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YELLOW ****** THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2014 ~ VOL. CCLXIII NO. 36 WSJ.com HHHH $2.00 Falling Property Prices Hint at Trouble on the Farm GROWING WORRIES Health Plans Limited for Many SHIRAZ, Iran—Iran’s economy, though still crippled by sanctions, has begun to improve as a new president and a nuclear accord with the West stabilize its cur- rency and raise confidence, say economists and merchants here and abroad. Residents of this ancient trade hub say they are encouraged by the new administration’s eco- nomic policies and the prospect of a lifting of international sanc- tions in the coming years. Such sentiments have helped stabilize the volatile Iranian rial, which in turn has eased rising prices and spurred an uptick in informal trade, economists say. Shiraz, the heartland of Iran’s Persian identity, has been partic- ularly hard-hit by sanctions. Its once-plentiful international tour- ists, who came to visit the nearby Please turn to page A8 DJIA 15963.94 g 30.83 0.2% NASDAQ 4201.29 À 0.2% NIKKEI 14800.06 À 0.6% STOXX 600 332.00 À 0.8% 10-YR. TREAS. g 12/32 , yield 2.763% OIL $100.37 À $0.43 GOLD $1,295.30 À $5.20 EURO $1.3594 YEN 102.53 Getty Images (2) TODAY IN PERSONAL JOURNAL Best Cities to Find Love PLUS A Fashion Executive Works Hard to Stay Hip P CONTENTS Business Tech............ B5 Corporate News B1-2,4,6 Global Finance............ C3 Heard on Street ..... C10 In the Markets........... C4 Leisure & Arts............ D4 Market Data................ C5 Opinion................... A11-13 Sports......................... D5-8 Style & Travel......... D1-3 U.S. News................. A2-6 Weather Watch ........ B7 World News......... A7-10 s Copyright 2014 Dow Jones & Company. All Rights Reserved > What’s News i i i World-Wide n The Senate approved a debt-limit suspension after GOP leaders, in a preliminary vote, moved to rescue the bill. A4 n A rollback of a recent pen- sion reduction for younger military retirees overwhelm- ingly passed in the Senate. A4 n Some 3.3 million Americans signed up for health insurance via exchanges as of January, but enrollment from young people remained tepid. A6 n Many people in poorer counties have few choices of insurers and face high premi- ums through the exchanges. A1 n Scientists scored a break- through in nuclear fusion, re- kindling hopes for a source of cheap and boundless energy. A2 n Iran’s economy has begun to improve as a new president and nuclear accord stabilize its cur- rency and raise confidence. A1 n The U.N. resumed its aid mission to Homs, Syria, after mortar and sniper fire inter- rupted weekend efforts. A7 n Protests in Venezuela called by opponents of President Ma- duro turned violent, leaving at least three people dead. A9 n The U.S. Embassy in Cairo said an Egyptian employee has been held by authorities with- out charges since Jan. 25. A7 n A Ukraine judge who sen- tenced several antigovernment protesters to house arrest died of gunshot wounds. A9 n New Orleans ex-Mayor Nagin was convicted of bribery and corruption in the after- math of Hurricane Katrina. A3 n Died: Sid Caesar, 91, king of TV comedy in the 1950s. A5 i i i C omcast has agreed to buy Time Warner Cable for $45 billion in stock, a deal that would combine the nation’s two largest cable operators. A1 n Farmland prices in the U.S. are flattening or slipping after a long boom as corn and soybean prices decline and interest rates rise. A1 n Google has imposed strict curbs on access for mobile-de- vice makers despite claims its Android system is open. B1 n Dropbox plans to name Google veteran Woodside as the online storage firm’s first chief operating officer. B1 n Avon is in advanced talks with federal authorities to settle a bribery probe that has dogged the firm for years. B1 n The Dow slipped 30.83 points to 15963.94 after four days of gains. The S&P 500 eased; the Nasdaq edged up. C4 n Apple is talking to firms about launching a revamped set-top box, an apparent scal- ing back of its TV plans. B6 n Data brokers are coming under scrutiny for marketing profiles of financially troubled consumers to lenders. C1 n The U.K. economy will grow 3.4% this year, the central bank forecast, but it warned of a reli- ance on consumer spending. A8 n Yellen’s husband sits on the board of a center funded by UBS, a bank poised to come under closer Fed oversight. C1 n Toyota will recall 1.9 mil- lion of its Prius hybrid vehi- cles to fix faulty software in the hybrid system. B3 Business & Finance BY BILL SPINDLE Economy Steadies In Iran as Strains Ease Hundreds of thousands of Americans in poorer counties have few choices of health insur- ers and face high premiums through the online exchanges created by the health-care law, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal of offerings in 36 states. Consumers in 515 counties, spread across 15 states, have only one insurer selling coverage through the online marketplaces, the Journal found. In more than 80% of those counties, the sole insurer is a local Blue Cross & Blue Shield plan. Residents of wealthier, more populated coun- ties in the U.S. receive lower- priced choices than those living in counties with a single insurer. The White House has said broad participation in the ex- changes would help lower health-care costs. On Wednes- day, the Obama administration reported about 3.3 million peo- ple have signed up for coverage through the online marketplace by January, an increase of more than one million since December, but still with fewer younger Americans than needed to keep down premiums. Higher participation rates among young adults, as much as 40%, is seen as essential to bal- ance out the higher costs of cov- ering older people for insurers that are already limiting the counties where they offer cover- age. The average price for a 50- year-old American to obtain the cheapest midlevel “silver plan” through HealthCare.gov—the marketplace operated by the federal government—was $406 in counties with one health in- Please turn to page A6 BY TIMOTHY W. MARTIN AND CHRISTOPHER WEAVER Broker Pat Karst thought the farm being auc- tioned late last month would be scooped up. The 98- acre plot was of decent quality, and the volunteer fire station in Arlington, Ind., where his firm was holding the sale, was packed with farmers. Instead, the evening ended with the latest in a spate of failed auctions, after the top bidder dropped out far below the asking price. “The moral of the story is: unrealistic expectations from sellers and more caution on the side of the buyer,” said Mr. Karst, who acknowledged he, too, thought the prop- erty would fetch a higher price than offered. The flop reflects a broader turning point in one of the U.S.’s biggest recent asset booms. From 2009 to mid-2013, average prices for agricultural land in the U.S. rose by half, while in Iowa, Nebraska and some other Midwest farm states, prices more than doubled, according to U.S. Department of Agricul- ture data from last August. That helped fuel eco- nomic prosperity across the Farm Belt while stoking fears about a possible bubble. Now there is mounting evidence the boom is fiz- zling out. Farmland prices in Iowa fell 3% over the second half of last year, and those in Nebraska fell 1%, according to estimates from the Farm Credit Services of America, an Omaha, Neb., lender that calculates weighted averages based on land quality. Reports from U.S. Federal Reserve Banks across the Midwest late last year showed prices flattening or slipping from the previous quarter. A monthly sur- vey of Midwestern lenders by Omaha-based Creigh- Please turn to the next page BY JESSE NEWMAN AND JACOB BUNGE And the Gold Medal for Winter Weather Goes to Atlanta ROLE REVERSAL: A jogger in Sochi on Wednesday, left, enjoys warm weather that left some Olympic competitors complaining of slushy conditions. Meanwhile, plows worked in Atlanta, right, as a major winter storm swept across the South and headed for mid-Atlantic states. A3, D6 shamil Zhumatov/Reuters; David Tulis/Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zea- land—With its clientele of bohe- mian students and shaven- headed gym rats, the Tattooed Heart studio is an unlikely ba- rometer of major political is- sues of the day. Most people come here to dis- cuss elaborate body-art designs, ranging from an American bald eagle to Bengal tigers. But when it comes to the fate of New Zealand’s national flag, this tattoo studio, near the cen- ter of Auckland, New Zealand’s biggest city, is signaling change is on its way. Demand for tat- toos of New Zealand’s flag is in the doldrums. In contrast, a stylized fern leaf in silver—an image that is emblematic of New Zealand and used by sports teams including the country’s all-conquering All Blacks rugby team—is gaining in popularity. “Lots more people ask for a Silver Fern than flags,” says Adam Craft, a veteran tattoo artist whose designs feature on the arms, legs and torsos of scores of New Zealanders who stop by each year. “People possibly feel that it represents New Zealand better.” New Zealand is once again de- bating a change to its national flag after the country’s prime minister, John Key, raised the possibility re- cently of holding a referendum on a new design and promised to discuss the issue with senior ministers. Mr. Key said the ref- Please turn to page A10 BY REBECCA HOWARD New Zealand Contemplates A Banner Year for Change i i i Is Its Flag a Symbol of Tradition or Too Similar To the One From Oz? How About a Silver Fern? New Zealand flag Venezuelan Protests Turn Violent At least three people died as gunfire erupted during a protest in Caracas against the Nicolás Maduro government. Above, an antigovernment demonstrator draped in a Venezuelan flag passes riot police. A9, C1 Reuters Inside Sign-ups increase, but young enrollment still lags.............. A6 Judges weigh Notre Dame contraception case ................ A6 Compare and share rates from state insurance exchanges at WSJ.com. Comcast Corp. has agreed to buy Time Warner Cable for $45 billion in stock, in a deal that would combine the nation’s two biggest cable operators, accord- ing to people familiar with the situation. The boards of both companies have approved the transaction, which will be announced Thurs- day morning, one of the people said. With the proposed deal, Com- cast almost certainly ends an eight-month takeover battle for TWC waged by fourth-largest ca- ble operator Charter Communica- tions Inc. and its biggest share- holder, Liberty Media Corp., whose chairman is cable pioneer John Malone. By negotiating the deal, Com- cast Chief Executive Brian Rob- erts ensures his dominance of the U.S. cable industry will be main- tained. But the transaction would face lengthy regulatory review. Charter’s pursuit of TWC, which began after Liberty bought a 27% stake in Charter about a year ago, had raised the possibil- ity that Mr. Malone would emerge as a rival to Mr. Roberts. Mr. Malone once led the U.S. ca- ble industry but sold his previous cable firm, Tele-Communications Please turn to the next page BY SHALINI RAMACHANDRAN AND DANA CIMILLUCA Comcast In Deal To Buy TWC $45 Billion Stock Transaction Would Tie Up Cable Giants Copyright © 2013, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 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