Just over one year ago, more than 100 residents in Knowsley, near Liverpool, turned four derelict spaces into community gardens. Meanwhile, in Manchester, a social housing association ran drama courses to help 20 tenants with drug, alcohol and mental health problems change their lifestyles.

These are the type of projects being examined in the government's review of informal adult and community learning. The aim, says John Hayes, the minister for further education, skills and lifelong learning in charge of the review, is "to see how to get best value for money out of £210m government investment".

Hayes won the ringfenced cash in the last comprehensive spending review, and now the Treasury wants evidence of progression to justify its protection of the Adult Safeguarded Learning fund.

Such courses do not lead to a qualification and have been vulnerable under the "skills" agendas of successive governments. But, as the organisers of the Manchester drama courses argue, the work introduces a new culture of learning to hard-to-reach groups by providing "a fun learning activity that makes the participant want more".

Councillor Graham Wright, Knowsley's cabinet member for children and family services, says participants in the community garden project gained a better understanding of environmental issues.

"They learned how to grow things they can eat, exhibit or sell while transforming local eyesores into utilised spaces."

A year after funding dried up, the project is continuing with help from volunteers and community groups.

The government has set aside £2.25m for small schemes similar to the Knowsley and Manchester projects to provide evidence of the benefits of these programmes. Grants for projects are being channelled though the Skills Funding Agency and managed by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (Niace).

Peter Lavender, deputy chief executive at Niace, says not only would the fund reach new people but it would help identify where the money is best spent. "One of the things we have learned from the past is that small grants have much more impact. People can make a lot more out of very little money, compared to huge sums of money going into a few hands. We are really keen on testing things like the social return on investment."

This fund, which gives grants of between £10,000 and £75,000, is a successor to the £20m Transformation Fund. So called because it showed how learning could transform lives, it was set up in 2009 by the previous government under its Learning Revolution programme. The new scheme is not attempting to copy the earlier one but aims to promote innovation and give some idea of how new policy will develop.

"It is about pushing the boundaries of exploration, giving new grants to organisations who are trying new types of learning, or for established types of learning with different groups," says Jane Ward, a senior programme director at Niace.

A series of roundtable policy discussions have also taken place on the themes such as access to learning, progression, workforce development and the "big society". These will help shape a policy paper that will go to ministers in October as the Treasury considers whether to continue with the fund.

Ministers need evidence that the cash is reaching disadvantaged people rather than those who can afford to pay. "They also want more demonstration and evidence of the impact of informal adult learning, so they can prove to the Treasury that funding provides value for money," says Ward.

Evidence from a number of sources, including the Workers Educational Association, Niace and the Association of Colleges, suggests this approach to learning has a profound impact in many ways. It improves health, cutting NHS bills, and helps older people feel less socially isolated. There are also benefits for social care, criminal justice and housing.

Summary: Informal courses that introduce a new culture of learning to hard-to-reach groups may not fit the government's skills agenda, but they can change lives


WASHINGTON, Dec. 31— The Internal Revenue Service, bowing to strong pressure from the banking industry, retreated today on a key point of a revenue procedure that would have subjected financial institutions to hundreds of millions of dollars in back taxes.

The I.R.S. said that the new procedure, which relates to the funds that states and municipalities deposit with commercial banks, would not be applied retroactively, a concession that removes thousands of banks from up to three years of potential tax liability.

The issue arises from a requirement by state and local governments that banks collateralize the funds that governmental units deposit with them, thus providing a kind of insurance that the money will be there on the withdrawal date. For much of this collateral, banks commonly use tax-exempt state and local securities.

In its procedure published on Dec. 15, however, the I.R.S. said that banks would no longer be permitted to deduct interest paid on these deposits if tax-exempt securities were used as collateral. Furthermore, it said, banks would be held liable for back taxes for all such deductions made over the past three years. Retroactivity Threat Canceled

But in its statement today, the I.R.S. said the new procedure would not be applied retroactively. Instead, the agency said, the ruling will be applied prospectively to interest paid on deposits received after Jan. 10.

The basis of the original I.R.S. decision was a section of the tax code that prohibits borrowers from deducting interest payments on a loan used to buy tax-exempt issues. In its procedure, the I.R.S. held that a depository bank using tax-exempts to collateralize state funds is in the ''same economic position as one who has borrowed to buy tax-exempt obligations.''

The reaction to the ruling was unusually strong. Banks, joined by securities industry representatives and state and municipal financial officers, noted that the cost of money for state and municipal governments would rise steeply if the ruling were not changed. Raising the Cost of Borrowing

Government units raise much of their money by selling tax-exempt securities, and banks are among the heaviest buyers of such debt. They currently hold $145 billion of such securities, or about half of the total outstanding.

Investors are not required to pay taxes on interest received from these securities; this permits government units to pay lower rates of interest than otherwise would be dictated by the market.

But the new I.R.S. policy reduces the attractiveness of government securities and ''could easily double'' the cost of raising money for states and laocalities, said John H. Bilello, tax manager for Texas Commerce Bancshares Inc. of Houston.

Arthur J. Kalita, executive director of the Public Securities Association, representing dealers in municipal and Federal securities, said that in erasing the retroactive feature, the I.R.S. had taken a ''necessary action.'' But, he said, the ruling should be withdrawn completely, ''pending reconsideration of public policy questions raised by this novel interpretation of the law.''

The American Bankers Association, the Public Securities Association and organizations of state and municipal financial officers are the principal units in the battle with the I.R.S.


WASHINGTON, Feb. 4— The Securities and Exchange Commission's broad inquiry into the financial dealings of John P. McGoff, the newspaper publisher, can proceed, the United States Court of Appeals here has ruled.

A three-judge panel of the court upheld S.E.C. demands for information to test whether Mr. McGoff secretly used South African Government money in his efforts to buy United States newspaper, including the Washington Star.

The appeals court ruling was handed down yesterday.

The commission opened its inquiry in July 1979, questioning Mr. McGoff and two companies he controls, the Global Communications Corporation and the Sacramento Publishing Company. There is no indication as to when the investigation will be finished.

Mr.McGoff's challenge to the commission's requests was based on the argument that they were too broad. The S.E.C. subsequently took the case to Federal court.

Mr. McGoff is founder, president, a director and shareholder of the Panax Corporation, which owned and operated 65 daily and weekly newspapers in seven states at the time the S.E.C. began its investigation in 1979.


NEWARK ''NORTH of New Brunswick, South of New York'' is the title of an art exhibition currently shared by the Robeson Gallery at RutgersNewark (350 High Street) and City Without Walls (140 Halsey Street). It remains on view through Feb. 16.

Several of the 37 participants have had their works on display in other types of group shows and one or two sport Manhattan addresses, but they are presented here as a cross-section of Northern New Jersey artists.

However, the exhibition promoters aspire to something more than a lineup of local talent. Judith Brodsky, head of the Rutgers Art Department, reminds the audience that the artists ''are working across the river from Manhattan'' and proposes that ''this part of the state may well become an extension of the New York art world in vitality and creative excitement.''

The Robeson is the posher space, but City Without Walls gives the impression of having the livelier display. As usual with groups, it is impossible to do more than list a few random choices - among them, Anne Chapman's analogy to Pacific surf, which is made out of layers of lacey, blueish-white paper, and Richard Van Tieghem's ''Legato.'' A relief assemblage, this involves a plaque to which is attached a row of golf ball-like forms surmounted by another row of slender vertical strips, all covered in white cheesecloth (ecole de Jasper Johns, but pretty in a designerish way).

Diane Churchill's approach to assemblage is a little arty, but her pyramidal arrangement of seeds on greenish-gray paper flanked by two verticals of twine has a lot of charm. So do Patricia Lay's gouaches in pastel colors that, inspired by Block Island, express it in geometric and organic forms embellished by white grids.

A collage of figures on a subway train by Toyce Anderson is no less pleasing for owing much to Romare Bearden, especially in the choice of colors and textures clipped from magazine photographs.

Dina Dagnija continues to explore a very personal cloisonnism in a market scene, where flat shapes in quite-violent hues are usually rimmed in lines of equally bright complementaries.

Allen Kubach also specializes in strong colors, expressing them in vertical and diagonal grids laid one on top of another. On the other hand, Marjorie Kubach embosses paper with a range of grays, reds, purples and blues, transforming them into a collage resembling a wall of different-sized bricks separated by fine white lines.

Various degrees of realism and abstraction occur in the paintings, but the sculptures are all more or less abstract - for example, Wayne Packer's small, well-carved limestone cone.

An exception is a piece by that ubiquitous specialist in trompe l'oeil, Franc Palaia, whose chunks of masonry seemingly have been snatched from demolished buildings (graffiti, peeling posters and all).

Larry Gianettino, a photographer working in color with flash, shows a print of a middle-aged woman with a broom that focuses on her sagging arms rather cruelly and at the expense of most of her head. His study of a grubby old tomcat investigating grass in Newark at night is rather more sympathetic.

In terms of sheer bulk, the Rutgers display is dominated by John Watts's rectangular column of steel and clay that is some 10 feet tall and painted black. But Livio Saganic, working as usual in graduated layers of slate, manages to hold his own with a pyramidal structure open on one side and slightly twisted over all.

Barry Blair makes workable but uneasy marriages between pebbles and found geometrical forms of cast iron, lashing them together with animal sinews.

Still, the most radical sculptor in the group is James Brown, who constructed the messy and heavily ironic ''Burial Site for a Plastic God.'' This is a mound covered with black plastic and decorated with painted sticks, clumps of fiber and other odds and ends. Embedded in the top of the pile is a color television set, which, during the reviewer's visit, was transmitting abstract shapes and sounds to match.

Well known in the state as both a sculptor and a teacher of architecture, Troy West shows a large Rauschenbergian combine involving a wad of crumpled newspaper, a glove and the remnants of an umbrella attached to a ground of white paper and accompanied by a written explanation.

Among the artists who have recently made incursions into the New York scene are Sonia Chusit, with her decorative constructions of wood, paper and dowels painted in bright colors and gilded, and Kay Walkingstick.

An American Indian by descent, Miss Walkingstick is nonetheless an up-to-date feminist, scarifying her dark, leathery-looking canvasses with vulval slits. Working with the same theme, Laura Murphy gives it a special fillip by, in effect, sewing up her pencil drawings of the subject with real black thread.

The photographers are Stephen Zane, with five thoughtful studies of clouds in black and white, and Everett Scott, who portrays a middleaged black couple. It's a picture taken with evident affection, but I'm not sure I would have known the subjects were in love without the help of the caption.

Partly supported by the State Council on the Arts, this is a respectable show that reaches its highest points in the canvasses of Elizabeth Harms and Douglas Craft. Minimal abstractionists of stature (Miss Harms in particular), both deal with arrangements of parallel lines on delicately tinted grounds, making virtually everyone else in the show look overdressed.

As for the promotional dreams of a new creative dawn over Newark, which presumably are aimed at would-be sponsors of art, I'm inclined to doubt its imminence. A concentration of talent has existed in the area for some time, and it will no doubt increase, the real-estate developers willing.

But given the complex relationship between art and commerce, creative milieux cannot be established (or dismantled) like auto assembly plants. Anything is possible, of course, but Newark's getting its own 57th Street seems unlikely, at least until such time as Manhattan is coast-to-coast banks and convention centers.

Illustrations: Painting of the G Train


FAIRCHILD PUBLICATIONS' W entered its 10th year last month, and Michael F. Coady, its editor, still does not know what to call it. It is probably unique, being the size of a standard newspaper but on 40-pound stock with lots of color beautifully reproduced. The late Charles Revson, thinking of it as an advertising vehicle, said, ''It's a billboard,'' and used two-page color spreads to introduce Revlon's Charlie fragrance.

But, listening to what John B. Fairchild, chairman and publisher, had to say about its progress, perhaps the best thing to call it would be a success.

''This year, it will have a $2 million operating profit,'' he promised, later noting that for the first four months of the year ad pages totaled 280, up 15 percent from the 243 in the same period last year, while ad revenues were up about 25 percent, to $2.4 million, from $1.9 million.

That's the way W, which is published every two weeks, has been going since it moved into the black in 1974. Every year, according to Mr. Fairchild, has been an improvement over the last.

With little promotion, the circulation is now at 182,000 among fashion-oriented chic people, including Nancy Reagan. And what an interesting audience they are. Audience research of 51 publications catering to the well-off gives the highest median household income to W readers, with $82,700. In second place is Architectural Digest, with $68,800.

So for the marketer of high-ticket items, the W audience is well worth the $50-plus four-color-cost-per-thousand ad rate. And although the advertisers include expensive cars and alcoholic beverages, primarily champagnes, they are basically in fashion, accessories, cosmetics and fragances. It is not unheard of for a designer to run a 20-page all-advertising insert, for example.

And the European fashion industry has discovered W, putting about $1 million worth of advertising in it last year. This year, Italy alone should be good for $800,000, according to Mr. Fairchild.

The editorial content is a different sort of mix. Lots of fashion and chichi parties are reported on, but there are also features about people in the arts, business and government.

''You never know when you open it up what you're going to get,'' the publisher said. When W was started, through the inspiration of an unremembered West Coast adman who suggested a slick consumer-oriented publication with some of the features of Women's Wear Daily, it carried articles that were rewritten from the W.W.D. version by the same reporter.

These days, Mr. Fairchild said, more and more of the W articles are the originals, with Women's Wear getting the rewrites. And the ultimate sign of success - a Japanese version - is in the works. Mr. Fairchild will be off for the Far East in August to discuss the matter with the Hanae Mori Company, which is in fashion and publishing and has been publishing a Japanese-language version of W.W.D. for the last three years in a joint venture with Fairchild, a division of Capital Cities Media.

Illustrations: photo of John B. Fairchild


This is the week when the word ''party'' takes on a new meaning in this most partisan of cities. Each year at this turn of the calendar, the players in the various political dramas stop for a taste of eggnog, a slice of baked ham, a dish of plum pudding, a handful of bourbon balls and, for the children of diplomats invited to a White House Christmas party with Nancy Reagan this afternoon, a jelly bean or two.

But first the serious business. In another year-end custom, Government officials pause at this time to look back on the activities of the year. One Cabinet member who intends to do so publicly is Samuel Pierce Jr., Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. His year-end report, which he will deliver at 9:30 A.M., is expected to chronicle the department's efforts at deregulation and its attempts to return decision-making to the local level.

The Foreign Policy Research Institute, a Philadelphia-based think tank with a Washington office, opens its conference on military intervention in the third world at the Washington Hilton Hotel. Among the prominent scholars and Government officials expected to attend is the luncheon speaker, Francis J. West Jr., Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. Tuesday

The members of Congress, state and local officials who make up the Presidential Advisory Committee on Federalism, also known as the Laxalt Commission, gather for a meeting here. Their topic is one of the most nettlesome questions raised by the drive toward the New Federalism: How are the various levels of government to sort out powers and responsibilities?

It may seem like one of the dreary, arcane economic indicators pumped out by the Government, but the monthly cattle-on-feed report issued today by the Department of Agriculture is a closely watched sign of the future supply of good beef. Last month's report showed a decline and this month's is expected to show a further decline.

In one of the many examples of festive cheer around the capital, the Botanical Gardens on Capitol Hill opens the doors on its 47th annual display of poinsettias. The halls of the building will be decked with the foliage of the season, and the decorations will be in keeping with the theme ''An Old-Fashioned Christmas.'' Wednesday

The State and Local Coalition, whose members sometimes find themselves battling each other instead of their common foes, gathers in the Hall of States at 9:30 A.M. to forge a sense of unity and to press for an economic summit with President Reagan to discuss the effect of the Administration's program and budget cuts. Thursday

As a highlight of a week of Christmas festivities at the White House, President Reagan will light the National Christmas Tree. The lighting of the tree has taken on increased symbolic importance in recent years. President Carter elected not to light it as a symbol of the country's concern during the hostage crisis in Iran. This year, Mr. Reagan, responding to reported threats that Libyan terrorists may attempt to assassinate him and other top American leaders, is expected to light the tree by remote control from the Oval Office. Friday

The President wraps up a weeklong series of budget meetings by examining proposed expenditures in the health, welfare, agriculture and education fields, then prepares for a quiet weekend at the White House and another in a series of White House concerts.

Summary: Monday   This is the week when the word ''party'' takes on a new meaning in this most partisan of cities. Each year at this turn of the calendar, the players in the various political dramas stop for a taste of eggnog, a slice of baked ham, a dish of plum pudding, a handful of bourbon balls and, for the children of diplomats invited to a White House Christmas party with Nancy Reagan this afternoon, a jelly bean or two.   But first the serious business. In another year-end custom, Government officials pause at this time to look back on the activities of the year. One Cabinet member who intends to do so publicly is Samuel Pierce Jr., Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. His year-end report, which he will deliver at 9:30 A.M., is expected to chronicle the department's efforts at deregulation and its attempts to return decision-making to the local level.


The St. Patrick's Day parade will, after all, be held on St. Patrick's Day. Six days after after announcing that the 220-year-old New York City march, the city's biggest parade, would be moved from March 17 to the Sunday before the holiday each year, the parade chairman announced yesterday that it had been restored to the traditional date.

''It's the only day for the New York Irish,'' said the chairman, James J. Comerford. ''Marching on a Sunday is for the villages outside the city.''

Mr. Comerford, a retired judge, insisted that both decisions had been made by the parade committee. Drinking and Rowdiness

According to committee members, however, the original shift had been dictated by the Archdiocese of New York, which was troubled and embarrassed at the drinking and rowdiness that had developed around the edges of the march up Fifth Avenue in recent years.

Yesterday, the archdiocesan director of communications, the Rev. Edwin O'Brien, said only that ''we are confident the parade committee has looked into the matter fully.''

What happened, it appeared, was that after nearly a week as the target of recriminations, Mr. Comerford changed his mind. ''He marched in, made one announcement - 'the parade will be on March 17' - and marched out again,'' said one spectator at Wednesday's meeting of the United Irish Counties.

It was not that way at all, Mr. Comerford said. ''The United Irish Counties met Wednesday, and I took my place as a delegate,'' he said. ''And I rose when the time came for items under good and welfare to make the announcement.''

He then left promptly. ''I had to take a telephone call,'' he said. Police to Be Tougher

The deputy police commissioner for public affairs, Alice McGillion, said that the police would be much tougher next year. ''There will be confiscation of the booze,'' she said, ''and there will be mass arrests.'' There will also be a publicity campaign, she added, to forewarn parents of the suburban teen-agers who, the police say, are to blame for most of the misbehavior.

''Ritualistically,'' she said, ''the parade seemed to have turned from a celebration of the Irish to a celebration of spring.'' It has become a suburban version of the springtime bash that college youngsters stage in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., she said, and the New York police have had enough.

''We decided to ask the assistance of Conrail, the Long Island Rail Road, the Port Authority,'' to stop troublemakers before they reach city streets, she added. Once-Rigid Discipline

Other police officials said there would be some tactful suggestions to restore to the march some of its once-rigid discipline. According to parade regulations, the only signs permitted are the traditional ''England, Get Out of Ireland'' signs. There are no floats and no costumes. But manners have slipped a bit, and the sight of beer cans in the march, the officials said, was bound to encourage some spectators.

Paul O'Dwyer, a former City Council President who was grand marshal in 1973, told how the initial decision had been communicated at a parade committee meeting.

''Judge Comerford stood up and said, 'I want you to know that the parade date has been changed,' '' Mr. O'Dwyer said. ''Period. No vote. No nothing. And then someone asked for a vote of confidence in the president. And that's what they took as the vote on the date.''

The next day, the protests started. Great Good Will

''I've never had so many calls,'' Mr. O'Dwyer said, ''Everyone with his own beef.'' A nephew of his, Adrian O'Flannelly, runs a call-in radio show, Mr. O'Dwyer said, and complaints poured in. County Kerry and County Galway voted to pull out of the march.

And well they might have, Mr. O'Dwyer said, because the St. Patrick's Day parade is a city tradition. In Ireland, March 17 is a holy day. Pubs close and people go to church. But in America, Mr. O'Dwyer said, it is a day to parade. Roman Catholic school students join.

''Everybody marches,'' he said. ''Not just Irish. Blacks, Hispanics, everybody. There's great good will.'' The year he was marshal, he recalled, one contingent of Roman Catholic high school girls marched by in their academic caps and gowns, and someone noticed that one colleen was wearing a big button.

''Kiss me,'' it read, ''I'm Italian.''


SOUTH ORANGE TWO months after being appointed president of Seton Hall University, Dr. Edward R. D'Alessio is busy planning ''an active involvement for every segment of this university - the eighth-largest Catholic university in the country - in the celebration of its 125th year, which begins in September.''

There is, however, more than just planning for a celebration going on at the 56-acre campus here. The university's Faculty Council has filed a complaint with the State Board of Mediation in Newark challenging the appointment of Dr. D'Alessio.

''It's a very small controversy,'' said Dr. D'Alessio, the 17th president of the university and the first Italian-American to hold the position. ''I went through the same selective process as everyone else, and I was appointed president because of my experience and reputation.''

The Faculty Council, according to the president of its board, the Rev. Robert A. Antczak, represents more than 300 full-time faculty members of the university, exclusive of the faculty of the Law School, which is based in Newark.

In addition to the presidential appointment, Father Antczak said, ''the faculty is concerned'' about the dismissal of John E. McLoughlin of South Orange, an employee of the university for 36 years.

Mr. McLoughlin, who was director of special events at Seton Hall, received a letter dated June 23, stating ''that due to a reorganization and budgetary restrictions, your position has been eliminated effective June 19, 1981.''

''That kind of action,'' Father Antczak said, ''may work in the marketplace, but does not belong with the humanistic principles expected of a great university like Seton Hall.''

Mr. McLoughlin has filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and a hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. Dr. D'Alessio, a 49-year-old native of West Orange who graduated from Seton Hall in 1954, had been executive vice president of the university since June 1980. He lives in Morris Township.

His appointment as president was announced on June 17 by Msgr. John J. Petillo, chairman of the Board of Regents of Seton Hall and chancellor for administration of the Archdiocese of Newark. He filled the vacancy left when the Rev. Laurence J. Murphy, who served from August 1979 to August 1980, resigned because of ill health.

In a university bulletin after the announcement, Monsignor Petillo described Dr. D'Alessio - who, between 1958 and 1967 had been a member of the faculty and an administrator here - as ''an individual with outstanding academic credentials,'' unanimously selected by the University Board of Regents.

''I come into the picture before Dr. D'Alessio's appointment,'' said Father Antczak. Father Antczak, a professor of Latin and Greek at Seton Hall since 1965, said the grievance filed by the board was based on a ''violation of the Seton Hall University Faculty Guide, which has been in effect since July 1, 1980.'' The guide, he said, specifies that ''the faculty and other segments of the university are to be represented in choosing high-ranking officers like the university president.''

''Accordingly,'' he added, ''in December 1980 - four months after the former president of Seton Hall University resigned in August 1980 - the Board of Regents announced the formation of a presidential search committee, consisting of two regents, four faculty members, two administrators, and a student.''

Father Antczak, who was one of the faculty members on the committee, said that ''out of the 19 nominations and applications received by that committee, five candidates, all laymen and all outof-state candidates, were selected, and their names were forwarded to the regents in late March 1981.''

Father Antczak said that Dr. D'Alessio's name had been submitted after the selection process began and that he was not one of the final candidates.

Because no action was taken by the Board of Regents on the ''approved list'' of five candidates, according to Father Antczak, four eventually withdrew their names and one declined the offer.

''Then, on June 17,'' he said, ''without further consultation with the presidential search committee, the Board of Regents announced the appointment of Dr. D'Alessio.''

On June 18, protesting ''the unilateral action of the regents that ignored the use of an approved list,'' the faculty board, which consists of 16 elected representatives of the Faculty Council, filed a formal grievance against the university through its attorney, J. Sheldon Cohen of Jersey City.

The university's counsel, Francis A. Mastro of Springfield, said ''the university acted rightfully in selecting a president after the presidential search committee failed to come up with a candidate.''

Both lawyers have agreed on John Pearce, a professional arbitrator of Piscataway, as mediator. The first session of the fact-finding committee of the State Board of Mediation took place July 31, when Father Antczak was examined and cross-examined for four hours. The second was scheduled for last Friday.

According to Mr. Cohen, ''very likely both counsels will write their briefs and then submit to the final fact-finding decision that will probably occur 30 days after the briefs are received.'' The verdict, he added, is ''not binding, but its moral force very often can lead to a settlement.''

Mr. McLoughlin, who is represented in his action by Isabel Stark, a Hackensack lawyer, said he had ''dedicated my life to Seton Hall'' and added: ''I'm receiving many letters of support from my friends inside and outside the university.''

About the dismissal of Mr. McLoughlin, Dr. D'Alessio said: ''It's a private university matter and to comment about it would be inappropriate. ''I am happy that I have had the opportunity and privilege to be of service to both church and state,'' he said. This was an allusion to his having been director of the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education at the United States Catholic Conference in Washington from 1970 to 1976, the first lay president of the College of Our Lady of the Elms in Chicopee, Mass., from 1976 to 1979, and assistant secretary for nonpublic education in the then newly created United States Department of Education, a position to which he was appointed in 1979 by the Secretary of Education, Shirley M. Hufstedler. He served in that last capacity until his appointment at Seton Hall in June 1980.

Seton Hall University, founded in 1856 as Seton Hall College in Madison, has grown to become the oldest and largest Catholic college or university in the United States under diocesan auspices. It has a student body, including the Law School, of 10,500, both Roman Catholic and non-Catholic.

''Seton Hall,'' said Dr. D'Alessio, ''has historically been blessed with an outstanding faculty. I hope to build on that tradition by attracting other outstanding scholars, researchers, and teachers to this university and bringing the academic community to national prominence.

''Thinking in terms of an agenda for the 80's, we are exploring the feasibility of building a recreation center, possibly adding to the library, increasing dormitory space. It will also be important for us to institute a full-fledged evening program as well as other outreach community programs, bringing the university into the outside communities, which will enable us to be of service to everyone.

''The focus of the observance of our anniversary will be, 'Forward in Faith: 125 Years of Catholic Higher Education.' It is important that we not forget our roots. We are a Catholic university and that is our reason for being.

''St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, America's first native-born saint and the university's namesake, will be proud of her university as it enters its 125th year,'' said Dr. D'Alessio.

Illustrations: photo of Humanities Center at Seton Hall


Brumberg WASHINGTON - The Polish Government's deployment of 2,000 troops across the country to put down ''street provocations'' and to safeguard food distribution and transportation is another indication that Poland is in the grip of the most serious crisis since the summer of 1980 when strikes broke out and Solidarity was formed. Who is responsible for this crisis?

According to a recent official public-opinion survey, only a small minority of Poles blame Solidarity for the deteriorating situation. The majority holds the party responsible. The party thinks differently. After electing Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski as Communist Party leader last week, the Central Committee pointed an accusing finger at ''the leadership of Solidarity (which) has unilaterally broken the social agreements'' and has transformed the union into a political force seeking to dominate ''the Parliament, the Government, as well as social organizations and institutions.'' But this explanation won't do.

Not even Solidarity's most ardent admirer would deny that some union elements have frequently acted irresponsibly and unwisely - that can be expected in a movement of more than 10 million people. The union's own organ, Solidarity Weekly, spoke openly a few weeks ago about Solidarity ''fundamentalists'' whose basic aim is ''to abolish the system, rather than improve it.'' The moderates are still very much in control of the union and are not about to adopt party methods of dealing with ''factionalists'' and ''deviationists.'' Yet their efforts to reach a modus vivendi with the authorities, and to keep their own radicals in check, will fail if the party persists in hindering and sabotaging accommodation, in effect encouraging a climate hospitable to radicalism, irresponsibility, and ''fundamentalism.''

This is precisely what the party has done, despite the presence in it of members who want accommodation. In recent months, the party has repeatedly accused Solidarity as a whole of aiming to ''seize power'' and of advocating Poland's withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact. Last summer, it launched a propaganda campaign against the union so manifestly mendacious as to precipitate not only a wave of strikes but also an avalanche of protests from the Association of Polish Journalists, the Polish Writers Union, and the church. Having agreed to a bill providing autonomy to institutions of higher learning, the party arbitrarily introduced 180 amendments, which immediately incensed the entire academic community, including scholars who had drafted the bill and whose opinions were then contemptuously ignored.

Further, the party has been dragging its feet on implementing an economic-reform program combining a measure of central planning with authentic market mechanisms and considerable autonomy for industrial enterprises. The reform might have met with universal approval if it had been introduced months earlier, and if the party had not resisted union demands that workers, who presumably are to run the enterprises, should also have the right to elect their directors. In recent days, the Government has alluded vaguely to the possibility of declaring a national emergency, and there have been outright threats of the army's imposing ''discipline and order.'' The Poles are not intimidated. But it is no wonder that their impatience and anger are mounting. Now, the party demands that its members declare themselves either for the party or for Solidarity, a demand that can only heighten polarization and discourage compromise and conciliation.

Gloomy as the situation may look, there is still a way out for the party, albeit not an easy one. The party must recognize unequivocally that it is heir to 35 years of monstrous misrule and is so viewed by the people. It must repudiate this legacy, in word and deed. It must acknowledge that only far-reaching concessions can dispel the society's monumental mistrust of its rulers. Above all, it must agree to share power with Solidarity and other groups in society, giving them a genuine opportunity to participate in decisions affecting the nation's welfare and destiny.

Proposals for broadening national participation in the governing process include formation of a joint Government-Solidarity council to oversee and implement economic policy, creation of a new parliamentary coalition or of a government in which Solidarity, church representatives, and other nonparty experts are in charge of a number of ministries. Whatever form it took, the solution must provide for real partnership, not another bogus arrangement in which the party's position cannot be challenged. If the party can make such concessions, there is hope that the crisis will recede. If not, today's visions of catastrophe may become tomorrow's reality. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Abraham Brumberg, visiting fellow at The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, is preparing a book about Poland.


NEWARK, Oct. 30— The Republican candidate for Governor, Thomas H. Kean, campaigned among voters young and old today and promised a ''breeze of change'' in Trenton if he was elected next Tuesday. He warned that his Democratic opponent, Representative James J. Florio of Runnemede, would continue Governor Byrne's policies.

Mr. Kean, buoyed by an enthusiastic Democrats-for-Kean rally that attracted more than 1,000 people to a Jersey City restaurant last night, began the day on an upbeat note.

But he seemed taken aback at midday by a new poll from Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute of Politics that showed him still trailing Mr. Florio, by six points. Mr. Kean, based on his own polls, has been calling the race ''a dead heat.''

The Eagleton poll, which surveyed 1,200 registered voters between Oct. 20 and 27, found that among those considered most likely to vote next Tuesday, 46 percent favored Mr. Florio and 40 percent favored Mr. Kean. The remaining 14 percent were undecided. When those leaning to one candidate or the other were included, Mr. Florio's lead was reduced to four points. Undecided Voters a Key

Mr. Florio had a strong lead in his South Jersey base, where he was leading Mr. Kean by 52 to 31 percent. Mr. Kean, a Livingston businessman and former Assembly Speaker, continued to lead in the central part of the state, according to the Eagleton poll. The margin between the two candidates had narrowed in North Jersey, where Mr. Florio's seven-point lead in September's Eagleton Poll had declined to 2 percent in the current survey.

The director of the poll, Cliff Zukin, said the numbers could still change substantially over the weekend as undecided voters - who generally have not followed the race closely - make up their minds. That might improve the chances of Mr. Kean, who has a heavier weekend advertising schedule than does Mr. Florio, he said.

Mr. Kean called the Eagleton poll ''an aberration'' that ''doesn't fit in with the results of any of the recent polls.'' Mr. Florio had a different view. ''The conclusion is fairly obvious,'' he said. ''The voters are starting to solidify their opinions. The voters are breaking our way.'' Kean Addresses Students

Mr. Kean began his day by having breakfast with a group of business people in Hackensack, then addressed an auditorium full of students - many of them decked out in Halloween costumes - at Northern Valley Regional High School in Demarest.

He was warmly applauded as he gave his stands on job development (cutting business taxes will create new jobs); education (the state's ''thorough and efficient'' curriculum discourages innovation in education); the proposed equal rights amendment (even if it is not adopted by the Federal Government, ''it doesn't mean the same kind of laws can't be put on the books in New Jersey''), and the death penalty (''I've come to feel capital punishment is a deterrent''). He then attcked his opponent, Mr. Florio, as being ''vague.''

''People don't agree with everything I say,'' he said, ''but at least they know where I stand.'' Mr. Kean later warned a group of employees at New Jersey Bell here that the election of Mr. Florio would continue Mr. Byrne's policies He cited campaign contributions that Byrne Cabinet members had made to the Democratic candidate. ''Every evidence is that group wants to stay in power, and he's the vehicle to do it,'' Mr. Kean said.


JAKARTA, Indonesia, April 26— A 45-day election campaign is ending under the watchful eyes of Indonesian troops, who have largely kept political rallies and parades under control.

More than 40 people are reported to have died and hundreds injured in incidents linked to the political campaign, most of them in traffic accidents, including falls from motorbikes or campaign vehicles. Over the weekend, five were reported killed in a clash between opposing demonstrators.

On Wednesday, a nonpolitical week is due to begin, and on May 4 perhaps as many as 65 million voters will register their preference among lists of candidates for the House of Representatives. Because of the high rate of illiteracy, the lists will be labeled with the numerals 1, 2 and 3.

No. 2, the military-backed Government party, Golkar, is expected to win easily over the opposition groups - No. 1, the United Development Party, and No. 3, the Indonesian Democratic Party. Golkar has been predicting that it will capture more than 70 percent of the vote, but it is generally expected to poll a bit less than it did in 1977, when it won 62.1 percent.

At stake are 360 of the 460 seats in the House; the hundred other members are appointed. The House, as part of the 960-member People's Consultative Assembly, is due to elect a President next year; in that election, General Suharto is expected to be chosen unanimously for a fourth five-year term.

Despite such agreement on the presidency, there has been considerable animosity between the opposition groups and Golkar. The Indonesian Democratic Party, the smallest of the three, is a coalition of five non-Moslem groups. The strongest of these is the former party of the late President Sukarno, who sought to build a national identity and pride by casting Indonesia in the role of leader of third world countries while slowly moving closer to China for support. The Sukarno supporters charge that the Suharto Government is overly dependent on the military to maintain national stability.

The other opposition group, the United Development Party, opposes the Government's ''secularization'' policy. Devout Moslems and the Government have long been at odds over education and other issues.

It had been strongly suggested within the Government that public rallies during the election campaign should be banned, as they are in Malaysia, to reduce the opportunity for racial, religious and political clashes. But the Government maintained that, for this year's ''festival of democracy'' to work, the three parties, the military and the people had to demonstrate that they could work together.

Nevertheless, mass rallies were discouraged in favor of street demonstrations, and the military blocked campaign parades from moving through areas where trouble might be expected.


YANKEES (AL) - Named Mickey Vernon batting coach. Vernon had been the batting instructor for the Yankees' minor league teams.

That job will be taken by Joe Pepitone.

MINNESOTA (AL) - Signed Conrad Everett and Jack Hobbs, pitchers, and Rick Austin, catcher, to one-year contracts.; COLLEGES

WICHITA STATE - The National Collegiate Athletic Association placed the school's basketball program on probation for three years and barred it from postseason competition this year and next.; FOOTBALL

PITTSBURGH (AFC) - Signed Jack Lambert, linebacker, to a multiyear contract.; SOCCER

FORT LAUDERDALE (NASA) - Signed Brian Kidd, forward, to a three-year contract.

Summary: BASEBALL   YANKEES (AL) - Named Mickey Vernon batting coach. Vernon had been the batting instructor for the Yankees' minor league teams.


Thousands of companies use Amazon Web Services to power their businesses. Last year the company claimed more than 1 million “active customers” of its cloud infrastructure in all. Now a growing number of those customers are pushing the cloud giant to be more open about what’s powering its data centers and are pushing it to use more green, renewable energy sources.

According to the Wall Street Journal, 19 AWS customers including Hootsuite, Tumblr YHOO , and Upworthy, wrote to Amazon AMZN Senior Vice President Andy Jassy to open up about the company’s carbon footprint and what steps it’s taking to reach energy efficiency goals. The letter, also signed by Change.org, the Huffington Post, Thoughtworks and others, is here.

Last week, Netflix NFLX , one of Amazon’s biggest customers, blogged that it wants its data center providers to commit to 100% clean energy, at the very least by paying for renewable energy credits. The video streaming service also allocates its workloads to take advantage of Amazon’s greenest facilities. Per the blog, “Netflix relies more heavily on AWS regions that are powered primarily by renewable energy (including the carbon-neutral Oregon region), our energy mix is approximately 50% from renewable sources today.”

In November, Amazon stated a “long-term commitment to achieve 100% renewable energy usage for our global infrastructure footprint.” But details were sparse. In a recent update, the company said that as of April, about 25% of power used by its global infrastructure is from renewable sources. The goal is to raise that percentage to at least 40% by the end of 2016.

Fortune has reached out to Amazon for comment and will update as needed.

Watchdog group Greenpeace has been hounding Amazon to get more transparent about its energy usage and plans to go greener. It has given Google GOOG , Apple APPLE , and Facebook FB better grades, both on their transparency and their use of renewable energy.

Subscribe to Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the business of technology.

Summary: Netflix, Hootsuite, Tumblr, Upworthy & more customers push Amazon Web Services to be more transparent on its plans to go green.


06/11/2015 AT 08:20 PM EDT

is back and playing a role we've come to love him in: a washed-up, comically apathetic older gentleman in crisis – but this time he's in Afghanistan!

, everyone's favorite dramedy actor plays a has-been rock manager named Richie Lanz, who takes his last remaining client (

) on a reluctant USO tour of Afghanistan. When Deschanel's character robs and abandons him, Lanz is left stranded in Kabul to fend for himself.

Through his travels, he stumbles across a young Afghani girl with a golden voice, and manages her through a Middle Eastern version of

Murray is joined in the film by an all-star cast, including

The road comedy is directed by Barry Levinson, written by Mitch Glazer, and is set to hit theaters Oct. 23.

Summary: Murray plays a washed-up rock manager stranded in Afghanistan in this star-studded road comedy


Beau (left) and Joe Biden

08/01/2015 AT 04:20 PM EDT

columnist Maureen Dowd suggests that Vice President

may be considering running in the 2016 presidential election.

Dowd wrote on Saturday that Joe's

was pushing his father to run for the Democratic nomination before passing away from brain cancer in May.

"He tried to make his father promise to run, arguing that the White House should not revert to the Clintons and that the country would be better off with Biden values," Dowd wrote in her column of Beau encouraging his dad.

She also reported that Joe, 72, has been holding meetings at his home in Washington to explore the idea of challenging front runner

"Joe Biden knows what Beau wants. Now he just has to decide if it's who he is," wrote Dowd.

Joe has yet to publicly comment on his intentions to run for election in 2016.

on June 5 in the family's hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.

The Biden family is no stranger to tragedy – Joe's first wife and baby daughter were killed in a car crash in 1972. Beau, who was 4 at the time, and his brother Hunter, then 3, were hospitalized at length after the accident.

Beau, who joined the military in 2003 and was deployed to Iraq in 2008, served as the 44th Attorney General of Delaware from January 2007 to Jan. 6, 2015.

to the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in June to join the morning services at the historic house of worship where nine people were killed.

"I wish I could say something that would ease the pains of the families and of the church," Joe said. "But I know from experience, and I was reminded of it again 29 days ago, that no words can mend a broken heart."

Summary: Beau Biden, who died in May, reportedly was pushing his father Vice President Joe Biden to run for president in 2016


"Of course we're not expecting Zonda and Veyron drivers to quail at a ticket for a mere hundred quid, but we'll be keeping track," Nick Paget-Brown, leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea wrote on a blog post on Friday.

"If they rack up a few tickets, they might just find their cars being seized by the police. Hopefully that will start to have a salutary effect."

Summary: It's that time of year again, when Arab boy racers in souped-up Lamborghinis and Bugattis, cruise along London's most luxurious streets.


LAGOS, July 10 (Reuters) - Nigeria's United Bank for Africa (UBA) said on Friday it had raised 11.5 billion naira ($57.8 million) by selling new stock to existing shareholders to bolster its capital base.

The bank said the rights issue was fully subscribed. It issued one new share for every 10 already held at 3.50 naira per share, a discount to Thursday's close of 4.25 naira.

Nigerian lenders have been shoring up their balance sheets in preparation for the adoption of stricter international capital requirements, which would otherwise see capital ratios for most of them drop by between 100 and 400 basis points to near the regulatory minimum of 16 percent.

"With this additional equity, UBA has fortified its capital base ahead of the full implementation of Basel II, which requires (a) higher capital buffer for banks," the lender said.

Shares in the bank, which fell 52 percent last year, were down 1.65 percent at 4.13 naira.

Rival lender Fidelity Bank on Monday raised 30 billion naira through an unsecured bond at 16.48 percent, to fund increased lending to small businesses and retail clients.

Skye Bank has said it will raise 50 billion naira via a rights issue by the third quarter to expand its loan book, after it sold 100 billion naira worth of commercial notes in March.

Nigeria's banking sector index, which accounts for around 40 percent of total stock market capitalisation, has lost 0.47 percent so far this year, having shed 22 percent last year due to the heavy burden of tighter regulation which crimped profits.

(Reporting by Oludare Mayowa; Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Jane Merriman and Mark Potter)

Summary: LAGOS, July 10- Nigeria's United Bank for Africa said on Friday it had raised 11.5 billion naira by selling new stock to existing shareholders to bolster its capital base. Rival lender Fidelity Bank on Monday raised 30 billion naira through an unsecured bond at 16.48 percent, to fund increased lending to small businesses and retail clients.


Specifically, IBM is shifting $4 billion in spending to its cloud, analytics, mobile, social and security businesses in 2015. With these investments, the company says, revenue from these areas will reach an expected $40 billion by 2018, representing more than 40 percent of overall revenue.

That's a significant jump. Together in 2014, these business lines generated $25 billion in revenue.

One knock against IBM is that at least initially, the company misjudged how disruptive cloud technology would be to its business. But IBM is now transitioning to the cloud era as rapidly as it can: Its cloud businesses generated $7 billion in annual revenue last year.

That remains a relatively small part of its broader business, but it's scaling quickly at a 60 percent annual clip and remains critical to IBM's future.

Read MoreIBM profits beat, but shares slip on outlook

In addition to discussing new initiatives, CEO Ginni Rometty and her lieutenants will talk about the company's longer term plan to deliver low single-digit revenue growth and high single-digit operating earnings-per-share growth driven by innovation in its core businesses.

The bears have been in charge of Big Blue, but bulls argue that given the company's strategic shifts and relatively cheap stock price, IBM represents an opportunity for investors.

They have at least one very powerful investor on their side: Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha himself, who disclosed a stake in IBM in November 2011 and recently added to it.

Summary: At the annual IBM investors' meeting, CEO Ginny Rometty and her lieutenants lay out a plan for winning back investors.


Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed its growth outlook for the country, forecasting a contraction of 3.8 percent in 2015 and 1.1 percent in 2016. Its earlier estimate was for a contraction of 3 percent this year and 1 percent next.

Nevertheless, Dvorkovich says the country has built up enough reserves to weather the rout in the commodities market.

"We were not counting on higher oil prices in our economic policies. We were saving some money for the times like what we face now, so we have reserves that allow us to smooth this stage and to help poor families and increase unemployment benefits," he said.

As for the precipitous fall in the ruble over the past year, Dvorkovich said the implications are not all negative as it gives Russian manufacturing and agricultural exports a pricing edge in global markets.

Responding to criticism over the Kremlin's decision to lift a self-imposed ban on supplying a sophisticated missile air defense system to Iran, Dvorkovich said: "We are not breaking any sanctions."

"We will fulfill our commitments and responsibilities in full compliance with international legislations. Our partners shouldn't doubt that we would work in that manner," he said.

Read MoreWhy Russia is delivering missiles to Iran

The end to the ban on shipping the S-300 surface-to-air missile system to Iran, which had been in place since 2010, was spurred by the recent progress in talks over Tehran's nuclear program. The U.S. and Israel, among the most vocal critics, fear the S-300s could be used to protect Iranian nuclear sites from future airstrikes.

As for Moscow's deepening ties with Pyongyang, Dvorkovich, said "we are friendly countries to each other."

"We are long standing partners with North Korea. The political and economic systems are different, but it requires big investment especially into infrastructure. We will continue our consultations, and we will be work in a way that is predictable and safe for both partners as we did before."

Summary: Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said what hurts most is the scarcity of financing for new investments.


Rising interest rates and inflation are not necessarily a negative. Here are three reasons why:

1. Rising interest rates rates mean a better economy. Economic growth tends to spur inflation. I recognize that stagflation is possible, but is not necessarily an absolute outcome. Rising interest rates suggest economic growth and that's good for stock prices and the overall economy.

(Read more: Why stocks sold off after the Fed: El-Erian)

2. Companies need pricing power and inflation provides that opportunity. Companies have been meeting earnings estimates based on cost cuts and it has been effective but that can only last for so long. In the end, margin expansion requires not only investment in technology to increase efficiency, but inflation in order to provide an opportunity for companies to raise prices. Inflation does just that. Yes, rising inflation also can negatively impact margins because of increasing input costs. But investors must attempt to determine which companies will be most impacted by input cost increases and to avoid those stocks.

3. Investors living off the income from their investments will finally get a fair deal. Millions of fixed-income investors are earning negative yields on their fixed income. The 10-year Treasury currently earns less than 3 percent and, when factoring in inflation at current levels, are essentially earning nothing. It's a horrible outcome for millions of investors who thought that investing in conservative fixed assets would provide them the income stream they needed to live the rest of their life. Rising interest rates and inflation ultimately will provide more income and allow those who have saved to finally reap the rewards of physical discipline.

(Read more: Fed is now doing 'qualitative easing': Insana)

What we should all be concerned about regarding rising interest rates is hyperinflation. Hyperinflation is a killer for economies and something the Federal Reserve is watching very carefully. But it's pretty clear from the testimony of Janet Yellen that she does not expect outcome; that is likely why she has made the pledge continue to keep interest rates low long after the economy has started to accelerate in terms of economic growth.

So what does this mean for you as an investor?

1. Don't run from equities. Just be aware the volatility will be part of the equation as interest rate talk rattles the market. Stick with companies that have great cash flow, focus on technology to make companies more efficient, a global presence, and can effectively adapt to higher interest rates.

2. Remember fixed-income assets can lose value if interest rates rise. It's still not too late to trim back long-term fixed income positions. And strongly consider whether you want to absorb the risk associated with fixed income assets with long maturities (10 years ) if you're about to invest in these positions. Interest- rate cycles come and go; the last thing you want to do is be selling bonds when interest rates have already spiked and you have capital losses.

(Read more: What are stocks doing now? Click here)

Last, but not least, celebrate that the United States may actually be moving towards a less-managed economy and more towards a free-market system. While the heavy-handed Fed will still influence markets for a significant period of time, there's something to be said for the freedom of economic cycles.

Summary: Rising inflation and interest rates aren't a bad thing. Here's why, says Michael Yoshikami.


It hasn't been a great first half of the year for commodities.

Precious metals are trading lower, as are industrial metals. Major agricultural commodities like corn, wheat and soybeans are all down, in addition to coffee and sugar. Energy commodities have seen gains in 2015, but haven't even come close to recapturing the losses incurred over the past year.

While each commodity responds to its own distinct market forces, the rise in the dollar and in interest rates has been bad news for them all. As each greenback becomes worth more, it takes fewer of them to buy a fixed amount of any given commodity, meaning that prices fall.

Meanwhile, since commodities don't throw off yield like bonds do, greater risk-free rates makes holding commodities relatively less attractive.

But amid all the disappointment and bearish sentiment, some see opportunity. In the second half of the year, some traders are betting that corn and wheat see a rebound. Others are pinning their hopes on silver.

When asked for his "sleeper pick" for the second half of 2015, Jim Iuorio of TJM Institutional Services picked corn.

Iuorio said that further upside for the dollar is likely to be capped by dovish rhetoric from the Federal Reserve, even as they raise rates.

When it comes to corn specifically, however, the Chicago-based trader says that "after several consecutive outstanding growing seasons, corn appears to be priced for perfection. When a market starts ignoring any possibility of turbulence, that is the type to be contrarian."

Iuorio predicts that the grain, which closed the week at $3.85 per bushel, will rise to $4.20 in the near-term, and higher than that by year-end.

Brian Stutland is similarly bullish on agricultural commodities, reasoning that the dollar strength is "over" and inflation is ahead.

"The steeper Treasury yield curve is indicating that you play the reflation trade, which is long food and energy," Stutland wrote to CNBC. "Food inflation is coming faster than the Fed thinks or wants."

Read MoreChart: Can't get worse for copper, so buy it

Summary: It hasn’t been a great first half of the year for commodities. But traders are now spotting some opportunities.


At just what point cats and dogs became full-fledged members of the family is difficult to determine. But today, pets' elevated status is apparent—in psychiatric counseling, organ transplants and even the introduction of a communications device called Pet Chatz, which allows a love-struck owner to call the pet at home from the office and even electronically release a treat from a dispenser while chatting.

Some 82.5 million American households, or 68 percent, include domestic animals. Americans spent an all-time-high $55.7 billion on their pets last year, and spending will inch close to $60 billion this year, according to recently released APPA data. That's a huge jump from 1996, when total pet spending was just $21 billion.

It starts with the $2.2 billion spent on live animal purchases last year, but it doesn't end there. ...

—By Lee Smith, Special to CNBC.com, with additional reporting from Roy Luo, CNBC DigitalPosted 23 March 2014

Summary: Here are eight signs the amount of money being spent on pets shows they've become a big consumer class in the U.S.


HAMILTON, Bermuda (AP) — Signet Jewelers Ltd.'s fiscal second-quarter adjusted profit topped analysts' estimates as revenue improved thanks to solid sales from various brands.

The jewelry company's stock surged more than 10 percent in Thursday midday trading.

The Hamilton, Bermuda-based company — which runs stores under brands such as Kay Jewelers and Jared The Galleria of Jewelry — earned $62.2 million, or 78 cents per share, for the period ended Aug. 1. That compares with $58 million, or 72 cents per share, a year earlier.

Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were $1.28 per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.15 per share.

Revenue increased to $1.41 billion from $1.23 billion.

Sales at stores open at least a year, a key indicator of a retailer's health, rose 4.2 percent. This metric excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.

At Kay Jewelers, same-store sales climbed 4.1 percent. The figure was up 2.7 percent at Jared.

Signet expects third-quarter adjusted earnings of 36 cents to 40 cents per share. Analysts polled by Factset predict earnings of 37 cents per share.

Shares of Signet rose $12.71, or 10.5 percent, to $134.

Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on SIG at http://www.zacks.com/ap/SIG

Summary: HAMILTON, Bermuda— Signet Jewelers Ltd.' s fiscal second-quarter adjusted profit topped analysts' estimates as revenue improved thanks to solid sales from various brands. The Hamilton, Bermuda- based company— which runs stores under brands such as Kay Jewelers and Jared The Galleria of Jewelry— earned $62.2 million, or 78 cents per share, for the period ended Aug. 1.


"We expect prices to continue to flatten in August, and potentially decline month over month in September or October. If that happens, it will be the first three-month price decline since the fall of 2012," according to the Redfin report.

Twenty-seven percent of homes sold above their list price a year ago, compared with 20 percent this July. Redfin also reports that its agents are seeing more negotiation between buyers and sellers.

Home prices rose 7.4 percent nationally in July from a year ago, according to CoreLogic, but the gains have been shrinking steadily. That includes sales of distressed homes, which are slowly becoming a smaller share of the market. It is the 29th straight year-over-year gain in prices. Arkansas was the only state to see a price decline, while other states, like Texas, Colorado, Louisiana and the District of Columbia, reached new record price highs.

Read MoreSummer surge for apartment stocks: Are they overheated?

"While home prices have clearly moderated nationwide since the spring, the geographic drivers of price increases are shifting," said Sam Khater, deputy chief economist at CoreLogic. "Entering this year, price increases were led by Western and Southern states, but over the last few months Northeastern and Midwestern states are migrating to the forefront of home price rankings."

Home prices are still down nearly 12 percent nationally from the peak of the housing boom, but the recovery is becoming ever more local, especially as fall homebuyers enter the market. Traditionally, housing slows down in the fall. Home searches in September and October combined are 6 percent below the annual average, according to Trulia.

Fewer families are shopping for homes, as they don't want to move during the school year. First-time homebuyers usually pick up the slack, but this particular cohort has had the most trouble re-entering the housing market since the recession.

Read MoreFlorida condo owners being forced out make plea to governor

While markets in Florida, Texas and Arizona slow in the fall, others in New England, California and New York heat up.

"Markets where search activity is high in autumn tend to have warm and dry Septembers and Octobers relative to their local climate in the rest of the year," according to Trulia's chief economist, Jed Kolko. "In the Bay Area and much of the West Coast, September and October typically continue to be warm and dry—which prolongs the house-hunting season. In San Francisco, in fact, September and October are the warmest months of the year."

Winter resort markets of course heat up, while summer vacation destinations shut out the lights. Homebuyers looking for the best deals might consider shopping offseason—as in hitting the beach listings in the fall, when competition is less fierce. The only downside would be potentially fewer listings from which to choose.

Summary: Lower prices, still-low mortgage rates and increasing supply could push home sales higher this fall, historically a slower season.


Morse said he expects oil prices to stabilize, but that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will likely be forced into taking action and could cut production in the April, May time frame, when prices can be seasonally weaker after the winter.

Saudi Arabia can easily weather lower prices, but other OPEC members cannot. If OPEC does not cut, West Texas Intermediate could drop to about $58 per barrel, he said. Morse expects Brent to average $80 per barrel in the first quarter, and it would fall closer to $60 if OPEC does not cut.

"This is a fast moving, changing situation and we'll see how it goes through the winter. But I think they could have an emergency meeting, particularly as winter fades into spring," said Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of IHS.

Yergin said that many in the industry were surprised Saudi Arabia did not act to support that price, since it had been the traditional swing producer. "They're out of that business," he said. "They changed the algorithm for the global oil business."

Read More Oil's plunging—why hasn't gasoline fallen faster?

Yergin expects U.S. production growth to stay strong in the first half of 2015, but by the second half it should start to slow.

"We see the possibility they call an extraordinary meeting sometime next year," said Dominic Haywood, crude and products analyst with Energy Aspects. "We think they're going to address countries not living within their quota." OPEC has a quota of 30 million barrels a day, but it has been producing more.

The question is how long is Saudi Arabia willing to withstand low prices, regardless of its motivation. The U.S. shale industry is relatively new, and some analysts say it really is not clear what the impact will be.

Read MoreU.S. shale to OPEC: We don't care

"It's a threshold of pain. Saudi Arabia has enough money," said Fadel Gheit, senior energy analyst at Oppenheimer. He said the Saudis could take low prices for more than a year. But other countries, like Iran, Venezuela and Russia, will be increasingly impacted. "Saudi Arabia is applying pressure on Iran. They have to bring Iran to its knees to bring it to the negotiating table, … and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has to put his shirt back on and stop acting like a thug."

The OPEC gathering was just days after negotiations between Iran, the U.S. and five other nations on Iran's nuclear program were extended after failing to reach an agreement by the Nov. 24 deadline.

Read More Cheap oil could be good to these companies

Iran's oil minister, in comments to Reuters post-OPEC's Thanksgiving Day meeting, said the Saudis are taking direct aim at the U.S. shale industry. Iran requires a higher oil price of about $100, and it had pushed for a production cut. But Iran and Venezuela closed ranks with the rest of OPEC last week in Vienna.

Read MoreAnother reason Iran doesn't need low oil prices

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi has said the kingdom believes the markets should set the oil price, and analysts see that as Saudi Arabia's effort to maintain its market share in the face of new global supply.

"It's hard to figure out what the Saudis are trying to do," Morse said. "Market share is part of it. I think what they're really doing is saying, 'We can test out U.S. production now while we have a lot of money in the bank, and if production turns out to be robust we can figure out another course of action.'" If the Saudis instead cut production, shoring up prices, they could see it as subsidizing U.S. production while not solving the supply problem, he added.

Read MoreMore than $150B oil projects face the ax in 2015

Morse and other experts expect the U.S. to keep drilling, and with new production in the Gulf of Mexico and continued production in the shale plays, it could continue to grow, with estimates ranging from an additional 500,000 barrels to 1 million barrels a day, depending on prices. In November, the U.S. began pumping 9 million barrels a day for the first time since 1986.

"Perhaps, they're waiting to see if the U.S. buckles first. If U.S. production gets cut, that eases the oversupply in the Atlantic and gives them more room," Haywood said.

The Fed, in its Beige Book on Wednesday, highlighted U.S. oil production and the impact of falling prices. It said production had increased in North Dakota in November, even with lower prices, and North Dakota officials expect shale production to continue to increase over the next two years.

Read More Energy stocks: Getting ready to buy a big dip

There is also more oil coming to market from other sources in the next year. Morse said a new pipeline though Chicago should carry another 300,000 barrels a day of Canadian crude to the Gulf Coast in 2015.

More supply could also come from outside North America. "Iraq and the Kurds just agreed on revenue sharing. We're going to see a lot more exports out of Kurdistan over the course of the next year," said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. "Oil could take a run at $60."

Some crude will also come off the market as producers pull back from high-priced operations.

Russia, for instance, is feeling the pinch of sanctions and has lost the assistance of Western drillers.

"Russian production is going to slow down. It's going to reverse," Morse said, estimating the potential loss of 200,000 barrels a day next year. "Most of the areas where they need production, it's not occurring because they can't get the technology."

Summary: Oil prices are expected to stabilize, but OPEC will probably be forced to cut production, analysts say.


Nate Silver made a name for himself predicting elections with incredible accuracy at his blog fivethirtyeight.com, owned by The New York Times. But now, instead of applying his statistical analysis to Obamacare, he's been busy readying his blog for its next incarnation, under the ownership of ESPN, and hiring a whole new team.

What does he want the new FiveThirtyEight to be? "I want a source that I can go to that I can trust to take a complicated issue where a log of data is involved," Silver said. "Fivethirtyeight is my home for that."

Summary: He made a name for himself predicting elections, now Silver's been busy readying his blog for its next incarnation.


NEW YORK, Sept. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- About Data Center Rack

A data center rack is a physical framework for housing servers, storage units, networking equipment, cables, and other data center devices. Racks incorporate features, such as provisions for cooling, slots for PDUs, and cable management options located above and below the rack enclosures. Vendors are engaged in various product innovations, like remote monitoring systems into the racks, to meet the present and future requirements of enterprises data center operations.Technavio analysts forecast the global data center rack market to grow at a CAGR of 15.18% during 2014-2019.Covered in this ReportThe report includes the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global data center rack market for the period 2015-2019. The market can be segmented into four divisions: Rack units, rack types, rack width and geographies.The Technavio report, Global Data Center Rack Market 2015-2019, is based on an in-depth market analysis, with inputs from industry experts. The report includes the key vendors operating in the market.Key Regions- US - Western Europe- Southeast Asia- China- Latin America- GCC- India- ROWKey Vendors- Black Box Network Service- Eaton - Emerson Network Power - HP - IBM - Rittal - Schneider Electric- Tripp LiteOther Prominent Vendors- Belden- Chatsworth- Dell- Fujitsu- Oracle- PentairOther Vendors- AFCO Systems- AMS NETTECH- AMCO Enclosures- Belkin- C&F Group- Cannon Technologies - Conteg- Crenlo/Emcor- Dataracks- Delta Group (Delta Power Solutions)- Great Lakes Case & Cabinets- Hammond Manufacturing- HUBER+SUHNER- Kendall Howard- Legrand- Martins International Enclosures- MFB- Midwest Computer Accessories- Minkels- Optical Cable Corporation- Orion- Panduit- Performed Line Products (Rack Technologies)- PUSHi Telecommunication- Rack Solutions- Sharkrack- Siemon - ZanardoKey Market Driver- Rise in Demand for Data Centers Operations- For a full and detailed list, view our reportKey Market Challenge- Adoption of Blade and Micro Servers- For a full and detailed list, view our reportKey Market Trend- Decline in Rack Prices- For a full and detailed list, view our reportKey Questions Answered in this Report- What will the market size be in 2019 and what will the growth rate be?- What are the key market trends?- What is driving this market?- What are the challenges to market growth?- Who are the key vendors in this market space?- What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p03170208-summary/view-report.htmlAbout Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution that finds, filters and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.http://www.reportlinker.com __________________________Contact Clare: clare@reportlinker.comUS: (339)-368-6001Intl: +1 339-368-6001

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-data-center-rack-market-2015-2019-300138009.html

Summary: NEW YORK, Sept. 3, 2015/ PRNewswire/-- About Data Center Rack. A data center rack is a physical framework for housing servers, storage units, networking equipment, cables, and other data center devices. The report includes the key vendors operating in the market. Key Regions- US- Western Europe- Southeast Asia- China- Latin America- GCC- India- ROW Key Vendors- Black Box...


One of the best perks about winning a championship is meeting the president at the White House.

Well, maybe not. The original visit, scheduled in late April, was postponed because President Obama was not available. His reason? We'll get to that.

But the rescheduled trip is coming up, and not all the Giants are looking forward to it.

The San Jose Mercury News reports utility infielder Jeff Keppinger was flabbergasted when asked if he was excited to visit 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. "Uh ... well, sure," Keppinger said.

It's not just Keppinger. The San Francisco Chronicle reports some of the Giants are privately complaining about having to give up an off-day, combined with an overnight flight to visit the President.

But hey, stuff happens. In the case of the POTUS, the "stuff" that caused the delay was the Special Forces plan to take out Osama bin Laden on May 1.

ThePostGame brings you the most interesting sports stories on the web.

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Ronda Rousey: Outside The Octagon

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Summary:
One of the best perks about winning a championship is meeting the president at the White House.
Right, San Francisco Giants?
Well, maybe not. The ori...


Americans finally feel better about economy: Survey

Ninety-one percent of Americans now believe their home prices will either be stable or rise over the next year, the highest since March 2007. And for the first time in three years, Americans picked real estate ahead of gold as the best investment.After seven long years of sharp recession and tepid recovery, the CNBC All-America Economic Survey found some key measures of U.S. public opinion finally regained their precrisis levels.

Respondents also said they will spend about as much on a summer vacation as they did before the recession, following a sharp drop during the financial crisis.

That optimism comes with greater hopes among respondents for their paychecks: Thirty-eight percent believe their wages will rise in the next year, the highest percentage since December 2008.

Meanwhile, pessimism declined. Only 33 percent of those polled judge the current state of the economy as poor, equaling the December 2007 low and a five-point decrease from the March study's results.

The survey of 815 people across the country had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percent. It was conducted in early June by the Democratic polling firm Hart Research Associates and the Republican polling firm Public Opinion Strategies.

The survey wasn't all good news, though. It also showed that some critical measures of optimism continue to lag. Just 18 percent say the economy is good or excellent, virtually unchanged from March and eight points below the prerecession level.

Americans expect home price gains of just 2.2 percent over the next year, a little more than half of the expectation from the more optimistic days in 2007. The outlook for wage gains is a healthy 3.5 percent for the postrecession period. But before 2008, Americans regularly expected wage gains between 5 percent and 7 percent annually.

The survey results follow a report by the U.S. government that the number of domestic jobs in May had regained the peak level of January 2008.

The survey shows the importance of real estate in the psyche of Americans. It was chosen as the No. 1 investment choice for the first time in three years, with people in the 18 to 49 age group among those most likely to favor real estate.

Stocks came out in second place, chosen by 27 percent as the best investment, followed by gold. Perhaps ominous for the precious metal, no group has soured more on gold than the wealthiest Americans. Just 14 percent of respondents with more than $100,000 in income picked gold as their top investment, down from 42 percent in 2012.

Despite better economic attitudes in the country, the Affordable Care Act has fared no better in public opinion. Just 30 percent gave the law positive marks, virtually unchanged since September 2013, while 47 percent viewed it negatively.

Strong, negative views of Republicans (82 percent) and mostly negative attitudes of Independents (52 percent) were not outweighed by the positive views of Democrats (59 percent).

Meanwhile, support for raising the minimum wage, another key issue for the Obama administration, remained steady compared with the last survey, with about two-thirds of the public backing a rise to $10.10. A 10-point increase last year among those who strongly support the increase was sustained in the survey.

There also seems to be broad support for addressing the issue of unequal pay for equal work among men and women. It was the top choice among five economic steps that Congress and the president should focus on this year, edging out raising the minimum wage.

The views on whether Washington should address the unequal pay issue break much more along gender lines than party lines—that is, the views of GOP women are much closer to Democrats than to GOP men. For GOP males, lowering the corporate tax rate was chosen as the top priority for Washington.

With CNBC in the U.S., CNBC in Asia Pacific, CNBC in Europe, Middle East and Africa, CNBC World and CNBC HD , CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news and provides real-time financial market coverage and business information to approximately 371 million homes worldwide, including more than 100 million households in the United States and Canada. CNBC also provides daily business updates to 400 million households across China. The network's 15 live hours a day of business programming in North America (weekdays from 4:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC's global headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and includes reports from CNBC News bureaus worldwide. CNBC at night features a mix of new reality programming, CNBC's highly successful series produced exclusively for CNBC and a number of distinctive in-house documentaries.

CNBC also has a vast portfolio of digital products which deliver real-time financial market news and information across a variety of platforms. These include CNBC.com, the online destination for global business; CNBC PRO, the premium, integrated desktop/mobile service that provides real-time global market data and live access to CNBC global programming; and a suite of CNBC Mobile products including the CNBC Real-Time iPhone and iPad Apps.

Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at http://www.nbcumv.com/mediavillage/networks/cnbc/.

Summary: CNBC All-America Economic Survey: CNBC's Steve Liesman: Americans Finally Feel Better About the Economy


Emily Bell is director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism. She previously worked for the Observer and then the Guardian for 18 years, setting up MediaGuardian.co.uk in 2000 and becoming editor-in-chief of Guardian Unlimited in 2001. In September 2006, Emily was promoted to the new position of Director of Digital Content for Guardian News and Media. Guardian.co.uk, the Guardian and Observer's network of websites, has won multiple awards, including the prestigious Webby for Best Newspaper on the web in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009.

Summary: Director, Tow Center for Digital Journalism, Columbia University


Fans of Leica's famous 35mm rangefinders might argue until the last frame in the last silver halide film in existence is exposed, but of all the variants of this magnificent German camera, produced in one guise or another since 1925, the M6 is the one I like best.

Along with my 27-year-old Canon A1 35mm SLR, this is the camera I have enjoyed using most. Small, solid, crafted with the precision of a Swiss wristwatch, wholly reliable and – best of all – silent: here is a camera you can carry in a jacket pocket into the depths of some fearful religious shrine and still take worthwhile pictures without anyone noticing (except the all-seeing God, or gods, of course).

What makes the M6 special is its build quality: it's a mechanical camera with modern through-the-lens metering, a foolproof viewfinder and a flawless lens. Manufactured until 1998, it was made at Leica's modest Wetzlar factory some 40 miles north of Frankfurt, and from 1986 at its equally self-effacing new works in nearby Solms. Factory tours are well worth taking; they're a joy for anyone who still respects industrial craft. Leicas are not built by robots.

Like all Leica rangefinder cameras, the M6 needs to be learned before you can even begin to get the best from it. But the best from a classic Leica is very good indeed; you can enlarge prints as you might never have dared to before. It has been designed not for a few years' service with a hard-pressed photojournalist, or as a jewel-like accessory for a quickly forgotten celebrity, but for life. Maybe even well beyond. In fact, any well-looked-after M6 will easily outlive its owner.

The M6 is a derivation of the Leica M3 (1954-66), the first of a new range of Leica rangefinders equipped with quick-change bayonet lenses. This made the M3 – and its successors, including today's M7 (2002) and digital M8 (2006) – a favourite among photojournalists. The M3 was a direct descendant of the pre-war Leicas invented and designed by the brilliant German mechanic Oskar Barnack (1879-1936), an employee of the Leitz Optische Werke, Wetzlar. It was Barnack who first came up with the idea of a compact, hand-held camera using 35mm cine film rather than glass plates. His Ur-Leica, the prototype, went on display in 1914. Production was delayed by the first world war, and only got going in 1925.

As for the quietly handsome M6, it is truly a mechanical extension of hand and eye. M-range Leicas have been much loved and respected by hardworking professional photographers over the decades. The list is long, but includes the likes of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, Leni Riefenstahl, Robert Doisneau, Diane Arbus, René Burri, Elliott Erwitt and Sebastião Salgado.

Leica has faced up to the digital world with its M8, a camera blessed with the spirit of Oskar Barnack, and looking very much like its 35mm M7 sibling, offering all the benefits of digital photography without having to look like a hand-held trainer. The M7 and M8 will be sold alongside one another as long as film lasts, or Leica decides on another slow change in specification and model number.

The one thing a Leica camera will never be is cheap. But it's designed to last. Save for it while using the best you can afford at the time. And, as long as you tape over its distinctive red logo, its old-fashioned appearance will be unlikely to attract thieves – even in the meanest of the world's streets. Because of its silent action and little or no need for flash – you can dare to walk with your Leica in hand. And who knows – the images you capture might just rival those of Bresson, Capa and all.

Summary: The Leica M6 may not boast fancy modern features – or even an affordable price tag – but it's an expertly crafted classic camera beloved of the world's top photographers


Google went from searching the Web to worming its way into nearly every facet of business and government. Seth Weintraub unveils where the company is going, who it’s competing with, who it’s about to compete with and how market forces push the company to veer or adhere to its Don’t Be Evil motto. For 15 years, Weintraub was a global IT director for a number of companies before becoming a blogger.

Summary: Seth Weintraub Google went from searching the Web to worming its way into nearly every facet of business and government. Seth Weintraub unveils where the company is going, who it's competing with, who it's about to compete with and how market forces push the company to veer or adhere to its Don't Be Evil motto.…


Guardian Weekly readers are typically highly educated professionals working across the globe.

The Guardian Weekly specialises in carrying recruitment advertising for academic and international development appointments as well as advertising promoting a wide range of educational and business related courses.

The Guardian Weekly readers are regular and loyal readers who have a strong relationship with their newspaper.

• 88% read every issue• 62% of readers are subscribers• 97% of subscribers plan to renew their subscription• 92% of readers would recommend the Guardian Weekly to friends

Quality candidates:• 89% are qualified to degree level or higher• 43% have a postgraduate qualification or doctorate

Regular specialist features in the Guardian Weekly, such as International Development and Training for Business, offer recruitment and courses advertisers dedicated and relevant environments through which to reach potential applicants.

Academic posts & courses – regular education focused editorial that makes the Guardian Weekly a must-read for job seekers in this field.

Learning English – a monthly full colour supplement that addresses the needs of teachers and students of English as a foreign language.

International development – a feature that provides a topical look at the issues and concerns of international NGOs.

Training for business – provides a specific focus on career development though education and dedicated pages for postgraduate business courses such as MBAs. Published four times a year.

Mail & GuardianAll jobs and courses advertisements placed in the Guardian Weekly can also appear in the Mail & Guardian, South Africa's leading liberal newspaper, which specialises in academic and NGO recruitment. Contact your Guardian Jobs representative for more details.

Online advertising with Guardian JobsThe Guardian Weekly offers advertisers the opportunity to increase the number of potential candidates who see their advertisement by opting to have it displayed on guardianjobs.co.uk. See the ratecard for more details.Guardian Jobs

Summary: Reach an engaged international audience with Guardian Weekly


Tuesday is the last big data day of the year. Durable goods for November and the third read of third-quarter GDP are expected at 8:30 a.m. ET. Consumer sentiment for December is at 9:55 a.m. New-home sales and key personal income and spending data, including the prices index watched by the Fed, are released at 10 a.m. ET.

Read MoreStrategists on 2015: Up, up and away for stocks

Ablin said he is holding off on capital gains selling until early next year, and others may be doing the same as stocks float higher into year-end. "It could be the first week that's soft as people push their capital gains selling into next year, and who knows when the next group of people are buying the dips," he said.

Read MorePro's 3 bets for 2015

Ablin said the market is also getting pricey.

Read MoreNatural gas collapses—'This is panic selling'

"It's an expensive market and it's going to get more expensive. I would like to see revenues really start to ramp up," he said. "It's a puzzle. I would say we're the attractive market. Everyone wants to be in the U.S. It's hard to judge when that flow is going to stop. Right now our price to sales (for the S&P 500) is 1.75, 1.8. ... History shows that it's impossible to make money in the market when the price to sales goes over 2. The last time it was above 2 was 1999."

There's also a 1 p.m. Treasury auction of $35 billion five-year notes.

Read MoreRussia near full-fledged crisis: Ex-finance minister

George Goncalves, head of interest rate strategy at Nomura, said the auction should go well. "The five-year and seven-year (Wednesday) will probably do well. The five-year is a sweet spot for banks doing last-minute Treasury shopping for the year," he said.

Summary: Year-end buying could be the tail wind that pushes the Dow to 18,000, a psychological level that could give any Santa rally more steam.


A NASA rocket filled with supplies for the International Space Station exploded at launch Tuesday evening. The rocket was unmanned.

NASA said there were no injuries caused by the Antares rocket's accident but cited "significant" damage to launch facilities.

Orbital Sciences' Cygnus spacecraft was carrying 5,000 pounds of NASA cargo and launching in Virginia. Orbital Sciences' shares fell 11 percent in after-hours trading, on thin trading.

This was to be Orbital Sciences' third resupply mission to the ISS, as part of a $2 billion contract the company has with NASA.

The second U.S. supply line to the station is run by privately owned Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, which is preparing for its fourth flight under a separate, $1.6 billion NASA contract.

Read More Tesla's Elon Musk shoots down sales report

Summary: A NASA rocket filled with supplies for the International Space Station exploded at launch. The rocket was unmanned.


Lee added in a telephone interview that "over time, you've got to throw the towel in" if the benefits of rising rates keep failing to materialize.

Positioning for higher rates has cost the 20 largest U.S. banks somewhere between $2.5 billion and $3 billion of income each quarter, roughly 6 percent of their collective profits before taxes, said Marty Mosby, a bank analyst at Vining Sparks.

Those estimated costs come from banks refraining from investing customer deposits in longer-term bonds, and holding the funds instead in cash or short-term investments, which offer much lower returns.

Read MoreGlobal central banks manning the battle stations

In addition to foregone revenue, the strategy is also having more tangible costs.

In the fourth quarter, Bank of America marked down a bond portfolio that it uses to hedge interest rate risk by around $600 million, leading it to miss analysts expectations.

Regions Financial said on Tuesday that its net interest margin, a measure of how profitably it loans out its deposits, would decline even more in 2015 than it did in 2014 if rates stay low this year. Some loans that banks make, including mortgages, carry fixed rates, which in the current environment will generate lower returns for their whole lives for lenders.

Almost all major U.S. banks have received far more money from depositors than they can actually lend out, and instead of putting all of that extra cash to work by investing in bonds, many decided to hold off at least some of their investments until yields rose, so they could earn more. For much of last year, investors expected the Fed to start raising rates in 2015. If driven by heightened inflation expectations, those rate hikes could lift longer-term bond yields.

But as bond prices have risen and yields have fallen in recent weeks, banks' potential returns have slipped as well.

"They're stuck waiting for an event that may or may not happen any time soon," said Nancy Bush, a bank analyst at NAB Research.

Read MoreWhat markets do when ECB talks about buying assets

Bond yields in the United States have fallen in recent months for a series of reasons, including investors' increasing pessimism about the pace of economic growth in Europe and China, lowering yields around the world and making the United States look relatively attractive. Concerns about worldwide growth have also increased the appeal of U.S. bonds as a safe-haven.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield was 1.87 percent on Thursday, a steep drop from September, when it stood at 2.6 percent.

Shifting rates and bond yields can affect banks in multiple ways. For a big chunk of banks' investment portfolios, falling yields will boost banks' capital levels, which is a positive. And if the Federal Reserve lifts short-term rates, banks' floating-rate loans will generate more income.

But recent drops in yields are clearly cutting into earnings, hurting returns on both bond investments and fixed-rate loans. Banks will not usually compensate for lower bond yields by buying riskier securities such as junk bonds, because they prefer to take credit risk in their loan books.

Summary: U.S. banks are now resigning themselves to at least another few quarters of low rates, executives and analysts said.