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* * * * * WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2013 ~ VOL. CCLXII NO. 144 WSJ.com HHHH $2 .00

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Meltdown Averted,Bernanke StruggledTo Stoke Growth

An increasingly popularmethod of removing commonuterine growths is coming underassault by some doctors worriedabout the risk of spreading a po-tentially deadly cancer.

Brigham and Women’s Hospi-tal, a prominent Boston medicalcenter, said Tuesday it plans toimpose new limits on the proce-dure, called morcellation. AndMassachusetts General Hospitalsaid it expects to change what ittells women about possible risksfrom the technique. The HarvardUniversity-affiliated hospitalssaid they believe the dangers re-main very small.

The changes come as fourBoston-area doctors have sub-mitted a draft article to the NewEngland Journal of Medicinecalling for a moratorium on theprocedure, which involves usinga power tool to grind up fi-broids—growths in the uterus—or the uterus itself so the piecescan be removed through smallincisions used in minimally inva-sive surgery.

The article says a muchhigher number of women thanpreviously thought have unde-tected cancer in the fibroids, andthat grinding the growths caninadvertently disperse cancerousmaterial in the abdomen, insome cases tripling the odds ofdeath within five years. The arti-cle is under peer review, a stan-dard procedure by medical jour-nals.

Other doctors said the proce-dure shouldn’t be halted, but

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What’sNews

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World-Widen Russia offered Ukraine abailout package worth at least$20 billion, just weeks afterKiev rejected an EU trade dealthat Moscow opposed. A1n The Senate voted 67-33 tomove ahead with a budgetdeal as lawmakers focused onhow to divvy up dollars. A4nDoctors are scrutinizing amethod of removing uterinegrowths over a possible riskthat it could spread cancer. A1n The administration tappedan ex-Microsoft executive tooversee fixes to the problem-plagued HealthCare.gov. A4nObama met with tech exec-utives to try to ease their con-cerns about NSA spying. A6n Syrian rebels have inten-sified attacks on Alawite andChristian areas, centers ofsupport for the regime. A10n First-year enrollment atU.S. law schools plunged 11%this year to levels not seensince the 1970s. B1nChina’s moves to boost eco-nomic ties with North Koreahave been complicated by theexecution of Kim’s uncle. A12n Fighting in South Sudanamong army factions is layingbare ethnic rifts and posing athreat to the new nation. A11nMyanmar’s Suu Kyi hintedher party would boycott 2015elections if she isn’t allowedto run for president. A12nTurkish police detained 27of the premier’s allies in a cor-ruption probe as a ruling-partypower struggle intensified. A12n An Indian court convictedthree men for gang-raping anAmerican tourist in June. A13

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Inflation is slowing, pos-ing a dilemma for central

bankers. The U.S. reported aconsumer-price rise of just 1.2%as a Fed meeting opened. A1 Stocks fell as investorsawaited the Fed’s bond-buy-ing decision. The Dow eased9.31 points to 15875.26. C4nWilliam Morris is closeto an agreement to buy rivaltalent and marketing agencyIMG for about $2.4 billion. B1nEU officials struck a deal tocreate a common “backstop”for a fund aimed at paying forwinding down failing banks. C3nThe SEC is bringing fewercases as it pushes into an eraof enforcement not domi-nated by the financial crisis. C1n Facebook will begin intro-ducing video ads, marking aneffort by the social network tograb a slice of the TV-ad pie. B3n J.P. Morgan sued the FDICfor alleged failure to absorb le-gal claims fromWashingtonMutual’s collapse. C1n Fannie and Freddie willbegin charging higher feeson mortgages for many bor-rowers next year. A3nGoldman is reining in risk-ier activities, shrinking its bal-ance sheet and avoiding tradesthat don’t yield big returns. C1n Three men charged withrate manipulation enterednot-guilty pleas in London. C2nGlaxo said it would stop pay-ing doctors to attend medicalmeetings or pitch its drugs. B3n Private-equity firm Cen-terbridge backed out of adeal to buy LightSquared. B4

Business&Finance

BY JENNIFER LEVITZ

DoctorsEyeCancerRiskInUterineProcedure

Inflation is slowing across thedeveloped world despite ul-tralow interest rates and unprec-edented money-printing cam-paigns, posing a dilemma for theFederal Reserve and other majorcentral banks as they plot theirnext policy moves.

U.S. consumer prices rose just1.2% in November from a yearearlier, according to Labor De-partment data released Tuesday.The subdued price data came asthe Fed opened a two-day policymeeting at which the fate of its$85 billion-a-month bond-buyingprogram—an effort to hold downlong-term interest rates and driveup the value of homes, stocks andother assets—is a central focus.

Meanwhile, annual inflation inthe euro zone was 0.9% in No-vember, the European Union’sstatistics office said Tuesday. And

central banks in Sweden andHungary cut interest rates, thelatest efforts elsewhere in Europeto boost struggling economies asinflation remains low.

The downward pressure onprices presents a conundrum forpolicy makers across advancedeconomies: Should they respondwith even easier monetary policyor dismiss it as a temporary de-velopment?

Central bankers worry aboutinflation falling too low becauseit raises the risk of deflation, orgenerally falling prices, a phe-nomenon that is difficult to com-bat through monetary policy.Some economists believe weak orfalling prices can lead consumersto delay major purchases, exacer-bating an economic slowdown.Even without deflation, very lowinflation can be a sign of weakdemand that weighs on wages,corporate profits and growth.

“We’re in a world wherethere’s still a tremendous amountof economic slack,” said JosephLupton, a global economist at J.P.

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By Sudeep Reddyin Washington,

Brian Blackstonein Frankfurt and

Jason Douglas in London

Low InflationTests World’sCentral BanksSubdued Prices Persist Despite YearsOf Easy Money; Deflation Still a Threat

After a financial crisis hedidn’t see coming, Ben Bernankesteered the U.S. away from a po-tentially devastating panic. Yetfive years later, the recovery hehelped engineer with extraordi-nary policies remains frustrat-ingly weak.

As Mr. Bernanke prepares forhis final days as Federal Reservechairman, that legacy—a mix offailings, boldness, persistenceand frustration—is coming intosharper focus, and with it aclearer picture of the power andlimitations of modern centralbanking.

Fed officials meeting in Wash-ington on Wednesday face an-other consequential decision: aclose call on whether to startwinding down their $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program.

At the root of the issue is along-running debate betweenMr. Bernanke and other Fed offi-cials about how much more acentral bank can or should do totry to spur an economy thathasn’t been wholly responsive toits efforts.

It could be the last big Feddecision before Mr. Bernankeends his chairmanship nextmonth, eight years after takingthe helm in what he expected tobe a far-more-placid era.

“I will make continuity with

the policies and policy strategiesof the Greenspan Fed a top pri-ority,” Mr. Bernanke said at hisfirst confirmation hearing in No-vember 2005, citing predecessorAlan Greenspan. He talkedbroadly of the need to ensure fi-nancial stability, but made nomention in his statement of thethreat from a housing boom thatby then had begun showingsigns of cracking.

Fans of Mr. Bernanke say his-PleaseturntopageA14

BY JON HILSENRATH

KIEV, Ukraine—Russia lav-ished Ukraine with a bailoutpackage worth at least $20 bil-lion Tuesday, trumping the Westin a Cold War-tinged strugglethat keeps the former Soviet re-public in Moscow’s orbit.

The pact, one of the richestever offered by Russia to an-other country, came just weeksafter Kiev turned its back on atrade deal with the EU that Mos-cow had strongly opposed.

Announced after talks in theKremlin between Russian Presi-dent Vladimir Putin and hisUkrainian counterpart ViktorYanukovych on Tuesday, the deal

gives Ukraine loans and cheapernatural-gas supplies.

It appears to be substantiallylarger and the terms less restric-tive than the aid the West hadbeen offering to entice Ukraineto sign the EU’s trade-and-politi-cal accord. Russian officials saidthe first $3 billion in creditscould be released within days.

“Ukraine’s trade with Russiamakes it impossible for us to actin any other way,” Mr. Yanuk-ovych said, referring to the deepeconomic links between the twocountries. “There is no alterna-tive to this.”

Mr. Putin, in turn, told Mr.Yanukovych, “Ukraine, withoutdoubt, is our strategic partner

and ally.”The contest for the allegiance

of this France-sized nation ofsome 46 million grew increas-ingly antagonistic in recentweeks as Western politiciansflocked to the Ukrainian capitalto join thousands of protesterswho had taken to its centralsquare after Mr. Yanukovych’sabrupt about-face on an offerfrom the EU on Nov. 21.

Those demonstrators—andUkraine’s opposition—were lividat the news of the deal withMoscow on Tuesday.

“He has given up Ukraine’snational interests, given up inde-pendence and prospects for a

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BY JAMES MARSON

Russia Bails Out UkraineIn Rebuke to U.S., Europe

Sluggish GrowthHow the expansion that began in2009 compares with the first fouryears of other recoveries.Change in GDP*

Note: Average is for recoveries after WWII,excluding the one that started in 2009*Adjusted for inflation and the seasons.Source: Commerce Department

The Wall Street Journal

YEARS INTO THE RECOVERY1 2 3 4

199114.2%200910.0%

Average18.9%

198223.1%

200114.5%

25

0

5

10

15

20

%

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, left, winks at Russia’s Vladimir Putin as they agree to a bailout deal.

Sergei

Karpukhin/Re

uters

BEIJING—Duan Mengmengpeered into a dark tunnelflooded with water and spotteda potential exit. The problem: Aseries of metal pipes blocked theway.

Ms. Duan, 25 years old, andher five friends—all young pro-fessionals in their early 20s—fanned out looking for otherways to escape. Liang Ying, a 23-year-old office administrator,knocked on the walls. Zhang Xi-aobao, 24, who works in the me-dia industry, used his smart-

phone to illuminatethe floor and ceil-ing.

After 20 min-utes, they admittedthey were stumped.

“It’s all very con-fusing,” said Ms.Duan, who watchedas her more experienced friendshuddled to discuss strategy.Most of the group had beentrapped before.

People in China are lockingthemselves in rooms, and theyare doing it for fun. A new gen-eration of businesses has poppedup around China and elsewhere

in Asia in whichplayers must es-cape by solvingriddles and brainteasers—a physicalmanifestation of apopular type ofJapanese onlinegame known as

Takagism.Dozens of establishments in

Beijing have opened in the pastyear to give players the abilityto play real-life versions of thegame in converted bomb shel-ters, residential apartments andoffice complexes. A search onDazhong Dianping, China’s popu-

lar Yelp-like business-review ser-vice, shows about 120 locationsin Beijing alone.

Ms. Duan’s friends lockedthemselves in one weekend af-ternoon at Omescape, a locationin Beijing that uses effects tomake the rooms come alive. Om-escape’s rooms are rigged withlights, electronic sensors andmechanical gears that activatewhen puzzles are solved to re-veal new hidden areas. One roomhas a secret corridor laced withlaser tripwires, while anotherhas a chandelier-like device thatgives up a key only when a spe-

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BY WAYNE MAAND YUKO TAKEO

Chinese Pursuing Great Escapes Think Inside the Boxi i i

Players Pay to Sort Clues, Solve Riddles in Bid to Exit Locked Rooms; Skulls, Sewers, Keypads

New Floor Show Opens in Alps

SNEAK PEAK: A journalist stands in the ‘Step Into the Void’installation during a press visit at the Aiguille du Midi mountain peakabove Chamonix, in the French Alps, on Tuesday.

Reuters

Follow coverage of the Fed’spolicy decision today at WSJ.com

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