Elmo puppeteer accused of underage relationship

NEW YORK — The puppeteer who performs as Elmo on "Sesame Street" is taking a leave of absence from the popular kids' show in the wake of allegations that he had a relationship with a 16-year-old boy.

Sesame Workshop said puppeteer Kevin Clash denies the charges, which were first made in June by the alleged partner, who by then was 23.

"We took the allegation very seriously and took immediate action," Sesame Workshop said in a statement issued Monday. "We met with the accuser twice and had repeated communications with him. We met with Kevin, who denied the accusation."

The organization said its investigation found the allegation of underage conduct to be unsubstantiated. But it said Clash exercised "poor judgment" and was disciplined for violating company policy regarding Internet usage. It offered no details.

"I had a relationship with (the accuser)," Clash told TMZ. "It was between two consenting adults and I am deeply saddened that he is trying to make it into something it was not."

At his request, Clash has been granted a leave of absence in order to "protect his reputation," Sesame Workshop said.

No further explanation was provided, nor was the duration of his leave specified.

"Elmo is bigger than any one person and will continue to be an integral part of 'Sesame Street' to engage, educate and inspire children around the world, as it has for 40 years," Sesame Workshop said in its statement.

"Sesame Street" is currently in production, but other puppeteers are prepared to fill in for Clash during his absence, according to a person close to the show who spoke on condition of anonymity because that person was not authorized to publicly discuss details about the show's production.

"Elmo will still be a part of the shows being produced," that person said.

The 52-year-old Clash has been a "Sesame Street" puppeteer since 1984, when he was handed the fuzzy red puppet named Elmo and asked to come up with a voice for him. Clash transformed the character, which had been a marginal member of the Muppets troupe for a number of years, into a major star rivaling Big Bird as the face of "Sesame Street."

In 2006, Clash published an autobiography, "My Life as a Furry Red Monster," and was the subject of the 2011 documentary "Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey."

___

Online:

www.sesamestreet.org

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AP to launch Spanish-language stylebook

NEW YORK — The Associated Press is launching its first Spanish-language stylebook alongside the AP Stylebook that has served as a standard reference for English-language journalists since 1953.

Access to the Web-based "Manual de Estilo Online de la AP" will be available to subscribers of the AP's Spanish news services starting Nov. 19. It will be opened to non-AP subscribers early next year. Prices range from $26 per year for one user to $210 for an annual 10-user license. The AP is offering introductory discounts of about one-third off regular prices.

The AP Stylebook is a widely used guide for grammar, punctuation and writing style. It also offers guidance on the principles of journalism. The stylebook includes an A-to-Z listing of words, names and locations with definitions and explanations of how to use them.

The online Spanish-language stylebook will be searchable and updated regularly. It includes chapters on sports terminology and arts and entertainment vocabulary and a pronunciation primer with audio files. It also features a guide on the usage of words that come from Spanish-language communities in the U.S., such as "tuitear" (to tweet) and "parquear" (to park a car).

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Fiat Industrial announces new management structure

MILAN — Capital goods maker Fiat Industrial on Monday announced a new management structure aimed at making it easier to merge with its U.S. subsidiary CNH Global N.V., the agriculture equipment maker.

Fiat Industrial, which makes trucks, agriculture and construction equipment, said it has created a 20-seat Group Executive Council, which will be headed by Chairman Sergio Marchionne and CNH CEO Richard Tobin in the new position of group chief operating officer.

"The new organization announced today represents a key step in the integration of Fiat Industrial and CNH," Marchionne said in a statement.

The structure, which puts emphasis on brands, geography and industrial processes, is similar to a four-region management organization adopted at carmaker Fiat last year to drive integration between Italy's Fiat and the U.S. carmaker Chrysler, which it controls.

CNH advisers have rejected the original terms of the full merger proposed last spring, but Marchionne is working to save the deal. He told analysts recently that it would be more expensive, without elaborating.

Fiat Industrial owns 88 percent of CNH, which is based in the Chicago suburb of Burr Ridge, Illinois, and sells farm and construction equipment under the Case and New Holland brands in 170 countries

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Hollywood expects to have a happy holiday season at the box office

LOS ANGELES — Movie theaters posted their worst attendance since 1994 last year, but Hollywood is poised for a big comeback — with the help of a secret agent, a sullen vampire and a hairy-footed hobbit.

Domestic ticket sales are already up by 3 percent compared with the same period last year, and a bumper crop of strong films this holiday season — including movies that will appeal to both popular and discerning tastes — could push annual box office receipts above $11 billion for the first time.

A strong finish to the year could ease the uncertainty gripping an industry under pressure to cut costs and boost profits, especially as revenue dwindles from once-reliable DVD sales and as more fans turn to video-on-demand and streaming to catch the latest movies.

"We're still facing the same structural issues — the DVD business is declining and there are distractions for the audience — so studios have to rationalize their costs," said Stacey Snider, chief executive of DreamWorks, which began releasing "Lincoln" Friday. But she points out: "All that doom and gloom people were talking about after the summer ticket sales didn't come to bear."

Snider was referring to the anxiety rampant in Hollywood earlier this year, amid the box office flop of big-budget films including "John Carter" and "Battleship." But those disappointments have been tempered by a handful of certified hits, including "The Avengers," "The Dark Knight Rises," "The Amazing Spider-Man" and "The Hunger Games."

And some movies have performed better than expected. One of those is the Iranian hostage drama "Argo," which has taken in nearly $80 million since opening Oct. 12.

"I'm becoming increasingly concerned about the movie business ... there's the feeling that it could all sort of fall apart or at least be greatly diminished," said Ben Affleck, who directed and stars in "Argo." "But there is a huge crop of really interesting movies coming out in the next couple of months, and I think that's great for the movie business."

The latest James Bond film, the well-reviewed "Skyfall," kicked off the holiday movie season last weekend and hauled in an estimated $87.8 million.

This week, multiplexes across the country will be swarming with young women eager to see Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2," the fifth and final installment of the vampire franchise.

In December comes "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," a prequel to Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, which grossed more than $2.9 billion worldwide.

"There's a good feeling about the business right now," said Amy Pascal, co-chair of Sony Pictures. "It really looks like we have a lot of fantastic movies coming at the end of the year."

In addition to the slew of big-budget films hitting theaters, an above-average array of less costly movies aimed at sophisticated filmgoers could provide a crucial assist for a box-office record: Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" (which opened in limited release last weekend), the dramedy "Silver Linings Playbook" with Bradley Cooper, a star-studded version of Broadway's hit musical "Les Miserables" and "Zero Dark Thirty," about the mission to kill Osama bin Laden.

"Unlike last year, which had a very slow December, the final six weeks of this year are going to make up for that ... because of the mix of summer-style blockbusters and Oscar-bait films," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Hollywood.com.

Still, there could be some costly misses. Director Ang Lee's 3-D spectacle "Life of Pi" has earned favorable reviews in early screenings, but with a production cost of $120 million and an unknown 19-year-old lead, the holiday release is considered a big gamble for 20th Century Fox and its financial partners.

"We all have a lot riding on these films, and you want people to be buying tickets," said Elizabeth Gabler, whose Fox 2000 Pictures produced "Life of Pi." "But I think ... the more exciting movies you can offer people will get them to the theater. When there's a lot of energy there, that fosters excitement about the moviegoing experience."

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Best Buy hires ex-Williams-Sonoma exec as CFO

NEW YORK — Struggling consumer electronics chain Best Buy said Monday that a former Williams-Sonoma executive will become its new chief financial officer beginning Dec. 10.

It's the latest executive move for the Minneapolis company since turnaround expert Hubert Joly joined as CEO in August.

Best Buy is trying to reverse a decline in its business due to a weak global economy and tough competition from online stores and discounters.

Sharon McCollam, 50, had been chief operating officer and chief financial officer at the home goods retailer before retiring. She also takes the title of chief administrative officer at Best Buy.

She replaces James Muehlbauer, who said he was leaving in October. Muehlbauer will continue to advise the company until the end of the fiscal year in February.

ISI Group analyst Greg Melich said McCollam is a solid choice to replace Muehlbauer. While she lacks direct consumer electronics experience, there are other similarities between the two retailers.

One similarity: Williams-Sonoma sells big-ticket items that are cheaper online. But through service offerings and online "prowess," Williams-Sonoma manages to sell 40 percent of its products directly. She is also talented in real-estate management, Melich said.

Muehlbauer's replacement by McCollam is one of several management changes made since Joly joined in August, after Best Buy's former CEO Brian Dunn left in April after an investigation into his relationship with a female employee.

Joly has eliminated two top executive positions in the U.S. and hired Expedia executive Scott Durchslag to head global e-commerce.

Meanwhile, Best Buy co-founder and former Chairman Richard Schulze is considering a plan to take the company private.

More information about Best Buy's plan will likely be given during a meeting with analysts on Tuesday. Best Buy reports fiscal third-quarter results Nov. 20. The company has forecast net income will be "significantly below" last year and a key revenue figure will fall.

Best Buy Co. shares rose 82 cents, or 5.4 percent, to $16.12 in morning trading Monday. Its shares traded as high as $28.53 in early December, but fell to a 52-week low or $14.38 last Tuesday.

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US fiscal uncertainty keeps lid on markets

LONDON — Uncertainty over whether Washington will agree a spending and taxation deal that is crucial to keeping the U.S. economic recovery on track kept a lid on global market gains on Monday.

Economists have said the U.S. risks slipping into recession if hundreds of billions of dollars in expiring tax cuts and automatic spending reductions take effect on Jan. 1 — the so called "fiscal cliff." Congress and the White House must find a compromise to prevent a big hit to the world's biggest economy.

President Barack Obama, fresh from a re-election victory, and House Speaker John Boehner have spoken of compromise but appear to be taking a firm stances on some issues, including whether to raise taxes for the wealthiest.

"Despite comments from the U.S. administration and Congressional leaders of a willingness to compromise, markets remain unconvinced," said Mitul Kotecha, analyst at Credit Agricole CIB.

European stocks lacked momentum in afternoon trading. Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.2 percent to 5,780.20 while Germany's DAX edged up 0.3 percent to 7,182.88. France's CAC-40 lost 0.3 percent to 3,414.66.

Wall Street opened modestly higher — the Dow was 0.1 percent higher at 12,827.64 while the S&P 500 was up 0.2 percent at 1,382.84.

In Europe, investors will keep their eyes on a meeting of the finance ministers of the 17-country eurozone. The officials are expected to discuss Greece's economy and its bailout program.

Greece is waiting for approval of the next €31.5 billion ($40 billion) payout of its bailout loan. It faces a bond repayment on Friday it cannot afford.

The finance ministers will discuss the findings of a report on Greece by international debt inspectors at the meeting in Brussels. But no decision on giving Greece new loans is likely to be made at the meeting because some eurozone parliaments must approve the deal. Greek lawmakers approved the country's 2013 austerity budget early Monday, essential to unblocking the new payment.

Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.9 percent to close at 8,676.44. Growth figures showed the economy contracted an annualized 3.5 percent rate for the quarter ending September. Most economists forecast a further decline in economic activity for the October-December quarter, which would officially put the world's No. 3 economy in recession, according to the common definition of two consecutive quarters of contraction.

South Korea's Kospi fell 0.2 percent to 1,900.87 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3 percent to 4,448.00. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia fell. The Philippines and New Zealand rose.

Hong Kong and mainland Chinese stock markets rose following comments over the weekend by Chinese Cabinet officials that the country's economic slowdown has ended, although the economy is not ready to stage a recovery, and that exporters still face tough conditions.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.2 percent to 21,430.30. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.5 percent to 2,079.27 and the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index added 0.5 percent to 832.38.

Jackson Wong, vice president at Tanrich Securities in Hong Kong, cautioned against too much optimism regarding China's economy amid disappointing Chinese loan growth figures.

Lending in October stood at 505.2 billion yuan ($80.3 billion), dropping 81.6 billion yuan from a year earlier, the People's Bank of China said Monday, according to Xinhua news agency. The figure decreased from the 623.2 billion yuan of new yuan loans registered in September.

"Expect light trading this week unless major news comes out," Wong said.

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US seen overtaking Saudis as biggest oil producer

The United States will become the world's largest oil producer by around 2020, temporarily overtaking Saudi Arabia, as new exploration technologies help find more resources, the International Energy Agency forecast on Monday.

In its World Energy Outlook, the energy watchdog also predicted that greater oil and natural gas production — thanks partly to a boom in shale gas output — as well as more efficient use of energy will allow the U.S., which now imports around 20 percent of its energy needs, to become nearly self-sufficient around 2035.

That is "a dramatic reversal of the trend seen in most other energy-importing countries," the Paris-based IEA said in its report. "Energy developments in the United States are profound and their effect will be felt well beyond North America — and the energy sector."

Rebounding U.S. oil and gas production is "steadily changing the role of North America in global energy trade," the IEA said.

For example, oil exports out of the Mideast will increasingly go to Asia as the U.S. becomes more self-sufficient. That will increase the global focus on the security of strategic routes that bring Middle East oil to Asian markets. Tensions between Iran and Western powers have raised concerns that oil exports from the Persian Gulf could be blocked in a potential conflict over Tehran's alleged plan to develop nuclear weapons.

The IEA added that global trends in the energy markets will be influenced by some countries' retreat from nuclear power, the fast spread of wind and solar technologies and a rise in unconventional gas production.

The agency concluded that despite the rising use of low carbon energy sources, huge subsidies will keep fossil fuels "dominant in the global energy mix."

"Taking all new developments and policies into account, the world is still failing to put the global energy system onto a more sustainable path," the IEA said.

Global energy needs are forecast to increase by a third by 2035, with 60 percent of the additional demand coming from China, India and the Middle East.

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Sherwin-Williams to spend $2.34B on paint maker

CLEVELAND — Sherwin-Williams is buying the privately held Mexican paint company Consorcio Comex in an all-cash deal valued at about $2.34 billion.

Consorcio Comex, S.A. de C.V., sells paints and coatings under several brands in the United States and Canada, and it sells architectural and industrial coatings in Mexico. It has company-operated stores and also works with independent paint dealers.

The company is based in Mexico City and had a total of $1.4 billion in sales last year. It employs 7,200 people and runs manufacturing sites in Mexico, the United States and Canada.

"Sherwin-Williams and Comex Group are an ideal fit in every respect — geographically, strategically and culturally," said Christopher Connor, Chairman and CEO at Sherwin-Williams. "This transaction will significantly increase our presence in markets where our store count is low."

Sherwin-Williams Chairman and CEO Christopher M. Connor said in a statement from the company the deal helps increase its presence in markets where the company has a low store count, and it "builds upon our strategy to grow our architectural paint business in the Americas."

Sherwin-Williams, based in Cleveland, said the deal price includes assumed debt.

The Sherwin-Williams Co.'s brands include Dutch Boy, Minwax, Krylon and its namesake paints.

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Stocks slip as worries about fiscal cliff return

U.S. stocks edged toward small losses Monday morning as investors kept fretting about the approaching "fiscal cliff."

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 20 points at 12,795 in the first hour of trading. It spent most of the morning with the tiniest of gains.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell two points to 1,378. The Nasdaq composite lost five to 2,899.

Trading was expected to be light. The federal government and the U.S. bond market were closed for Veterans Day, and there were no economic reports scheduled for release.

The fiscal cliff refers to government spending cuts and tax increases that are scheduled to kick in at the beginning of the new year, unless a divided Congress and the White House can work out a compromise before then.

Some traders thought the small moves were nearly inevitable, because there has been no strongly positive or negative news about the economy or the possibility of a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff.

"Nothing good is going on," said Scott Freeze, president of Street One Financial in Huntingdon Valley, Pa. "Everything forward-looking remains dreary."

Last week, after voters returned a long-deadlocked divided government to Washington, the Dow dropped 434 points in two days and had one of its worst weeks of the year.

Even if lawmakers work out a compromise, as they usually do, the political fight until then is sure keep investors on edge, pitching the stock market back and forth until it's resolved. Economists say the cliff could cost the economy $800 billion and 3 million jobs and would plunge the U.S. back into recession.

President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, have spoken of compromise but appear to be taking firm stances on some issues. Obama will meet with labor representatives as well as other progressive groups Tuesday. He'll hold separate meetings with the business community Wednesday.

The effect on the markets has been widespread. Fiscal cliff worries were blamed for keeping a lid on European markets, which were trading mixed but nearly flat in the morning; and Asian markets, which ended mixed.

In Greece, lawmakers passed a new austerity budget, and the other countries that use the euro issued a "positive" report on the country. Greece is hoping the other euro countries will give it another $40 billion in bailout loans. The budget and the report are crucial steps.

Still, the new bailout isn't a sure thing: Some of the potential lenders must seek approval from their parliaments. Greece's main stock market index was down nearly 4 percent.

Freeze was among the underwhelmed. "At this point, all the Greek news is just noise," he said. "None of these bailouts really solve the underlying problem. Now if all of a sudden Spain became incredibly solvent and its unemployment rate went to 5 percent, then you'd see" a reason to buy.

Across Europe, there were other reminders that the debt crisis is far from solved. The Banking Association of Spain, a country where hundreds of thousands of borrowers have fallen behind on their mortgages, said it would curb evictions of some struggling homeowners. In Portugal, demonstrators planned protests against a scheduled visit from German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Germany helped bail out Portugal last year and insisted that the government there cut spending as a condition of getting the money, a sore point for some in Portugal.

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RIM to unveil new BlackBerry phones on Jan. 30.

TORONTO — Research In Motion said Monday that it will hold an official launch event for its new BlackBerry 10 smartphones on Jan. 30. The new phones are seen as critical to RIM's survival.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based company said Monday details on the much-delayed smartphones and their availability will be announced at the event.

The announcement comes as the company struggles in North America to hold onto customers who are abandoning BlackBerrys for flashier iPhones and Android phones.

RIM's current software is still focused on email and messaging, and is less user-friendly, agile and robust than iPhone or Android. Its attempt at touch screens was a flop, and it lacks the apps that power other smartphones. RIM is hanging its hopes on the BlackBerry 10 software. It is thoroughly redesigned for the touchscreen, Internet browsing and apps experience that customers now expect. The Canadian company said the launch event will happen simultaneously in multiple countries.

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek called it a make-or-break product release and said the date of the launch event suggests a release date in mid- to late February or in March.

A full touchscreen device is expected to be released first followed shortly after by a physical keyboard version.

BGC Financial Partners analyst Colin Gillis said the new phones won't be dead on arrival as some analysts have said because RIM hasn't lost the corporate market completely.

"Is 10 going to be the solution to retain that marketplace? We'll have to wait and see," Gillis said. "It's great they set a date, but the challenges are still formidable. It's not an issue of initial demand. It's an issue of sustained demand."

Gillis noted that RIM's launch of a tablet initially went OK but then demand fell sharply. RIM's tablet, the Playbook, uses software on which the BlackBerry 10 will be based.

RIM said last month the new BlackBerrys are being tested by 50 wireless carriers around the world.

Thorsten Heins, who took over as CEO in January after the company lost tens of billions in market value, had vowed to do everything he could to release BlackBerry 10 this year but said in June that the timetable wasn't realistic. Heins says he can turn things around with BlackBerry 10.

The new BlackBerrys will be released after the holiday shopping season and well after Apple's launch of the iPhone 5, expected to be Apple's biggest product introduction yet.

RIM's platform transition is also happening under a new management team and as RIM lays off 5,000 employees as part of a bid to save $1 billion.

RIM was once Canada's most valuable company with a market value of more than $80 billion in 2008, but the stock has plummeted since, from over $140 per share to around $8. Its decline evokes memories of Nortel, another former Canadian tech giant, which declared bankruptcy in 2009.

Shares of RIM rose 14 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $8.68 in morning trading in New York after rising as high as $9.07 earlier.

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