Maine seafood company owner pleads guilty

PORTLAND, Maine — The owner of a Maine seafood company has pleaded guilty to instructing an employee to make cash withdrawals to avoid Treasury Department reporting requirements, money used to bypass lobster coop purchasing rules.

The Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/1dTRR7O ) reports that John Price, owner of J.P.'s Shellfish in Eliot, pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday to 12 counts of structuring cash transactions.

Prosecutors say the 58-year-old Kittery man had an office manager make bank withdrawals from 2008 to 2010 for less than $10,000 to avoid detection.

Employees then used the cash to pay a dock worker at the Spruce Head Fisherman's Coop in South Thomaston for lobsters. The dock worker's side transactions were made without Coop approval.

Price remains free on $10,000 bail pending sentencing in May. His lawyer refused comment.

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Information from: Portland Press Herald, http://www.pressherald.com

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Subcompact cars fare poorly in new crash tests

DETROIT — Subcompact cars fared poorly in new crash tests performed by an insurance industry group.

None of the 12 minicars tested got the highest rating of "good" from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The Chevrolet Spark was the only car that earned the second-highest rating of "acceptable." Six of the cars — including the segment's best-seller, the Nissan Versa — got the lowest rating of "poor."

All of the cars were from the 2013 or 2014 model years.

"Small, lightweight vehicles have an inherent safety disadvantage. That's why it's even more important to choose one with the best occupant protection," said Joe Nolan, IIHS's senior vice president for vehicle research.

The institute's small overlap test, which was introduced in 2012, mimics what happens when a car's front corner collides with another vehicle or an object like a utility pole. In the test, 25 percent of a vehicle's front end on the driver's side strikes a rigid barrier at 40 mph.

The test differs from the U.S. government's frontal crash test, in which a car strikes a rigid barrier head-on at 35 mph.

IIHS says hitting only part of the front end makes it harder for cars to manage the energy from a crash. In several of the subcompacts, the structures collapsed, which can exacerbate injuries because the air bags, seats and other parts get knocked out of position.

In the test of the Honda Fit, for example, the steering column pushed so far into the vehicle that the dummy's head slid off the air bag and hit the instrument panel. IIHS said the Fit was one of the worst performers in terms of potential injuries to the driver.

Honda responded that the 2015 Fit, which goes on sale in a few months, should earn a top score on the small offset test. The recently redesigned Honda Civic, which is one size up from the Fit, is among five small cars with "good" ratings on the test. A four-door Civic is around 300 pounds heavier and 18 inches longer than the current four-door Fit.

The current Fit does get top scores in the institute's other four tests, including measurements of roof strength and side impact protection.

IIHS said the Fiat 500 was also one of the worst performers. The crash force ripped the door hinges off the 500, causing it to fall open during the test.

Spokesman Eric Maybe said the Fiat 500 meets all government safety requirements and, like the Fit, gets "good" ratings in all four of the institute's other crash tests.

Cars with "marginal" ratings were the Kia Rio, Mazda2, Toyota Yaris and Ford Fiesta. Cars with "poor" ratings — in addition to the Fit, the Fiat 500 and the Versa — were the Toyota Prius C, Mitsubishi Mirage and Hyundai Accent.

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AP Exclusive: New regs sought for child car seats

WASHINGTON — Child car seats would for the first time have to protect children from death and injury in side-impact crashes under regulations the government is proposing, The Associated Press has learned.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration seeks to upgrade standards for child seats for children weighing up to 40 pounds to include a new test that simulates a side crash. The agency estimates the standards will prevent the deaths of about five children and injuries to 64 others each year.

NHTSA Acting Administrator David Friedman is scheduled to announce the proposal Wednesday.

Under the proposal, the new tests will simulate a "T-bone" crash, where the front of a vehicle traveling 30 mph strikes the side of a small passenger vehicle traveling at 15 mph. The tests will position the car seat on a sled, with another sled ramming the side of the sled with the seat, rather than using actual vehicles since the aim isn't to test the crash worthiness of specific vehicles, NHTSA officials said.

Research shows that many child deaths and injuries in side-impact crashes involve a car carrying children that is stopped at an intersection, usually at a light or stop sign, officials said. When the car begins to accelerate to go through the intersection, it is struck in the side by a vehicle traveling at a higher rate of speed on the cross street.

The side-impact test — the first of its kind — simulates both the acceleration of the struck vehicle and the vehicle's door crushing inward toward the car seat. Besides using a 12-month-old child dummy already approved under NHTSA standards, the proposed test will also utilize a to-be-developed side-impact dummy representing a 3-year-old child.

"As a father of two, I know the peace of mind this proposed test will give parents," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement. The test "will give parents and car seat makers important new data on how car seats perform in side crashes."

Friedman called car seats "an essential tool for keeping young children safe in vehicles and have a proven track record of saving lives."

Safety advocates have long sought tougher standards for car seats to protect against side-impact crashes.

"I think this is terrific," said Joan Claybrook, who was the NHTSA administrator during the Carter administration and later president of Public Citizen. She noted that today's passenger vehicles have eight air bags, in part to protect adults from side-impact crashes. "We have an absolute moral obligation to protect children as well," she said.

NHTSA's estimates of the number of lives that will be saved and injuries prevented by the proposed standards are "very, very conservative," Claybrook said.

The public will have 90 days to comment on the proposed regulations after they are published this week. The regulations won't be made final until after the agency has reviewed the comments and answered any important issues that may be raised. That typically takes months and sometimes years, although NHTSA officials said they hope to move quickly.

The proposal includes giving car seat manufacturers three years to make any adjustments to meet the new requirements. That window doesn't begin until the regulations are made final.

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Follow Joan Lowy on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy

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Greenfield hospital declares labor impasse

GREENFIELD, Mass. — Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield has declared an impasse in its 28 months of negotiations with nurses and announced it will immediately put into effect changes it has sought through contract talks.

The move outraged the nurses' union, which said it will file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. Nurses will meet this week to discuss their options, including the possibility of a strike.

The changes include a 3.25 percent wage and bonuses up to $1,000. The hospital will also start transitioning to paying overtime on a weekly basis rather than a daily basis, a major sticking point in negotiations.

Hospital President Chuck Gijanto tells The Recorder (http://bit.ly/1fbFkLr ) negotiations are "hopelessly deadlocked."

Nurses say management is unjustly taking away their right to negotiate a settlement.

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Information from: The (Greenfield, Mass.) Recorder, http://www.recorder.com

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Booze-delivery start-up Drizly raises $2.25M

Boston-based alcohol delivery start-up Drizly has raised $2.25 million in venture financing, the company said today.

"It took us over a year of building and testing, and now, after the last 9 months and many thousands of orders later, Drizly is alcohol delivery," CEO and co-founder Nick Rellas said in a statement. "We are fortunate to have an incredible set of investors ranging from great institutions and successful entrepreneurs to individuals at strategic companies both inside and outside of the alcohol industry."

Drizly, which partners with local liquor stores for delivery, also announced it will expand to New York beginning today. Users can order alcohol through an iPhone app, and then track the delivery's progress. Identification and age is checked by the driver.

Drizly is available throughout much of the Greater Boston area.

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Stocks edge lower as investors assess earnings

NEW YORK — Stocks edged mostly lower Wednesday as investors pored over the latest batch of company earnings reports. IBM dropped after its revenue fell short of forecasts from financial analysts. Chipmaker AMD also plunged after predicting a drop in revenue in the first quarter.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 fell two points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,841 as of 11:22 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 64 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,350. The Nasdaq composite gained three points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,229.

BIG BLUES: IBM fell $6.74, or 3.6 percent, to $181.81 after the computing company reported lower-than-expected revenue in the fourth quarter. Revenue fell 5.5 percent, hurt by a drop at IBM's hardware business. Profit rose 6 percent and adjusted earnings beat Wall Street predictions, however. The company has reported declining revenues for seven straight quarters, according to analysts at RBC Capital.

HANDBAGS: Coach fell $3.50, or 6.7 percent, to $49.03 after the luxury goods maker reported a lower quarterly profit, citing weakness in women's bags and accessories in North America. Coach is facing tough competition from rivals like Michael Kors Holdings.

EARLY TRENDS: There are lots of companies still to report earnings, but so far the stock market has failed to get a lift from the reports that have come out. After big gains for stocks last year, in which the S&P 500 climbed nearly 30 percent, investors want to see evidence that companies can boost their earnings through higher revenue growth rather than cutting expenses.

"It's all about (revenue) outlooks, clearly that's what matters," said Ryan Detrick, a senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research. "It doesn't seem like there's been much to get excited about."

SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL: Much like last year, small companies are again outperforming their larger counterparts. While the S&P 500 has moved sideways since the start of year, and is down 0.3 percent this month, the Russell 2000, an index that tracks smaller companies, is up 1.2 percent. The Nasdaq composite is up 1.4 percent.

THE CHIPS FALL: Advanced Micro Devices plunged 46 cents, or 11 percent, to $3.71 after the company said late Tuesday that it expected its first-quarter revenue to fall 13 percent to 19 percent from the fourth quarter. That would translate into first-quarter revenue ranging from $1.29 billion to $1.38 billion, mostly below Wall Street's predictions.

AMONG THE GAINERS: TE Connectivity jumped $3.42, or 6.1 percent, to $59.67 after the electronics company reported earnings that beat analysts' expectations and posted a strong earnings outlook for the second quarter.

TREASURIES AND COMMODITIES: The yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed to 2.84 percent from 2.83 percent late Tuesday. The price of oil rose $1.25, or 1.3 percent, to $96.23 a barrel. Gold was little changed from Tuesday at $1,241.50 an ounce.

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US stocks are mixed in early trading

NEW YORK — The U.S. stock market is mixed in early trading after disappointing results from IBM.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 41 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,372 shortly after the market opened Wednesday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was flat at 1,843 and the Nasdaq composite rose four points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,230.

IBM fell $8.13, or 4 percent, to $180.30 after the computing company late Tuesday reported lower-than-expected revenue in the fourth quarter.

Coach slumped $3.50, or 7 percent, to $49.05 after the company reported a lower quarterly profit, citing weakness in women's bags and accessories in North America.

Advanced Micro Devices fell 44 cents, or 10 percent, to $3.73 after the chip issued a weak revenue outlook for the current quarter.

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Court struggles with restitution for child porn

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court lent a sympathetic ear Wednesday to a victim of child pornography who wants the court to make it easier for victims to collect money from people convicted of downloading and viewing the pornographic images.

The woman known as Amy was at the court, her legal team said, for arguments in which the justices underscored that she and other victims of child pornography suffer serious psychological harm whenever anyone looks at their images online.

But the court seemed to struggle with determining how much restitution for counseling, lost income and legal fees any single defendant should be asked to pay.

The justices heard an appeal from Doyle Randall Paroline, who was held liable by a federal appeals court for the nearly $3.4 million judgment associated with the ongoing Internet trade and viewing of images of Amy being raped by her uncle when she was 8 and 9 years old. Paroline had hundreds of images of children on his computer when he was arrested but only two were of Amy.

"He's guilty of the crime, but to sock him with all of her psychological costs and everything else because he had two pictures of her. Congress couldn't have intended that," Justice Antonin Scalia said in an exchange with Amy's lawyer, Paul Cassell.

Several other justices also said they were troubled by the apparent lack of a link between the crime and the restitution order.

But Cassell said that when Congress wrote a 1994 law giving victims of child pornography and other sexual crimes the right to collect restitution from people convicted of the crimes, it meant to make it easy for the victim to collect.

The idea, Cassell said, is that courts could hold everyone responsible for the total amount. Most people could afford only a small portion, but a few wealthier defendants might be able to pay the bulk of the judgment.

Amy has so far received more than $1.75 million, Cassell said. Of that total, $1.2 million came from one man.

If the justices weren't entirely persuaded by Cassell's argument, they also had problems with the solutions put forth by Paroline's lawyer, Stanley Schneider, and Justice Department lawyer Michael Dreeben.

Schneider said that there is no relationship between Paroline's conduct and Amy's losses, so that there should be no award of restitution.

Justice Elena Kagan said Schneider's position could lead to odd results. If only one person were convicted of viewing the images, he might be responsible for all the damages, Kagan said. "But if 1,000 people viewed them, no one would be on the hook for restitution. How can that make sense?" she said.

The Obama administration takes a middle ground, saying victims should be awarded some money from each defendant but not the entire amount. Dreeben said trial judges should make the determination.

But under questioning, Dreeben could not give the court a single formula judges could apply. "In restitution cases, reasonable estimates are the order of the day," he said.

Amy's lawyers estimate that tens of thousands of people worldwide have downloaded and viewed Amy's images.

Since 2005, there have been about 2,000 prosecutions in federal court that, like Paroline's, included images of the rapes, for which Amy's uncle spent about 10 years in prison and paid a few thousand dollars for counseling sessions for Amy. Restitution has been awarded in just under 200 cases involving Amy's images.

A decision is expected by late June.

The case is Paroline v. Amy Unknown and U.S., 12-8561.

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'Ellen DeGeneres Show' becomes available in China

BEIJING — Ellen DeGeneres's talk show is getting a new audience — viewers in China.

The lighthearted, celebrity-focused show is now available in China on video site Sohu within 48 hours of its original U.S. broadcast.

It is the first U.S. daily talk show to be carried in China, according to a statement Tuesday by distributor Warner Brothers and Sohu.com Inc.

Sohu Video, like other Chinese online video sites, licenses many hit American TV shows. Earlier this month it unveiled the late-night U.S. comedy sketch show "Saturday Night Live" as an addition to its lineup.

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European businesses rushing to find Iran bonanza

BRUSSELS — France is sending business executives by the planeload to Iran. German and Dutch entrepreneurs are taking courses on how to close a deal in Tehran, and car makers are drawing up plans for investment.

Europe's business community is abuzz with preparations to rush back into Iran, an economic powerhouse in the Middle East, as some sanctions are suspended. And the interest is welcome — Iran is desperate to revive its economy after years of international isolation.

Under a deal with world powers, Tehran has agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for some sanctions relief and the unfreezing of about $4.2 billion in overseas assets. Iran and world powers now have six months to conclude a permanent deal.

As always, in business, it's about getting in first.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Foreign Minister Javad Zarif will meet with the world's business elite this week at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland's Davos ski resort, and are likely to discuss trade opportunities.

More hand-shaking will take place soon thereafter in Tehran, when France's business lobby group flies in executives representing about 100 firms for "exploratory" talks to take advantage of the sanctions' suspension, an official with the organization said.

Their competitors are doing the same, so firms from the oil and gas sector, carmakers and other manufacturing companies want to move quickly, added the official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because the subject remains sensitive within governments.

"Everyone is in the same state of mind," she said.

THE OPPORTUNITY

For businesses, getting into Iran is a chance not to be missed. The country boasts a well-educated population of about 75 million and some of the world's largest oil and gas reserves, much of which is still unexplored due to decades of sanctions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

European countries have historically strong trade ties with Iran — more so than the U.S., which has had tougher sanctions in place for longer. European sanctions only began in limited form in 2007.

The recent, more punitive measures had caused Iran's currency to tumble while unemployment soared and ballooning inflation ate up the people's purchasing power. But this week, some sanctions were lifted on the export of petrochemical products, shipping, insurance and the trade of precious metals.

The possibilities for growth are obvious judging by how much trade has fallen.

Imports to the 28-nation EU, Iran's biggest trading partner, plunged from 16.5 billion euros ($22 billion) in 2011 to 5.6 billion euros ($7.6 billion) in 2012 and a mere 395 million euros ($534 million) in the first half of 2013.

Exports from the bloc to Iran dwindled from around 11 billion euros to 7.4 billion euros in 2012.

EXECUTIVE INTEREST

Among the first signs that business is ready to resume is the surge in demand for flights.

Austrian Airlines last week announced it will resume five weekly flights to Tehran, and its parent company Lufthansa said it's thinking about adding more seats to its daily flights. Turkish Airlines, which serves six Iranian destinations, is seeking permission to increase its routes' frequencies.

Even though there are fears that sanctions could go back up when the current deal expires in six months, companies are upbeat.

"Optimism is predominating that there has finally been something of a relaxation in political relations and therefore in business possibilities," said Volker Treier, head of trade relations at the Association of German Chambers of Commerce.

The association last week held an event on doing business in Iran and executives "filled the room very quickly," Treier said. The sectors represented included machinery, vehicle production, food, medical technology and pharmaceuticals.

In the Netherlands, the Dutch ambassador to Iran, Jos Douma, last week held what he called a "speeddate session" with companies interested in getting back into business with Iran.

One focus was to export spare parts for Iran's aging planes and agricultural products. "They need all kinds of things," he said.

OIL

For foreign firms, the biggest prize in Iran is undoubtedly its sanctions-crippled oil and gas sector.

"Iran clearly has huge resources. Its production has been curtailed in recent years," oil company BP said in a statement. "It clearly has a lot of potential."

It cautioned, however, that "this is likely to be a very complicated political process."

Iran's oil and gas industry is in poor shape since sanctions often made it impossible to upgrade production sites. Iran also needs to modernize its business laws, said Howard Rogers, the director of the Natural Gas Research program at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.

Other hurdles include the tight sanctions on financial transactions, which mostly remain in place. "It's unbelievably difficult for companies to get paid from in Iran," Douma said.

Considering the big sums involved in oil production, companies will be cautious with investments. While major players such as France's Total, Anglo-Dutch Shell or Italy's Eni are keen to get back in business, they are for now sticking to a wait-and-see approach until the sanctions will be lifted permanently.

"My expectation would be a rush of large players if sanctions come down," said Rogers.

Iran's oil minister is holding meetings in Turkey this week to seek closer cooperation. As an initial step, Turkey hopes to boost crude imports by about a third.

CARS

The other big opportunity is Iran's auto market, which had been important for European manufacturers before the sanctions hit.

France's PSA Peugeot Citroen and Renault, in particular, stand to gain from renewing their once-sizeable Iran activities.

As recently as 2011, Peugeot sold 455,000 cars in Iran, making the country its second-largest market after France. The company is now following the situation with interest, said spokesman Pierre-Olivier Salmon.

"The group has renewed contacts to prepare a possible resumption of activities with Iran," he added.

And Iran's car industry is ready for investment. Its plants are running far below capacity amid a scarcity of parts, and cut some 100,000 jobs since the biggest sanctions took effect. Iran Khodro, the country's biggest carmaker, plans to engage in new joint projects with foreign carmakers.

But as in the oil sector, car makers want confirmation that the sanctions will not come crashing down again and that financial transactions will be easier to make.

Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn views Iran as the most important auto market in the Middle East, but renewing activities there would require a further loosening of financial sanctions, spokesman Bruno Moreau said. Renault sold 100,000 vehicles in Iran in 2011 before writing the business off when sanctions hit.

Analyst Michael Robinet, managing director at IHS Automotive, said the potential size of the Iranian market means international automakers will act as soon as they feel the thaw in relations with the West will last.

"If they do detect that there is a longer-term view that the government wants them there, and is willing to work with the sector, then I think you will see start to see vehicle manufacturers move into Iran very quickly," Robinet said.

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AP reporters Danica Kirka in London, Angela Charlton in Paris, Ali Akbar Dareini in Tehran, Dave McHugh in Frankfurt, Toby Sterling in Amsterdam, Geir Moulson in Berlin, Suzan Fraser in Istanbul, Colleen Barry in Milan and Joe McDonald in Beijing contributed reporting.

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Follow Juergen Baetz on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jbaetz

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