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Verizon iPhone: Hidden Fees and Gotchas

Like any good wireless carrier, Verizon Wireless tends to obfuscate the dirty details of its service plans, and it'll make no exceptions for the iPhone 4.

In addition to the Verizon iPhone's on-contract price of $200 for a 16 GB model and $300 for 32 GB, you might run into some other hidden fees and gotchas. Here's a rundown of what to expect:

Wi-Fi hotspot

The Verizon iPhone's surprise feature is its ability to become a 3G Wi-Fi hotspot for up to five other devices, but not for free. Wireless tethering on Verizon's iPhone 4 will cost $20 for 2 GB, plus $20 for each additional GB. The overage rate is twice what AT&T charges for wired tethering, but the base data allotment is separate from your main data plan. AT&T's wired tethering draws on the same 2 GB as your basic service plan.

Visual voicemail

Verizon doesn't say on its website whether visual voicemail will cost an extra $2.99 per month, as it does on all other Verizon smartphones. Shortly after the Verizon iPhone announcement, a customer service representative told PC World that the service will cost extra, but . In a follow-up call, a representative said there was no other information available. We do know that if you're an existing Verizon customer, you won't be able to bring old messages onto the iPhone. Saving them to a computer, at least temporarily.

Activation

Verizon's activation fee is $35, compared with $36 for AT&T. Sometimes, carriers waive activation fees for promotional purposes, but it's not clear whether Verizon will do this for the iPhone.

Off-contract cost

If you've got money to burn and don't want to be tied down to a single phone for the next two years, prepare to pay a little extra on Verizon. The off-contract iPhone 4 costs $650 for 16 GB and $750 for 32 GB, compared with $599 and $699 on AT&T.

Early termination

Verizon charges $350 for early termination, minus $10 for every completed month of your contract. AT&T charges $325 with the same pro-rating.

Returns and restocking

Verizon charges a $35 restocking fee for its phones, but hasn't listed fees specifically for the iPhone. AT&T charges a 10 percent restocking fee for iPhones. Your best bet is the Apple Store, which charges . In all cases, you're responsible for any usage costs.

Oil prices settle higher, above $87 per barrel

Oil prices rose past $87 a barrel on Wednesday, as investors focused on President Barack Obama's ideas for more jobs and overhaul corporate taxes.

Benchmark oil for February delivery rose $1.14 to settle at $87.33 a barrel in afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Traders took their cue from the stock market, which moved higher on Obama's call in the State of the Union address to close corporate tax loopholes and lower business tax rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 12,000 for the first time since June, 2008. The Standard & Poor's 500 index and the Nasdaq composite index also rose.

In its weekly report, the Energy Department said supplies of oil and gasoline rose more than expected last week. Crude supplies expanded by 4.8 million barrels to 340.6 million barrels. Gasoline supplies rose by 2.4 million barrels to 230.1 million barrels, while demand in the past four weeks increased 1.1 percent. Supplies of distillate fuel, which includes diesel and heating oil, declined by 100,000 barrels to 165.7 million barrels.

U.S. refineries ran at 81.8 percent of total capacity on average, which was a decline of 1.2 percent from the previous week.

Crude supplies grew last week as imports rose from the previous week, and refineries used less crude as they slowed operations for regular maintenance.

Higher-than-expected supplies can drive down oil prices, but prices have dropped over the last four trading sessions and investors seemed unfazed by Wednesday's report.

"The short-term trend (in oil prices) still looks to be down but these numbers should have given us more of a push lower and it really hasn't done much," said Tom Bentz, an analyst at BNP Paribas Commodity Futures.

At the pump, the national average for regular gasoline was a fraction lower from Tuesday, at $3.106 a gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and the Oil Price Information Service. That's 6.4 cents more than a month ago and 40.6 cents above a year ago. Gas prices across the country range from $2.823 a gallon to $3.697 a gallon.

The dollar weakened against other currencies a day after successful debt sales by Spain and Europe's rescue fund helped support the euro. Commodities are priced in dollars so a weaker dollar can make them more of a bargain for buyers who use other currencies.

In other Nymex trading in February contracts, heating oil rose 7.47 cents to settle at $2.6713 a gallon, and gasoline added 8.6 cents to settle at $2.4566 a gallon. Natural gas for March delivery gained 1.1 cents to settle at $4.501 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude rose $2.66 to settle at $97.91 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

W. Sahara-Morocco talks remain in deadlock

MANHASSET, New York (AFP) – UN-brokered talks between Morocco and Western Sahara rebels failed to break decades of deadlock on the future of the disputed North African territory, the UN envoy said.

"Each party continues to reject the proposal of the other as a sole basis for future negotiations," said UN special envoy Christopher Ross, who oversaw the third round of talks near New York in the past two months and the ninth since 2007.

The Polisario Front independence group demands a self-determination referendum in the north African territory that was annexed by Morocco after Spain withdrew in 1975. Morocco has only offered greater autonomy.

Polisario negotiator Khatri Addu told reporters "Morocco continues to avoid any real negotiation." He demanded an international commission of inquiry into "repression" in the territory.

Morocco's Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri said his country was ready "to find a solution to this regional difference on the basis of Morocco's legitimacy in its Sahara."

The two sides did agree to a new round of informal talks in March.

The UN envoy had asked both sides to bring "concrete proposals" to improve prospects for the negotiations which have been dragging on for years. Another round of talks is scheduled in March.

The United Nations brokered a ceasefire in the conflict in 1991. A Security Council-approved plan called for a referendum in Western Sahara on independence or integration with Morocco, but it has never occurred.

Ross said the weekend talks went ahead with "serious engagement, frankness, and mutual respect."

"The parties engaged in extensive discussions on innovative approaches to build a new dynamic for this process on the basis of regular meetings," the envoy added.

"In this regard, both parties presented and discussed in a preliminary manner concrete ideas that will be developed at the next round of informal talks" in March.

Delegations from neighboring Algeria, which supports the Polisario Front, and Mauritania were also at the talks.

Western Saharans living in Algerian refugee camps have been allowed to resume family visits and this was welcomed by all sides at the talks.

A meeting with the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva is scheduled next month in a bid to step up the visits, Ross said.

"The X Factor" wins UK National Television Award

LONDON (Reuters) – "The X Factor," which has a U.S. launch this year, won the talent show category at Britain's National Television Awards on Wednesday, beating "Britain's Got Talent," "Dancing on Ice" and "Strictly Come Dancing."

The show, featuring Simon Cowell as an acerbic judge, has regularly topped the viewer ratings in Britain, and its latest winner, painter and decorator Matt Cardle, snagged the coveted Christmas No. 1 slot in the music charts.

"EastEnders" scooped the most popular serial drama prize ahead of "Coronation Street," "Emmerdale" and "Hollyoaks."

The series also boasted two more awards, with Lacey Turner winning for best serial drama performance and Ricky Norwood being named the most popular newcomer.

Others awarded with an NTA trophy included "Benidorm" in the comedy category, David Jason for best drama performance and "The Inbetweeners" for the new category of digital choice.

Luis Urzua, one of the miners saved from the cave-in disaster in Chile, received a standing ovation when he came on stage to present the award for most popular drama to "Waterloo Road." The school series beat off stiff competition from "Doctor Who," "Shameless" and "Sherlock."

Comedian and presenter Bruce Forsyth, still on prime-time television aged 82, received a career achievement award.

Following is a full list of Britain's National Television Awards:

- Most popular comedy program: Benidorm

- Most popular entertainment program: I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here

- Most popular newcomer: Ricky Norwood/EastEnders

- Most popular drama: Waterloo Road

- Digital choice: The Inbetweeners

- Best serial drama performance: Lacey Turner/EastEnders

- Most popular entertainment presenter: Ant & Dec

- Topical magazine: This Morning

- Most popular factual program: Top Gear

- Most popular talent show: The X Factor

- Best drama performance: David Jason

- Special recognition: Bruce Forsyth

- Most popular serial drama: EastEnders.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

W.H. reboots on economic advice

Signaling a shift to a new phase of the administration’s response to the nation’s economic woes, President Barack Obama will sign an executive order Friday establishing a new Council on Jobs and Competitiveness that will be led by General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt. The signing coincides with a visit to a GE branch in Schenectady, N.Y., the birthplace of the company.

The new panel will replace the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, and will have a new mission: to find “new ways to promote growth by investing in American business to encourage hiring, to educate and train our workers to compete globally, and to attract the best jobs and businesses to the United States,” according to the White House.

Obama also announced that Paul Volcker, head of the advisory board, would step down as its mission ends. (see: )

“Over the past two years, my Economic Recovery Advisory Board has provided this administration with support and expertise as we worked to bring our economy back from the brink and start recovering from an economic crisis that cost millions of American jobs,” Obama said in a statement.

“As we enter a new phase in our recovery, I have asked the new council to focus its work on finding new ways to encourage the private sector to hire and invest in American competitiveness. (see: )

Volcker, a former Federal Reserve chairman under President Jimmy Carter, was tapped in February 2009 to serve a two-year term on the board tasked with providing Obama with outside guidance on job growth and spurring economic recovery.

Volcker is a well-respected economist who has been credited with helping to end high inflation in the 1970s and 1980s. He began advising Obama during his presidential campaign in 2008. Obama praised his “skill” and his friendship in a statement announcing his departure. (see: ) “Paul Volcker is not only one of the wisest economic minds in our country, he’s an individual who has for decades fought for policies that help American families and strengthen our economy,” Obama said. “Since my campaign for President, I have relied on Paul Volcker’s counsel as we worked to recover from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.”

Immelt, GE’s chief executive since September 2001, was one of more than a dozen CEO’s closely allied with the Obama administration, advising from the outside on the economy and export growth. (see: )

“Jeff Immelt’s experience at GE and his understanding of the vital role the private sector plays in creating jobs and making America competitive makes him up to the challenge of leading this new council,” Obama said. (see: )

Immelt, a self-described Republican, had allied himself with Obama early in the 2008 campaign, citing his support for Obama’s clean energy ideas. While at the helm of GE, he gained a reputation for steering the company toward greater innovation and expansion in to clean energy manufacturing.

Obama established the advisory board early in his presidency as a way of going “beyond the Washington echo chamber” to cull strategies for economic growth. The panel includes a group of CEOs of major manufacturing companies, financial services firms, and labor unions.

But over the last two years, Obama’s relationship with the business community has faltered, despite the panel’s existence. Notably, it is Obama’s relationship with chief executives outside of this group that has defined the administration’s business bona fides in the last two years. The on-again, off-again friendship between Obama and JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, as well as Goldman Sachs CEOs Lloyd Blankfien has more closely mapped the reception that the administration’s policies have earned among the business community. (see: )

In recent weeks, the administration has sought to recalibrate its message to business leaders, and has launched a concerted effort to synchronize its efforts to on the global and domestic stage. (see: )

Beginning with Obama’s lame-duck advocacy of a tax compromise bill, and continuing this week with the securing of several crucial business deals and agreements with China, the administration has carefully orchestrated a restructuring of their messaging to the business community and their response to the economic recovery. (see: )

Earlier in the week, Obama announced that his administration would launch a new effort to identify and eliminate unnecessary and burdensome regulations from the federal books, which received widespread praise from groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. (see: )

On Wednesday, Blankfein and Immelt were among a fairly intimate group of CEOs representing American companies at a summit with Chinese President Hu Jintao. And they, along with J.P. Morgan’s Jamie Dimon, were among an even smaller group of guests who received invitations to the lavish state dinner later that day. (see: )

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