," Australia coach Holger Osiek said at the time.
"That is what I like, he is not an average player. Physically he has to mature, his endurance capacity has to improve and his mobility in tight areas needs to get better.

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Soccer-Man City send back 'expensive' tickets for Arsenal clash

Jan 9 (Reuters) - While Manchester City's wealthy Dubai owners continue to bankroll the club, the Premier League champions' supporters look to be adopting a more frugal approach.
According to local media reports, City have sent back 912 of the 3,000 tickets they were allocated for Sunday's league clash at Arsenal, with travelling fans unhappy at the 62 pounds ($100) cost for a seat at the Emirates.
"It's the most expensive amount I can ever remember paying for a ticket in my life," Kevin Parker, the general secretary of the Manchester City Supporters Club, was quoted as saying by British media on Tuesday.
"It just shows that football clubs are out of touch with reality. If City supporters are travelling on a supporters' club coach it will cost 30 pounds per person. That's 92 pounds before they have even done anything. Add in a programme, food, drink and you are looking at 125-130 pounds per person."
Widely regarded as one of the richest clubs in the world after they were bought by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan in 2008, they have forked out millions to sign the likes of Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Mario Balotelli in recent seasons.
Despite the massive outlay, the most expensive ticket prices at the Etihad Stadium are 58 pounds with the cheapest at 26 pounds, according to an October survey by the BBC.
Arsenal sold the Premier League's most expensive match day ticket at 126 pounds and, like City, also one of the cheapest available at 26 pounds.
"Some people cannot afford the price, especially as it is just after Christmas, and there are some who just refuse to pay 62 pounds," Parker said of the Arsenal cost.
"This is also the first time in a long while that I remember City fans saying to me they could pay the money but are refusing to do so.
"That is a brave decision to take. Soon, though, fans will vote more strongly with their feet and clubs like Arsenal will have to decide what to do about ticket prices."

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Existing home sales rise to fastest pace in three years

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Home resales rose sharply in November to their fastest pace in three years, a sign the recovery in the housing market is gaining steam.
The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday that existing home sales climbed 5.9 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million units.
That was the fastest since November 2009, when a federal tax credit for home buyers was due to expire. Sales were well above the median forecast of a 4.87 million-unit rate in a Reuters poll.
The U.S. housing market tanked on the eve of the 2007-09 recession and has yet to fully recover, but steady job creation has helped the housing sector this year, when it is expected to add to economic growth for the first time since 2005.
NAR economist Lawrence Yun said superstorm Sandy, which slammed in the U.S. East Coast in late October and disrupted the regional economy for weeks, had only a slight negative impact on home resales.
The NAR expects some purchases delayed by the storm to add a slight boost to resales over the next few months, Yun said.
Nationwide, the median price for a home resale was $180,600 in November, up 10.1 percent from a year earlier as fewer people sold their homes under distressed conditions compared to the same period in 2011. Distressed sales include foreclosures.
The nation's inventory of existing homes for sale fell 3.8 percent during the month to 2.03 million, the lowest level since December 2001.
At the current pace of sales, inventories would be exhausted in 4.8 months, the lowest rate since September 2005.
Distressed sales fell to 22 percent of total sales from 29 percent a year ago.
The share of distressed sales, which also include those where the sales price was below the amount owed on the home, was also down from 24 percent in October.

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New York City should hike taxes on big business-comptroller

(Reuters) - New York City's top financial officer and possible contender for mayor in 2013, John Liu, proposed on Thursday tax hikes for big businesses and an end to Madison Square Garden's $15 million annual property tax exemption.
The proposals by New York City Comptroller John Liu include tax hikes on private equity firms, which would help offset his plan for $500 million in tax breaks and lowered fines for 90 percent of the city's small businesses.
Liu is expected to vie for the Democratic mayoral nomination for the election in November 2013.
The city could end tax breaks for big companies - more than $250 million of which were handed out last year, Liu said.
The city could also eliminate its $15 million annual property tax exemption for Madison Square Garden, the indoor arena in midtown Manhattan that's home to the New York Knicks basketball team. Madison Square Garden has been exempt from paying taxes on real property since 1982 under New York state law.
The arena is owned by The Madison Square Garden Co, which also owns the Knicks and other professional sports teams. The company also owns Radio City Music Hall, the Beacon Theatre and others venues, as well as television networks.
Liu also proposed examining tax breaks for special interests. Insurance companies, for instance, have not paid the general corporation tax since 1974, at a cost of $300 million annually to the city, he said.
Private equity firms could also start paying the unincorporated business tax for carried interest or gains from assets being held for investment. The exemption costs New York City about $200 million a year, Liu said.
Liu's package would use the revenue generated by those measures to offset his plan to ease the tax burden for small businesses.
He proposed ending the city's general corporation tax for all businesses with liabilities under $5,000 -- about 240,000 business in the city, or 85 percent of those that currently pay the tax.
His plan would also reduce some fines, as well as exempt businesses that make less than $250,000 in annual income from the city's unincorporated business tax.
The proposals would have to be approved by the governor and state legislature after a request by the city council.
The city is facing a possible $2.7 billion gap in fiscal 2014 that could grow to $3.8 billion the following year, Liu said.

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IRS finalizes new tax for medical devices in healthcare law

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday released final rules for a new tax on medical devices, products ranging from surgical sutures to knee replacement implants, that starts next year as part of President Barack Obama's 2010 healthcare law.
The 2.3-percent tax must be paid, effective after December 31, by device-makers on their gross sales. The tax is expected to raise $29 billion in government revenues through 2022.
Companies including Boston Scientific Corp, 3M Co and Kimberly-Clark Corp have been lobbying the U.S. Congress for a repeal of the tax.
A repeal bill passed the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives in June, but it has not been voted on by the Democratic-controlled Senate.
"The excise tax is on the medical device manufacturers and importers (who) will now have access to 30 million new customers due to the health care law," Treasury Department spokeswoman Sabrina Siddiqui said in a statement.
Many medical devices that are sold over-the-counter - such eyeglasses, contact lenses and hearing aids - are exempt from the tax, as are prosthetics, the IRS said.
The tax applies mostly to devices used and implanted by medical professionals, including items as complex as pacemakers or as simple as tongue depressors.
Products sold for humanitarian reasons, such as experimental cancer treatment devices, are not exempt from the tax.
Some medical device companies are hoping to delay the tax's start date as part of a resolution of the "fiscal cliff" deadline at the end of the year involving many tax and spending measures, said Steve Ferguson, chairman of Cook Group Inc.
"We would like to be part of the punt," Ferguson said, referring to an extension of current tax policy into 2013.
In one potentially problematic aspect of the tax, companies selling dual-use products to medical and non-medical customers must pay the tax on those products, potentially putting them at a competitive disadvantage, said Lew Fernandez, a director at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and a former IRS official.

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PGA Tour opener delayed _ again _ by wind

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — On the third attempt at starting the PGA Tour season, Matt Kuchar stepped to the 10th tee at Kapalua and could barely hear his name through the wind. When he finally steadied himself, a gust blew his golf ball off the tee. And then it happened again.
"We had a powwow and took us five or six minutes to laugh it off and say, 'We're really going to go through with this?'" Kuchar said. "Made the best of it."
But not for long.
Just more than one hour after the Tournament of Champions finally got under way, it was scrapped again with all the scores erased.
Most golf tournaments end on Sunday. This one couldn't even get started Sunday.
The wind came roaring down the Plantation Course at Kapalua again, and it left officials no choice but to stop play and try to start again. With more manageable wind in the forecast, the plan was to play 36 holes Monday and finish with 18 holes Tuesday.
That was good news for Ben Curtis. He had birdie putts on the first two holes and was 5-over par.
"It's crazy. That's the only way to describe it," Curtis said. "I've never hit two greens in regulation at the start and walked away at 5 over. But hey. At least we had to try."
And they will try again.
Rickie Fowler will hit the opening tee shot of the 2013 season on Monday — for the third time this week.
For those wondering why this tournament keeps getting postponed, an hour of television Sunday was all the evidence they needed.
Ian Poulter posed over his 4-iron shot to the 13th green and was so stunned to see it come up short that he looked at his small gallery for the longest time, repeating loud enough for them to hear that he was only 138 yards from the front of the green. Off to his right, Charlie Beljan had a search party stomping through high grass to the right of the 10th fairway looking for both his tee shots. He had a 15-foot putt for triple bogey when play was stopped.
Moments later, a call came over the radio for a ruling on the 12th green. Scott Stallings was trying to tap in a 2-foot putt when a gust blew his ball 8 feet away.
"We need to try to put the show on," Poulter said. "Hyundai spent a lot of money. We want to play. Fans want to see us play. TV wants to see us play. We're backed into a corner. I don't think they understand how windy it really is. Now they've seen it."
It was comical from the start, with Kuchar having to tee it up three times before he could hit, and removing his cap the rest of the way. Jonas Blixt had a 1-foot par putt on the 10th hole and took about two minutes. He had to wait as a cup and someone's hat blew across the green.
Blixt has played 10 holes over two days in these conditions in 1-under par. None of it counts, but the Swede learned one thing.
"There's no instruction book for this," Blixt said. "You just go by instincts."
The Tournament of Champions was supposed to finish on Monday, the day it now hopes to start. The tour insists on a 54-hole tournament, no matter how complicated that will be with the next tournament, the Sony Open, starting on Thursday in Honolulu.
Andy Pazder, the tour's chief of operations, said television and operational equipment can only be transported to Oahu on a barge that takes 16 hours on a good day. The plan was to televise the final round at Kapalua, and go with a limited TV production for the opening round of the Sony Open.
Defending champion Steve Stricker lounged on a sofa in the dining room watching the NFL playoffs with Dustin Johnson and Brandt Snedeker. Along with Bubba Watson, they have yet to tee off all week. Fowler made it through eight holes Friday and five holes Sunday.
But what a wild hour of golf that turned out to be.
"It seems like the first day was a cake walk compared to today," Webb Simpson said. "But you know, they're trying to get us to play some golf. Matt and I were hanging in there, and it was fun. But you don't want to see stupid things happen. I think that was what they were starting to see."
Carl Pettersson began his round by hitting his tee shot into the native grass for a lost ball and a triple bogey. Kyle Stanley had 88 yards to the 10th green and went with a punch 9-iron that sailed over the green. Curtis felt hopeless from the start.
After a four-putt double bogey, he hit the green on the par-3 11th.
"We're walking halfway down and my caddie said, 'Hey, your ball is moving.' And it rolled about another 5 feet," Curtis said.
Before he had a chance to putt, a gust blew the ball to the left some more and went down a slope. He chipped up to about 15 feet and four-putted again.
Poulter had to back off six times on a 10-foot birdie putt at the 11th hole. Two holes later, he had hit a beauty of a 4-iron, starting out to the right as the wind brought back toward the flag — and it landed short.
"That's not golf," Poulter said. "I don't know what that is. You saw it. You can't pull a trigger. You're taking 20 practice swings because you can't stand up. I guess what we've done is shown everyone it's unplayable. In some respect, at least we hit a couple of shots. Three days of sitting in the hotel is not good. At least I've warmed up for something. I'm just not sure what I've warmed up for."
Beljan is one of the biggest hitters in golf who never hits a hook, unless the wind blows him off the ball as he says it did on the 10th hole. At least he found his second shot. After the five-minute search ended, a woman found his original tee shot. When she went to show him, she couldn't find it — that's how deep the grass was. Beljan played his provisional, took a whack and whiffed. He hammered at it again and moved it back to the fairway, then hit 8-iron from 102 yards.
"I hit it 170, 175 on a normal day," Beljan said.
This was not a normal day. And when they headed back to the hotel on a gorgeous day in Maui, it wasn't even an official round. So they will try again on Monday. When asked the possibility of 36 holes on Tuesday if the wind doesn't cooperate, Pazder paused and said, "Can we save that question for tomorrow?"

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AP Source: Browns moving on from Oregon's Kelly

CLEVELAND (AP) — Chip Kelly wouldn't jump. So the Browns bailed.
Oregon's visor-wearing coach isn't coming to Cleveland.
A person familiar with Cleveland's coaching search said the team is no longer considering Kelly for its coaching vacancy after the offensive mastermind nearly reached an agreement with the Browns on Friday. The 49-year-old Kelly was indecisive about making the leap to the NFL and the team decided to move on to other candidates, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Sunday because of the sensitivity of the search.
The Browns questioned whether Kelly "was committed to coming to the NFL," said the person. And because of his hesitation, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner returned to Cleveland to continue searching for the club's sixth fulltime coach since 1999.
ESPN's Chris Mortensen was the first to report Kelly wasn't signing with Cleveland.
It's possible Kelly used the Browns to get a better deal from another NFL team or a raise in Oregon.
Whatever the case, he's not joining the Browns.
Kelly turned down Tampa Bay's job deep into negotiations last season. He could accept a job with Philadelphia or Kelly may steer away from the pros again and return to Oregon, where he has built the Ducks into a national powerhouse. Oregon has gone 46-7 the past four seasons and made four BCS bowl games under Kelly .
With Kelly gone, the Browns will now consider some of the candidates they've already met with or maybe begin a second wave of interviews. Haslam and Banner spent most of last week in Arizona and are known to have spoken to former Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt, Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton, Syracuse's Doug Marrone and Penn State's Bill O'Brien.
Marrone accepted Buffalo's coaching job Sunday, three people familiar with the negotiations told The AP. O'Brien decided to stay with the Nittany Lions.
The Browns aren't confirming any of their interviews or commenting on any candidates.
Haslam could still make a run at Alabama coach Nick Saban following Monday night's BCS title game. Saban has not given any indication he wants to take another stab at coaching in the NFL, but it's possible the 61-year-old could be persuaded by Haslam with the promise of power and a monstrous contract.
A former NFL player, Whisenhunt, who went 45-51 in six seasons and led the Cardinals to a Super Bowl, spent one year as a special teams coordinator with Cleveland. The 50-year-old coach served as Pittsburgh's offensive coordinator from 2004-06, and that connection could serve him well with Haslam, who had a minority share in the Steelers before he bought the Browns.
Horton spent seven seasons on Pittsburgh's staff before joining the Cardinals in 2011.
Haslam and Banner fired Pat Shurmur last week, one day after the Browns finished a 5-11 season with a loss in Pittsburgh. Shurmur went 9-23 in two seasons for the Browns, who have lost at least 11 games in each of the past five seasons and have changed coaches four times since 2002.
Before embarking with Banner on the coaching search, Haslam said there was no set time frame on finding a coach. He promised to wait as long as necessary to "bring the right person to Cleveland."
"Our goal is to get the best person and if we happen to find that person within a week, that's great and if it takes a month, that's great also," Haslam said.
Haslam and Banner are focused on hiring a coach first before turning their attention to a personnel executive. Tom Heckert, who overhauled Cleveland's roster in the past three years, also was fired last week. It's not known if the Browns have interviewed any GM candidates.
Cleveland's courtship of Kelly turned into a two-day fling with no shortage of drama.
After Kelly met with the Browns for seven hours Friday, it appeared he was headed to Cleveland. The Eagles left Arizona after they were informed a deal between the Browns and Kelly was imminent. Kelly, though, kept his commitment for an interview with the Eagles and reportedly spent nine hours with him on Saturday, preventing the Browns from a second meeting
Kelly also met Friday with the Bills, but that was nothing more than a cursory interview for both sides.
The pursuit of Kelly created an interesting subplot between the Browns and Eagles. Banner spent 19 seasons in Philadelphia before leaving the team last year amid a power struggle. Banner is longtime friends with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, and the two of them potentially squaring off in a bidding war for Kelly was straight out of a screenplay.
It's not known what kind of offer the Browns made for Kelly, who earned a base salary of $2.8 million last season at Oregon and has five years left on his contract.
Kelly's high-octane, hurry-up offense has raised his profile and made the Ducks, with their splashy array of colorful Nike uniforms, more than a curiosity. Several NFL teams, including New England and Washington, are using elements of Kelly's schemes.
The Browns were intrigued enough to see if they could work something out with Kelly.
But in the end, they felt he didn't feel the same way.

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