UPDATE 2-Baseball-MLB, players agree to expand drug testing

* HGH and testosterone testing to be used this season
* WADA-accredited lab hails toughness of new MLB testing (Adds USADA comment in paras 5-7)
Jan 10 (Reuters) - Major League Baseball and the players' union have agreed to expand their drug program to include random in-season blood testing for human growth hormone and a new test for testosterone, they said on Thursday.
The advanced testing will start this season, in what will be the sternest doping program in major North American professional sports.
"This agreement addresses critical drug issues and symbolizes Major League Baseball's continued vigilance against synthetic human growth hormone, testosterone and other performance-enhancing substances," MLB commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement.
The new steps moved baseball well ahead of the National Football League (NFL), which does not test for HGH or have a similar test for testosterone.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) challenged the NFL Players' Association (NFLPA) to follow suit in agreeing to such tests.
"This is a strong statement by the players and the league not only confirming the scientific validity of the HGH blood test and the benefit of longitudinal testing, but also the importance of clean athletes' rights and the integrity of the game," USADA said in a statement.
"This agreement, following the recent Congressional hearings on testing in the NFL, leaves no reason for the NFLPA not to step up and implement the same to give its players an equal level of protection and confidence that they deserve a level, drug-free playing field in the NFL."
Michael Weiner, executive director of the MLB Players' Association, said Major League players supported the expanded program.
"Players want a program that is tough, scientifically accurate, backed by the latest proven scientific methods, and fair," said Weiner in a statement.
"I believe these changes firmly support the players' desires while protecting their legal rights."
The announcement came one day after the players' union criticised results of the balloting for the Baseball Hall of Fame, in which no one received enough votes for enshrinement in what appeared to be a referendum on widespread doping during what has become known as the game's 'Steroids Era'.
All-time home run king Barry Bonds and seven-time Cy Young winning pitcher Roger Clemens, have playing records that would have ordinarily made them certain Hall of Famers.
But both players have been linked to performance enhancing drugs and punished by voters, receiving about half the ballots required for election.
Major League Baseball, striving to remove the stain of doping, was the first major sport in the United States to test for HGH in an agreement with the union in November 2011.
MLB has been conducting random blood testing for the detection of HGH among minor league players since July 2010 and had previously been testing major leaguers during spring training and off-season.
To detect testosterone use, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited Montreal laboratory will establish a program in which a player's baseline testosterone/epitestosterone (T/E) ratio and other data will be maintained in order to enhance its ability to detect use of the drug and other banned substances.
Christiane Ayotte, the Director of the Montreal Laboratory, praised the steps baseball has taken.
"The addition of random blood testing and a longitudinal profiling program makes baseball's program second to none in detecting and deterring the use of synthetic HGH and testosterone," she said in a statement.
Doping in baseball has not disappeared.
In the last year, Melky Cabrera of the San Francisco Giants, who was leading the league in batting average, and Oakland A's pitcher Bartolo Colon tested positive for testosterone and were suspended.
"I am proud that our system allows us to adapt to the many evolving issues associated with the science and technology of drug testing," Selig said. "We will continue to do everything we can to maintain a leadership stature in anti-doping efforts in the years ahead."

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MLB, players agree to expand drug testing

(Reuters) - Major League Baseball and the players' union have agreed to expand their drug program to include random in-season blood testing for human growth hormone and a new test for testosterone, they said on Thursday.
The advanced testing will start this season, in what will be the sternest doping program in major North American professional sports.
"This agreement addresses critical drug issues and symbolizes Major League Baseball's continued vigilance against synthetic human growth hormone, testosterone and other performance-enhancing substances," MLB commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement.
The new steps moved baseball well ahead of the National Football League (NFL), which does not test for HGH or have a similar test for testosterone.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) challenged the NFL Players' Association (NFLPA) to follow suit in agreeing to such tests.
"This is a strong statement by the players and the league not only confirming the scientific validity of the HGH blood test and the benefit of longitudinal testing, but also the importance of clean athletes' rights and the integrity of the game," USADA said in a statement.
"This agreement, following the recent Congressional hearings on testing in the NFL, leaves no reason for the NFLPA not to step up and implement the same to give its players an equal level of protection and confidence that they deserve a level, drug-free playing field in the NFL."
Michael Weiner, executive director of the MLB Players' Association, said Major League players supported the expanded program.
"Players want a program that is tough, scientifically accurate, backed by the latest proven scientific methods, and fair," said Weiner in a statement.
"I believe these changes firmly support the players' desires while protecting their legal rights."
The announcement came one day after the players' union criticized results of the balloting for the Baseball Hall of Fame, in which no one received enough votes for enshrinement in what appeared to be a referendum on widespread doping during what has become known as the game's 'Steroids Era'.
All-time home run king Barry Bonds and seven-time Cy Young winning pitcher Roger Clemens, have playing records that would have ordinarily made them certain Hall of Famers.
But both players have been linked to performance enhancing drugs and punished by voters, receiving about half the ballots required for election.
Major League Baseball, striving to remove the stain of doping, was the first major sport in the United States to test for HGH in an agreement with the union in November 2011.
MLB has been conducting random blood testing for the detection of HGH among minor league players since July 2010 and had previously been testing major leaguers during spring training and off-season.
To detect testosterone use, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited Montreal laboratory will establish a program in which a player's baseline testosterone/epitestosterone (T/E) ratio and other data will be maintained in order to enhance its ability to detect use of the drug and other banned substances.
Christiane Ayotte, the Director of the Montreal Laboratory, praised the steps baseball has taken.
"The addition of random blood testing and a longitudinal profiling program makes baseball's program second to none in detecting and deterring the use of synthetic HGH and testosterone," she said in a statement.
Doping in baseball has not disappeared.
In the last year, Melky Cabrera of the San Francisco Giants, who was leading the league in batting average, and Oakland A's pitcher Bartolo Colon tested positive for testosterone and were suspended.
"I am proud that our system allows us to adapt to the many evolving issues associated with the science and technology of drug testing," Selig said. "We will continue to do everything we can to maintain a leadership stature in anti-doping efforts in the years ahead.

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NFL's Junior Seau had disease from hits to head - report

Jan 10 (Reuters) - NFL linebacker Junior Seau, who committed suicide last year, had a debilitating brain disease, likely from 20 years of hits to the head, ABC News and ESPN reported on Thursday, citing researchers and his family as sources.
Seau, 43, died in May after shooting himself in the chest. He had played for the San Diego Chargers and had a 20-year career in the National Football League.
A study of Seau's brain by a team of independent researchers found that he had suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, the report said. CTE can only be diagnosed after death.
Tissue from his brain was sent to the National Institutes of Health for analysis in July at the request of Seau's family amid growing concerns over the long-term effects of football-related head injuries.
The NIH was not immediately available for comment.

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Chinese police probe kickbacks by Foxconn managers

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) -- Hon Hai Precision, a leading maker of iPhones and other high-tech gadgets, has said it is working with Chinese police probing allegations that employees of its Foxconn unit solicited kickbacks from suppliers.
Hon Hai said in a statement late Wednesday that it will "thoroughly investigate" the alleged kickback case and also review its procurement procedures to close any possible loopholes.
It said its operations in China had not been affected by the case.
Foxconn produces iPhones and iPads for Apple and also assembles products for global firms including Microsoft Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co.
Taiwan's "Next" weekly reported earlier this week that a Foxconn manager had been detained by police in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen over bribery allegations.
The island's China Times newspaper quoted unidentified sources as saying Hon Hai is investigating a dozen other employees suspected of having taken bribes and that it has suspended its purchases from an equipment maker accused of offering bribes to the employees.
Hon Hai employs 1.2 million people in some 20 factories across China.
The company has previously come under scrutiny for labor policies that allegedly led a dozen workers to commit suicide.
The latest allegation has raised questions about the electronics giant's internal management problems amid its rapid expansion to keep up with growing demand for its components.

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Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile all confirm upcoming BlackBerry 10 launches

Research In Motion’s (RIMM) next-generation smartphone platform has received all-important nods from three of the four major nationwide carriers in the United States. Following official endorsements from some international carriers, executives at Verizon Wireless (VZ), AT&T (T) and T-Mobile have each confirmed to Reuters that they will carry BlackBerry 10 devices some time after the new operating system’s debut later this month.
[More from BGR: iPhone 5 now available with unlimited service, no contract on Walmart’s $45 Straight Talk plan]
The carriers didn’t sound terribly enthusiastic in all cases — ”We’re hopeful it’s going to be a good device,” was all Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam would offer Reuters — but RIM did get an exuberant thumbs-up from at least one chief executive. ”We’re extremely optimistic that it’s going to be a successful product and our business customers are extremely interested in it,” T-Mobile CEO John Legere said.

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Is BlackBerry back? Strong early BlackBerry 10 demand could signal RIM comeback

After hitting a rough patch that seemed to last for most of 2012, Research In Motion (RIMM) may finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. RIM plans to unveil the finished version of its next-generation BlackBerry 10 platform at a press conference on January 30th, and at least one new smartphone is expected to be revealed during the event. Generating interest in BlackBerry 10 within the crowded global smartphone market will be no easy task for the struggling vendor, but if demand at top Canadian carrier Rogers is any indication, RIM is off to a promising start.
[More from BGR: ‘Apple is done’ and Surface tablet is cool, according to teens]
In mid-December, Rogers began taking reservations for RIM’s first BlackBerry 10-powered handset. The carrier offered almost no information about the BlackBerry smartphone, which has not yet been announced, but asked subscribers interested in purchasing the device to register on the company’s website.
[More from BGR: iPhone 5 now available with unlimited service, no contract on Walmart’s $45 Straight Talk plan]
BGR approached Rogers on Thursday to see how subscriber response has been thus far.
“While we can’t release the total number of reservations we have received for the BlackBerry 10 all-touch device, we can say that customer interest is definitely strong and reservations continue daily,” a Rogers spokesperson told BGR via email.
The strong response from Rogers subscribers despite being provided only with the knowledge that the device will feature an all-touch form factor and will run the BlackBerry 10 OS is a good sign for RIM.
The vendor has a number of difficult challenges ahead, and convincing current BlackBerry users to upgrade en masse is near the top of the list. Strong early demand at Rogers for RIM’s first BlackBerry 10 handset is clearly a positive sign in this regard, as most early reservations likely came from current BlackBerry subscribers.

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Global shares, dollar down ahead of earnings, bonds rise

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global shares fell and bond prices rose on Tuesday, with investors cautious ahead of a U.S. earnings season expected to show sluggish growth in quarterly corporate profits.
The dollar and euro fell against the yen as investors booked profits in the aftermath of swift and significant gains, but looser Bank of Japan monetary policy should limit the yen's upside.
The dollar was last down 0.75 percent at 87.11 yen, well off a 2-1/2-year high hit last Friday. The euro fell 1.02 percent at 113.96 yen.
U.S. corporate profits are expected to be higher than the third quarter's lackluster results, but analysts' estimates are down sharply from where they were in October.
Quarterly earnings are expected to grow 2.8 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Alcoa Inc reported a fourth-quarter profit of $242 million as cost cuts helped offset a drop in aluminum prices, marking the unofficial start to the earnings season as the first Dow component to release results.
Alcoa shares rose 7 cents to $9.20 in after-hours trade after closing 0.33 percent higher at $9.13 from Monday's close.
Early reports have suggested some signs of improvement. Monsanto Co reported strong first-quarter results and raised its full-year outlook, sending its shares 2.67 percent higher to close at $98.50.
Sears Holding Corp reported sales for the holiday season that were not as weak as many had feared, but the stock sank as the company's chief executive stepped down unexpectedly. Shares fell 6.43 percent to $40.16.
If earnings growth appears to be "less bad" than expected, that would fuel a near-term uptick in the market, according to Eric Wiegand, senior portfolio manager at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in New York. "There are still ample areas for concern," he added, citing policy worries in Washington and uneven economic growth.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 55.44 points, or 0.41 percent, at 13,328.85. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 4.74 points, or 0.32 percent, to 1,457.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 7.01 points, or 0.23 percent, at 3,091.81.
Global shares measured by MSCI's all-country world index <.miwd00000pus> fell 0.33 percent to 345.73.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed down 0.1 percent at 1,160.20 as data showed the euro zone economy may be stabilizing, though at a weak level.
The euro slid 0.25 to 1.3082 against the dollar.
Euro zone business confidence improved again in December, but unemployment reached a record and households held back from spending in the run-up to Christmas, suggesting a recovery from recession will be slow. German industrial orders also fell more than forecast due to a sharp drop in demand from abroad.
"Things are bad. It is still consistent with recession, but at least they have stopped deteriorating," said Deutsche Bank economist Gilles Moec.
Prices for U.S. Treasuries rose as higher yields proved attractive and the first sale of coupon-bearing Treasury debt for the year drew strong non-dealer bidding.
The Treasury sold $32 billion of three-year notes on Tuesday at a high yield of 0.385 percent, just about where the market had expected.
The high direct takedown in this and the previous three-year auction could signal "a shift in investor bidding patterns at auctions, where buyers bypass dealers and go straight to the Treasury, while still able to clear the auction near the WI (when-issued) levels," wrote Nomura analysts after the sale.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was up 10/32 in price to yield 1.8656 percent.
In commodity and metals markets, Brent crude oil rose 54 cents to settle at $111.94 per barrel, while U.S. light crude settled down 4 cents at $93.15.
Brent's premium over the U.S. West Texas Intermediate benchmark widened by more than 50 cents, with traders citing the start of the annual reweighting of the S&P GSCI commodity index, one of two leading indices for investors.
Copper rose 0.1 percent and gold rose $12.26 to $1,658.90 ahead of data on Thursday from China and the monthly meeting of the European Central Bank.
"The market is underpinned by expectations that a cyclical rebounding out of China will be positive for industrial metals, and there is more positive sentiment now in the market," said Robin Bhar, analyst at Societe Generale.

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Alcoa sees brighter 2013, but remains cautious

(Reuters) - Alcoa Inc , the largest aluminum producer in the U.S., expressed cautious optimism that demand for the metal will continue to grow in 2013, helped in part by global growth in the aerospace and construction markets.
The company posted a fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, in line with Wall Street expectations, and handily beat expectations on revenue, helping calm investors' nerves after a rocky 2012.
"I'm more optimistic that 2013 is a year with upside potential compared to where we came from," Alcoa Chief Executive Klaus Kleinfeld told CNBC on Tuesday.
Shares of Alcoa rose 1.3 percent in after-hours trading, as investors were buoyed by Alcoa's turn to profit.
Analysts breathed a sigh of relief from the results of the first S&P 500 company to report fourth-quarter results, hoping it was a sign of things to come.
"I think it was a good solid quarter. Not a barnburner but a good quarter," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management in Bedford Hills. "It's certainly important in this type of environment to look at revenues."
Investors tend to scrutinize Alcoa's results for hints on where the overall economy is headed, as the company's aluminum products are used in the automotive, appliance and airline industries.
The company said it expects global aluminum consumption growth of 7 percent in 2013, up slightly from 6 percent in 2012. Alcoa continues to forecast a doubling of global aluminum demand between 2010 and 2020.
Alcoa forecasts global growth in the aerospace, automotive and construction markets, among other industries, in 2013.
PROFIT IN LINE
The earnings were a positive turn for Alcoa, whose core business of mining bauxite and producing aluminum has been hit in recent years by a persistently low metal price.
For the fourth quarter, the company reported net income of $242 million, or 21 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $191 million, or 18 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
Excluding one-time items, net income was $64 million, or 6 cents per share, in line with average analysts' expectations of 6 cents a share on revenue of $5.6 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Sales were $5.89 billion, beating analysts' expectations, but down 1.5 percent from the year-ago quarter as the average realized price per tonne of aluminum fell slightly.
Alcoa trimmed costs by 12 percent in the fourth quarter, due in part to fewer restructuring expenses.
The company's realized price for aluminum fell roughly 11 percent in 2012.

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Alcoa earnings as expected, revenue tops forecasts

NEW YORK (AP) -- Alcoa Inc. on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter earnings that met Wall Street's expectations, and the company said it expects slightly higher demand for aluminum this year.
The sluggish global economy has weakened prices for aluminum used in everything from airplanes to soda cans.
But Alcoa forecast demand growing 7 percent in 2013, up from a 6 percent gain in 2012. It sees the best prospects in aerospace but slower improvement in demand for autos, packaging, and building and construction materials.
Separately, the company announced that Chief Financial Officer Charles D. McLane Jr., 59, will retire and be replaced by William F. Oplinger, the chief operating officer of Alcoa's primary-products business unit. The change will happen April 1.
Oplinger, 45, joined Alcoa in 2000 and has held several finance and planning jobs. He is on the executive council, which plots company strategy.
In the fourth quarter, Alcoa's net income was $242 million, or 21 cents per share. That includes one-time gains like income from selling a hydroelectric project on the Tennessee-North Carolina border.
Without those gains, the company would have made 6 cents per share — exactly what analysts expected, according to FactSet — on revenue of $5.90 billion. Sales were higher than the $5.58 billion that analysts predicted.
A year ago, the company posted a fourth-quarter loss of $191 million, or 18 cents per share, on revenue of $5.99 billion, and a loss after special items of 3 cents per share.
The company said it hit record profits in its aluminum-rolling and product-making businesses while cutting costs in its mining and refining or "upstream" segment.
Chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said the company overcame volatile aluminum prices and global economic weakness and was in "strong position to maximize profitable growth" in 2013.
Kleinfeld said aerospace sales were helped by aircraft-order backlogs at Airbus and Boeing, plus improved profits at the world's airlines.
The price that Alcoa received for aluminum fell 2 percent from a year ago but rose nearly 5 percent from the third quarter. Shipments were flat from a year ago.
The low prices were a factor in the announcement last month by Moody's Investor Service that it could downgrade Alcoa's credit rating to junk status. Alcoa has been trying to reduce debt to keep its investment-grade rating. In the fourth quarter, it cut spending by 12 percent to $6.23 billion.
Alcoa is the first company in the Dow Jones industrial average to report fourth-quarter earnings. Because it makes aluminum for so many key industries, investors study Alcoa's results for clues about the health and direction of the overall economy.
Alcoa shares ended regular trading where they began, unchanged at $9.10. In after-hours trading following the earnings report, the stock rose 8 cents to $9.18.

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Golf-Rose, Dufner, Olazabal add more stardust to Qatar Masters

Jan 8 (Reuters) - Twice U.S. Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal, Briton Justin Rose and American Jason Dufner will join several other big names at this month's Qatar Masters, organisers said on Tuesday.
World number four Rose and ninth-ranked Dufner join former world number one Martin Kaymer and Ryder Cup teammates Sergio Garcia and Paul Lawrie, who announced on Monday they would play in the $2.5 million event.
Olazabal, 46, captained Europe to a memorable comeback victory over the United States in the biennial Ryder Cup in September and won his last title in 2005.
"Jose Maria Olazabal is a golfing great... he is assured of an especially warm reception at Doha Golf Club," Qatar Golf Association president Hassan Al Nuaimi said on the European Tour website (www.europeantour.com).
The Jan. 23-26 event is part of the European Tour's Middle East swing which also includes next week's Abu Dhabi Championship featuring world number one Rory McIlroy and 14-times major winner Tiger Woods and the Jan. 31-Feb. 3 Dubai Desert Classic. (Writing by Tom Pilcher, Editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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Rose, Dufner, Olazabal add more stardust to Qatar Masters

(Reuters) - Twice U.S. Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal, Briton Justin Rose and American Jason Dufner will join several other big names at this month's Qatar Masters, organizers said on Tuesday.
World number four Rose and ninth-ranked Dufner join former world number one Martin Kaymer and Ryder Cup teammates Sergio Garcia and Paul Lawrie, who announced on Monday they would play in the $2.5 million event.
Olazabal, 46, captained Europe to a memorable comeback victory over the United States in the biennial Ryder Cup in September and won his last title in 2005.
"Jose Maria Olazabal is a golfing great... he is assured of an especially warm reception at Doha Golf Club," Qatar Golf Association president Hassan Al Nuaimi said on the European Tour website (www.europeantour.com).
The January 23-26 event is part of the European Tour's Middle East swing which also includes next week's Abu Dhabi Championship featuring world number one Rory McIlroy and 14-times major winner Tiger Woods and the January 31-February 3 Dubai Desert Classic.

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European events as strong as any in world: Tour chief

(Reuters) - Europe's economic plight has not affected the continent's premier golf circuit and the tour still has some of the best events in the world, chief executive George O'Grady said on Tuesday.
The European Tour is increasingly spreading its wings beyond Europe to the Far East in terms of venues and O'Grady is full of optimism for this season despite the move to the U.S. PGA Tour of top performers like world number one Rory McIlroy.
"We have a lot of great tournaments on our schedule in 2013 and we have certain periods of the year where we have groups of tournaments that are as strong as any in the world," O'Grady told the tour website (www.europeantour.com).
"We have had a very challenging five-year period but part of the reason we have managed to retain a lot of our biggest sponsors is the fact the European Tour is a tremendous product for someone looking to spend their sponsorship or touristic dollars."
The tour is poised for a three-week Middle East swing after this week's 2013 opener, the Volvo Golf Champions in South Africa, before visiting countries like India, South Korea and China over the next 11 months.
The first event to be played in Bulgaria, the World Match Play Championship in May, is another highlight for a tour which has been battling against the Eurozone crisis.
"Through our television platforms in key markets, as well as making our events as good as they can possibly be, we bring visibility and credibility. We have had great success in many countries as a result of that," said O'Grady.
"In Ireland, Scotland and Portugal the golfing tourism numbers are growing again.
"You see that in a lot of the countries we visit across the world and I think it shows that if you can get the structure right then we can face the future with optimism."
Less than half of the tournaments on the 2012-13 schedule are due to be played in mainland Europe and O'Grady spoke late last year of his "disappointment" at losing events in Eurozone countries.
O'Grady added there were some sponsor-less tournaments on the schedule that were now owned or promoted by the tour, citing the Hong Kong Open which is absent for the first time since 2001 but will return next season.
However 2013 paints a different picture, said O'Grady.
"Money is one factor in tournaments being a success but if you look at the strongest parts of our international schedule the money is already very strong," he said.
"So, in terms of our top events, I think we are now trying to focus on running the tournaments exceptionally well which we have done for the past year."

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Veteran broker departures shift $133 billion client assets in 2012

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Brokerages saw top advisers depart in droves last year and shift $132.5 billion in client assets with them, a Reuters tally shows, creating headaches for some Wall Street banks at a time when wealth management is becoming an increasingly important part of business.
Unprecedented signing bonuses, cultural changes linked to acquisitions, a push to cross-sell company products, and a growing charm of joining regional outfits contributed to many of these exits which are likely to continue this year, recruiters and brokers said.
All told, at least 880 veteran brokers and their teams changed firms in 2012, according to the data, which tracks the moves of top individual advisers and teams that manage $100 million or more in client assets. That included the departure of at least 16 $1 billion-plus advisers or teams, a number wealth management recruiters say they usually see over several years, not in 12 months.
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management - the brokerage majority owned by Morgan Stanley and partially owned by Citigroup - felt the brunt of defections in 2012, with the departure of at least 243 veteran advisers who managed more than $39.2 billion. Bank of America Corp's Merrill lost at least 184 advisers who managed more than $28.5 billion.
The two largest U.S. brokerages by headcount each lost at least six teams that managed $1 billion or more in client assets apiece - easily the size of an entire office branch.
"Our strategy is to attract the industry's best talent for our clients, and to size our adviser population to meet market opportunity," Merrill spokesman Matt Card said.
Morgan Stanley declined to comment.
Several major Wall Street banks such as Morgan Stanley and UBS AG are betting on wealth management for steady income and growth, as a weak global economy and financial regulation hit profits from other businesses such as trading and investment banking. At Morgan Stanley, for example, the wealth management unit accounted for 44 percent of third-quarter revenue, excluding one-time charges.
While adviser defections may not immediately make a big dent in the more than $1 trillion in assets the top brokerages manage, the losses can add up over time. Losing $1 billion in client assets, for example, can translate into loss of more than $10 million in annual revenues for a firm.
"We'll start to see some impact on the revenue side of the equation," as bigger advisers continue to depart, said Memphis-based banking analyst Marty Mosby of Guggenheim Partners.
"(Bigger firms) will have to make sure their resources are being applied in the most efficient way possible," and will need to make existing client assets more productive, he said.
U.S. brokerages have already begun to move in that direction, adding incentives to their 2013 pay plans to coax advisers to sell bank products.
Wells Fargo & Co's Wells Fargo Advisors and UBS Wealth Management Americas fared better in terms of recruiting and retaining veteran advisers in 2012. UBS offered some of the richest retention and sign-on bonuses in the industry and Wells benefited from its independent brokerage division, which allows advisers to own their practices. Even so, at least 82 veteran advisers departed Wells and 67 left UBS.
UBS is "always looking at attracting the top advisers," while also making the firm a place advisers want to stay, spokeswoman Karina Byrne said. "Our low attrition rates show that we are succeeding."
Wells managing director Ron Sallett said 2012 was the second best recruiting year for the company's independent brokerage unit since it was founded more than a decade ago. "We think our firm is continuing to position itself in the market as the firm of choice," he said.
BIG BONUSES
Signing bonuses for top advisers are now around 350 percent of the broker's annual revenue, with 180 to 200 percent offered upfront, said Tom Lewis, a New Jersey-based lawyer for Stark & Stark. An adviser who generates about $1 million in annual revenue might receive as much as $2 million on day one from a rival firm.
"They're in a range that we haven't seen approached before," said Lewis, who works with advisers making the transition to a new firm. "It's a long-term investment, yet your short-term profitability suffers."
UBS, for example, said it had a 10 percent increase in compensation commitments and advances related to recruited financial advisers in the third quarter from the year prior. The cost-to-income ratio - a measure of profitability - at UBS's U.S. brokerage was at 86.1 percent at the end of September, compared with 66.5 percent for its global wealth management unit, which doesn't have to offer such bonuses.
Half of the big brokerage advisers who left their firms became independent advisers, joined an independent advisory firm or moved to a smaller firm like Raymond James Financial Inc or Ameriprise Financial Inc, the data shows. They took $35.2 billion in client assets with them.
"Our expectations for 2013 (recruiting) are very promising," said Raymond James' Private Client Group President Tash Elwyn.
These firms offer lower signing bonuses, but advisers who made the move say there are other attractions, such as the ability to focus more on their clients' investment needs rather than also worrying about the company's bottom line.
Departing wirehouse advisers also pointed to concerns about a perceived push to cross-sell bank or company-branded products at their old firms, increased layers of management and cultural conflicts stemming from the acquisition of their firm by larger companies.
Illinois-based advisers Ziv Ohel and William Duncan, who together managed $275 million in client assets at Morgan Stanley, left the firm in mid-November. Ohel said they joined Minneapolis-based Ameriprise because the firm focused more on financial planning and had less of a big brokerage mentality.
Independence is also increasingly attractive to advisers. HighTower Advisors LLC, Focus Financial Partners LLC and Dynasty Financial Partners LLC each lured at least one team with $1 billion or more in client assets.

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Global shares, oil dip, but growth prospects limit falls

 World stocks and oil prices eased on Monday ending a new year rally as some investors chose to book profits, but signs of a brightening global economic growth outlook limited the falls.
Wall Street looked to set to follow a similar path after the benchmark Standard & Poor's index surged to a five-year high on Friday when data showed employers kept up a steady pace of hiring in December and the vast services sector had expanded.
The numbers compounded the effect from the last-minute deal to avert a U.S. fiscal crisis reached at the start of the year and, along with surveys showing China's factory output rising, have boosted hopes for economic expansion worldwide in 2013.
"Overall, the market's positive trend is still intact," Lionel Jardin, head of institutional sales at Assya Capital in Paris, said of the trend in stocks. "The market is ripe for a pause, but with so much cash on the sidelines, there are a lot of buyers showing up each time we have a dip."
After touching a 22-month peak last week, the FTSE Eurofirst index of top European shares was down 0.2 percent at 1,164 points. Br itain's FTSE 100 index was down 0.3 percent, Germany's DAX indexfell 0.5 percent and France's CAC 40 eased 0.6 percent.
Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan, which reached their highest levels since August 2011 on Thursday, eased 0.1 percent, while Tokyo's Nikkei share average ended down 0.8 percent, just below a 23-month high.
MSCI's broad world equity index was down 0.15 percent but was still not far from an 18-month peak scaled when investors returned to the market after the immediate U.S. fiscal crisis was averted by a political deal in Washington.
Financial shares outperformed the broader market after the Basel Committee of banking supervisors agreed to give banks four more years and greater flexibility than previously envisaged to build protective cash buffers. That means they can use more of their reserves to lend and help economies grow.
The STOXX 600 European banking index was up by 1.5 percent at 172.58 points while the STOXX euro zone bank index gained 2.1 percent.
"This will remove major uncertainties for the banks and the financing of the economy," said Arnaud Poutier, co-head of IG Markets France. "It's positive for banking stocks, but also for the overall market."
Brent crude oil futures slipped 50 cents to $110.81 per barrel after rising 0.6 percent last week.
ECB LOOMS
Investors were turning their attention to the first major policy meetings of the year at the European Central Bank and Bank of England on Thursday. No rate moves are expected but new euro zone economic forecasts are due.
Some analysts expect the ECB to point to the prospect of easier rates early this year after the meeting, contrasting with signals from U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers that it may pursue less accommodative policies in future.
The Bank of Japan is also expected to take major steps to stimulate that country's economy later this month as the new government aims to end deflation and recession.
The possibility of less monetary stimulus in 2013 from the Fed and more from the BOJ sent the dollar to a two-and-a-half year peak against the yen last week. However, profit taking saw it pull back on Monday by 0.3 percent to 87.87 yen.
The euro eased 0.3 percent to $1.3035 but was trading above a three-week low of $1.2998 hit on Friday. Analysts predicted it would stay around these levels until the outcome of ECB meeting is known.
"If the ECB doesn't cut rates we could see a minor uptick in the euro," said John Hardy, FX strategist at SAXO Bank. "The bigger risk going forward, however, is if they hint at the possibility of more easing, which will weigh on the euro."
DEBT STEADY
In the European bond markets, investors scooped up German government bonds after their steep falls last week as expectations changed over the Fed's next move.
Ten-year German cash yields were 2.2 basis points lower on the day at 1.522 percent. Other euro zone bond yields were steady to slightly higher as traders awaited debt auctions by Spain and Italy later in the week.
U.S. Treasury 10-year notes were mostly steady at 1.90 percent after reaching 1.975 percent on Friday in a sell-off fuelled by the expectations of less easy monetary policy this year.
Further moves are likely to be limited due to sales of three-year notes on Tuesday, 10-year notes on Wednesday and 30-year bonds on Thursday.
Gold was off its lows of last week but in line with equities and oil had eased slightly as investors focused on the outlook for U.S. budget talks and the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing programme.
"The current discussion in the gold market is when the Fed would end quantitative easing," said Peter Fertig, analyst with Quantitative Commodity Research.
Spot gold was down 0.1 percent at $1,655 an ounce, though above Friday's $1,625.79, its lowest price since August.

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Futures slip after S&P hits pre-recession levels

 Stock futures are cooling off after the Standard & Poor's index reached levels last week not seen since the start of the Great Recession.
Dow Jones industrial futures are down 8 points to 13,338. The broader S&P futures have lost 0.80 points to 1,456.90. Nasdaq futures are down a point at 2,712.
Investors appear to be taking some money off the table with the earnings season kicking off Tuesday.
The S&P 500 is now 2 percent higher than it was on election day and on Friday closed at 1,466, the highest since December 2007.
On Monday, Bank of America said it would pay Fannie Mae $3.6 billion and buy back $6.8 billion in loans to settle mortgage claims from the housing meltdown.

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US troops arrive in Turkey for Patriot missiles

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — U.S. troops have started to arrive in Turkey to man Patriot missiles meant to protect the NATO ally from potential Syrian warheads, the U.S. military said Friday.
The United States, Germany and the Netherlands are each deploying two batteries of the U.S.-built defense system to boost ally Turkey's air defenses against any spillover from Syria's nearly 2-year civil war. The Patriot systems are expected to become operational later this month.
The Stuttgart, Germany-based U.S. European Command said in a statement that U.S. personnel and equipment had started arriving at Turkey's southern Incirlik Air Base. Some 400 personnel and equipment from the U.S. military's Fort Sill, Oklahoma-based 3rd Battalion were to be airlifted to Turkey over the coming days, while additional equipment was expected to reach Turkey by sea later in January, the Command said.
NATO endorsed Turkey's request for the Patriots on Nov. 30 after several Syrian shells landed on Turkish territory.
Last month, NATO said the Syrian military has continued to fire Scud-type missiles, although none had hit Turkish territory, and said the alliance was justified in deploying the anti-missile systems in Turkey. Ankara is supporting the Syrian opposition and rebels and is providing shelter to Syrian refugees.
More than 1,000 American, German and Dutch troops are to be based in Turkey to operate the batteries. NATO said the Americans will be based at Gaziantep, 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Syria. The Germans will be based at Kahramanmaras, located about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of the Syrian border; the Dutch at Adana, about 100 kilometers (66 miles) west of the border.
Navy Vice Adm. Charles Martoglio, the Command's deputy chief, reiterated that the Patriots' deployment is for defensive purposes only and would not support a no-fly zone "or any offensive operation," in Syria, according to the Command's statement.
"Turkey is an important NATO ally and we welcome the opportunity to support the Turkish government's request in accordance with the NATO standing defense plan," it quoted Martoglio as saying.
Syria is reported to have an array of artillery rockets, as well as medium-range missiles — some capable of carrying chemical warheads. These include Soviet-built SS-21 Scarabs and Scud-B missiles, originally designed to deliver nuclear warheads.
Last month, a top military commander from Iran — a key Syrian ally — warned Turkey against stationing the NATO systems on its territory, saying such a move risks conflict with Syria.

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Church of England ends ban on gay bishops

LONDON (Reuters) - The Church of England has lifted a ban on gay male clergy who live with their partners from becoming bishops on condition they pledge to stay celibate, threatening to reignite an issue that splits the 80-million-strong global Anglican community.
The issue of homosexuality has driven a rift between Western and African Anglicans since a Canadian diocese approved blessings for same-sex couples in 2002 and U.S. Anglicans in the Episcopal Church appointed an openly gay man as a bishop in 2003.
The Church of England, struggling to remain relevant in modern Britain despite falling numbers of believers, is already under pressure after voting narrowly last November to maintain a ban on women becoming bishops.
The church said the House of Bishops, one of its most senior bodies, had ended an 18-month moratorium on the appointment of gays in civil partnerships as bishops.
The decision was made in late December but received little attention until the church confirmed it on Friday.
Gay clergy in civil partnerships would be eligible for the episcopate - the position of bishop - if they make the pledge to remain celibate, as is already the case for gay deacons and priests.
"The House has confirmed that clergy in civil partnerships, and living in accordance with the teaching of the Church on human sexuality, can be considered as candidates for the episcopate," the Bishop of Norwich Graham James said.
"The House believed it would be unjust to exclude from consideration for the episcopate anyone seeking to live fully in conformity with the Church's teaching on sexual ethics or other areas of personal life and discipline," he added in a statement on behalf of the House of Bishops.
The church teaches that couples can only have sex within marriage, and that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.
CONSERVATIVE OUTCRY
Britain legalised civil partnerships in 2005, forcing the church to consider how to treat clergy living in same-sex unions.
The church ruled that a civil partnership was not a bar to a clerical position, provided the clergy remained celibate, but failed to specifically address the issue of when the appointment was of a bishop.
In July 2011 the church launched a review to deal with this omission, at the same time imposing the moratorium on nominating gays in such partnerships as bishops while the study was conducted.
The review came a year after a gay cleric living in a civil partnership was reportedly blocked from becoming a bishop in south London.
It was the second setback for the cleric, Jeffrey John, who would already have become a bishop in 2003 but was forced to withdraw from the nomination after an outcry from church conservatives.
Rod Thomas, chairman of the conservative evangelical group Reform, said the church's move on gay bishops would provoke further dispute.
"It will be much more divisive than what we have seen over women bishops. If you thought that was a furore, wait to see what will happen the first time a bishop in a civil partnership is appointed," he told BBC television.

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Christmas updates to shine light on UK retail prospects

LONDON (Reuters) - The prospects for consumer spending and the broader British economy will be in focus next week when a host of retailers, including Marks & Spencer and Tesco, report Christmas sales figures.
Many store groups found the going tough last year as consumers fretted over job security and a squeeze on incomes.
With wage rises failing to match inflation and another round of government spending cuts slated for 2013, retailers were expected to strike a downbeat tone on the outlook and say growth will be reliant on internal initiatives.
While grocers traditionally cope better in tough times thanks to their focus on essential goods, they are finding growth hard to come by even as they expand their offering into homewares and other non-food offerings.
Analysts think No. 4 grocer Wm Morrison Supermarkets will, on Monday, post the worst of the Christmas figures out of the food retailers reporting next week.
Sales at Morrison stores open over a year, excluding fuel, were seen down about 2 percent. That would follow a fiscal third-quarter fall of 2.1 percent and partly reflect the lack of an online presence and minimal convenience store presence.
Indeed, the retail sector's best Christmas performers - all helped by a strong online presence - may have reported already.
John Lewis - Britain's biggest department store group, and sister company Waitrose - an upmarket grocer, have both reported record Christmas sales, while clothing retailer Next posted a solid outcome and raised profit guidance.
MARKET LEADER
For retail market leader Tesco, which updates on Thursday, analysts forecast like-for-like sales, excluding fuel and VAT sales tax, to grow 0.5-1.5 percent in its home market, having fallen 0.6 percent in its third quarter.
That said, Tesco is up against a weak comparative - a dismal Christmas performance in 2011 resulted in its first profit warning in 20 years and a move to spend 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) on a recovery plan.
While the world's No. 3 retailer may show some progress in its home market, its overseas problems are mounting. Though the group has flagged an exit from the United States, in South Korea - its biggest overseas market, legislation allowing local governments to impose shorter trading hours is hurting. Also, trade in eastern Europe is being hit by euro zone instability.
Sainsbury, Britain's No. 3 grocer, has guided to second-half like-for-like sales growth similar to the 1.7 percent in its first half. For its third-quarter update, expected Wednesday, analysts forecast like-for-like growth of about 0.9 percent.
DISCIPLINED
Though pre-Christmas promotional activity among clothing groups was widespread it appears to have been less severe than in 2011.
"Anecdotally, it was hugely more disciplined than last year," Simon Wolfson, chief executive of Next - Britain's second-biggest clothing retailer, told Reuters on Thursday.
That should bode well for margins at Marks & Spencer, Britain's largest clothing retailer, which updates on Thursday.
Analysts expected M&S to report a 1.5 percent drop in fiscal third-quarter general merchandise sales from British stores open at least a year. That would be a small improvement on a second-quarter decline of 1.8 percent.
However, like-for-like food sales were seen up 0.5 percent, less than the 1.5 percent rise in the previous period.

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