Amazon Steps Up digital Music Competition With Apple

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc unveiled a service that increases competition with Apple Inc's dominant iTunes store.

Amazon launched Amazon AutoRip, which gives customers free digital versions of music CDs they purchase from the world's largest Internet retailer.

The digital music files are automatically stored in customer libraries in remote datacenters run by Amazon, where they are available to play or download immediately through the company's Cloud Player service, the company said.

Amazon customers who have bought AutoRip-eligible CDs at any time since the company started selling discs in 1998 will also get digital versions of that music stored in their Cloud Player libraries for free, the company added...Read the entire story

Bank of England to Start 2013 on Sidelines As Economy Scrapes By

[caption id="attachment_163" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Reuters/Reuters - A general view shows the Bank of England in the city of London November 26, 2012. REUTERS/Olivia Harris[/caption]

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England is likely to withhold fresh monetary stimulus at the start of the new year, with economic news still not bleak enough to trump worries about stubborn inflation.

Last month the Bank voted 8-1 against extending its 375 billion pound programme of bond purchases, and none of the 60 economists polled by Reuters over the past week expect a policy change after the Monetary Policy Committee concludes its monthly meeting on Thursday.

Interest rates are also forecast to remain at their record-low 0.5 percent until at least July 2014.

"I don't think that we've seen anything to substantially change the MPC's view of the economy," said Barclays economist Chris Crowe. "We are not expecting any change in policy."

Although December surveys of purchasing managers pointed...Read the entire story

UK Statisticians Unexpectedly Reject Inflation Change

[caption id="attachment_159" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Reuters/Reuters - A generic picture of a some British sterling money in coins and bank notes. BANKG REUTERS/Catherine Benson[/caption]

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top statistician unexpectedly decided against major changes to the country's longest-running inflation index on Thursday, rejecting a move that could have significantly cut government borrowing costs.

The decision to keep the Retail Price Index in its current form is a major boost for older Britons who have company pensions linked to RPI, as well as to holders of Britain's inflation-linked government bonds.

Changes to RPI had been expected to bring it closer to the lower Consumer Price Index measure of inflation (CPI) used by the Bank of England, and prices for 10-year index-linked gilts soared on Thursday's news, taking yields to a record low.

RPI was developed after World War Two, but in recent years it has increasingly diverged from CPI and for months Britain's Office for National Statistics had been consulting economists, fund managers and other users of the data on its proposals...Read the entire story

5 Marketing Predictions for 2013

There was certainly no shortage of big developments in the marketing world throughout 2012. Facebook created a massive mobile advertising business in less than year, Red Bull literally financed a trip into the stratosphere to create powerful branded content, and a YouTube video finally hit 1 billion views, showing the potential reach for online videos.

So what might 2013 bring for marketers? Read the entire story

5 Credit Myths to Ditch in 2013

When one year ends and another begins, it’s hard not to look ahead and strive to do better.  And when it comes to credit, we’re definitely creatures of habit. We resolve to spend less, but open store credit cards anyway. We vow to pay off debt, but only put down the minimum due. We aim to turn our credit around and boost our scores — and while we might think we have a handle on how the system works, we might actually have some misconceptions about credit that can keep our goals out of reach.

So what should you do? We asked Credit.com expert Barry Paperno to highlight five popular credit myths to ditch in order to help everyone get a better handle on their finances.

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10 Tips About Mortgages and Refinancing in 2013

If you've been sitting on the sidelines, waiting for the best time to refinance or get a mortgage to buy a home, think of 2013 as your last chance to act.

With good credit, persistence and some shopping skills, you can still snag phenomenal deals this year -- even if you are underwater on your loan.

Here are 10 mortgage tips to help you with your mortgage decisions in 2013.

Tip 1: Stop procrastinating and refinance

If you haven't refinanced recently, you're probably paying a higher interest rate on your mortgage than you should. Take advantage of today's record-low mortgage rates while they last. Rates are expected to remain low during the first few months of the year, but they should gradually increase. When they do, many borrowers will regret having missed the opportunity to grab the lowest mortgage rate in history.

Tip 2: Buyers, get moving

With rates near the bottom and home prices on the rise, it's still a perfect time to buy a house. If you can afford a home and qualify for a mortgage, this may be your last chance to take advantage of...Read the entire story

Two Separate Bombs kill 32, hurt 100 in Pakistan Cities

QUETTA/PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Bomb blasts in two Pakistani cities killed 32 people and injured more than 100, police and hospital officials said.

A bomb in Quetta, the capital of the eastern province of Balochistan, killed 11 people and injured more than 40, police officer Zubair Mehmood said. A local militant group claimed responsibility.

 

Another 21 were killed and more than 60 injured in a bombing where people had gathered to hear a religious leader speak in Mingora, the largest city in the northwestern province of Swat, police and officials at the Saidu Sharif hospital said.

"The death toll may rise as some of the injured are in critical condition and we are receiving more and more injured people," said Dr. Niaz Mohammad.

Police initially said the Swat blast was caused by an exploding gas cylinder but later police chief Akhtar Hayat said it was a bomb...

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