Finance Blog number 1

The Empire State Building is on an energy diet.

The hulking building, a symbol of American power and, to some, excess, has cut its energy use by 20%.

And that’s just due to changes to the building’s exterior. Once retrofits are made to tenant spaces on the inside, the second tallest building in Manhattan will be nearly 40% more efficient.

The retrofits will cost $20 million once they’re complete, and are expected to save the owners $4.4 million in annual energy costs.

"After one year, we have proven that investing in energy efficiency gives building owners a dollars-and-cents advantage," said Dave Myers, a president at Johnson Controls, which conducted the retrofit.

The renovations are part of a $500 million rehab plan for the building. The building’s owners, Malkin Holdings LLC, filed for an initial public offering back in February which valued the building at $2.5 billion.

The changes to the Empire State include:

–Filling the existing windows with an energy saving gas and adding an additional plastic pane.

–Upgrading the building’s cooling system.

–Using computerized "smart" energy management technology that can adjust temperatures floor by floor.

–Provide tenants with detailed energy use in their space.

–Automatically shut off lights in unused areas.

Greenest states to own an electric car

The move to make the Empire State Building more efficient was announced three years ago amid much fanfare — Bill Clinton and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg were in attendance at a press conference from the building’s 80th floor.

Energy efficiency often gets less attention than oil drilling, wind turbines or solar panels when it comes to tackling America’s energy challenge.

Yet efficiency often offers the biggest energy saving opportunity, and at a fraction of the cost of new sources.

Buildings account for 40% of the country’s energy use, and an average home emits twice as much carbon dioxide as the average car.

But the country has made some impressive gains in the efficiency arena, both since the energy crisis of the 1970s and more recently amid high oil prices.

The average refrigerator today uses a quarter of the energy it did in the 1970s, said Lowell Ungar, policy director at the Alliance to Save Energy.

In the last couple of years the government has taken steps to make furnaces, air conditioners and refrigerators even more efficient, said Ungar. It has also begun the phase-out of the notoriously inefficient incandescent light bulb.

On the building front, recommended building codes for both commercial and residential structures are 30% more efficient today than they were in 2006, said William Fay, executive director of the Energy Efficient Codes Coalition. By 2015, building codes are expected to be 50% more efficient.

Not all the all states have adopted these stricter codes, said Fay, and that’s one of the challenges in saving even more energy.

Auto efficiency has made major strides in the last few years. George W. Bush famously raised fuel efficiency standards for the first time in decades during the last days of his administration, and Obama has accelerated the trend.

Fuel efficiency standards have gone from 27 miles per gallon in 2006 to a target of 35.5 miles per gallon in 2016. By 2025 vehicles are supposed to average nearly 55 miles per gallon.

That’s a doubling of fuel efficiency.

"We are twice as energy efficient as a county today as were were 20 or 30 years ago," Daniel Yergin, Chairman of the consultancy IHS CERA and one of the world’s foremost energy analysts, said in recent Senate testimony. "And we ought to become twice as efficient again." 

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International Monetary Fund official Zhu Min said China will avoid an economic hard-landing even as government data showed property prices falling in most of the nation

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Sweden

Chancellor Angela Merkel won a parliamentary vote on Greek aid after warning German lawmakers that pushing Greece out of the euro would risk

Inflation picked up slightly last month, as rising gas prices took a bigger bite out of consumers’ wallets.

The government’s key measure of inflation, the Consumer Price Index, showed prices rose 0.2% from December to January, slightly weaker than the 0.3% increase economists had predicted.

Rising prices at the gas pump were a key factor, increasing 0.9% during the month, the Labor Department said. Improving U.S. economic data, including stronger job growth, and tension with Iran have been driving the price of oil and gasoline higher.

Gas prices ended last month at a national average of $3.443 a gallon, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report.

Tom Kloza, chief analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, recently forecast gas prices will hit a $4 national average by Memorial Day. They could even near $5 a gallon in certain regions.

Check gas prices in your state

Could this mark a repeat of early 2011?

Amid revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East, gas prices spiked 3.5% In January 2011 alone, and kept rising, nearing $4 a gallon in May. Those higher prices trickled through to other goods and dragged on consumer spending. Economic growth slowed and job growth eventually slumped.

So far, the 2012 price hikes at the gas pump aren’t as severe, but that’s not to say employers aren’t concerned.

About 68% of executives surveyed by the Corporate Executive Board expect cost pressures to increase in 2012 — and not just on energy. On Thursday, the Labor Department’s Producer Price Index showed a modest 0.2% increase in the cost of raw materials in January, after commodity prices fell the month before.

But higher costs won’t necessarily lead to higher prices for consumers.

Businesses don’t expect to see a major increase in consumer confidence this year, according to Michael Griffin, executive director at CEB. It’s that slack in the economy, amid high unemployment and slow wage growth, that is likely to keep companies from trying to pass higher costs on to consumers.

"Demand is still fairly weak out there so it’s difficult for firms to raise prices," said Gus Faucher, senior economist at PNC Financial Services Group. "Consumers are shopping around and still watching their costs."

Year over year, the inflation report showed consumer prices were up 2.9% in January, barely changed from a 3% annual inflation rate in December.

The CPI report also showed food prices rose 0.2% in January, mainly driven by higher prices at restaurants. Prices at grocery stores barely changed. Overall, food prices up 4.4% over a year ago.

Core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy, showed consumer prices rose 0.2% in January, and 2.3% year-over-year.

Core inflation is at its highest level since September 2008, when the rate was 2.5%. 

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After three days of delays, Greek coalition leaders began crucial debt talks Wednesday with the prime minister to review a draft deal on steep cutbacks demanded by creditors in return for a euro130 billion ($170 billion) bailout.

Leaders of three parties backing the three-month-old coalition are under intense pressure to accept the new austerity demands and shield the country from a looming bankruptcy.

Their decisions will be announced at a meeting with Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, after the parties were handed a 50-page English-language draft agreement, drawn up with international debt inspectors late Tuesday.

Athens has already accepted a demand to fire up to 15,000 workers in the public sector in 2012, but is under pressure to impose deeper cuts, including reductions in pension payments and the minimum wage.

A disorderly bankruptcy by Greece would likely lead to its exit from the eurozone, a situation that European officials have insisted is impossible because it would hurt other weak countries like Portugal, Ireland and Italy.

It was still not clear whether the parties _ the majority Socialists, main rival conservatives, and small right-wing LAOS _ would accept the austerity demands, particularly ahead of national elections provisionally set for late April.

“Austerity measures are like shoes that are too tight. Sooner or later, you want to kick them off,” LAOS leader George Karatzaferis was quoted as saying by state TV.

The coalition talks have been repeatedly postponed this week to make time for exhaustive negotiations with representatives of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, on whose approval the continued flow of Greece’s vital rescue loans depends.

Without the bailout, Greece would not have enough money to pay off a big bond redemption payment due on March. 20, triggering a default that risks sending shockwaves throughout financial markets and the global economy.

As anger mounts in Greece at the prospect of further economic pain, patience is running out abroad.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman said Greece must swiftly return to a sustainable, viable path.

“This is not a question one can take a lot of time to tackle,” Steffen Seibert said. “It is important that the negotiations now come to an end.”

Late Tuesday, Greece’s private creditors signaled progress on a separate, linked agreement that would cut the country’s privately held debt load by 50 percent, or some euro100 billion ($131 billion).

The intention is to ensure that Greece’s long-term debts are sustainable. Banks, pension and hedge funds and other private sector holders of Greek debt are expected to swap their current bonds for new ones worth 50 percent less than the original face value, with longer repayment terms and a lower interest rate. They are also expected to get a euro30 billion payment as part of the bond swap deal.

“We face crucial decisions … that will determine the country’s course in coming years,” Deputy Finance Minister Philippos Sachinidis told Parliament. “These days are among the most crucial of our post-World War II history.”

The EU, ECB and IMF, known collectively as the “troika”, have demanded the additional measures which they say will improve Greece’s competitiveness and economic stability, as well as cuts in health, welfare and defense spending cash advance no fax.

Labor Minister Giorgos Koutroumanis warned Parliament last week that a demanded reduction in the euro751 ($985) minimum monthly wage would quicken the Greek economy’s contraction and hit the revenues of struggling pension funds that have already lost euro20 billion ($26 billion) since 2009.

But Athens has minimal ground for maneuver. Without the rescue loans, the country will default on its massive debts in March, when it faces a euro14.5 billion ($19 billion) bond redemption.

Greece has been kept solvent since May 2010 by payments from a euro110 billion ($145 billion) international rescue loan package. When it became clear the money would not be enough, a second bailout was decided last October.

Stocks advanced Wednesday, while the euro was trading near two-month highs, as global markets were hopeful a deal would be struck in Athens. Greek shares closed 0.9 percent higher.

“We are finally approaching the endgame of the Greek talks,” said Gary Jenkins, managing director at Swordfish Research. “Ultimately it is difficult to see how they can do anything other than agree a deal. After all, the alternative is a disorderly default which could lead to a much deeper economic depression and potential civil unrest.”

If a deal is struck, Papademos and Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos will brief the rest of the 17-nation eurozone. That meeting of European finance ministers could happen as soon as Thursday in Brussels, according to officials.

Provided political leaders accept the demanded austerity, Greek officials say a cabinet meeting will approve the deal, likely later Wednesday. Parliament will then have to vote on the agreement over the weekend.

Ratification should prove simple provided all three coalition partners back the deal, as they control a combined 252 of Parliament’s 300 seats _ enough to carry the vote even if there is a limited backbencher rebellion.

Coalition parties remain at odds over when to call a general election _ initially planned for this month when the coalition was formed _ as they face an increasingly hostile public suffering from a fifth year of recession.

The Socialists say Papademos should govern for two more years, while the conservatives want elections in April.

Some 91 percent of Greeks believe the coalition government is taking the country in the “wrong direction,” according to a February tracking poll published Wednesday in Greek daily Kathimerini.

Support for the Socialists, who won a landslide election victory in 2009, has dropped to 8 percent, while the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn group has attracted 3 percent support _ enough to achieve representation in parliament, according to Public Issue survey. Conservative New Democracy led with 31 percent, which is not enough to form a government on its own. Sampling data was not available.

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Lean times call for budgetary triage. But while you should clearly opt for orthodontics before Disneyland, the choice is tougher when it comes to home maintenance.

Should you get a paint job or a new furnace? "There’s no homeowner’s manual that tells you when to do what," says Naperville, Ill., home inspector and structural engineer Mark Waldman.

Emergencies aside, the project that could cause the most damage and expense if left unfixed is the priority. Below, the order in which to tackle your biggest repair needs.

1. Electrical system

Wiring problems claim the No. 1 spot for good reason: They can lead to fires and electrocution. "That trumps everything," says Waldman.

Danger signs: Circuit breakers that trip frequently, lights that dim when you turn on the vacuum or outlets that are loose, hot, or accept only two-prong plugs.

How to check: Spend $300 to $500 for a licensed electrician to open up your main panel to look for trouble and to tighten any loose connections. He’ll also spot-check switches, outlets and light fixtures to ensure that the wiring is in safe working order.

Replacement cost: $4,000 to $10,000 to rewire the house.

Prolong its life: Flip every circuit breaker off and on again once a year to prevent corrosion. Add new circuits ($100 to $500 each) to take the heaviest electrical loads, like window air conditioners, off the old wires.

2. Basement

Structural problems downstairs mean shifting and cracking upstairs — at the very least — so there’s little point in doing other repairs until you’ve fixed the building’s foundation.

Danger signs: Bowed or split beams, rotted posts, piles of sawdust (evidence of wood-boring insects), tiny mud trails (indications of termites), or large cracks in the masonry foundation — especially if the cracks are horizontal, which tends to indicate a bigger problem.

How to check: A contractor will usually take a look free of charge. If he recommends significant repairs, hire a home inspection engineer (find one at nabie.org) to investigate ($350 to $500).

Replacement cost: Major foundation work can cost $3,500 to $8,000; new posts or beams could run $1,200 to $2,500.

Prolong its life: Water is the cause of cracked concrete, rotten timbers and wood-eating pests. So keep your basement dry by making sure the landscape slopes away from the house and maintaining the next two items on the list: the roof and gutters.

3. Roof

Water leaking into your home from above can lead to a host of pricey problems: rot, insects, electrical shorts and mold.

Danger signs: Dampness or stains on ceilings; curling, missing, or broken shingles; smooth spots where the granules have worn away; green algae growth.

How to check: Have a roofer inspect your home. This is typically free, but the pro, of course, is looking for business. So check the company’s reputation at angieslist.com ($5 a month).

Replacement cost: $5,000 to $15,000

Prolong its life: Prune tree limbs so they’re at least 10 feet from the roof to keep squirrels away and to let moisture evaporate quickly after storms. If shingles blow off, replace them immediately, and repair small leaks promptly.

4. Gutters

Your gutters are just as important as the roof. The only reason they’re lower on this list is that if you replace gutters first, they’re likely to get damaged when you reroof later. So if you need a roof too, it’s better to wait — or do both projects at the same time.

Danger signs: Dented or disconnected gutters, pooled water around your home’s foundation, or basement flooding near the downspouts.

How to check: Head outside during a rainstorm and watch the gutters in action, says Caitlin Corkins, stewardship manager for Historic New England, which maintains dozens of historic properties. "The best time to see clogs and overflows is when the system is working," she says.

Replacement cost: $1,500 to $3,000

Prolong its life: Hire a gutter company to clean, check, and repair your gutters ($100 to $200) at least once a year — two or three times if you’re in a wooded area. And have someone clear the eaves of deep snow to prevent icing, which can split open gutters or rip them right off the house.

5. Exterior walls

"People think paint is just a decorative element, so they let it go," says Robert Niemeyer, a Winston-Salem, N.C., handyman, contractor, and electrician. But without a weather-tight seal, water can infiltrate the siding, causing rot and attracting wood-damaging insects. Still, leaks from a vertical surface generally aren’t as quick or lethal as ones from a roof and gutter.

Danger signs: Paint that’s peeling, cracking or blistering

Replacement cost: $4,000 to $10,000; make sure the painters replace loose putty around the window glass and caulking gaps around molding.

Prolong its life: Hire a pro to do touchups every year. Trim foliage so it’s at least a foot from the house, and kill any mildew growth with a bleach-and-water solution.

6. Aging equipment

An old heating or cooling system is costly to operate — and the risk of a breakdown increases with age. But as long as your old furnace, boiler, or AC is operating safely, there’s no rush to upgrade.

Danger signs: The system cycles on and off frequently to hold your thermostat setting; you spot corrosion on the vent pipe; the natural-gas flames are yellow or orange instead of pure blue.

How to check: Get a repair estimate: if it’s more than a third of the replacement cost, spring for a new machine, says Indianapolis plumber Larry Howald.

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Replacement cost: Typically $2,000 to $4,000 for a furnace (forced air); $4,000 to $8,000 for a boiler (hot water); $1,000 to $3,000 for a water heater; $6,000 to $10,000 for an air conditioner.

Prolong its life: Have your systems cleaned and tuned annually, including flushing the water heater to remove sludge, replacing all filters and lubricating any pumps.

MONEY magazine is researching an article on ways to reduce the financial pain of college. We’re looking for families that can talk about new and creative ways that they’re raising cash for college and cutting costs while they’re there. Sound like you? Tell us your story and you might even get your picture in the magazine! E-mail Beth_Braverman@moneymail.com. 

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The body of a woman wearing a life vest was recovered by Italian coast guard divers Saturday from a narrow underwater corridor of the capsized cruise ship Costa Concordia, raising the death toll to 12 in the week-old accident that has sent some light fuel spilling into the Mediterranean off Tuscany.

Coast Guard Cmdr. Cosimo Nicastro told The Associated Press that the victim was found during a particularly risky inspection of an evacuation staging point at the ship’s rear.

“The corridor was very narrow, and the divers’ lines risked snagging” on objects in the passageway, Nicastro said. To permit the coast guard divers to get into the area, Italian navy divers had preceded them, setting off charges to blast holes for easier entrance and exit, he said.

The woman’s nationality and identity were not immediately known.

Before the corpse was found, 21 people were listed as missing. One of the women on the list is a Peruvian crew member, the others are passengers.

Three bodies were found in the waters near the ship in the first hours after the accident’ since then the rest of the victims have all been found inside the Concordia, apparently unable to get off the ship during a chaotic evacuation via lifeboats and later by helicopters. Some survivors jumped off and swam to safety.

The Concordia hit a reef and ran aground on Jan. 14, while passengers dined, about two hours after the ship had set sail from the port of Civitavecchia on the Tyrrhenian Sea. Costa Crociere has said the captain had deviated without permission from the vessels in an apparent maneuver to sail close to Giglio, a Tuscan island, to impress passengers aboard.

Search and rescue efforts for survivors and bodies have meant that an operation to remove heavy fuel in the Concordia’s tanks hasn’t yet begun, although specialized equipment has been standing by for days.

On Saturday, light fuel, apparently from machinery aboard the capsized Costa Concordia, was detected near the ship.

But Nicastro said there was no indication that any of the nearly 500,000 gallons (2,200 metric tons) of heavy fuel oil has leaked from the ship’s double-bottomed tanks. He said the leaked substance appears to be diesel, which is used to fuel rescue boats and dinghies and as a lubricant for ship machinery.

There are 185 tons of diesel and lubricants on board the crippled vessel, which is lying on its side just outside Giglio’s port. Nicastro described the light fuel’s presence in the sea as “very light, very superficial” and appearing to be under control.

Although attention has been concentrated on the heavy fuel oil in the tanks, “we must not forget that on that ship there are oils, solvents, detergents, everything that a city of 4,000 people needs,” Franco Gabrielli, the head of Italy’s civil protection agency, told reporters in Giglio.

Gabrielli, who is leading rescue, search and anti-pollution efforts for the Concordia, was referring to the roughly 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew who were aboard the cruise liner when it ran into the reef, and then, with sea water rushing into a 70-meter (230-foot) gash in its hull, listed and finally fell onto its side.

Considering all the substances aboard the Concordia, “contamination of the environment, ladies and gentlemen, already occurred” when the cruise liner capsized, Gabrielli told a news conference.

Vessels equipped with machinery to suck out the light fuel oil were in the area, officials told Italian TV.

Earlier on Saturday, crews removed oil-absorbing booms used to prevent environmental damage in case of a leak. Originally white, the booms were grayish.

Divers resumed their search of the wreckage Saturday after data indicated the cruise ship had stabilized in the sea off Tuscany. Italian news reports said that the divers were also trying to locate the captain’s safe, in case it might contain documentation useful to the criminal probe.

The Italian captain, Francesco Schettino, is under house arrest for investigation of alleged manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning the ship before all were evacuated. Schettino insists he helped coordinate the evacuation from Giglio’s docks after leaving the ship when the Concordia lurched to one side.

The search had been suspended Friday after the Concordia shifted, prompting fears the ship could roll off a rocky ledge of sea bed and plunge deeper into the sea. An abrupt shift could also cause a leak in the Concordia’s fuel tanks, polluting the pristine waters around Giglio, part of a seven-island Tuscan archipelago.

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America’s retailers enjoyed a record 2011 and their first $400 billion sales months ever. But the final month of the year was a dud.

Sales eked out a 0.1 percent increase in December, lifting sales to a seasonally adjusted $400.6 billion.

It was the second straight month that sales have topped $400 billion. The government revised November sales to show a 0.4 percent gain, twice the original estimate.

For all of 2011, sales totaled a record $4.7 trillion. That was a gain of nearly 8 percent over 2010 _ the largest percentage increase since 1999.

Steady sales gains have fueled a 20 percent surge from the low during the Great Recession. Monthly sales are even 6 percent above their pre-recession high. The figures confirm evidence that the economy was strengthening as 2011 ended.

Still, December’s increase was the weakest in seven months. Excluding volatile auto purchases, overall sales actually fell 0.2 percent. It was the first such drop since May 2010.

Part of the reason was lower gasoline prices. Those prices reduced sales at gasoline stations by 1.6 percent. Excluding gas stations, overall retail sales would have risen 0.3 percent in December.

Another factor was heavy discounting during the holiday shopping season. Many retailers said they had to offer cut prices in December to attract shoppers.

Separately, more people applied for unemployment benefits last week, the government said. Applications rose 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 399,000. But the gain was largely due to companies letting go of workers after the holiday season.

Economists downplayed the increase. It followed three months of declines that had reduced the number of unemployment applications to their lowest level in more than three years.

And businesses increased their stockpiles in November to meet rising consumer demand. That gain likely boosted economic growth in the final months of 2011. Companies are rebuilding stockpiles after cutting them last summer amid fears of another recession. It means many anticipate higher consumer spending.

The government’s report on retail sales showed that holiday discounts weakened department store sales. They fell 0.2 percent in December. A broader category that includes department stores like Macy’s and big chains such as Wal-Mart showed an even larger drop last month: 0.8 percent.

Compared with the same time last year, retail sales have risen 6.4 percent.

An earlier survey of 25 major retail chains by the International Council of Shopping Centers found that revenue in December at stores open at least a year rose 3.5 percent over the same month a year ago.

That survey’s figures aren’t adjusted for seasonal changes; the government’s sales figures are. The government report is also a broader gauge. It covers purchases at all retailers, not just at major national chains. It also includes auto dealerships, restaurants and bars, grocery stores and gasoline stations.

Though December’s retail sales were disappointing, analysts said they still expect consumers to help the economy strengthen further, especially because businesses have stepped up hiring payday loan no faxing. More jobs mean more people with money to spend.

“Although consumer spending is not particularly robust, households do continue to spend and provide moderate support for the overall economy,” said Steven Wood, chief economist at Insight Economics.

The strength last month was led by a 1.5 percent jump in auto sales. Furniture store sales rose 1 percent. Hardware stores reported a 1.6 percent increase. But sales at electronics and appliance stores sank nearly 4 percent.

Restaurants and bars fared slightly better over the holidays. Their sales rose 0.7 percent.

The government’s retail sales report is its first look each month at consumer spending, which accounts for roughly 70 percent of economic activity. A healthy report typically signals a stronger economy.

Compared with the same time last year, retail sales have risen 6.4 percent.

This week, the Federal Reserve issued a report saying the final six weeks of 2011 were among the economy’s best last year. The report pointed to higher holiday and auto sales, along with increased travel.

The job market has brightened, too. Employers added 200,000 jobs in December. And the unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent, the lowest in nearly three years.

Many analysts predict that economic growth rose to an annual rate of roughly 3 percent in the final three months of 2011. That would be an improvement from the summer, when the annual rate was just 1.8 percent. And it’s much better than the 0.9 percent growth rate in the first six months of 2011.

For the holiday season, many retailers drew customers by staying open on Thanksgiving Day or offering sharp discounts. Discounting helped generate record sales at the start of the shopping season and in the days before Christmas.

U.S. automakers have said that November and December were their two best sales months in 2011. Their U.S. sales rose 10 percent to 12.8 million in 2011, a 23 percent jump from the recession year of 2009.

Chrysler Group reported sales surged 26 percent for all of 2011. General Motors Co. saw sales rise 13 percent for the year. Ford Motor Co. reported an 11 percent gain for 2011.

Because the government’s retail sales report is seasonally adjusted, the current month can be compared with the previous month. But the figures aren’t adjusted for inflation.

A separate government report each month measures consumer spending. It’s an even more inclusive gauge. It covers all spending at retailers _ for both durable goods like cars that are expected to last for years and nondurable goods such as food.

This report also covers spending on services. Services include items such as doctor’s visits, airline tickets, apartment rentals and utility bills. The service category makes up two-thirds of consumer spending and isn’t covered in the retail surveys.

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Banks will be allowed go below minimum liquidity levels set by global regulators during financial crises to avoid cash-flow difficulties.