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An increasingly likely playoff berth and fan interest in hockey after the Vancouver Olympics could be accounting for the increase in attendance at Phoenix Coyotes games.

The Coyotes, which have won two straight games, drew a crowd of just under 15,000 on Saturday against the Anaheim Ducks and 12,400 on Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche. The Coyotes average a National Hockey League attendance low of 11,200 fans per game.

The team is in fourth place in the NHL's Western Conference. The top eight teams make the playoffs, and the Coyotes are getting close to assuring themselves a spot. The team has not made the playoffs since 2002.

Strong performance on the ice and fan interest in hockey during the Olympics could help bolster the Coyotes. The team could have moved to Canada in the offseason while they were in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Coyotes even are promoting Stanley Cup playoff ticket deals to season ticket holders.

The 15,000-fan draw for the Coyotes also comes on a night when they were competing directly with the Phoenix Suns and Cactus League baseball for fans. The Suns drew 18,200 for their win over the Indiana Pacers.

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President Obama was stumping once again Tuesday for his plan to reimburse homeowners who invest in energy efficiency and create jobs.

But the president’s plan offered less money than had been previously hoped.

‘It’s going to be politically difficult to get this done," Obama said at a speech at Savannah Technical College in Georgia. "But it’s the right thing to do."

The plan, officially known as Home Star, would give rebates of 50% up to $3,000 for energy saving purchases like new appliances, furnaces, or insulation.

Consumers would get the rebate from a store, contractor, or utility.

It would also offer a larger rebate for homeowners who performed a more comprehensive energy audit of their home. Under that plan, homeowners could be reimbursed for up to half the cost of hiring contractors to do things like add insulation, swap out old appliances, and caulk leaky windows and doors.

Rebates depend on a home’s energy savings. Cut energy use by 20% and homeowners could get back half the money they shell out, up to $3,000. Homeowners who cut more than that might get up to $8,000, depending on how much they cut, according to people familiar with the plan.

A typical home energy audit and retrofit costs $5,000 to $8,000, and generally shaves 20%-40% off the monthly energy bills.

Unlike the Energy Department’s Weatherization program, which is targeted to low-income people and has been criticized for taking too long to get going, this plan would be available to everyone.

The $8,000 rebate is less than the $12,000 proponents originally wanted, and the $6 billion proposed for the program is less than the $10 billion originally hoped for creditreport.

Nonetheless, environmentalists praised the idea.

"Even the most basic upgrade puts money in our pockets, puts Americans back to work and puts energy waste on the run," Lane Burt, manager of Building Energy Policy at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a statement. "It’s a triple play on a more efficient future."

The program, dubbed "cash for caulkers" by some, has been touted by the president for months. It even won a mention in his State of the Union Address.

But whether it becomes reality is far from certain.

Congressional Democrats are also behind the idea and have said it is a part of their larger job creation strategy. But it was not included in a recent jobs bill, which focused more on extending current tax breaks rather than enacting new programs.

And it faces likely opposition from lawmakers concerned about rising government spending.

"Democratic leaders in Congress will still need to test the level of support for ‘cash for caulker’ programs relative to other jobs priorities," Whitney Stanco, an energy policy analyst at the brokerage firm Concept Capital, said in an e-mail.

The plan could appear in another jobs bill, or in separate energy legislation expected later this year.  

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Australian manufacturing expanded at the fastest pace in more than two years, adding to evidence of economic rebound that may prompt the central bank to boost borrowing costs tomorrow for the fourth time in five meetings.

The performance of manufacturing index rose to 53.8 points in February from 51.0 in January, according to an Australian Industry Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers survey released in Canberra today.

A reading above 50 signals manufacturing is expanding and gives central bank Governor Glenn Stevens more scope to increase the benchmark lending rate tomorrow by a quarter percentage point to 4 percent, as forecast by 14 of 19 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Australia’s economy probably grew the most in 1 1/2 years in the fourth quarter, a separate analysts’ survey ahead of a report on March 3 shows.

“While there is a lot of ground lost over the past two years still to be recovered, overall, conditions do appear to be improving,” AIG Group Chief Executive Officer Heather Ridout said payday loans. “The combination of rising new orders and production augers well for the industry in coming months.”

The manufacturing survey, which is similar to the U.S. ISM index, asked more than 200 companies about production, new orders, deliveries, inventories and employment.

A gauge of production rose 4.2 points to 55.7, the sixth increase in seven months, today’s report shows. Growth was strongest among manufacturers of textiles and paper, as well as publishing companies. An index of orders was little changed at 56 in February.

Today’s survey also shows that companies related to consumer spending have weakened.

“The impact of the strong Australian dollar and higher interest rates are posing formidable headwinds to growth while high interest rates are also dampening demand,” Ridout said.

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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke sought to defuse congressional efforts to audit monetary policy by backing the release of more information on emergency aid to investment banks and corporations.

The Fed will support legislation to let government auditors probe six temporary programs created to combat the financial crisis such as the Primary Dealer Credit Facility, Bernanke said yesterday in House testimony. While he would support the delayed release of names of firms getting aid from those programs, he said banks borrowing through the longstanding discount window must be allowed to remain anonymous.

Bernanke’s move toward greater openness may not dissuade lawmakers who want the Fed to disclose more information about the Fed’s lending and policy decisions. Lawmakers are responding to public anger over the Fed’s role in the $182.3 billion bailout of American International Group Inc.

“You’ve certainly seen changes for more transparency in the past 18 months,” said Representative Scott Garrett, a New Jersey Republican. “But I still support the legislation and I think the majority of the House still does as well.”

Representative Ron Paul won House passage in December of broader audits than Bernanke advocates. House members “signed on to the bill because there has been a public outcry, and this has given them a chance to express themselves and identify with that position,” Paul said in an interview yesterday.

Bernanke yesterday offered “full transparency” on the emergency programs, including revealing the names of borrowers.

Lehman Collapse

Most of the programs were created in response to the Bear Stearns Cos. near-collapse and the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and were closed by the Fed as of Feb. 1 because of improvements in financial markets. They include facilities backing investment banks, companies issuing commercial paper and money-market mutual funds. Loans outstanding under the programs peaked at a combined $930.1 billion and stood at $50.1 billion as of last week.

The Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, designed to spur consumer and business lending, closes June 30.

“He is definitely trying to defuse the Ron Paul issue,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Chicago-based Mesirow Financial Inc., which oversees $37.4 billion in assets. “The best he can do at the moment is to play more offense than defense.”

The openness can’t apply to the Fed’s discount window, used by banks facing temporary shortages of cash, Bernanke said.

Role in Panics

Borrowers would be reluctant to use the window if they knew their names would become known, and that would “intensify the crisis or panic, and therefore the whole purpose of the discount window to try to eliminate financial panics would be severely damaged,” Bernanke said during the hearing under questioning from Representative Michele Bachmann, a Minnesota Republican.

The proposed law to allow audits of interest-rate decisions could have “bad effects on markets” because it could create the perception that the central bank is subject to political pressure, Bernanke said make quick cash.

Telling the public more about the operations of the central bank was one of the goals Bernanke listed for his second term when he was sworn in on Feb. 3. He pledged to “ensure maximum transparency” without compromising the “ability to conduct policy in the public interest.”

The Senate confirmed Bernanke for a second four-year term by a 70-30 vote last month, the most opposition in history for a Fed chief. Today Bernanke, 56, appears before the Senate Banking Committee to deliver his monetary policy report.

Senate Opposition

Opposition in the Senate to Paul’s audit measure was likely to doom the populist cause after it passed in the House Dec. 11, Gregory R. Valliere, a chief strategist at Potomac Research Group in Washington, said earlier this month.

“I still think the large majority will stick with me,” Paul said yesterday.

Vermont Independent Bernard Sanders, the measure’s main backer in the Senate, has 32 co-sponsors for a version of Paul’s audit provision, short of the 60 votes it will probably need to overcome procedural hurdles.

Bernanke “indicated the need for more transparency than before and a willingness to work with Congress,” Alabama Representative Spencer Bachus, the senior Republican on the House panel, said in an interview. “I really want to sit down with him.”

Bernanke’s comments were part of testimony in which the Fed chief said the U.S. economy is in a “nascent” recovery that still requires low interest rates to encourage demand by consumers and businesses once federal stimulus expires.

Low Inflation

Bernanke said slack labor markets and low inflation will allow the Federal Open Market Committee to keep the benchmark lending rate, which has been in a range of zero to 0.25 percent for more than a year, low “for an extended period.” He said the Fed will need to start tightening policy “at some point.”

The central bank hasn’t dropped its opposition to revealing data on borrowers through the Freedom of Information Act, which requires federal agencies to respond to public requests for government documents within 20 days. Fed spokeswoman Barbara Hagenbaugh declined to comment.

The Fed is appealing a U.S. district judge’s August 2009 order compelling it to release names of banks that took emergency loans during the 2007-2008 financial crisis. The suit was brought under the FOIA by New York-based Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.

“Chairman Bernanke’s testimony is consistent with our position in the litigation,” said Paul Saltzman, general counsel for The Clearing House Association LLP, a trade group for the largest U.S. banks that joined the Fed in fighting Bloomberg’s lawsuit.

Banks have counted on confidentiality when borrowing from the Fed — and if those rules are to change, “we believe that Congress, working with the Fed, is best situated to address disclosure issues,” Saltzman said.

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Ever thought of the possibility that you could live to be 100?

Maybe you don’t want to hit the century mark, but more of us will, which means that we have to start today to ensure that we have enough money to sustain us in that long retirement.

Unfortunately, most people have no idea how much money it really takes to live a decent retirement.

"If a person retires at age 60, living to 100 means that they could very well be retired longer than they ever worked," said Bryan Clintsman, a certified financial planner at Clintsman Financial Planning in Southlake, Texas.

That scenario is closer than you think.

U.S. life expectancy reached nearly 78 years in 2007, the latest year for which information is available, and has been increasing each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"More than half of babies born in rich nations today will live to 100 years if current life expectancy trends continue," experts at the Danish Aging Research Center at the University of Southern Denmark wrote in October in The Lancet medical journal. "And we are not only living longer than before, but those extra years are spent with less disability and fewer limitations on daily life."

That means we’ll need more money to enjoy those years. The challenge is getting people to understand the importance of planning for longevity, say experts.

"Life expectancy now is close to 80, yet less than 20 percent of the American population in their 50s has even tried to design a retirement plan," said Olivia Mitchell, professor of insurance and risk management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

Some people think they’re more prepared for retirement than they actually are, she said. "Far too often people think, ‘I’m rich, I have $50,000 or $100,000 in my 401(k),’ not realizing that if they were really to spread it out in such a way that they wouldn’t run out of money, then they’d have to be very, very cautious," she said.

One of the biggest land mines in retirement is health care, particularly long-term care, Clintsman said.

"With the cost of long-term care approaching $100,000 per year, few retirees’ portfolios can withstand the hit of several years in such a care facility," he said.

"One of the saddest things I see is a married couple who enters retirement at age 65, then one of them comes down with something really cruel like Alzheimer’s, spends the next five years in a facility draining their retirement assets, then dies, leaving the surviving spouse to live on almost nothing for the rest of their retirement."

For that reason, Clintsman recommends long-term care insurance.

Thomas Murphy, a certified financial planner at TEMAA Financial in Dallas, said you should "plan under the assumption that you’re going to need additional custodial care at a certain age, figure out what the cost is going to be, put aside that amount of money for that purpose or buy an insurance policy."

The way to keep from panicking is to start now in figuring out what your financial needs will be. "The first step is to get a current assessment of what your retirement expenses will be and what resources you have to cover them," said Jimmy Perryman, certified financial planner at Perryman Financial Advisory Inc. in Dallas.

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Manufacturing in the Philadelphia region expanded in February for a sixth straight month as orders surged to the highest level in more than five years, another sign that factories are leading the economic recovery.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic index rose to 17.6 from 15.2. Readings greater than zero signal growth. Measures of employment and shipments accelerated, and inventories expanded for the first time since September 2007.

Surging exports, inventory replenishment and corporate spending on new equipment are fueling a factory-led recovery from the worst recession in seven decades. The manufacturing expansion may spur the labor market recovery needed to boost consumer spending and keep the economy expanding.

“The inventory cycle will continue to add to production levels well into 2010,” said Robert Stein, a senior economist at First Trust Portfolios LP in Wheaton, Illinois. “Manufacturing is doing well pretty much across the board.”

A separate report from the Conference Board today showed the index of U.S. leading indicators rose in January for a 10th straight month, pointing to an economy that will keep expanding through the first half of this year.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index increased 0.2 percent to 1,101.53 at 11:11 a.m. in New York. The 10-year Treasury note fell, pushing up the yield five basis points to 3.78 percent.

Other reports from the government showed jobless claims rose by 31,000 to 473,000 last week, while wholesale prices increased 1.4 percent in January after a 0.4 percent gain in December.

Economists’ Forecasts

Economists forecast the Philadelphia Fed’s factory gauge would rise to 17, according to the median of 58 projections in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from zero to 23.

The Philadelphia Fed’s employment index rose to 7.4, the highest level since October 2007, from 6.1 the prior month.

The new orders measure rose to 22.7 from 3.2, and shipments climbed to 19.7 from 11.

The index of prices paid fell to 32.4 from 33.2 in January. Prices received increased to 3.7 from 2.7.

The gauge of expectations for the next six months decreased to 35.8 from 43.3 while remaining positive for a 14th straight month.

The overall index number isn’t composed of the individual measures, so some economists consider it a gauge of sentiment among manufacturers.

Two days ago, figures from the New York Fed showed business activity in that region expanded in February at the fastest pace in four months.

Industrial Production

Another Fed report yesterday showed industrial production nationwide rose in January for a seventh straight month. The plant-use rate increased to 72.6 percent, the highest level in more than a year.

The U.S. economy is forecast to grow 3 percent this year, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg in the first week of February. That follows a 2.4 percent contraction last year as the economy sank into its worst recession in seven decades.

Manufacturers, particularly of exported goods, are seeing a pickup in demand, fueled in part by a 10.7 percent rate of economic growth in China in the fourth quarter.

Latrobe, Pennsylvania-based Kennametal Inc., a maker and distributor of mining, metal-working and energy tools, last month reported an 8 percent increase in fiscal second quarter sales from the prior quarter as the world economy recovers.

“We are continuing to see signs of a slow, but steady global economic recovery,” Chief Executive Officer Carlos Cardoso said on a conference call Jan. 28. “Industrial production activity is higher in most geographical regions, with emerging markets leading the way and mature markets beginning to recover.”

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Japan’s economy grew faster than economists anticipated last quarter, reducing the risk of falling back into a recession even as deflation intensifies.

Gross domestic product rose at an annual 4.6 percent pace in the three months ended Dec. 31, the Cabinet Office said in Tokyo today, more than the 3.5 percent median estimate of economists surveyed. The GDP deflator, the broadest measure of prices in the economy, fell a record 3 percent.

Exports led the expansion, aided by a global recovery that prompted manufacturers from Panasonic Corp. to Nissan Motor Co. to raise their profit forecasts this month. An increase in consumer spending may not last as government stimulus measures fade and households expect prices to keep falling along with their wages, said economist Hiroshi Miyazaki.

“The benefits from the global recovery are spilling over,” said Miyazaki, chief economist at Shinkin Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. “The economy will keep recovering even if the government does little to fight deflation, but the risks are heightening that growth ahead will be slow.”

The yen traded at 90.15 per dollar at 3:20 p.m. in Tokyo from 90.03 before the report. The currency has gained 5 percent in the past six months, eroding exporters’ earnings. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.8 percent, extending this year’s losses to 5.1 percent.

The world’s second-largest economy expanded 1.1 percent from the previous quarter, today’s report showed, more than the 0.9 percent median estimate of economists surveyed.

Revised to Zero

Third-quarter GDP was revised to zero from an annualized 1.3 percent growth, reflecting a change in how the Cabinet Office calculates exports and imports on a seasonally adjusted basis to account for the global trade collapse in 2008.

Overseas shipments increased 5 percent from the previous three months, the report said. Net exports, or shipments minus imports, added 0.5 percentage point to growth.

“Risks for a double-dip recession are receding,” Finance Minister Naoto Kan told reporters in Tokyo today. “We’re starting to see some bright signs emerge from the clouds, but we can’t be complacent.”

The GDP deflator’s year-on-year decline was the biggest since records began in 1955. Without adjusting for price changes, Japan grew an annualized 0.9 percent from the previous quarter.

The Bank of Japan, amid pressure from politicians, stepped up its fight against deflation in December, saying it “does not tolerate” price declines. Governor Masaaki Shirakawa and his colleagues, who will decide policy on Feb. 17-18, will keep the benchmark interest rate at 0.1 percent for all of 2010, according to all 17 economists surveyed by Bloomberg last month.

‘More Pressure’

“It’s likely that the Finance Ministry will put more pressure on the BOJ to implement more accommodative policies, highlighting today’s figures that point to deflation,” said Miyazaki at Shinkin Asset business cards. “That pressure is likely to run the BOJ into a corner.”

Compounding the woes from deflation, in the past month Standard and Poor’s has warned that the nation’s debt rating may be cut and Toyota Motor Corp., the country’s biggest automaker, has recalled 8 million vehicles because of accelerator and brake problems.

Kan said yesterday that the government will next month begin debating whether to overhaul the sales tax amid concerns about the widening deficit.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said today that the government must do its utmost to avoid another recession. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, whose Democratic Party of Japan faces an upper-house election in July, received parliament’s approval for a 7.2 trillion yen ($80 billion) stimulus package last month.

Spearheading Revival

Asia spearheaded the export revival, led by China, Japan’s biggest overseas customer, which grew the most since 2007. U.S. demand is also improving after the nation’s GDP expanded the most in six years last quarter. Still, a report last week showed Europe’s economy almost stalled in the period, underscoring the frailty of the world recovery.

Panasonic, the world’s largest maker of plasma televisions, raised its operating profit forecast by 25 percent this month. Flat-panel TV sales rose 48 percent from a year earlier, driven by purchases in regions including China and South America.

Nissan Motor predicted a return to profit this fiscal year, scrapping an earlier loss estimate, citing government incentives that boosted demand for vehicles in China and Japan. The country’s third-largest carmaker expects net income of 35 billion yen in the year ending March 31, compared with an earlier forecast of a 40 billion yen loss.

A separate report today showed industrial production growth in December was revised to 1.9 percent from 2.2 percent.

Consumer Spending

Spending by consumers, which accounts for more than half of the economy, rose 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter, today’s report showed. Business investment climbed 1 percent, the first positive reading in seven quarters.

The gain in capital spending “signals a turning point in the economy toward a sustainable recovery,” said Kyohei Morita, chief economist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo.

Even as exports improve, Japan’s expansion may lose momentum as the effects of stimulus spending at home fade.

“Consumption has been sluggish if you exclude purchases of autos and flat-panel televisions, which have received a direct boost from government stimulus,” said Ryutaro Kono, chief economist at BNP Paribas in Tokyo. “Many households perceive income declines since late 2008 not just as a result of the economy’s growth cycle but as permanent declines.”

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Novelis Inc. is relocating its North American headquarters from Cleveland to Atlanta, bringing 80 jobs to the city.

The company announced the move late Thursday.

Novelis, an aluminum products giant that has been a major supplier of bottlers of The Coca-Cola Co., said it will consolidate its North American headquarters with its existing world headquarters.

The consolidation, combined with other hires, will bring Novelis’ Atlanta staff to about 220 by the end of 2010.

The company's world headquarters is housed in Buckhead's Lenox Building.

Recently, however, company executives have been touring other Buckhead buildings where they might consolidate and expand, including Two Alliance Center and Phipps Tower. Two Alliance appears to be the frontrunner, and Novelis could be in the market to lease about 100,000 square feet.

"North America is one of our biggest markets, and it just makes good business sense to consolidate these operations at our Atlanta-based corporate headquarters," Philip Martens, president and chief operating officer of Novelis, said in a statement.

Novelis is a $10.2 billion company focused on aluminum products and aluminum can recycling. It has about 12,000 employees in 11 countries.

Novelis selected Atlanta as its world headquarters in 2005 when it was spun off from Canadian aluminum producer Alcan payday loans.

The move is the latest in a series of steps taken during the past year to streamline the company.

“Novelis’ consolidation of North American operations at its Atlanta headquarters provides additional evidence that multi-national corporations thrive in our city,” said Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. “Atlanta is a global center of international commerce with a vibrant corporate community. I am delighted to welcome the North American headquarters staff of Novelis to our great city.”

The Atlanta Development Authority and the Metro Atlanta Chamber also helped in the relocation.

Rob Metcalf of Jones Lang LaSalle represented Novelis in its real estate transaction.

“We’re delighted that we could help entice Novelis to expand its Atlanta headquarters. We look forward to a long-term relationship with the company as it continues to grow,” said Gregg Simon, manager of business engagement for ADA. ”Novelis is a wonderful corporate citizen, and its decision highlights the positive business climate offered in the city of Atlanta.”

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Within the next month, a subsidiary of the Erie County Industrial Development Agency is expected to award a new round of loans aimed at aiding minority-run businesses.

David Kerchoff, ECIDA assistant treasurer, said 89 applications were received for this year's $500,000 loan pool, under the minority entrepreneur program. From that, 57 made it to the second round of reviews. A third round whittled the list to 32 potential loan applicants.

From that pool, 10 businesses will likely be selected, Kerchoff said. Loans amounts will vary, according to the company's business plan and needs.

Kerchoff said he expects this year's awards to be named by mid-March.

The loans are run through the IDA's Buffalo and Erie County Regional Development Corp. affiliate. Nine of the 10 businesses that received assistance in the initial 2008 round remain in business. The only failure was the much-publicized One Sunset restaurant on Delaware Avenue, which received a $50,000 loan.

Kerchoff said the IDA remains hopeful it may, someday, see that loan repaid.

"Do we collect it?" Kerchoff said. "It's hard to say at this point."

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Pfizer Inc., fresh from buying fellow drugmaker Wyeth and already deep into integrating its operations, posted on Wednesday a 34 percent jump in revenue, but about $3.2 billion in acquisition charges and higher costs across the board weighed down profits.

The maker of Viagra and cholesterol fighter Lipitor, which paid $68 billion to get Wyeth’s vaccines, biologic drugs and consumer health staples such as Centrum vitamins and pain relievers Advil and Anacin, already has slashed about 4,200 jobs and cut other costs.

New York-based Pfizer said its revenue in the fourth quarter totaled $16.54 billion, half a billion above what analysts were expecting as the recession continues to reduce sales of even prescription medicines. Wyeth products contributed $3.3 billion of those sales. Excluding that boost, revenue was up about 7 percent from the $12.35 billion Pfizer reported in the fourth quarter of 2008, but Pfizer noted that favorable exchange rates boosted total revenue by 4 percent.

Net income amounted to $767 million, nearly triple the $266 million the world’s biggest drugmaker earned a year ago, when results were hurt by a whopping $2.3 billion charge to settle federal charges that Pfizer improperly marketed some of its drugs. That profit is equal to earnings per share of 10 cents, or 49 cents after excluding the acquisition charges and other one-time items.

Analysts were expecting 50 cents a share. The per-share results were reduced somewhat because Pfizer issued new shares to help fund the Wyeth purchase, increasing outstanding shares by about 16 percent.

Pfizer did not provide directly comparable figures on revenue, profit and costs for the 2009 and 2008 periods. The company forecast 2010 revenue of $67 billion to $69 billion.

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