Home-price gains slowed in October

January 1, 2014 at 12:00a.m.

WASHINGTON

U.S. home prices rose in October from the previous year at the fastest pace in almost eight years. But price gains slowed in most U.S. cities from September to October, suggesting the increases are leveling off.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 0.2 percent from September to October, down from a 0.7 percent increase from August to September.

Monthly price gains slowed in 18 of the 20 cities tracked by the index. And prices declined in nine cities, including Chicago, Denver, and Washington.

For the year, prices are still strong, reflecting big gains in earlier months. They have risen 13.6 percent over the past 12 months, the fastest since February 2006.

Netflix tests new streaming pricing

Netflix is testing new price plans for streaming video as it tries to lure more viewers.

Among the plans being tested are a $6.99-a-month plan that allows only one video stream to be watched at once, and a $9.99-a-month plan that allows three streams at one time, whether on a TV, tablet or computer.

A Netflix spokesman says not everyone will see the test prices, and they may never roll out to all customers.

Netflix’s standard $7.99-a-month plan allows users to watch video on up to two screens at once, including TVs and mobile devices. An $11.99-a-month service allows up to four shows at once. Netflix announced that plan in April.

Any move to offer a cheaper service tier would be surprising to some analysts, who expect the company to raise prices eventually to pay for the service’s content.

HP confirms higher layoffs expected

PALO ALTO, Calif.

Personal-computer giant Hewlett-Packard Co. has confirmed that it expects layoffs at the upper end of a range that it outlined earlier this year, with 5,000 more workers than originally planned expected to lose jobs by October 2014.

The company said in a securities filing Monday that “continued market and business pressures” were behind the move. The cuts add to 29,000 positions it planned to cut in a May 2012 restructuring plan.

Hewlett-Packard said in March that its estimated cutbacks could vary by as much as 15 percent from its original estimate. At an October meeting with analysts, Chief Financial Officer Cathie Lesjak said the company planned to end up “near the high end” of that range.

Apple: We had no role in iPhone hack

LONDON

Apple Inc. says it played no role in the National Security Agency’s alleged efforts to hack the iPhone, explaining that it was unaware of a recently revealed program apparently aimed at turning the best-selling smartphone into an improvised listening device.

The Cupertino, California-based, company said Tuesday it had never worked with the NSA to deliberately weaken its products, promising that it would “defend our customers from security attacks, regardless of who’s behind them.”

Associated Press