Finance topics

ST. LOUIS • The money to renovate the Edward Jones Dome could come partly from higher fees for tickets and parking.

Those are among the possible sources of public funding listed in a financial plan the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission has sent to the Rams. The plan is meant to explain how to pay for $124 million in renovations to the Dome.

It lists a ticket surcharge and the creation of a new parking district, with a vehicle surcharge, as options. The plan also lists bond refinancing, tax credits and tapping the reserves of the Dome’s owner as other options.

The one-page financial plan, however, is short on specifics and does not list how much money each source of public funding would generate. It lists only the total they would bring in: $59.5 million.

The lack of specificity is highlighted by one of the listed sources: “Other City, County and State money as may be provided.”

And at least one of the listed items — refinancing of bonds issued by the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority to build the Dome — is not currently allowed, according to the authority’s website.

The CVC, which manages the Dome for the authority, wants the Rams to pay for $64.5 million of the renovation costs.

The CVC released the document late Thursday after a public records request from the Post-Dispatch. The CVC released its renovation plan on Wednesday but declined to release the financial document, and St. Louis and St. Louis County officials also initially declined to discuss funding details.

Officials said they did not list specifics or dollar amounts because the document was not meant to be a detailed financial analysis. The idea was simply to show the Rams that there are a variety of public funding options available, they said.

“All of them might be used or some of them might be used,” said Mike Jones, a senior policy adviser to St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley. “It’s all going to depend on what improvements end up being made.”

No decisions have been made on what area would make up the parking district, what the charges would be, and whether they would be levied only on game days or year-round. Also, no decisions have been made on how much a ticket surcharge would be. The city already charges a 5 percent amusement tax on Rams tickets.

Jeff Rainford, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay’s chief of staff, pledged that proposals to levy new fees or taxes would go before city voters — if those proposals go beyond what is generated as part of the “game day experience.”

“People who don’t go to Rams games or take part in the NFL experience don’t have to worry about being nicked for this without a vote of the people,” he said short term personal loan. “They will not pay any more for this facility without a public discussion and a public vote.”

Rainford also said a referendum would be needed if the city were to eliminate the 5 percent amusement tax or redirect the revenue to help pay for construction costs.

Dooley’s office has similarly pledged to give voters final say on some issues.

“Anything related to increasing a current tax or creating a new revenue source (in the county) would need to be voted on by the people,” Jones said.

The Dome, which opened in 1995, was largely financed with $256 million in revenue bonds, and the repayment of that 30-year debt will be $720 million. Every year, Missouri spends $12 million to pay off the debt, and St. Louis and St. Louis County each pay $6 million annually.

Highlights of the Dome renovation plan include adding large window panels and a 96-foot-wide video screen and scoreboard; building a three-story pavilion connected to the Dome via a bridge over Broadway; and replacing four luxury suites and 1,800 regular seats with 1,500 club seats.

The CVC is required to come up with a plan that, by March 2014, would make the Dome a “first-tier” facility. The Rams have until March 1 to accept or reject the CVC plan, and until May 1 to make a counteroffer.

“Until we know exactly how much we need, there’s no point in going through a financial analysis,” Kathleen “Kitty” Ratcliffe, the CVC’s president, said in explaining the lack of funding specifics.

The one-page financial plan, however, lists estimated costs for the proposed renovations. The biggest cost, $24.5 million, would be for improvements to entrances, bathrooms and common areas, followed by $21.5 million for changes to box suites and concourses.

Many of the proposed improvements would increase revenue at the Dome, but the Rams — not the CVC — likely would reap the biggest rewards from those upgrades. That could be why the CVC wasn’t shy in asking the team to front 52 percent of the bill.

Under the terms of the lease, for example, the Rams keep all ticket receipts, so the team will benefit most from the addition of pricier club seats.

The improvement plan would upgrade concession areas and increase food and beverage sales outside of the Dome. The lease gives the team all net revenue from concessions sold on game days.

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The director of the International Monetary Fund said Monday that Europe needs a stronger financial firewall to stop the spread of debt contagion in the eurozone.

Speaking in Berlin, IMF chief Christine Lagarde supported a plan to fold the resources of the European Financial Stability Facility into its permanent replacement, known as the European Stability Mechanism, which has yet to be fully established.

The EFSF is valued at €440 billion, while the ESM is expected to have €500 billion in lending capacity. Combining the funds could result in a total firewall worth €1 trillion, according to eurozone officials.

The goal is to shield larger euro area economies from the debt crisis that has pushed Greece to the brink of default and resulted in bailouts for Ireland and Portugal.

"We need a larger firewall," said Lagarde. "Without it, countries like Italy and Spain, that are fundamentally able to repay their debts, could potentially be forced into a solvency crisis by abnormal financing costs."

European recovery? Wait till 2013 (at least)

Lagarde stressed that the ESM should be funded with "real tangible capital," as opposed to the loan guarantees that make up the EFSF.

The comments came as finance ministers from the 17 nations that use the euro currency, known as the Eurogroup, met to discuss ways to speed up implementation of the ESM. They are also expected to hash out the details of the fiscal pact European leaders proposed in December.

In addition to calling for a stronger firewall, Lagarde said eurozone officials need to do more to boost economic growth, which could include additional action by the European Central Bank.

Lagarde also said the eurozone needs to move toward greater "fiscal integration." She pointed to a number of options for "fiscal risk-sharing," including the creation of so-called euro bonds, an idea that has proved controversial.

She welcomed steps the ECB has taken so far, including a long-term lending program that has already pumped nearly €500 billion into the banking system payday loans in one hour.

"That has helped enormously," Lagarde said, adding that "there is a role for the ECB to play in terms of monetary policy."

European banks need to raise more capital, but they must do so in a way that will not cause credit conditions to contract, cautioned Lagarde.

She said governments with large deficits need to continue to tighten public finances, although she warned the aggressive budget cuts could increase the risk of a deeper recession. However, nations that are in better financial shape should contribute to the "common effort" by scaling back fiscal consolidation, she added.

World Bank warns on risk of global recession

Separately, Lagarde said the IMF will lower its growth forecasts for "many part of the world" when it releases an update to its World Economic Outlook early Tuesday.

She called on global policymakers to do what is necessary to prevent a deeper decline, saying last year’s economic problems were driven "by a lack of a collective determination to reach a cooperative solution."

"Now the world must find the political will to do what it knows must be done," she said.

While the debt crisis in Europe is the biggest threat, Lagarde also pointed to the challenges facing the U.S. economy.

"The United States, as the world’s largest economy and the center of the global financial system, has a special responsibility," she said.

Despite signs of a modest recovery, the U.S. economy remains hindered by high unemployment and a weak housing market.

In addition, U.S. policymakers need to get past the "partisan impasse" on how to reduce the nation’s long-term debts, without stifling economic growth, she said. 

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Vancouver displaced Sydney as the least-affordable housing market after Hong Kong among large English-speaking cities, as home prices rose faster than incomes, a study of 325 metropolitan areas worldwide showed.

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The Obama administration will ask Congress to raise the nation’s borrowing limit by $1.2 trillion this week, marking the third and final increase from a deal negotiated over summer.

Treasury officials said Tuesday that the increase is necessary because the government will be within $100 billion of its current limit by Friday.

The debt limit is the amount the government can borrow to finance its operations. The latest increase will boost that limit to $16.4 trillion. Officials say that should be enough to allow the government to keep borrowing until the end of 2012 _ just after the presidential election.

Congress can reject the request, although Obama can veto their objection. If Congress doesn’t act by Jan. 14, the increase will take place automatically.

The national debt has soared because the government has run record deficits over the past decade. The borrowed money has helped pay for two wars, stimulate the nation’s economy after the worst recession since the Great Depression and finance broad tax cuts initiated during the Bush administration.

The enormity of the debt has also stoked intense partisan debate in Congress over spending and taxes. Polls show growing voter anger with the inability of both parties to reach solutions to the country’s budget problems fast cash now.

In August, Congress and the administration agreed to raise the borrowing limit by $2.1 trillion in three steps. The deal was reached hours before a potential default on the nation’s debt and only after the parties also agreed to cut more than $2 trillion from the deficit over the next 10 years.

Still, the parties are at odds over how to reduce the deficit. In November, a bipartisan panel failed to meet a deadline to agree on $1.2 trillion of the cuts. That means automatic cuts of that amount will begin in January 2013 _ a condition included in last summer’s deal.

Republicans want to modify the timetable for the automatic cuts, largely because it includes steep cuts to the nation’s defense budget.

Congress agreed to raise the debt limit by $400 billion in August and by another $500 billion in September.

House Republicans voted against the second increase. But they failed to block it because the Senate approved it. The increases are scheduled to take effect unless both chambers vote against them.

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Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. tumbled on Wednesday after the retailer of preppy teen apparel reported third-quarter results that missed expectations due to higher costs and a slowdown in Europe.

After losing market share to cheaper competitors during the recession, Abercrombie & Fitch has focused on expanding internationally with flashy flagship stores in places like Milan and Paris and on closing underperforming stores in the U.S.

But it is facing challenges on two fronts, higher costs and the increasingly shaky economy in Europe. In a call with analysts, CEO Mike Jefferies said the company stood by its European expansion plans.

“Our European business, while slowing somewhat during the quarter, is very robust and healthy by any objective measure,” he said. “If anyone is inclined to believe that a softening of our business in Europe this quarter in the face of severe macroeconomic headwinds is a major issue for our model, frankly, I think they are missing the forest for the trees.”

Its shares dropped more than 14 percent in late morning trading.

Abercrombie reiterated that it plans to open 40 international mall-based Hollister stores during the year. About 25 have opened as of Oct. 29. It plans to open five international flagship Abercrombie & Fitch stores in 2011. It said it would open Abercrombie & Fitch flagship stores in Amsterdam and Munich in 2012, in addition to previously announced flagships opening in Hamburg and Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, high costs pressured results. The cost of goods sold was up 34 percent during the quarter. But the company did not raise prices, in order to drive sales in its U.S. stores.

“We chose to keep our average unit retail prices down in these stores, which, combined with double-digit average unit cost increases, puts significant pressure on our gross margins,” Jeffries said.

He said the company likely would likely raise prices in the future, and not doing so “left dollars on the table,” in the third quarter.

The New Albany, Ohio-based retailer’s net income rose to $50.9 million, or 57 cents per share, for the three months ended Oct. 30. That compares with $50 million, or 56 cents per share, a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of 72 cents per share.

Revenue rose nearly 22 percent to $1.08 billion from $886 million. Analysts expected revenue of $1.07 billion.

U.S. revenue rose 14 percent to $920.2 million. International sales rose 56 percent to $255.7 million.

Revenue in stores open at least one year, a key gauge of a retailer’s performance, rose 7 percent, including a 4 percent gain at Abercrombie & Fitch, a 6 percent gain at Abercrombie kids stores and an 8 percent gain at surf-themed Hollister Co.

Shares fell $8.01, or 14.4 percent, to $47.69 in late morning trading after falling as low as $46.69 earlier in the session. The stock had been down 3 percent since the beginning of the year.

Stock fell in the broader market as oil topped $100 a barrel for the first time since July and concern about Europe’s debt crisis lingered. The Dow fell 121 points in morning trading.

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Male CEOs with faces that are wider relative to facial height achieve better financial performance for their firms, according to research from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Elaine M. Wong, assistant professor in the school’s department of communication, analyzed the features of 55 U.S. CEOs and found that in general, the wider the face, the higher the company’s return on assets.

She did not find the same correlation with women. She hypothesizes that wider faces – which her research also links to greater aggression – may have been an evolutionary necessity for men, but not women.

The successful group of current and former CEOs included Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines, who turned a pioneering business model into a high-flying success; Kenneth Wolfe, who expanded Hershey chocolate into new markets, dramatically increasing revenues and William Stavropoulous, who made Dow Chemical Company an industry leader.

All have faces that are wider rather than narrower, according to Wong’s research.

The Star asked her to put some Canadian CEOs to the test.

Jim Balsillie, co-chair of Research-in-Motion, the BlackBerry maker whose fortunes have tumbled this year, has a relatively narrow face, according to Wong’s calculations, forecasting less stellar results.

She put Tim Horton’s CEO Paul House and Loblaw’s chief Galen Weston Jr. squarely in the middle of the pack of 55 U.S. CEOs.

U.S. CEOs with lower facial ratios included Paul Allaire of Xerox, George Fisher of Kodak, and Richard Fuld of Lehman Brothers.

Wong cautions against eyeballing it because looks are deceiving. Barack Obama appears to have a thin face, but it only looks that way because he’s tall and thin. Precise measurements reveal he has a relatively wide face.

Even Wong and her fellow researchers don’t eyeball it. They use computer software to standardize the photos and measure the distance between cheekbones and the distance between the brow and upper lip.

But if Obama has a wide face, how to explain the current state of the U.S. economy? How to explain that a year ago, RIM, run by Balsillie and his partner Michael Lazaridis, was flying high?

The research reveals a trend, not an absolute that will hold true in every case, says Wong. And facial width is only one factor among numerous other variables.

The research was based on previous work by the University of Toronto’s Nicholas Rule, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychology and Canada Research Chair in Social Perception and Cognition.

Rule’s research showed that people are able to judge successful CEOs from less successful ones based on photographs. They can even judge success later in life based on photographs taken in university.

Studies at Brock University have found that hockey players with wider faces tended to be more aggressive, with more penalty minutes, says Rule.

“It suggests there is something about the face,” says Rule. “What these studies are doing is saying indeed it’s the facial metrics.”

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Greece’s political leaders struggled Sunday to find common ground on forming an interim government amid a political crisis that threatened the country’s ability to avoid a catastrophic bankruptcy and to retain its cherished eurozone membership.

The country’s president, Karolos Papoulias, was to convene a meeting between Prime Minister George Papandreou and the head of the main opposition conservatives, Antonis Samaras, Sunday night to try to hammer out a solution.

Faced with mounting pressure from both the opposition and his Papandreou, who survived a confidence vote in his government Saturday, has said he will step aside if agreement can be reached on the formation of an interim government that will secure a new European debt deal for Greece and the disbursement of a vital bailout loan installment without which the country will default within weeks.

“I’ve said many times, and I insist on this for the umpteenth time, that I am not interested in staying on in this new government as prime minister,” Papandreou told his ministers during an emergency Cabinet meeting Sunday. “I couldn’t have been clearer. I don’t play games and neither do I gamble the country’s fortunes.”

Samaras, who has been pressing for snap elections, has set Papandreou’s resignation as a condition for participating in any talks, saying earlier Sunday he considered the prime minister to be “dangerous” for the country.

The crisis was sparked after Papandreou’s shock announcement Monday night that he wanted to put a new European debt deal aimed at rescuing his country’s economy to a referendum. That plan caused an uproar in Europe, with the leaders of France and Germany saying any popular vote in Greece would decide whether the country would remain in the euro. European officials also said the country would not receive the vital euro8 billion euro installment of its existing euro110 billion bailout until the uncertainty in Athens was over.

Papandreou’s announcement also spooked international markets, leading stock markets to tumble and led to calls in Greece for Papandreou’s resignation _ even from among his own Socialist lawmakers and ministers _ with many saying he had endangered Greece’s bailout.

The prime minister withdrew the referendum plan on Thursday, after Samaras indicated his party would back the new debt deal, which was agreed upon after marathon negotiations in Europe on Oct. 27.

Greek officials were hoping to have a deal on a new interim government by Monday, when the country has to attend a meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels instant credit reports.

“Forming a new government is not just to a question of having someone representing the country. There are very specific things to be done and we must show responsibility and send a strong message to our partners abroad that we, as a country, are ready not only to vote the agreement, but also to implement it,” Papandreou said during the Cabinet meeting, according to a transcript of his statements released by his office.

Greece has been surviving since May 2010 on its initial bailout. But its financial crisis was so severe that a second rescue was needed as the country remained locked out of international bond markets by sky-high interest rates and facing an unsustainable national debt increase.

The new European deal, agreed on by the 27-nation bloc on Oct. 27 after marathon negotiations, would give Greece an additional euro130 billion ($179 billion) in rescue loans and bank support. It would also see banks write off 50 percent of Greek debt, worth some euro100 billion ($138 billion). The goal is to reduce Greece’s debts to the point where the country is able to handle its finances without relying on constant bailouts.

Greece’s lawmakers must now approve the new rescue deal, putting intense pressure on the country’s leaders to swiftly end the political crisis so parliament can convene and put the debt agreement to a vote.

“We know that there can be no elections now,” Papandreou said during the Cabinet meeting, noting that snap polls would delay the approval of the new debt deal. “This cooperation, however, is necessary and will be beneficial for the climate in our country and internationally.”

He said the new government would focus on passing the new debt deal and ensuring the disbursement of the bailout tranche.

“In these critical moments, the two (main) parties are merely wasting time,” said lawmaker Giorgos Kontoyannis, a former New Democracy legislator who has joined splinter group Democratic Alliance. “I want to say to my former New Democracy colleagues that our responsibility to our country is individual and not bound by party allegiance.”

In return for bailout money, Greece was forced to embark on a punishing program of tax hikes and cuts in pensions and salaries that sent Papandreou’s popularity plummeting and his majority in parliament whittled down from a comfortable 10 seats to just three.

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The 17-nation eurozone is considering two forms of leveraging to boost its euro440 billion ($600 billion) bailout fund’s capacity in a bid to contain the debt turmoil that threatens to engulf more European nations.

A document obtained by The Associated Press, which Germany’s government was sharing with key lawmakers Monday, shows the currency zone wants to give the bailout fund the ability to provide investors with a partial insurance against losses from its member states’ government bonds.

The eurozone document also foresees setting up a special investment vehicle that seeks to attract outside investors such as sovereign wealth funds, combining “public and private capital to enlarge the resources available to” the European Financial Stability Fund, or EFSF.

Leading German opposition lawmakers, who were briefed earlier Monday by Chancellor Angela Merkel on the plan, said the fund’s capacity will be boosted “beyond euro1 trillion” ($1.39 trillion) under the new rules.

But the draft document by the eurozone working group did not provide a headline figure for the bailout fund, stressing “a more precise number on the extent of leverage can only be determined after contacts with potential investors” and rating agencies.

Eurozone governments hope that the enhanced EFSF will be able to protect countries such as Italy and Spain from being engulfed in the debt crisis. To do that, however, it needs to be bigger or see its lending powers magnified.

German lawmakers will vote on the bailout funds’ new rules Wednesday, hours before an EU summit in Brussels is set to adopt them.

The draft document stressed that the EFSF would “benefit from the flexibility to deploy both options, which are not mutually exclusive.” The insurance model is designed to increase the demand for newly issued eurozone government bonds, lower the yields “thereby supporting the sustainability of public finances,” the document said.

Lowering the yields for troubled eurozone governments is a key step to counter the widening debt crisis, because spiraling yields on debt issued by Greece, Portugal and Ireland eventually cut them off from market financing, forcing the eurozone to provide those nations which an emergency loan package.

In the event of a default, “the investor could surrender the partial protection certificate” and “receive payment in kind with an EFSF bond,” the document said, referring to the insurance option.

The new investment facility, a so-called special investment purpose investment vehicle, is meant to allow the EFSF “to attract a broad class of international public and private investors.” The investment structure aims at creating “additional liquidity and market capacity to extend loans, for bank recapitalization via a member state and for buying bonds in the primary and secondary market,” the eurozone draft document said.

Beefing up the bailout fund is one part of a three-pronged eurozone plan to solve the crisis.

The other two parts are reducing Greece’s debt burden so the country eventually can stand on its own and forcing banks to raise more money so they can take losses on the Greek debt and ride out the financial storm that will entail.

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California Attorney General Kamala Harris said Friday that she will not agree to a settlement over foreclosure abuses that federal officials and other state attorneys general are negotiating with major U.S. banks.

Her announcement is the latest to undermine a resolution that had been in the works between the banks and attorneys general in all 50 states. Other states including New York also have expressed reservations about the deal, which would help keep people in their homes and compensate borrowers who faced improper foreclosures.

The agreement was supposed to settle claims of poor mortgage and foreclosure practices, including document fraud known as “robo-signing” _ approving documents in foreclosures without actually reading them.

However, Harris said the pending deal is “inadequate for California homeowners” and gives bank officials too much legal immunity.

The state is being asked as part of the settlement “to excuse conduct that has not been properly investigated,” she wrote, promising to continue her own investigation.

Without agreement from the nation’s most populous state _ and one of the hardest hit by foreclosures _ the settlement could end up doing little to resolve the issue. Foreclosure fraud class-action lawsuits are also piling up against major banks across the country.

Harris noted that more than 2.2 million California residents are underwater, meaning they owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. Since the negotiations began 11 months ago, foreclosures have begun against more than 560,000 additional California homes.

“No state has been harder hit than my home state of California,” Harris wrote in a letter to Associate U.S. Attorney General Thomas Perrelli and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who have been leading the talks.

Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. are among the banks that have been involved in the talks.

“We will continue to work with all parties, including our customers to restore home ownership nationally and locally,” Wells Fargo spokeswoman Vickee Adams said, adding that the bank has helped more than 700,000 people nationwide with new low cost loans or modifications.

JPMorgan Chase spokesman Thomas Kelly and a Bank of America spokesman Lawrence Grayson declined to comment.

Harris said California will go it alone in negotiating a settlement with the banks that would keep more families in their homes. She also promised to seek regulations and legislation to prevent future problems.

Assistant Iowa Attorney General Patrick Madigan said California had been an important part of the negotiations, which already have had lasting effects, delaying foreclosures in many states.

“However, the multistate effort is pressing forward and we fully expect to reach a settlement with the banks,” he said in a statement. The settlement will still be presented to all 50 states, he said.

States need to move quickly to prevent more foreclosures, Madigan said.

“Providing relief after the foreclosure crisis is over would be a hollow victory indeed,” he warned.

Community organizations praised Harris for rejecting the settlement.

“The first step in restarting our economy is keeping people in their houses and holding banks’ feet to the fire,” Rick Jacobs, chairman and founder of the Courage Campaign, said in a written statement.

“This settlement would have only been able to help around 20,000 California homeowners out of 2.2 million, while giving away all future rights to pursue investigations and litigation around a broad list of fraud that has been committed,” said a news release from People Improving Communities Through Organizing.

The talks have been designed to institute new guidelines for mortgage lending nationwide. It was anticipated to be the biggest overhaul of an industry since the 1998 multistate tobacco settlement.

However, over the last year, issues have arisen that have caused significant obstacles, including the amount of money in a reserve account for property owners who were improperly foreclosed upon, and how much civil liability the lenders should face.

The issues have caused attorneys general, including those in New York and Delaware, to withdraw from the talks. Attorneys general in Minnesota, New Mexico and Kentucky in recent weeks have criticized aspects of the deal in media reports.

Banks’ responses to the scrutiny have varied.

Many, including Bank of America and Ally Financial Inc.’s GMAC Mortgage, temporarily halted their foreclosure cases in October after allegations surfaced that employees signed but didn’t read documents that may have contained errors. Wells Fargo also admitted it had made mistakes in thousands of foreclosure cases and promised to fix them but did not stop its foreclosures. All three lenders have said they’re fixing the problems.

One of the biggest sticking points in settlement talks has been the amount of penalties the mortgage lenders would pay for their role in improper foreclosures. Federal and state officials have sought a figure greater than $20 billion while banks have pushed for about $5 billion.

A “monetary relief fund” was agreed upon in principle by May. But the formula for how much states and federal agencies would get became contentious.

Some states, upset with the slow movement on the settlement, have already taken action on their own.

Attorneys general in Arizona and Nevada, two of the states hardest hit by defaulted mortgages, have filed lawsuits against Bank of America, the country’s largest bank, saying the lender misled and deceived homeowners who have tried to modify mortgages.

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U.S. stock futures are falling as traders close out what could be the worst quarter since the peak of the financial crisis.

Fears about a European debt crisis with potentially catastrophic consequences have weighed on markets since the spring. Economic data are mostly weak. Major stock indexes have fallen more than 10 percent. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index is down 12 percent _ the most since the final quarter of 2008.

The government reports before the market opens on consumer spending and personal incomes in August easy to get unsecured personal loans. Economists expect spending edged up after rising in July.

At 7:33 a.m. Eastern time, S&P 500 futures were down 14, or 1.2 percent, at 1,143. Dow futures were down 118, or 1.1 percent, at 10,981. Nasdaq 100 futures were down 22, or 1 percent, at 2,168.

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