Search gets in your face

After six months of tests with a select group, Facebook is rolling out a new search tool to the rest of the site's U.S. users, making it easier to find people, places, photos and interests in your social circle.

But the company's Graph Search could backfire because of privacy concerns sparked by the National Security Agency domestic surveillance scandal, analysts and social-media consultants said.

"It is every stalker's fantasy tool," said Max Wolff, senior analyst at Greencrest Capital. "It could actually alienate people. People are extra-sensitive about privacy because of the NSA scandal. So the average user could jack up their privacy settings and decide to disclose less on Facebook, which could hurt advertising."

Todd Van Hoosear, owner of Fresh Ground, a Cambridge social-media consulting firm, said he'd like to know what personal information of his might show up in a search done by someone he isn't friends with.

"I want to have full control over my personal information," Van Hoosear said. "I think that would go a long way toward addressing concerns about privacy."

As Graph Search rolls out more widely, people on Facebook will see a notice on their home page with a reminder about how to control what they share and with whom, said Facebook spokeswoman Kate Guarente. This follows a similar notice in December that highlighted new privacy tools to help people manage what they share on Facebook, Guarente said.

While there may be more work to be done in that area, Van Hoosear said, Facebook has made strides with other aspects of its search tool since the company announced it in January.

Graph Search has become faster and, like Google, more intuitive, offering suggestions in a pull-down menu as you type what you're looking for. Unlike Google, however, Graph Search mines data in your social circle, allowing you to search for restaurants that your friends like in Cambridge, or search for photos of your significant other before you met.

Facebook is also working on getting mobile Graph Search ready, Guarente said.

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Chatham Whites’ shark shirt biz shows its teeth

Cape Cod entrepreneur Justin Labdon is banking on the great white shark taking a bite out of the Black Dog as he ratchets up his Chatham Whites apparel line featuring the iconic predator.

"I'm having a ball with it," said Labdon, 41, who sells Chatham Whites at his Cape Cod Beach Chair store in East Harwich and online (www.chathamwhites.com). "People love the sharks."

A local retail expert thinks the idea has teeth.

"The white shark has always been an iconic image on the Cape and Islands. When (Peter) Benchley wrote 'Jaws,' it started an interest in all things sharks, and now sharks show up. This guy took the idea to the next step," said Caroline Daniels, a professor of entrepreneurship at Babson College.

A Cape native, Labdon recalled four years ago when shark sightings began in earnest, and media from around the world called his paddleboard shop for firsthand reports. He started selling a single style of shark shirt in 2010. But in Boston's North End last summer, he said, "We saw somebody wearing the shirts. It was kind of cool, and I thought, 'I should grow it.'"

Chatham Whites are priced slightly lower than The Black Dog, the line that originated as souvenir shirts for the eponymous restaurant on Martha's Vineyard. The shirts shot to fame after celebrities, including President Bill Clinton, wore them in the 1990s.

"I've had orders from Rhode Island and the Boston area," said Labdon.

He has designed sharks in polka dot prints but hopes his "all-American" stars and stripes print will be a hot seller. Labdon said he wants the line to be fun for tourists and locals alike, but he added, "Someone might get eaten, and it might be a different story."

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China's June inflation rises to 2.7 percent

BEIJING — China's inflation rose in June but was well below the government's target in a sign of weak demand amid an economic slowdown.

Consumer prices rose 2.7 percent over a year earlier, up from May's 2.1 percent gain but below the 3.5 percent official target for the year, the government reported Tuesday. The June figure was driven by a 4.9 percent rise in food costs.

Pressure for prices to rise is relatively low in China because of weak demand, excess production capacity in many industries and lower costs for raw materials and components.

June prices were unchanged from May levels, and the uptick in the inflation rate was due to comparison with unusually low prices last year, according to Alaistair Chan of Moody's Analytics.

"The inflationary environment in China remains largely nonexistent," Chan said in a report. "Non-food inflation is low, reflecting a large output gap and lack of policy stimulus."

Economic growth slowed to 7.7 percent in the first quarter of this year from the previous quarter's 7.9 percent. Some forecasters say it could dip below 7 percent in coming quarters due to government efforts to cool a credit boom and weak demand for Chinese exports.

Communist leaders are trying to shift the basis of China's economic growth from exports and investment to domestic consumption. They have refrained from launching new stimulus spending even as economic growth drifted down.

Producer prices declined 2.7 percent in June compared with a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. That was driven by an 8.5 percent fall in the price of goods from the mining industry and weaker costs for other industrial raw materials.

"This trend will continue through to year end, judging by the government's signals and the outlook for global growth," said Chan of Moody's.

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Japan moves closer to restarting nuclear reactors

TOKYO — Japan moved a step closer to restarting nuclear reactors Monday as four utility companies applied for safety inspections of 10 idled plants, the clearest sign of a return to atomic energy nearly two and a half years after the Fukushima disaster.

With all but two of the country's 50 reactors offline since a tsunami swept through the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant in March 2011, Japan has been almost without nuclear energy that once supplied about a third of its power.

Four Japanese nuclear plant operators — supplying the regions of Hokkaido, Kansai, Shikoku and Kyushu — Monday filed applications for inspections by the Nuclear Regulation Authority for 10 reactors at five plants under new safety requirements that have just come into effect. Applications for two more reactors are expected later in the week.

Only reactors that pass the stricter rules will be allowed to restart, possibly early next year. Inspections would take about six months for each reactor, the watchdog said, as its staff can handle just a few reactors at a time. Obtaining consent from local governments and communities would require at least several weeks

Watchdog officials refused to say which reactor they will inspect first. Critics say the rules have loopholes, including grace periods for some safety equipment

Hit by soaring gas and oil costs to run conventional power plants to make up the energy shortfall, Japanese utility companies have lobbied hard to get their reactors back online.

Nearly all the utilities that own nuclear power plants reported huge losses last fiscal year due to higher costs for fuel imports. Hokkaido Electric Power Co. said it has been hit with additional daily fuel costs of 600 million yen ($6 million) to make up for three idled reactors. Nuclear operators have requested rate hikes or plan to do so.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pushed for restarts since taking office in December, freezing the previous government's nuclear phase-out plan. Resumption of nuclear power plants is part of his ruling party's campaign platform in parliamentary elections in two weeks.

New rules for the first time require plants to guard against radiation leaks in the case of severe accidents, install emergency command centers and enact anti-terrorist measures. Operators are required to upgrade protection for tsunamis and earthquakes, as well as tornadoes and aviation accidents.

Safety was previously left up to the operators, relying on their self-interest in protecting their investments as an incentive for implementing adequate measures. Tokyo Electric Power Co. came under fire for underestimating the risk of a tsunami and building a seawall that was less than half the height of the wave that hit its Fukushima Dai-ichi plant and caused multiple meltdowns and massive radiation leaks. About 160,000 evacuees still cannot return home.

Ikuo Morinaka, senior official at Kansai Electric Power Co., which is applying to restart four reactors in Fukui prefecture that supply power to large parts of western Japan, said the company has taken emergency measures and additional steps since the Fukushima disaster.

"We are ready," Morinaka said after handing a thick file of documents to a watchdog official at a media-packed ceremonial event.

Dozens of activists opposing nuclear power staged rallies outside a building that houses the watchdog's office, holding banners and chanting anti-nuclear slogans.

Critics say the new safety requirements have loopholes that make things easier for operators, including a five-year grace period for some of the mandated steps given to reactors known as PWRs. They come with larger containment chambers considered less likely to suffer from pressure buildup than ones like those ravaged at Fukushima. This means half of the 48 reactors that use a pressurized water system could operate without the features for up to five years.

All 10 reactors set for inspections are PWRs, and none of them have completed filtered vents and full-fledged emergency command centers yet, according to the summary of their application documents released Monday.

The approvals are aimed at resuming reactor operations even though nearby communities lag in enacting needed emergency and evacuation procedures, and the restarts will cause more nuclear waste, plutonium stockpiles and other safety and environmental risks, said a group of experts headed by Hosei University sociologist Harutoshi Funabashi.

The critics say running nuclear plants will eventually become a financial burden, as safety upgrades under the new requirements add up and the cost of decommissioning aging reactors and waste cleanup. Even initial safety upgrades are estimated to exceed a combined total of 1 trillion yen ($10 billion).

The operators said it's a necessary investment.

"Despite the spending, we need to get nuclear plants running in order to provide stable power supply," said Toru Yoshisako, vice president of Kyushu Electric Power Co., which operates six reactors in southern Japan.

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Oil extends gains above $103 after US hiring jump

BANGKOK — The price of oil extended gains above $103 a barrel Monday after a stronger-than-expected jump in U.S. hiring suggested demand for fuels will increase.

Benchmark crude for August delivery was up 18 cents at $103.40 at early afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The contract on Friday jumped $1.98 to close at $103.22 in New York after the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added a robust 195,000 jobs in June and many more in April and May than previously thought. The job growth suggests a stronger economy.

Oil has also been pushed higher by instability in Egypt where Mohammed Morsi was ousted as president by the military last week.

Egypt is not an oil producer, but its control of the Suez Canal, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, gives it a crucial role in maintaining global energy supplies.

Brent crude was up 28 cents at $108 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange in London.

In other energy futures trading on the Nymex:

— Wholesale gasoline was up 0.2 cent at $2.899 per gallon.

— Natural gas added 2.1 cents to $3.638 per 1,000 cubic feet.

— Heating oil gained 0.2 cent to $2.992 per gallon.

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Asian stocks sink on China growth jitters

BANGKOK — Concern over China's slowdown weighed on Asian stock markets Monday after the head of the International Monetary Fund warned of a loss of momentum in emerging economies.

Asia's losses came despite Wall Street's rally on Friday that was sparked by strong U.S. job numbers. The hiring reports added to the likelihood the Federal Reserve will begin winding down its massive stimulus effort this year. Speculation about the Fed's timing has contributed to big swings in world markets for weeks.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.9 percent to 20,466.26 and China's Shanghai Composite was down 2.1 percent to 1,966.13. Most other regional markets also fell amid renewed worries that economic recovery in China, the world's No. 2 economy, is faltering.

IMF Director Christine Lagarde warned at a conference in France on Sunday that a slowdown in emerging economies could result in the fund lowering its 2013 forecast for world growth, Societe Generale said in a research report.

The Chinese central bank's clampdown on easy credit has also fueled concerns about China's faltering economic recovery. Michala Marcussen of Societe Generale Group said in a commentary that credit data due out this week would likely show a slowdown in lending.

"This data will do little to change the picture of credit tightening in China, pointing to slower growth ahead," Marcussen said.

Peter Elston of Aberdeen Asset Management said a deeper problem is that China can no longer rely on its cheap manufacturing and easy government credit to maintain its rapid pace of expansion.

"What is happening now with China is that people are beginning to suspect that it may have reached the limits of that growth model," Elston said.

South Korea's Kospi dipped 1 percent to 1,815.40. Taiwan's TAIEX fell 1.4 percent to 7,886.34 and Indonesia's JSX was down 2.6 percent to 4,483.31.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 0.2 percent in early trading as the yen resumed its weakening trend, which is a perk for Japanese exporters. But by late in the day it had succumbed to the pessimism, falling 1.1 percent to 14,150.75.

World markets have been volatile in recent weeks as investors worried that an improving U.S. economy would convince the Federal Reserve to scale back a bond buying program that has kept interest rates low and sparked an influx of money into stocks in search of better returns.

Those worries were put aside Friday after the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added a stronger-than-expected 195,000 jobs last month, suggesting the economy is healthy enough to cope with a withdrawal of the Fed's stimulus.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 147.29 points to 15,135.84. The S&P 500 rose 16.48 points to 1,631.89. The Nasdaq composite climbed 35.71 to 3,479.38.

Benchmark crude for August delivery was down 19 cents to $103.03 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained $1.98 to $103.22 on Friday.

In currencies, the euro fell to $1.2826 from $1.2828 late Friday. The dollar fell to 101.25 yen from 101.05 yen.

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Moms create laundry-free sheets, linens

Sure, all parents worry when they send their kids off to college for the first time. But by the end of the first semester, Kirsten Lambert and Joan Ripple discovered a very disturbing fact: College kids hate to wash their bed sheets, so they don't ... for weeks, even months.

"We joked about sending them paper sheets you find in doctors' offices," Ripple said.

Instead, the two Hingham mothers founded Beantown Bedding and introduced Bedsox laundry-free linens.

Bedsox, they say, are comfortable to sleep on, hypoallergenic and can be used for weeks, making them ideal for college, camp, vacation homes and home health care.

They're also chemical- and dye-free and made from wood pulp, which makes them biodegradable and compostable.

Prices range from $9.99 for a set of two pillowcases to $25 for a twin sheet set and $27.99 for a queen sheet set.

Their motto: "Just toss, don't wash!"

Before launching their website last summer, Lambert and Ripple tested their products with students at 22 universities, including Stonehill College and Boston University.

Today, Bedsox are at universities in Massachusetts and 11 other states, where they're used for academic and sports camps.

Lambert and Ripple are also exploring other markets, including lodging facilities, the military and prisons.

"Our goal is to provide a convenient product," Ripple said, "but also to give back to society in some way."

So Beantown Bedding donates sheets to Camp Sunshine, a retreat in Sebago, Maine, for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families, who would otherwise be asked to bring sheets of their own.

In May, Lambert and Ripple found out their company was among 128 finalists MassChallenge had chosen out of 1,200 applicants to compete in its four-month accelerator and $1.3 million competition.

"I called Joan and said, 'I just want to know if you're ready,' and she said, 'For what?'" Lambert said. "I said, 'To move into One Marina Park Drive (MassChallenge's offices)," and then she screamed. It's like being accepted into Harvard."

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Flying car on a roll

Fifteen months after it created a sensation at the New York International Auto Show, Terrafugia's "flying car" will make its first airshow appearance later this month, as the Woburn company works on a next-generation prototype.

The Transition is scheduled to fly and drive July 31 at the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisc.

"We've had the vehicle on display there since 2006, and every year, people ask us when they can see it fly," said Richard Gersh, vice president of business development. "So we're very excited about the chance to demonstrate before a very large and enthusiastic crowd."

The company did a demonstration at Lawrence Municipal Airport last October for a select group of investors and prospective buyers, Gersh said, but AirVenture will be the Transition's first airshow.

The road-ready light sport aircraft still has a long way to go before it's ready for production, though.

In August 2012, Terrafugia said it had received more than 100 orders for the $279,000 aircraft, and the first delivery was expected this September.

But testing — and a new prototype that could be done by the end of this year — has pushed back that date to early 2015 or 2016, assuming the Transition wins certification from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

"Based on what we've learned from testing, our engineers have called for some changes," Gersh said. "But the overall look of the vehicle will be very similar."

Robert Mann, an airline industry analyst and former airline industry executive, said the delays are indicative of the central problem Terrafugia faces.

"You see the difficulty in trying to be a compromise between a land vehicle and an aircraft," Mann said. "When you compromise, you tend to not do either very well."

But Jake Schultz, a technical analyst for Boeing and author of "A Drive in the Clouds: The Story of the Aerocar," tips his hat to how far the Transition has come.

"I ... look forward to what this team still has in their old kit bag," Schultz wrote in an email. "Their team has not sat on the sidelines and talked about what could be done some day. They are out working every day to actually make it happen. There have only been two flying cars that have been certified — the Aerocar and the Airphibian — so theirs will be the first in nearly 60 years."

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Japan set to restart reactors after nuclear crisis

TOKYO — Japan is moving a step closer to restarting nuclear reactors as utilities are set to ask for safety inspections at their idled reactors, the clearest sign of a return to nuclear energy nearly two and a half years after the Fukushima disaster.

With all but two of its 50 reactors off line since the crisis, Japan has been without nuclear energy that once supplied about a third of its power.

Four of nine Japanese nuclear plant operators — supplying the regions of Hokkaido, Kansai, Shikoku and Kyushu — will apply for inspections by the Nuclear Regulation Authority for 10 reactors at five plants Monday, when new safety requirements take effect. Applications for two more reactors are expected later in the week.

Reactors that pass the stricter rules will be allowed to reopen possibly early next year, with each inspection expected to take several months. Critics say the rules have loopholes, including grace periods for some safety equipment.

Hit by soaring gas and oil costs to run conventional power plants to make up for the shortfall, Japanese utility companies have desperately sought to put their reactors back online.

Nearly all the utilities owning nuclear power plants reported huge losses last fiscal year due to higher costs for fuel imports. Hokkaido Electric Power Co., for example, said it has been hit with additional daily fuel costs of 600 million yen ($6 million) to make up for three idled reactors. Nuclear operators have requested rate hikes or plan to do so.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pushed for restarts since taking office in December, freezing the previous government's nuclear phase-out plan. Resumption of nuclear power plants is part of his ruling party's campaign platform in parliamentary elections in two weeks.

New rules for the first time require plants to guard against radiation leaks in the case of severe accidents, install emergency command centers and enact anti-terrorist measures. Operators are required to upgrade protection for tsunamis and earthquakes, as well as tornadoes and aviation accidents.

Safety was previously left up to the operators, relying on their self-interest in protecting their investments as an incentive for implementing adequate measures. Tokyo Electric Power Co. came under fire for underestimating the risk of a tsunami and building a seawall that was less than half the height of the wave that hit Fukushima Dai-ichi and caused multiple meltdowns and massive radiation leaks. About 160,000 evacuees still cannot return home.

"We decided to apply because we're confident about the safety measures we've taken," said Shota Okada, a spokesman at Hokkaido Electric Power Co., filing for the triple-reactor Tomari plant. "We'll do everything to accommodate a smooth inspection process."

Critics say the requirements have loopholes that make things easier for operators, including a five-year grace period — given to reactors known as PWRs that come with larger containment chambers considered less likely to suffer from pressure buildup than ones like those ravaged at Fukushima — for taking some mandated steps. This means half of the 48 reactors that use a pressurized water system could operate without the features for up to five years.

All 10 reactors set for inspections are PWRs, and filtered vents and command centers are reportedly still under way at many of them.

The approvals are aimed at resuming reactor operations even though nearby communities lag in enacting needed emergency and evacuation procedures, and the restarts will cause more nuclear waste, plutonium stockpiles and other safety and environmental risks, said a group of experts headed by Hosei University sociologist Harutoshi Funabashi.

The critics say running nuclear plants will eventually become a financial burden, as safety upgrades under the new requirements add up and the cost of decommissioning aging reactors and waste cleanup jump. Even initial safety upgrades are estimated to exceed a combined total of 1 trillion yen ($10 billion).

TEPCO, struggling with huge compensation and disaster cleanup costs, wanted to apply to restart two reactors in Niigata, central Japan, but was forced to postpone that amid local protests.

Niigata Gov. Hirohiko Izumida on Friday accused TEPCO President Naomi Hirose of ignoring the local communities: "Money or safety, which is more important?"

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Egyptian unrest trips hike in crude oil prices

Crude oil prices surged yesterday on a better-than-expected U.S. jobs report and concern about escalating unrest and violence in Egypt.

U.S. crude oil futures hit a 14-month high, climbing more than $1.98 per barrel to close at $103.22, after hitting a peak of $103.32. Brent crude for August delivery, meanwhile, touched a three-month high of $107.88 and settled at $107.72, up $2.18.

Oil has been on a fairly strong, bullish trend over the past two weeks, according to Addison Armstrong, senior director of market research at energy investment advisors Tradition Energy in Stamford, Conn.

"(The) unemployment report was just another in a recent series of good macro-economic data about the U.S. economy, which also helps support the view that demand for oil will increase," Armstrong told the Herald.

The job growth suggests a stronger economy makes it more likely the Federal Reserve will slow its bond purchases, which have kept interest rates low, boosting investments such as stocks and oil.

In Egypt, meanwhile, protests over the ouster of Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi turned violent.

Those headlines also helped to support the bullish momentum, Armstrong said.

Egypt is not an oil-producer, but its control of the Suez Canal, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, gives it a crucial role in maintaining global energy supplies.

But, Armstrong added, "I don't think professional traders have any expectation of serious disruption of oil from the Middle East because of the potential closure of the Suez Canal."

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