Feds say Gulf of Maine cod stock in jeopardy

PORTLAND, Maine — Federal regulators say an analysis of Gulf of Maine cod suggests the important species will continue to decline.

The National Marine Fisheries Service says in a statement that "virtually every indicator" of the cod stock's condition declined in 2013. The service says cod's spawning levels are estimated to be three to four percent of target levels. It also says spawning stock biomass is at an all-time low.

The news comes at a time of steep decline in the cod fishery in the Gulf of Maine. Maine's cod fishery declined from more than 1.2 million pounds in 2009 to 286,299 pounds last year. The value of the fishery declined by more than half in that time.

The New England Fishery Management Council meets Monday to discuss the status of the fishery.

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Gas prices down 2 cents in Massachusetts

BOSTON — AAA Southern New England says gasoline prices in Massachusetts are down 2 cents from last week and are at their lowest levels since April.

AAA says the average price of self-serve regular currently is $3.56 a gallon and has dropped 11 cents in the past month. Last year at this time, the state average was $3.69.

The average price in Massachusetts is 6 cents higher that the current national average of $3.50 a gallon.

AAA says gas prices around the state ranged from $3.37 a gallon to $3.89.

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Wal-Mart's website to personalize shopping

NEW YORK — Wal-Mart, in its latest bid to compete with nemesis Amazon.com, is rebuilding its website to further personalize the online shopping experience of each customer.

Wal-Mart is rolling out a feature that will enable its website to show shoppers more products that they may like, based on previous purchases. It will also customize Wal-Mart's home page for each shopper based on the customer's location, local weather and the customer's search and purchase history.

So if a new mom just bought a stroller or crib on Walmart.com, the revamped website might recommend diapers and car seats, too. And if someone who lives in Dallas searches the website for sports jerseys, Walmart.com could suggest Rangers or Dallas Cowboy gear.

The increased personalization is part of a series of changes to improve the online shopping experience of its customers that are rolling out now and over the next few months. The retailer is looking to boost its business online at a time when its U.S. discount division has seen disappointing sales.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s e-commerce sales increased by 30 percent to over $10 billion in its fiscal year that ended Jan. 31. By comparison, Wal-Mart's U.S. discount division has had five straight quarters of sales declines at stores opened at least a year. Wal-Mart sees big growth opportunity in the online business: Online sales still are only a fraction of the $473 billion Wal-Mart generated in overall annual revenue, dwarfed by Amazon's $60.9 billion in annual sales.

The move to personalize websites for shoppers has become a top priority for traditional brick-and-mortar retailers like Wal-Mart as they play catch up with Amazon.com, the online king that pioneered customizing content for shoppers. Retailers increasingly are trying to use their reams of customer data they get from mobile devices and computers to personalize their websites and ultimately, boost sales.

Other retailers, including home-improvement chain Home Depot and office-supplies retailer Staples, have been working to personalize the online shopping experience. In fact, a quarter of customers who visit Home Depot's home page see product recommendations that are based on recent purchase or browser history, according to the company.

Retailers have seen benefits in personalizing their websites for customers, as well as other efforts to improve the online shopping experience. Overall, Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Mulpuru said that changes in customization can help lift a retailer's online sales in the mid-single digits.

Wal-Mart said that customers have responded well to improvements it has made to its website in the past two years, including quadrupling the assortment of items it offers online to 8 million. For example, when Wal-Mart updated its search tool, it saw a 20 percent increase in shoppers completing a purchase after searching for a product using the new search engine.

Among the other changes, Wal-Mart has redesigned the site to cater to tablets as well as other devices. That means that the content and images are now adjusted to the size of the screen. So shoppers will see more columns of products on bigger screens.

Shoppers will see other improvements. Walmart.com will be testing a quicker online checkout process over the next couple of months. That means customers will view one page instead of six before clicking on the "buy" button. And the company will be able to update Web pages within minutes instead of days.

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Follow Anne D'Innocenzio at — http://www.Twitter.com/adinnocenzio

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Source: Chase Carey commits to staying at Fox if Time Warner deal happens

Rupert Murdoch has strengthened his hand in his quest to acquire Time Warner.

21st Century Fox president-chief operating officer Chase Carey is said to have pledged to make a long-term commitment to stay in his top management role should the deal come to pass.

Carey's future with 21st Century Fox has been one of the key questions stirred up by Murdoch's bid to merge his media and entertainment holdings with Time Warner.

In June, Carey set a two-year contract with 21st Century Fox, which came on the heels of the appointments of Murdoch scions James and Lachlan to more prominent corporate posts in the media giant that remains tightly controlled by the Murdoch family trust.

Carey's current deal runs through June 30, 2016, though it has a clause that allows him to exit at the end of next year. To do so, he has to give the board six months notice of his intention to step down, which means Carey could potentially announce his departure as early as July 1, 2015.

If Fox is able to secure an agreement with Time Warner -- at present that's still a big "if" -- it will undoubtedly take months, if not a year, for the Justice Department, the FCC and other regulators to review the deal. Having less than 18- to 24-months left on Carey's contract has been a concern for investors, because a tie-up as mammoth as Fox-Time Warner will require the guidance of a seasoned operating exec accustomed to overseeing disparate businesses spread around the world. Carey is respected and admired in Wall Street circles as one of the strongest all-around managers in the media biz.

Sources said Carey's willingness to commit to seeing the acquisition through has become known internally at Fox and has been communicated to key investors in recent days as Murdoch tries to build support in the investment community for the mega-merger. A rep for Fox declined comment on the matter.

Carey by all accounts its said to be adept at juggling the competing demands of executing (and sometimes tempering) Murdoch's vision, managing Fox's division leaders as well as pursuing his own agenda. His steely resolve in 2009 to command hefty retransmission consent fees from MVPDs for Fox's O&Os stations set an industry precedent -- after a New Year's Eve marathon of negotiating sessions with Time Warner Cable -- that has improved the economics for all network-affiliated broadcast TV stations.

James Murdoch has taken on more corporate responsibility in the past few years, most recently he was named co-COO under Carey in March. At the same time Lachlan Murodch was named non-exec co-chairman of Fox and its News Corp. sibling, a role seen as something as an apprenticeship with his father.

But neither son is viewed as ready to oversee the integration of assets as huge as HBO, Warner Bros. and Turner Broadcasting with Fox's worldwide holdings. Without the assurance that Carey, 60, will remain with Fox for at least a few more years, Murdoch would have a harder time drumming up investor enthusiasm for the ambitious takeover.

Media biz watchers are expecting to hear more discussion this week of the proposed combo on Aug. 6, when Fox and Time Warner report second quarter earnings. Fox went public with its $80 billion bid on July 16, a month after it was rejected unanimously by Time Warner board members as too low. Fox has publicly kept quiet for the past two weeks but industry insiders say it is clear that Murdoch and other Fox board members have been working the phones, gathering intel and attempting to recruit allies on the Time Warner board before making a new offer. The degree to which Time Warner has forcefully rejected Fox's unsolicited advances has surprised the Fox camp, a knowledgable source said, given how much the company, which was once the world's largest media conglom, as slimmed down through spinoffs and divestitures in recent years.

Carey is key to any Fox-Time Warner transaction because the integration would need to be spearheaded by an exec with deep understanding of Fox's far-flung operations. At the same time, industry observers say, there's no obvious operational superstar in the Time Warner ranks, beyond CEO Jeff Bewkes, who rivals Carey's experience and track record as a manager.

Carey has been a top lieutenant of Murdoch's since the late 1980s, rising through the ranks on the television side. He left the Fox/News Corp. fold in late 2003 to run DirecTV after News Corp. sold the satcaster to Liberty Media. Carey returned to News Corp. in 2009 after Peter Chenin exited the president-COO post. He was instrumental in shepherding the 2012 corporate split that created the new 21st Century Fox entity to house Fox's media and entertainment operations while publishing assets stayed under the News Corp. banner.

(C) 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Walgreen CFO leaves, replaced with Kraft exec

Walgreen's top financial officer is leaving the largest U.S. drugstore chain as it nears a key decision about its future that could involve a politically touchy overseas reorganization.

Walgreen said Monday it will replace Wade Miquelon with former Kraft Foods executive Timothy McLevish as executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective immediately.

Miquelon, 49, had served as a senior leader in the drugstore chain's multibillion-dollar collaboration with Swiss health and beauty retailer Alliance Boots. He had joined the board of Alliance Boots, which runs the largest drugstore chain in the United Kingdom. A Walgreen spokesman said Miquelon was not terminated and would continue to work temporarily for Walgreen as an adviser, but he is leaving the board of Alliance Boots.

Walgreen Co., which runs more than 8,200 drugstores, bought a 45 percent stake in Alliance Boots a few years ago and will announce soon whether it plans to buy the rest. The Deerfield, Illinois, company also is considering an overseas combination called an inversion with Alliance Boots that could reduce its U.S. corporate tax bill.

In an inversion, a U.S. corporation reorganizes in another country with a lower tax rate, often as part of a new company created through a combination with another business. Dozens of U.S. companies have completed inversions in recent years, and they're especially popular with drugmakers that have extensive overseas operations. But members of Congress and President Barack Obama have raised concerns about the tax revenue the federal government is losing as a result of these deals.

Walgreen has said it expects to decide early this month about its next step with Alliance Boots.

CEO Greg Wasson said in a statement Monday that McLevish was coming on board as Walgreen prepares "to embark on our journey to create the first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise."

McLevish, 59, had been executive vice president and CFO for Kraft Foods Group Inc. He holds a master's degree in business administration from Harvard University.

Walgreen shares added 96 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $71.49 in Monday morning trading, while broader indexes were little changed.

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Indian leader warms ties during Nepal visit

KATMANDU, Nepal — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wooed his country's tiny Himalayan neighbor, Nepal, during a two-day visit aimed at boosting ties with a country that India has long ignored and where China already has a strong presence.

In the first visit by an Indian prime minister in 17 years, Modi addressed parliament, speaking briefly in the Nepali language, and stopped to meet delighted crowds. He offered $1 billion in low-interest development loans and visited a revered Hindu shrine.

While China has built power plants, highways, an airport and telecommunication facilities and given airplanes to Nepal, India has made promises in the past but has not always delivered.

Analysts said the visit, which ended Monday, hit many of the right notes.

"This was the most successful trip by any Indian leader to Nepal," said Dhurba Hari Adhikary, an independent analyst.

"There has been a big gap of 17 years, so people here in Nepal felt they were not being considered a good friend for quite a while," Adhikary said. "This gap has been breached."

Thousands of people lined the road to cheer as Modi's motorcade passed. At one point, he stopped his armored car to get out and shake hands with the onlookers. The footage, recorded by people on their cellphones, was quickly posted on social media sites.

Modi met with the prime minister, the president and other leaders, and visited Pasupatinath, a temple for the Hindu God Shiva.

Modi, a devout Hindu, offered prayers and presented the temple with 2,500 kilograms (5,500 pounds) of sandalwood worth 30 million rupees ($306,000) to be used for rituals.

In his speech at the Constituent Assembly, he promised to aid Nepal's economy and offered $1 billion in loans for development, including hydropower plants in the energy-starved Himalayan nation.

Millions of people in Nepal face up to 12 hours of power outages each day because of an inadequate number of power plants.

"After hearing his speech in parliament I have become Modi's fan. I am convinced he will regard us in Nepal as equal partners and not treat us like someone inferior as past Indian leaders did," said Shyam Karki, a garment trader who often visits India.

There was some disappointment, however, that a proposed electricity trading agreement between India and Nepal did not materialize.

No reason was given for the delay, but officials said there was still work to be done on the details.

"It was disappointing that India did not even want to discuss the power trading agreement draft that Nepal had sent during Modi's visit," said Ameet Dhakal, editor of the popular online news portal Setopati.

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Fox News' Sean Hannity takes show to Israel for first time

Sean Hannity will anchor his primetime Fox News Channel program from Israel for the first time starting this evening.

Fox News Channel will present his show, "Hannity," from Israel, a few miles from Tel Aviv, on Monday, August 4th, Tuesday, August 5th and Wednesday, August 6th at 10 p.m. Eastern. The program will focus on the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.

Hannity has done remotes from various parts of the United States before - he recently traveled to Texas to examine immigration issues with Governor Rick Perry, for example, and traveled to New Orleans to visit the members of the family at the heart of the TV program "Duck Dynasty" - but his trips outside the country are rare. He has broadcast from Iraq, but never from Israel.

The host did a live hit from Israel this morning on the 21st Century Fox outlet's "Fox & Friends.

(C) 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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PF Chang's names 33 restaurants in data breach

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — P.F. Chang's is providing more details on its ongoing investigation into a security breach, saying data may have been stolen from certain credit and debit cards used at 33 P.F. Chang's China Bistro restaurants in the U.S.

P.F. Chang's confirmed in June that data from credit and debit cards used at its restaurants was stolen, but didn't specify the locations at that time. On Monday the company provided a list of locations. These include P.F. Chang's restaurants in Baltimore; St. Louis; Pittsburgh; Austin, Texas; and Charlotte, North Carolina.

A list of all 33 locations, as well as the dates that cards may have been compromised, can be found at pfchangs.com/security. The company said that potentially stolen data includes the card number and may also include the cardholder's name and/or the card's expiration date in some instances.

P.F. Chang's said that it's continuously working to understand the nature and scope of the incident. It says the security compromise has been contained and that it has been processing credit and debit card data securely since June 11.

The restaurant operator noted that as the investigation continues it may identify other locations where data may have been compromised or other date ranges.

P.F. Chang's China Bistro Inc., based in Scottsdale, Arizona, owns its namesake restaurants and Pei Wei Asian Diners. The company was taken private in 2012 by Centerbridge partners LP for about $1.1 billion.

Data breaches have occurred at other major U.S. corporations recently, including Target Corp., Neiman Marcus, Sally Beauty Holdings Inc. and Michaels Stores Inc.

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Online: http://pfchangs.com/security

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US airfares on the rise, outpacing inflation

NEW YORK — Travelers, prepare to pay more for your flight.

The average roundtrip ticket within the U.S., including taxes, reached $509.15 in the first six months of this year, up nearly $14 from the same period last year. Domestic airfare continues to outpace inflation, rising 2.7 percent compared to the 2.1 percent gain in the Consumer Price Index.

Airfare has gone up 10.7 percent in the past five years — after adjusting for inflation — according to an Associated Press analysis of data from the Airlines Reporting Corp., which processes ticket transactions for airlines and more than 9,400 travel agencies, including websites such as Expedia and Orbitz.

The formula for rising fares seems simple, but it eluded the airlines for years: Match the supply of seats to passenger demand.

"Airlines have reduced the number of seats while more people want to fly because of the economic recovery. All this leads to higher airfares," says Chuck Thackston, managing director of data and analytics at Airlines Reporting Corp. "This trend in airfares is likely to continue for the near future, as the economy continues to grow."

Most fliers are traveling for work. And when the economy is strong, they do more flying. Data released by the government last week shows that economic growth bounced back after a brutal winter, businesses are creating jobs at a steady pace and consumer spending is on the rise.

The airfare figures don't take into account the slew of fees travelers now face for checking bags, getting extra legroom, boarding early or purchasing a pair of headphones. Those fees now bring in $3.3 billion a year for U.S. airlines and have helped them return consistent annual profits for the last four years.

Baggage fees and some others were introduced in 2008 to offset losses from rising fuel prices. However, this year airlines are actually paying less for fuel — $2.96 a gallon so far, 7.2 percent less than last year, when adjusted for inflation.

Passengers aren't seeing any of those savings. One reason is that airlines no longer need to entice fliers with lower fares. There are simply fewer choices today.

A wave of consolidation that started in 2008 has left four U.S. airlines — American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines — controlling more than 80 percent of the domestic air-travel market. Discount airlines such as Allegiant Air and Spirit Airlines have grown at breakneck speed but still carry a tiny fraction of overall passengers.

That control of the market has enabled the bigger airlines to charge more for tickets and not worry about being undercut by the completion. Those higher fares, in turn, have led to record profits. In April, May and June, the four largest U.S. airlines earned a combined $2.9 billion. Airlines are earning so much money that they are starting to pay investors dividends — something unheard of in an industry that just a decade ago was struggling with a wave of bankruptcies.

Airlines for America, the industry's U.S. trade and lobbying group, says passengers should blame the government, not the carriers, for higher fares. Last month, increased fees linked to the Transportation Security Administration took effect. Fliers will now pay a flat fee of $5.60 each way, up from $2.50 each way for nonstop flights and $5 for trips with connections.

But taxes and government fees still remain a small portion of what passengers pay. On a $500 roundtrip ticket between New York and Seattle, they make up 12 percent of the price.

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Scott Mayerowitz can be reached at http://twitter.com/GlobeTrotScott.

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Stocks slip, declining for third consecutive day

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks were losing momentum in midday trading Monday, adding to a major sell-off last week that put caution back into the market. The losses were held in check by two pieces of positive news: a decent earnings report from Berkshire Hathaway and the announcement of a bailout package for a struggling Portuguese bank.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average fell nine points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,484 as of 12:15 p.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up a point, or 0.1 percent, to 1,926 and the Nasdaq composite was up 10 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,362. Three stocks fell for every two that rose on the New York Stock Exchange.

PORTUGESE BANK RESCUE: Portugal's central bank said late Sunday it will rescue the ailing Banco Espirito Santo, one of the country's biggest financial institutions. The bank's woes were a major reason European markets fell last week. Portugal's PSI 20 index rose 1 percent on the news.

BUFFETT'S BIG PAYDAY: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway reported a profit of $6.4 billion last quarter, helped by its insurance division Geico, which performed well above Wall Street's expectations. Berkshire's investment portfolio was also a big driver of profits last quarter. The company's Class B stock rose $2.82, or 2 percent, to $128.65.

THE AFTERMATH: Investors are still dealing with last week's market rout, where the S&P 500 fell nearly 3 percent in five days. It was the worst week for the index since June 2012.

"There does appear to be a little caution in the markets," said Alpari analyst Craig Erlam. "Investors are a little concerned that the sell-off which started last week is not over and could lead to something much bigger."

Last week, investors had several reasons to sell. There was the escalating violence in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza, as well as concerns that the Federal Reserve was poised to start raising interest rates next year.

LIGHTS OFF: Utility stocks were among the hardest hit. Consolidated Edison and PG&E fell 1 percent while Duke Energy fell 2 percent. The Dow Jones utility index, which includes 15 utility stocks, fell nearly 2 percent.

OUT OF FASHION: Michael Kors dropped $5.86, or 7 percent, to $75.96. While the handbag and women's fashion company reported a rise in second quarter earnings, the company's profit margin shrank for the second consecutive quarter.

CURRENCIES, OIL: Currency markets were flat. The dollar was steady at 102.57 yen and the euro held at $1.3416. Benchmark U.S. crude for September delivery was up three cents at $97.91 per barrel. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged down to 2.48 percent from 2.50 percent on Friday.

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