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Vital Signs

Americans stepped uptheir borrowing in Novem-ber. Consumer creditoutstanding—includingmoney owed on credit cards,auto loans and studentloans but not mortgages—rose 7%, on an annualbasis, from October, to$2.77 trillion. The growthwas driven by a sharp in-crease in nonrevolving credit,which includes studentloans and auto financing.

Consumer credit, in trillions

Source: Federal Reserve

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Apple is working on alower-end iPhone, mark-

ing a big shift in corporatestrategy as its supremacy insmartphones has slipped. Aless-expensive version of thecompany’s flagship devicecould launch later this year. B1 Sony said it aims to es-tablish itself as one of theworld’s top three smart-phone manufacturers as partof its turnaround plan. B4n Dish Network made anunsolicited bid for Clearwire,throwing a wrench into Sprint’splan to buy the 50% of thewireless broadband providerit doesn’t already own. B1n Boeing’s Dreamliner hitfresh trouble as safety officialsopened a formal probe into afire that broke out on an emptyplane and another airline dis-covered wiring problems. A1n Two more members of themanagement team that steeredJ.P. Morgan Chase through thecredit crisis have taken newjobs, as the bank assembles ayounger set of top leaders. C1n A former hedge-fund con-sultant who became a key gov-ernment witness alerted au-thorities to about 20 peoplewho may have been involvedin insider-trading plots. C2n Stocks fell for a secondday as investors awaited thestart of the earnings season.The Dow industrials shed55.44 points to 13328.85. C4nAlcoa swung to a profit,helped by stabilizing pricesfor raw aluminum, increasedsales in the aerospace businessand cost-cutting efforts. B3n Finra plans to shine a lighton dark pools, private tradingvenues that allow buyers andsellers to keep orders hiddenfrom the rest of the market. C3n AIG directors will discussjoining a lawsuit by ex-CEOGreenberg that accuses the U.S.of extracting too-onerous termsfor its rescue of the firm. C3n Google asked the ITC todrop claims that Microsoftwas infringing on two pat-ents held by Google’s Motor-ola Mobility unit. B2n Goldman will begin dis-closing the values of its money-market mutual funds dailyrather than monthly, in abreak with industry practice. C1n The unemployment ratein the euro zone climbed to afresh high of 11.8% in Novem-ber, highlighting the risks con-fronting the bloc in 2013. A8n The IRS is delaying thestart of tax-filing season formost filers by about a week,to Jan. 30. The April 15 filingdeadline will be unchanged. A4n U.S. businesses want gov-ernment help in fighting cy-berattacks, though they stilloppose mandatory safeguards,MasterCard’s chief said. B4n The U.S. is reviewing ac-cidents and mishaps experi-enced by Shell as it startedthe process of oil drilling inthe Arctic Ocean last year. B2

nAmericans aremoving, sig-naling an improving economy.About 3.9% of the U.S. popula-tion, or 11.8 million people,moved to a different county in2011. That was the highestlevel since before the reces-sion and up from the recordlows of 3.5% in 2010 and 2009.Movement between countieslargely reflects job-relatedmoves. The 3.9% rate still re-mains historically low. A1Among the states thatgained population from do-mestic moves were Florida,Nevada and North Dakota.nObama’s picks to lead thePentagon and CIA facemount-ing challenges over issues in-cluding the terror attack inLibya and support for Israel. A4n The lower 48 U.S. statesexperienced the warmest yearon record in 2012, shatteringthe previous mark set in 1998by one degree Fahrenheit. A4nWhite House officialsspeaking ahead of a meetingwith Karzai said the U.S. wouldconsider pulling all its troopsfrom Afghanistan by 2015. A7nVenezuela’s Chávezwillmiss his inauguration, confirm-ing suspicions the leader willremain in a Cuban hospital. A6nTurkish troops battled Kur-dish rebels in southeast Turkey,as the opposition sought to in-fluence new peace talks. A9nAl Qaeda rebelsmoved intosouthern Mali, stoking fears ofa wider conflict as the U.N.weighs how to help Africantroops recapture the north. A9n India said Pakistani soldierscrossed the cease-fire line indisputed Kashmir and killedtwo Indian soldiers. Pakistandenied the accusation. A8nTunisia freed one of themen in custody for alleged linksto the attack on the U.S. mis-sion in Benghazi, Libya. A8n Lance Armstrong plans tobe interviewed by OprahWin-frey, as the former cyclist hasbeen considering a confessionof his alleged doping. A4nCalifornia faces a demo-graphic and economic chal-lenge as the number of chil-dren decline just as babyboomers reach retirement. A2nACalifornia judge said theman accused of killing sevenpeople at an Oakland, Calif.,college is unfit to stand trial.A5n Illinois’s governor called fora panel to fix a public-employeepension gap after lawmakersfailed to agree on a plan. A5nChinese journalists reacheda deal with officials that will lettheir paper publish even ascensorship tensions spread. A6nAChinesemetro train de-railed, killing one worker, thethird fatal subway-constructionaccident in recent weeks. A8nAustralia downgraded thewildfire threat posed by ex-treme heat as a string of blazeswere brought under control. A7nDied: Fred Turner, 80, ledMcDonald’s expansion. B7

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ZURICH—Switzerland, for decades a paragon ofsafety in finance, is engaged in a high-risk strategyto protect its export-driven economy, literally bet-ting the bank in a fight to contain the prices ofSwiss products sold abroad.

The nation’s central bank is printing and sellingas many Swiss francs as needed to keep its cur-rency from climbing against the euro, wagering anamount approaching Switzerland’s total nationaloutput, and, in the process, turning from button-down conservative to the globe’s biggest risk-taker.

Switzerland’s virtue is the root of its problem:broad confidence in the Swiss currency and econ-omy has investors hungry for francs to escape eu-ros, the currency of its shaky European neighbors.Such demand makes francs more expensive and, inturn, drives up the price of Swiss exports.

In the past three years, the Swiss National Bankhas printed francs to buy euros and other curren-cies in a swelling portfolio of foreign assets fourtimes what it was at the beginning of 2010.

Nearly every major central bank is buying non-traditional assets to resurrect domestic economiesin the wake of the worst global recession in 75years. The U.S. Federal Reserve is buying mort-gages; the European Central Bank is making un-usually long loans to banks; and the Bank of Japanis buying real-estate investment funds.

All risk losing money, but Switzerland’s expo-sure stands out in character and scale: Its centralbank is buying assets from other countries and itsholdings of currencies, bonds, stocks and gold—nearly 500 billion Swiss francs, about $541 bil-lion—are nearly the size of the nation’s gross do-mestic product. In contrast, the Fed’s buying ofbonds and mortgages amounts to about 20% of

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Americans began striking outfor greener pastures at a pacenot seen since before the reces-sion crippled job prospects, hob-bled home sales and kept manystuck in place.

About 3.9% of the population,or 11.8 million people, moved toa different county in 2011, newCensus figures show. That wasthe highest level since before therecession, and up from 3.5% in2010 and 2009—the lowest levelsince the government began the

tally in 1948.Movement between counties

largely reflects people movingbecause of jobs, demographerssaid. Overall, the increase signalsboth a healthier economy and fu-ture growth because it meansmore workers are being matchedwith jobs that suit their skills.

However, the 3.9% rate re-mains low historically, fuelingdebate about the implicationsfor the economy. The censusdata don’t indicate whether itrose again in 2012.

Anecdotal reports from mov-

ing companies suggest the ratemay have held steady last yearfrom 2011.

It is too soon to tell if movesbetween counties will continueto rise. The increase may befleeting, reflecting pent-up de-mand among young adults andretirees frozen in place by therecession, said Kenneth Johnson,a University of New Hampshiredemographer.

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BY JOSH MITCHELL

Americans on MoveAmid Torpid Recovery

Boeing Co.’s flagship Dream-liner jet, plagued by years of pro-duction delays before getting offthe ground, hit fresh trouble Tues-day as air-safety officials opened aformal probe into a fire that brokeout on an empty plane, and an-other airline discovered wiringproblems in one of its 787s.

Also Tuesday, a Japan AirlinesCo. 787 preparing to take off forTokyo from Boston was forced toreturn to the airport gate becauseof a fuel leak. The plane thatcaught fire Monday was a separateJAL 787, also in Boston.

The National TransportationSafety Board probe into Monday’sfire is the most serious setback tothe multibillion-dollar 787 pro-gram since Boeing delivered thefirst jet to launch customer AllNippon Airways Co. in September2011, more than three years be-hind schedule following a succes-sion of design and productionwoes.

Boeing has already incurred bil-lions of dollars in cost overruns,including penalties and repara-tions to customers, and it is aim-ing to boost its finances withstepped-up deliveries of the jet.Boeing shares fell 2.6% to $74.13Tuesday on the New York StockExchange, extending Monday’s de-cline.

The NTSB said its examinationso far of Monday’s fire aboard aDreamliner parked at Boston’s Lo-gan International Airport showedthe battery for the aircraft’s auxil-iary power system suffered “se-vere fire damage.”

Meanwhile, United Airlines, aunit of United Continental Hold-

PleaseturntopageA4

BY JON OSTROWERAND JACK NICAS

Fresh JetGlitchesBedevilBoeing

BY BRIAN BLACKSTONE AND DAVID WESSEL

Button-Down Central Bank Bets It All

European

Presspho

toAgency

A Retailer DiscoversChina’s New ‘It’ Girl: Grandpa

i i i

Retired Farmer Becomes Fashion Sensation;He’s 5-8, Thin and Looks Great in Crimson

BEIJING—While other 72-year-old Chinese men spend theirdays practicing tai chi and play-ing mah-jongg, Liu Qianping isenjoying a twilight ca-reer modeling clothes.Women’s clothes.

At a fall fashionshoot, the 5-foot-8 for-mer rice farmer fromcentral Hunan vampedfor the camera in lacygreen tights and whitefur-lined pink dresses.Online and on TV, he hasbecome a meme, withhis image circulated bymillions on Chinese so-cial media sites and talkshows.

He owes his star turnto his granddaughter, Lu Ting, aclothier who struggled formonths to find a model whocould boost her online store

without breaking the bank. “He’sjust so slender,” Ms. Lu says ofher 110-pound grandfather. Shenotes that he looks great incrimson dresses and credits himfor more than quadrupling hersales in recent weeks.

Mr. Liu’s ascent in themodeling realm speaksvolumes about shiftingcultural mores in a fast-aging society. The waifof a man, who goesabout in a three-piecesuit and a bow-tie whenhe isn’t clad in pinksatin, is among a cadreof Chinese seniors whoare all too familiar withcultural upheaval. Theirlives have been markedby unimaginablechange—from survivingfamine to the advent of

fast food. Along the way, manyhave adopted a devil-may-careapproach that flies in the face of

PleaseturntopageA10

Liu Qianping

BY LAURIE BURKITTAND JOSH CHIN

‘Dome of Heat’ Leaves Behind Devastation in Australia

Note: 1 billion Swiss francs=$1.09 billionSource: Swiss National Bank

The Wall Street Journal

The Swiss central bank'sforeign currency investmentsand other balance-sheet assets

Cashing In

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California’s birthrate hastumbled, a report finds............. A2

CHARRED: A firefighter battled a blaze in New South Wales, Australia, as the heat wave that has grippedthe country began to move north toward Brisbane, where temperatures are expected to hit 104 degrees. A7

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