Niners-Seahawks a late-season classic

Under normal circumstances, Seattle's CenturyLink Field rocks from the noise of the 12th Man.
Imagine how far across Puget Sound the crowd's cheers will reverberate when the Seahawks host the 49ers on Sunday night.
The NFL flexed this one to prime time, and it was a wise choice. Although the 49ers (10-3-1) still can win the NFC West even if they fall to Seattle — a win in the finale against Arizona would do it — there's no way they'll take Pete Carroll's Seahawks lightly.
Niners coach Jim Harbaugh and Carroll had a bit of a feud going when they were college coaches, Harbaugh at Stanford and Carroll at Southern Cal. That hasn't diminished much in the pros.
"It's a big division finish for us and we'll see how it goes," said Carroll, whose team is 6-0 at home and hosts St. Louis in its last game. "All we can do is focus on this game right here. We'll have no trouble focusing. They're a great team, and coming home and all that it will be exciting to get ready."
Seattle (No. 7 in the AP Pro32) is on quite a roll, winning three in a row and five of six. Its defense has allowed 219 points, second only to the 218 yielded by the 49ers (No. 2, AP Pro32). And all the offense has done is put up 58 and 50 points the last two weeks. Seattle (9-5) is the first team since 1950 to score 50 or more points in consecutive weeks, impressing the oddsmakers enough to make the Seahawks 2½-point favorites.
But the 49ers also have done something rare, going into New England and, after blowing a 28-point lead, beating the Patriots 41-34. They have lost only one of their last eight games.
"I think the thing that the players were feeling and probably anybody that was watching it was feeling was that there were two teams — two very good teams, two hard-hitting teams, two teams that have a lot of pride in how they play — really came out to see who's better," Harbaugh said of the Patriots game. "And wanted to be better and wanted to win that game, and it showed.
"This game will be the same, I really believe that."
So do we, but without the scoreboard being overworked.
SEAHAWKS, 19-17
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No. 25 Tennessee (plus 10½ ) at No. 6 Green Bay
Packers have NFC North clinched, probably won't find way to No. 1 seed. Still ...
BEST BET: PACKERS, 31-10
No. 17 New Orleans (plus 3) at No. 12 Dallas
Saints damage Cowboys' playoff hopes with high-scoring win.
UPSET SPECIAL: Saints, 31-30
No. 4 Atlanta (minus 3) at No. 28 Detroit, Saturday night
Falcons can grab NFC home-field advantage with a win. Consider it grabbed.
FALCONS, 30-16
No. 13 Cincinnati (plus 5) at No. 15 Pittsburgh
One of these teams will be in playoffs. Shockingly, it will be Cincinnati.
BENGALS, 17-16
No. 3 New England (minus 14) at No. 31 Jacksonville
Patriots are an angry bunch, will take it out on weak Jaguars.
PATRIOTS, 45-13
No. 11 Indianapolis (minus 6) at No. 32 Kansas City
Colts secure wild-card spot against NFL's worst team.
COLTS 27-10
No. 8 Washington (minus 4) at No. 29 Philadelphia
Redskins have come too far to stumble here.
REDSKINS, 30-17
No. 18 St. Louis (plus 3) at No. 20 Tampa Bay
A pair of teams to perhaps watch in 2013. As for right now ...
BUCCANEERS, 22-20
No. 9 (tie) New York Giants (minus 1) at No. 9 (tie) Baltimore
Tough to explain Giants' and Ravens' inconsistencies.
GIANTS, 24-17
No. 14 Minnesota (plus 7) at No. 5 Houston
Adrian Peterson's pursuit of rushing record could get stymied here.
TEXANS, 24-14
No. 23 Cleveland (plus 12) at No. 1 Denver
Broncos are looking at 11-game win streak to finish season.
BRONCOS, 28-13
No. 16 Chicago (minus 5½ ) at No. 27 Arizona
Injury-ravaged Bears have enough left to stay alive in wild-card chase.
BEARS, 19-13
No. 30 Oakland (plus 8) at No. 21 Carolina
Panthers might have saved Ron Rivera's coaching job with recent spurt.
PANTHERS, 27-17
No. 26 Buffalo (plus 5) at No. 19 Miami
Who cares, Part I?
DOLPHINS, 20-12
No. 24 San Diego (plus 3) at No. 22 New York Jets
Who cares, Part II?
CHARGERS, 17-13
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2012 RECORD:
Against spread: 7-8 (93-114-7). Straight up: 8-8 (134-85-1)
Best Bet: 6-7-2 against spread, 10-5 straight up.
Upset special: 10-5 against spread, 8-7 straight up.

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Super Bowl to be streamed online again

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Super Bowl will be streamed online for the second straight year.
Last season's game attracted 2.1 million users through the Web. The TV audience was 111.3 million people.
The simulcast of the CBS coverage will be available on NFL.com and CBSSports.com. It will also include additional camera angles and in-game highlights.
The league said Wednesday that the Saturday wild-card games and Pro Bowl on NBC would be streamed as well.
The four games will also be available on smartphones to subscribers of NFL Mobile from Verizon Communications Inc.
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CBS is a division of CBS Corp.; NBC is controlled by Comcast Corp.

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Leeman Bennett and Jerry Glanville Selected as Head Coaches of the 88th East-West Shrine Game

Venerable coaches to lead teams in college football all-star game benefiting Shriners Hospitals for Children.

Tampa, FL (PRWEB) December 19, 2012
Leeman Bennett and Jerry Glanville have been selected as head coaches of the 88th East-West Shrine Game® benefiting Shriners Hospitals for Children®.
“We are proud to have two coaches with distinguished careers and a wealth of knowledge of football through their collegiate and NFL coaching careers,” said Harold Richardson, executive director of the East-West Shrine Game. “Coach Bennett and Coach Glanville are excited to be a part of this game because it combines great football with a great cause. This week creates memories that will last a lifetime.”  
Bennett and Glanville both have impressive records as coaches and are looking forward to the opportunity to compete against one another for a good cause. While the East-West Shrine Game allows some of the best college football players in the country to showcase their talents in front of NFL coaches and scouts, the true purpose of the game is to raise awareness of Shriners Hospitals for Children.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this very special game that gives the players a stage to showcase their talents, and also supports a cause that is very dear to me,” said Glanville. “At the end of the day, helping provide a better future for the children is what touches me the most.”
“The Shrine Game gives these players the chance to compete against the best athletes in the country and show their support for a great cause,” Bennett said. “I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to lead these young men in the game, all while putting smiles on the faces of children.”
Kick-off is at 4p.m. on January 19, 2013, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. To learn more about the East-West Shrine Game or to order tickets, please visit http://www.shrinegame.com.
About Shriners Hospitals for Children

Shriners Hospitals for Children is changing lives every day through innovative pediatric specialty care, world-class research and outstanding medical education. The 22 facilities in the United States, Canada and Mexico provide advanced care for children with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate.
Shriners Hospitals for Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and relies on the generosity of donors. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law. To learn more about Shriners Hospitals for Children, please visit http://www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org.
Lyndsey Shaw
Pinstripe Marketing
727.214.1555

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Reuters U.S. Sports Schedule at 2 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Dec. 19

Dec. 19 (Reuters) - Reuters U.S. sports schedule at 2 p.m. EST on Wednesday:
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The duty editor is Steve Ginsburg, 202-898-8427
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National Football League
Go, Adrian
Two-thousand yards isn't the goal Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is chasing. He's shooting for Eric Dickerson's single-season record of 2,105 set almost 30 years ago. His next challenge - Houston's fifth-ranked rushing defense, which allows 93.2 yards per game. (FBN-VIKINGS-NEWS/, expect by 0000 GMT/7 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 500 words)
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Eli is the key, says Coughlin
EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey - New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin says quarterback Eli Manning is a key to establishing the level of consistency the defending Super Bowl champions need to find in order to make another run at the NFL title. (NFL-GIANTS/, expect by 1630 GMT/4:30 PM ET, by Larry Fine, 400 words)
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Great indoors: Falcons going for dome-field advantage
The Atlanta Falcons visit Detroit on Saturday, in what the team hopes is its last road game of the season. With a win, the Falcons can keep a roof over their heads all the way to the Super Bowl in New Orleans. (FBN-FALCONS-NEWS/, expect by 0000 GMT/7 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 500 words)
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Need to know: RGIII's knee still hot topic in D.C.
Robert Griffin III says he could have played at Cleveland. Doctors will again have a say as to whether the rookie gets the call in Philadelphia on Sunday. (FBN-REDSKINS-NEWS/, expect by 0000 GMT/7 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 500 words)
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Tomlin certain Roethlisberger 'on board' with system
Ben Roethlisberger made multiple references to the offense and play-calling when examining the reasons the Pittsburgh Steelers fell short in Dallas on Sunday. Coach Mike Tomlin says it's not the offense, and he adds that Roethlisberger agrees. (FBN-STEELERS-NEWS/, expect by 0000 GMT/7 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 500 words)
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NFL Notebook
The latest news and notes from around the league. (FBN-NOTES/, expect by 0000 GMT/7 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 500 words)
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College Football
Badgers' hunt ends with Utah State's Andersen
Athletic director Barry Alvarez said Wisconsin would find the right coach. It appears that man is Utah State's Gary Andersen, who is expected to be introduced as Bret Bielema's successor Thursday. (FBC-WISCONSIN-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 400 words)
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Poinsettia preview
BYU and San Diego State took vastly different paths to the Poinsettia Bowl. Who has the momentum and what are the key matchups in Thursday's game in San Diego? (FBC-BYU-SANDIEGOSTATE-NEWS/ PREVIEW), expect by 0000 GMT/7 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 600 words)
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CFB notebook
The latest news and notes from around the nation. (FBC-NOTES/, expect by 0000 GMT/7 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 450 words)
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National Basketball Association
New York, New York
NEW YORK - With or without Knicks' forward Carmelo Anthony - he's a game-time decision - New York and Brooklyn tangle for the third time this season with each holding a victory in the season series. (BKN-KNICKS-NETS-NEWS/, PIX), expect by 0230 GMT/9:30 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 700 words)
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Rockets ready for 76ers
HOUSTON - The Houston Rockets (12-12) got back to .500 with Monday's win over the New York Knicks. Jeremy Lin and James Harden welcome Philadelphia's rising backcourt tonight. (BKN-ROCKETS-SIXERS-WRITETHRU/ PIX), expect by 0330 GMT/10:30 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 700 words)
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LeBron waging 'vendetta' against himself
MIAMI - LeBron James says he is engaged in a "vendetta" against himself as he pushes himself to reach his physical peak and win a second straight NBA championship with the Miami Heat. (NBA/HEAT-JAMES, moved, by Simon Evans, 550 words)
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NBA notebook
The latest news and notes from around the league. (BKN-NOTES/, expect by 1245 GMT/7:45 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 400 words)
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Major League Baseball
Rangers could land Pierzynksi
White Sox free agent catcher A.J. Pierzynski is coming off of a career year in Chicago. The Texas Rangers have a few holes to fill after losing Mike Napoli and Josh Hamilton. (BBO-RANGERS-NEWS/, expect by 2200 GMT/5 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 350 words)
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MLB notebook
The latest from around the league. (BBO-NOTES/, expect by 0000 GMT/7 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 400 words)
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Boxing
Mayweather considers bout with 52-year-old Nave
Roger Mayweather, uncle and trainer of Floyd Mayweather, denies reports that he is not healthy and confirms that he and his nephew are working on a fight for May 4. A surprise opponent with a "Rocky" theme may be under consideration for that bout. (MSC-BOXING-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, by Frank Cooney, 1,450 words)

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Beck: Huskers to be in trouble if heads not right

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska is still smarting from that 39-point loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game, and few people outside the state believe the No. 23 Cornhuskers are capable of beating sixth-ranked Georgia in the Capital One Bowl.
The challenge for Bo Pelini and his coaches between now and Jan. 1 is to make sure the players have moved on emotionally.
"If we have a hangover," offensive coordinator Tim Beck said, "it's going to get ugly."
The Huskers (10-3) have begun preparing in earnest for the Bulldogs (11-2) after going through short workouts last week. The players will be dismissed for Christmas on Thursday. They'll return to Lincoln next Wednesday and travel that afternoon to Orlando, Fla.
"I guess we treat this like the Rose Bowl game that we should have gone to, and I'm still frustrated about that," quarterback Taylor Martinez said.
Beck described himself and the rest of the team as "shell-shocked" in the days following the 70-31 beating by the Badgers. Yet the mood was light after Tuesday's practice. Players yukked it up with each other as they walked off the field, and defensive end Eric Martin clowned around with Martinez while the quarterback was speaking with reporters.
Martinez said he doesn't think the meltdown against Wisconsin will carry over to the bowl.
Running back Ameer Abdullah lamented the lost opportunity.
"It hurt," he said. "We worked so hard, with all the comeback victories, but you have to have short-term memory. The season isn't over. We can't drag that same attitude into the bowl game. We have to get our spirits back up and practice hard."
Georgia is the highest-ranked bowl opponent since the Huskers took on top-ranked Miami in the Rose Bowl game that decided the 2001 national championship. The Huskers are 10-point underdogs.
The Bulldogs have a three-year starter in quarterback Aaron Murray, who ranks second nationally in pass efficiency, and the powerful freshman running-back combination of Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall.
The 6-foot-1, 218-pound Gurley leads all freshman rushers with 1,260 yards, and the 5-11, 216-pound Marshall has run for 723 yards.
Georgia allowed 10 or fewer points in five games and features the Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year in outside linebacker Jarvis Jones, who leads the Bulldogs with 12.5 sacks despite missing two games.
Asked what scares him about Georgia's defense, Martinez said, "Nothing. They're like any other Big Ten defense. Big Ten defenses are the best in the country, and we're going up against a good Georgia defense. We have to look at it like that."
Beck said the Bulldogs' defense is "too big and too athletic" to compare with any in the Big Ten.
"They're an Oklahoma, a Texas, a South Carolina," Beck said. "They do a lot of different things. They run around and make plays all over the place."
Georgia narrowly missed a chance to play for the national championship, losing 32-28 to Alabama in the SEC title game.
The Huskers, however, aren't buying into the hype of the SEC, which has won six straight national titles.
"It doesn't matter what conference they come from," Abdullah said. "There are a lot of good teams around the country. It's not just because they come from the SEC that they hold some special powers."
It's the second straight season Nebraska has played in the Capital One against an SEC team. Last January the Huskers lost 30-13 to South Carolina after a second-half implosion.
Nebraska is playing for its first 11-win season since 2001 and the 13th in program history. The Huskers have never lost fewer than four games under Pelini, who's in his fifth season. A win over the Bulldogs would create a positive vibe for Nebraska as it goes into next season. Significant starting experience will return at eight positions on offense and at five on defense.
"11-3 sounds a heck of a lot better than 10-4," Abdullah said.
Beck said the bowl can cushion the blow of the Wisconsin debacle. He said the players and coaches prepared for Badgers as well as they did for any opponent.
"Why did it turn out that way? It wasn't our night," Beck said. "As bad as it stings and as bad as I know they're not that much better than we are, points-wise, it's over. You've got to move on. There are a lot of great things these guys have done in this program, a lot of great things happened this year, and one game isn't going to define it for me and for them.

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Just Explain It: Why the Fiscal Cliff May Trigger a Recession

Lawmakers in Washington appear to be making little to no progress in avoiding the impending so-called fiscal cliff.  House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Friday the negotiations are "almost nowhere."  On Thursday Boehner rejected a proposal from the Obama administration saying that the Democrats need to "get serious about real spending cuts."

President Obama's offer continues to call for higher taxes on the wealthy and an extension of the payroll tax cut.   But Republicans say they will not agree to a plan that raises taxes.

As the country continues to head toward the fiscal cliff, this Just Explain It helps to make sense of what it is.

On December 31st, most of us would like to be thinking about a prosperous new year ahead…drinking bubbly and singing Auld Lang Syne with friends.  But there's a chance we could be singing a different tune if President Obama and Congress don't agree on measures to avoid the fiscal cliff.

First, let me explain what the fiscal cliff is.

The fiscal cliff refers to the potentially disastrous situation the U-S faces at the end of this year.  At midnight on December 31st, a number of laws are set to expire.  If the President and the Republicans don't reach an agreement before then, Americans could face broad government spending cuts and tax increases on January 1st.   The combined amount would total over 500 billion dollars. Those 500 billion dollars equal about three to four percent of the nation's entire gross domestic product.  This is what's referred to as the fiscal cliff.

If there isn't a resolution, here are the specifics of what will happen.

Taxes would go up for almost every taxpayer and many businesses. The Bush-era tax cuts, which tax relief for middle and upper-class tax payers, would be a thing of the past.  So would President Obama's payroll tax cut which added about a thousand dollars a year to the average worker's income.

Government spending would be slashed.  That means less money for most military, domestic and federal programs.  $26 billion in emergency unemployment-compensation would be gone. Medicare payments to doctors would be reduced by $11 billion. Federal programs would take the biggest hit.  They stand to lose a total of $65 billion.

If the fiscal cliff isn't avoided, some investors will be hit hard.  Those who receive qualified dividends could see the tax rate on those dividends go from 15% to almost 40% in 2013.

Many business owners believe going over the fiscal cliff will cripple the economy, triggering a deep recession.  They fear demand for their products or services will decrease because consumers will have less money to spend.  It also means that they won't be able to afford new hires or expand their businesses.   Since most Americans would be paying more in taxes, they'd be less inclined to make big purchases, like a home or a new car.

None of this is set in stone, but that's part of the problem.  Markets, businesses and people in general hate uncertainty. The fear of the unknown facing us at the beginning of next year is exactly why so many people are so worked up over the fiscal cliff.

Did you learn something? Do you have a topic you'd like explained?  Give us your feedback in the comments below or on twitter using #justexplainit.

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overnment says it is investigating data brokers

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government says it will investigate companies that collect and sell personal information about consumers to determine whether they need to improve their privacy practices.

The Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday that it ordered nine data brokers to provide the agency with details about their sources of information, how they use the information they gather and whether consumers have access to the data.

The consumer profiles assembled by data brokers allow advertisers and retailers to tailor marketing campaigns to specific customers.

The nine companies are: Acxiom of Little Rock, Ark.; Corelogic of Irvine, Calif.; Datalogix of Westminster, Colo.; eBureau of St. Cloud, Minn.; ID Analytics of San Diego; Intelius of Bellevue, Wash.; Peekyou of New York; Rapleaf of Chicago; and Recorded Future of Cambridge, Mass

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Amgen to pay $762M settlement over drug marketing

Amgen Inc.  has agreed to pay $762 million to resolve federal litigation accusing the drugmaker of marketing the anemia treatment Aranesp for unapproved uses.

The Thousand Oaks, Calif., company pleaded guilty Tuesday to illegally introducing a misbranded drug into interstate commerce and will pay a $136 million fine and a $14 million forfeiture, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.

It also agreed to a $612 million civil settlement according to a law firm connected to the case.

But the U.S. attorney's office declined to comment on that because the civil settlement won't be unsealed until a Wednesday court hearing, when a federal judge also will decide whether to accept the plea and sentence in the criminal case.

Amgen said in an email that if the court accepts the plea and sentence, it will immediately resolve civil and criminal matters for which it had set aside $780 million last year. A company representative declined further comment on the plea agreement.

Amgen develops biologic medicines, or drugs produced by living cells rather than by mixing chemicals. Aranesp is approved for treating patients with anemia caused by chronic renal failure and chemotherapy.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug to be administered once a week or once every two or three weeks, depending on the patient. But prosecutors accused Amgen, among other things, of promoting a once-a-month dose to help Aranesp compete with Johnson & Johnson's Procrit, which was well-established in the market, according to federal court documents.

Amgen sales representative created a "Freedom Time" chart to show both doctors and patients how much time they could save if the drug was administered less frequently, the documents said. Sales representatives also used clinical studies to support the dosing, even though the FDA had found the studies insufficient to support its safety and effectiveness.

The guilty plea sends a message to the drug industry that "if you introduce misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, we will find you, prosecute you and hold you accountable," said Marshall Miller, who served as acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York for this case.

The agreement is the latest between the Justice Department and a drugmaker over allegations of improper marketing. Pharmaceutical companies aren't allowed to market drugs for unapproved uses, but the issue is far from clear cut.

Doctors can prescribe drugs for unapproved uses, and they say these prescriptions play a crucial role in treating patients, especially those with deadly illnesses and few treatment options.

And while drug companies can't market for off-label uses, their sales representatives can distribute copies of scientific journal articles that discuss off-label uses.

Amgen's settlement pales compared to what other big drugmakers have paid as the U.S. government has cracked down on industry tactics in recent years. In July, British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline PLC said it will pay $3 billion in fines for criminal and civil violations involving 10 drugs as part of the largest health care fraud settlement in U.S. history

In 2009, federal prosecutors hit Pfizer Inc., the world's largest drugmaker, with $2.3 billion in penalties tied to violations of federal drug rules.

The large settlements are smaller than the annual sales top blockbuster drugs can generate, but they generate bad publicity that drugmakers want to avoid, said Dr. Adriane Fugh-Berman, a Georgetown University professor. Fugh-Berman has served as a paid witness in court cases over drug marketing and started the watchdog website pharmedout.org, which details industry tactics.

"I like to think (settlements and fines) have some mitigating effect, but it's hard to gauge," she said.

Amgen shares fell 21 cents to close at $89.29 Tuesday, while the broader markets rose higher.

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Oracle 2Q earnings rise 18 pct to top Street view

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Snapping out of a summertime lull, Oracle's latest quarter demonstrated that companies have been splurging on software and other technology as the year comes to a close, despite uncertainty about the economy's prospects.

The results announced Tuesday are an improvement from Oracle's previous quarter, when the business-software maker's revenue dipped slightly from a year earlier.

The most recent quarter spanned September through November. That makes Oracle the first technology bellwether to provide insights into corporate spending since the Nov. 6 re-election of President Barack Obama. It's also the first to report since negotiations to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff began to heat up in Washington.

The solid performance by one of the world's biggest technology suppliers suggests corporate decision makers aren't fretting too much about the economy falling off the cliff. The fiscal cliff refers to the combination of wide-ranging increases in taxes and cuts in government spending that will be automatically triggered Jan. 1 unless the White House and Congress can reach an agreement on how to soften the impact.

"As can see in our numbers, folks wanted to spend their budgets, continue to want to spend their budgets," Safra Catz, Oracle's chief financial officer, said in a conference call with analysts. "We are having an absolutely wonderful December so far."

Forrester Research analyst Andrew Bartels described Oracle's performance as encouraging, but said it's still too early to conclude other major technology vendors catering to big companies have been recording similar late-year gains. "This is good news, but it's not definitive," he said.

Oracle Corp. earned $2.6 billion, or 53 cents per share, in its fiscal second quarter. That's an 18 percent increase from net income of $2.2 billion, or 43 cents per share, a year ago.

If not for charges for past acquisitions and certain other costs, Oracle said it would have earned 64 cents per share. On that basis, Oracle topped the average earnings estimate of 61 cents per share among analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Revenue increased 3 percent from last year to $9.1 billion — about $900 million more than analysts had projected.

In a particularly heartening sign, Oracle said sales of new software licenses and subscriptions to its online services climbed 17 percent from last year to outstrip the most optimistic predictions issued by management three months ago. Bartels said the increase isn't quite as good as it looks because it includes contributions from two online subscription services, RightNow Technologies and Taleo, that Oracle didn't own at the same time last year. Oracle bought RightNow for $1.5 billion in January and acquired Taleo for about $2 billion in April.

The flow of new licenses and subscriptions, which represent about a quarter of Oracle's revenue, is closely tracked by investors because they spawn more revenue in the future from upgrades.

In the current quarter, which ends in February, Oracle expects software licenses and subscriptions to increase in the range of 3 percent to 13 percent from the previous year. The company, based in Redwood Shores, Calif., predicted its adjusted earnings in the current quarter will range from 64 cents to 68 cents per share on revenue ranging from $9.1 billion to $9.5 billion. That would be a 1 percent to 5 percent increase from the prior year.

Analysts are forecasting adjusted net income of 66 cents a share on revenue of $9.44 billion.

Oracle's stock added 52 cents to $33.40 in extended trading after the numbers came out. If that gain holds in Wednesday's regular trading session, it will mark a new 52-week high for the stock.

The specter of higher taxes prompted Oracle to make the unusual decision to bunch the next three quarters of stock dividends into a single payment that will be made before the end of the year. The move, announced earlier this month, is designed to ensure that Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, who owns a 23.5 percent stake in the company, and his fellow shareholders don't get hit with a higher tax bill on dividend income next year. The accelerated payment schedule will distribute about $206 million to Ellison, already one of the world's richest people, and will lower his tax bill by tens of millions, if the rates on dividend income rise next year.

Oracle would have fared even better if it could find a way to sell more computer servers and other hardware, something it has been unsuccessfully trying to do since completing its $7.3 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems Inc. in 2010. The company's hardware revenue plunged 16 percent from last year.

In Tuesday's conference call, Ellison said some of the erosion in the hardware division has been by design as Oracle weeds out some of the less-profitable equipment. He assured analysts that hardware revenue will start increasing in the final quarter of Oracle's fiscal year — the period spanning from March through May. Sun's Java programming language already has been paying off for the software side of Oracle's business, according to Ellison.

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Facebook users hit 'like,' stores jump into action

NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook  isn't just for goofy pictures and silly chatter. Whether shoppers know it or not, their actions online help dictate what's in stores during this holiday season.

After polling customers on the social media site, Macy's decided to carry denim jeans in bright neon hues rather than pastels. Wal-Mart for the first time decided to let customers vote on which toys they want discounted. And to better plan orders for the decorative flags she sells, a small business owner in Mississippi is running a contest that encourages customers to chime in about how they're decorating their homes this winter.

The impact of social media on a company's bottom line is tough to quantify, with no hard data on how millions of Facebook fans and Twitter followers translate into sales for stores. But during the holiday shopping season, a roughly two-month period when retailers can make up to 40 percent of their annual revenue, stores are uncovering a valuable use for all the seemingly useless online muttering: market research.

The result is that whenever folks press the "like" button to give their seal of approval for a particular company's page or make a comment on how much they like the leather boots they just bought, they're helping everyone from independently-owned small shops to the nation's biggest retailers make decisions about what products to stock up on, what to play up on the sales floor and what promotions to offer online.

For the first time this year, one of Macy's Inc.'s apparel buyers suggested the company solicit feedback on Facebook on which colors it should stock for "Else" brand jeans in the fall ahead of the holiday shopping season. Several weeks later, with about 2,500 "likes" and 750 comments, "Very Vivid" colors in bright blue, orange and red were declared the victor over softer shades such as baby pink and baby blue.

The company, which has more than 9 million "likes" on Facebook, followed up with another poll in July on whether it should carry a "Kensie" brand dress in a bird or floral print. About 4,000 people issued their verdicts within 48 hours, and the department store plans to carry the floral print this February.

Rather than simply using social media to tout promotions and new products, companies are just now realizing the value of making customers feel as though they're part of the decision making process, said Jennifer Kasper, who heads digital media at Macy's. In addition to making customers feel like insiders, she said it helps businesses better tailor their offers as well.

Matt Cronin, a founding partner of Web Liquid Group, a digital marketing agency, agreed that companies are still in the early stages of figuring out how to put their social media profiles to use. Until now, he noted that social media strategies have primarily been about capturing as many followers or fans as possible without really knowing where to go from there.

One hurdle for major retailers is that it's difficult to take the information they learn online and put it to use while the trends are still relevant, said Nicolas Franchet, head of retail e-commerce at Facebook.

That's one of the trickier aspects of Wal-Mart Store Inc.'s new "Toyland Tuesday" contest, which lets fans vote on which of two toys will be discounted on the following Tuesday. Once a winner is declared on Thursday, the retailer acts quickly to inform its 4,000 stores of how to adjust pricing and displays, says Wanda Young, senior director of social media for Wal-Mart, which has more than 25 million likes on Facebook.

Although it's the first time Wal-Mart is letting shoppers have a direct say in what merchandise gets discounted, the retailer is learning to use social media in more discreet ways as well. Last year, Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Ark., acquired an analytics company called Kosmix that monitors online chatter to try and predict what products might suddenly become popular.

The unit, now called (at)Walmartlabs, suggested that the retailer give juicers prominent display for the holidays last year, after a movie about an obese man who lost weight on a juice diet started trending online. Wal-Mart declined to give examples of how it used online chatter this holiday season but said it's slowly playing a bigger role in product decisions.

That's critical because companies are realizing shopping behavior is often more influenced by what's happening in pop culture, rather than their own past shopping patterns, said Shernaz Daver, a spokeswoman for (at)Walmartlabs.

"Social media has enabled us to understand intent," she said.

Melinda Vitale Shaw, owner of the two-store MeLinda's Fine Gifts in Picayune, Miss., is using the same concepts as the world's biggest retailer. Since setting up a Facebook page in 2010, she's used it as a sounding board for what to stock in her stores.

In the south, for example, it's common for people to change the decorative flags outside their homes depending on the season or the holiday. To get a better sense of what type of decorative flags might sell well next year, Vitale Shaw recently asked fans to post about the designs they were currently flying, or what they wished they were flying.

She was surprised to see several comments about snowman flags, since it doesn't snow much in the south. Even though Facebook sometimes proves her business instincts wrong, she called the site "a true retailer's friend."

In a more unusual case, the outdoor retailer Gander Mountain is handing the reins over to fans on social media. The chain, based in St. Paul, Minn., is running a promotion that lets customers determine the price of its products.

Every Thursday during the holiday season, customers can push down the price on five selected items by sharing them on Facebook or Twitter. The more shares an item gets, the lower the price goes; discounts start at 10 percent but can go as high as 50 percent. Shoppers can jump in and buy the items at any point, or wait for a lower discount but risk that the store will run out of the items.

"The customer has to decide. Do I buy it at 25 percent off or do I risk that Gander runs out of the jacket?" said Steve Uline, executive vice president of marketing of Gander Mountain, which has more than 500,000 "likes" on Facebook. "It makes it interesting for the consumer."

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