Mercedes-Benz debuts concept driverless car of future at CES

LAS VEGAS — The car of the future according to Mercedes-Benz is one that drives itself, has seats inside that swivel to face each other and features a computerized brain that can watch a pedestrian walk by and even offer a digital projection of a crosswalk to help the person cross the road.

The carmaker unveiled the sleek concept car that it is calling F 015 Monday night at the International CES showcase for consumer electronics.

Mercedes-Benz turned a stage inside The Cosmopolitan on the Strip in Las Vegas into a scene usually reserved for annual car shows attracting a swell of photographers on stage afterward.

The company's leader Dieter Zetsche says there are still questions about driverless cars that require answers but the time is right to think about the car of the future.

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Hyundai Motor to spend $74B over 4 years on facilities, R&D

SEOUL, South Korea — Hyundai Motor Group, the world's fifth-largest automaker, said Tuesday it plans to spend 81 trillion won ($73.7 billion) over the next four years on factories, research and a new headquarters.

The announcement comes after Hyundai Motor Co. last week forecast the slowest annual sales growth in more than a decade. The South Korean government has pressured businesses to stop hoarding cash reserves and instead invest and hire more.

Hyundai said the average annual spending during the four years is a 35 percent increase from 2014.

The company plans to build two new factories in China, which will start operating in late 2016 and 2017 as its existing factories reach full capacity. Its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. is also expanding the capacity of its existing Chinese factory.

The group will also build new headquarters including auto-themed exhibition halls, hotels and shopping malls in Gangnam, a trendy district in southwestern Seoul. It said in September that it would pay $10.1 billion for a 79,342 square meter (854,030 square foot) plot of land for the new headquarters that the auto group believes will burnish its brand.

The expansion of factories at home and abroad and the construction of the new headquarters in Seoul will account for more than half of the four-year investment at 49.1 trillion won.

The group will spend 31.6 trillion won on research and development for low emission vehicles, smart cars and other technologies. By 2018, its affiliated companies will hire 7,345 employees in R&D including about 3,000 workers to develop low emission and smart car technologies.

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TV makers design for streaming video to stay relevant

LAS VEGAS — Does anyone just watch TV anymore? The dramatic shift toward online and mobile viewing is driving television set makers to design as much for streaming video as for watching broadcast or cable channels.

Traditional TV is far from dead, but these days viewers care less about watching shows live and even prefer saving certain series to watch all at once in an evening or weekend of binge-watching. Broadcast networks and hundreds of cable channels share viewer attention with thousands of online services, including amateurs creating their own series on YouTube. Already, Netflix has outbid traditional channels for hits such as "House of Cards." And Dish this week announced it will sell online access to a bundle of channels including live sports network ESPN for just $20 a month. Online video will account for a third of all video viewing in 2020, up from about 10 percent in 2013, predicts The Diffusion Group, a research firm that specializes in Internet video.

So how to keep the television set, that focal point of the American living room for decades, relevant? Design for online video.

At the International CES gadget show this week in Las Vegas, TV makers unveiled new models with 4K resolution, or four times the clarity offered by today's high definition TVs. They are pushing the features even though not a single TV channel is yet available in 4K. But Internet services such as Netflix, Amazon and M-Go are starting to offer 4K video.

Sony on Monday promised to create more 4K content to watch on those sets. Four popular shows from its entertainment division — "The Goldbergs," ''The Blacklist," ''Masters of Sex" and "The Night Shift" — will soon be available in 4K and it's working with partners including Netflix and YouTube to deliver more 4K streaming video.

"It's going to be the first format primarily driven by streaming," says Jim Funk, a senior vice president at Roku Inc., which makes streaming TV devices.

Beyond 4K, Sharp developed an engineering trick to make its high-end set look even sharper. Samsung added a nanocrystal semiconductor layer to make colors purer and the screen brighter. LG is pushing organic LED screens with richer colors and pure black — the kind typically limited to smaller displays such as phones because of price.

And Internet connectivity is becoming standard in sets, the way all TVs are color now. LG and Samsung also have ways to easily switch video between TV and mobile devices, so that if you're watching a movie on a phone, you can continue it on your TV as soon as you get home.

The Consumer Electronics Association expects TV sales to increase 2 percent to 251 million units this year. The average screen size is projected to be 40 inches, up from 31 inches in 2007. CEA predicts more than 23 million of the units will be 4K TVs this year, about 2.5 times the shipments in 2014. That's even with the explosion of viewing on tablets and smartphones.

People tend to use phones and tablets while traveling or for shorter video, says Tim Alessi, head of new product development for home entertainment at LG Electronics USA. For a full-length movie, viewers want to replicate the theater in the home. That's only done through a big TV set.

"When I want a full home-entertainment experience, especially with my family and friends, the TV is still the best way to do that," agrees Tim Baxter, president and chief operating officer of Samsung Electronics America.

And just as TV makers are hopping on the online train, so are content providers. Traditional channels are becoming available without the need for a cable or satellite subscription. Satellite TV provider Dish Network Corp. is the latest, offering its Sling TV package of channels, including ESPN and CNN, for delivery entirely over the Internet. The availability of ESPN addresses a major reason people still keep their TV service — live sports. Sony also has an Internet television service expected to debut by the end of March — PlayStation Vue — and HBO and Showtime plan to debut Internet-only subscription offerings this year. The packages are aimed at the millions of so-called cord-cutters or "cord-nevers" that find cable and satellite bundles too pricey and don't subscribe to either, turning instead to Hulu, Google's YouTube and Amazon.

Lesley H. Stahl, 31, is one potential customer of an Internet-only offering. She and her husband never considered cable when they bought a new house in Sunnyvale, California, figuring they had been mostly watching video online anyway. But Stahl says she would be cautious about subscribing to new channels, as she's used to just waiting until Hulu or Amazon gets the show. She said costs for individual subscriptions add up, and there's only so much time to watch.

"There's not any one TV show I'm so addicted to that I'm going to pay extra," she says. "At a certain point, we're just spending a whole lot of money."

These Internet offerings alone won't accelerate cancellations of cable or satellite services, says Joel Espelien, senior analyst for The Diffusion Group. But they might get more people to downgrade to lower tiers, he says, and use the savings to buy specific channels or services of interest.

Or a brand-new 4K TV?

___

AP Technology Writer Brandon Bailey contributed to this report.

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I kid you not, LG’s GizmoPal a good idea

GizmoPal by LG ($79.99 with a two-year Verizon contract)

One of the first wearable devices for children, this small wristband can make and receive calls with just one button. Available in pink or blue, GizmoPal works with an accompanying app that allows parents and caregivers to locate the child wearing the device on a map.

The good: It's rare to be blown away by a new device that is well-executed and seamless to use, but that's what this is. Although it's specified for ages 4 and up, my 3 year-old tested it out and loves it. I feel safer knowing I can find his precise location when he's with a babysitter or a family member.

The bad: Nothing to see here!

The bottom line: Why get your child a smartphone if you can avoid it? GizmoPal is a great answer to that phone dilemma faced by so many parents today.

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Booting Up: Zipcar to tap home base

For a company founded right in our backyard, Zipcar has been surprisingly absent from spheres of Boston influence. But that may soon change.

Founded in Cambridge and now located in the Innovation District, the car-sharing pioneer is looking to raise its profile as an iconic Boston success story that rivals the likes of companies such as Hubspot, WayFair and even those famous community pillars, Liberty Mutual and State Street.

"We're part of Boston's vibrant innovation economy, but as Bostonians, we're relatively humble," said Brian Harrington, Zipcar's executive vice president and chief marketing officer. "Many people are surprised to learn the sharing economy was born here and continues to call 
Boston home."

In the last year — and even amid a global expansion — Zipcar made a point to invest in a sort of local expansion, focusing on areas such as Mattapan and Roslindale. It also made a key local hire, tapping a top city hall cabinet member and Dorchester native, Justin Holmes, to run its corporate communications operation.

If you live in a Boston neighborhood, chances are that in the last year, you've seen a Zipcar or two pop up nearby, especially at MBTA stations. Zipcar added 41 cars to T stations in 2014, bringing the total to 80. In the past six months, Zipcar doubled the number of cars in Dorchester and launched two new spaces in Mattapan. Following a successful streak there, the company is now looking for additional opportunities nearby, hoping to land spots at visible, less traditional locations such as churches and community centers. A dozen new Zipcars also popped up last year in Roslindale, where there had been previously just one.

Two years after being acquired by Avis, Zipcar's corporate story is unfolding as a sort of model of brand preservation, in which the younger company has been encouraged to stay true to its geographic and demographic roots.

Besides the renewed focus on local ties, the best evidence of Avis seeing the value in Zipcar's autonomy is about to hit airwaves today — in the form of a new marketing campaign, a collaboration between Zipcar and the state of Vermont.

The campaign features a series of fun, tongue-in-cheek online ads titled, "I'd Tap That," using innuendo to showcase the simplicity of the tap-enabled unlocking mechanism on its fleet of cars. It's quintessentially Zipcar; undoubtedly not Avis. The campaign also harnesses a hallmark of millennial humor, the faux newscast, enlisting Vermont's top forestry official to insist that the state's maple sugar-makers "tap it" better than anyone. You can cast your vote at zipcar.com/WhoTapsItBest.

"We've been a disruptor without acting disruptive," said Harrington. "We're fun, witty and take risks."

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Hedge fund founder, 70, slain in NYC apartment

NEW YORK — A 70-year-old hedge fund founder has been shot dead in his New York apartment.

Police say Thomas Gilbert was shot in the head in his Manhattan apartment on Beekman Place on the East Side. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police are seeking the gunman.

Gilbert founded Wainscott Capital Partners Fund in 2011. The fund has $200 million in assets and focuses on the biotech and health care industries.

Gilbert previously co-founded Syzygy Therapeutics, a biotech asset acquisition fund.

The shooting was a rare act of violence on Beekman Place, a tony enclave just north of the United Nations.

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Federal tax filers must show healthinsurance status for first time

Tax season is here, and the federal Affordable Care Act mandating minimum health insurance coverage nationwide brings with it what's labeled as the biggest group of changes to the U.S. tax code in 20 years.

Massachusetts filers used to dealing with the state's mandated health-care coverage requirement on their state income taxes since the 2007 tax year now must address their insurance status on their federal income tax returns for the first time.

"What's most important is to be aware if your taxes are impacted," said Nancy Lebeau, master tax adviser and an enrolled agent for H&R Block in North Andover. "There are so many moving parts to the Affordable Care Act that H&R Block started preparing in 2010 and training all of its tax professionals."

The impacts on individuals' federal income tax returns depend on whether they have health insurance and when they obtained it, and if they purchased it through the state insurance marketplace known as the
Massachusetts Health Connector.

Individuals with private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid should see no impact and simply have to check a box on their federal tax returns.

Those who don't have insurance may be subject to a penalty on their federal income taxes just as they are on their state returns.

But there are more than 30 exemptions that could help, including exemptions if you're uninsured for less than three months of the year, for households whose income level is below the minimum filing amount or for non-U.S. citizens without valid immigration documentation.

The federal penalty — called a "shared responsibility payment" — is the higher of either a flat-fee $95 for each adult and $47.50 per child under 18 up to $285 per household or 1 percent of your annual household income, less the minimum filing amount. The penalties increase significantly for the 2015 and 2016 tax years.

Individuals who face both the federal penalty on their federal tax returns and a Massachusetts penalty on their state returns will see the latter reduced.

For individuals who purchased insurance through the health insurance marketplace, their tax liabilities/benefits also will depend on whether they qualified for an advance premium tax credit — government assistance to lower their monthly health insurance premiums — and if their estimated household income at the time held through for the year.

Those who did receive tax credits will receive a 1095-A tax form from the marketplace indicating the amount.

Filers may forget about the tax credits because they didn't directly receive them, as they were instead paid right to their insurance providers, according to Lebeau.

"In some cases, people may break even — they got the proper amount based on what they estimated (for household income)," Lebeau said. "Others may have estimated incorrectly or there could have been a job change or income change the rest of the year, and they may have gotten too much of a credit … and they may have to pay it back. It's taken from the tax refund."

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Foundation sends posses of Hub students to college

For 60 Boston students, the road to college just got a little easier.

Chosen by the Posse Foundation, these urban public school students are set to receive a full four-year scholarship, as well as a support system freshmen rarely get.

"I almost literally cried — like shed a tear," said Delano McFarlane, one of this year's scholars from New Mission High School in Hyde Park. "I never expected this."

Founded in New York City in 1989 after a student said, "I never would have dropped out of college if I had my posse with me," the organization sends groups of 10 students, who might be overlooked during the traditional application process, to partner schools across the country. This year's Boston scholars will go to Bucknell University, Centre College, Denison University, Bryn Mawr College, Union College and Hamilton College.

"I hope to meet other people that could be like me," said McFarlane, who heads to Union College this fall. "I have friends here who definitely helped me get through four years of high school and having this group of people around me at college will remind me of home and remind me of where I came from."

Majoring in sociology, McFarlane hopes to go into law enforcement after gradation and become a homicide detective.

"The idea that you can send a team or a group together to college — it just made sense," said Debbie Bial, founder of the Posse Foundation. "It means they are less likely to turn around and come home."

After taking nominations from public schools throughout Boston, potential scholars go through a vigorous group and individual interview process where they're asked to do things like build a robot out of Legos, or lead a discussion on genetic testing.

"Historically, schools have a very traditional way of identifying how they're going to admit students," said Bial. "But there is an incredibly talented pool of young people who wouldn't show up on their radar screen because they didn't go to a high school ranked high enough or didn't get the right test scores."

With more than 6,000 scholars placed, and a 90 percent graduation rate, Posse hopes to highlight these students.

"The big vision is to develop a national leadership network in the U.S. that represents the diversity of the country," said Bial, who's connected Posse Scholars to internships and post-college jobs at well-known companies such as Viacom, Goldman Sachs and Disney.

Celebrating its 15th year in the Hub, Bial says Boston was the first city where Posse replicated its program. It has since grown to 10 cities across the country. "Menino and Deval were big supporters," she said of the late Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Gov. Deval Patrick. "They believed in the power of these young people and their love and support really helped us grow in Boston."

Over the next eight months, the Posse members will participate in two-hour weekly training sessions with their peers, focusing on skills to help them succeed in college and beyond. On Jan. 8, the Boston scholars get official recognition in a ceremony at 7 p.m. at the Fairmont Copley Plaza.

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U.S. home growth slows for 11th consecutive month

WASHINGTON — U.S. home prices rose in October at a slightly slower pace, as real estate sales have fallen and affordability has increasingly become a challenge for potential buyers.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index increased 
4.5 percent in October from 12 months prior.

The figures mark the eleventh straight month of price gains decelerating and the smallest gain since October 2012.

The slowdown in price growth comes after surging double-digit increases for much of 2013. Home values climbed as the market recovered from bottoming out in 2011 in the aftermath of the housing bust and the Great Recession. But home prices have outpaced lackluster wage growth, leaving many potential buyers unable to afford homes and causing both sales and price growth to stall this year.

The recent decline in mortgage rates has yet to bring more buyers into the market. Simultaneously, there are fewer distressed properties and bargains coming onto the market that attract investors as buyers.

All of that has occurred despite an improving U.S. economy that has generated 2.65 million new jobs so far this year, as the unemployment rate has dropped to 5.8 percent from 6.7 percent at the start of 2014.

Prices barely budged over the past 12 months in Cleveland (up 
0.9 percent), Chicago (1.9 percent), New York (2 percent), Phoenix 
(2.1 percent) and Washington, D.C. (2.2 percent).

Still, there are signs that broader improvements in the U.S. economy may be causing prices to rise faster in some cities.

Compared to September, eight cities reported stronger year-over-year prices growth in October.

This includes San Francisco (up 9.1 percent), Denver (7.2 percent) and Tampa (6.1 percent).

"We are seeing hints that prices could end 2014 on a strong note and accelerate into 2015," said David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The Case-Shiller index covers roughly half of U.S. homes. The index measures prices compared with those in January 2000 and creates a three-month moving average. The October figures are the latest available.

Other housing reports confirm a broader slowdown.

The National Association of Realtors estimate that 2014 sales will end up below 2013 levels.

The trade group forecasts that 4.94 million existing homes will be sold this year, down 3 percent from 5.09 million in 2013.

Analysts say sales of roughly 5.5 million existing homes are common in a healthy real estate market.

The Commerce Department said last week that new home sales slid 1.6 in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 438,000. That remains significantly below the annual rate of 700,000 seen during the 1990s.

The real estate brokerage Redfin reported Monday that its market tracker found that home sales plummeted 5 percent in November compared to 12 months earlier.

Nearly a third of the buyers surveyed by Redfin said that their biggest obstacle to purchasing a home was affordability.

Stan Humphries, chief economist at the real estate data firm Zillow, noted that slower price growth should ultimately be helpful for the economy. When prices rise at levels closer to wages, more people are usually able to buy a home.

"A slower-moving housing market is inherently more stable, more balanced between buyers and sellers and more sustainable over the long-term," Humphries said.

Buying could be helped by average 30-year mortgage rates staying closed to a 19-month low.

Rates nationwide averaged 3.83 percent last week, according to the mortgage company Freddie Mac.

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Home Showcase: Mystic views accent Charlestown duplex

This newly renovated duplex is one of two in a Charlestown row house on a hill with views of the waterfront along the Mystic River.

The exterior of 100 Baldwin St. has been redone with yellow HardiePlank siding, all new Pella windows with white trim and a new rubber roof. The condo, which is near the Schrafft Center and a quarter-mile from the Sullivan Square Orange Line T stop, is on the market for $685,000.

Unit 2 is on the second and third floors and you enter into an open living/dining area with three front-facing windows, a light/fan, paneled wainscoting and new dark-stained oak floors.

The adjacent recessed-lit oak-floored kitchen has 22 gray custom cabinets atop polished white granite countertops and a breakfast bar that seats two. Stainless steel appliances include a Fisher Paykel refrigerator and gas stove, and a Bosch dishwasher.

Off the kitchen, through a red door, sits a 6-by-8-foot rear deck with panoramic views of Charlestown.

Behind the kitchen is a full bathroom with marble tile floors and surround for a shower and deep soaking tub, as well as a white granite-topped vanity. There are two closets outside the bathroom.

The unit's three bedrooms, all with dark-stained oak floors, are on the second level, off a hallway with a closet holding a stacked washer and dryer.

The master bedroom has two windows, high ceilings and a white 15-cabinet custom built-in over and around the bed location, plus a large walk-in closet. Its en-suite master bathroom features a marble tile floor and a large marble-lined walk-in shower, in addition to a white polished granite-topped vanity.

The second bedroom has white cabinets built in around a bed opening, and two windows with views out over the Mystic River.

A small third bedroom, more suitable as a home office, also has built-in white cabinets, a light/fan and a window with views of the Mystic River.

One floor up is a 12-by-14-foot private roof deck with views of Charlestown.

The unit has its own gas-fired central heating and air-conditioning system.

There is no on-site parking space, so the option is street parking with a residential permit.

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