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It looks like ice — but this ice could one day be used to heat your home.

It’s actually not ice at all, but crystallized natural gas, and if scientists can figure out how to harvest it cheaply enough, it could become a vast new source of energy available in just about every country in the world.

The big advantage to these crystals, known as methane hydrates, are their abundance. They are found beneath the sea floor off every continent, and under the arctic tundra.

Plus, they’re estimated to hold twice as much carbon as all the known reserves of oil, coal and natural gas combined.

"The potential is enough to power humanity from now until the asteroid hits," said Peter Tertzakian, chief energy economist at ARC Financial, a Calgary-based private equity firm.

But citing cost and the abundance of conventional natural gas, Tertzakian said this resource will likely "remain on the margins" for two or three decades.

Origins

The crystals are formed when methane gas, which results from the natural decomposition of animals and plants, comes into contact with water at just the right temperature and pressure.

Finding that sweet spot is actually much much more common than finding the conditions needed for the formation of conventional gas and oil, which require very specific geology. This is why oil is found in some places but not others.

Crystal gas forms almost any place there’s low temperature, high pressure and water, making the organism-rich continental slopes ideal spots.

The gas crystals are usually found between a few hundred feet to several thousand feet below the ocean floor and require deep drilling to bring them to the surface. They’re most prevalent in water over 1,000 feet deep, and up to about 200 miles offshore.

Although they’ve been known about since the early 1980s, only in the last 10 years has significant work gone into studying them and figuring out how to extract them.

The U.S. government currently runs a multi-agency research project with scientists from the Department of Energy, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Minerals Management Service, among others instant credit report. They’ve partnered with a few corporations, including BP (BP) at a site in Alaska’s North Slope and Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) in the Gulf of Mexico.

Harvesting

Just because a huge amount of the gas exists doesn’t mean it all can be collected.

No one has figured out how much gas can be recovered using current technology, said Timothy Collett, a research geologist at the USGS.

But at the BP site in Alaska, Collett said using current technology to go after crystal gas would effectively double the known gas reserves there.

"We’re chipping away at the technical issue," he said. "We just have to get at the economics."

And it’s the economics that really hold this up.

There are several ways to bring crystal gas to the surface. But the most efficient seems to be to drill a well, like a conventional oil or natural gas well, then decrease the pressure inside. The decreased pressure will cause the crystals to revert to gas and flow out of the well.

But depressurizing a well requires creating a vacuum by continuously pumping the water out of it. That’s an expensive proposition.

Collett said in the Arctic, the cheapest place to extract this gas, costs vary. It can be just as expensive as it is now to produce conventional natural gas, to twice that amount. Going offshore gets even more expensive.

Furthermore, with all the gas currently coming online in the United States from the vast shale reserves, it’s doubtful crystal gas is going to see much investment in the near term.

"Why would anybody allocate money to gas hydrates, when there’s almost a gas glut emerging," said Tertzakian, the economist at ARC.

Yet once the shale gas begins to run out, or if there’s a significant increase in demand for cleaner burning natural gas plants, it may be nice to know this resource is available.  

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Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Wednesday that government action has helped start an economic recovery, but that he’s worried about the state of the job market.

Bernanke also changed his stance and said he’d be willing to consider supporting some legislation that’s pending before Congress that would make the Fed more accountable.

In testimony about monetary policy before the House Financial Services Committee, Bernanke noted that the recession continues to abate, but not when it comes to the job market, which "has been hit especially hard," he said.

"The job market remains quite weak, with the unemployment rate near 10 percent and job openings scarce," Bernanke said.

The Fed chairman said he’s particularly worried about the long-term impact on workers skills and wages and the increasing incidence of long-term unemployment.

"Indeed, more than 40 percent of the unemployed have been out of work six months or more, nearly double the share of a year ago," he said.

Bernanke also said that he expects inflation to remain in check for some time, as oil prices have flattened out and housing costs have risen very slowly, thanks to high vacancy rates.

"According to most measures, longer-term inflation expectations have remained relatively stable," he said.

Over the past year, Bernanke has faced a mixed reception whenever he’s appeared on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers credit him for pulling the economy out of the greatest recession since the Great Depression. But they also blame him for missing signals of the recession and for overlooking consumer protections.

However, the Senate voted overwhelmingly in January to confirm him for a second term.

Before Bernanke spoke, several Republican lawmakers said they particularly wanted to ask the Fed chairman about why the job market remains weak, even though Congress passed a massive $700 billion stimulus package last year quick payday loans.

House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., noted that after the stimulus package passed, fewer jobs were lost.

"It is possible to debate what is the best way to do the stimulus, but no sensible human being can deny that the stimulus had a positive effect," Frank said.

Frank asked Bernanke, specifically, whether stimulus helped stem job losses and Bernanke answered "Yes.""I think most economists would agree that the stimulus created jobs, relative to the baseline," Bernanke said.

Surprising endorsement

Bernanke also said he is prepared to support pendinglegislation authorizing Congress’ Government Accountability Office to audit "the operational integrity, collateral policies, use of third-party contractors, accounting, financial reporting, and internal controls of these special credit and liquidity facilities."

Previously, Bernanke has fought any move by Congress to audit the Fed. But his new support is for a limited audit that would not venture into monetary policy.

He also said he now supports revealing the names of firms who got emergency cheap Fed loans during the financial crisis, "after an appropriate delay." The Fed has, in the past, fought such revelations.

But he drew the line at making immediately available the names of banks coming to the discount window on a short-term basis, saying it could undermine confidence.

– CNN senior producer Scott Spoerry contributed to this report 

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Greek central bank Governor George Provopoulos said he’s confident the government will meet its “very ambitious” deficit-reduction goals and ward off any further credit-rating downgrades.

Rating agencies “want evidence that the plan is implemented on target” and “some time will need to elapse before they can form a better judgment,” Provopoulos, also a European Central Bank council member, said in an interview in Athens on Feb. 19. “I have full confidence” in the government meeting its goals, he said. “They have to succeed. And they will, I’m sure of that.”

Greece’s financial distress could be exacerbated at the end of this year when the ECB is due to revert to old collateral rules that were loosened during the global recession. If Moody’s Investors Service cuts its Greek credit rating to the same level as the other major ratings companies, Greek government bonds would no longer be eligible as collateral at the ECB, making it more difficult for the nation to borrow.

“The government has said already on several occasions that it will take any additional measures required in order to achieve its goal,” Provopoulos said. “This gives me comfort. Even if some risks materialize — like growth — the government is prepared to take immediate corrective action.”

Skeptical Investors

Investors are skeptical that Greece can cut its budget deficit from 12.7 percent of gross domestic product to under 3 percent by 2012. The government’s plan assumes the economy will contract 0.3 percent this year before growing 1.5 percent in 2011. It shrank 2 percent last year, compared with the government’s forecast for a 1.2 percent contraction.

The premium investors charge to hold Greek 10-year bonds instead of the German benchmark soared to 396 basis points on Jan. 28, the most since 1998. The cost of insuring Greek bonds against default jumped to a record high, exceeding the rates in emerging Asian economies such as Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Markets are overreacting, Provopoulos said.

“They take advantage of the weak link to make profits,” he said. “It’s clear that there is a certain degree of overshooting. Given the high degree of uncertainty in the markets, one should not expect that the situation will normalize overnight.”

If Greek debt were no longer eligible as ECB collateral, the government would find it harder to find buyers for its bonds and yields would probably rise.

‘Exactly As Promised’

The ECB currently accepts bonds rated BBB- by at least one rating agency as collateral for loans. Under the old rules, due to be reinstated on Jan. 1 next year, A- is the minimum rating required. Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings cut Greece’s credit grade to BBB+ in December.

Moody’s has said it may lower its A2 rating two steps to Baa1 if Greece only partially implements its deficit-cutting plans. That would render Greek bonds ineligible at the ECB.

ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said on Jan. 14 that the Frankfurt-based central bank won’t make allowances “for the sake of any particular country” and Greece won’t win “any special treatment.”

The ECB will continue its enhanced credit support to the banking system, Provopoulos said, suggesting it may continue lending banks as much cash as they want at its benchmark rate, at least in weekly refinancing operations.

“The ECB never said ‘we have reached the end of the road’,” he said. “Of course there are signs of normalization of the situation, of an improvement. This will be taken into account” when policy makers decide in March on the next steps in the exit from emergency lending measures, Provopoulos said.

Under Pressure

European finance ministers turned up the pressure on Greece last week to rein in the region’s largest budget gap. The country might be asked to raise its value-added tax, introduce a levy on luxury goods and cut capital spending if it fails to show sufficient progress by mid-March, when the European Commission is due to review the government’s progress.

While European leaders on Feb. 11 pledged to take “determined and coordinated” action to support Greece if the need arose, they left open how they would respond to a fresh wave of speculative attacks against Greece or other countries such as Spain and Portugal, which are also struggling to cut their budget deficits.

Provopoulos said he takes the commitment of European governments to stand by Greece “at face value.” The lack of a detailed rescue plan isn’t disappointing, he said.

“Everybody knows how critical the situation is. Of course, an expression of willingness and readiness from the European family, the euro zone, to help in case it’s needed is quite reassuring and understandable.”

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New home construction rose more than expected in January, while the number of building permits issued in the month dropped, according to a government report issued Wednesday.

Construction of new homes climbed to an annual rate of 591,000 during the month, up 2.8% from December’s revised rate of 575,000, the Commerce Department said. This is an increase of 21.1% from the 488,000 rate in January 2009.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected January housing starts to rise to an annual rate of 580,000.

"We’re continuing to see signs of stabilization," said real estate analyst Mike Larson of Weiss Research. "We had this Olympic ski slope-looking plunge starting in 2005 and 2006, and it looks like we’re almost getting to the bottom of that."

Larson said that housing starts picked up in January as the new home supply dwindled.

"All the excess inventory that had built up has been exhausted, and when the supply gets so lean, builders start constructing homes again," he said.

The number of building permits issued during January fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 621,000. That was 4.9% below the revised December rate of 653,000, but up 16.9% from the January 2009 rate of 531,000.

Economists had expected building permits would fall to 620,000.

The decline in permits and gain in housing starts were each led by activity in the multi-family sector: Multi-family building permits plummetted 26% while starts jumped 17.6%.

Meanwhile, single-family housing starts and building permits were both up last month. Single-family starts climbed 1.5% from December and permits edged up 0.4%.

Larson said that the increase in single-family activity was an encouraging sign of stabilization, but with such a large supply of existing homes, "nothing suggests a vigorous upturn."

"I think we’re going to be treading water in this range for some time," he said. "We’re going to be making small gains or losses throughout 2010, we’re not going to be making new lows or rebounding." 

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What is wrong with the vehicles?

Toyota said the accelerator pedal on the affected models can stick in a partially depressed position. It also can be slow to rise back up when you ease off the gas. In some cases, vehicle floor mats can become entangled with the accelerator pedal, trapping it down.

What should drivers do if they find themselves in a sudden-acceleration incident?

Test-track drivers found the most effective strategy was to hit the brake pedal hard and hold it. Don’t start pumping or pounding on the brakes. That kills the vacuum assist and makes them less effective. Toyota advises stepping on the brake pedal with both feet, using firm and steady pressure.

After hitting the brakes, shift the transmission into neutral.

"We found that it is very hard to bring the car to a complete halt with just the brake pedal," said Rik Paul, automotive editor of Consumer Reports magazine. "That’s why it is important to shift into neutral."

After disengaging the engine, pull safely off the road, turn off the car and park it.

Is there some warning that lets me know my car has the problem?

Don’t expect a warning light on the dashboard. You might notice that the pedal is getting harder to depress over time or is sluggish when you ease off the gas. Some drivers might notice a rough or "chatter"-like feeling depressing the accelerator, according to Toyota.

If I think this is happening to my vehicle, what should I do?

Toyota is telling owners to drive the vehicle to the nearest safe location, shut off the engine and contact a Toyota dealer for assistance.

Which models are affected?

Toyota said it stopped sales of the following models and years:

— 2009 and 2010 RAV4

— 2009 and 2010 Corolla

— 2009 and 2010 Matrix

— 2005 to 2010 Avalon

— 2010 Highlander

— 2007 to 2010 Tundra

— 2008 to 2010 Sequoia

The company also stopped sales of certain 2007 to 2010 Camry sedans, depending on where those vehicles were manufactured; Camry owners should check with their dealer to determine whether their car is affected.

What is Toyota doing to fix the pedal issue?

The automaker says it is working on a fix but hasn’t disclosed the details or timing of the remedy. The company insists the problem is "rare and infrequent" and said dealers should deal with customers "on a case-by-case basis."

What should I do if

I have questions?

Call the Toyota Customer Experience Center at

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Houston Public Radio and the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston have joined together to launch a weekly business radio feature.

KUHF business reporter Ed Mayberry will host Bauer Business Focus each Friday morning at 8:35 a.m., starting Jan. 29.

"There's a lot of change taking placing in business today, and we're pleased to be able to provide a forum on public radio to discuss those changes and what's happening in the local business community," said Debra Fraser, station manager. "I think Bauer Business Focus will appeal even to people who wouldn't normally think of listening to a business program, because it's really about issues that impact all of us fast cash online."

Topics of the program will range from big-picture issues, job growth, economic diversification and entrepreneurship and innovation in emerging industries.

"We can't wait to explore trends and issues weighing on the minds of the business community," said Arthur Warga, dean of the Bauer College, and the first scheduled interview.

The program is available on 88.7 FM, HD Digital Channel 1 and streaming online at www.kuhf.org.

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Savvis Chairman James E. Ousely has been appointed interim CEO at the company after Chief Executive Phil Koen stepped down on Friday, Savvis announced today.

Koen had been with Savvis, the Town and Country-based provider of Internet infrastructure services for corporations, since March 2006. His resignation was effective at the end of last week.

“In consultation with our board of directors, and knowing we have a very strong leadership team in place, this is an excellent time for me to move on to a new opportunity and to watch Savvis continue to grow and excel,” Koen said in a company news release.

He didn’t elaborate on the opportunity that led him to resign.

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As Porter Airlines breezes into its fourth year of operations, president Robert Deluce says the upstart airline will unveil a new, five-year business plan in 2010.

"(The new plan) is likely to see some significant growth attached to it," Deluce told the Star. "I think we’ve got lots of growth potential in the next several years."

Deluce was coy about details for his updated business plan, but conceded the original blueprint for his company has evolved somewhat since the airline set up shop in 2006. Originally, Deluce’s business plan outlined a vision of 17 flight destinations for Porter in Canada and the United States.

"A couple of the destinations that we’re already serving, Halifax and (Mont) Tremblant, weren’t even on our original business plan," Deluce said.

"I think at some point in time we’ll be serving at least 17 destinations, and maybe more."

The airline has already announced a number of changes for the first quarter of 2010. Its fleet will grow from 17 turboprop airplanes to 20 and flights will increase from an average of 110 per day to 120. The airline will also begin operations at its new $45 million terminal, where the first phase of construction should be completed by the spring.

Porter plans to expand domestic and transborder service early next year, Deluce said. He won’t say what Porter destinations are on the horizon, only that Washington and Philadelphia "continue to be of interest," as well as "other places in eastern Canada within roughly an hour and a half of Toronto."

Because Porter is privately held, it does not report financial results. But Deluce said the airline turned a profit this year.

"By any account, (Porter had) at least 300-per-cent growth during a year that arguably was one of the worst aviation years on record," Deluce said.

Porter has also been good business for the Toronto Island airport, which has been humming with activity since the airline moved in.

On Christmas Eve, the Toronto Port Authority announced it received preliminary results from a new capacity assessment study, and now anticipates an increase of between 42 and 92 daily flights at the airport by the second half of next year. The TPA also said it will begin accepting proposals in early 2010 from other commercial carriers that hope to begin using the island airport.

Before Porter came along, the island airport – recently renamed the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport – handled 25,000 passengers annually. By the end of 2009, that number was forecast to hit 750,000, and Deluce estimates that 2010 will see more than a million passengers passing through the airport.

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JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, whose bank had promised to build a European headquarters in London, told U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling a 50 percent tax on bonuses would unfairly penalize the U.S. lender, a person close to the firm said.

Dimon reminded Darling that JPMorgan never took a U.K. bailout and said plans to build a European headquarters at Canary Wharf show the New York-based company’s commitment to London, the person said. JPMorgan, the second-largest U.S. lender by assets, may scrap its Canary Wharf project because of the bonus tax, the Financial Times reported, citing an unidentified bank executive.

Financial firms may face higher costs after Darling said on Dec. 9 he’d impose a 50 percent tax on discretionary bonuses greater than 25,000 pounds ($40,000). European and U.S. regulators imposed pay curbs after the world’s financial firms ran up $1.7 trillion in losses and writedowns during the global crisis.

“Jamie is quite a controlled character, so this is an example of the fury that has been created,” said Stuart Fraser, the head of policy for the City of London, the financial district’s lobby. “There is a real sense of indignation and anger about this tax.”

The tax may apply to compensation for about 20,000 people with the cost imposed on employers. During the call, Dimon, 53, mentioned that JPMorgan has paid U.K. taxes and reminded Darling of plans to spend about $2.4 billion on the Canary Wharf project, according to the person, who declined to be identified because the discussions were private.

U.K. Defends Tax

The conversation with Darling was reported yesterday by the London Telegraph. JPMorgan spokesman David Wells declined to comment. A U.K. Treasury spokesman yesterday defended the tax as fair because it would apply to all banks and said he couldn’t confirm the telephone conversation with Dimon.

“The government cannot allow itself to be blackmailed,” Liberal Democrat Vince Cable said today in an e-mailed statement.

Financial firms are threatening to leave the U.K. because they say increased taxes and regulation make London less attractive. Tullett Prebon Plc, the inter-dealer broker, said it will help employees relocate.

BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd., a London-based hedge- fund firm that oversees about $15.4 billion, plans to open a Geneva office, a person familiar with the situation said last month. As many as 50 of BlueCrest’s 300 employees in London may move, the person said.

Deutsche Bank, Nomura

Deutsche Bank AG CEO Josef Ackermann said on Dec. 12 that Germany has a “comparative advantage” over other financial hubs because it doesn’t plan to tax bonuses. The Frankfurt-based bank said it plans to spread the costs of the U.K. bonus tax to its employees worldwide.

Nomura Holdings Inc., the Tokyo-based bank that bought the U.K. operations of the collapsed Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., has no plans to reconsider its new City of London headquarters.

Nomura, which in August signed a 20-year lease for a 525,000-square-foot (48,774-square-meter) building overlooking the River Thames, will move into new offices in July, spokesman Patrick Meyer said in London today.

European Alternatives

The bonus levy forced Dimon to consider, “Do we want to be in a more tax-friendly, corporate-friendly environment?” said Jeff Harte, an analyst in Chicago for New York-based Sandler O’Neill & Partners LP. “There are opportunities all over Europe. There are a lot of cities that could handle operation hubs.”

JPMorgan agreed to pay about $349 million in November 2008 for land in London’s Canary Wharf financial district to build a 1.9 million-square-foot (176,500-square-meter) tower.

Under the agreement with Canary Wharf’s owners, who will build the offices, JPMorgan can scale back the size of the project. The planned headquarters will house JPMorgan employees from seven other buildings after the bank scrapped plans to build an office in London’s main financial district.

If construction is delayed or canceled, JPMorgan will have to pay a 76 million-pound fee to developer Canary Wharf Group Plc, according to a November 2008 statement when the deal was announced. The bank will be responsible for paying for completed work including design, planning and infrastructure, the statement said.

Banks’ ‘Sticks’

Shifting business centers elsewhere is “one of the sticks they’ll use to try and fight this legislation, but in the end how realistic is it?” said Joe Sorrentino, managing director at executive compensation consultant Steven Hall & Partners specializing in financial services. “This is a people business. How do you get your talent, if they’re U.K-based, to move to other countries?”

The U.K. Treasury is working with banks to identify employees who are excluded from the tax, and Darling said Dec. 16 he will resist calls to change the policy. Banks can’t avoid the levy by arguing that some activities aren’t defined as banking, he said.

Shares of Songbird Estates Plc, which controlled more than half the buildings in the Canary Wharf estate, were little changed at 157 pence at 3:04 p.m. in London trading. A spokesman for Songbird declined to comment. JPMorgan’s stock fell 4 cents to $41.68 at 12:43 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

“It comes as no surprise that the recent, knee-jerk and ill-thought-out tax grab by government to punish bankers is causing some of our most important institutions to consider their options,” said Mayor of London Boris Johnson. “This should act as a strong wake-up call to our leaders that their policies could seriously threaten our competitiveness.”

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Stocks closed sharply lower Thursday after Greece received another credit downgrade and the dollar rose on the U.S. central bank’s cautious comments.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 133 points, or 1.3%. Declines were broad based, with 28 of the 30 Dow components ending lower.

The S&P 500 index (SPX) lost 13 points, or 1.2%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) slipped 27 points, or 1.2%.

The stock slump came as the dollar rebounded 1.3% against the euro, to its highest levels since September. The greenback was also up sharply on the pound and slightly higher against the yen.

The dollar jumped Thursday for two reasons, according to Craig Peckham, strategist at Jefferies & Co. First, he said, were the "continuing jitters" after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged near 0%, saying weakness would remain for some time. Adding to those fears were reports that Greece has been downgraded by Standard and Poor’s.

S&P’s move came after health care companies complained that the country was behind on payments related to its public health system, and it follows Fitch Rating’s downgrade of Greece on Dec. 8.

Marc Chandler, chief foreign exchange strategist for Brown Brothers Harriman, said those downgrades and persistent worries about the economy are driving up the dollar — and these concerns could carry extra weight amid "very thin" volume ahead of the holidays.

"Santa Claus is giving a little present to people like me, who are dollar bulls," Chandler said.

Despite posting gains early in the session, stocks ended mixed Wednesday after the Fed’s interest rate announcement.

Financials take a hit: The slump slammed several bank shares, with Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) closing down 7.5%, American Express (AXP, Fortune 500) off 2% and JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) down 2.6%.

According to reports, the Treasury canceled plans to start selling off part of its 34% stake in Citi after its offering of 5.4 billion shares of common stock drew weak demand.

The offering was part of a plan Citi announced late Wednesday, in which the New York-based lender said it intends to raise $20.5 billion in the stock market in a plan to pay back its bailout funds.

"The market is struggling to absorb these staggering amounts of new issue," said Jefferies’ Peckham. "Marry that with the overriding theme of caution, and investors will be nervous."

Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) said late Wednesday it appointed senior executive Brian Moynihan as its new chief executive officer. Moynihan is currently the president of consumer and small business banking high risk personal loans. Exiting CEO Ken Lewis surprised the board of directors when he announced plans to retire in September. Shares were down 1.1%.

Economy: The Labor Department reported jobless claims rose unexpectedly last week, jumping by 7,000 to 480,000. Analysts predicted a decline to 465,000 new claims.

The November index of leading economic indicators, from the Conference Board, rose 0.9% — beating expectations of a 0.7% jump.

The Philadelphia Fed index, a regional read on manufacturing, far surpassed expectations. The reading jumped to 20.4 in December, the highest since April 2005, from 16.7 in November. Analysts expected a decline to 16.0.

In Washington, a Senate Banking committee voted 16-to-7 to confirm Ben Bernanke for another four-year term running the Federal Reserve.

Companies: Before the start of trading Thursday, package-delivery firm FedEx (FDX, Fortune 500) reported earnings of $1.10 per diluted share, down from $1.58 one year ago.

FedEx issued cautious guidance for the third quarter of 50 to 70 cents per diluted share. That fell short of forecasts of 84 cents per share, and the stock price lost 6.1%.

After the market close Thursday, Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500) reported a profit of 39 cents a share versus 34 cents a year ago. The software company’s results beat analyst expectations of 36 cents per share.

Also after the bell, Nike (NKE, Fortune 500) reported a second-quarter profit of 76 cents a share, down from 80 cents a share. Analysts were looking for 71 cents a share.

Smartphone maker Palm (PALM) reported a wider-than-expected loss of 37 cents per share in its second fiscal quarter.

Palm’s rival, Blackberry maker Research in Motion (RIMM), earned $1.10 per share, up from 69 cents a year ago. RIM shares were up about 11% in after-hours trading.

World markets and commodities: Stocks in Asia ended mixed, with Tokyo’s Nikkei index falling 0.13% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index off 1.22%. European indexes settled lower.

Crude oil for January delivery fell 1 cent to settle at $72.65 a barrel, while gold for February delivery plunged $28.80 to end at $1,107.40 an ounce.

Bonds were higher, with the benchmark 10-year yield slipping to 3.49% from 3.59% late Wednesday.

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners almost three to one on volume of 1.7 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers almost three to one on volume of 1.9 billion shares. 

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