Stock index futures point to slightly higher start

LONDON (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 up 0.1-0.2 percent at 0958 GMT (4.58 a.m EST).

European shares were slightly lower, although they remained near the top of a six-day trading range. French bank Societe Generale sank 3.7 percent after it unveiled a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss.

U.S. President Barack Obama said in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday he backs higher taxes for the wealthy and a $50 billion spending plan to create jobs by rebuilding degraded roads and bridges.

The U.S. Commerce Dept. releases U.S. retail sales data at 1330 GMT. It was expected to show a 0.1 percent rise in January, slowing from a 0.5 percent increase in December as consumers eyed smaller paychecks on the back of a recent tax increase.

Business inventories data for December, due at 1500 GMT, are expected to show a rise of 0.3 percent, a repeat of the November increase.

Comcast Corp clinched full control of NBC Universal for $16.7 billion on Tuesday, the latest in a series of deals that have taken the cable operator from humble roots in Tupelo, Mississippi, to Manhattan's iconic Rockerfeller Center.

The group is due to unveil fourth-quarter results before the market open, with earnings per share seen at $0.53 from $0.47 one year earlier.

Networking equipment maker, Cisco Systems , is expected to report a $0.01 increase in its quarterly earnings per share, with corporate North America and parts of Europe showing signs of improvement. The results are due after the market close.

Chip-maker Nvidia is also among companies due to report quarterly results.

Clearwire Corp , the wireless service provider that both Sprint Nextel S.N and Dish Network DISH.O want to buy, said on Tuesday that it would need Sprint financing to keep afloat up to the end of the year.

Asset manager Legg Mason Inc is preparing to name its interim head, Joseph Sullivan, as its permanent chief executive, two people familiar with the matter said, as the company turns to a sales chief to stop an outflow of funds.

BlackRock Inc named Morgan Stanley MS.N banker and long-time financial advisor Gary Shedlin as its next chief financial officer, to succeed Ann Marie Petach.

Yahoo Inc Chief Executive Marissa Mayer said the company's search partnership with Microsoft Corp was not delivering the market share gains or the revenue boost that it should.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> closed 47.46 points higher, or 0.34 percent, at 14,018.70 on Tuesday. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was up 2.42 points, or 0.16 percent, at 1,519.43. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was down 5.51 points, or 0.17 percent, at 3,186.49.

(Reporting by Francesco Canepa; editing by Patrick Graham)

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AP Source: IOC drops wrestling from 2020 Olympics

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — IOC leaders dropped wrestling from the program for the 2020 Olympics on Tuesday, an official familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.

In a surprise move, the IOC executive board decided to retain modern pentathlon — the sport considered most at risk — and remove wrestling instead, the official said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision hadn't been announced yet.

The IOC board acted after reviewing the 26 sports on the current Olympic program. Eliminating one sport allows the International Olympic Committee to add a new sport to the program later this year.

Wrestling combines freestyle and Greco-Roman disciplines. It had 11 medal events in freestyle and seven in Greco-Roman at last year's London Olympics.

Wrestling will now join seven other sports in applying for inclusion in 2020. The others are a combined bid from baseball and softball, karate, squash, roller sports, sport climbing, wakeboarding and wushu. They will be vying for a single opening in 2020.

The IOC executive board will meet in May in St. Petersburg, Russia, to decide which sport or sports to propose for 2020 inclusion. The final vote will be made at the IOC general assembly in September in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The last sports removed from the Olympics were baseball and softball, voted out by the IOC in 2005 and off the program since the 2008 Beijing Games. Golf and rugby will be joining the program at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The IOC program commission report analyzed more than three dozen criteria, including television ratings, ticket sales, anti-doping policy and global participation and popularity. With no official rankings or recommendations contained in the report, the final decision by the 15-member board was also subject to political, emotional and sentimental factors.

Previously considered under the closest scrutiny was modern pentathlon, which has been on the Olympic program since the 1912 Stockholm Games. It was created by French baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic movement.

Modern pentathlon combines fencing, horse riding, swimming, running and shooting — the five skills required of a 19th century cavalry officer. The sport's governing body, the UIPM, has been lobbying hard to protect its Olympic status, and the efforts apparently paid off.

UIPM President Klaus Schormann had considered traveling from Germany to Lausanne for the decision, but decided to stay away.

"The Olympic movement always needs history," Schormann told the AP ahead of the IOC decision. "You cannot just say we look only at the future. You can have a future when you are stable on the basic part of history. We are continuing to develop, to renovate, to be innovative and creative. We are very proud of what we achieved so far and want to deliver this as well for the next generations in 2020."

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Why pope will long be remembered

Tim Stanley says Pope Benedict will be seen as an important figure in church history.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Timothy Stanley: Benedict XVI's resignation is historic since popes usually serve for life


• He says pope not so much conservative as asserting church's "living tradition"


• He backed traditionalists, but a conflicted flock, scandal, culture wars a trial to papacy, he says


• Stanley: Pope kept to principle, and if it's not what modern world wanted, that's world's problem

Editor's note: Timothy Stanley is a historian at Oxford University and blogs for Britain's The Daily Telegraph. He is the author of "The Crusader: The Life and Times of Pat Buchanan."

(CNN) -- Journalists have a habit of calling too many things "historic" -- but on this occasion, the word is appropriate. The Roman Catholic Church is run like an elected monarchy, and popes are supposed to rule until death; no pope has stepped down since 1415.

Therefore, it almost feels like a concession to the modern world to read that Benedict XVI is retiring on grounds of ill health, as if he were a CEO rather than God's man on Earth. That's highly ironic considering that Benedict will be remembered as perhaps the most "conservative" pope since the 1950s -- a leader who tried to assert theological principle over fashionable compromise.

Timothy Stanley

The word "conservative" is actually misleading, and the monk who received me into the Catholic Church in 2006 -- roughly a year after Benedict began his pontificate -- would be appalled to read me using it. In Catholicism, there is no right or left but only orthodoxy and error. As such, Benedict would understand the more controversial stances that he took as pope not as "turning back the clock" but as asserting a living tradition that had become undervalued within the church. His success in this regard will be felt for generations to come.

He not only permitted but quietly encouraged traditionalists to say the old rite, reviving the use of Latin or receiving the communion wafer on the tongue. He issued a new translation of the Roman Missal that tried to make its language more precise. And, in the words of one priest, he encouraged the idea that "we ought to take care and time in preparing for the liturgy, and ensure we celebrate it with as much dignity as possible." His emphasis was upon reverence and reflection, which has been a healthy antidote to the 1960s style of Catholicism that encouraged feverish participation bordering on theatrics.

Nothing the pope proposed was new, but it could be called radical, trying to recapture some of the certainty and beauty that pervaded Catholicism before the reforming Vatican II. Inevitably, this upset some. Progressives felt that he was promoting a form of religion that belonged to a different century, that his firm belief in traditional moral theology threatened to distance the church from the people it was supposed to serve.

If that's true, it wasn't the pope's intent. Contrary to the general impression that he's favored a smaller, purer church, Benedict has actually done his best to expand its reach. The most visible sign was his engagement on Twitter. But he also reached out to the Eastern Orthodox Churches and spoke up for Christians persecuted in the Middle East.

In the United Kingdom, he encouraged married Anglican priests to defect. He has even opened up dialogue with Islam. During his tenure, we've also seen a new embrace of Catholicism in the realm of politics, from Paul Ryan's nomination to Tony Blair's high-profile conversion. And far from only talking about sex, Benedict expanded the number of sins to include things such as pollution. It's too often forgotten that in the 1960s he was considered a liberal who eschewed the clerical collar.

The divisions and controversies that occurred under Benedict's leadership had little to do with him personally and a lot more to do with the Catholic Church's difficult relationship with the modern world. As a Catholic convert, I've signed up to its positions on sexual ethics, but I appreciate that many millions have not. A balance has to be struck between the rights of believers and nonbelievers, between respect for tradition and the freedom to reject it.

As the world has struggled to strike that balance (consider the role that same-sex marriage and abortion played in the 2012 election) so the church has found itself forced to be a combatant in the great, ugly culture war. Benedict would rather it played the role of reconciler and healer of wounds, but at this moment in history that's not possible. Unfortunately, its alternative role as moral arbiter has been undermined by the pedophile scandal. Nothing has dogged this pontificate so much as the tragedy of child abuse, and it will continue to blot its reputation for decades to come.

For all these problems, my sense is that Benedict will be remembered as a thinker rather than a fighter. I have been so fortunate to become a Catholic at a moment of liturgical revival under a pope who can write a book as majestic and wise as his biography of Jesus. I've been lucky to know a pope with a sense of humor and a willingness to talk and engage.

If he wasn't what the modern world wanted -- if he wasn't prepared to bend every principle or rule to appease all the people all the time -- then that's the world's problem rather than his. Although he has attained one very modern distinction indeed. On Monday, he trended ahead of Justin Bieber on Twitter for at least an hour.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion

Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Timothy Stanley.

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Should college students buy savings bonds?

Dear Dr. Don,
Are savings bonds a bad idea for college students? Would a simple savings account work better? I have always been good about saving money, but recently it has all gone to school expenses. If I ever get my hands on some extra cash, I want to make sure I put it in a good place.

Thanks,
– Amber Accumulates

Dear Amber,
I wouldn’t recommend savings bonds for a college student. You can’t cash them in for the first five years without paying a three-month interest penalty for early redemption.

And if you’re like most college kids, you’ll need that money before then. After graduation, you may decide to go shopping for a car or a house. You may want some new furniture, or you could be asked to relocate cross-country for a new job.

You’ll also want to stay fairly liquid as you build up an emergency fund as a buffer against short-term financial pressures. A common recommendation is for an emergency fund to be large enough to cover three to six months’ living expenses.

I recommend that you put your money in a savings account instead. Look for a high-yield savings account or money market account so you have ready access to your savings.

If you’re still interested in savings bonds, please note that you won’t be able to cash in anytime soon. You must hold a Series EE bond for 20 years to earn a yield of about 3.53 percent. If you cash it in early, that yield will drop.

The Series I savings bond is a better savings vehicle if you plan to hold it for more than five years. By doing so, you’ll avoid the early redemption penalty. You’d earn two different yields on a Series I bond: a fixed yield, which is currently zero percent, and an inflation yield that is based on changes in inflation as measured by the consumer price index.

Get more news, money-saving tips and expert advice by signing up for a free Bankrate newsletter.

To ask a question of Dr. Don, go to the “Ask the Experts” page and select one of these topics: “Financing a home,” “Saving & Investing” or “Money.” Read more Dr. Don columns for additional personal finance advice.

Bankrate’s content, including the guidance of its advice-and-expert columns and this website, is intended only to assist you with financial decisions. The content is broad in scope and does not consider your personal financial situation. Bankrate recommends that you seek the advice of advisers who are fully aware of your individual circumstances before making any final decisions or implementing any financial strategy. Please remember that your use of this website is governed by Bankrate’s Terms of Use.

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Yen near lows vs dollar, Asian shares ease in subdued trade

TOKYO (Reuters) - The yen hovered near its lows against the dollar and Tokyo stocks jumped closer to a 33-month high on Tuesday after markets took comments from a U.S. official as approval for Japan to pursue anti-deflation policies that weaken the yen.

U.S. Treasury Undersecretary Lael Brainard said on Monday the United States supports Japanese efforts to end deflation, but she noted that the G7 has long been committed to exchange rates determined by market forces, "except in rare circumstances where excess volatility or disorderly movements might warrant cooperation.

"Her (Brainard's) comments gave confidence to the market. It was surprising, and was taken as the Obama administration giving a green light to 'Abenomics'," said Takuya Takahashi, a market analyst at Daiwa Securities.

Japan has faced some overseas criticism that it is intentionally trying to weaken the yen with monetary easing, but talk of a so-called currency war was dialled back ahead of a Group of 20 meeting in Moscow on Friday and Saturday.

G20 officials said on Monday the Group of Seven nations are considering a statement this week reaffirming their commitment to "market-determined" exchange rates.

European Central Bank council member Jens Weidmann also said the euro was not overvalued at current levels.

The dollar slipped 0.3 percent to 94.185 yen after marking its highest level since May 2010 of 94.465 on Monday. The euro eased 0.3 percent to 126.12 yen after rising more than 2 percent on Monday. It hit its highest since April 2010 of 127.71 yen last week.

"I think the yen's weakening is a function of (playing)catch-up," and not Japan resorting to deliberate devaluation of its currency, said Andrew Wilkinson, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. in New York. "It's the market's way of saying: 'We're convinced there is a movement afoot to reinflate Japan.'"

The yen is pressured by anticipation that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will endorse a far more dovish Bank of Japan regime when the current leadership's term ends next month, although the BOJ is expected to refrain from taking fresh easing steps when it meets this week.

Share trading was subdued with many regional bourses shut for holidays. Encouraging trade data from China late last week was lending support to sentiment but non-Japan markets lacked momentum as investors awaited key events such as the U.S. president's State of the Union address for trading cues.

European markets are seen inching lower, with the Euro STOXX 50 index futures down 0.1 percent. A 0.2 percent drop in U.S. stock futures also suggested a soft Wall Street start. <.l><.eu><.n/>

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> fell 0.1 percent, with Australian shares closing flat ahead of corporate earnings due this week.

The weaker yen in turn hoisted the Nikkei stock average <.n225> to close 1.9 percent higher on improving earnings prospects for exporters. <.t/>

Trading resumed in Japan and South Korea but markets in Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China, Malaysia and Taiwan remained closed.

STATE OF UNION ADDRESS

Currency and equities markets were also looking ahead to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address later on Tuesday night, for any signs of a deal to avert automatic spending cuts due to take effect March 1.

"We believe that the G20's take on currency wars, Mr. Obama's upcoming state of the union address, and data on the current condition of the U.S. economy should help markets assess where the global recovery stands and where we are heading," Barclays Capital said in a research report.

U.S. and Chinese data last week lifted the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> to a 12-year closing high and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> to a five-year peak on Friday.

Financial markets showed a muted reaction to the news that North Korea has conducted a nuclear test.

"The test was not something that makes your heart pound as much as a pressing situation between Iran and Israel," said Kaname Gokon, research manager at brokerage Okato Shoji, referring to the threat of possible military action to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

U.S. crude futures edged down 0.1 percent to $96.90 a barrel while Brent steadied around $118.

Spot gold stayed near a one-month low.

(Additional reporting by Ayai Tomisawa, Lisa Twaronite and Osamu Tsukimori in Tokyo; Editing by Chris Gallagher)

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Snedeker on the rise with Pebble win

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Everything about Brandt Snedeker moves at warp speed, including his rapid rise into golf's elite.

He talks so fast that he always seems to be a few words short of a complete sentence. He plays fast, giving his hips a quick swivel to set his position before pulling the trigger. Even his putts go into the hole quickly, most of them struck with purpose instead of hope.

But when he reached the 18th tee box at Pebble Beach, he had to wait for the fairway to clear before taking a victory stroll up one of the prettiest closing holes in golf.

And that was OK with him.

"There's not much better place to be on the planet with a three-shot lead on that tee box," Snedeker said Sunday. "It felt pretty special there."

Indeed, Snedeker is in a special place.

With his 10th consecutive round in the 60s, Snedeker finally had a trophy to show for his astounding start to the 2013 season. He knew the opening seven holes were critical, and he made an eagle and three birdies to build a quick lead. He realized a late birdie would give him a cushion, and he fired at the flag on the par-3 17th to 10 feet below the cup and holed the putt. He closed with a 7-under 65 for a two-shot win over Chris Kirk in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

It was the fifth win of his career, and his fourth in the last 22 months. But it's the last six months that have really turned heads.

He captured the $10 million FedEx Cup prize with a win at the Tour Championship, where he held off the likes of Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and Luke Donald going into the final round. He played in his first Ryder Cup. He started this year with a third-place at Kapalua, and runner-up finishes in consecutive weeks to Woods and Phil Mickelson, both of whom had big leads going into the final round.

Go back to the start of the FedEx Cup playoffs last August and Snedeker now has six top 3s in his last nine starts. Since missing the cut at the PGA Championship, he has broken par in 33 out of 37 rounds. No wonder he now is No. 4 in the world, the best ranking of his career.

"Just hard to put into words, to have a stretch of golf like I had the last couple of months," Snedeker said. "Something you dream about. Something you think that you can do, but you don't really know until you actually put it together. And I have.

"I'm really enjoying this, and hopefully can parlay this into the best year of my career."

Snedeker set the tournament record at 19-under 267, one shot better than Mickelson (2007) and Mark O'Meara (1997), who each had a 20-under 268 when Poppy Hills (par 72) was part of the rotation. It has been replaced by Monterey Peninsula, which is a par 70.

Chris Kirk closed with a 66 to finish alone in second, though he was never closer than two shots of the lead on the back nine and finished with a birdie. Kirk finished on 269, a score that would have been good enough to win all but four times at Pebble Beach since this tournament began in 1937.

"We've had a lot of tournaments like that on tour this year where somebody has really just kind of blitzed the field," Kirk said. "I felt like I played well enough to win a golf tournament and came up a little bit short."

Snedeker could have said the same thing — except for Woods at Torrey Pines, and Mickelson going obscenely low to win the Phoenix Open.

He wasn't about to take a back seat to anyone at Pebble Beach.

Snedeker started the final round tied with James Hahn, a 31-year-old rookie from the Bay Area, with Kirk one shot behind. He set the tone early with a 4-iron into the par-5 second hole that was on the edge of the left green. It hit the collar and kicked slightly to the right, rolling toward the pin until it settled 4 feet behind the cup.

"Kind of lucky, but it was a good shot, and to end up where it did was a great way to start the day," he said.

Hahn hit his approach high and pure, and it nearly hit Snedeker's ball before stopping 6 feet away. Hahn missed. Snedeker made. It was like that over the front nine.

Snedeker started to pull away with a 3-wood that came off the edge of the green, ran by the cup and stopped 20 feet away for a two-putt birdie. Then, he holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the seventh and was on his way.

Most impressive about Snedeker this week was bouncing back from bogey. He made five bogeys for the entire week, and four times made birdie on the next hole. On Sunday, his lone mistake was knocking an 18-foot birdie off the green and three-putting for bogey at No. 9.

The answer, like everything else about him, was fast and furious.

He knocked in a 25-foot birdie putt on the 10th, and then holed from 15 feet for birdie on the 12th. Right when it looked as though he would make another bogey on the par-3 12th, he made par from just short of 10 feet.

There's a reason Snedeker led the PGA Tour in putting last year, though it's his driving that has vastly improved. Snedeker studied some statistics last year that showed his odds of hitting the green go way up when he starts in the fairway. And once he's on the green, he's tough to beat.

Hahn, who shot 70 and tied for third, was looking forward to learning something from his debut in the final group, and he saw Snedeker put on a clinic.

"I learned that he is a better guy than he is a golfer. The dude is world class," Hahn said. "He's obviously one of the best, if not the best golfer right now, and possibly for the last year. But how he conducts himself as a person on an off the golf course, that's also world class. He deserved to win today. ... I'm sure if you ask him, it was never a doubt that he was going to win the golf tournament."

Snedeker concurred.

"I definitely didn't want to do anything but win today," he said. "I was out there for one purpose and one purpose only, and I was extremely focused all day. I did a great job of staying patient and I did a great job of playing the golf course the way you're supposed to play it."

And the outcome was just what he expected. The way he has been playing, it shouldn't have been any surprise to anyone.

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What beats Grammy? Immortality

Legends beyond their own time

Legends beyond their own time

Legends beyond their own time

Legends beyond their own time

Legends beyond their own time

Legends beyond their own time

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Bob Greene: Grammy nominated acts should remember the real prize comes later in life


• He says at a hotel he ran into a group of singing stars from an earlier era, in town for a show


• He says the world of post-fame touring less glamorous for acts, but meaningful


• Greene: Acts grow old, but their hits never will and to fans, the songs are time-machine

Editor's note: CNN Contributor Bob Greene is a best-selling author whose 25 books include "When We Get to Surf City: A Journey Through America in Pursuit of Rock and Roll, Friendship, and Dreams"; "Late Edition: A Love Story"; and "Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen."

(CNN) -- Memo to Carly Rae Jepsen, Frank Ocean, Hunter Hayes, Mumford & Sons, Miguel, the Alabama Shakes and all the other young singers and bands who are nominated for Sunday night's Grammy Awards:

Your real prize -- the most valuable and sustaining award of all -- may not become evident to you until 30 or so years have passed.

You will be much older.

But -- if you are lucky -- you will still get to be out on the road making music.

Bob Greene

Many of Sunday's Grammy nominees are enjoying the first wave of big success. It is understandable if they take for granted the packed concert venues and eye-popping paychecks.

Those may go away -- the newness of fame, the sold-out houses, the big money.

But the joy of being allowed to do what they do will go on.

I've been doing some work while staying at a small hotel off a highway in southwestern Florida. One winter day I was reading out on the pool deck, and there were some other people sitting around talking.

They weren't young, by anyone's definition. They did not seem like conventional businessmen or businesswomen on the road, or like retirees. There was a sense of nascent energy and contented anticipation in their bearing, of something good waiting for them straight ahead. A look completely devoid of grimness or fretfulness, an afternoon look that said the best part of the day was still to come.

I would almost have bet what line of work they were in. I'd seen that look before, many times.

I could hear them talking.

Yep.

The Tokens ("The Lion Sleeps Tonight," a No. 1 hit in 1961).

Little Peggy March ("I Will Follow Him," a No. 1 hit in 1963).

Little Anthony and the Imperials ("Tears on My Pillow," a top 10 hit in 1958).

Major singing stars from an earlier era of popular music, in town for a multi-act show that evening.

It is the one sales job worth yearning for -- carrying that battered sample case of memorable music around the country, to unpack in front of a different appreciative audience every night.

It's quite a world. I was fortunate enough to learn its ins and outs during the 15 deliriously unlikely years I spent touring the United States singing backup with Jan and Dean ("Surf City," a No. 1 hit in 1963) and all the other great performers with whom we shared stages and dressing rooms and backstage buffets:

Chuck Berry, Martha and the Vandellas, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, the Everly Brothers, James Brown, Lesley Gore, Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon, the Kingsmen, the Drifters, Fabian, the Coasters, Little Eva, the Ventures, Sam the Sham. ...

Jukebox names whose fame was once as fresh and electric as that now being savored by Sunday's young Grammy nominees.

Decades after that fame is new, the road may not be quite as glamorous, the crowds may not be quite as large. The hours of killing time before riding over to the hall, the putrid vending-machine meals on the run, the way-too-early-in-the-morning vans to the airport -- the dreary parts all become more than worth it when, for an hour or so, the singers can once again personally deliver a bit of happiness to the audiences who still adore their music.

Greene: Super Bowl ad revives iconic voice

As the years go by, the whole thing may grow complicated -- band members come and go, they fight and feud, some quit, some die. There are times when it seems you can't tell the players without a scorecard -- the Tokens at the highway hotel were, technically and contractually, Jay Siegel's Tokens (you don't want to know the details). One of their singers (not Jay Siegel -- Jay Traynor) was once Jay of Jay and the Americans, a group that itself is still out on the road in a different configuration with a different Jay (you don't want to know).

But overriding all of this is a splendid truism:

Sometimes, if you have one big hit, it can take care of you for the rest of your life. It can be your life.

Sunday's young Grammy nominees may not imagine, 30 years down the line, still being on tour. But they -- the fortunate ones -- will come to learn something:

They will grow old, but their hits never will -- once people first fall in love with those songs, the songs will mean something powerful and evocative to them for the rest of their lives.

And as long as there are fairground grandstands on summer nights, as long as there are small-town ballparks with stages where the pitcher's mound should be, the singers will get to keep delivering the goods.

That is the hopeful news waiting, off in the distance, for those who will win Grammys Sunday, and for those who won't be chosen.

On the morning after that pool-deck encounter in Florida I headed out for a walk, and in the parking lot of the hotel I saw one of the Tokens loading his stage clothes into his car.

His license plate read:

SHE CRYD

I said to him:

"You sing lead on 'She Cried,' right?"

"Every night," he said, and drove off toward the next show.

The next show.

That's the prize.

That's the trophy, right there.

Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter.

Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bob Greene.

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The Chocolate Business is Losing Its Workers

This Valentine’s Day, Americans will spend a record $ 1.05 billion on chocolate and candy, according to the National Confectioners Association. But while Mamert Kablan Angora helps keep sweethearts sweet by growing cocoa on part of the 15 hectares (37 acres) of Ivory Coast land his family has farmed for generations, his 31-year-old son with the same name prefers an office job in the nation’s biggest city. “I have seen my parents suffering in hoping that days will be better in growing cocoa, but the situation is deteriorating year after year,” says Mamert’s son, who works at an import/export firm in Abidjan, where he can use his master’s degree in business. “Cocoa can no longer allow someone to take care of oneself or of a family.”

Villagers in West Africa, which produces 70 percent of the world’s cocoa, are abandoning the crop because its price is volatile, farms are too small to be economical, yields haven’t risen for decades, and alternative crops such as rubber are more lucrative. “Everybody is worried that the farmer is living on the edge of poverty,” says Barry Parkin, the head of global procurement and sustainability at Mars, whose products include M&M’s, the best-selling chocolate candy in the U.S. “They produce half a ton per hectare of cocoa, and it has been that way forever. All major agricultural products have improved their yields by a factor of 5 to 10 in the last 50 years, and cocoa hasn’t.”

The chocolate market expands by 2 percent to 3 percent a year, according to Zurich-based Barry Callebaut (BARN), the world’s biggest maker of bulk chocolate. Cocoa supplies, though, have lagged demand in 10 of the past 20 years, according to data from the International Cocoa Organization in London. The ICCO forecasts a shortfall of about 50,000 tons for the annual season, which began in October. And Parkin at Mars reckons demand will outpace production by 1 million tons by the end of the decade.

That means your chocolate kisses may cost more next Valentine’s Day. To deal with more frequent cocoa shortages, confectioners have been shrinking the size of chocolate bars and bon bons, adding more air bubbles to chocolate, or simply substituting more vegetable oil for cocoa butter. They also can pull from global stockpiles, which stood at 1.8 million metric tons as of Sept. 30, according to the International Cocoa Organization. But experts say it will be tougher to cope beyond 2020 without improved production.

“You must start with that core fundamental of improving cocoa yields, improving productivity on the farm … to build sustainable year-after-year strong crops that are more disease-resistant, that provide more pods per tree,” says Tim Cofer, European president of Mondelēz International (MDLZ), the world’s biggest chocolate company, with a 15 percent market share. Mondelēz sells more than $ 1 billion of Milka and Cadbury Dairy Milk bars a year.

Cocoa is hard to grow, and the trees don’t start producing until three to five years after being planted. Also, climate change threatens to make farming it even more challenging. The crop needs hot, humid conditions, with temperatures no lower than 18C (64F) and no higher than 32C, according to U.K. risk advisory firm Maple-croft. Temperatures in growing regions of Ivory Coast and Ghana, the second-biggest producer, are forecast to rise as much as 2C by 2050, while the optimum growing altitude will be 450 to 500 meters (1,476 to 1,640 feet) above sea level by then, compared with 100 to 250 meters now, according to the International Center for Tropical Agriculture.

Mondelēz says it will invest $ 400 million in the next decade to help growers raise yields and improve incomes. Barry Callebaut will spend 40 million Swiss francs ($ 44 million) in the same period to train farmers and help double yields. Blommer Chocolate, the largest U.S. cocoa bean processor, and Singapore-based trader Olam International (OLAM) last year formed a joint venture to invest $ 12 million to raise yields by 2015. And candy giant Nestlé (NESN) will invest 110 million Swiss francs in cocoa science and sustainability initiatives from 2010 to 2019.

Due to shortages and political instability, cocoa prices experienced annual swings of more than 20 percent in 10 of the past 20 years. Prices were below $ 1,000 a ton in the early 1970s and more than tripled by the end of that decade. By 1989 they were again below $ 1,000 a ton. Cocoa climbed to a 32-year high in 2011 but has since fallen 74 percent. After peaking at more than $ 2,700 in September, the price has slumped 18 percent to about $ 2,220. “The volatility of cocoa prices is one of the reasons we are facing this situation,” says Jean-Marc Anga, the ICCO’s executive director. “Some farmers have left cocoa and gone into rubber, palm oil, and other commodities. Unless you find a sustainable solution, you are not going to attract these people back into cocoa and keep them there.”

The bottom line: The global chocolate industry is girding for shortages of its key raw material, cocoa. Its price has fallen more than 70 percent since 2011.

With Baudelaire Mieu

Businessweek.com — Top News

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What to do with your tax refund

Taxes » Tax Refund » 4 Options For Your Tax Refund

Every year, you swear you’re going to save at least some of your tax refund. Every year, you end up spending every last cent.

Uncle Sam wants to help. He’s letting you directly deposit your refund money into up to four accounts. You can have a portion of the refund sent to your checking account to help you pay bills, another amount directed to savings, a third chunk of cash sent straight into your individual retirement account and use up to $ 5,000 in tax refund money to purchase savings bonds.

The option to send your tax refund directly to several accounts was prompted by the increasing popularity of direct deposit.

Since direct deposit of tax refunds was introduced in 1987, it’s become one of the Internal Revenue Service’s most popular innovations.

Direct deposit of federal tax refunds in 2012

• 82.8 million returns.


• $ 247.2 billion in refunds.


• $ 2,985 average direct deposit refund amount.

You still can choose to have your entire refund sent to just one account. That option remains on the 1040EZ, 1040A and 1040. It’s also available on 1040s filed by nonresident and Puerto Rican taxpayers, as well as self-employed taxpayers who must file the 1040-SS.

But now on each of those forms, if you want to divide your refund into multiple accounts or buy savings bonds, you’ll have to send along Form 8888, Allocation of Refund, with your individual return.

Mind these important details

It’s not a difficult process or form. If you’ve used the single account direct deposit option before, there’s nothing to worry about other than the number of accounts you can enter.

Even if this is your first year to have your refund money sent electronically to a bank account, the directions are clear, and Form 8888 includes a blank check diagram showing you exactly what to look for and enter. But there are some things you need to pay attention to or your good deposit intentions could go astray.

First, be sure to check the box on your Form 1040 that indicates you are splitting up your refund. It will let the IRS know you want your money sent to multiple accounts and that agency employees need to look to your Form 8888 for details. The check box is on each of the various 1040 forms, just above where you would enter information if you were sending the money to just one account.

And about that 1040 section for a single direct deposit: Leave it blank. If you complete the account information on your main return, don’t be surprised if the IRS then sends all your refund money to that one account.

Instead of using your 1040 form, you’ll enter all your multiple account information on Form 8888.

Choose 1, 2 or 3 accounts

The form has room for three accounts, but that doesn’t mean you have to choose that many.

If you want your IRS cash deposited in only two accounts, that’s fine. All you have to do in this case is simply enter account information for the pair on Form 8888.

And if you’re happy with your refund going to one, just enter that single account info in the appropriate section on your Form 1040.

Married couples can ask the IRS to directly deposit a refund on a joint return into individual accounts held by either partner or one held in both names. However, do verify that your financial institution will accept a joint refund sent to an individual account.

You do have to receive a minimum refund amount to use the split deposit option. But when the IRS says minimum, in this case, it means minimum.

As long as you request that at least $ 1 go directly into each account, the IRS will follow your instructions. So if your refund is $ 3, you can have one buck each sent to three accounts.

Savings bonds steps

Part II of Form 8888 is for the purchase of Series I bonds with tax refund money. Taxpayers who opt to buy these inflation-adjusted bonds — the interest rate is adjusted each May 1 and Nov. 1 — also have a choice of bond ownership.

You can purchase up to $ 5,000 in bonds. The only requirement is that the amount be a multiple of $ 50. For example, if your refund is $ 570, you can use up to $ 550 to buy bonds. Then you must select an account into which the IRS will directly deposit the remaining $ 20.

Different amounts to different accounts

There’s no requirement that you divide your refund equally among your accounts. If you’re getting back $ 1,000, you can send $ 900 to savings, $ 99 to a money market account and $ 1 to checking. Basically, as long as an account has a routing number, the IRS can send the money there directly.

But for any tax refund to go into an account, the money must be held in a U.S. financial institution, such as a bank, mutual fund, brokerage firm or credit union. And make sure the institution accepts direct deposits. Most do, but check just in case. A bank, for example, may accept direct deposits for regular savings accounts, but not for education savings accounts.

Also ask your financial institution about fees associated with electronic transactions. Again, that’s generally not a problem with deposits, but you don’t want any unpleasant surprises when you’re expecting your tax refund. If your bank does refuse a direct deposit, the IRS will send you that refund portion as a paper check.

In addition to standard checking and passbook savings accounts, you can send your refund directly to other financial instruments. Examples include money market accounts; health savings accounts, or HSAs; Archer medical savings accounts, or MSAs; and Coverdell education savings accounts.

Watch out for potential IRA snafus

You can, though, direct your refund or a part of it to an individual retirement account, either a traditional account, a Roth IRA or, if you’re self-employed, a SEP IRA. But there are some details you need to consider.

First, set up your retirement account before you request the direct deposit to it, and let your IRA trustee know that the IRS will be transferring money into that account.

Also, be sure to tell your IRA trustee what tax year you want the refund deposit applied toward, because the transaction from the IRS won’t indicate that. If you don’t designate whether the refund is for a 2012 or 2013 contribution, the trustee can assume the deposit is for this year. That could pose a problem if you counted the refund deposit as a 2012 contribution and claimed a deduction for it.

If you are using the refund as a prior year contribution, also make sure you file early enough so that it’s directly deposited into your IRA by the April deadline.

It usually takes around two weeks for an e-filed direct deposit to be completed, but don’t run up too closely against the due date. If the money shows up in your account a day after the deadline, it will be counted as a 2013 contribution. Such bookkeeping differences could force you to refigure your tax bill and refund amount on an amended return.

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Stock index futures signal higher open

PARIS (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.07 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.08 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.03 percent at 03.44 a.m. EST.

European stocks fell, reversing Friday's rebound as simmering worries over Spain and Italy continued to spook investors. <.eu> Most Asian bourses, including those in Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea, were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

US Airways Group Inc and AMR Corp are nearing an $11 billion merger that would create the world's largest airline and could announce a deal within a week, after resolving key differences on valuation and management structure, people familiar with the matter said.

Google Inc Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt is selling roughly 42 percent of his stake in the Internet search company, a move that could potentially net the former chief executive a $2.51 billion windfall.

Three of Dell Inc's largest investors joined Southeastern Asset Management on Friday in objecting to a $24.4 billion buyout of the No. 3 PC maker led by Chief Executive Michael Dell, sources said, as opposition grows to the largest buyout since the start of the financial crisis.

Boeing Co completed what it called an uneventful flight on Saturday of a test 787 Dreamliner, its first since the airplanes were grounded more than three weeks ago after a series of battery-related problems.

Apple Inc. is experimenting with the design of a device similar to a wristwatch that would operate on the same platform as the iPhone and would be made with curved glass, the New York Times reported on Sunday.

The Nasdaq composite stock index closed at a 12-year high and the S&P 500 index at a five-year high, boosted by gains in technology shares and stronger overseas trade figures.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> ended up 48.92 points, or 0.35 percent, at 13,992.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was up 8.54 points, or 0.57 percent, at 1,517.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was up 28.74 points, or 0.91 percent, at 3,193.87, its highest closing level since November 2000.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; editing by Patrick Graham)

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