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What’sNews

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World-Widen Sony reversed course andwill release “The Interview,”though only a small number oftheaters will show the contro-versial farce about the killingof North Korea’s leader. A1nAlmost 6.4 million peopleselected a health plan on thefederal marketplace or werere-enrolled in the first monthof open-enrollment season. A4n The FDA is easing a dec-ades-old ban on gay and bisex-ual men donating blood, citingmodern blood screening. A3nHouse GOP leaders directedcongressional budget analyststo estimate the economicgrowth created by tax cuts. A2n Ukraine rekindled aspira-tions to join NATO, ending itsnonaligned status and draw-ing a rebuke from Moscow. A7nThe ruble extended its re-bound as Russian authoritiesordered major state compa-nies to sell foreign currency. A7nThe Keystone pipeline’sprospects are dimming amidlower gasoline prices andskepticism from Obama. A4nFrench leaders appealed forcalm after three attacks, oneof which is being probed byantiterrorism prosecutors. A10nAlgeria’s army killed theleader of an Islamic State splin-ter group blamed for the be-heading of a French hiker. A10n Australian police arrestedtwo men in connection withan alleged plot to attack agovernment target. A10

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The Dow closed above18000 for the first time af-ter gaining nearly 1,000 pointsin five trading days, finishingup 64.73 at 18024.17. A1, C4 The market was boostedby reports that the U.S. econ-omy expanded at a 5% annualrate last quarter and con-sumer spending accelerated. A1U.S. Treasurys had theirworst day in over a year, but formany investors the move wasjust noise amid a long rally. C1 New-home sales fell for asecond straight month in No-vember despite economicgrowth and ultralow rates. A2n Coca-Cola plans to ax atleast 1,000 to 2,000 jobs incoming weeks and introducestricter budgeting as part of a$3 billion cost-cutting drive. B1nA tech group that includesApple and Microsoft is sellingmost of its telecom patents for$900 million, less than a quar-ter of the purchase price. B1nUPS and FedEx started cap-ping air express deliveries af-ter an 11th-hour increase inpackages caused some retail-ers to exceed volume limits. B1nHedge funds are usingcredit-default swaps to fortifybets on troubled companies. C1n China’s shadow-bankingindustry is experiencing a sharpslowdown after Beijing tight-ened its grip on the sector. C1nWalgreen said strong phar-macy sales and cost cuts helpedboost quarterly profit 16%. B3

Business&Finance

The U.S. economy is roundingout 2014 in a sweet spot of ro-bust growth, sustained hiring andfalling unemployment, stirringoptimism that a postrecessionbreakout has arrived.

A fuller picture of the year-end trends emerged Tuesdaywhen the Commerce Department,in separate reports, said the U.S.economy expanded at a 5% sea-sonally adjusted annual rate inthe third quarter, its strongestpace in 11 years, and reportedthat consumer spending acceler-ated last month amid rising in-comes and falling gasoline prices.

“It appears we’ve reached aninflection point,” said JohnCanally, economist at LPL Finan-cial.

But while investors cheeredthe sense that the economy could

shift to a higher rate of growth,driving the Dow Jones IndustrialAverage above 18000 for the firsttime, a big question remains: Canconsumers sustain the momen-tum into 2015?

There still are signs the econ-omy is far from full health. Infla-tion remains low and has saggedlower in recent months, largelybecause of falling oil prices. Lowinflation and sagging commodi-ties prices are a possible signalof weak underlying demand, par-ticularly overseas. Wage growthremains sluggish, though therehave been glimpses in recentdata of a potential pickup. Gainsin labor productivity have beenslow.

These realities present some-thing of a quandary to the Fed-eral Reserve as policy makers tryto judge how soon a healthiereconomy can handle rising inter-

Pleaseturntothenextpage

BY ERIC MORATHAND BEN LEUBSDORF

U.S. Economy Gains MomentumFresh Optimism as Growth Hits 5%,Powered by Rising Consumer Spending

In a stunning turnaround, theDow Jones Industrial Averagefinished above 18000 on Tuesdayfor the first time ever, after gain-ing nearly 1,000 points in fivetrading days.

The immediate catalyst Tues-day was a bundle of positive eco-nomic news. It showed that con-sumer spending finally hasbegun to strengthen, and that re-silient consumers pushed theeconomy ahead at a 5% annualrate in the third quarter, thefastest pace in 11 years.

The market’s 1,000-point runimpressed and pleased traders,but it also raised some concerns.

The surprisingly strong economycould induce the Federal Reserveto raise its target interest ratessooner than many investors ex-pected next year. And surgingstock prices left shares expen-sive compared with historical av-erages, leading some experts toworry that stocks could giveback some of the gains in thefirst part of 2015.

“There’s a lot of good newsout there” that explains thegains, said Jim Dunigan, chief in-vestment officer at PNC WealthManagement, which oversees

Pleaseturntothenextpage

BY E.S. BROWNING

Dow Clears 18000After Five-Day Tear

The first emails from Iraqlanded in John Kael Weston’s in-box while he was eating break-fast at a Utah ski resort. IslamicState fighters had just seizedFallujah, and the former StateDepartment diplomat fired off aworried message to the Iraqi po-liceman who helped him overand over again during the war’sdarkest days.

“Are you and your father andfamily ok?” Mr. Weston askedSaad Abu Fahad. The Americanand Iraqi were neighbors in Fal-lujah, taught each other abouttheir country’s politics and al-ways stayed in touch by email.“If you can, please send me amessage—does not need to be

long,” Mr. Weston wrote.Two days came and went. No

reply. He tried again: “Are youand family ok? Stay safe, myfriend.” After again getting noanswer, he assumed Capt. Saadwas on the run or dead.

War forces people to makechoices, and many of them don’twork out. With large swaths ofIraq under control of IslamicState, many of the Iraqis whoput their lives on the line to aidthe U.S. during the nearly nine-year war are being marked fordeath by militants as collabora-tors. The Americans whocounted on them and are nowsafe at home can only wait, won-der and worry.

One Iraqi begged a retiredPleaseturntopageA12

BY ADAM ENTOUS

‘COME QUICKLY OR WE’RE ALL DEAD’

For America’s AlliesIn Iraq, a Grim Race

Sony Pictures reversed courseTuesday and said it would re-lease “The Interview” on Christ-mas Day, though only a smallnumber of theaters signed on toshow the controversial farceamid fears of reprisals from agroup of hackers and frustrationwith the studio’s quick-changingdistribution strategy.

The studio’s decision to re-lease the film—and to try to dis-tribute it via video-on-demand—came just six days after the SonyCorp. unit said it was cancelingthe film’s release, following adevastating cyberattack that theU.S. blames on North Korea.President Barack Obama, whohad criticized the studio forpulling the film, welcomed Tues-day’s move.

The biggest U.S. movie chainsweren’t expected to show themovie, which features a pair oftelevision journalists asked bythe Central Intelligence Agencyto assassinate North Koreanleader Kim Jong Un. The studiowas also scrambling Tuesday tosecure a video-on-demand part-ner that would simultaneouslymake the film available.

Now, a $44 million movieoriginally set for nationwide re-lease will play on approximately200 screens in smaller theatersthat typically show niche art-house fare.

The studio called the limitedopening “only the first step” inthe movie’s release plans, andhas indicated to theaters it plans

PleaseturntopageA8

BY ERICH SCHWARTZEL

SonyWill ReleaseMovie,ButFewTheatersSignOn

July 19, 2007

May 7, 2013

Nov. 21, 2013

July 3, 2014

Tuesday: 18024.17

April 25, 2007

Oct. 19, 2006Date ofmilestone

16000

17000

18000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

10000

11000

12000

13000

14000

15000

2003 ’04 ’05 ’06 ’07 ’08 ’09 ’10 ’11 ’12 ’13 ’14

Number of trading days to next1,000-point milestone

TuTuesesdaday:y:y: 111888000222444.111777

RECESSION

Third quarter, revised: 5.0%

Previous estimate: 3.9%

6

–6

–4

–2

0

2

4

%

2003 ’04 ’05 ’06 ’07 ’08 ’09 ’10 ’11 ’12 ’13 ’14

Q3 ’03: 6.9%

Sources: Commerce Department (GDP); WSJ Market Data Group (Dow) The Wall Street Journal

Change in inflation-adjusted U.S. gross domestic product at a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate

After the strongest GDP report in more than a decade...

...the Dow Jones IndustrialAverage rose above 18000for the first time.

12759 139

153120

1,4601,879May 3, 1999

SALEM, Ore.—’Twas the nightbefore Christmas, when allthrough the house, not a creaturewas stirring—well, except for theneedle midges, root weevils andaphids.

Those Christmas trees we socarefully pick out on the lot orfarm and lovingly trim? They canbe crawling with bugs and otherpests, most microscopic, but alsosuch hefty specimens as slugs andyellow jacket queens. The latter“are flying to find a nice place tospend the winter, and a baled-uptree is the perfect place,” saidHelmuth Rogg, director of the Ore-gon Department of Agriculture’splant program, which oversees thenation’s top Christmas tree-pro-ducing state.

Maura Coulter and her hus-band, Brian, learned about thisyuletide phenomenon a few yearsback, when they brought a Noblefir tree home from a lot near theirSan Francisco home. They deco-rated it—then watched “some-thing fly out of it and nosedive be-hind the piano,” said Ms. Coulter,51 years old, a registered nurseand mother of two. “The nextmorning the living room was

swarming with little annoyingbugs. So gross!”

Ms. Coulter used a vacuum toclear the insects from her walls,furniture and carpet, while the lotreplaced the tree with one lessbuggy.

The Christmas tree business isa big one, especially in Oregon. Inall, 33 million real Christmas treeswere sold in 2013, with an esti-mated retail value of $1.16 billion,up from $1.01 billion in 2012, ac-cording to the National ChristmasTree Association.

Officials of the trade group inChesterfield, Mo., say the publicshouldn’t be overly concernedabout bugs.

“Out of 33 million trees, thenumber of noticeable bugs is ex-tremely small,” said Rick Dungey,

PleaseturntopageA12

BY JIM CARLTON

Humbugs: Your Tree May Be Trimmed With ‘Hitchhikers’i i i

Shake to Avoid Christmas Surprise; A Hot Bath to Get Rid of Slugs

Douglas-fir twig weevil

Worshipers Prepare for Christmas in Bethlehem

ANNUAL RITE: Christians light candles on Tuesday inside the Church of the Nativity on the West Bank.

MusaAl-S

haer/A

genceFrance-Presse/Getty

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Notice to ReadersWSJ.com will publishthroughout Christmas Day.The Wall Street Journal printedition won’t be published.

Treasury prices retrench........... C1 Dollar strengthens........................ C4

Sony mulled music-unit sale... B5

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