Wall Street turns lower on Italian worries

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks turned negative on Monday, dragged lower by financial and housing shares and a reversal of early market gains based on voting in Italy where there were fears of a hung parliament that could undermine stability in the euro zone.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> fell 5.26 points or 0.04 percent, to 13,995.31, the S&P 500 <.spx> lost 0.24 points or 0.02 percent, to 1,515.36 and the Nasdaq Composite <.ixic> added 5.8 points or 0.18 percent, to 3,167.61.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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Sriracha Hot Sauce Catches Fire

The first thing you smell at the Huy Fong Foods factory in suburban Los Angeles is the overwhelming aroma of garlic, a key ingredient in the company’s signature product: Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce. The first thing you see, however, doesn’t make nearly as much sense. In the lobby is a blown-up picture of two astronauts—one Russian, the other Asian-American—hovering in zero gravity in the cramped confines of the International Space Station. Why it’s hanging there becomes clear on closer examination: An arrow superimposed on the photo points to a little green plastic cap, the top of a Huy Fong sriracha bottle floating in the background.

David Tran had the picture hung a few years ago. Tran is the 68-year-old founder and owner of Huy Fong, and the creator of the sauce that has brought his family-run business some fortune and fame as one of the fastest-growing food companies in America. Last year, the company sold 20 million bottles.

The NASA picture represents a milestone for Huy Fong. There’s a theory that space somehow dulls the taste buds. So to ensure its astronauts enjoyed a flavorful meal, the agency’s food sciences division began sending Huy Fong’s sriracha into orbit a decade ago. In the poster, the little green cap is hard to find, but it was all it took for one of the company’s fans, who e-mailed Huy Fong to say he had spotted it.

Photograph by Nathanael Turner for Bloomberg BusinessweekTran doesn’t advertise and Huy Fong’s Web page was last updated on May 10, 2004

Such fan mail is not uncommon at Huy Fong—even though the company has never advertised in the U.S. It also has no Facebook (FB) page and no Twitter account, and the home page of its website serves as a kind of memorial to its nonchalant relationship to the wider world: It states plainly that it was last updated on May 10, 2004. Yet despite this aloofness, Huy Fong’s sriracha has earned a passionate following that’s helped make it an icon.

Like ketchup, sriracha is a generic term, its name coming from a port town in Thailand where the sauce supposedly was conceived. When people in America talk about sriracha, what they’re really talking about is Huy Fong’s version. It’s been name-checked on The Simpsons, is featured prominently on the Food Network, and has inspired a cottage industry of knockoffs, small-batch artisanal homages, and merchandise ranging from iPhone cases to air fresheners to lip balm to sriracha-patterned high heels.

Last April, market-research firm IBISWorld identified hot sauce production as the eighth-fastest-growing industry, behind for-profit universities and solar panel manufacturing. IBISWorld noted that in 2012 the industry’s revenue surpassed the $ 1 billion mark for the first time. It also had grown nearly 10 percent a year over the previous decade, recession be damned. That growth coincides with the burgeoning Asian population in the U.S., which expanded 45 percent in the 2000s, according to the most recent U.S. census. “As that subset grows, it not only demands more sriracha but spreads the word, too,” says IBISWorld analyst Agata Kaczanowska. “It leads restaurant owners to put it out there. And if it’s on the table, people are more likely to try it.”

Much of Huy Fong’s success stems from the simple fact that its sriracha tastes good. Last May, Cook’s Illustrated named it the best-tasting hot sauce on the market, ahead of rivals such as Frank’s Red Hot, Cholula Hot Sauce, and McIlhenny Co.’s Tabasco. Then there’s the clear squeeze bottle adorned with the strutting zodialogical symbol of Tran’s birth year, which has provided Huy Fong sriracha its nickname: rooster sauce.
 
 
Tran grew up in Vietnam. In the 1970s, he had a small business making a similar hot sauce. He was of Chinese descent, and the Vietnamese government had been making life difficult for minorities. So in 1979, he used his modest savings from his business and bought some gold and a ticket on a freighter, the Huy Fong. His destination, freezing cold Boston, offered little in the way of familiar comforts. Within a year, he was making sriracha in Los Angeles.

Tran started Huy Fong in a tiny office in L.A.’s Chinatown, grinding jalapeño peppers by hand. It took him only a few days to come up with his recipe—a blend of jalapeños, vinegar, sugar, salt, and, of course, garlic—and it hasn’t changed much since. He figured he’d sell it to fellow Asian immigrants. “I had no idea Americans would ever even eat spicy food,” says Tran, and he determined from the start to keep the price low. It’s about $ 4 per 28-ounce bottle. As he likes to say, “I make sauce good enough for the rich man that the poor man can still afford.”

Tran’s father-in-law poured the sauce into glass bottles, a method the Trans had employed in Vietnam using baby bottles left behind by Americans. When it came time to make deliveries, Tran relied on an old blue Chevy van.

Restaurateurs liked his sauce because it never went bad—a bottle could be left on the table. Tran slowly built a following. Eventually he encountered enough demand that he moved his operation in 1987 into a large factory in suburban Rosemead, Calif., which had formerly housed Wham-O, the maker of Frisbees and hula hoops.

A few years after the Trans’ move, Kara Nielsen got her first glimpse of Huy Fong sriracha. She was a pastry chef at Lalime’s, a pricey restaurant in Berkeley, Calif. Rooster sauce wasn’t on the menu, but it was a favorite of the restaurant’s Asian cooks and was usually on the table when the employees sat down together for a meal. Nielsen, now a “trendologist” at CCD Innovation, a culinary consultancy in San Francisco, says that was a classic Stage 1 scenario in the five-stage process of unknown products turning into household names. Although sriracha was already a staple in Asian grocery stores, its emergence in the kitchens of fine-dining restaurants meant it was beginning to cross over.

“That’s where it started for me,” says Nielsen, “in the back of kitchens where Asian workers would put it on their food.”

Over the next decade and a half, Nielsen watched as sriracha moved into new places. The chef David Chang began carrying it on the counter of his Momofuku Noodle Bar in New York. Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) started selling it in Los Angeles and Houston in 2003, eventually distributing it to 3,000 more stores around the country. Chain restaurants such as P.F. Chang’s and Gordon Biersch began introducing sriracha-flavored dishes and dipping sauces. Bon Appétit named sriracha Ingredient of the Year in 2010. And in 2011, the sauce got its first mainstream kitchen bible: The Sriracha Cookbook, by Randy Clemens. “When I would tell someone I was working on a sriracha cookbook, they’d look confused,” says Clemens, whose second sriracha-themed book, aimed at vegetarians, comes out in July. “But the minute I said ‘rooster sauce’ there was instant recognition.”

In early 2011, a few months after Clemens’s book appeared, Matthew Inman, the Seattle-based creator of the popular online comic strip The Oatmeal, had an epiphany while eating a bad meal during an overseas trip. “I realized that sriracha could ‘save’ food, and that it was this unsung Mother Teresa of condiments,” he says. So Inman drew a comic of a smiling man hugging an overturned bottle of sriracha meant to look like Huy Fong’s. “Sriracha, you are a delicious blessing flavored with the incandescent glow of a thousand dying suns,” reads the caption. “I love you.”

Fans asked Inman to turn the picture into a poster, then a T-shirt. Last summer he added a wide assortment of sriracha novelties to his online store—popcorn, lip balm, air fresheners, and underpants. With more than 350,000 Twitter followers, Inman provides plenty of free advertising for the company.

That popularity hasn’t been lost on Huy Fong’s competitors. For the past 160 years, McIlhenny Co., the rural Louisiana-based manufacturer of Tabasco, has been the standard-bearer of American hot sauce. Paul McIlhenny, the company’s sixth-generation chief executive officer, says he remembers when sriracha was purely a “West Coast thing.” Now he can pick up a bottle of rooster sauce at the local Walmart. While he won’t go into much detail, he confirms that McIlhenny is working on its own version of sriracha to compete with Huy Fong. “We’re just playing with it at the moment,” he says. “But we’re definitely looking at the Asian category.”

A few months ago, in a sign that sriracha has achieved broad acceptance (Nielsen’s Stage 5), Subway restaurants in Southern California began experimenting with a new sriracha-flavored sauce. Weeks later, Lay’s (PEP) announced a sriracha-flavored potato chip. Dave DeWitt, author of The Hot Sauce Bible, says he’s never seen anything like the rise of sriracha. Eighteen years ago when he started the Scovie Awards, billed as the world’s largest spicy foods competition, the event featured seven categories. Last year’s featured 62. “The number of players in the spicy foods game is endless,” says DeWitt. “There are even other srirachas. But there’s only one rooster.”
 
 
That rooster sits on every table in the bustling Vietnamese restaurant in Rosemead where Tran and Donna Lam, Huy Fong’s operations manager, meet me for lunch. As Tran makes a beeline for our table in the back, Lam assures me that no one in the crowded room knows that the man behind the sauce they’re all using walks among them. “Oh, no,” says Lam. “He’s too humble to tell anyone who he is.”

Seated, Tran and Lam order pho, the traditional Vietnamese soup. Then they squeeze a small amount of sriracha onto a plate beside their bowls. When I squirt a much larger amount of Huy Fong’s sauce directly into my soup, Tran’s eyes open wide. “I’ve never seen it that way,” he says.

After lunch, he heads to the Asian supermarket next door. Many stores in this suburb of L.A. use discounted Huy Fong as a loss leader to attract customers. (One advertises an industrial-size bottle offered for less than a dollar, about a 75 percent markdown.) As Tran takes in the store’s selection, he notes how his sauces vary in color. Some are orange, others red. It’s a quirk owing to the jalapeño hybrids he uses. The chilis are picked at different times during the season as they ripen and change color.

McIlhenny, the Tabasco maker, buys peppers mostly from farms in Latin America. As a way of insulating Huy Fong from fluctuations in the price of peppers and ensuring the freshest product possible, Tran’s only supplier for the past 20 years has been Underwood Family Farms, an hour north of L.A. The relationship allows him to grind the chilis on the same day they’re picked, but Underwood’s limited acreage also restricts how much he can sell. “Since 1980 we’ve always had more buyers than product,” he says. “We can’t promise something we don’t have.” It’s one reason, he says, that he doesn’t advertise.

While some companies compete with Huy Fong by mimicking its signature package—many picture animals such as sharks and geese and have colorful caps of their own—others don’t bother pretending to be legitimate. In 2005, Huy Fong customers on the East Coast began complaining that their sriracha tasted funny. After hiring private investigators, Tran discovered that the owner of a local electronics retailer had been selling Chinese-made counterfeit sriracha in bottles that were identical to Huy Fong’s. Eventually, Tran hired Rod Berman, an intellectual-property lawyer who had previously represented Citizen Watch Co., the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, and the owners of the rights to the Smurfs cartoon franchise. Berman says he now writes four to five infringement complaints for Huy Fong a year. “I’ve done lots of counterfeiting work in my time,” he says. “But this is the first time I’ve represented someone who makes such an inexpensive product. And the first time I’ve ever represented someone who makes something edible.”

The newest symbol of Huy Fong’s success is a 655,000-square-foot headquarters and factory in nearby Irwindale, one of the largest structures built in Los Angeles County in the past few years. While Tran and Huy Fong won’t speculate about how much more sriracha they’ll be able to produce there, they say it’ll be a lot more. “I always say I don’t want to get too big,” says Tran, after a walk around the new production floor. “But this is OK.” Huy Fong will move into its new building this spring. Visitors will still get to see that picture of two sriracha-loving astronauts floating in space.

Hannan is a Bloomberg Businessweek contributor.

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Celtra Wins IAB Digital Rising Stars Competition

CAMBRIDGE, MA–(Marketwire – Feb 25, 2013) – Celtra Inc., the industry leader for rich media mobile ad serving and analytics, today announced that the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has selected the company as a winner of the IAB Digital Video Rising Stars competition. The Agency Working Group evaluated more than six dozen entries to arrive at the five creative ad product concepts that will become the IAB’s first-ever Digital Video ad format standards. Now that winners have been announced, the IAB will form Working Groups in which the winning companies will collaborate with input from the Agency Working Group and the Ad Ops Working Group, to craft a final Style Guide and Technology Specifications for each of the five Digital Video Rising Stars.

Celtra has been chosen to participate in the IAB Digital Video Rising Stars Ad Control Bar Working Group with fellow digital video innovators to define, build and implement this Digital Video Rising Star. Key aspects of Celtra’s Interactive Video Pre Roll submission was voted among the top in the Ad Control Bar category, and its innovations will be incorporated into the final Style Guide and Tech Specifications for this Digital Video Rising Star.

Celtra’s winning ad concept brings a full range of reliable interactive ad capabilities to digital video. These features, that have been available and used with huge success in Celtra’s standard rich media ad formats, allow advertisers to leverage, among others, social media and location-based services and are expected to push engagement levels and effectiveness of rich media ads even higher within the video context.

“Celtra is honored to be named one of the Digital Video Rising Stars, and extremely happy to be able to contribute to the development of the innovative new mobile ad formats within the IAB Working Groups,” said Matevz Klanjsek, Chief Product Officer and Co-founder at Celtra. “We have always been a huge advocate of quality ads that offer slick end-user experience. The Celtra team is excited to be part of the group bringing a new, standardized ad product to market that will make mobile rich media ads more friendly and exciting for consumers, as well as help brands and agencies deliver more engaging and effective advertising experiences.”

“As a leading mobile partner to publishers and agencies, Celtra is well-placed to help extend the Rising Stars to connected devices,” said Peter Minnium, Head of Brand Initiatives, IAB. “The judges found that their submission to the Digital Video Rising Stars provided an elegant user experience, which is sure to make the IAB Ad Control Bar unit a success in the marketplace.”

About Celtra Inc.
Celtra Inc. is the global leader for rich media mobile ad serving and analytics. Celtra’s AdCreator 3 platform, which is used by world’s leading agencies, publishers and networks in more than 18 countries, is the only complete, SDK and ad server agnostic platform for rich media mobile advertising. Celtra’s unparalleled HTML5 ad products are designed to provide the best user experience, performance and reliability on distinctive mobile platforms with one single ad unit. For more information, visit Celtra at www.celtra.com or @CeltraMobile on Twitter.

Celtra is headquartered in Cambridge (MA), with offices in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, London (UK), and Ljubljana (SI).

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Johnson back on top with 2nd Daytona 500 victory

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Jimmie Johnson went two years without a title and suddenly became an afterthought at the Daytona 500.

All the attention went to Danica Patrick and a handful of other drivers.

Not that it mattered Sunday, because look who pulled into Victory Lane.

Five-time is back. Not that he ever went away.

Johnson won his second Daytona 500 on Sunday, a year after he completed just one lap in the race and three months after falling short in his bid for a sixth Sprint Cup title. That so-called drought had made him something of a no-name during Speedweeks.

"In my mind, I didn't feel like I was under the radar," he said. "I felt like we were working hard to put the best product on the track. I guess I was quiet in the overall spectrum of things from the media side. I think people in the garage, people knew we were sitting on a lot of speed and had a very good race car."

But in winning the biggest race of the year, the No. 48 team wasn't sending a message to the competitors.

"I don't think we went anywhere; anybody in the garage area, they're wise to all that," Johnson said.

Johnson's win came on the same day that Patrick, who became the first woman in history to start a Sprint Cup race from the pole, again made history as the first woman to lead laps in the Daytona 500.

She ran inside the top 10 almost the entire race, kept pace with the field and never panicked on the track.

Her only mistakes were on pit road, where she got beat on the race back to the track, and on the final lap, when she was running third but got snookered by the veterans and faded to eighth. That's going to stick with Patrick for some time.

"I would imagine pretty much anyone would be kicking themselves about what they coulda, shoulda have done to give themselves an opportunity to win," she said. "I think that's what I was feeling today, was uncertainty as to how I was going to accomplish that."

There were several multicar crashes, but no one was hurt and none of them approached the magnitude of the wreck that injured more than two dozen fans in the grandstand at the end of the second-tier Nationwide Series race on the same track a day earlier. Daytona International Speedway workers were up until 2 a.m repairing the fence that was damaged in the accident, and track officials offered Sunday morning to move any fans who felt uneasy sitting close to the track.

Several drivers said the accident and concern for the fans stuck with them overnight and into Sunday morning, and Johnson was quick to send his thoughts from Victory Lane.

"I just want to give a big shout-out to all the fans, and I also want to send my thoughts and prayers out to everybody that was injured in the grandstands," Johnson said.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose father was killed in this race 12 years ago, was involved in Saturday's accident but refocused and finished second to Johnson, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate.

"Me personally, I was just really waiting to get the news on how everybody was, how all the fans were overnight, just hoping that things were going to improve," Earnhardt said, adding that he "wasn't really ready to proceed until you had some confirmation that things were looking more positive."

The race itself, the debut for NASCAR's new Gen-6 car, was quite similar to all the other Cup races during Speedweeks in that the cars seemed to line up in a single-file parade along the top groove of the track. It made the 55th running of the Daytona 500 relatively uneventful.

When the race was on the line, Johnson took off.

The driver known as "Five-time" raced past defending NASCAR champion Brad Keselowski on the final restart and pulled out to a sizeable lead that nobody challenged over the final six laps.

Johnson and Keselowski went down to the wire last season in their race for the Sprint Cup title, with Johnson faltering in the final two races as Keselowski won his first Cup championship.

Although it was a bit of an upset that stuck with Johnson into the offseason, it gave him no extra motivation when he found himself racing with Keselowski late Sunday for the Daytona 500.

"As far as racing with Brad out there, you really lose sight of who is in what car," Johnson said. "It's just somebody between you and the trophy. It could have been anybody."

Once Johnson cleared Keselowski on the last restart he had a breakaway lead with Greg Biffle and Patrick behind him. But as the field closed in on the checkered flag, Earnhardt finally made his move, just too late and too far behind to get close enough to the lead.

Earnhardt wound up second for the third time in the last four years. But with all the crashes the Hendrick cars have endured in restrictor-plate races — teammate Kasey Kahne was in the first accident Sunday — team owner Rick Hendrick was just fine with the finish.

"We have a hard time finishing these races. Boy, to run 1-2, man, what a day," Hendrick said. Jeff Gordon, who was a contender early, faded late to 20th.

And Johnson considered himself lucky to be the one holding the trophy at the end.

"Man, it's like playing the lottery; everybody's got a ticket," he said. "I've struck out a lot at these tracks, left with torn-up race cars. Today we had a clean day."

Mark Martin was third in a Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota. Keselowski, who overcame two accidents earlier in the race, wound up fourth in Penske Racing's new Ford. Ryan Newman was fifth in a Chevy for Stewart-Haas Racing and was followed by Roush-Fenway Racing's Greg Biffle, who was second on the last lap but was shuffled back with Patrick to finish sixth.

Regan Smith was seventh for Phoenix Racing, while Patrick, Michael McDowell and JJ Yeley rounded out the top 10.

Patrick was clearly disappointed with her finish. When the race was on the line, she was schooled by Earnhardt, who made his last move and blocked any chance she had.

Still, Patrick became the first woman in history to lead laps in the 500 when she passed Michael Waltrip on a restart on Lap 90. She stayed on the point for two laps, then was shuffled back to third. She ended up leading five laps, another groundbreaking moment for Patrick, who as a rookie in 2005 became the first woman to lead the Indianapolis 500 and now is the 13th driver to lead laps in both the Daytona 500 and the Indy 500.

"Dale did a nice job and showed what happens when you plan it out, you drop back and get that momentum. You are able to go to the front," Patrick said. "I think he taught me something. I'm sure I'll watch the race and there will be other scenarios I see that can teach me, too."

Earnhardt was impressed, nonetheless.

"She's going to make a lot of history all year long. It's going to be a lot of fun to watch her progress," he said. "Every time I've seen her in a pretty hectic situation, she always really remained calm. She's got a great level head. She's a racer. She knows what's coming. She's smart about her decisions. She knew what to do today as far as track position and not taking risks. I enjoy racing with her."

Johnson, one of three heavyweight drivers who took their young daughters to meet Patrick — "the girl in the bright green car" — after she won the pole in qualifications, tipped his cap, too.

"I didn't think about it being Danica in the car," Johnson said. "It was just another car on the track that was fast. That's a credit to her and the job she's doing."

The field was weakened by an early nine-car accident that knocked out race favorite Kevin Harvick and sentimental favorite Tony Stewart.

Harvick had won two support races coming into the 500 to cement himself as the driver to beat, but the accident sent him home with a 42nd place finish.

Stewart, meanwhile, dropped to 0-for-15 in one of the few races the three-time NASCAR champion has never won.

"If I didn't tell you I was heartbroken and disappointed, I'd be lying to you," Stewart said.

That accident also took former winner Jamie McMurray, his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, and Kasey Kahne out of contention.

The next accident — involving nine cars — came 105 laps later and brought a thankful end to Speedweeks for Carl Edwards. He was caught in his fifth accident since testing last month, and this wreck collected six other Ford drivers.

The field suddenly had six Toyota drivers at the front as Joe Gibbs Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing drivers took control of the race. But JGR's day blew up — literally — when the team was running 1-2-3 with Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch setting the pace.

Kenseth, who led a race-high 86 laps, went to pit road first with an engine problem, and Busch was right behind him with a blown engine. Busch was already in street clothes watching as Hamlin led the field.

"It's a little devastating when you are running 1-2-3 like that," Busch said.

Hamlin's shot disappeared when he found himself in the wrong lane on the final restart. He tried to hook up with Keselowski to get them back to Johnson, but blamed former teammate Joey Logano for ruining the momentum of the bottom lane.

Hamlin offered a backhanded apology to Keselowski on Twitter, posting that he couldn't get close enough because "your genius teammate was too busy messing up the inside line 1 move at a time."

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Britain’s first Oscar-winning animator Bob Godfrey dies at 91

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s first Oscar-winning animator Bob Godfrey, whose work ranged from the children’s TV cartoon “Roobarb” to mock-erotic movies like “Kama Sutra Rides Again”, has died aged 91, his family told the BBC on Friday.

Godfrey, often referred to as “The Godfather of British Animation“, was born in Australia but educated in England and started his career as a graphic artist in London in the 1930s before gaining work in the film industry.

He was the first British animator to win an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for his 1975 musical comedy “Great”, about civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

Godfrey was nominated three other times for Oscars, including for his 1971 short film “Kama Sutra Rides Again”, one of his mock-erotic exploitation films that focused on the hypocrisy of British attitudes towards sex.

Filmmaker Stanley Kubrick so admired the film that he screened it alongside UK showings of “A Clockwork Orange”.

“Much of Godfrey’s work has been predicated on satirizing the foibles and minutiae of what it means to be ‘British’,” said his biography on the British Film Institute website.

For nearly 50 years Godfrey worked with some of animation’s biggest names including Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam, poking fun at orthodoxy and establishment thinking. He retired in 1999.

His work ran along two tracks – adult material and quirky children’s cartoons which he wanted to appeal to adults too.

He was known for his children’s cartoons “Roobarb”, about a warring cat and dog, and “Henry’s Cat”.

His death comes after the death on Sunday of veteran actor Richard Briers, aged 79, who narrated “Roobarb” and also the character of Brunel in Godfrey’s film “Great”.

Aardman Animations studio founder Peter Lord tweeted: “Dear old Bob Godfrey is no more. A great influence and inspiration to me and my generation of animators. Also a lovely bloke.”

In an interview with the Guardian in 2001, Godfrey said he had one professional regret.

“I’d love to have done a full-length feature but I can’t seem to stretch myself to that length,” he told the newspaper.

“When you look at my films, they appear to be a series of 30-second commercials cut together. I’m a short distance man whether I like it or not.”

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith; editing by Andrew Roche)

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Investors face another Washington deadline

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors face another Washington-imposed deadline on government spending cuts next week, but it's not generating the same level of fear as two months ago when the "fiscal cliff" loomed large.

Investors in sectors most likely to be affected by the cuts, like defense, seem untroubled that the budget talks could send stocks tumbling.

Talks on the U.S. budget crisis began again this week leading up to the March 1 deadline for the so-called sequestration when $85 billion in automatic federal spending cuts are scheduled to take effect.

"It's at this point a political hot button in Washington but a very low level investor concern," said Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The fight pits President Barack Obama and fellow Democrats against congressional Republicans.

Stocks rallied in early January after a compromise temporarily avoided the fiscal cliff, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index <.spx> has risen 6.3 percent since the start of the year.

But the benchmark index lost steam this week, posting its first week of losses since the start of the year. Minutes on Wednesday from the last Federal Reserve meeting, which suggested the central bank may slow or stop its stimulus policy sooner than expected, provided the catalyst.

National elections in Italy on Sunday and Monday could also add to investor concern. Most investors expect a government headed by Pier Luigi Bersani to win and continue with reforms to tackle Italy's debt problems. However, a resurgence by former leader Silvio Berlusconi has raised doubts.

"Europe has been in the last six months less of a topic for the stock market, but the problems haven't gone away. This may bring back investor attention to that," said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.

OPTIONS BULLS TARGET GAINS

The spending cuts, if they go ahead, could hit the defense industry particularly hard.

Yet in the options market, bulls were targeting gains in Lockheed Martin Corp , the Pentagon's biggest supplier.

Calls on the stock far outpaced puts, suggesting that many investors anticipate the stock to move higher. Overall options volume on the stock was 2.8 times the daily average with 17,000 calls and 3,360 puts traded, according to options analytics firm Trade Alert.

"The upside call buying in Lockheed solidifies the idea that option investors are not pricing in a lot of downside risk in most defense stocks from the likely impact of sequestration," said Jared Woodard, a founder of research and advisory firm condoroptions.com in Forest, Virginia.

The stock ended up 0.6 percent at $88.12 on Friday.

If lawmakers fail to reach an agreement on reducing the U.S. budget deficit in the next few days, a sequester would include significant cuts in defense spending. Companies such as General Dynamics Corp and Smith & Wesson Holding Corp could be affected.

General Dynamics Corp shares rose 1.2 percent to $67.32 and Smith & Wesson added 4.6 percent to $9.18 on Friday.

EYES ON GDP DATA, APPLE

The latest data on fourth-quarter U.S. gross domestic product is expected on Thursday, and some analysts predict an upward revision following trade data that showed America's deficit shrank in December to its narrowest in nearly three years.

U.S. GDP unexpectedly contracted in the fourth quarter, according to an earlier government estimate, but analysts said there was no reason for panic, given that consumer spending and business investment picked up.

Investors will be looking for any hints of changes in the Fed's policy of monetary easing when Fed Chairman Ben Bernake speaks before congressional committees on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Shares of Apple will be watched closely next week when the company's annual stockholders' meeting is held.

On Friday, a U.S. judge handed outspoken hedge fund manager David Einhorn a victory in his battle with the iPhone maker, blocking the company from moving forward with a shareholder vote on a controversial proposal to limit the company's ability to issue preferred stock.

(Additional reporting by Doris Frankel; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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Best Tax Tip? Readers Spill

A winter storm tore across the country this past week, but the vernal equinox is close at hand. That means crocuses and hyacinths should begin popping up soon, Easter Peeps and chocolate bunnies will begin lining store shelves (if they’re not there already), and baseball stats will begin crowding out basketball scores in the sports pages. The proximity to the spring season also means that tax day–April 15–will be here before you know it.

In anticipation of the upcoming tax-filing deadline, which is also your deadline for making IRA contributions, Morningstar.com will be featuring plenty of tips for managing your tax burden as part of our Tax Relief Week, starting Monday, Feb. 25. (Limiting your investment-related tax bills will be a particular focus.)

To kick things off, I asked Morningstar.com readers to share their best tax tips, and they were eager to comply, swapping tips on reducing taxes during retirement, managing tax-sheltered and taxable accounts, and good record-keeping. Poster ennnius wrote, “This is a great thread–I am learning much here.”

To read the complete conversation or share your own best tax tip, click here (http://socialize.morningstar.com/NewSocialize/forums/p/320977/3384789.aspx).

‘Essential to Our Long-Term Plans’
Several posters touted the virtues of tax-sheltered accounts.

BMWLover wrote, “For our retirement accounts I do my best to max out our contributions to our 401(k)s and Roths. The tax benefits of both are essential to our long term plans.”

Meanwhile, Dragonpat is partial to her traditional 401(k), with pretax dollar contributions. “Contribute the max to your 401(k),” she advised. “Until you max that out, I would not even bother with Roth contributions. It is the one big deduction I have that the alternative minimum tax allows me to have. The AMT has stripped me of my deductions for my children, state income tax (I live in a high tax state), and my property taxes.”

On the flip side, Retiredgary, like others who fret that taxes could go up, is a true believer in Roth vehicles, to which you make aftertax contributions in exchange for tax-free withdrawals in retirement. “Get everything into a Roth that you can,” this poster urged. “Things with regard to taxes are likely to get worse before they get better.”

Lengrav also likes Roths, but for a different reason. “While funding IRAs favor a Roth simply because you will probably save more! Most people that put $ 5,000 into a traditional IRA fail to save the tax savings this generates. But if you save $ 5,000 into a Roth you must pay the taxes currently. Therefore as time passes most people would see the same balance in either IRA. But those with a Roth have already paid the tax.”

For those inclined to convert traditional IRA balances to Roth, Dennis offered up the following nifty idea. “When you convert to a Roth IRA convert three to five times what you target as your conversion and put each multiple into a separate Roth account. When you file your income tax return in October under an extension, recharacterize back all but the best-performing Roth account. Two caveats: Make sure you are with an IRA sponsor that allows this. Recharacterize by mid-September. It can take the IRA sponsor a long time to process the recharacterization as this technique is popular.” (This article (http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=540741) includes more details on recharacterizations.)

‘Tax-Efficient Funds That Can Be Held Forever’
Posters also shared tips for limiting Uncle Sam’s cut of taxable accounts.

The always sagacious Taylor Larimore advised, “In taxable accounts, except for short-term goals, hold only tax-efficient funds that can be held ‘forever.’”

Tax-managed funds fit the bill for Chief K, who urged, “For investments outside of IRAs/401(k)s, hold tax-managed funds that are near-clones of index funds (for example, Vanguard Tax-Managed Small Cap (VTSIX) or Vanguard Tax-Managed International (VTMNX)).”

Harvesting losses, which can be used to offset up to $ 3,000 in ordinary income or an unlimited amount of capital gains, is on Dragonpat’s to-do list each year. “I harvest capital losses against gains in my taxable account in an effort to minimize my tax bill,” this poster wrote.

Retiredgary noted that careful selling of long-term holdings can keep taxes down or limit them altogether. “If you are in the 15% bracket and in a state that does not tax capital gains,” he advised, “consider taking gains up to the top of that bracket each year as they will be taxed at a rate of 0%.”

Although most of the comments focused on limiting one’s federal tax burden, artsdoc noted that it’s worth plugging into state tax laws, too, especially if you live in a high-tax state. “One tax tip that I would give everyone living in a high personal income tax state is to familiarize yourself with state tax laws. I had always paid attention to federal tax laws and planned accordingly. Only within the past couple of years have I paid more attention to the California tax laws and it was pretty eye-opening. And now that our state personal income tax increased an amazing 30% for top earners, it does make an even bigger difference in tax planning. It truly does change your fixed income calculation comparisons (tax-equivalent yield becomes an even more important tool) and even those qualified dividends from (federally) tax-efficient mutual funds can become more expensive than you once thought.”

On the importance of tax management in taxable accounts, BMWLover was a rare contrarian, writing, “I don’t worry much about the tax consequences of my investment decisions in my taxable accounts. The way I look at it, if I have to pay more in taxes it just means that I’ve made more money. The only times I will look at tax consequences are when I am selling a stock and I’m just about to hit the demarcation point between short term gain and long term. The other is if I am deciding between two investments and one has qualifying dividends and the other does not.”

‘You Can Be Free of the Feds’
Posters also shared valuable advice about carefully managing income sources in an effort to limit their tax bills in retirement; that type of tax management simply isn’t available to those who are earning a paycheck.

Dennis’ post illustrates why tax diversification–a topic I discussed in this article (http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=584823)–can be so valuable in retirement. “If you leave work well before 65, try to have significant retirement account balances and substantial taxable accounts. Living off the taxable accounts may result in low taxes if you have high basis in the securities. Create income to offset your deductions and to bring you up to your projected post 65 marginal tax rate by converting your retirement accounts to Roth accounts while you are in your first years of retirement living off the taxable accounts. Try to maximize your tax savings over your entire retirement period and not just for the current year. That maximization effort should take into account higher Medicare premiums based upon adjusted gross income and, if you are well off, Medicare taxes on your investment income.”

Frrries is also a believer in diversifying across multiple vehicles and carefully managing income sources on a year-by-year basis. “Set yourself up for an income tax free retirement,” this poster advised. “First, keep modified adjusted gross income below $ 25,000 and Social Security is tax free. Then build a taxable IRA account, a Roth IRA and a Health Savings Account. For example, a married couple might get about $ 30,000 in social security. Add $ 18,000 out of the taxable IRA, $ 18,000 out of the Roth and $ 12,000 out of the HSA. Total income is $ 78,000 per year 100% tax free in any state in the union (taking the standard deduction and two exemptions).”

Trial-running your planned income stream can help you manage your tax burden or even avoid taxes altogether, according to Darwinian. He walked readers through the process in this detailed post. “Take a blank 1040 form and work from the bottom up, on the second page. Enter any tax credits, and scan down your column in the tax table to find how much taxable income you can have that will be completely offset by this credit. Then, move up to the deductions and personal exemptions, and add these in. You will end up at the top of the page, with a zero-tax adjusted gross income. Next, turn back to the first page and fill in any taxable pensions and other income. If these are less than your zero-tax adjusted gross income, and if you have enough Roth/unsheltered assets to provide the remaining income you need, you can be free of the Feds, and will probably have only minimal state income tax. You only need to limit your IRA withdrawals for the coming year to the difference you just calculated. Be careful if you are taking Social Security income; the tax rate depends on how much other taxable income you decide to have, which makes it hard to figure. Do successive approximations on the SS worksheet, or call in a tax professional. And make sure you add any capital gains resulting from sales of assets for income.”

Chief K, meanwhile, noted that delaying Social Security has a tax silver lining, in addition to helping boost benefit size. “Deferring collecting Social Security means spending down ‘other cash’ instead of spending the benefits. In the meantime those benefits increase at 8% per year–without any taxes being due on the increase (plus inflation adjustments).”

TraderBob’s strategy won’t be for everyone, but could appeal to those with mobility in mind. “Buy an RV and set your residence in a state that does not tax Social Security or pension income and has otherwise low taxes (for example, South Dakota maybe).”

‘Behold With Amazement the Long List of Tax Benefits’
In addition to sharing tips for managing their income streams, posters also discussed how to make the most out of credits and deductions.

“Bunching” deductions–itemizing in some years and not others–has worked well for Texasboy, who wrote, “In entering retirement I had the pleasure of making my last mortgage payment. That basically left me with itemized deductions of property taxes and contributions. So we’ve begun alternating years of bunching the payments for two years allowing us to take the standard deduction the off year, thereby reducing taxable income for combined period. It may not be significant but [is] worth the effort, which is minimal.”

More deductions are available to small-business owners, noted Dennygal. “Start a small or very small business and put it in a limited liability corporation. Fill out your own Form 1065 and behold with amazement the long list of tax benefits available to small business owners–for example, deducting your Medicare insurance premiums as a business expense.”

Making charitable contributions carries multiple benefits in FidlStix’s book. “Channel as much into eligible nonprofits as you can afford,” he advised. “You’ll not only gain the satisfaction of helping out the causes you like, but you’ll enjoy a substantial tax deduction (assuming you’re not squirming under the alternative minimum tax burden).”

Dennis advised the following strategy for charitably minded seniors. “If you want to support charities while in retirement and have substantial taxable accounts, contribute as much as you can to a charitable gift fund before you retire, when your marginal tax rate may be at its highest. Then make your future gifts from the fund. This will keep your adjusted gross income under control and help avoid the higher Medicare premiums. The reduction of your income in retirement by pre-giving through the charitable gift fund and by converting to a Roth account may save your Social Security and Medicare if those benefits are ever means-tested.”

Posters also shared some intriguing outside-the-box ideas for limiting tax bills.

“Carry adequate insurance,” Chief K sensibly advised. “An accident or illness that requires you to raise large amounts of cash quickly can play havoc with any tax planning you’ve done.”

Meanwhile, Retiredgary urged other retirees to “go off the grid,” figuratively speaking. “Do things that increase your wealth but do not show up in the money economy such as growing a garden, painting your house yourself, working with friends to do repair and remodeling work on each other’s property, growing fruit trees, doing sewing or woodwork, and so on. The government has not yet figured out how to tax a freezer full of fruit and vegetables you grew or a deck chair you built. As a side benefit, many of these things are good hobbies and offer particularly retired people opportunities to get outside and stay physically active. It also makes a person fell a bit more competent and secure to have some of those basic skills.”

‘Don’t, I Repeat, Don’t Wait Until April to Start’
Posters differed in their attitudes toward doing their own returns or hiring a certified public accountant or other tax professional to handle their taxes.

In the “hire out” camp was EasyAsItGoes, who urged, “Hire a first-rate accountant to do your taxes. This is no time to go to the guy in the mall if your return is anything more than ‘simple.’ The really good CPAs know the tax code inside and out and they’ll play out a half dozen scenarios to find you the best return and give you advice about the coming year. See them midyear for a tune-up. My accountant says it every year, ‘Your job is to pay taxes . . . our job is to make sure you pay only what you should pay and not a penny more. ‘”

But Rule72 disagreed. “Learn how to do your own taxes!!! This is not rocket science,” this poster noted. “I agree it takes extra time and effort to do this yourself, but it really makes investing and estate-planning decisions a lot easier. You will know for yourself exactly the effects of various choices with traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, 401(k)s, and so on. Each subsequent year gets easier.

Within the do-it-yourself contingent, posters shared valuable tips for getting it done.

Bnorthrop wrote, “My top tip for self-preparers is to use tax software. It allows one to run different scenarios to minimize tax obligation. I do this throughout the year, not just at tax time. Trying this with paper forms would be an insane amount of work. I’ve also used the software to do ‘what-ifs’ to calculate state taxes in those states I may wish to relocate to in the future. And for those who avoid direct ownership of MLPs due to their K-1 instead of 1099, tax software allows importing K-1 data. Even manually entering the data is basically a paint-by-numbers exercise.”

Others emphasized the importance of starting your tax preparation season early–ideally before the tax year is through. The benefit? Having time to actually affect your return.

MBAFBA wrote, “In early December calculate an estimate of year-end income and an estimate of next year’s taxes. Then review investments to see if there are capital losses to be captured, capital gains to be considered, and any other opportunities to reduce taxes. In some years, like 2012, this will put you in a knowledgeable position to take advantage of new opportunities like the (late) extension of the charitable IRA rollover.”

Rule72 was emphatic about not procrastinating. “Don’t, I repeat, don’t wait until April to start!” This poster went on to make working on taxes sound downright appealing. “Start in January. Get a favorite beverage, some soothing music and spend two to three hours about once a week. You’ll be less stressed, smarter and richer for it. [I spent] my time during [last week's] snowstorm with a glass of wine, jazz, and double-checking my tax forms that I completed a week ago. Bottom line–put yourself in a position to take advantage of opportunities before it is too late.”

Several posters noted that, whether you’re doing your taxes yourself or outsourcing to an accountant, keeping good records is essential to a smooth tax season.

EasyAsItGoes wrote, “Your accountant (or tax software) is only as good as the information you give him/her/it. Start the year by keeping good records.”

Good record-keeping is also a must for Rule72, who shared, “The most difficult part of doing your taxes is finding and sorting all the necessary documents. Do this year-round; simply throw receipts into a folder or box as you get them.”

See More Articles by Christine Benz

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Daytona ready for race, willing to relocate fans

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Fans feeling unsafe after the horrific crash at Daytona International Speedway can change seats for NASCAR's biggest race.

Track President Joie Chitwood says workers successfully repaired a section of fence — 54 feet wide and 22 feet high — that was shredded Saturday when Kyle Larson's car went airborne on the final lap of a second-tier race and crashed through the barrier that separates cars from fans. Large pieces of debris, including a tire, sprayed into the upper and lower section of the stands.

The crash injured more than 30 people, raising more questions about fan safety at race tracks. NASCAR President Mike Helton said "most everybody" had been released from local hospitals, but there are a "few still being treated."

Chitwood says if any fans are uncomfortable with their up-close seating for Sunday's Daytona 500, officials will work to move them.

"If fans are unhappy with their seating location or if they have any incidents, we would relocate them," Chitwood said Sunday. "So we'll treat that area like we do every other area of the grandstand. If a fan is not comfortable where they're sitting, we make every accommodation we can."

Track workers finished repairs about 2 a.m. Sunday, having installed a new fence post, new metal meshing and part of the concrete wall.

Officials decided not to rebuild the collapsed cross-over gate, which allows fans to travel between the stands and the infield before races.

Daytona has a grandstand remodel planned. Chitwood said the injuries could prompt a redesign that might include sturdier fences or stands further away from the on-track action.

"It's tough to connect the two right now in terms of a potential redevelopment and what occurred," Chitwood said. "We were prepared yesterday, had emergency medical respond. As we learn from this, you bet: If there are things that we can incorporate into the future, whether it's the current property now or any other redevelopment, we will.

"The key is sitting down with NASCAR, finding out the things that happened and how we deal with them."

Daytona reexamined its fencing and ended up replacing the entire thing following Carl Edwards' scary crash at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama in 2009. Edwards' car sailed into the fence and spewed debris into the stands.

"We've made improvements since then," Chitwood said. "I think that's the key: that we learn from this and figure out what else we need to do."

NASCAR plans to take what remained of Larson's sheared car along with debris back to its research and development center in Charlotte, N.C., for testing.

"We'll bring in the best and brightest," said Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR's senior vice president for racing operations. "Anything we can learn will be put in place. ... Fans are our first priority. Obviously we want everybody to be safe at an event. We've talked to the speedway. We're confident in what's in place at today's event. Certainly still thinking about those affected, but we're confident to move forward for this race."

The 12-car crash began as the front-runners approached the checkered flag. Leader Regan Smith attempted to block Brad Keselowski for the win, triggering a pileup that could have been much worse.

Larson's burning engine wedged through a gaping hole in the fence. Parts and pieces of his car sprayed into the stands, including a tire that cleared the top of the fence and landed midway up the spectator section closest to the track.

The 20-year-old Larson stood in shock a few feet from his car as fans in the stands waved frantically for help. Smoke from the burning engine briefly clouded the area, and emergency vehicles descended on the scene.

Ambulance sirens could be heard wailing behind the grandstands at a time the race winner would typically be doing celebratory burnouts.

"It was freaky. When I looked to my right, the accident happened," Rick Harpster of Orange Park said. "I looked over and I saw a tire fly straight over the fence into the stands, but after that I didn't see anything else. That was the worst thing I have seen, seeing that tire fly into the stands. I knew it was going to be severe."

In 1987, Bobby Allison's car lifted off the track at Talladega while running over 200 mph, careening into the steel-cable fence and scattering debris into the crowd. That crash led to the use of horsepower-sapping restrictor plates at Talladega and its sister track in Daytona, NASCAR's fastest layouts.

As a result, the cars all run nearly the same speed, and the field is typically bunched tightly together — which plenty of drivers have warned is actually a more dangerous scenario than higher speeds.

"That's one of the things that really does scare you," Allison said Sunday. "But it's always a possibility because of the speeds, where they are."

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Analysis: Italian election explained

Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leader

Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leader

Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leader

Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leader

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Silvio Berlusconi is campaigning to win his old job back for the fourth time


• The eurozone's third largest economy is hurting, with unemployment surpassing 11%


• Pier Luigi Bersani of the center-left Democratic Party is expected to narrowly win


• Italy's political system encourages the forming of alliances

(CNN) -- Little more than a year after he resigned in disgrace as prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi is campaigning to win his old job back -- for the fourth time.

Berlusconi, the septuagenarian playboy billionaire nicknamed "Il Cavaliere," has been trailing in polls behind his center-left rival, Per Luigi Bersani.

But the controversial media tycoon's rise in the polls in recent weeks, combined with widespread public disillusionment and the quirks of Italy's complex electoral system, means that nothing about the race is a foregone conclusion.

Why have the elections been called now?

Italian parliamentarians are elected for five-year terms, with the current one due to end in April. However in December, Berlusconi's People of Freedom Party (PdL) withdrew its support from the reformist government led by Mario Monti, saying it was pursuing policies that "were too German-centric." Monti subsequently resigned and the parliament was dissolved.

Berlusconi -- the country's longest serving post-war leader -- had resigned the prime ministerial office himself amidst a parliamentary revolt in November 2011. He left at a time of personal and national crisis, as Italy grappled with sovereign debt problems and Berlusconi faced criminal charges of tax fraud, for which he was subsequently convicted. He remains free pending an appeal. He was also embroiled in a scandal involving a young nightclub dancer - which led him to be charged with paying for sex with an underage prostitute.

MORE: From Venice to bunga bunga: Italy in coma

He was replaced by Monti, a respected economist and former European Commissioner, who was invited by Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano to lead a cabinet of unelected technocrats. Monti's government implemented a program of tax rises and austerity measures in an attempt to resolve Italy's economic crisis.

Who are the candidates?

The election is a four-horse race between political coalitions led by Bersani, Berlusconi, Monti, and the anti-establishment movement led by ex-comedian Beppe Grillo. Polls are banned within two weeks of election day, but the most recent ones had Bersani holding onto a slender lead over Berlusconi, followed by Grillo in distant third.

READ MORE: Will Monte Paschi banking scandal throw open Italy's election race?

The center-left alliance is dominated by the Democratic Party, led by Bersani. He is a former Minister of Economic Development in Romano Prodi's government from 2006-8 -- and has held a comfortable lead in polls, but that appears to be gradually being eroded by Berlusconi.

Italy's political system encourages the forming of alliances, and the Democratic Party has teamed with the more left-wing Left Ecology Freedom party.

The 61-year-old Bersani comes across as "bluff and homespun, and that's part of his appeal -- or not, depending on your point of view," said political analyst James Walston, department chair of international relations at the American University of Rome.

He described Bersani, a former communist, as a "revised apparatchik," saying the reform-minded socialist was paradoxically "far more of a free marketeer than even people on the right."

Bersani has vowed to continue with Monti's austerity measures and reforms, albeit with some adjustments, if he wins.

At second place in the polls is the center-right alliance led by Berlusconi's PdL, in coalition with the right-wing, anti-immigration Northern League.

Berlusconi has given conflicting signals as to whether he is running for the premiership, indicating that he would seek the job if his coalition won, but contradicting that on other occasions.

In a recent speech, he proposed himself as Economy and Industry Minister, and the PdL Secretary Angelino Alfano as prime minister.

Roberto Maroni, leader of the Northern League, has said the possibility of Berlusconi becoming prime minister is explicitly ruled out by the electoral pact between the parties, but the former premier has repeatedly said he plays to win, and observers believe he is unlikely to pass up the chance to lead the country again if the opportunity presents itself.

Berlusconi has been campaigning as a Milan court weighs his appeal against a tax fraud conviction, for which he was sentenced to four years in jail last year. The verdict will be delivered after the elections; however, under the Italian legal system, he is entitled to a further appeal in a higher court. Because the case dates to July 2006, the statute of limitations will expire this year, meaning there is a good chance none of the defendants will serve any prison time.

He is also facing charges in the prostitution case (and that he tried to pull strings to get her out of jail when she was accused of theft) -- and in a third case stands accused of revealing confidential court information relating to an investigation into a bank scandal in 2005.

Despite all this, he retains strong political support from his base.

"Italy is a very forgiving society, it's partly to do with Roman Catholicism," said Walston. "There's sort of a 'live and let live' idea."

Monti, the country's 69-year-old technocrat prime minister, who had never been a politician before he was appointed to lead the government, has entered the fray to lead a centrist coalition committed to continuing his reforms. The alliance includes Monti's Civic Choice for Monti, the Christian Democrats and a smaller centre-right party, Future and Freedom for Italy.

As a "senator for life," Monti is guaranteed a seat in the senate and does not need to run for election himself, but he is hitting the hustings on behalf of his party.

In a climate of widespread public disillusionment with politics, comedian and blogger Beppe Grillo is also making gains by capturing the protest vote with his Five Star Movement. Grillo has railed against big business and the corruption of Italy's political establishment, and holds broadly euro-skeptical and pro-environmental positions.

How will the election be conducted?

Italy has a bicameral legislature and a voting system which even many Italians say they find confusing.

Voters will be electing 315 members of the Senate, and 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies. Both houses hold the same powers, although the Senate is referred to as the upper house.

Under the country's closed-list proportional representation system, each party submits ranked lists of its candidates, and is awarded seats according to the proportion of votes won -- provided it passes a minimum threshold of support.

Seats in the Chamber of Deputies are on a national basis, while seats in the senate are allocated on a regional one.

The party with the most votes are awarded a premium of bonus seats to give them a working majority.

The prime minister needs the support of both houses to govern.

Who is likely to be the next prime minister?

On current polling, Bersani's bloc looks the likely victor in the Chamber of Deputies. But even if he maintains his lead in polls, he could fall short of winning the Senate, because of the rules distributing seats in that house on a regional basis.

Crucial to victory in the Senate is winning the region of Lombardy, the industrial powerhouse of the north of Italy which generates a fifth of the country's wealth and is a traditional support base for Berlusconi. Often compared to the U.S. state of Ohio for the "kingmaker" role it plays in elections, Lombardy has more Senate seats than any other region.

If no bloc succeeds in controlling both houses, the horse-trading begins in search of a broader coalition.

Walston said that a coalition government between the blocs led by Bersani and Monti seemed "almost inevitable," barring something "peculiar" happening in the final stages of the election campaign.

Berlusconi, he predicted, would "get enough votes to cause trouble."

What are the main issues?

There's only really one issue on the agenda at this election.

The eurozone's third largest economy is hurting, with unemployment surpassing 11% -- and hitting 37% for young people.

Voters are weighing the question of whether to continue taking Monti's bitter medicine of higher taxation and austerity measures, while a contentious property tax is also proving a subject of vexed debate.

Walston said the dilemma facing Italians was deciding between "who's going to look after the country better, or who's going to look after my pocket better."

He said it appeared voters held far greater confidence in the ability of Monti and Bersani to fix the economy, while those swayed by appeals to their own finances may be more likely to support Berlusconi.

But he said it appeared that few undecided voters had any faith in Berlusconi's ability to follow through on his pledges, including a recent promise to reverse the property tax.

What are the ramifications of the election for Europe and the wider world?

Improving the fortunes of the world's eighth largest economy is in the interests of Europe, and in turn the global economy.

Italy's woes have alarmed foreign investors. However, financial commentator Nicholas Spiro, managing director of consultancy Spiro Sovereign Strategy, says the European Central Bank's bond-buying program has gone a long way to mitigating investors' concerns about the instability of Italian politics.

Why is political instability so endemic to Italy?

Italy has had more than 60 governments since World War II -- in large part as a by-product of a system designed to prevent the rise of another dictator.

Parties can be formed and make their way on to the political main stage with relative ease -- as witnessed by the rise of Grillo's Five Star Movement, the protest party which was formed in 2009 but in local and regional elections has even outshone Berlusoni's party at times.

Others point to enduringly strong regional identities as part of the recipe for the country's political fluidity.

READ MORE: Italian Elections 2013: Fame di sapere (hunger for knowledge)

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Pop singer Jermaine Jackson changes last name to Jacksun

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Pop singer Jermaine Jackson officially has changed his name to Jermaine Jacksun for “artistic reasons,” Los Angeles court officials said on Friday.

The Jackson 5 member and older brother of pop stars Michael and Janet Jackson filed a petition to change his name in Los Angeles Superior Court in November 2012. The change became official on Wednesday after a hearing, a court spokeswoman said.

The 58-year-old singer, who is on tour in Europe with his three surviving brothers, Jackie, Marlon and Tito, did not attend.

“If Prince and P Diddy can do it, why can’t and shouldn’t Jermaine?” Jacksun’s attorney, Bret D. Lewis, said when the petition originally was filed.

Jermaine Jackson unofficially adopted the name Mohammad Abdul Aziz after converting to Islam in 1989.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Paul Simao)

Music News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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