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YELLOW VOL. CCLXV NO. 31 ******** SATURDAY/SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7 - 8, 2015 HHHH $3.00 WSJ.com weak historically, below the an- nual growth of 3% or more seen before the recession. And previ- ous pickups have been followed quickly by a return to prior slug- gishness, including a wage de- cline in December. But the latest improvement comes amid other signs of di- minishing slack in the labor market. More and more workers are quitting jobs for better ones, after years in which they settled Please turn to the next page and 2.2% over the past year. The pickup, if sustained, would start to lift Americans’ living standards after years of income stagnation. For the Federal Reserve, Fri- day’s report raised the likelihood that officials will move as early as June to raise short-term in- terest rates from near zero, where they have been since De- cember 2008. The Fed has been looking for momentum in hiring and wages to signal the labor market has healed from the 2007-09 recession and no longer needs as much of the central bank’s easy-money support. January’s wage gains are still previously sidelined American workers to begin the job search, causing the unemployment rate to tick up a tenth of a percent- age point to 5.7%. “The economy seems to be moving full steam ahead,” said Sung Won Sohn, an economist at California State University Chan- nel Islands. Following years of lackluster growth, “I think it’s the beginning of a healthy recovery.” The report offered a tentative sign that U.S. workers are start- ing to extract higher wages from their employers. Average hourly earnings climbed 0.5% last month—up 12 cents to $24.75— The best three-month stretch of hiring since 1997 has posi- tioned the U.S. labor market to start delivering stronger wage growth for a wider swath of Americans after more than five years of sluggish recovery from a deep recession. The economy created more than a million jobs over the past three months, with a steady gain of 257,000 in January and sizable upward revisions to prior months’ figures, the Labor Department said Friday. The hiring spree prompted many WEEKEND review Brain, Heal Thyself REVIEW Superstar Wines OFF DUTY n The U.S. economy created more than a million jobs over the past three months, with a gain of 257,000 in January and upward revisions to prior fig- ures, the government said. A1 n The hiring spree highlights a dilemma for the Fed: How hot can it let the job market run before raising rates? A2 n Stocks ended lower in the wake of the jobs report, with the Dow shedding 60.59 points. Bond yields climbed. B5 n J.P. Morgan’s hiring of a Chinese government offi- cial’s son has drawn scrutiny from U.S. authorities. A1 n TurboTax temporarily halted e-filing of state returns after a number of states spot- ted criminal attempts to obtain refunds through its systems. A1 n NBC launched an investiga- tion of news anchor Brian Wil- liams stemming from his claims about an incident in Iraq. B1 n China’s Sunshine Insur- ance Group will buy the Bacca- rat Hotel in New York City for more than $2 million a room. B1 n Chinese affiliates of the Big Four accounting firms will pay $500,000 each to set- tle a dispute with the SEC. B2 n An advisory group backed Google’s decision to apply Europe’s “right to be forgot- ten” ruling only in the EU. B4 n Brazilian banker Aldemir Bendine was installed as the new CEO of Petrobras. B3 What’s News i i i Business & Finance World-Wide i i i CONTENTS Books................. C5-10,14 Corporate News.. B3-4 Food...................... D1-2,7-8 Heard on Street .... B14 In the Markets......... B5 Letters to Editor... A10 Opinion..................... A9-11 Sports........................... A12 Stock Listings.. B12-13 Style & Fashion... D3-4 Travel .......................... D5-6 Weather Watch...... B13 Weekend Investor B7-9 s Copyright 2015 Dow Jones & Company. All Rights Reserved > Inside NOONAN A11 Recrimination Over ISIS Is Not a Plan G reece warned it is on course to run out of money within weeks if it doesn’t gain access to more funds, effectively daring creditors to let it fail and stumble out of the euro. A5 n Talks between the leaders of Russia, France and Ger- many yielded no deal to end fighting in eastern Ukraine. A5 n Houthi rebels dissolved Yemen’s parliament and said they would form a transi- tional administration. A6 n Islamic State claimed that an American female hostage was killed by a Jor- danian airstrike in Syria. A6 n Boko Haram insurgents stormed across Nigeria’s bor- der into Niger before being pushed back by airstrikes. A7 n Somalia confirmed a high- ranking member of the al-Sha- baab militant group was killed by a U.S. strike last month. A6 n A House panel said it will probe whether the White House improperly influenced the FCC on new broadband rules. A4 n The FCC set opening bids substantially higher than pre- vious estimates for a coming auction of wireless airwaves. B4 n Terminal operators at West Coast ports said they would temporarily suspend some oper- ations amid a labor dispute. A4 n Flight data raised the pos- sibility that fuel to one engine of TransAsia Flight 235 may have been cut off by mistake. A7 BY JOSH MITCHELL Job Market Ripe for Liftoff Best Stretch of Hiring Since 1997 Suggests Stronger Wage Growth Ahead The largest online tax-software company in the U.S. temporarily halted electronic filing of all state returns after more than a dozen states spotted criminal attempts to obtain refunds through its systems. Intuit Inc., based in Mountain View, Calif., said Friday that its Tur- boTax unit stopped transmitting state e-filing tax returns Thursday after seeing attempts to use stolen personal information to file fraudu- lent returns for tax refunds. The company said later Friday that it resumed state tax filings af- ter bolstering its “security mea- sures to combat the type of fraud- ulent tax activity that it is seeing.” The shutdown lasted about 24 hours, according to the company. Utah tax officials said 19 states have identified potential fraud is- sues, and state officials across the U.S. discussed the problem in con- ference calls Thursday and Friday. Alabama said it has identified as many as 16,000 suspicious tax re- turns, while Minnesota said it stopped accepting individual tax returns through TurboTax. The ban doesn’t include tax returns handled by professional tax preparers who use products sold by Intuit. Massachusetts and Vermont said they had temporarily stopped issuing tax refunds in order to make sure that payments go to le- gitimate recipients. Intuit said it believes there has been no breach of the company’s computer systems. “The informa- tion used to file fraudulent returns was obtained from other sources Please turn to page A4 BY LAURA SAUNDERS AND KAREN DAMATO TurboTax Pauses E-Filings On Fraud Concerns 25 0 5 10 15 20 ’10 Source: Labor Department The Wall Street Journal Note: All figures seasonally adjusted Working Up Momentum In the past three months, the U.S. economy added jobs at the fastest pace since 1997… …as a higher share of working-age people have jobs, and job-seekers spend less time stuck in unemployment. Monthly change in nonfarm payrolls Employment-to-population ratios, by age Median duration of unemployment 500 –750 –500 –250 0 250 thousand 2000 ’10 ’05 ’15 1995 ’10 2006 ’15 2006 ’15 82 72 74 76 78 80 % 25–34 76.6% 35–44 78.5% 45–54 76.5% Recessions Three-month average Nov.–Jan. 336,000 January 13.4 weeks April 2009 13.1 weeks Sept.–Nov. 1997: 386,000 Photo: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg News Harper Lee Bombshell: How News of Book Unfolded When Andrew Nurnberg, a London-based literary agent, called a meeting with HarperCol- lins senior executive Michael Morrison last October, the pub- lisher assumed they would have a routine chat about coming book projects. Instead, Mr. Nurnberg showed up on Oct. 27 at Mr. Morrison’s 22nd-floor office in lower Man- hattan with a bombshell: He was in possession of a photocopy of “Go Set a Watchman,” an original typewritten manuscript by Harper Lee, author of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Mr. Morrison, president and publisher of HarperCollins U.S. General Books Group, recalls be- ing “absolutely stunned,” accord- ing to Tina Andreadis, a Harper- Collins spokeswoman. The two Please turn to page A7 BY JEFFREY A. TRACHTENBERG AND LAURA STEVENS HERMISTON, Ore.—This town of 17,000 on the eastern Oregon prairie is known throughout the Pacific Northwest for its water- melons. In keeping with its juicy pedigree, pictures of the fruit have been emblazoned on city business cards, stationery— and even a giant water tower—for the better part of two decades. So at a recent City Council meet- ing, when the issue of rebranding the area came up, some folks thought the idea was rotten. “Once we lose that identity with the watermelon, what’s next?!” exclaimed 53-year-old Perry Hawkins, expressing his ire over a plan to paint over the iconic water tower. A few years back, city leaders determined that Hermiston needed to broaden its appeal be- yond melons—to change its brand identity, in the parlance of public relations. A task force was duly empaneled. The fruits of its labors: the erasure of the melon on the water tower last spring, and final approval by city officials last December of Hermiston’s new slogan: “You Can Grow Here.” It’s a move that has left many, like Mr. Hawkins, scratching their heads. Cities and counties across the U.S. and Canada are joining the corporate world in the branding Please turn to page A8 BY JIM CARLTON A Town Known for Watermelons Is Suddenly Ripe for Change i i i As Hermiston Seeks to Rebrand Itself, Some Doubt New Slogan Will Bear Fruit Water tower’s old look Hostage Death Claimed Mueller Family/Reuters AID WORKER: Islamic State said American Kayla Mueller was killed in a Jordanian airstrike in Syria; U.S. officials expressed skepticism. A6 Gao Jue did poorly on his job interviews at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., he messed up his work visa, accidentally sent a sexually explicit email to a human-resources employee and was described by a senior banker as “immature, ir- responsible and unreliable,” according to in- ternal bank emails and people familiar with the matter. Yet the bank hired him, saved him during major job cuts and later was prepared to offer him another position if he had responded to their queries. Mr. Gao is the son of China’s current com- merce minister, who, when his son faced a lay- off, said he would be willing to “go extra miles” for the bank if it kept him on, accord- ing to a J.P. Morgan executive’s email account of a dinner with the father. The bank’s decision to hire Mr. Gao was widely understood within J.P. Morgan to have FAVORED SON Emails Track J.P. Morgan Hire in China been supported by William Daley, a senior ex- ecutive at the time, according to the internal bank emails, which were reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Daley is a former U.S. com- merce secretary and White House chief of staff. The hiring has drawn scrutiny from U.S. prosecutors and regulators who are investigat- ing the Asian hiring practices of J.P. Morgan and several other banks, according to people briefed on the investigation. Mr. Gao’s name hasn’t previously been reported in connection with the hiring probe, which J.P. Morgan dis- closed in a 2013 regulatory filing. Hong Kong authorities have also been investigating West- ern banks’ hiring practices. J.P. Morgan hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing in the investigation, which fo- cuses on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a U.S. law that bars giving anything of value to foreign government officials for a busi- ness advantage. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn and Washington view Mr. Gao’s hir- ing as a potential violation because of indi- cations of some sort of quid pro quo involv- ing his father, combined with indications bankers saw the son as ill-qualified, the peo- ple briefed on the investigation said. The Justice Department and the Securi- ties and Exchange Commission expect to reach a settlement with J.P. Morgan related to the U.S. antibribery law, these people said, likely involving a fine and a required overhaul of hiring practices. Bringing charges against any individuals would be Please turn to page A8 By Ned Levin, Emily Glazer and Christopher M. Matthews Decisions loom for Fed ............. A2 Market reactions .......................... B5 Heard on the Street ................. B14 Reine de Naples 8967 BREGUET BOUTIQUES NEW YORK BEVERLY HILLS BAL HARBOUR LAS VEGAS 877-891-1272 – WWW.BREGUET.COM C M Y K Composite Composite MAGENTA CYAN BLACK P2JW038000-8-A00100-1--------XA CL,CN,CX,DL,DM,DX,EE,EU,FL,HO,KC,MW,NC,NE,NY,PH,PN,RM,SA,SC,SL,SW,TU,WB,WE BG,BM,BP,CC,CH,CK,CP,CT,DN,DR,FW,HL,HW,KS,LA,LG,LK,MI,ML,NM,PA,PI,PV,TD,TS,UT,WO P2JW038000-8-A00100-1--------XA
