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8B Daily News – Wednesday, January 9, 2013 US stocks fall ahead of earnings season kickoff NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks closed lower Tuesday as traders awaited the start of the corporate earnings season. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 55.44 points, or 0.4 percent, to 13,328.85. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 4.74, or 0.3 percent, to 1,457.15. The Nasdaq composite index shed 7.01, or 0.2 percent, to 3,091.81. Alcoa reported its fourth-quarter financial results after the market closed, marking the unofficial kickoff to weeks of earnings announcements from U.S. companies. The aluminum maker said its revenue results exceeded the expectations of Wall Street analysts, while per-share earnings were roughly in line with expectations. Alcoa rose 20 cents, or Wall Street 2.1 percent, to $9.30 in late trading. Alcoa is traditionally the first of the 30 companies in the Dow average to report earnings. Market-watchers expect the quarter's results could include many surprises because of events like Superstorm Sandy, the presidential election, and the narrowly avoided tax increases and spending cuts known collectively as the ''fiscal cliff.'' ''Earnings is going to be the big driver for the next couple of weeks, and we're just sitting around waiting for it to begin,'' said Kim Caughey Forrest, vice president and senior analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group, an investment management firm. The European debt crisis continued to cast a pall over the market. Unemployment in the 17 countries that use the euro hit a new high, leading the European Union to warn about the risk of fraying social welfare systems in southern Europe. Trading has been cautious in the week since Congress and the White House struck a deal to maintain lower tax rates and postpone sweeping cuts in government spending. Enthusiasm about the compromise pushed the Dow up 300 points last Wednesday, its biggest gain since December 2011. In corporate news: — Agriculture products giant Monsanto rose $2.56, or 2.7 percent, to $98.50 after saying its profit nearly tripled in the first fiscal quarter, helped by strong seed sales in Latin America. Monsanto raised its earnings guidance for the year. — Video game seller GameStop lost $1.56, or 6.3 percent, to $23.19 after reporting weak holiday-season sales and cutting its revenue guidance. — Yum Brands, operator of the KFC and Taco Bell fast food chains, plunged after saying a key sales metric in China fell more than expected in the fourth quarter. The decline was related to problems at two of its small chicken suppliers; nearly half of the company's revenue came from China in 2011. Yum lost $2.85, or 4.2 percent, to $65.04. — In Korea, electronics giant Samsung said it expects record earnings for the fourth quarter as shoppers continue to embrace its smartphones and tablets. But there were signs its momentum is slowing, and the company's stock closed down 1.3 percent in Seoul. TV-over-Internet service expands despite lawsuits NEW YORK (AP) — The Barry Diller-backed Internet company that challenged cable and satellite TV services by offering inexpensive live television online plans to expand beyond New York City this spring. In the wake of a federal court ruling that tentatively endorsed its legality, Aereo will bring its $8-a-month service to Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington and 18 other markets in the U.S., as well as to New York's suburbs. For the past year, the service had been limited to New York City residents as the company fine-tuned its technology and awaited guidance on whether its unlicensed use of free, overthe-air broadcasts amounted to a copyright violation. A federal judge in New York ruled in July that the service doesn't appear to violate copyright law because individual subscribers are assigned their own, tiny antenna at Aereo's Brooklyn data center, making it analo- gous to the free signal a consumer would get with a regular antenna at home. Aereo spent the subsequent months selecting markets for expansion and renting space for new equipment in those cities. ''The court decision was the green light in our perspective,'' CEO and founder Chet Kanojia said in a recent interview at Aereo's sparse offices in a former engine factory in Queens. ''This is an opportunity of a lifetime to build up something meaningful to change how people access TV.'' Aereo is one of several startups created to deliver traditional media over the Internet without licensing agreements. Past efforts have typically been rejected by courts as copyright violations. In Aereo's case, the judge accepted the company's legal reasoning, but with reluctance. If the ruling stands, Aereo could cause a great deal of upheaval in the broadcast industry. It could give people a reason 741 Main Street, Suite #2 Red Bluff, CA 96080 1-800-287-2187 (530) 527-2187 C & C PROPERTIES An Independently owned and operated Member of Coldwell Banker Residential Affiliates. FOR 24/7 PROPERTY INFO CALL 1-888-902-7253 Bull & Gelding Sale CUSTOM DAILY EDITIONS published only in the DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY Fresh coverage 5 days Tuesday, January 22 Wednesday, January 23 Thursday, January 24 Friday, January 25 & Saturday, January 26 Deadline for 5x Flights: Friday, January 18 at Noon Contact your Advertising Representative today (530) 527-2151 FORECLOSURES AND HOMES UNDER $200,000 2 BD 3 BD 3 BD 3 BD 2 BD 3 BD 1 BD 3 BD 3 BD 3 BD 3 BD 1 BD 4 BD 6 BD 4 BD 3 BD 2 BA 2 BA 2 BA 1 BA 1 BA 1 BA 1 BA 2 BA 2 BA 2 BA 2 BA 1 BA 2 BA 3 BA 1 BA 2 BA 1000 Sq Ft 1560 Sq Ft 945 Sq Ft 1144 Sq Ft 768 Sq Ft 1216 Sq Ft 384 Sq Ft 1114 Sq Ft 1248 Sq Ft 1493 Sq Ft 1080 Sq Ft 1592 Sq Ft 3000 Sq Ft 1572 Sq Ft 1468 Sq Ft 0.48 AC 0.07 AC 0.16 AC 0.127 AC 1.16 AC 1.6 AC 0.222 AC 1.99 AC 2.99 AC 0.09 AC 0.149 AC 0.48 AC 0.29 AC 0.276 AC 0.55 AC $9,499 $65,000 $70,999 $84,500 $99,000 $99,900 $109,000 $110,000 $115,900 $135,000 $135,000 $148,000 $170,000 $174,900 $175,000 $198,000 Prop Code 4249 Prop Code 4899 Prop Code 4159 Prop Code 4429 Prop Code 4379 Prop Code 4849 Prop Code 4389 Prop Code 4409 Prop Code 4909 Prop Code 4399 Prop Code 4019 Prop Code 4029 Prop Code 4329 Prop Code 4439 Prop Code 4969 Prop Code 4979 See All Tehama County Listings at www.redbluffcoldwellbanker.com TEHAMA COUNTY REAL ESTATE TEAM • OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK to drop cable or satellite subscriptions as monthly bills rise. It also might hinder broadcasters' ability to sell ads because it's not yet clear how traditional audience measures will incorporate Aereo's viewership. In addition, it could reduce the licensing fees broadcasters collect from cable and satellite companies. Broadcasters have appealed the July ruling. At a November hearing, appellate judges expressed skepticism about the legality of Aereo's operations. In addition, the original judge's ruling was preliminary, made as part of a decision to let Aereo continue operating while the lawsuits wind their way through court. Even if courts continue to side with Aereo on the legality of its setup, broadcasters still could nitpick on the details and try to argue that the antennas don't actually operate individually as claimed. Despite Aereo's initial win, copyright attorney Kevin Goldberg with the firm Fletcher, Heald & Hil- dreth rated the company's chances ''a toss-up. You really are trying to break new ground here.'' Goldberg, who isn't representing either side in the case, noted that a federal judge in Los Angeles already has ruled against a copycat service called Aereokiller. Furthermore, he said, Congress can step in at any time to clarify the law. Kanojia said he didn't want to wait for a final resolution, which could take years. He said all startups accept some risk when they try to shake up an industry. With average monthly TV bills exceeding $75, Aereo is positioning itself as a cheaper alternative. For $8 a month, subscribers in New York get 29 over-the-air stations. They can watch shows live and record up to 20 hours using Aereo's Internetbased digital video recorder. Subscribers get 40 hours of DVR space for $12 a month and can reduce that to less than $7 by paying for a year in advance.