US current account deficit rises to $100.3 billion

WASHINGTON — The U.S. current account trade deficit widened slightly in the July-September quarter, largely due to foreign institutions paying less in fines and penalties to the U.S. government.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the deficit in the current account rose to $100.3 billion in the third quarter, up 1.9 percent from a revised $98.4 billion deficit in the April-June period.

The increase occurred despite a drop in the trade deficit for goods and services, reflecting cheaper oil prices and a stronger dollar.

The deficit widened because fines collected by the U.S. government from foreign institutions fell to $27.8 billion from $40.1 billion in the previous quarter, a 31 percent decrease. In the April-June period, the government had fined the French bank BNP Paribas $9 billion for violating sanctions against Iran, Sudan and Cuba.

The current account is the broadest measure of trade, covering not only the flow of goods and services but also investment flows. It faces downward pressure because the dollar has increased in value relative to other currencies and oil prices have fallen by almost 50 percent since June.

The average price of a barrel of oil has dropped below $56 from a summer high of $107. That reflects weakening global demand as Japan has tumbled into a recession, Europe staves off a slowdown, China's economy loses momentum and Russia copes with its collapsing currency. But U.S. consumers have largely been insulated from these pressures and benefited from less expensive oil.

At the same time, the global slowdown has caused more investors to crowd into the dollar as a relative safe haven. The dollar appreciated 7.1 percent against other major currencies during the July-September quarter.

The current account is still relatively low by historical standards. The quarterly deficits regularly topped $150 billion in the four years before the Great Recession of 2007-2009.

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Alcohol calorie counts to be on menus by next year

WASHINGTON — Don't want to be confronted with the number of calories in that margarita or craft beer? Then avoid the menu and order at the bar.

New menu labeling rules from the Food and Drug Administration will require chain restaurants with 20 or more outlets to list the amount of calories in alcoholic drinks, along with other foods, on menus by next November. The idea is that people often don't know — or even think about — how many calories they are imbibing.

But the rules don't apply to drinks ordered at the bar or any drinks that aren't listed on the main menu. The wine list will also be guilt-free — individual calorie amounts aren't required there either. And unlike other beverages and foods, most bottles and cans of alcohol don't have to list full nutritional information.

After years of lobbying for more nutritional information on alcoholic beverages, public health advocates say the menu labeling rules are a first step.

"Alcoholic beverages are a key contributor to the calories Americans are consuming, and most of the time when people have a drink they have absolutely no idea what its caloric impact is," says Margo Wootan of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Her group petitioned the government more than a decade ago to require that bottles and cans be labeled with robust nutritional information.

The FDA's proposed menu labeling rules in 2011 exempted alcohol. But FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said the agency decided to include it in the final rules this year after those who commented on the rule were largely in favor of such labeling because of its potential impact on public health.

The beer, wine and spirits industries objected, arguing that they were regulated by the Treasury Department, not the FDA, a setup that dates back to Prohibition. Treasury's oversight, which includes minimal input from FDA, has "well served the consuming public," a coalition of alcohol groups wrote in a 2011 comment asking to be left out of the menu labeling rules.

The new rules are designed to not be too burdensome for the alcohol industries or restaurants. Endless combinations of mixed drinks won't have to be labeled at bars, unless they are listed on a menu, and the FDA is allowing restaurants to use estimates of calories and ranges of calories without listing the exact amount in every different drink. That means menus are required to list the average amount of calories in a glass of red or white wine, but won't have to list calories by every brand of wine on the wine list unless they choose to do so. Same with beers and spirits.

So most wineries and craft breweries selling to chain restaurants won't have to pay to have their products' nutritional content analyzed — for now, at least.

The labeling rules have "more of an indirect effect on our business," says Wendell Lee of the California-based Wine Institute. Lee says brand-specific menu calorie labels could be especially burdensome on the wine industry, where every vintage and varietal is different.

Craft brewers, with many varied brands and styles, have similar concerns.

The regulations "could have a slight chilling effect" on small breweries if some restaurants decide to list calories for individual beers, said Paul Gatza of the Brewers Association, which represents craft breweries.

The rules could have advantages too, he said.

"The more customers know about a brewery, the more they feel connected with it," Gatza said.

Off the menu, labeling rules appear further away.

For years, most alcohol companies have tried to put off mandatory bottle and can nutrition labeling as public health advocates have fought for it. Rules proposed in 2007 would have made such labels mandatory, but Treasury never made the rules final.

Last year, Treasury's Alcohol and Tobacco Trade and Tax Bureau said for the first time that beer, wine and spirits companies could use labels that include serving size, servings per container, calories, carbohydrates, protein and fat per serving. The labels are voluntary and will likely be used mostly by liquor companies touting low calories and low carbohydrates in their products.

Current labeling law for bottles and cans is complicated.

Wines containing 14 percent or more alcohol by volume must list alcohol content. Wines that are 7 percent to 14 percent alcohol by volume may list alcohol content or put "light" or "table" wine on the label. "Light" beers must list calorie and carbohydrate content. Liquor must list percent alcohol content by volume and may also list proof, a measure of alcoholic strength.

Wine, beer and liquor manufacturers don't have to list ingredients but must list substances people might be sensitive to, such as sulfites, certain food colorings and aspartame.

Tom Hogue of the Tobacco Trade and Tax Bureau said the current goal is to make sure that companies that want to label may do so, and that labeling is consistent. It is important that labels "don't mislead the consumer," he said.

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Follow Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mcjalonick

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Napster co-founder to invest in allergy research

SAN FRANCISCO — Napster co-founder Sean Parker missed most of his final year in high school and has ended up in the emergency room countless of times because of his deadly allergy to nuts, shellfish and other foods.

Now that the former Facebook president is the father of two small children who have a genetic basis to develop allergies, he says he wants to help find a lasting cure to allergies.

Parker announced Wednesday that he is donating $24 million over the next two years to establish an allergy research center at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

"We have been applying Band-Aids for decades by using antihistamines to treat symptoms instead of going after the root cause of allergies," Parker said.

The Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy Research will focus on understanding the dysfunctions of the immune system that result in allergic reactions and on finding the safest and best treatments for allergies through laboratory and data research, clinical trials and community outreach.

The Silicon Valley entrepreneur said he missed most of his senior year of high school because he was hospitalized with a bronchial infection due to severe allergies and asthma. Parker said his severe allergic reactions have sent him to the hospital 14 times in the last six years.

Parker, 35, said neither his 2-year-old girl nor his 2-week-old boy have allergies but he knows they could develop them.

"Now that I'm a father, I'm sympathetic to what my parents went through," he said. "It's terrifying for parents to see their child go through anaphylactic shock because of an allergic reaction."

The center will be led by Dr. Kary Nadeau, an immunology researcher who focuses on allergies on children and adults. Nadeau has developed an allergy treatment that involves giving patients micro-doses of the allergen and increasing the amount ingested — over months or years — to build tolerance overtime.

"The goal is to be able to achieve desensitization in a couple of weeks," Parker said.

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Russians flock to stores to pre-empt price rises

MOSCOW — Russian consumers flocked to the stores Wednesday, frantically buying a range of big-ticket items to pre-empt the price rises kicked off by the staggering fall in the value of the ruble in recent days.

As the government considered ways to ease the selling pressure on the ruble, which has slid 15 percent in just two days and raised fears of a bank run, many Russians were buying cars and home appliances — in some cases in record numbers — before prices for these imported goods shoot higher.

The Swedish furniture giant IKEA already warned Russian consumers that its prices will rise Thursday, which resulted in weekend-like crowds at a Moscow store on a Wednesday afternoon.

Shops selling a broad range of items were reporting record sales — some have even suspended operations, unsure of how far down the ruble will sink. Apple, for one, has halted all online sales in Russia.

"This is a very dangerous situation, we are just a few days away from a full-blown run on the banks," Russia's leading business daily Vedomosti wrote in an editorial Wednesday. "If one does not calm down the currency market right now, the banking system will need robust emergency care."

Alyona Korsuntseva, a consumer in her 30s, says the current jitters surrounding the Russian economy reminded her of the 1998 Russian crisis when the ruble tumbled following the government's default on sovereign bonds.

"What's pressuring us is the fact that many people (back then) rushed to withdraw money from bank cards, accounts," she says. "We want to safeguard ourselves so that things wouldn't be as bad they were back then."

Consumers are buying durable goods because Russian stocks are too volatile as an investment and an overwhelming majority of Russians cannot afford to buy land or real estate.

The ruble has suffered catastrophic losses this week as traders fretted over the impact of low oil prices on the Russian economy, as well as the impact of Western sanctions imposed over Russia's involvement in Ukraine's crisis.

After posting fresh losses early Wednesday, the ruble was up and down all day before settling at 3 percent higher at 65 rubles at 4 p.m. Moscow time (1300 GMT).

The ruble even lost ground on Tuesday after a surprise move by Russia's Central Bank to raise its benchmark interest rate to 17 percent from 10.5 percent — a move aimed to make it more attractive for currency traders to hold onto their rubles.

One reason why the ruble advanced Wednesday is that Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying the government is going to sell foreign currency "as much as necessary and as long as necessary." That, the hope is, would relieve the pressure on the ruble, particularly against the dollar.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev hosted a meeting with the heads of Russia's largest exporters and pledged to implement a "package of measures" to stop the decline of the ruble.

Another option available to Russian authorities could be imposing capital controls, but Russia's Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev has denied that the government is considering doing so. However, he said the Central Bank rate hike came too late.

Russian officials, meanwhile, have sought to project a message of confidence on state television, dwelling on the advantages of ruble devaluation, such as a boost to domestic manufacturing.

Whatever happens with the ruble, the Russian economy is set to shrink next year by 0.8 percent even if oil prices stay above $80 per barrel. With oil prices now below $60, there are fears the Russian economy could contract by up to 5 percent.

The ruble could come under further pressure this week as President Barack Obama is expected to sign legislation authorizing new economic sanctions against Russia.

The German government's coordinator for relations with Russia, Gernot Erler, said the economic crisis in Russia was largely the result of the drop in oil prices, not the sanctions imposed by the West.

"It's an illusion to think that if the sanctions were to fall away tomorrow, the Russian economy would suddenly be all right again," Erler told rbb-Inforadio on Wednesday.

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Vladimir Kondrashov in Moscow and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report from Berlin.

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Pampered pets that don duds move to the mainstream

LOS ANGELES — These clothing designers have to think about pattern, fabric and fit — as well as where to put the poo bags.

Creating on-trend outfits is a whole different animal for pet fashion designers, whose work is becoming mainstream as animal lovers look to further pamper their pets. For some owners, it's a statement; for others, it's a way to match man's best friend; and sometimes it's simply about keeping animals warm this winter. But it's clear the number of dressed-up dogs and cats jumps significantly once holiday photos need to be taken.

"We have gone from the kind of cute reindeer gear or ugly sweater to more functional clothing," said Lauren Darr, founder of the International Association of Pet Fashion Professionals in New York City. "Before it was for a cute picture, now it's more practical. It takes it to a different level, going from being a novelty to understanding how things can be used in everyday life."

Pet fashion got a leg up after American Eagle Outfitters received an outpouring from its April Fool's Day joke this year. To raise money and awareness for an animal welfare group, the popular retailer introduced a fake fashion line called American Beagle Outfitters. But the joke was on the Pittsburgh company.

"Our customers were very clear about their desire for this product to become a reality," company spokesman Michael Leedy said last month when welcoming the pet line for real. Its tiny puffy jackets, sweaters and hats sell for $12.95 to $39.95.

The move made strides for the pet clothing industry, insiders say.

"When a company like American Eagle starts getting into pet fashion, it really puts a spotlight on it and brings visibility to it," Darr said.

For some pet owners, clothing plays into a luxury lifestyle. Dog Fashion Spa in New York sells doggy and mommy bathrobes, a matching fad that comes as many spas and salons are building hers and "furs" facilities — one side to pamper the woman and the other to treat their dogs, CEO Elena Volnova said.

Pampering and style is one thing, but function is also important. Karine Ng, the owner and designer at Central Park Pups in New York City, has developed several step-in coats with hidden harnesses that help pets get dressed without the hassle. Dogs walk right into the coat, so they don't have to put their head through it.

Her pieces are among the many that feature a pouch or pocket to hold unused bags for scooping up pet poop.

Ng's "city chic" styles, which sell online and at boutiques for $60 to $65, aim to reduce aggravation for pets, but she warns: "Never make a dog wear clothing if it doesn't want to."

On the other hand, you might want to start dressing your cat now, Darr said. She predicted huge growth in feline fashions as retailers from 99-cent stores to high-scale boutiques carry more cat clothing.

"I am seeing more pieces that are tailored for cats. It's still a small proportion, but it is growing," Darr said.

The movement comes as more owners teach their cats to go for walks. Plus, "a lot of cats in colder climates have learned to rely on sweaters, coats and vests," Darr said.

Other trends she saw this year that she expects to grow in 2015 include clothing decorated with LED lights to make pets more visible at night, T-shirts for pets of sports fans and still more ugly sweaters.

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Online:

— www.petfashionprofessionals.com

— www.dogfashionspa.com

— www.centralparkpups.com

— www.ae.com

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Fed pondering change in rate hike signals

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy is finally doing better, and the Federal Reserve may be ready to acknowledge that fact.

In a statement it will issue Wednesday after two days of discussion, the Fed may no longer say it plans to keep a key interest rate near zero for a "considerable time." Dropping that language would be viewed as a signal that the Fed is moving closer to a hike.

Yet even if it drops the "considerable time" phrase, few envision an imminent rate hike. Most economists think the Fed will wait at least until June to raise short-term rates. It would be the first rate increase since June 2006. The Fed last cut rates on December 2008 when the central bank reduced its key short-term rate to a record low near zero in an effort to battle the worst economic downturn since the 1930s.

In addition to issuing its usual policy statement to close out its final meeting of the year, the Fed will update its economic forecast and Fed Chair Janet Yellen will hold a news conference. The meeting with reporters will give Yellen the chance to explain the Fed's policies in greater detail.

While many believe there will be a slight change in the Fed's guidance about the future course of interest rates, analysts say as long as inflation remain muted, the Fed may be content to leave rates at rock-bottom levels for as long as another year.

Low rates can encourage borrowing and spending, as well as fuel growth. But if left too low for too long, they can accelerate inflation.

"I think the odds are that the Fed will drop the 'considerable time' wording, but I think some people are making more out of that change than they should," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial.

Even if that wording is removed, economists expect the Fed will stress that the timing of a rate hike will be driven by the economy's performance, not by any preset timetable.

If the job market and the economy keep improving, a rate increase could come sooner. Yet if the economy slows unexpectedly — or if sinking oil prices keep inflation persistently below the Fed's 2 percent target, the first rate hike might be delayed.

The debate inside the Fed is pivoting on which of those forces — an improved economy or excessively low inflation — should outweigh the other. Complicating the Fed's decision is that other major central banks — in Europe, Japan and China, for example — are moving in the reverse direction to keep rates down to support slowing economies. When central banks move in opposite directions, they risk causing disruptions in the global flow of capital.

The minutes of the Fed's last two meetings showed that officials discussed changing the "considerable time" language. But some worried that doing so might be misread to mean the first rate increase would come soon. In the end, the phrasing was retained.

To soften the market impact, some analysts say "considerable time" may be replaced by language that says the Fed will be "patient" in deciding when to raise rates. In recent weeks, several Fed officials have used that word to describe how the central bank will proceed.

The word "patient" has history behind it. The last time the Fed moved from a prolonged period of low rates in 2004, it shifted from saying it would keep rates low for a "considerable period" to pledging to be "patient" in raising them. Five months after dropping "considerable period" in January 2004, the Fed approved a rate hike.

Vincent Reinhart, who was the Fed's top staff economist then, said it would be a wrong to assume that the lag time between a change in the statement's language and a rate increase would necessarily be the same this time.

The consensus view that the Fed will begin raising rates in June 2015 has held steady for months despite slight ups and downs in the economy's performance.

Recently, the data has been almost all positive with 321,000 jobs created in November, the most in nearly three years.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, foresees economic growth of 3.3 percent next year — which would be the best showing since 2005 — up from 2.2 percent expected this year.

Brian Bethune, an economics professor at Tufts University, noted that while job gains have been solid, wage growth remains weak and inflation is slowing, reflecting the plunge in gas prices and a stronger dollar.

"With inflation falling, it just doesn't make any sense to argue that the Fed should accelerate the timing of its first rate hike," Bethune said.

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UK proposes rules for embryos made from 3 people

LONDON — New rules proposed in Britain would make it the first country to allow embryos to be made from the DNA of three people in order to prevent mothers from passing on potentially fatal genetic diseases to their babies.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the department of health said it had taken "extensive advice" on the safety and efficacy of the proposed techniques from the scientific community.

"(This) will give women who carry severe mitochondrial disease the opportunity to have children without passing on devastating genetic disorders," Dr. Sally Davies, the U.K.'s chief medical officer, said in a statement.

Experts say that if approved by parliament, these new methods would likely be used in about a dozen British women every year who are known to have faulty mitochondria — the energy-producing structures outside a cell's nucleus. Defects in the mitochondria's genetic code can result in diseases such as muscular dystrophy, heart problems and mental retardation.

The techniques involve removing the nucleus DNA from the egg of a prospective mother and inserting it into a donor egg, where the nucleus DNA has been removed. That can be done either before or after fertilization.

The resulting embryo would end up with the nucleus DNA from its parents but the mitochondrial DNA from the donor. Scientists say the DNA from the donor egg amounts to less than 1 percent of the resulting embryo's genes. But the change will be passed onto future generations, a major genetic modification that many ethicists have been reluctant to endorse.

Critics say the new techniques are unnecessary and that women who have mitochondrial disorders could use other alternatives, such as egg donation, to have children.

"Medical researchers are crossing the crucial ethical line that will open the door to designer babies," said David King of Human Genetics Alert, a secular group that opposes many genetics and fertilization research.

British law currently forbids any genetic modification of embryos before being transferred into a woman.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Administration held a meeting to discuss the techniques, and scientists warned it could take decades to determine if they're safe.

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BlackBerry launches Classic smartphone in last-ditch effort

NEW YORK — BlackBerry is returning to its roots with a new smartphone called the Classic, featuring a traditional keyboard at a time when rival Apple and Android phones — and most smartphone customers — have embraced touch screens.

BlackBerry is courting its core customer, the business user. The physical keyboard is something traditional BlackBerry users prefer because they find it easier to type on than the touch screen devices. The company is also emphasizing battery life and security as a way to set its phone apart from competitors.

The company is trying to stay relevant on the hardware side of the business as it attempts to pivot toward becoming an enterprise security and consumer software company. Whether the Classic will sell enough to keep it in the hardware business is unclear.

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US stocks gain before Fed statement

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks rose Wednesday, breaking a string of declines, as investors waited for the latest statement from the Federal Reserve. Energy stocks led the gains as the price of oil recovered some of its recent losses.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 18 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,990 as of 11:28 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 123 points, or 0.8 percent, to 17,195. The Nasdaq composite climbed 34 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,582.

FED MEETING: Investors will be assessing the statement from the Federal Reserve's final meeting of the year on Wednesday and will be looking to see if U.S. policymakers drop a pledge to keep interest rates low for a "considerable time," as the U.S. economy improves. The Fed will release a statement at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time and will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m.

THE QUOTE: "I'm looking for an overall more dovish statement, something that still tells me that they are not going to raise interest rates any time soon," said Scott Wren, a senior equity strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors, who believes the Fed will keep its "considerable time" phrase in the statement given that the recent slump in oil prices is driving down inflation.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that plunging gasoline costs pulled U.S. consumer prices lower in November, muting inflation across the entire economy.

Wren is recommending that investors use any pullback in the stock market to add to their stock holdings. He expects companies to keep boosting earnings as the economy continues to strengthen in 2015.

RUSSIA FOCUS: Russia remained in focus on concerns about the impact of the recent slide in the ruble. The currency has lost more than 50 percent of its value this year. After falling again early Wednesday, the ruble recovered and was 11 percent higher at 62 rubles to the dollar.

The currency recovered some of its losses Wednesday after Russian authorities indicated that they would sell foreign currency to relieve pressure on the ruble. The Russian currency has suffered in the wake of sliding oil prices and sanctions imposed over Russia's involvement in Ukraine's crisis.

ENERGY RALLY: Energy stocks led gains for the S&P 500 index as the price of oil recovered some of its recent losses. Stocks in the sector jumped 4 percent, reducing their losses in the last three months to 18 percent. Diamond Offshore Drilling was one of the biggest gainers in the S&P 500, rising $2.62, or 7.2 percent, to $38.95.

OIL: U.S. crude turned slightly higher in midday trading. Oil rose 74 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $56.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

EARNING FAIL TO DELIVER: FedEx was one of the biggest losers in early trading after in the shipping company reported earnings that fell short of Wall Street's expectations. The company said a jump in plane maintenance costs blunted gains the company reaped from managing costs, lowering its pension expense and growing its export package revenue. The company's stock dropped $9.21, or 5.3 percent, to $165.07.

EUROPE'S DAY: In Europe, Germany's DAX was 0.1 percent lower while the CAC-40 in France rose 0.6 percent. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares fell 0.1 percent.

BONDS AND CURRENCIES: U.S. government bond prices fell slightly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged up to 2.10 percent from 2.06 percent late Tuesday. The euro was 0.8 percent lower at $1.2399 and the dollar fell 0.3 percent to 117.39 yen.

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FedEx misses Street 2Q forecasts, but profit jumps 23 pct

FedEx's second-quarter earnings soared 23 percent, but the package delivery company missed Wall Street forecasts due partially to a lower-than-expected benefit from falling fuel prices.

FedEx also said Wednesday that a jump in plane maintenance blunted gains the company reaped from managing costs, lowering its pension expense and growing its export package revenue.

Shares of the Memphis, Tennessee, company fell almost 5 percent in midday trading.

FedEx has been saving money from cheaper fuel, but company executives told analysts that fuel delivered only a slight benefit to operating income in the quarter. The company buys its fuel based on contracts tied to prices set during the preceding week or month, and those prices did not decline as quickly as daily rates, which fell almost 30 percent from August to November.

The company said it was working to adjust more quickly to those daily market rates.

Removing the fuel issue, analyst Benjamin J. Hartford said he saw "clear margin improvement in the core Express business" in the quarter. Hartford covers FedEx for Robert W. Baird & Co.

Overall, FedEx Corp. earned $616 million, or $2.14 per share, in its fiscal second quarter, up from $500 million, or $1.57, in last year's quarter. Total revenue climbed 5 percent to $11.94 billion.

Analysts expected FedEx to earn $2.22 per share on revenue of $11.97 billion, according to Zacks Investment Research.

FedEx and rivals like UPS are heading into the final stretch of their busiest period of the year, the peak holiday shipping season. They are hoping to avoid a repeat of last December, when an ice storm and a surge in last-minute online shopping caught them off-guard. About 2 million packages promised for delivery by Christmas Eve didn't make it.

This time, FedEx planned to hire 50,000 seasonal workers and invest in its ground-shipping network to make deliveries on time. The company has forecast a record number of deliveries, 8.8 percent more than the holidays in 2013.

FedEx executives offered no details on shipping volume so far this season, but company executives told analysts during a conference call that they've already had several days that rank among the busiest in company history. They also noted that labor issues at West Coast ports have held up cargo and forced the company to shift resources, which raises expenses.

CEO and Chairman Fred Smith said he expects that the port issues will lead to more retail items being out of stock and could cause more gift card purchases instead of merchandise.

"The slowdown in the West Coast ports has been a much bigger deal than people think," he said.

FedEx also said Wednesday that it still expects full-year earnings of between $8.50 and $9 per share.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast earnings of $9.11 per share for the year.

Shares of FedEx fell $8.45, to 4.9 percent, to $165.81 in midday trading while broader indexes had climbed slightly. The stock had climbed 21 percent since the beginning of the year through Tuesday's close, more than tripling the gain of the Standard & Poor's 500 index.

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