Apple shares tumble after relatively unimpressive earnings report

Apple Inc. may still make products customers love, but its latest earnings report appears to have broken investors' hearts.

For the third quarter in a row, Apple reported revenue and profit that were impressive by normal standards, but short of what analysts had expected. Investors reacted harshly, driving Apple's stock price down more than 10% in after-hours trading Wednesday.

If that trend holds when trading opens Thursday, Apple will have lost almost $50 billion in market value in the blink of an eye, and its stock will have given up almost all the extraordinary gains it had made in the last year. Investors' and fund managers' belief in one of the world's most widely held stocks will be severely tested in the coming days.

More fundamentally, despite upbeat talk by Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook, the performance is unlikely to quell growing worries that Apple's remarkable run of dominance might be over.

"Overall, compared to other companies, it's impressive. But for Apple's standards, it's not great," said Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy. "I do think this somewhat fuels the perception that Apple is slowing down a bit.... And it's driven by the fact that some of its competitors are catching up, and in some markets have already caught up."

Apple executives did their best during an hourlong conference call with analysts to project optimism and excitement about both the last quarter and the months ahead. They noted that the company had trouble meeting demand for both iPads and Macs, and could have sold many more had they been able to build enough.

They also pointed to a growing business in China and the expansion of iTunes, which is now available in 119 countries.

"Apple is in one of the most prolific periods of innovation in its history," Cook said. "We continue to believe our fundamentals, our remarkable people, our clear and focused strategy will serve us well in the coming months and years ahead."

Cook praised the record numbers posted by Apple. For the three months that ended in December, Apple said revenue increased 18% to a record $54.5 billion. Profit also set an all-time high but was up only slightly from the year-earlier quarter, rising to $13.08 billion, or $13.81 a share, from $13.06 billion, or $13.87.

Apple said it sold a record 47.8 million iPhones last quarter, up from 37 million iPhones in the same quarter of 2011. Despite that massive figure, some analysts had hoped to see stronger demand with sales exceeding 50 million.

"Meeting expectations is not enough for Apple," said Colin Gillis of BGC Financial. "So that's a little bit of a disappointment…. International sales were a little weaker than people expected. So we'll see how that shakes out."

Last quarter saw the introduction of the iPad mini, a 7.9-inch version of Apple's popular tablet computer. The Cupertino, Calif., company said it sold a total of 22.9 million iPads in the quarter, also a record, up from 15.4 million a year earlier. The company didn't break out iPad mini numbers from its total tablet sales, but Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer told analysts that the smaller version has been a hit and that the company experienced significant backlog getting the product to store shelves. The 22% lower average selling price for Apple's tablets suggests the mini has performed well but probably cannibalized some sales of its 9.7-inch version.

Historic comparisons were challenging this year because the most recent quarter had only 13 weeks, compared with 14 weeks for the same quarter of 2011.

Like many retailers and consumer electronics companies, the quarter from October to December is typically Apple's largest because of the holiday shopping season. Last year, Apple managed to stun investors by beating its own revenue estimates by more than 25% and earnings forecast by nearly 50%. That sent the stock soaring.

But even as Apple extended its lead as the world's most valuable company, and set a record in August for most valuable company ever when not adjusted for inflation, doubts began to creep into the minds of analysts and investors.

Shares have plummeted 27% in the last four months. On Wednesday, shares rose $9.24, or 1.8%, to $514.01 during regular trading.

Apple reported strong earnings in both the third and fourth quarters last year, but the numbers missed analysts' consensus estimates. Gradually, analysts began lowering their forecasts for Apple's earnings for the current fiscal year. At the same time,

Apple experienced some uncharacteristic gaffes. The new Apple Maps app that replaced Google Maps on iOS 6 devices had reliability problems, prompting a rare apology by Apple. And the iPhone 5 that went on sale in September faced long shipping delays as Apple suppliers struggled to adapt to the new, longer screen size.

The dismissal of iOS chief Scott Forstall, a favorite of the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, raised eyebrows. But so did a new strategy for launching products: Whereas Apple updates to products used to be few and far between, the company has lately begun increasing the number of products as well as the introduction of new versions.

The first quarter saw one of the busiest product launch cycles in the company's history. The quarter was the first full quarter of sales for the iPhone 5, a new iPod Touch and nano, the fourth iPad, a new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, and, of course, the first iPad mini.

Observers have pointed to this accelerated pace as an indication that Apple is facing more competitive pressure from rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co., which is now the world's biggest seller of smartphones, with its Galaxy series of phones. The concern is that the faster upgrade cycle plus the smaller iPad mini will cut into Apple's historically high profit margins.

Such fears over lower profits have also been stoked by the debate over whether Apple plans to release a cheaper iPhone aimed at capturing market share in emerging economies and the concern that Apple has not been able to strike a deal with China's largest carrier.

Now that the first-quarter numbers have been released, analysts will be busy recalibrating their projections over the next couple of days. But the focus is also likely to shift to renewed speculation about new products that investors are hoping will drive another big run for the stock.

chris.obrien@latimes.com

andrea.chang@latimes.com

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House approves short-term suspension of debt ceiling

WASHINGTON – House Republicans approved a temporary suspension of the $16.4-trillion ceiling on the nation’s debt Wednesday, allowing the federal government to continue borrowing through spring while Washington shifts to more ambitious budget battles.

Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) convinced his rebellious majority to go along with the new strategy by promising them the opportunity in the months ahead to extract deep spending cuts to Medicare and other domestic programs.

The approach was a seismic political shift for Republicans who in the past had pressed for simultaneous cuts, which House Democrats dismissed as “irresponsible” and a “gimmick.”

The vote was 285-144, and despite the robust support it would not have passed without Democrats -- 33 Republicans opposed it.

QUIZ: Test your knowledge about the debt limit

“We know with certainty that a debt crisis is coming to America,” said Rep. Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), the former vice presidential nominee, who helped lead the debate on the House floor as chairman of the House Budget Committee. “We have a moral obligation to fix that.”

Republicans are preparing an extraordinary fiscal plan, due in April, that would bring federal budgets into balance in 10 years – an austerity measure far more severe than last year's budget from Ryan that slashed the safety net.

After President Obama won modest tax hikes on the wealthy in the year-end "fiscal cliff" deal, Republicans say the next round of savings must come from the spending side of the ledger.

“Whatever new taxes the president is going to get, he got,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican, said this week. “We’re now going to focus on the real problem, which is not that we tax too little, but that we spend too much.”

The White House, and Democrats in Congress, disagree and say more tax hikes – especially closing corporate tax loopholes – must be part of the equation. Two deadlines in March will force the issue.

Complete coverage of the 2013 inauguration

“Democrats are eager to contrast our pro-growth, pro-middle class-budget priorities with the House Republicans,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. She said the GOP budget under Ryan “would end Medicare as we know it, gut investments in jobs and programs middle-class families depend on, and cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations.”

The vote Wednesday puts the White House and Congress on another collision course in the budget battles that are expected to consume the first months of Obama’s second term.

On March 1, the federal budget faces $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts that both sides want to alter. Later, on March 27, Congress will need to approve funding for routine government operations, or risk a shutdown.

By May 18, the debt ceiling would need to be raised again after this suspension expires, though the Treasury Department could take measures to extend borrowing into summer.

Failure to raise the debt limit to cover the nation’s already accrued bills would send the country into a large-scale default – what Obama has compared to dining and dashing out on the bill.

PHOTOS: President Obama’s second inauguration

Democrats in the House complained that Republicans were simply setting up another "fiscal cliff."

“House Republicans continue to play with economic fire,” said Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.)

The bill approved Wednesday now goes to the Senate, and the White House has said the president would not oppose it.

Even though conservatives off Capitol Hill remain divided over raising the debt limit, Boehner sweetened the legislation to attract Republican support by attaching a provision that would temporarily withhold the pay of senators or representatives if their chamber fails to produce an annual budget by the mid-April deadline.

The “no budget, no pay” provision was particularly popular with conservatives, and was aimed squarely at Senate Democrats, who have declined to approve a formal budget in recent years.

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lisa.mascaro@latimes.com

Twitter: @LisaMascaroinDC

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Sundance stars sound off on gun violence in film

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — The Sundance Film Festival isn't home to many shoot-em-up movies, but action-oriented actors at the festival are facing questions about Hollywood's role in American gun violence.

Guy Pearce and Alexander Skarsgard are among those who say Hollywood shares in the blame.

Pearce is in Park City, Utah, to support the family drama "Breathe In," but he's pulled plenty of imaginary triggers in violent films such as "Lockdown" and "Lawless." He says Hollywood may make guns seem "cool" to the broader culture, but there are vast variations in films' approach to guns.

"Hollywood probably does play a role," Pearce said. "It's a broad spectrum though. There are films that use guns flippantly, then there are films that use guns in a way that would make you never want to look at a gun ever again — because of the effect that it's had on the other people in the story at the time. So to sort of just say Hollywood and guns, it's a broad palette that you're dealing with, I think. But I'm sure it does have an effect. As does video games, as do stories on the news. All sorts of things probably seep into the consciousness."

Skarsgard, who blasted away aliens in "Battleship," says he agrees that Hollywood has some responsibility for how it depicts violence on-screen.

"When (NRA executive director) Wayne LaPierre blames it on Hollywood and says guns have nothing to do with it, there is a reason," he said. "I mean, I'm from Sweden. . We do have violent video games in Sweden. My teenage brother plays them. He watches Hollywood movies. We do have insane people in Sweden and in Canada. But we don't have 30,000 gun deaths a year.

"Yes, there's only 10 million people in Sweden as opposed to over 300 (million) in the United States. But the numbers just don't add up. There are over 300 million weapons in this country. And they help. They do kill people."

Ellen Page, who co-stars with Skarsgard in "The East," noted that gun restrictions are much more pervasive in her home country, Canada.

"You can't buy some crazy assault rifle that is made for the military to kill people. And like that to me is just like a no-brainer," she said. "Why should that just be out and be able to be purchased? That does not make me feel safe as a person."

Skarsgard says it may be time to revisit the Second Amendment.

"The whole Second Amendment discussion is ridiculous to me. Because that was written over 200 years ago, and it was a militia to have muskets to fight off Brits," he said. "The Brits aren't coming. It's 2013. Things have changed. And for someone to mail-order an assault rifle is crazy to me. They don't belong anywhere but the military to me. You don't need that to protect your home or shoot deer, you know."

___

AP Entertainment Writer Ryan Pearson is on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ryanwrd .

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SciTimes Update : Science News From Around the Web

Wednesday in Science, we’re reading about killer penguins, texting moms, asteroid mining, designing a more pleasurable condom and a maple leaf controversy in Canada. Check out these and other science headlines from around the Web.

The Last 925,000 Pounds Are Always the Hardest: Boston’s citywide challenge to lose one million pounds in a year appears to have fallen about 925,000 pounds short, The Wall Street Journal reports. With just a few months left to go, the city’s collective weight loss has reached only about 75,000 pounds. Why did the city diet fail? Maybe it was the “Scooper Bowl” all-you-can-eat ice cream festival.

Andy Isaacson for The New York Times

An Adélie penguin colony in Cape Royds, Antarctica.

No Escape from a Hungry Penguin: Hungry penguins with tiny video cameras strapped to their backs have given scientists a rare glimpse of their killer feeding habits, reports The Guardian. In more than 14 hours of filming using cameras strapped to 11 Adélie penguins, not once did a bird fail to capture its prey. Penguins are such efficient killers, most of their victims have no time to hide, while others try in vain to flee. Watch it all on Penguin-cam.

The Condom Gets a Makeover: Most condoms are made of latex. Los Angeles design company Strata has developed a new silicone condom it claims not only does a better job blocking viruses and bacteria, but also scores more points in the pleasure department. You can learn more about the “Origami” condom and watch a video at New Scientist (registration required).

Mathieu Belanger/Reuters

New Canadian money seems to depict a species of maple leaf that is not Canadian in origin.

Canada Turns Over a New Leaf: Canada’s new $20, $50 and $100 bills appear to have the wrong maple leaf on them, reports BBC Canada. Botanists say the bills feature a Norwegian maple leaf, with five lobes, rather than the Canadian sugar maple leaf, which has just three lobes. Bank of Canada officials say the image is a “stylized blend” of maple leaves created with the help of a botanist and designed to avoid regional bias.

Universal Art: Scientists use thin sections of meteorites to study the history of the universe. But to the rest of us, they are just really pretty. Scientific American offers a slide show revealing the stained-glass beauty in ancient meteorites.

Erin Siegal/Reuters

An employee at Google resting in a nap pod, which blocks out light and sound.

Businesses Invest in Sleep: Tired office workers cost businesses billions in productivity and it’s estimated that one in three workers doesn’t get enough rest. As a result, some companies are now offering sleep talks and special lighting to promote better sleep among the staff, reports The Wall Street Journal. Google offers its workers a sleep pod for midday power naps.

Men More Likely to Cheat at Science: Men are more likely than women to commit scientific fraud, reports Science Daily. A new study in the journal mBio found that in 215 cases of scientific fraud in the records of the United States Office of Research Integrity, 65 percent were blamed on men.

Anti-Bacterial Soap Ingredient Found in Lakes: Triclosan, the common ingredient found in antibacterial soaps and toothpastes, is showing up in increasing amounts in Minnesota lakes, Science360 reports.

Mining Asteroids: A team of entrepreneurs and engineers announced plans for a space mining company that would turn asteroids into rocket fuel, solar panels and components for spacecraft orbiting the earth, reports The Christian Science Monitor. In theory, mining asteroids should be cheaper than hauling materials from earth. Watch a video discussion on CBS This Morning. National Geographic also reports on the perils and promise of mining asteroids.

Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

Alcohol Hinders Sleep: While many people think a nightcap might help them sleep, drinking alcohol before bedtime actually reduces sleep quality, reports WebMD. The review of 27 studies found that while alcohol does allow healthy people to fall asleep quicker and sleep more deeply for a while, it also reduces rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

Moms Text Behind the Wheel: Having a baby on board does not curb a new mother’s texting and cellphone use, reports USA Today. A new survey shows that 78 percent of mothers with children under age 2 acknowledge talking on the phone while driving with their babies. Meanwhile, 26 percent say they text or check their e-mail – behavior that rivals that of teenage drivers. Nearly two-thirds of them said that they have turned around to deal with their baby in the back seat while driving.

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Annie's recalls frozen pizza that may have metal fragments in dough

Annie's frozen Organic Spinach Mushroom Pizza is one of the products being recalled because of a metal fragments scare. (Annie's Inc. / January 23, 2013)

By David Colker

January 23, 2013, 9:33 a.m.

But are those metal filings organic?

Annie's Inc., which specializes in natural and organic foods, is recalling all varieties of its Rising Crust frozen pizza because pieces of metal wire might be in the products.

The Berkeley-based company says that a fine metal mesh screen failed at one of it flour suppliers, resulting in "flexible metal mesh" fragments in the flour and pizza dough.

Annie's said no metal has been found in its finished products, so far, but it initiated a voluntary recall, after learning of the screen fail.

The company also said that it has not gotten any consumer complaints about metal fragments in its frozen pizzas.

Here are the varieties being recalled:

Organic Four Cheese Pizza
Organic Pepperoni Pizza
Organic Supreme Pizza
Organic Spinach and Mushroom Pizza
Four Cheese Pizza
Pepperoni Pizza
BBQ Recipe Chicken Pizza

Customers who purchased the pizzas can return them to places of purchases for refunds, Annie's said in a statement. The company also established a Pizza Recall Hotline at (888) 825-6720 for consumer questions.

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Dodgers, Time Warner Cable have a deal

Adrian Gonzalez and the Dodgers will be on Time Warner Cable after next season. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times / January 22, 2013)

By Bill Shaikin and Joe Flint

January 22, 2013, 9:29 a.m.

The Dodgers have agreed with Time Warner Cable on a new television contract that will provide the team with a channel of its own, according to two people familiar with the deal but not authorized to discuss it.

Time Warner Cable now has secured the television rights to the two most popular teams in Los Angeles — the Dodgers and the Lakers — within two years.

The Dodgers’ deal is expected to be finalized and announced Thursday. The team has not yet submitted the deal to Major League Baseball for approval, but the control of the channel is expected to rest with the Dodgers’ owners rather than with Time Warner.

The Dodgers had no comment.

The Dodgers’ current contract with Fox Sports expires after the 2013 season. The team had discussed a new deal with Fox last fall, worth at least $6 billion over 25 years. However, as MLB and the Dodgers debated how much of that money would have to be contributed to baseball’s revenue-sharing program, the Fox exclusive negotiating window expired, enabling Time Warner to initiate negotiations with the team.

Fox was believed to be willing to restructure its offer but was not believed to be willing to significantly raise the amount.

Fox Sports launched a second local cable channel — now called Prime Ticket — to carry the Dodgers in 1997. Fox Sports previously lost rights to Lakers games to Time Warner Cable, and the departure of the Dodgers would leave Fox with the Angels, Clippers, Ducks and Kings as the anchor teams for two channels.

Bloomberg News first reported an agreement had been reached.

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Is Facebook envy making you miserable?

LONDON (Reuters) – Witnessing friends’ vacations, love lives and work successes on Facebook can cause envy and trigger feelings of misery and loneliness, according to German researchers.

A study conducted jointly by two German universities found rampant envy on Facebook, the world’s largest social network that now has over one billion users and has produced an unprecedented platform for social comparison.

The researchers found that one in three people felt worse after visiting the site and more dissatisfied with their lives, while people who browsed without contributing were affected the most.

“We were surprised by how many people have a negative experience from Facebook with envy leaving them feeling lonely, frustrated or angry,” researcher Hanna Krasnova from the Institute of Information Systems at Berlin’s Humboldt University told Reuters.

“From our observations some of these people will then leave Facebook or at least reduce their use of the site,” said Krasnova, adding to speculation that Facebook could be reaching saturation point in some markets.

Researchers from Humboldt University and from Darmstadt’s Technical University found vacation photos were the biggest cause of resentment with more than half of envy incidents triggered by holiday snaps on Facebook.

Social interaction was the second most common cause of envy as users could compare how many birthday greetings they received to those of their Facebook friends and how many “likes” or comments were made on photos and postings.

“Passive following triggers invidious emotions, with users mainly envying happiness of others, the way others spend their vacations and socialize,” the researchers said in the report “Envy on Facebook: A Hidden Threat to Users’ Life Satisfaction?” released on Tuesday.

“The spread and ubiquitous presence of envy on Social Networking Sites is shown to undermine users’ life satisfaction.”

They found people aged in their mid-30s were most likely to envy family happiness while women were more likely to envy physical attractiveness.

These feelings of envy were found to prompt some users to boast more about their achievements on the site run by Facebook Inc. to portray themselves in a better light.

Men were shown to post more self-promotional content on Facebook to let people know about their accomplishments while women stressed their good looks and social lives.

The researchers based their findings on two studies involving 600 people with the results to be presented at a conference on information systems in Germany in February.

The first study looked at the scale, scope and nature of envy incidents triggered by Facebook and the second at how envy was linked to passive use of Facebook and life satisfaction.

The researchers said the respondents in both studies were German but they expected the findings to hold internationally as envy is a universal feeling and possibly impact Facebook usage.

“From a provider’s perspective, our findings signal that users frequently perceive Facebook as a stressful environment, which may, in the long-run, endanger platform sustainability,” the researchers concluded.

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith, editing by Paul Casciato)

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James Franco explores leather, sex at Sundance

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — There's a lot of leather and sex in James Franco's life right now.

The 34-year-old actor-director is part of three movies at the Sundance Film Festival that deal with sex, pornography and bondage, and discipline.

In an interview at the independent-film showcase in Park City, Utah, he said, "I guess I'm drawn to it."

Franco co-directed, produced and stars in "Interior. Leather Bar." He produced the documentary "kink." And he plays Hugh Hefner in "Lovelace," which premieres Tuesday at Sundance.

"Interior. Leather Bar." is a reimagining of the segments cut from William Friedkin's 1980 film, "Cruising," so it could earn an R rating. "Kink" is about Kink.com, the leading producer of bondage-and-discipline pornography. "Lovelace" is about "Deep Throat" star Linda Lovelace.

Franco says the timing is just coincidental.

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Well Pets: Holly the Cat's Incredible Journey

Nobody knows how it happened: an indoor house cat who got lost on a family excursion managing, after two months and about 200 miles, to return to her hometown.

Even scientists are baffled by how Holly, a 4-year-old tortoiseshell who in early November became separated from Jacob and Bonnie Richter at an R.V. rally in Daytona Beach, Fla., appeared on New Year’s Eve — staggering, weak and emaciated — in a backyard about a mile from the Richters’ house in West Palm Beach.

“Are you sure it’s the same cat?” wondered John Bradshaw, director of the University of Bristol’s Anthrozoology Institute. In other cases, he has suspected, “the cats are just strays, and the people have got kind of a mental justification for expecting it to be the same cat.”

But Holly not only had distinctive black-and-brown harlequin patterns on her fur, but also an implanted microchip to identify her.

“I really believe these stories, but they’re just hard to explain,” said Marc Bekoff, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Colorado. “Maybe being street-smart, maybe reading animal cues, maybe being able to read cars, maybe being a good hunter. I have no data for this.”

There is, in fact, little scientific dogma on cat navigation. Migratory animals like birds, turtles and insects have been studied more closely, and use magnetic fields, olfactory cues, or orientation by the sun.

Scientists say it is more common, although still rare, to hear of dogs returning home, perhaps suggesting, Dr. Bradshaw said, that they have inherited wolves’ ability to navigate using magnetic clues. But it’s also possible that dogs get taken on more family trips, and that lost dogs are more easily noticed or helped by people along the way.

Cats navigate well around familiar landscapes, memorizing locations by sight and smell, and easily figuring out shortcuts, Dr. Bradshaw said.

Strange, faraway locations would seem problematic, although he and Patrick Bateson, a behavioral biologist at Cambridge University, say that cats can sense smells across long distances. “Let’s say they associate the smell of pine with wind coming from the north, so they move in a southerly direction,” Dr. Bateson said.

Peter Borchelt, a New York animal behaviorist, wondered if Holly followed the Florida coast by sight or sound, tracking Interstate 95 and deciding to “keep that to the right and keep the ocean to the left.”

But, he said, “nobody’s going to do an experiment and take a bunch of cats in different directions and see which ones get home.”

The closest, said Roger Tabor, a British cat biologist, may have been a 1954 study in Germany in which cats placed in a covered circular maze with exits every 15 degrees most often exited in the direction of their homes, but more reliably if their homes were less than five kilometers away.

New research by the National Geographic and University of Georgia’s Kitty Cams Project, using video footage from 55 pet cats wearing video cameras on their collars, suggests cat behavior is exceedingly complex.

For example, the Kitty Cams study found that four of the cats were two-timing their owners, visiting other homes for food and affection. Not every cat, it seems, shares Holly’s loyalty.

KittyCams also showed most of the cats engaging in risky behavior, including crossing roads and “eating and drinking substances away from home,” risks Holly undoubtedly experienced and seems lucky to have survived.

But there have been other cats who made unexpected comebacks.

“It’s actually happened to me,” said Jackson Galaxy, a cat behaviorist who hosts “My Cat From Hell” on Animal Planet. While living in Boulder, Colo., he moved across town, whereupon his indoor cat, Rabbi, fled and appeared 10 days later at the previous house, “walking five miles through an area he had never been before,” Mr. Galaxy said.

Professor Tabor cited longer-distance reports he considered credible: Murka, a tortoiseshell in Russia, traveling about 325 miles home to Moscow from her owner’s mother’s house in Voronezh in 1989; Ninja, who returned to Farmington, Utah, in 1997, a year after her family moved from there to Mill Creek, Wash.; and Howie, an indoor Persian cat in Australia who in 1978 ran away from relatives his vacationing family left him with and eventually traveled 1,000 miles to his family’s home.

Professor Tabor also said a Siamese in the English village of Black Notley repeatedly hopped a train, disembarked at White Notley, and walked several miles back to Black Notley.

Still, explaining such journeys is not black and white.

In the Florida case, one glimpse through the factual fog comes on the little cat’s feet. While Dr. Bradshaw speculated Holly might have gotten a lift, perhaps sneaking under the hood of a truck heading down I-95, her paws suggest she was not driven all the way, nor did Holly go lightly.

“Her pads on her feet were bleeding,” Ms. Richter said. “Her claws are worn weird. The front ones are really sharp, the back ones worn down to nothing.”

Scientists say that is consistent with a long walk, since back feet provide propulsion, while front claws engage in activities like tearing. The Richters also said Holly had gone from 13.5 to 7 pounds.

Holly hardly seemed an adventurous wanderer, though her background might have given her a genetic advantage. Her mother was a feral cat roaming the Richters’ mobile home park, and Holly was born inside somebody’s air-conditioner, Ms. Richter said. When, at about six weeks old, Holly padded into their carport and jumped into the lap of Mr. Richter’s mother, there were “scars on her belly from when the air conditioner was turned on,” Ms. Richter said.

Scientists say that such early experience was too brief to explain how Holly might have been comfortable in the wild — after all, she spent most of her life as an indoor cat, except for occasionally running outside to chase lizards. But it might imply innate personality traits like nimbleness or toughness.

“You’ve got these real variations in temperament,” Dr. Bekoff said. “Fish can be shy or bold; there seem to be shy and bold spiders. This cat, it could be she has the personality of a survivor.”

He said being an indoor cat would not extinguish survivalist behaviors, like hunting mice or being aware of the sun’s orientation.

The Richters — Bonnie, 63, a retired nurse, and Jacob, 70, a retired airline mechanics’ supervisor and accomplished bowler — began traveling with Holly only last year, and she easily tolerated a hotel, a cabin or the R.V.

But during the Good Sam R.V. Rally in Daytona, when they were camping near the speedway with 3,000 other motor homes, Holly bolted when Ms. Richter’s mother opened the door one night. Fireworks the next day may have further spooked her, and, after searching for days, alerting animal agencies and posting fliers, the Richters returned home catless.

Two weeks later, an animal rescue worker called the Richters to say a cat resembling Holly had been spotted eating behind the Daytona franchise of Hooters, where employees put out food for feral cats.

Then, on New Year’s Eve, Barb Mazzola, a 52-year-old university executive assistant, noticed a cat “barely standing” in her backyard in West Palm Beach, struggling even to meow. Over six days, Ms. Mazzola and her children cared for the cat, putting out food, including special milk for cats, and eventually the cat came inside.

They named her Cosette after the orphan in Les Misérables, and took her to a veterinarian, Dr. Sara Beg at Paws2Help. Dr. Beg said the cat was underweight and dehydrated, had “back claws and nail beds worn down, probably from all that walking on pavement,” but was “bright and alert” and had no parasites, heartworm or viruses. “She was hesitant and scared around people she didn’t know, so I don’t think she went up to people and got a lift,” Dr. Beg said. “I think she made the journey on her own.”

At Paws2Help, Ms. Mazzola said, “I almost didn’t want to ask, because I wanted to keep her, but I said, ‘Just check and make sure she doesn’t have a microchip.’” When told the cat did, “I just cried.”

The Richters cried, too upon seeing Holly, who instantly relaxed when placed on Mr. Richter’s shoulder. Re-entry is proceeding well, but the mystery persists.

“We haven’t the slightest idea how they do this,” Mr. Galaxy said. “Anybody who says they do is lying, and, if you find it, please God, tell me what it is.”

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More marketers lengthen Super Bowl ads to stand out during game

For this year's Super Bowl, more marketers are benching the standard 30-second spots and paying pricey sums — in some cases more than $7.5 million — to run 60-second commercials during the NFL championship Feb. 3.

Longer commercials are part of a game plan to win the attention and the affection of viewers, including the tens of millions of people who watch the Super Bowl primarily to see the ads. A Harris Interactive study last year found that an estimated 66% of women and 45% of men watch the big game as much for the ads as the action on the field.

CBS executives say demand has been heavy for commercial time for the upcoming match between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers. The majority of ads will continue to be 30-second spots, which have sold for a record-high average of $3.8 million — 7% higher than last year's rate.

TIMELINE: Best Super Bowl commercials

A few spots have gone for as much as $4 million, which should help CBS rake in more than $275 million in advertising revenue from the game alone, on top of the millions of additional ad dollars generated during seven hours of pre-game shows.

Demand, advertisers say, is driven by interest. More than 41 million viewers watched the Ravens beat the New England Patriots on Sunday to earn a spot in the Super Bowl, and the big game itself is expected to draw more than 100 million viewers. Last year's audience in the U.S. of 111 million people was more than twice the size of any other single event televised in 2012.

"I've been doing this for 30 years and consumer interest is at an all-time high," said Mike Sheldon, chief executive of ad agency Deutsch LA, which is creating Super Bowl commercials for Volkswagen and Taco Bell.

"The Super Bowl is a cultural phenomenon — it's a social event that people want to be part of," said Carisa Bianchi, president of TBWA\Chiat\Day, Los Angeles' largest ad agency, which is creating a spot for Pepsi Next. "The Super Bowl is one of the last bastions in the world where everyone can feel that they are participating."

Last year, the number of 60- and 90-second messages in the Super Bowl surged. Nearly 20% of the ads stretched 60 seconds or longer, according to ad tracking firm Kantar Media. (Only 10% of the ads in 2011 were a minute or longer.)

BEST & WORST: Post-Super Bowl TV

Last year's most-talked about spot, Chrysler's two-minute "It's Half Time in America" with Clint Eastwood, may have encouraged more marketers to think longer this year.

"At the Super Bowl, everyone wants to be blown away," said Chris Adams, executive creative director of Saatchi & Saatchi LA, which is designing a 60-second ad for Toyota. "One way to do that is by going bigger and longer to have more fun with the storytelling."

Marketing executives must employ new tactics as the price of the time escalates and as the TV networks cram more spots into the game, said Jon Swallen, Kantar Media's senior vice president of research.

Last year's broadcast included more than 47 minutes of commercials, compared with 40 minutes in 2005.

Swallen estimated this year's game will feature 60 commercial messages, from 30 to 40 advertisers. "That's a lot of competition," Swallen said. "The driving force is this desire to break through the clutter and tell a story that holds the attention of viewers."

Wonderful Pistachios, in its first Super Bowl commercial, landed Psy, the South Korean rapper whose "Gangnam Style" video has notched more than 1 billion views on YouTube.

"We had to find someone who was truly spectacular," said Marc Seguin, vice president of marketing for Paramount Farms, the Los Angeles grower of Wonderful Pistachios. "And Psy is clearly the biggest celebrity on the planet."

Deutsch LA created Taco Bell's 60-second spot that features a gray-haired 87-year-old man with moxie in a sendup to youth called "Viva Young." Saatchi & Saatchi LA recruited actress Kaley Cuoco from the hit CBS comedy "Big Bang Theory" for its Toyota ad. For the seventh straight year, Doritos sponsored its "Crash the Super Bowl" contest, inviting amateurs to produce and submit their own commercials.

Walt Disney Co., Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures have bought time to hype upcoming movies.

Anheuser-Busch, typically the biggest buyer of Super Bowl ad time, will introduce a new beer, Budweiser Black Crown. The St. Louis beer company also plans two 60-second ads to promote Bud Light. And its high-stepping Clydesdale horses reprise their starring role — back by popular demand.

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