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The iPhone 4S costs, at minimum, $199 with a new two-year contract to customers wanting to purchase one ? more if you buy the phone without or with only a partial carrier subsidy when you?re not eligible for an upgrade.

But despite the high potential cost of the device, lots of customers wanted their iPhones so badly that they were willing to pay for the devices plus the cost of an early termination fee, potentially raising the price tag of the iPhone 4S much higher than $199. (It?s worth noting that there are also $299 and $399 models of the iPhone 4S available.)

According to a story from AllThingsD, a new survey conducted by a new consumer research group, Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, found that 45 percent of iPhone 4S buyers purchasing the phone between Oct. 31 and Nov. 10 had broken a cellular service contract to do it. Of those, 73 percent said their early termination fee for breaking that contract was more than $100. The maximum cost of an early termination fee from AT&T, Sprint or Verizon is $350.

At the least, that jacks the cost of the iPhone 4S up by $100, and that?s not counting the cost of the new contract those users signed when they purchased those iPhones. But that?s apparently the power of Apple?s latest device ? even without being more than an incremental update to the iPhone 4, with the same exterior design and an interior uptick in power, people are willing to shell out big for Apple?s smartphones.

CIRP surveyed 504 subjects who met its criteria as iPhone 4S buyers, out of an initial 4,632 people polled. The survey also found that about 30 percent of iPhone 4S purchasers were upgrading from the iPhone 4, which was only a little more than a year old at the time of the 4S? release. This means many of those customers were definitely paying more than $199 for the iPhone 4S because they weren?t eligible for an upgrade, unless they were leaving one cellular carrier for another.

In fact, the survey found that 37 percent of respondents did switch carriers to get hold of the iPhone 4S. And 71 percent upgraded from another iPhone, while 18 percent converted from another smartphone. The vast majority of iPhone 4S buyers surveyed, 75 percent, got their iPhone 4S through a carrier rather than by purchasing it through Apple, and 43 percent of buyers opted to buy online.

CIRP?s findings are pretty telling if they hold true for the majority of iPhone 4S buyers. They show that when it comes to new Apple devices, even those that aren?t expected to perform as well, customers are willing to do just about whatever it takes to get ahold of them.

One wonders just how crazily popular the iPhone 5 ? a full update to Apple?s handset ? will be next year.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/appolicious_rss/rss_appolicious_tc/http___www_appolicious_com_articles10345_lots_of_iphone_4s_buyers_paid_early_termination_fees_for_their_new_phones/43770613/SIG=13q25t256/*http%3A//www.appolicious.com/tech/articles/10345-lots-of-iphone-4s-buyers-paid-early-termination-fees-for-their-new-phones

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WASHINGTON ? The economy is picking up. If only job growth would follow.

A spate of data Thursday showed U.S. factories grew last month at the fastest pace since June, construction spending increased for a third straight month, and both retail sales and auto sales rose in November.

But the number of people applying for unemployment benefits is still too high to signal strong hiring.

The reports offered a mixed picture for the economy one day before the government reports on job growth in November. Economists project that employers added a net 125,000 jobs. That's not enough to lower the unemployment rate, which is projected to stay at 9 percent for the second straight month.

And manufacturers could face strains overseas in key export markets, especially if Europe's debt crisis worsens and leads the continent into another recession.

For now, factories are growing. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, said Thursday that its manufacturing index rose to 52.7 in November, up from 50.8 in October. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion. Factories have grown for 28 straight months.

Bradley Holcomb, chair of the ISM's survey committee, said manufacturers "are cautiously more optimistic about the next few months based on lower raw materials pricing and favorable levels of new orders."

Still, companies have tempered their outlook with concerns about future economic growth, government regulation and the debt crisis in Europe, he added.

New orders rose to a seven-month high and production increased, according to separate indexes in the report.

Ian Shepherdson, an economist at High Frequency Economics, said the gains suggest factory output will expand at an even faster pace next month.

"The economy seems finally to be developing real momentum; growth is accelerating," he said in a note to clients.

But a measure of factory employment fell. The drop indicates manufacturers are still hiring, but at a slower pace than the previous month.

"Manufacturers are trying to meet demand without significantly increasing their work force," said Ryan Wang, an economist at HSBC Securities.

Worker productivity rose in the July-September quarter by the most in 18 months, while labor costs fell, the government said Wednesday.

A more productive and less-costly work force can boost corporate profits. But unless companies see more demand, they're unlikely to step up hiring.

And manufacturers could soon see less demand overseas. Most economists expect Europe's financial crisis to tip that region into recession next year. About 20 percent of U.S. exports are shipped to Europe.

China, the world's second-largest economy, is also slowing. Manufacturing in China contracted in November for the first time in nearly three years, according to business surveys released Thursday.

Separately, the Labor Department said the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week rose above 400,000 for the first time in four weeks. The increase comes after applications had drifted lower over the past two months.

About 7 million people are still receiving benefits. House Republicans said they are drafting legislation to continue an extended benefits program set to expire at the end of this year. That program provides up to 99 weeks of aid in states with the highest unemployment rates.

Another report showed that U.S. builders spent more in October on new homes, offices and shopping centers. Construction spending rose for a third straight month, the Commerce Department said. Despite the gains, overall construction spending remained depressed.

The projected job growth in November would be an improvement from the previous month, when the economy added just 80,000 jobs.

Some economists are more optimistic after payroll provider ADP said Wednesday that companies added 206,000 workers last month, the most this year. That survey doesn't include government agencies, which have been cutting jobs.

Other economic indicators reinforce the outlook for an improving economy. Retailers reported a strong start to holiday sales over the Thanksgiving weekend, consumer confidence surged in November to the highest level since July, and Americans' pay rose in October by the most in seven months.

Those reports have caused many economists to forecast a pickup in growth in the final three months of the year, to about a 3 percent annual rate. That would be an improvement from growth of 2 percent in the July-September period.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111201/ap_on_bi_ge/us_economy

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ROME ? Premier Mario Monti briefed political leaders Saturday on his package of austerity and economic growth measures ahead of a critical week of Italian and European decision-making to confront the continent's debt crisis.

Politicians gave few details about the individual measures Monti outlined, but described them as "severe" but necessary since Italy had put off tough economic reforms for too long.

"Let's be clear: Doctors rarely prescribe medicine that tastes good," said Pierferdinando Casini, head of a small but influential Christian Democrat party. "Medicine is always bitter, but sometimes it's necessary to prevent the patient from dying."

Monti is under enormous pressure to reassure markets that he can push the package of reforms through Parliament to heal Italy's broken public finances: Italy's euro1.9 trillion ($2.5 trillion) in debt is 120 percent of its gross domestic product.

Unlike Greece, Portugal and Ireland, which got bailouts after their borrowing rates skyrocketed, the eurozone's third-largest economy is considered to be too big to be bailed out. An Italian default would be disastrous for the 17-member eurozone and reverberate throughout the global economy.

Monti was installed Nov. 26 after markets lost confidence that then-Premier Silvio Berlusconi ? battered by sex scandals, legal problems and defections from his party ? had the political wherewithal to push through the reforms needed to rein in the debt.

Monti hasn't disclosed details of his rescue plan, but he has said it includes both austerity cuts and measures to boost growth in Italy's anemic economy. He has promised it would be socially equitable, and that it would go after those who hadn't paid their share of taxes before.

Politicians, union and business leaders have said the package likely includes reinstating an unpopular home property tax abolished by Berlusconi, raising the sales tax and the income tax at the highest brackets by a few percentage points, and requiring Italians to work two or three years more than the 40 years now needed for eligibility to draw a pension.

The minimum retirement age of women in the private sector is expected to be raised from 60 to 62 or 63 starting next year, building on a Berlusconi government strategy.

Officials of Italy's powerful unions and some center-left parties have voiced concern over pension reforms. Berlusconi's party has opposed restoring the property tax and a rumored wealth tax.

Monti met with Angelino Alfano, secretary of Berlusconi's party, as well as Casini and other members of centrist parties Saturday. Later Saturday he meets with the center-left politicians, and on Sunday he briefs unions, business groups and consumer lobbies.

The consultations come ahead of a critical Cabinet meeting Monday during which the measures are to be approved. Monday afternoon he introduces them to Parliament, where the Senate has pledged to vote on them by Christmas.

At the same time, Monti is gearing up for the critical summit meeting this week of eurozone leaders aimed at saving the euro.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111203/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_italy_financial_crisis

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Philip Glass will occupy Lincoln Center.

At 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 1, Glass will appear as a part of a general assembly in the plaza and deliver a statement by mic-check. The assembly will engage in an "open conversation about the effects of increased privatization and corporatization of all aspects of society, and the use of nonviolent civil disobedience around the world to reclaim the commons," according to the Occupy Wall Street website.

Glass's opera "Satyagraha," which focuses on the story of Gandhi in his early years of non-violent protest in South America, is currently having a run at the Metropolitan Opera.

"The anti-war movements were empowered by Gandhi's history and our own," Glass wrote in a blog for The Huffington Post.

But for the Occupy organizers, the opera also underlines some of the ironies in performing such a piece at Lincoln Center, whose corporate sponsors include David Koch. Occupy protestors were supposed to march on Lincoln Center in mid-October, though only a few showed up on the night they were scheduled to protest.

"We see a glaring contradiction in ?Satyagraha? being performed at the Lincoln Center where in recent weeks protestors from Occupy Wall Street have been arrested and forcibly removed for exercising their First Amendment rights to peaceful public assembly," they wrote.

They go on to note that Bloomberg L.P. is one of Lincoln Center's major sponsors, calling out Mayor Bloomberg for his treatment of the Occupy movement.

"The juxtaposition is stark: while Bloomberg funds the representation of Gandhi's pioneering tactics of nonviolent civil disobedience in the Metropolitan Opera House, he simultaneously orders a paramilitary-style raid of the peaceful public occupation of Liberty Park, blacking out the media, while protestors are beaten, tear-gassed, and violently arrested," they wrote.

The Occupy movement does not yet have permission to protest on the Lincoln Center plaza, and some members have threatened to start a hunger strike if they do not receive permission, continuing the strike until they receive permission.

"In responding to the general frustration and sadness we feel, these "movements" have taken up once again these basic principles of activism and non-violence," Glass wrote of the Occupy movement. "We should be proud that the basic guarantees of free speech and assembly are at the core of our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Those who would deprive us of these "inalienable rights" are the real radicals."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/01/philip-glass-occupy-lincoln-center_n_1122974.html

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) ? The EU's antitrust chief said on Thursday he would meet Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt next week, adding he would not be discussing the regulator's investigation into the Internet search engine's business practices.

The European Commission opened an investigation in November 2010 after nine rivals accused Google of abusing its dominant position in the market for web search services. Google said it has done nothing wrong.

"This is not a meeting to discuss in detail the case being investigated by my services. Schmidt is coming for a conference and we are very keen to exchange views," EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told reporters.

Schmidt is scheduled to speak at a conference organized by the Commission on Monday December 5 at 1700 GMT.

The Commission is now assessing comments from rivals and customers on Google's business practices. It has levied billions of euros in fines on companies, among them Microsoft and Intel, for breaching EU antitrust rules.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by David Hulmes)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/internet/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111201/wr_nm/us_eu_google

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