The Buffalo News - Business

WASHINGTON – A measure of the U.S. economy’s health improved in October, suggesting consumers and businesses mostly shrugged off the 16-day partial government shutdown.

The Conference Board said Wednesday that its index of leading indicators rose 0.2 percent in October to a reading of 97.5. It was the sixth gain in seven months and followed large gains in the previous two months.

The index is designed to signal economic conditions over the next three to six months.

Kathy Bostjancic, an economist with the Conference Board, said the recent gains point to stronger growth next year. The Conference Board forecasts that the economy will grow 2.3 percent in 2014, up from the anticipated 1.6 percent growth for this year.

The index is comprised of indicators, most of which have already been released individually. Seven of the 10 indicators showed positive readings in October. Low interest rates and a rise in applications for building permits were the strongest.

The October index was held back by a slump in consumer confidence and rise in weekly unemployment benefit applications.

The Labor Department has said that unemployment benefit applications fell last month because of unusual circumstances: the partial government shutdown temporarily laid off some workers, and backlogs in California distorted claims for the nation’s largest state.

Unemployment benefit applications have since fallen back to pre-recession levels. On Thursday, Labor said applications dropped 10,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 316,000, a two-month low.

Cooper Howes, an economist at Barclays, said consumer confidence should also improve as the impact of the government shutdown fades. The University of Michigan’s index of consumer sentiment increased to a final reading of 75.1 for November, up from the preliminary reading of 72.0.

NEW YORK – Drugstore chain operator CVS Caremark Corp. said Wednesday that it has agreed to buy the drug infusion business Coram LLC, a unit of Apria Healthcare Group Inc., for $2.1 billion.

CVS says the deal will make it more competitive and enable it to provide more services to its customers. CVS runs the second-largest U.S. drugstore chain behind Walgreen Co., and its Caremark unit is one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefits managers.

Coram provides medication and food that is administered through a vein or tube. Among those using such services are patients being treated for conditions such as immune deficiencies, rheumatoid arthritis and nutritional deficiencies.

The Denver-based company says it serves more than 20,000 patients a month through home infusion and a national network of more than 85 locations, including more than 65 ambulatory infusion suites.

The deal is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2014.

CVS, which is based in Woonsocket, R.I., expects Coram to generate revenue of about $1.4 billion in the first year after the deal closes and add earnings of between 3 cents per share and 5 cents per share in 2015.

Coram has about 4,500 employees around the country. Its parent company, Apria Healthcare Group, is based in Lake Forest, Ill., and is owned by investment firm The Blackstone Group LP.

Shares of CVS rose 67 cents, or 1 percent, to $66.76 on Wednesday. Blackstone Group shares rose 29 cents, or 1 percent, to $28.43.

A federal bankruptcy judge has cleared the way for American Airlines and US Airways to complete their merger and create the world’s largest airline.

The judge ruled Wednesday that this month’s settlement of an antitrust lawsuit filed by the federal government didn’t upset American’s bankruptcy reorganization plan, which is built around the merger. He rejected a request by a group of consumers to block the deal temporarily.

American said immediately after the ruling that it plans to complete the deal Dec. 9.

The Justice Department had sued to block the merger in August, saying that it would hurt competition and lead to higher prices. But regulators settled their case in exchange for the airlines’ promise to surrender some coveted landing rights at Reagan National near Washington and LaGuardia in New York, and a few gates at five other airports.

The new American Airlines will be slightly larger in revenue and passenger traffic than United Airlines, and four airlines – American, United, Delta and Southwest – will control more than 80 percent of the U.S. market. Since 2005, mergers will have cut the industry from nine big airlines to just those four.

U.S. District Judge Sean Lane in New York had approved the merge-and-emerge-from-bankruptcy plan of American parent AMR Corp. back in September but said it was conditioned on the company winning or settling the lawsuit filed by the government.

At a hearing in Lane’s courtroom Monday, a lawyer for a group of consumers asked the judge to block the merger until a trial could be held on his antitrust lawsuit, which made many of the same arguments that had been raised – and dropped – by the government.

Lane denied the request by the lawyer, Joseph Alioto of San Francisco, saying that his clients had failed to show that letting the airlines merge would hurt them. The judge said that if Alioto wins his lawsuit, he can demand additional divestitures by the two airlines but can’t hold up the merger.

At the same time, the judge granted American’s request that it be allowed to complete the merger without submitting the settlement with the Justice Department to a vote of creditors and shareholders. Lane called the settlement “fair and equitable” and said that the benefits for AMR creditors far outweighed any concessions that the company had to make.

AMR creditors pushed hard for the merger, and they stand to be repaid in full. Among the creditors: American’s three labor unions, who will get stock and the new management that they wanted, led by US Airways CEO Doug Parker. Shareholders are usually wiped out in bankruptcy cases, but AMR’s shareholders could wind up owning more than 30 percent of the new company, depending on future stock prices.

AMR filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2011 after losing billions of dollars in the previous decade. Almost immediately, US Airways began pursuing a merger. AMR management was initially reluctant, but the two sides announced a deal in February 2013. The new company will be called American Airlines Group Inc. and be based in Fort Worth, Texas.

WASHINGTON – Average U.S. mortgage rates rose modestly this week, a move that makes home-buying a bit less affordable. Still, rates remain near historically low levels.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Wednesday that the average rate on the 30-year loan increased to 4.29 percent from 4.22 percent last week. The average on the 15-year fixed ticked up to 3.3 percent from 3.27 percent.

Rates have risen nearly a full percentage point since May after the Federal Reserve signaled it might slow its bond purchases by the end of the year. Rates peaked at nearly 4.6 percent in August. But the Fed held off in September and most analysts expect it won’t move until next year.

The increase in mortgage rates has contributed to a slowdown in home sales over the past two months.

To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country at the beginning of each week. The average doesn’t include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.

The average fee for a 30-year mortgage was unchanged at 0.7 point. The fee for a 15-year loan also was unchanged at 0.7 point.

The average rate on a one-year adjustable-rate mortgage edged down to 2.60 percent, from 2.61 percent last week. The fee was unchanged at 0.4 point.

The average rate on a five-year adjustable mortgage edged down to 2.94 percent this week, from 2.95 percent last week. The fee was unchanged at 0.5 point.

Cox Communications, the third- largest U.S. cable-television provider, is considering a bid for Time Warner Cable, joining a growing field of prospective bidders, a person with knowledge of the deliberations said.

Discussions on a deal, which could take the form of a merger or outright acquisition, are in the early stages, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.

Todd Smith, a spokesman for Atlanta-based Cox, declined to comment, as did Bobby Amirshahi, a spokesman for Time Warner Cable in New York.

Time Warner Cable, the second-largest U.S. cable company, has emerged as a takeover target for an industry increasingly keen on consolidation. Charter Communications Inc., backed by billionaire John Malone, is in talks with bankers about raising funds for a bid, people familiar with the matter have said. Comcast Corp., the industry leader, also has contemplated a Time Warner Cable deal, either alone or with Charter’s help, according to people with knowledge of that company.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal said Wednesday that Charter is seeking to arrange $25 billion in debt financing to be able to make a cash-and-stock offer that would include about $90 a share in cash. Takeover speculation has fueled a 41 percent gain in Time Warner Cable shares this year. The stock was little changed at $136.80 at the close in New York.

NEW YORK – Technology companies lifted the stock market Wednesday, keeping major indexes at record levels.

Hewlett-Packard surged, leading the gains for tech companies, after it posted a $1.4 billion profit for its latest quarter. The world’s second-largest maker of PCs also issued a strong profit forecast for its current quarter.

Stocks also got a boost from some encouraging news about the U.S. economy.

In a sign that workers are in less danger of being laid off, the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped 10,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 316,000, according to the U.S. Labor Department. In another bit of good news, consumer confidence rose in November, according to a private survey by the University of Michigan and financial data company Thomson Reuters.

“Today’s economic news was generally favorable,” said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist for U.S. Bank Wealth Management. “In the absence of bad news, the path of least resistance for equities is up.”

The stock market has surged this year on a combination of solid corporate earnings, a slowly recovering economy and easy-money policies from the Federal Reserve. The Fed is buying $85 billion in bonds every month to keep long-term interest rates low, making stocks more attractive than bonds for investors.

Wednesday, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed four points, or 0.3 percent, to close at an all-time high of 1,807.23.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 24 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at its record high of 16,097.33. The blue-chip index finished higher for a fifth straight day, its longest winning streak since March.

The Nasdaq composite advanced 27 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4,044.75. The index closed above 4,000 for the first time in 13 years Tuesday.

The S&P 500 has risen 26.7 percent this year, putting it on course for its best annual performance since 1998.

Much of the gain has come because investors have been willing to pay more for a company’s stock in relation to its earnings.

The price-earnings ratio for S&P 500 companies has climbed to 15.1 from 12.6 at the start of the year. But it is still below the average ratio of 16.5 for the last 20 years.

“When times are good, you have to ask if it’s a sign that things are about to become bad,” said Art Steinmetz, President & Chief Investment Officer at Oppenheimer Funds. But he feels reasonably hopeful that stock valuations “are not overstretched.”

In other corporate news, Analog Devices fell $1.38, or 3 percent, to $48.54 after the chipmaker reported sales late Tuesday that missed Wall Street estimates. The Norwood, Mass., company expects a seasonal slowdown to hurt revenue during the holidays.

Trading volumes were lower than average ahead of today’s Thanksgiving holiday, when financial markets will be closed. The New York Stock exchange and the Nasdaq will close early Friday.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.74 percent, up from 2.71 percent on Tuesday.

The price of oil dropped to its lowest level in six months as the U.S. government reported the 10th straight weekly increase in crude supplies. Oil dropped $1.38, or 2 percent, to $92.30 a barrel.

As President Obama’s administration delays yet another aspect of the federal health insurance exchange due to computer glitches – this time for small businesses – it’s full speed ahead for individuals and small businesses seeking to sign up for coverage in New York State.

The state Health Department confirmed that New York’s online insurance market, known as New York State of Health, will not be affected by the federal government’s latest decision, announced Wednesday.

The Obama administration said it would put off implementation of an online health insurance marketplace for small businesses until November 2014 to make sure the HealthCare.gov website gets fixed first.

In a conference call with reporters, administration officials said employers who want to buy marketplace plans for their workers now will need to go through an agent, broker or insurance company to buy coverage this year, instead of using a government website. The administration says the plan will still allow small businesses to buy coverage but avoid slowing technical repairs to the hobbled federal online site.

For companies in New York State, however, it’s been business as usual since Oct. 1 for the Affordable Care Act, a spokesman for the state Health Department said Wednesday. And local insurers are acting accordingly.

“It’s our understanding that this delay does not impact New York State,” said Nora McGuire, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Independent Health Association. “From everything we can tell, the NY State of Health online marketplace has been running very smoothly and has not had the technical challenges that have been experienced with the federal exchange.”

So far, she said, small groups and individuals have not had problems entering the state’s online portal, with over 700 individual members already enrolled with Independent Health through the New York exchange.

Additionally, she said, most of the insurer’s employer clients have said they plan to continue buying health insurance directly through the company, with the majority already renewing. Only two employers have indicated they are considering the exchange, and each has fewer than five employees.

BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York is not participating in the small business exchange, also called SHOP, for the first year because the insurer wanted the state to work out any kinks first, said Julie Snyder, spokeswoman for HealthNow New York, the Buffalo-based parent of the insurer. Like Independent Health, officials also don’t expect big movement by many clients anyway.

“We really hit the pause button. There were a lot of uncertainties and we felt that a lot of our members, especially small businesses, were going to stick with broker plans rather than dump employees on the SHOP program the first year,” she said.

Meanwhile, nationally, the small business marketplace was supposed to provide employers a new way to shop for coverage, and the delay was met with frustration.

Small businesses buying coverage will still be eligible for tax credits to bring down the cost, according an administration memo.

The Associated Press contributed to this article. email: jepstein@buffnews.com

Brown is the new black. Brown Thursday – the shopping extravaganza formerly known as Thanksgiving – will kick off the shopping season today, one day before the traditional Black Friday.

It’s considered the Super Bowl of shopping, and some Western New Yorkers were hoping to get an edge on the competition this year by shopping today, thinking their fellow shoppers would stay home and finish their pumpkin pie before heading out.

But they didn’t count on the robust numbers of Canadian shoppers who already celebrated their Thanksgiving in October and are expected to cross the border to shop today.

“To us, it’s just another Thursday, another shopping day,” said Walter Sendzik, CEO of the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce in Ontario.

In fact, 47 percent of Canadians said they would shop in the United States for Black Friday, according to a recent poll by the Bank of Montreal.

Canadian retailers, such as those in the Pen Centre in St. Catharines, are stepping up their marketing in hopes of keeping Canadian shoppers on their own turf. Many are offering Black Friday promotions and price-matching policies.

Plenty of locals will hit the stores today, too, despite criticism about Black Friday’s encroachment onto Thanksgiving and grumbles about what is being considered hyped-up marketing over ho-hum deals.

“New Yorkers are more excited about the upcoming holiday season than they have been over the last five years,” said Don Levy, director of Siena Research Institute, in its annual holiday spending report.

The report said 1 in 10 shoppers in New York State are expected to shop today, according to a report by Siena Research Institute at Siena College.

Other polls, such as one from Accenture, expect as many as nearly 4 in 10 people to hit stores today.

Black Friday got its name because retailers depend on the holiday shopping season for as much as 40 percent of their total annual revenue, taking them out of the red and putting them into the black.

If you plan to brave the stores today, keep these tips in mind.

1. Do your homework. It’s easy to fall prey to hyped-up marketing if you go in without a game plan, so gather your ads and fire up the search engines. Not all Black Friday deals are great bargains, and prices will fall on many items as the holiday season progresses.

Figure out who you’re shopping for, what you’ll get them and make a list of where you’ll find each item at the best price. Then stick to that list. Clip your coupons or save them to your phone and make sure you have everyone’s clothing sizes.

2. Map it out. Today is not a day for browsing, it’s a day for getting in and getting out, haul in hand. All your decisions should be made before you even walk through the door.

Use your shopping list to map out which stores you’ll hit and the order in which you’ll hit them, taking opening times, door-buster times and geographic locations into account. If you haven’t done a run-through to get the feel of the layout, go online and study your stores’ floor plans so you can zip quickly to your targeted items.

3. Wear your shopping shoes. It’s going to be a long day, so dress for comfort and dress in layers. You’ll need a warm coat if you plan to wait outside for store openings but will get hot once you start running from aisle to aisle.

Consider packing a lunch (or a midnight snack). A few restaurants will be open at 3 a.m., but do you really want to fight the crowds to get a bottle of water and a sandwich when you can just as easily pack one yourself?

4. Shop in teams and split up. Dispatch one person to the toy department to get everything there, send another person to electronics to shop for the group, and so on.

Everyone will come back together to divvy things up, either in the (likely very long) line at the registers, or at the end of the day when you’re all back home.

Make sure your cellphones are charged so you can find each other easily. Have one or two people run bags and packages out to the trunk so your hands will be free for the next store.

5. Consider staggering your arrival time. That is, if you’re not camping out for a limited-time door-buster. Stores will be running timed specials throughout the night and some deals will be offered throughout the entire weekend.

Experts expect the first rush to start at 8 p.m. and continue until about 1 a.m., at which point it will drop off until about 7 a.m. and start all over again. If you want to snag the deals without having to fight the worst of the crowds, aim to shop during that lull.

email: schristmann@buffnews.com

Just days after federal banking regulators lifted a supervisory agreement that had restricted its ability to buy another company, Northwest Bancshares struck a deal to buy a financial advisory firm and a related employee benefits firm in Erie, Pa.

The Warren, Pa.-based parent of Northwest Savings Bank, which operates 19 branches in the greater Buffalo and Rochester markets, said Wednesday it had agreed to pay an undisclosed price to buy Evans Capital Management Inc., which manages or administers over $240 million in assets for its clients.

Founded in 1983 by Jeffrey W. Evans, the firm specializes in comprehensive financial planning for individuals, profit-sharing and 401(k) plans, trusts, estates, charities and small businesses. It serves all of northwestern Pennsylvania, with a long list of individual, business, nonprofit and public clients.

The deal is expected to close Jan. 1, after which Evans Capital will continue operating from its current location under its current management and 10 employees, as a subsidiary of the bank. Northwest will have nearly $2 billion in assets under management or administration.

“We are extremely pleased to be able to partner with ECM and its staff,” said Northwest Executive Vice President Gregory C. LaRocca. “This combination will bring the expanded services of a larger organization to ECM’s customers, and it will significantly enhance Northwest’s wealth management activities in western Pennsylvania.”

Northwest also agreed to buy Employee Benefit Resources, an employee benefits and consulting insurance firm that is owned separately by Evans and his son, Jeffrey G. Evans. The agency’s staff will become part of Northwest Insurance Services.

This is the second nonbank deal in about a year for Northwest, both in Erie. The bank bought The Bert Co., an employee benefits firm, in December 2012. But both deals could have been problematic for the company.

Since July 2012, Northwest had been under a “memorandum of understanding” with its regulator, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., that required it to evaluate and enhance its compliance training and complaint management system for dealing with consumers.

That agreement, in turn, had followed a consent order imposed in July 2011, after a compliance exam found the bank had failed to pay proper interest to some consumers. It was fined $325,000 and had to pay $375,000 in restitution, as well as beef up its policies, procedures and staffing.

But more significantly, the regulatory problems had derailed the bank’s last acquisition, of NexTier Bank. That purchase, which would have added nearly $600 million in assets and 16 branches in Pennsylvania, was terminated in November 2010 after the FDIC discovered the problem.

With the regulatory restrictions now lifted, observers expect the bank to try again.

email: jepstein@buffnews.com

WASHINGTON – No one begs Santa Claus for cheaper gasoline. Yet falling gas prices are shaping up as an unexpected gift for drivers – and for people on their holiday shopping lists.

The average price of gasoline has tumbled 49 cents from its peak this year to $3.29 a gallon, putting it on track for the lowest average since 2010, according to AAA. Because many Americans have had no pay raises, whatever money they’re saving on gas has freed up a bit more for other purchases.

In the Buffalo Niagara region, where prices run 30 to 40 cents above the national average, the average price of a gallon of regular was $3.61 Wednesday, down 26 cents from a year ago, according to the AAA.

And history shows that when gas prices drop, consumers become more likely to splurge on dinners out. Impulse buys at the mall seem like less of a stretch. More people buy a gas-station gift card after fueling up.

Many retail analysts have forecast a ho-hum sales gain of around 2 percent this year; others predict an increase of up to 3.9 percent. But steadily cheaper gas could send holiday sales shooting above 5.4 percent, analysts say.

“Every little thing moves the needle at this point,” said Carl Riccadonna, senior U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank. “The benefit at this time of the year certainly helps retailers, since it is not spread evenly throughout the year.”

Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Information Service, foresees the average price drifting down, as it typically does this time of year, to as low as $3.05 by year’s end.

For retailers, the best-case scenario would be for the national average to breach $3 a gallon, a psychological barrier that could help accelerate spending.

Cheaper gas could help build on the momentum of 2 million more Americans finding jobs this year. It might also help shore up consumers’ fragile confidence in an economic recovery that’s lumbered along for 4½ years.

Riccadonna estimates that breaking $3 gas would lead the average shopper to spend $47 more over the holidays. That figure would translate into $15 billion worth of extra shopping – possibly the difference between lukewarm and red-hot sales growth.

Prices briefly dipped below $3 in five states – Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas – before rising above that threshold again.

Some service stations have been charging less than $3 around Tucson, Ariz., where Seth Nilson, a high school teacher, and his wife, Cristi, are enjoying more time at restaurants.

“We have definitely gone out to eat more lately,” Nilson said. “She tends to cook less when gas prices are low.”

Many consumers think of gas prices in 50-cent increments, said Britt Beemer, head of the consumer behavior consultant America’s Research Group. Based on his firm’s research, shoppers would spend more freely if gas settles below $3 or $2.50. They would likely step up purchases at grocery stores or spend $35 on a gift instead of the $25 they might have planned, Beemer said.

“A 10-cent drop doesn’t really change the equation much,” Beemer said.

Still, smaller declines in gas prices matter, too, even if they don’t register as clearly with consumers.

Economists say lower prices disproportionately benefit lower- and middle-income consumers who must commute to work. Cheaper gas makes their trips more affordable and provides the equivalent of a tax refund that frees up spending money.

Given the still-sluggish economic recovery, many shoppers are expected to tilt toward practical gifts, like gas station gift cards, said Pam Goodfellow of Prosper Insights & Analytics, who polled consumers for the National Retail Federation.

Her survey found that the average gift card this year is expected to be worth $45.16, up from $43.75 a year ago – for a rough total of $1 billion more. Twelve percent of shoppers say they intend to buy gas station gift cards this year, compared with 9.3 percent in 2010.

The potential economic boost comes at a low point for consumer confidence. Confidence was battered by the partial government shutdown and the troubled launch of President Obama’s health care law, which led insurers to cancel coverage for millions.

Lower gas prices also tend to encourage a big-ticket purchase that a growing number of Americans make during the holidays: cars. Steep discounts and aggressive advertising helped sales increase 9 percent last December to more than 1.3 million, up from an 8.7 percent increase in 2011, according to Autodata Corp.

Market data tracked by Edmunds.com found that the share of SUVs, crossovers and trucks sold has ticked up a few percentage points to 18 percent or more in December, compared with as low as 14 percent in spring, when gas prices usually spike.

NIAGARA FALLS – A Nov. 15 agreement among the city, state and the Hamister Group for a $25.3 million downtown development project has yet to be made public, but the developer has already begun “due diligence” work on the project.

The signed agreement, which officials said is nearly 100 pages, will also include some “technical” appendices which are still being finalized. The parties have agreed to finalize those appendices by Dec. 15, city Corporation Counsel Craig H. Johnson told lawmakers this week.

The parties are also creating a much more concise list of milestones that specifies the responsibilities and deadlines of the city, state and developer, Mayor Paul A. Dyster said.

“Trying to reduce it to a one- or two-page schedule that everybody can agree is an accurate representation of all the complexity of a 100-page document, it takes a long time,” Dyster said.

The mayor said those “technical” appendices include the outline of the parties’ requirements.

Signing the agreement allowed the Hamister Group to begin moving ahead with some aspects of the project, Dyster said. State officials pledged to provide a copy of the contract to The Buffalo News by last Friday, but that has not yet occurred.

The agreement was the next step in the development of a five-story, mixed-use project – including a hotel, apartments and retail space – at 310 Rainbow Blvd.

Some City Council members blocked approval of the sale of the land over the summer. The issue appeared to play a role in this year’s Council election as incumbent Samuel F. Fruscione, who was one of three members to hold up the agreement, lost his bid for re-election.

According to the mayor, the agreement outlines an initial 60-day “due diligence” period in which the Hamister Group is required to complete tasks such as survey work, environmental review of the site, utility checks and title searches.

Some of the environmental review has already been done, Dyster said.

“All of that kind of real basic due diligence stuff is in the first 60-day period,” the mayor said.

After that, there is a 240-day period when the Hamister Group will face further requirements, including having to finalize financing and its franchise agreement.

Johnson, the city’s top attorney, said the Hamister Group’s need to show that there was a transaction for the land, required in order to apply for things like a franchise, was “one of the things driving” the deal to be signed before some of the paperwork was completed.

email: abesecker@buffnews.com

Whether they were Canadians playing hookey from work or local residents interrupting traditional Thanksgiving Day meals, bargain hunters at various area retail outlets Thursday were determined not to pass up a good deal, even if it meant being queued up for hours in temperatures that dipped into the mid-20s.

And more shoppers were out again this morning.

Nancy Deuser, of Cheektowaga, was dressed in layers, a hooded garment and wrapped in a fleece blanket, as she waited outside the Best Buy store at Walden Galleria for the chance to save $100 on the purchase of a Kindle electronic reader for her granddaughter. Deuser said she celebrated Thanksgiving with her family Wednesday to ensure she had time to shop Thursday and had no regrets about waiting in the cold.

“No, it’s not too bad,” Deuser said, as she wrapped the blanket tighter to brace against the chill.

“If it’s for my grandkids, it’s definitely worth it,” she added.

Despite criticism about the commercialization of Thanksgiving and outrage about stores that would make employees work through the holiday, thousands of shoppers lined up at area malls looking for deals on everything from toasters and toys to tablets and TVs.

In fact, Thanksgiving Day shopping has become a family tradition for brothers Tyler and Brandon Baxter, and their sister, Sharonnda, all of whom reside in Buffalo’s University District.

“We don’t really have family traditions, and this is just something that we started doing together as siblings every year,” said Sharonnda, as she and her brothers waited for hours outside the Target store off Walden Avenue in Cheektowaga for what they described as a substantial bargain on a large, flatscreen TV.

“I’d rather freeze for five hours than miss out on saving $200,” said Tyler, who, along with his siblings, delayed their Thanksgiving meal until after they were done bargain shopping.

“See, my stomach is growling right now, but I’m surviving,” said Brandon, with a wry smile.

Today, Black Friday, is the traditional kickoff to the holiday shopping season. But Black Friday’s thunder has been all but stolen by retailers looking to drum up sales as early as possible, especially with this year’s short shopping season between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

But it remains to be seen whether the early start will actually drive consumers to spend more, or whether shoppers will spend the same amount over the two days.

“The length of the season is increasingly more meaningless,” said Michael Niemira, chief economist and director of research at the International Council of Shopping Centers Inc. “Consumers can shop 24 hours a day, if they would like to.”

Niemira said he doubts the wisdom of the earlier openings, because they tend to result in a lull later in the season.

Competitive pressures have led retailers to open earlier and earlier, as stores try to one-up each other in hopes of getting shoppers into their stores first.

“Retailers even have said that is why they are opening on Thanksgiving Day – because their competition is doing so,” Niemira said.

Apparently, that sense of competition has even expanded across the international border, according to D.J. and Ashley Bloczyl,arr of Welland, Ont., who were doing some early Christmas shopping Thursday at the Kmart off Walden Avenue in Cheektowaga

“I know there’s enough Canadians coming over the border now that Canadian stores are starting to have their own Black Friday sales to try to keep Canadians on their side of the border,” said D.J. Bloczyl.

“And yet, they can’t even touch these prices,” added Ashley Bloczyl, regarding the various bargains she and her husband encountered in Buffalo Niagara.

Three sisters from Barrie and Orillia, Ont., who were also at the Kmart, agreed. The women – who would identify themselves only as Judy, Donna and Karen – said the local Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday bargains are so attractive that, annually, they’ve made it practice to stay in area hotels during the holiday weekend shopping frenzy so they don’t miss out.

As many as 140 million people are expected to shop this weekend, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation. That’s about 7 million fewer than last year.

Today is expected to bring the most traffic to retailers, with 69.1 percent of shoppers planning to visit stores, followed by Saturday (43.8 percent) and Sunday (24.2 percent).

There is no word yet on how many people cut Thanksgiving celebrations short to shop Thursday, but 23.5 percent of those surveyed earlier this week planned on doing so, according to the federation.

Local stores also got a bump in sales from Canadian consumers who crossed the border to shop. In fact, 41 percent more Canadians are expected to shop in the states this Black Friday weekend than last, spending an average of $292 each, according to a survey by Bank of Montreal.

Though Black Friday is often credited with being the busiest shopping day of the holiday season, that day actually falls much closer to the end of the season. This year, that day will most likely fall on the Saturday before Christmas, Dec. 21.

“Although it’s typical to see a lull after Thanksgiving, retailers know that there are plenty of procrastinators who will be looking for last-minute gifts,” said Kathy Grannis, of the National Retail Federation.

email: schristmann@buffnews.com and hmcneil@buffnews.com

Someone you work with is doing something unethical. What do you do about it?

If you’re like most workers, you’ll ignore it about half the time. That’s what Joseph Grenny, co-author of “Crucial Accountability,” found when he surveyed workers for his research.

It’s possible there’s a general decline in ethics or such antipathy toward employers that employees don’t care. But Grenny found these top reasons why workers said they haven’t blown the whistle on wrongdoing:

• “It would have made the offender harder to work with.”

• “I was concerned it would damage my career.”

• “I didn’t think it would be taken seriously.”

• “I wasn’t sure how to bring up my concerns.”

The fact that offending the offender was a big concern speaks to the importance of interpersonal relationships at work. People who get along are more likely to support each other, get good raises, assignments and promotions. People who don’t get along are more likely to cause trouble for each other.

Notwithstanding the consequences, we’re encouraged to speak up – to the offender first – when we see wrongdoing. Here are Grenny’s tips to “blow the whistle without blowing your career”:

• Gather information to back up what you think you saw or know.

• Confront the individual, directly but respectfully. Say you have good intentions. Tell the offender you’re not questioning motives or authority, but you want to stop a perceived problem before it worsens.

• Tell the facts you’ve seen. Don’t state your judgments or accusations. Be open to hearing an explanation or getting more information from the offender to make sure your interpretation is correct.

• Not satisfied or more troubled? Take it up the ladder to bosses, human resources, a lawyer or regulatory agency.

• And always seek help from security, human resources or a lawyer if you fear for your safety.

MINNEAPOLIS – On the Internet, snark reigns supreme – or so it seems.

On social media, everyone wants to be the most clever. Twitter, in particular, with its 140-character limit, is tailor-made for the quick quip. Then there’s the app called Hater, which encourages users to publicly point out the things they most despise.

Yet there’s growing evidence that being kind and cheerful earns more attention than offering cutting complaints and cynicism. Not a day goes by without some warm and fuzzy critter’s antics gone viral. Inspirational quotes turned into graphics are a Pinterest staple.

Researchers have found that “likes” beget more “likes,” as hype feeds on itself. Another study revealed that being negative on Twitter had adverse effects on gaining more followers, while more positive, information-filled tweets made a Twitter user more popular.

“Happiness is contagious in the best possible way,” said Nataly Kogan, founder of Happier, a company aimed at making people feel good, starting with an iPhone app on which users share little cheerful moments of their day.

Since the app was launched in February, users have posted more than 1.3 million “happy moments,” brief reflections on things so simple as five minutes for a cup of coffee or a hug from a child. Teens in particular have told her Happier is a refuge for posting such thoughts without worrying about appearing uncool on Twitter or Facebook, where they feel pressure to be witty.

“We’re at this point in time where collectively it’s feeling too negative,” Kogan said. “We’re starting to realize there are more positive things in our lives.”

The Internet has been a place for pointed – sometimes hostile – exchanges since almost its beginning.

There’s established vocabulary for the nastiness, from flame wars to trolls, and much has been written about the emboldening effect of anonymity online. Even on a friendlier level, many people turn to social media to vent about everything from the weather to bad service at restaurants. Jokes often assume a cynical tone, a la “Sharknado.”

When Nina Davuluri, an Indian-American, won the Miss America crown Sept. 15, a string of racist posts littered social media.

“There’s a lot of negativity in bullying and snarkiness on social networks,” Kogan said.

But over time, if popularity is the goal, such a dour tone doesn’t work.

When researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Michigan tracked 500 Twitter users selected at random from regular users (no celebrities), they found that being negative had an “adverse effect” on gaining followers.

“This might be because Twitter is a medium dominated by very weak social ties, and negative sentiment from strangers may be unpleasant or uncomfortable for a potential new follower to see,” the researchers wrote.

“There becomes a level of distaste when people are really snarky after a while,” said Sara Kerr, an assistant professor at St. Catherine University who teaches social media in marketing. “People don’t retweet or reply.”

A separate study out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that “liking” a news story online led others to do the same. Alternatively, voting down a story to express disapproval had little long-term effect.

The signs of tech stress are everywhere: The iPhone junkie freaking out over his contacts being swallowed alive by the new iOS 7 software. The office manager furiously swimming upstream against a never-ending flood of emails. The angry home-office worker hyperventilating over a computer virus and taking it out on a guy like Mike Kushner.

“We see people crying, we see people angry, we have people lash out at us because we can’t recover what they’ve lost,” said Kushner, the co-owner of Palo Alto, Calif.-based Bay Area Computer Solutions, which provides paramedics for the digitally desperate.

“People are under incredible pressure these days because of how dependent everyone is on their computers and especially their smartphones,” he said. “We get calls from CEOs with email problems and they’re going crazy, so it’s a good thing I took psychology classes in college because it helps me calm talk them off the ledge.”

Our growing addiction to technology has become even more dramatic thanks to the proliferation of mobile devices. While their benefits are bountiful, whether it’s the magic of GPS mapping or real-time access to everything under the sun, that same powerful computer in our pocket is also spawning obsessive behavior, often served up with heaping sides of angst.

Palo Alto psychologist Francine Toder calls it the “always on” syndrome. She has seen patients who are already “overwhelmed by life, and now their problems become much more complicated by all these new devices and nonstop data coming at them.”

We’ve all seen it. We’ve all felt it ourselves. The skipping heartbeat when your Android phone beeps with an alert. The nagging need to ceaselessly check for incoming texts and emails, even at the movies or while having dinner with friends or family. And then there’s the “phantom vibration syndrome,” that creepy sensation that your smartphone is buzzing in your purse or pocket when in fact it isn’t.

Santa Clara University psychology professor Thomas Plante said solid clinical research on tech-induced anxiety is still in its early stages. Still, he said, all you have to do is look over at that texting driver next to you at the red light to see firsthand “how we’re all constantly using our phones to deal with boredom or to get an immediate answer to some trivial question. We’ve reached a point where it’s increasingly hard for people to have the mind at quiet.”

Plante got so fed up with his students sneaking peeks at their phones under their desks that “I now ban tech devices, and I have students do a one-minute mindful meditation at the start of every class. ‘Take a deep breath,’ I tell them, ‘and get yourselves together.’ ”

Not everyone, of course, is overwhelmed, said Gesine Schaffer, a retired psychologist in San Jose, Calif. “With my own grandkids, for example, this technology is just part of their culture. Kids see heavy use of these devices as normal, and I think they know how to manage that stress better than, say, a 60-year-old.”

Schaffer said mobile devices have become such an “essential part of our culture, especially among young people, that if they weren’t feeling some of that stress, they’d feel like they were missing out on something and wouldn’t know what to do with themselves. These devices provide a sort of drama in their lives that they embrace.”

For those less adept at managing their use of these tools, or for people already grappling with stressed-out lives and other emotional problems, the always-on phenomenon can make a bad situation worse. Saratoga, Calif., psychologist Janet Redman said she’s had patients simultaneously so anxious and so tethered to their smartphones “that some have accidentally recorded their therapy session, or they’ve accidentally answered their phone so that the person on (the other end) can hear us talking.”

Redman said the latest social stressor is Apple’s software upgrade to iOS 7, a transition that has apparently left some users besides themselves after contacts were wiped out or photos were sent asunder.

It’s particularly troubling, she said, that even a software tweak “can drive so many people crazy.”

Candice Kilpatrick couldn’t help but laugh when she came across a novelty item on Amazon.com: a latex horse’s head with a bushy mane.

Knowing her friends would get a kick out of the mask too, she shared the link on Facebook.

Soon her friends began seeing an update from Kilpatrick on their Facebook pages that appeared as if Kilpatrick was encouraging them to buy the mask: “Good news everyone. These are 40 percent off today.”

But Kilpatrick had not posted it. Facebook had turned the link into a personal endorsement called a “sponsored story” paid for by Amazon.

“I was at the top of all of my 900-plus friends’ Facebook feeds for several weeks promoting this horse mask,” said Kilpatrick, a digital strategist from New York. “I am not comfortable with it.”

Like it or not, Kilpatrick and her friends will have to get used to it.

Any time someone “likes” or links to a product on Facebook, there’s a chance Facebook will put that person’s name and face in an ad endorsing the product.

More of these ads are flooding the Web as companies look to exploit what has long been so effective in the offline world: a personal recommendation from a friend.

Already when users click Google’s “(plus) 1” button, that endorsement can appear in an ad.

Google has announced that it also plans to expand the program next month and turn reviews, ratings and comments from users ages 18 and older into endorsements.

So if a user gives a Maroon 5 song five stars in the Google Play store or comments on the crunchy crust at that new pizza joint on Google Plus, the glowing review may find its way into an ad that the user’s friends see across the Web.

It’s part of the uneasy deal that consumers strike with social networks. In return for a free service, Facebook, Google and other companies collect reams of data from users for targeted advertising.

Social endorsement ads are one way these companies are boosting sales.

“What companies like Facebook and Google recognize is that the power of the personal recommendation is really huge,” EMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson said.

Web companies say the ads are more relevant and less annoying than some other more traditional forms of online advertising such as banner ads.

A survey conducted earlier this year by Nielsen found that 84 percent of Internet users around the world trust recommendations from people they know.

After seeing a friend “like” a product on social media, 29 percent of U.S. Internet users check out the product, 14 percent visit the product’s website, 11 percent visit the product’s social media page and 5 percent “like” the product, according to research from Adobe Systems.

But many advertisers aren’t completely sold on these endorsement ads – and with good reason, said Woodrow Hartzog, a professor at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Ala.

Too often a “like” or a “(plus) 1” is taken out of context. People “like” or “(plus) 1” products for different reasons. Many people do so to enter contests or get a coupon or other goodies.

“That action doesn’t necessarily mean ‘I approve this product,’ “ Hartzog said. “It can mean a lot of different things.”

Massachusetts Institute of Technology marketing professor Catherine Tucker says Google’s new approach – turning reviews and ratings into endorsements – will be a more meaningful personal endorsement than “low involvement” actions such as clicking a “(plus) 1” or “like” button.

Still, many users say they don’t think it’s fair that their name and likeness are being used without their consent or compensation.

“They are making me (into) a product they sell,” said Los Angeles marketing strategist Stephanie Piche, who opted out of Google’s “shared endorsements” program. “Do I like it? No.”

Bloggers who get paid to endorse products and actors whose livelihood is their name and likeness are some of those complaining the loudest. They don’t see why the proceeds from these ads are lining the coffers of Facebook and Google, not their own pockets.

“It could potentially hurt my income,” said Lise Dominique, a voice-over actor from Chicago.

Jonah Berger, author of “Contagious: Why Things Catch On” and a marketing professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, says people trust friends more than they trust ads. Word of mouth tends to be 10 times more effective than traditional advertising, he said.

“We know that when friends endorse something, it’s likely they mean it,” Berger said.

• Avoid leaving your smartphone next to your bed at night, as studies suggest beeps and even a gadget’s light may disrupt sleep.

• Be aware of your tech-tool usage, keeping a diary for a week of what devices you use, for what reason, and for how long.

• Set up boundaries for yourself, such as refusing to check emails before 10 a.m. or after 10 p.m.

• Call someone for a 10-minute phone conversation rather than using text.

• Leave your phone in your car while at the movies and in your glove compartment while driving.

• Establish a no-smartphone policy during family dinners.

• Learn how to silence your phone; you’d be surprised how many people don’t know how.

Fewer Americans are blowing their 401(k) savings on cars, clothes and other frivolities when they change jobs.

Only 7.5 percent of U.S. workers last year cashed out their retirement money to spend on purchases when they left a job, according to data released Wednesday by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

That’s half the 15.1 percent level from a decade ago, and one-third the 22.7 percent of 20 years ago, according to EBRI.

When workers leave a job – often for a new position elsewhere – they have several options with their 401(k) savings. That includes rolling the money into an individual retirement account or cashing out and spending it.

Depending on the amounts involved and the policies of the new employer, workers also can leave the money in the old company’s retirement plan or roll it into a plan at the new employer.

The decrease in consumption-related cash-outs is a sign that Americans – at least those who are disciplined enough to contribute to work-based plans in the first place – are getting the message about the importance of saving for retirement and aren’t squandering those savings on unnecessary purchases.

Almost half of people (45.2 percent) rolled their money into tax-preferred retirement-related vehicles, primarily an IRA or another employer’s savings plan, according to EBRI.

That’s up slightly from 43.4 percent 10 years ago and up sharply from earlier years. It was 35.4 percent in 1998 and 19.3 percent in 1993.

In today’s retail world, every day is Cyber Monday.

Just ask any bricks-and-mortar retailer who laments their loss of market share to a website like Amazon.com, or takes steps to fight showrooming – the phenomenon where consumers inspect products in stores, then order them online at better prices.

But with stores opening on Thanksgiving and Black Friday becoming more of a hassle than it’s worth, Cyber Monday is becoming more popular than ever. One website even circulated video footage of a chaotic Black Friday stampede as a way to entice people to stay home and shop with them from the comfort of their own homes.

“Move over Black Friday, the Internet is here,” said Don Levy, director of Siena Research Institute, in its annual report about holiday spending by New Yorkers.

While 23 percent of people polled said they planned to shop in stores on Black Friday, 34 percent of all consumers anticipated that they would shop online today.

Thanks to successful marketing around Cyber Monday – named after the large numbers of workers who spent that day shopping online at their desks the Monday after Thanksgiving – many online retailers will offer great deals today.

If you decide to go bargain hunting on the Web, keep these tips in mind.

Be cautious about limited-time and mystery deals. Some websites offer mystery deals that aren’t revealed until the minute they go on sale. Others are offered with a time limit or in limited quantities.

These types of deals are designed to drive impulse purchases; to get you to spend money without thinking or doing your homework. Take your time when deciding whether to buy something. Ask yourself – would I buy this if it wasn’t on sale?

Don’t forget to factor in shipping. Shipping costs can vary widely. When comparing prices, be sure to add shipping into the total cost before making a decision.

Shop securely. Don’t use public networks. Open networks make it easy for cyber thieves to steal passwords and credit card numbers. While you’re at it, look for the “s.” Secure website URLs should start with the letters “https” instead of just “http” and show a picture of a padlock in the browser window.

Don’t forget the coupon codes and cash back. Search for coupon codes on websites such as RetailMeNot.com and CouponCabin.com. If you belong to a cash-back site such as eBates.com, FatWallet.com or UPromise.com, make sure you’re logged in.

Ship to store. Many sites with a brick-and-mortar retail presence will let you pick up online orders in stores for free.

Don’t register with a site or allow it to save your payment information on file. The more information you have sitting around, the more vulnerable it is to being stolen. If you cannot shop as a guest and must register, create a unique, long, complicated password.

Use a credit card. Debit cards don’t offer as many protections as credit cards do. Also be sure to check your statements carefully to be sure you were charged the right amount, and check each month thereafter to make sure no one is siphoning anything out later.

Down with pop-ups. Don’t click on pop-up ads, which can infect your computer with harmful software. To be safe, install pop-up blockers.

Save the evidence. Print or save a copy of all receipts and confirmations, terms and conditions, warranties, descriptions and product information, suggests the state Division of Consumer Protection.

It’s OK not to buy anything. If you can’t find good enough prices on the gifts on your list, consider waiting until so-called “Brown Monday,” on Dec. 16. That’s the last day most online retailers will guarantee to ship by Christmas and therefore the day during the holiday season that prices are lowest and the most coupons are offered. That day is also considered “Free shipping day.”

Update your browser. Go to whatbrowser.org to see which version you’re using, whether it needs to be updated and how to do that, recommends security firm Rapid7. Older versions have known weak spots that hackers can attack. Keep your antivirus and anti-spyware protection up to date, too.

Beware “fly by night” e-commerce sites. These are fraudulent sites that trick you into downloading harmful software, steal credit card information or take orders for merchandise that will never be shipped. To protect yourself, stick to well-known, credible, established websites.

If you do business with a company you’ve never heard of, there are a few ways to check its credentials, according to security company Thirtyseven4. Be sure the site is professional and user friendly, that the company name shows up near the top of the search results when you Google it, and check to see when the site was created by doing a “Whois” search at www.internic.net.

email: schristmann@buffnews.com

With the stock market up 25 percent this year and some mutual funds up 30 percent or more, some investors are getting itchy to sell winners and make sure they pocket the full benefit before a possible downturn.

Whittling away some overexposure to any asset can make sense. But be intentional. Selling stocks, bonds, mutual funds or other assets can carry tax consequences. This is the time of year to be aware of that possibility, so that if you do something that brings on the tax man, you can do something else to hold him at bay.

Though that applies to anyone with investments, higher earners need to be particularly tuned in this year because their possible tax liabilities have risen, said Ted Sarenski, a CPA in Syracuse. If you are in the highest tax bracket, you will be subject to a 20 percent capital gains tax. In addition, there’s a 3.8 percent Medicare tax that individuals will face when their adjusted gross income hits $200,000. For couples, it’s $250,000.

Among the tax considerations to note:

• Where are your investments? If all of your investments are in an individual retirement account, Roth IRA, 401(k) or other retirement fund, you don’t have to worry about tax consequences. The beauty of these accounts is that taxes don’t apply to the money invested within these accounts.

But if you do your investing outside one of these tax-protected accounts, you have a taxable account. With a taxable account, you must pay attention to selling and the capital gains that selling can set off.

• Do you have mutual funds in a taxable account? If you do have a mutual fund, you may get an unpleasant surprise around this time of year in a taxable account. Even if you haven’t sold any of the fund shares, you might be subject to what’s called a “distribution.”

Why? Because your fund manager has been buying and selling stocks, bonds or other securities within your fund all year long, and if the gains outnumber losses, you have the responsibility to pay the taxes.

There’s a point in the year when the distribution applies. So if you sell a fund before the distribution date, you avoid that cost. But if you buy a fund this time of year, be careful. If the distribution is coming before year’s end, you will owe taxes on it, even if you are a newcomer to the fund. To protect yourself, call the fund company and make sure you know the precise date when the distribution applies before buying or selling.

• Hunt down your losers. If you have sold an investment this year and made money on it, you will owe capital gains taxes.

But there is a way to get rid of all or part of that obligation. If you can sell another investment that has lost money, that loss can be used to offset the gain you had on another investment.

Furthermore, if you don’t have gains to offset, you can sell investments at a loss and use those losses to lower your adjusted gross income. You can do this for up to $3,000 a year. And if your losses exceed that amount, you can carry the loss into future years.

• Spotting winners and losers. Many bond funds have been losers this year, so they are a potential good choice to sell. Just remember, it’s not good enough to sell a fund that’s lost money this year. You need one that has lost money since you bought it.

Obvious losers this year, according to Lipper, are emerging-market debt funds, with an average loss of 6.5 percent, and emerging-market stock funds, with a 1.5 percent average loss. Also consider U.S. Treasury bond funds, with an average loss of 5.4 percent, and Treasury Inflation Protected funds, with an average loss of 6 percent. You won’t find losers among U.S. stock funds, but precious metal funds are big losers. The average precious metal mining stock fund is down 43 percent.

• Lighten up on winners. If you want to lighten up on a huge winner like a small cap fund without bringing about any capital gains tax, consider giving shares to a charity. The charity will get the full value and will be able to sell shares you provide, without either you or the charity owing tax.

Gauge of U.S. economy’s health edges up 0.2% during October

CVS buys drug infusion company

Way cleared for merger of American Airlines, US Airways

Average mortgage rates rise modestly

Cox reportedly eyes Time Warner Cable

Stock indexes stay at record levels

Health law business insurance site delayed 1 year

Discount Diva’s tips for surviving Black Friday

Northwest Bancshares makes two acquisitions

Santa’s unexpected gift: cheaper gas

Details of Hamister deal in Falls not yet public as developer begins ‘due diligence’

Bargain hunters brave the chill for Black Friday

How to blow whistle without blowing your career

Catch more followers on social media with honey

‘Tech stress’ continues to build

Social networks turn user posts into advertisements

Cut tech-induced stress

Fewer dip into 401(k) after job change

Safety and savings for Cyber Monday

Consider tax impact before adjusting portfolio