Jo Sue Castellanos

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks trimmed losses to end little changed on Friday, as investors saw dips in the market as an opportunity to buy into what has been a strong first month of 2012.

The Dow posted its first weekly loss this year, hurt Friday as Chevron Corp (CVX.N) announced earnings that were below Wall Street’s estimates and Procter & Gamble Co (PG.N) cut its full-year profit forecast because of the strong dollar.

But the emergence of late-day buyers was viewed positively as major averages have methodically climbed through January. This week’s news that the Federal Reserve intends to keep interest rates low through late 2014 added a jolt of demand that could extend the rally.

“Investors are almost welcoming these little dips, jumping in when they can to join this rally. At this point, they are rationalizing anything they can to get in,” said James Dailey at TEAM Financial Management LLC in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

“Cautious bulls are no longer cautious after the Fed announcement this week.”

Chevron, the No. 2 U.S. oil company, fell 2.5 percent to $ 103.96 and was the biggest drag on the Dow.

The Commerce Department said U.S. gross domestic product expanded at its fastest pace in 1-1/2 years in the last quarter of 2011, but the 2.8 percent rise fell short of expectations.

Inventory building accounted for much of the growth, and weak spending by businesses in the GDP report pointed to a slower pace of recovery early this year, denting recent optimism about the economy.

In company news, Facebook plans to file documents as early as Wednesday for a highly anticipated initial public offering that will value the world’s largest social network at between $ 75 billion and $ 100 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited unidentified sources.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) was down 74.17 points, or 0.58 percent, at 12,660.46. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (.SPX) was down 2.11 points, or 0.16 percent, at 1,316.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) was up 11.27 points, or 0.40 percent, at 2,816.55.

For the week, the Dow fell 0.5 percent, the S&P was up 0.1 percent and the Nasdaq rose 1.1 percent.

Friday’s losses were limited as U.S. Federal Reserve statements this week and economic data kept investors alert for the possibility of another round of monetary stimulus known as quantitative easing, or QE3.

“Out of what the Fed said, you can expect some negative numbers because the Fed obviously saw what the GDP numbers are and they anticipate a slowdown,” said Sean Kraus, chief investment officer at CitizensTrust in Pasadena, California.

If the Fed does resort to QE3 to stimulate growth, investors “don’t want to be caught flat-footed and be out of risky assets,” Kraus said.

Consumer product company Procter & Gamble dipped 0.8 percent to $ 64.30.

Ford Motor Co (F.N) shares fell 4.2 percent to $ 12.21 after the carmaker reported a lower-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on higher commodity costs and losses in Europe and Asia.

Network equipment makers Juniper Networks Inc (JNPR.N) and Riverbed Technologies Inc (RVBD.O) gave first-quarter outlooks after the close Thursday that were below expectations. Juniper fell 3 percent to $ 21.69 while Riverbed slid 18.3 percent to $ 24.45.

According to Thomson Reuters data, 59 percent of 184 S&P 500 companies reporting earnings through Friday have topped analysts’ estimates, below the beat rate of about 70 percent seen at this stage of earnings season in recent quarters.

Utilities were the worst performing among S&P sectors after results from American Electric Power Co Inc (AEP.N) and Dominion Resources (D.N). American Electric was off 3.2 percent to $ 39.95, while Dominion fell 2.5 percent to $ 49.56. The S&P utilities index (.GSPU) fell 1.3 percent.

Eastman Chemical Co (EMN.N) offered to buy specialty chemical maker Solutia Inc (SOA.N) for about $ 3.38 billion in cash and stock to extend its reach in emerging markets, particularly the Asia-Pacific region. Solutia shares jumped about 41.1 percent to $ 27.52 and Eastman shares gained 7 percent to $ 50.41.

Negotiations between Greece and its private creditors on a debt swap deal made progress on Friday and will continue over the weekend, a senior Greek government official said. Renewed concern about the crisis has troubled markets this week.

About 6.6 billion shares exchanged hands on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq on Tuesday.

(Reporting By Angela Moon; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

DETROIT – A Michigan factory that made luxury yachts before the recession and diversified to add wind energy products when times got tough was touted by President Barack Obama at his State of the Union Address as an example of an industry creating forward-thinking jobs — with a little help from the government.

In urging Congress to approve clean energy tax credits, Obama cited Energetx Composites LLC, a wind turbine blade manufacturer in Holland, Mich., that received millions in government assistance. Invited to sit in the first lady’s box during the speech Tuesday night was Bryan Ritterby, 58, who went to work for Energetx after being laid off from his furniture-making jobs three years ago.

“Some technologies don’t pan out; some companies fail,” Obama said. “But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy. I will not walk away from workers like Bryan.”

Without mentioning it by name, Obama appeared to be defending his administration’s support of Solyndra LLC, the California solar panel maker that received a $ 528 million government loan but filed for bankruptcy court protection last year. Energetx is in a somewhat different situation than Solyndra but still must fend off skepticism from critics who contend government-assisted clean energy products often don’t produce enough high-wage jobs to make it worth the money.

“They must have had to look pretty hard to find someone working in alternative energy,” said Donald Grimes, a senior research specialist at University of Michigan. “I think the politics is what’s driving almost this delusion of where the jobs are. If you want to tout the future of where green energy jobs are going, it’s going to be garbage collection.”

Indeed, waste management and treatment is among the categories with the most “clean economy” jobs in the United States, according to a 2011 report by the Metropolitan Policy Program of the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit think tank. The category represented about 385,000 jobs in 2010; the wind industry employed 24,294 the same year, the report said.

In 2009, a state board announced a $ 27.3 million tax credit over 15 years to encourage Energetx to expand. The money is tied to the creation of about 1,000 jobs at the company, and won’t be awarded in cases where jobs don’t materialize. It also got a $ 3.5 million state award for “energy excellence” in 2010, which was expected to be matched by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The company is far short of its ultimate job target now — with fewer than 50 employees currently making the turbine blades and other projects — but it expects to hire roughly 100 more this year, mostly in composite manufacturing. The company would not release specific wage ranges, but human resources director Steven Busch said pay will be competitive with similar manufacturing jobs in the Midwest.

U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, a Republican whose district includes Holland, said he doesn’t “see a Solyndra-type situation” with Energetx or other clean energy companies in southwest Michigan, such as those that produce batteries for alternative-fuel vehicles. Combined, the area around Holland has about 7.5 percent of its workforce employed in the broad category of “clean jobs,” compared with the national average of 2 percent.

“This isn’t our preferred route, but if this is the route that’s presented to us, we’re going to take it and make it as successful as we can make,” Huizenga said. “Ultimately, the business principles have to be sound. Whether it’s wind, solar, nuclear … these industries aren’t going to just be able to depend on government subsidies forever. At some point you’ve got to be able to stand on your own two feet.”

While Michigan remains stung by the decline in the auto industry, some officials see this new technology as an area where it can lead again.

“It’s communicating a message to people: This is a place on the cutting-edge of change and solving problems,” said John C. Austin, a Brookings senior fellow and visiting faculty member at University of Michigan. “That’s been our big problem in Michigan. We fought for years protecting the auto industry from change. Now we can be the leader in increasing the production of electric cars.”

Brookings officials acknowledge the alternative industry is hard to assess since such jobs pervade all parts of the economy, but its study last year aimed to provide a comprehensive, detailed snapshot of what the sector truly represents.

Erik Nordman, an assistant professor of renewable energy and lead investigator of the West Michigan Wind Assessment project, says the Energetx’s transition isn’t as far-fetched as it might seem because the keel of a yacht closely resembles the blade of a turbine.

With wind energy seemingly more marketable in the future, West Michigan economic developers envision a time Energetx will expand and have hundreds of workers.

“This is new product entry,” said Rick Chapla of The Right Place, a western Michigan economic development organization. “This is complex manufacturing. This is not something that has been done or will be done overnight. It won’t be done in one year. It will be done over a period of years.”

It’s fertile political ground for Obama too. Not only is Michigan considered a swing state in the November election, but he has made several trips to the area to tout clean energy projects, and his administration has provided $ 2.4 billion in federal grants to develop next-generation electric vehicles and batteries.

Grimes remains skeptical. He says it’s appropriate for the government to invest in research, but not in fledgling commercial enterprises. He cites Solyndra as an example but argues even “picking winners” can prove problematic, since “creative destruction” is a common byproduct of successful yet disruptive technologies.

“They don’t do well with innovation because it costs people jobs,” Grimes said.

___

Associated Press writer Tim Martin contributed to this report.

___

Follow Jeff Karoub on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffkaroub

“Fresh Picks” features the latest luxury properties admitted into the Kiwi Collection. Last week was white hot. This week is all about the blues. The happiest kind of blues, of course. Check out four hotels with close proximity to the sea that let you soak up plenty of turquoise tranquility.

Anantara Rasananda Koh Phangan Villa Resort & Spa
It’s red, white and blue—as in red umbrella, white sand and blue ocean—at this resort on Koh Phangan in Thailand. But there’s more blue for you. Each of the 44 villas have private plunge pools.

Anemi Hotel
Get thee to the Greek Isle of Folegandros for a few different peacock-y Pantones. Most of the room may be bright white, but that’s just a backdrop to make the blue hues really pop, whether that be one of the cerulean Eames chairs inside or the azure Aegean Sea, turquoise plunge pool and blue sky outside.

Imanta Resort
Like lots of green with your blue? This eco-friendly resort is 45 minutes outside bustling Puerto Vallarta, yet a world away. Behind you is 250 acres of lush jungle, and in front of you, the lapping waves of Banderas Bay.

Seychelles Kempinski Resort
Seychelles by the seashore, that’s our kind of nursery rhyme. Overlooking the beautiful Baie Lazare and beyond that miles of Indian Ocean, this brand spankin’ new Kempinski resort also has that winning combination of blue and green. There’s even a, ahem, real blue lagoon.

Tuesday 24 January 2012

The nominees for the 2012 Academy Awards are announced today, 24 January. Here’s where you can experience 5 of them yourself.

Paris – Midnight in Paris

Woody Allen’s fantasy about a writer who goes back in time to 1920s Paris to hang out with literary and artistic greats like Dali, Picasso and Hemingway, is one big love letter to Paris. Much like Allen’s films about London, New York and Barcelona, of course. The locations are Paris to the accent in cliché – Île de la Cité, Montmartre, Versailles etc –but it’s lovely nevertheless. Allen is not the first to set a film in Paris – there is a long list to pay homage to, from Funny Face to Subway, Masculin, féminin to Moulin Rouge, and Hugo, another of this year’s nominees. Find flights to Paris

Dartmoor, England – The War Horse

Stephen Spielberg’s tear-jerking tale of boy-horse friendship was filmed in the pastoral loveliness of Dartmoor, Devon and Castle Combe, Wiltshire. Dartmoor locations include the villages of Meavy and Sheepstor, while you can romp over the moors in homage at Haytor, Ringmoor Down, Combestone Tor and Hexworthy Bridge. Castle Combe was used as the village of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh in another classic about animals, the 1967 musical Doctor Dolittle. You can talk to the animals if you so wish, but you’ll probably get funny looks from the locals. Find flights to Exeter

Stockholm – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Some of Stieg Larsson’s beyond-massive novel-turned-film-turned-Hollywood remake starring Daniel Craig is set, and was shot, in Stockholm. The Stockholm City Museum runs special Larsson-themed walking tours, updated in January to include stories from the shooting of the film. Refresh your criminal mind with a coffee and cake, possibly while reading a Stieg Larsson novel, at Mellqvist Kaffebar, and hang out at Kvarnen -a traditional beer hall-tuned-trendy bar – both Girl locations on the island of Södermalm. Find flights to Stockholm

Mississippi – The Help

Set in Mississippi in the 1960s, the film version of Kathryn Stockett’s novel, The Help, was also filmed in the southern US state. Most of the film was shot in a town called Greenwood, situated deep in the Mississippi Delta north of New Orleans. With its evocative mix of grand Gone with the Wind-style Southern houses and 1960s architcecture, Greenwood lives up to its celluloid form in reality. It looks like an open-air museum. You can do The Help tour, head on to nearby Jackson, where the film is set, and explore the surrounding Delta countryside which, while well off any normal tourist track, will surely attract more and more tourists with the success of the film. Find flights to New Orleans

Los Angeles – The Artist

Michel Hazanavicius’s silent love letter to the golden era of American cinema was filmed in Los Angeles. Although recreating scenes from the film would be rather difficult, set as it is in the 1920s, you (and your romantic interest) could always hire fancy dress for the day, go to the pictures at the Million Dollar theatre at 307 South Broadway Avenue, and not talk to each other. Across the road is the Bradbury Building – which has served as a location for Bladerunner – while silent movie star Harold Lloyd hung from the hands of a clock at 908 on the same illustrious street. Find flights to Los Angeles

WATERLOO, Ontario (Reuters) – Research In Motion’s Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie have bowed to investor pressure and resigned as co-CEOs, handing the top job to an insider with four years at the struggling BlackBerry maker.

Thorsten Heins, a former Siemens AG executive who has risen steadily through RIM’s upper management ranks since joining the Canadian company in late 2007, took over as CEO on Saturday, RIM said on Sunday.

The shift ends the two-decade long partnership of Lazaridis and Balsillie atop a once-pioneering technology company that now struggles against Apple and Google.

With RIM’s share price plummeting to eight-year lows, a flurry of speculation that RIM was up for sale has enveloped the company in recent months. But investors have pointed to the domineering presence of Lazaridis and Balsillie as one reason a sale would prove difficult.

Activist investors have clamored in recent months for a new, “transformational” leader who could revitalize RIM’s product line and resuscitate its once cutting-edge image. It remains to be seen whether RIM has found such a leader in Heins, analysts said.

“It’s the first positive thing that they have done in months,” said Charter Equity analyst Ed Snyder, even as he expressed caution over the choice of Heins, a longtime lieutenant of Lazaridis and Balsillie. “My feeling is that it’s a figure-head change.”

Michael Urlocker, an analyst with GMP Securities, questioned whether Heins had the right background for the job that faces him. “I am not sure that an engineer as new CEO really gets to the central issues faced by RIM,” he said.

Lazaridis and Balsillie also gave up their shared role as chairman of RIM’s board. Barbara Stymiest, an independent board member who once headed the Toronto Stock Exchange, will take over in that capacity.

The pair, who together built Lazaridis’ 1985 start-up into a global business with $ 20 billion in sales last year, have weathered a storm of criticism in recent years as Apple’s iPhone and the army of devices powered by Google’s innovative Android system eclipsed their email-focused BlackBerry.

“There comes a time in the growth of every successful company when the founders recognize the need to pass the baton to new leadership. Jim and I went to the board and told them that we thought that time was now,” Lazaridis said in a hastily arranged interview at RIM’s Waterloo headquarters, flanked by Balsillie and Heins and with Stymiest joining via telephone.

DEPICTED AS ORDERLY TRANSITION

The executives were keen to paint the shuffle as an orderly transition on a succession plan mapped out at least a year ago, and not a retreat in the face of a plummeting share price, shrinking U.S. market share and criticism of their products.

Both Lazaridis and Balsillie – two of RIM’s three largest shareholders with more than 5 percent each – will remain board members, with Lazaridis keeping a particularly active role as vice-chair and head of a newly created innovation committee.

Lazaridis said he plans to buy an additional $ 50 million of RIM shares on the open market.

In the group interview announcing the change, Heins said his most immediate concern is to sell RIM’s current lineup of BlackBerry 7 touchscreen devices, deliver on a promised software upgrade for its PlayBook tablet computer by February, and rally RIM’s troops to launch the next-generation BlackBerry 10 phones later this year.

“Their problems are deep-rooted, and it’s going to take time,” Snyder said.

In the longer term, Heins, previously one of RIM’s chief operating officers, said he would push for more rigorous product development and place greater emphasis on executing on the company’s marketing and development plans.

“We need to get a bit more disciplined in our own processes,” he said in a YouTube video posted by RIM. “We are a great, innovative but sometimes we innovate too much while we are building a product.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUFwhpcrCTw)

Heins said RIM, which suffered a damaging outage of much of its network last year, has embarked on a global search for a chief marketing officer to improve advertising and other communication with consumers. Consumers now account for the majority of RIM’s sales even though the BlackBerry built its reputation as a business tool.

For RIM critics, the focus on customers may seem long overdue. The company seemed blindsided by Apple’s introduction of the iPhone in 2007 and was also slow to launch a competitor to the iPad. When its PlayBook tablet finally hit the market last spring, it was not equipped with RIM’s trademark email service. The reviews were scathing, sales were anemic and the company has been forced to offer steep discounts.

Heins said it would be wrong of RIM to focus on licensing its software or integrated email package, a strategy that many analysts and investors have thought the company might pursue. Even so, the new CEO said the company would certainly be open to discussions of that nature.

Neither Lazaridis nor Basillie detailed any future plans outside RIM, with Lazaridis particularly eager to point out his still-active role as a confidante to the new CEO.

Both have other interests outside of RIM. Lazaridis donated hundreds of millions of dollars to set up a theoretical physics institute attached to his alma mater, the University of Waterloo. Balsillie heads a think-tank in international governance and long dreamed of owning a National Hockey League franchise.

(Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Additional reporting by Edwin Chan in Los Angeles; Editing by Frank McGurty and Janet Guttsman)

The awards season is going to the dogs.

No, not the Golden Globes or the Oscars; the 136th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show (WKC) is coming to New York’s Madison Square Garden February 13-14, 2012. This year the WKC is welcoming six breeds newly recognized by the American Kennel Club for first-time showings in the U.S.’s most prestigious canine competition.

It’s an interesting array of newcomers entering the WKC; everything from a terrier bred in the Czech Republic to a six-toed breed, to a hairless dog from Mexico whose descendants were revered by the Aztecs.

The American English Coonhound (Hound Group)
American English Coonhounds evolved from Virginia Hounds and are descendants of English foxhounds. Originally used to hunt fox by day and raccoons by night, today’s American English Coonhound is a wide-ranging hunter known for its tremendous speed. The breed is pleasant and sociable with people and other dogs.

The Cesky Terrier (Terrier Group)
Described on the American Kennel Club web site as a “well-muscled, short-legged, and well-pigmented hunting terrier,” the Cesky (pronounced “chess-key”)Terrier was bred in the Czech Republic and has been used for hunting fox, rabbits, ducks, pheasants and even wild boar. The Cesky has natural drop ears and sports a long, silky coat in shades of gray from charcoal to platinum. Cesky Terriers tend to be wary of strangers, but loyal to their owners.

The Entlebucher Mountain Dog (Herding Group)
A native of Switzerland, the Entlebucher Mountain Dog is a medium-sized dog historically used by Swiss farmers to move cows from pasture to pasture in the Alps. Primarily herding dogs, the Entlebuchers’ speed and agility also made them useful for managing other large animals, including horses and hogs. A high-energy and active breed, Entlebuchers require a lot of exercise.

The Finnish Lapphund (Herding Group)
This reindeer-herding dog was developed to live and work outside. It has a thick double coat that allows it to withstand extremely cold temperatures and a soft face to melt your heart. Coat colors can include black, blond, brown and tan. Popular family pets in Scandinavia, Finnish Lapphunds are devoted to their families, friendly with people and eager to learn.

The Norwegian Lunehund (Non-Sporting Group)
Also known as a puffin dog because it was used to hunt puffin birds, the Norwegian Lunehund is a small, agile Spitz breed with characteristics in combination not found in any other dog. This little dog has six toes on each foot to help it remain stable on the steep cliffs where the puffins nest; prick ears that fold close, forward or backward, at will; and a flexible skeletal structure that allows it to squirm in and out of crevices. When puffins were declared a protected species in the 1800s the breed’s number dwindled. Despite their friendly demeanor and family loyalty, their numbers remain limited today.

The Xoloitzcuintli (Non-Sporting Group)
Pronounced “show- low-its-queen-tli” and called “show-low” for short, the Xoloitzcuintli is the national dog of Mexico. Once known as the Mexican Hairless, this breed comes in three sizes as well as a coated version. These dogs descend from the hairless dogs prized by the Aztecs and revered as protectors of the dead. They are intelligent, alert and extremely loving to their families. Xolos are easily trained and their natural cleanliness makes them desirable pets.

Tickets and Televised Programming
Whether you are rooting for one of these new-to-the-show breeds to win Best in Show, or like us, our family favorite, the Boxer, you can watch the competition live Monday, February 13, on USA Network from 8:00-9:00 pm ET and continuing on CNBC from 9:00-11:00 pm ET. Coverage, including Best in Show, will continue on Tuesday, February 14, on USA Network from 8:00-11:00 pm.

If you are planning to attend the 2012 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, tickets can be purchased from Ticketmaster and Madison Square Garden.

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WASHINGTON — Online piracy costs U.S. copyright owners and producers billions of dollars every year, but legislation in Congress to block foreign Internet thieves and swindlers has met strong resistance from high-tech companies, spotlighted by Wikipedia’s protest blackout Wednesday, warning of a threat to Internet freedom.

House and Senate bills that once seemed to be on a path toward approval now face a rockier future. House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday it was “pretty clear to many of us that there is a lack of consensus at this point.”

Amid the high-tech campaign against the bills, several lawmakers came out in opposition. At least four Senate Republicans who had previously cosponsored the Senate bill — Orrin Hatch of Utah, Roy Blunt of Missouri, John Boozman of Arkansas and Charles Grassley of Iowa — issued statements Wednesday saying they were withdrawing their support. Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland last week said that, after listening to constituent concerns, he could not vote for the Senate bill as it is currently written.

On the House side, Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., issued a statement that he had heard from many of his constituents and had come to the conclusion that the House and Senate bills “create unacceptable threats to free speech and free access to the Internet.”

Here are some of the some of the questions being raised about the bills being considered:

Q. Why is legislation needed?

A. There’s no argument that more needs to be done to protect artists, innovators and industries from copyright thieves and shield consumers from products sold on the Internet that are fake, faulty and unsafe. Creative America, a coalition of Hollywood studios, networks and unions, says content theft costs U.S. workers $ 5.5 billion a year. The pharmaceutical industry loses billions to Internet sellers of drugs that are falsely advertised and may be harmful.

Q. What is Congress trying to accomplish?

A. The two main bills are the Protect Intellectual Property Act, or PIPA, in the Senate, and the similar Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, in the House. There are already laws on the books to combat domestic websites trafficking in counterfeit or pirated goods, but little to counter foreign violators.

The bills would allow the Justice Department, and copyright holders, to seek court orders against foreign websites accused of perpetrating or facilitating copyright infringement. While there is little the United States can do to take down those websites, the bills would bar online advertising networks and payment facilitators such as credit card companies and PayPal from doing business with an alleged violator. It also would forbid search engines from linking to such sites.

The original bills would have let copyright holders and Internet service providers block access to pirate websites. Critics and Internet engineers complained that would allow copyright holders to interfere in the behind-the-scenes system that seamlessly directs computer users to websites. They said that causing deliberate failures in the lookup system to prevent visits to pirate websites could more easily allow hackers to trick users into inadvertently visiting websites that could infect their computers. The White House also took issue with that approach, saying, “We must avoid creating new cybersecurity risks or disrupting the underlying architecture of the Internet.”

BEIJING – The World Bank warned Wednesday of a possible slump in global economic growth and urged developing countries to prepare for shocks that could be more severe than the 2008 crisis.

The bank cut its growth forecast for developing countries this year to 5.4 percent from 6.2 percent and for developed countries to 1.4 percent from 2.7 percent. For the 17 countries that use the euro currency, it forecast a contraction, cutting their growth outlook to -0.3 percent from 1.8 percent.

Global growth could be hurt by a recession in Europe and a slowdown in India, Brazil and other developing countries, the Washington-based bank said. It said conditions might worsen if more European countries are unable to raise money in financial markets.

“The global economy is entering into a new phase of uncertainty and danger,” said the bank’s chief economist, Justin Yifu Lin. “The risks of a global freezing up of capital markets as well as a global crisis similar to what happened in September 2008 are real.”

Developing countries that have enjoyed relatively strong growth while the United States and Europe struggled might be hit hard, Lin said. He said they should line up financing in advance to cover budget deficits, review the health of their banks and emphasize spending on social safety nets.

Many governments are in a weaker position than they were to respond to the 2008 global crisis because their debts and budget deficits are bigger, Lin said at a news conference.

In the event of a major crisis, “no country will be spared,” Lin said. “The downturn is likely to be longer and deeper than the last one.”

The bank’s outlook in its “Global Economic Prospects” report issued twice a year adds to mounting gloom amid Europe’s debt crisis and high U.S. unemployment.

“It is very likely that most European countries, including Germany, entered recession in the fourth quarter of last year,” said Hans Timmer, the World Bank’s director of development projects.

Investors have cut investments in developing countries by 45 percent in the second half of last year, compared with the same period in 2010, Timmer said.

The report follows similar warnings about the global economy by its sister organization, the International Monetary Fund, and private sector forecasters.

For the United States, the bank cut this year’s growth forecast to 2.2 percent from 2.9 percent and for 2013 to 2.4 percent from 2.7 percent. As reasons, it cited the anticipated global slowdown and the on-going fight in Washington over spending and taxes.

Global growth might suffer from the interaction of Europe’s troubles and efforts by China, India, South Africa, Russia and Turkey to cool rapid growth and inflation with interest rate hikes and other measures, the bank said.

China’s expansion slowed to a 2 1/2-year low of 8.9 percent in the three months ending in December from the previous quarter’s 9.1 percent.

As Europe weakens, developing countries could find “their slowdown might be larger than is necessary to cope with inflation pressures,” Lin said.

A global downturn would hurt developing countries by driving down prices for metals, farm goods and other commodities and demand for other exoprts, the World Bank said.

Slower growth is already visible in weakening trade and commodity prices, the World Bank said.

Global exports of goods and services expanded an estimated 6.6 percent in 2011, barely half the previous year’s 12.4 percent rate, the bank said. It said the growth rate is expected to fall to 4.7 percent this year.

Prices of energy, metals and farm products are down 10 to 25 percent from their peaks in early 2011, Timmer said.

The United States is already feeling some pain from Europe’s crisis. Exports to Europe fell 6 percent in November, the Commerce Department said last week.

___

AP Economics Writer Christopher S. Rugaber in Washington contributed.

It’s rather interesting that full transcripts of meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee are not made available to the public until five years after they occur. But given how the housing market collapse and the Great Recession played out, it’s understandable that the powers that be would want that sort of protective cushion in place to shield them from even harsher criticism – or worse. Minutes of each meeting are published shortly after the meetings occur, but they are only summaries, without detailed statements from each of the members.

Now that the full transcripts of 2006′s meetings have been made public, it’s quite disturbing to realize (if you haven’t already) that the people in charge of steering the U.S. economy have such little understanding of the machinations of the complex organism. Throughout 2006, as it was becoming clear that the U.S. housing boom was going bust, members of the Fed had absolutely no clue that the fallout would be anywhere close to as bad as it was. Instead, Ben Bernanke and Timothy Geithner, both of whom are “still” leading the U.S. economy, noted that they believed that the U.S. would experience a soft landing from housing and that it was unlikely that there would be spillover into other areas of the economy.

Obviously, those assessments in 2006 could not have been more wrong. Rather than a soft landing, the collapse of the U.S. housing market in 2006 and 2007 prompted the Great Recession, officially noted as lasting from December 2007 until July 2009, with significant aftershocks being felt into 2012.

And, again, these individuals are still dictating U.S. economic policy and essentially driving the global economic train on a daily basis. The same people who had all the data at their disposal, but couldn’t see the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression hanging over their heads, are calling the shots as nations are struggling with unsustainable debt burdens that once again threaten the global financial system.

Looking ahead five years, won’t it be interesting to see the full transcripts of the Federal Open Market Committee’s meetings about the events that occurred in 2012?