Lebron shines brightest on every stage

(Reuters) - LeBron James finally captured an elusive National Basketball Association title to cap a year where he silenced his critics and shared the spotlight with some unlikely players.

"Linsanity" became one of the new buzzwords in the NBA while a collegiate player took a sledgehammer to the record books and the Los Angeles Lakers made a blockbuster trade that rekindled memories of the team's "Showtime" era.

James, long considered the NBA's heir apparent to Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, finally delivered a performance worthy of that status with a championship in his ninth season, followed by a gold medal with the United States at the London Olympics.

A dominant force on the court, James had already earned the NBA's scoring title, Most Valuable Player honors and All-Star nods, but it took an elusive title, MVP honors for the regular season and NBA Finals to prove his detractors wrong.

The self proclaimed 'King James' became a player many NBA fans love to hate after going on national television in 2010 to announce his much-publicized move to Miami, but there is no denying his status as one of the game's greatest players.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever done as a basketball player," James said after winning the NBA title in June, beating Oklahoma City in the finals. "You just put a lot of hard work into it and you hope that one day it will pay off for you."

'LINSANITY' CRAZE

Basketball's marquee names were forced to share the limelight with undrafted Taiwanese-American Jeremy Lin, who went from an unknown to an overnight sensation after being thrust into the New York Knicks' starting lineup in February.

Lin burst onto the public consciousness after a masterful series of dynamic displays, scoring at least 20 points in nine of 10 games during a season-high seven-game win streak for the Knicks that sparked the "Linsanity" craze around the globe.

Crowds at New York's Madison Square Garden held an array of pun signs declaring "To Lin-finity and Beyond," "The Sky's the LINit" and "LINCREDIBLE," while a mid-February game in Toronto had one spectator holding a "By my VaLINtine" sign.

Lin's incredible run was undone by a late-season injury but that did not stop Time Magazine from naming him as one of the world's 100 most influential people. He was the only basketball player on a list that included President Barack Obama and billionaire investor Warren Buffet.

At the London Games, a star-studded American team led by James were one of the hottest favorites but were tested by an inspired Spain team before prevailing 107-100 in the gold-medal game to retain their Olympic title.

The victory capped a remarkable run for James, who was named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year, an award whose previous winners include boxer Muhammad Ali, golfer Jack Nicklaus and swimmer Michael Phelps.

GOLD MEDAL

It also put the finishing touches on an American sweep of basketball gold as the U.S. women collected their fifth consecutive Olympic gold, solidifying the country's dominance in a sport that has become much more competitive since active NBA players first participated in the Olympics in 1992.

The Lakers were the biggest story during the NBA's offseason after landing Dwight Howard in a 12-player trade that rekindled memories of the team's "Showtime" era from 1979-1989 with Hall of Famers Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Howard, a three-time defensive player of the year, joined a Lakers team that was already bursting with talent in the form of Kobe Bryant and Spain's Pau Gasol and still revelling in the acquisition of two-time league MVP Steve Nash a month earlier.

The massive trade immediately bolstered the Lakers championship credentials, a welcome development for a franchise that has suffered two straight early playoff exits since winning a 16th NBA title in 2010.

But despite the formidable Lakers lineup, the team stumbled out of the gate and their head coach was fired after a 1-4 start to the 2012-13 NBA as players were unable to grasp his new offensive system.

Some of the year's top stories even came from outside the professional ranks as Jack Taylor, a sophomore guard at Iowa's Grinnell College, shattered the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) scoring record with a 138-point performance in a Division III game.

The 22-year-old guard from Iowa's Grinnell College, drew national attention for his performance, which shattered the previous record of 113 points set in 1954.

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New generation of QBs emerge but league faces threats

MIAMI (Reuters) - A new generation of talented quarterbacks emerged in 2012 but a refereeing fiasco, worries over concussions and player behavior all left their mark on the National Football League (NFL).

The year was also a tantalizing tale of the Mannings with New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning winning his second Super Bowl title in four years with a win over New England in the same stadium where older brother Peyton played for Indianapolis.

After a year out with serious neck problems, Peyton Manning restarted his career with the Denver Broncos after 14 years with the Colts and quickly cast aside any doubts over his durability by leading his team to a playoff berth and division title.

Manning's revival came at the expense of Tim Tebow, the most talked about player in 2011, who has spent most of this year on the sidelines after being traded to the New York Jets.

'Tebow-mania' reached its peak in January when he led the Broncos to a playoff win over Pittsburgh but a crushing loss to the New England Patriots a week later was the last in a Denver uniform for the unorthodox quarterback.

Tebow's charisma, his noted religiosity and clean-cut good looks made him one of the most popular NFL players in years but that did not stop Jets head coach Rex Ryan leaving him as a bit-player and back-up to Mark Sanchez with most critics agreeing that Tebow's poor passing technique has hampered his career.

Tebow's fans understandably view 2012 as a year in which an exciting player's talent was wasted but in the big picture there has been no shortage of exciting new talent to enjoy in the NFL.

It was hard to imagine anyone exceeding the record-breaking impact made in 2011 by Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Cam Newton but it did not take long for the top two picks in this year's NFL Draft, Indianapolis's Andrew Luck and Washington's Robert Griffin III respectively, to make an impact.

Luck ushered in the post-Manning era faster than anyone had imagined, with his outstanding passing and classy composure indicating he is a player who could enjoy similar dominance to his predecessor.

Griffin, or RG3 as he is widely known, is a different quarterback altogether - his speed and courage make him a genuine double-threat, able to rush but he is also, as critics of Tebow have noted, an accomplished pocket passer too.

Seattle's Russell Wilson and Miami's Ryan Tannehill have also made good impressions in their rookie years and with Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger and the Mannings still on top of their game, it has become an era of unprecedented passing yards for quarterbacks.

NASTY UNDERBELLY

Given the key role quarterbacks play, the abundance of talent at the position should mark a golden-era for America's most popular league but the game has a nasty underbelly which has been revealed on several occasions this year.

The NFL has long been plagued by off-field problems, most notably domestic violence, gun crime and drunk driving, and there have been tragic examples of all three this year.

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher fatally shot his girlfriend at their home moments before killing himself in front of his coach and general manager at the team's training facility in December.

A week later, Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Josh Brent was charged with intoxication manslaughter after the car he was driving flipped over and caught fire, killing team mate Jerry Brown, a passenger in the car.

In May, former San Diego Chargers linebacker Junior Seau, a 12-time Pro Bowl selection, was found dead at his home in May, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest.

The manner of Seau's death and his families willingness to let his brain be examined for evidence of the impact of repeated injuries from his playing days, brought the issue of concussions back into focus.

Over 1,500 former football players have sued the NFL over head injuries and there have been accusations that the league concealed links between the game and brain injuries.

The NFL has disputed those allegations and points to its intensive education work on the issue and also the stricter new regulations covering treatment of players who are concussed.

BOUNTY PROGRAM

Concern over the potential impact of excessive violence on players was also behind NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's strong sanctions against the New Orleans Saints, a story that hung over the league for much of the year.

The Saints were accused of running a bounty program from 2009-2011 that gave players cash rewards for knocking opponents out of games.

While Saints head coach Sean Payton was suspended for the entire season and other members of the coaching staff received shorter bans, much of the attention was on the sanctions given to four players, all of whom had their punishments overturned.

The decision by former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, with little compelling reasoning behind it, was a strange end to an affair which did little good for the league's image.

That image also took a hit from the contract dispute with referees which led to an early season lockout and resulted in some farcical decisions By the replacement referees.

The dispute culminated in botched call in a nationally televised game that handed Seattle victory over Green Bay and caused so much outrage that a deal was swiftly reached for the regular refs to return in early in the season.

But while referee dispute, off-field troubles, bounty schemes and concussion fears generated plenty of negative attention for the league they did nothing to weaken the NFL's position as the dominant sport in North America and the top draw on U.S. television.

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MetLife says 2013 forecast assumes no buybacks

(Reuters) - MetLife Inc's  2013 earnings forecast assumes no share buybacks, the company's chief executive said on Thursday.

The Federal Reserve has twice blocked MetLife from buying back stock, a consequence of the bank holding company charter the insurer is trying to shed.

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Higher operating costs weigh on Imagination Tech

LONDON (Reuters) - Profit growth at Imagination Technologies has been dampened by higher research costs, overshadowing a 90 percent jump in shipments of chips containing its graphics technology used in products like Apple's iPad.

Shares in the British company reversed early gains and were trading 4 percent lower as analysts said the operating expenses had weighed on earnings.

Imagination, which counts both Apple and Intel as shareholders, said the rise in operating expenses to 43.8 million pounds in the first half from 31.4 million a year ago was down to increasing research costs and recruiting more staff.

It said it expected the rate of operating expense growth to slow in the second half and in the next year.

Analysts at UBS said the higher expenses had offset a solid revenue performance.

"While Imagination highlights that the speed of increase (in operating expenses) is short term and in response to a growing customer base, it poses a significant headwind to the profit growth expected," they said on Wednesday.

Imagination, whose shares were trading at 429 pence by 6:41 a.m. ET, posted adjusted pretax profit of 16.8 million pounds ($27 million) on revenue of 71.4 million, up 27 percent and beating analysts' expectations of 68 million.

Some 237 million chips containing its technology were shipped in the six months through October, it said, putting the group on track to reach 500 million chips for the full year and 1 billion annually by 2016.

KEY MARKETS

Imagination licenses its technology to customers like Apple for the iPhone and MediaTek for lower-end smartphones.

Chief Executive Hossein Yassaie said on average 1.5 million smartphones, tablets and other devices were rolling off production lines carrying the company's graphics and video technology every day.

"Overall we are hitting the key markets from high end to low end," he said in an interview.

Some analysts have fretted that Imagination faces growing competition from chipmakers like Qualcomm, Broadcom and Intel using their own graphics technology, and from a more aggressive push into graphics by ARM Holdings.

Yassaie responded to concerns that Intel was increasingly favoring its own graphics technology rather than licensing it from Imagination, speculation that analysts say was triggered by some leaked Intel slides in the United States.

"We have very strong current and ongoing relationship with Intel and we expect significant volume ramp-up with them over years to come," he said.

Imagination also wants to grow its microprocessor business and is battling U.S. mobile chipmaker CEVA to buy the operating business of MIPS Technologies.

CEVA said on Tuesday it would pay $90 million for MIPS' microprocessor operating business, trumping Imagination's offer for a second time.

Yassaie had no update on Imagination's next move but said the group would continue its processor drive with or without MIPS. "Right now we are in process of working through the acquisition," he said. ($1 = 0.6210 British pounds)

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Delta expects 2013 profit growth, plans returns to shareholders

(Reuters) - Delta Air Lines  said on Wednesday that it expected profit growth in 2013 and would introduce a plan to return cash to shareholders.

Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson said during the carrier's investor meeting webcast that Delta, the No. 2 U.S. airline behind United Continental Holdings Inc , expected a profit of $1.6 billion for this year. He said 2013 would bring a "solid improvement" over 2012.

Delta said it expected fourth-quarter earnings of $200 million to $250 million, excluding items, despite disruptions caused by superstorm Sandy. The storm barreled through the U.S. Northeast in late October and led airlines to cancel thousands of flights as major New York area airports shut down.

The carrier said it expected to announce a capital deployment strategy next year, with the program starting in January 2014.

U.S. carriers have merged, stopped flying unprofitable routes and raised ticket prices to recover in recent years. Airlines have also created new revenue streams with baggage and food fees, moves that have helped deliver profits in the face of volatile fuel prices.

Delta supports industry consolidation, Anderson said, predicting that AMR Corp's American Airlines and US Airways Group Inc will reach a deal soon. The two airlines are in talks on a potential merger.

Delta, which acquired Northwest Airlines in 2008, has cut costs while positioning itself for growth. Just on Tuesday, it announced the purchase of a 49 percent stake in British carrier Virgin Atlantic and a joint venture that will give it expanded access at London's Heathrow Airport.

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Costco profit jumps despite light membership fee growth

(Reuters) - Costco Wholesale Corp's  quarterly earnings beat Wall Street estimates, but the largest U.S. warehouse club chain collected less in membership fees than some analysts anticipated.

Shares of Costco were up 0.8 percent at $99.11 in morning Nasdaq trading after a slight decline earlier in the session.

Members pay up to $110 per year to shop at Costco's cavernous stores and website, where they can buy everything from carrots to kayaks. The fee revenue pads Costco's bottom line and allows it to offer low prices and take in thin profit margins on items it sells.

Membership fee revenue rose 14.3 percent to $511 million in the first quarter ended on November 25, Costco said. The Issaquah, Washington-based chain raised fees for most U.S. and Canadian members by 10 percent on November 1, 2011.

The fee increase seems to have had little to no impact on renewal rates, Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said during a conference call.

Still, the increase in membership fee revenue was not as great as some had anticipated, and growth declined from a rise of about 18 percent in the preceding quarter.

BMO Capital Markets analyst Karen Short said she had expected membership fee revenue of $534 million, while Sanford Bernstein analyst Colin McGranahan said the $511 million in fees was $4 million shy of his forecast.

Costco said it had earned $416 million, or 95 cents per share, in the quarter, up 30 percent from $320 million, or 73 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average were expecting a profit of 93 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

"While results were solid and clean in absolute terms, we believe this was largely line with expectations and unlikely to meaningfully move the stock," said McGranahan, who rates Costco at "underperform."

Lower-than-expected interest expenses and taxes helped boost earnings per share, said Short, who has an "outperform" rating on the shares.

Sales excluding membership fees rose 9.5 percent to $23.2 billion, just below the figure Costco gave last month, when it said quarterly sales rose 10 percent to $23.21 billion.

Sales at stores open at least a year rose 7 percent, including the effects of higher fuel prices. Excluding the impact of fuel and foreign currencies, Costco recorded 6 percent same-store sales growth.

Costco said it planned to open a new warehouse store in South Korea before the end of 2012. It operates 621 warehouses, including 448 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 85 in Canada, 32 in Mexico, and 23 in Britain. For all of fiscal 2013, it plans to open up to 30 new stores.

On November 28, Costco announced a $7 special dividend, set to be paid later this month.

The special dividend amounted to roughly $3 billion, the largest payout so far from any company ahead of a likely increase in the U.S. dividend tax. The chain will use proceeds from a $3.5 billion debt offering to pay for the dividend.

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Nasdaq to buy Thomson Reuters PR, IR units for $390 million

(Reuters) - Nasdaq OMX Group Inc said on Wednesday it agreed to buy Thomson Reuters  Corp's investor relations, public relations and multimedia services units for $390 million, as the exchange operator builds businesses that do not depend on trading.

The all-cash deal will add to Nasdaq's earnings within 12 months of closing, excluding transaction-related costs, the company said.

Nasdaq is looking to sell additional services to the companies that list on its exchanges as a way to draw more revenue from its corporate customers. It already gets more than 70 percent of its revenue from businesses that do not depend on transactions.

The Thomson Reuters units that Nasdaq is buying help companies communicate with investors and media and create and distribute video presentations.

Nasdaq already provides some of these services, but the acquisition will broaden its offerings and make them more global, bringing 7,000 new clients in more than 60 countries.

The units Nasdaq is acquiring generated $233 million of revenue in the 12 months ended September 30. That figure represents about 2 percent of Thomson Reuters' revenue in that period, but more than 7 percent of Nasdaq's revenue.

Nasdaq said it is funding the deal with available cash - the company had $438 million of cash and equivalents on its books at September 30 - and through its $750 million line of credit.

Nasdaq considered buying back shares but decided this deal would offer a higher return to shareholders, Chief Executive Robert Greifeld said on a conference call.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2013. Nasdaq has made a binding offer for the units but will not enter a definitive agreement until both companies talk to relevant unions and works councils.

Thomson Reuters has been trying to accelerate growth in the wake of the financial crisis after customers in banking and finance laid off tens of thousands of employees to cut costs.

As part of that effort, it is rejiggering assets in its portfolio.

The units the company is selling "didn't really integrate across the entire platform," said Drew McReynolds, an equity analyst covering telecom and media companies at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto.

Earlier this year, Thomson Reuters sold its healthcare business to private equity firm Veritas Capital for $1.25 billion in cash.

But Thomson Reuters is also buying assets where they help its main businesses. In July, it said it was buying foreign exchange platform FX Alliance Inc for $625 million.

Reuters is a unit of Thomson Reuters.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays Capital advised Nasdaq on the deal. JPMorgan advised Thomson Reuters.

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