C M Y K Nxxx,2015-01-01,B,001,Bs-4C,E1

European Economy Machine Learning SportsThursday Pages 8-13 Hint of More Stimulus After Upgrade, Recycle This Could Get Awkward A top official of Europe’s central Old gadgets can hold toxic waste, Next season, Ohio State may bank says actions taken to lift the but now it’s easier than ever to have a surplus of quarterbacks, eurozone may not be enough. 3 dispose of them properly. 6 including Cardale Jones. 8

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 2015

Markets Hit Highs in ’14 As Bull Run Endured

By PETER EAVIS An accelerating United States economy trumped problems overseas to lift the stock market to new highs in 2014. Despite losses for the day in light pre-holiday trading, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock in- dex closed on Wednesday with a gain of 11.39 percent for 2014 — 13.68 percent when reinvested dividends are included. It was the third consecutive year that the market benchmark has risen by more than 10 percent. Other market measures also ended the year on a strong note. The Dow Jones industrial aver- age closed up 7.52 percent for 2014, while the Nasdaq composite index ended up 13.4 percent. Can the party in American stocks keep going in 2015? “We don’t see a lot on the hori- zon that could derail the U.S. market in particular,” said Ray- mond Nolte, chief investment of- ficer at SkyBridge Capital, an in-

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JANIE OSBORNE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES vestment firm focused on hedge funds. “But there could be contin- ued volatility.” Après-Bankruptcy The market’s astonishing as-

Six years after hitting its low point, a private ski resort for the rich is thriving in .

By SARAH MAX estate speculation that precipitated BIG SKY, Mont. — In the weeks the financial crisis, and it became before the holiday season, snowfall mired in bankruptcy and a messy at the is both a divorce case. blessing and a curse. It is an es- Today, six years after its bank- sential ingredient for this 13,600- ruptcy, the Yellowstone Club is acre private ski club just north of thriving. In the last two years alone, Yellowstone National Park. Yet it is the club has sold nearly $1 billion in SETH WENIG/ also an unwelcome wrinkle for the real estate. It has doubled its mem- The New York Stock Ex- 2,000 to 3,000 contractors who come bership, which includes the likes of change on Wednesday. Mar- and go each day, racing to build and the investor and Hol- ket measures ended the year lywood producer Peter Chernin, to homes, renovate lodges and break on a strong note. ground on new projects. more than 500 households from 260 Just a few years ago, such activi- in 2009, and it is gearing up for what In the last two years, the Yellowstone Club has sold ty would have been hard to fathom. is likely to be its busiest winter cent began in early 2009, when nearly $1 billion in real estate. It has doubled its mem- This alpine redoubt defaulted on a since the club broke ground more the newly elected Obama admin- bership, which includes the likes of Bill Gates and the $375 million loan in November 2008, than 15 years ago. istration was scrambling to re- investor and Hollywood producer Peter Chernin. epitomizing the risky loans and real Continued on Page 5 vive the economy and right the teetering financial system. The run-up has now lasted nearly 70 months, making it the fourth- longest bull market since World War II, according to data from S.&P. In recent months, investors Hourly Wage Get to Know Your Social Media Persona have encountered deterrents that might have thwarted the mar- Anil Dash, a longtime tech entrepreneur campaign by some video game enthusi- ket’s progress. The Federal Re- Is Going Up and blogger, was recently studying a list of asts. “I’m like: ‘God, I’m wasting my life. serve, for instance, recently the top words he had used on Twitter over Why am I spending time on this? There are wound down its enormous bond- For Millions the course of a month during the fall. Mr. so many other things I could be doing.’” buying program, which had Dash has half a million follow- But, he added: “Seeing it was a revelation. helped drive stocks higher. The economies of Europe and Japan ers on Twitter, and like a lot of I decided I’m just not doing it anymore. I By RACHEL ABRAMS FARHAD remain fragile, despite big efforts people in tech and media cir- immediately blocked five people, and it For some low-wage workers, to turn them around. The con- MANJOO cles, he uses the social net- made my life better in 10 seconds.” everyday tasks like spending flicts in Ukraine and the Middle work to chat with colleagues, Mr. Dash has been thinking about his be- money for bus fare to get to and STATE to pontificate about technol- East, as well as an unexpectedly OF THE ART havior on social media for a while. Togeth- from work also involve deciding ogy, politics and pop culture, steep plunge in oil prices, have STUART GOLDENBERG er with Gina Trapani, the former editor of which bill to pay or delay, or what and to participate in a lot of in-jokes. gnawed at confidence. to give up. Over the years Mr. Dash has also found cided that many of his tweets were too the blog Lifehacker, he is a co-founder of Investors, however, appeared Rita Diaz, 26, who works two himself in the middle of some of the most combative, and he wasn’t proud of that. ThinkUp, a year-old subscription service to anticipate that the United low-wage jobs, sometimes walks loaded controversies that have roiled that “A lot of it was me dealing with ‘gamer- that analyzes how people comport them- States economic recovery would the three miles home from her network. But when he looked at the list of gate’ folks,” he said in an interview, refer- selves on Twitter and Facebook, with the gather pace in 2014. As that mate- job serving chicken at a Popeye’s his most-used words for that month, he de- ring to this year’s antifeminist activist Continued on Page 7 Continued on Page 2 fast-food restaurant in Roslin- dale, Mass., when she doesn’t have money for all of her ex- penses. Her plight is one of many highlighted by labor advocates who have been pushing for high- AirAsia’s Chief Responds Quickly and With Compassion er minimum wage levels. In January, with an increase in By ALEXANDRA STEVENSON ter about the “soul-destroying” the minimum wage in Massachu- and NEIL GOUGH experience of seeing the bodies setts taking effect — raising HONG KONG — When an and airplane parts that had been hourly pay to $9 from $8 an hour AirAsia plane carrying 162 people pulled from the water. — Ms. Diaz envisions being able disappeared from the skies near His approach to the crisis mir- to walk less and ride more. Indonesia on Sunday, the Ma- rors the hands-on philosophy “I need to make a decision to laysian company’s chief execu- that has helped him to turn what buy clothes, or pay the rent or tive, Tony Fernandes, took to was, 13 years ago, a state-owned pay my cellphone bill,” she said. Twitter. “This is my worst night- airline with millions of dollars in “Now I’ve got to do that decision, mare,” he wrote. debt into Asia’s largest budget but I’m going to have more Within hours, Mr. Fernandes carrier. As he built up the brand, money for me, too. A little bit of was in Surabaya, the missing Mr. Fernandes became synony- money for me.” plane’s point of departure, speak- mous with it — the public face By Thursday, minimum wage ing with families of the passen- and promoter in chief of the busi- increases will go into effect in 20 gers and crew. On Tuesday ness — sometimes working states, including Massachusetts, evening, after the crash site had alongside cabin staff on flights or as well as in the District of Co- been found, he met with Presi- at reservation desks and even as lumbia. A few other states will dent Joko Widodo of Indonesia, a bag handler. enact a pay bump later in the who had arrived in Surabaya to The way Mr. Fernandes and year. visit the grieving families. AirAsia have reacted to the third All told, 29 states will exceed By Wednesday afternoon, Mr. fatal incident in 2014 involving a the federal minimum wage of Fernandes was in Pangkalan Malaysian airline is in sharp con- $7.25 an hour at the beginning of Bun, the coastal Indonesian town trast to that of Malaysia Airlines January, according to the Nation- near where the wreckage of — the nation’s heavily indebted, al Conference of State Legisla- Flight 8501 was found and the state-owned flag carrier, which tures. TATAN SYUFLANA/ASSOCIATED PRESS center of recovery efforts. In del- operated the two other planes in- Continued on Page 2 Tony Fernandes, the chief executive of AirAsia, came to the airline industry as an outsider. icate language, he spoke on Twit- Continued on Page 5 C M Y K Nxxx,2015-01-01,B,005,Bs-4C,E1

THE NEW YORK TIMES BUSINESS THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 2015 N B5

Six Years After Bankruptcy, a Ski Resort for the Rich Is Bouncing Back

cret Service officer are reassur- of the Warren Miller Lodge is From First Business Page ance enough; many guests do not now dedicated to children’s activ- Of course, busy here is relative, even lock their doors. ities, with a basketball court, and that is one of the biggest sell- Although Mr. Byrne has made game room and movie theater. ing points. a career buying and financing “This isn’t Augusta or some “Look at the crowds at Breck- distressed real estate, his interest Upper East Side club,” Mr. Meld- enridge on opening day,” said in buying the Yellowstone Club man said. “It’s a ski place in Mon- Sam Byrne, the financier who was as much about seeing the tana, and you have to program it bought the Yellowstone Club out club succeed, he said, as it was that way.” of bankruptcy in 2009. He pointed about turning a profit — though Skiing is the primary draw. Yet to a web camera showing what the deal is shaping up to be in- more members are coming looked like ants dotting a ski run credibly profitable. throughout the year to hike, bike, at the Breckenridge resort in Col- “He turned a Wild West project fly fish and golf — though people orado, then called up satellite im- into something with institutional golfing in bare feet, with their ages of lift lines at Vail Ski Re- diligence,” said Mike Meldman, a dogs, is not an uncommon sight. sort. member of Yellowstone Club and Under the previous owners, Like many members, Mr. the chief executive of the Dis- members spent about 20 days a Byrne first visited the Yellow- covery Land Company, which year at the club, Mr. Meldman stone Club as a guest and, after took over the club’s operations said. Now, members average 60 seeing its 2,200 skiable acres — and development in 2009. days a year. more than Deer Valley Resort in The club was originally the There is a laundry list of new Utah or Sun Valley in Idaho — brainchild of , who projects in the works, including became a member in 2005. pieced together more than more restaurants, a golf club- “The first time I skied here, I 100,000 acres of undevelopable house, below-ground parking and didn’t even make it into the lodge timberland and swapped it for new spa and fitness facilities. because I was so enamored,” said land on the back side of Big Sky Nevertheless, Vail or Brecken- Mr. Byrne, a founder of Cross- Resort. By the mid-2000s, lots at ridge it will never be. Member- Harbor Capital Partners, a pri- Yellowstone Club were selling for ship is capped at 864 households. seven figures and membership vate equity firm based in Boston. JANIE OSBORNE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES Although Mr. Byrne is antici- had grown to include hedge fund pating the day when he can visit That is a common initial im- The club’s currency is the promise of privacy, security, no lift lines and pristine fields of snow. pression of the club. Its currency managers, professional athletes Yellowstone Club purely for is not its night life or shopping, and captains of industry. pleasure, his work in Montana is but the promise of privacy, secu- The club’s financial woes Suisse and CrossHarbor were the those checks,” said Mr. Byrne, sion of a private ski oasis where hardly finished. In late 2013, his rity, no lift lines and pristine stemmed from a loan to Mr. Blix- only two bidders. “In late 2008, who said the club is an economic families gather, it has significant- firm paid $26 million for the bank- fields of snow. seth and his wife at the time, the world was a pretty messy engine for the area. It employs ly changed its approach. Next to rupt 5,700-acre Spanish Peaks de- “We don’t have powder days,” Edra, that “they never should place,” said Mr. Byrne, who along 700 people in the winter and 450 the traditional post-and-beam es- velopment just down the road. A Mr. Byrne said in a promotional have gotten,” Mr. Byrne said, re- with other investors tried to buy in the summer, not to mention all tates are more modern homes, few months later, it bought the video for the club. “We have pow- ferring to a $375 million loan that the property for about $400 mil- of those contractors in the build- with sharp angles, glass and met- ski club after its der weeks.” syndicated in 2005. lion in 2007. ing trade. al. bankruptcy and promptly Untrammeled trails do come Mr. Blixseth put the club up as In June 2009, CrossHarbor paid Another priority for Mr. Byrne One new subdivision, Ameri- teamed up with to with a price. Patrons must own collateral but, as was allowed un- $115 million for the club and was to make the operations can Spirit, lets buyers customize link their collective 5,800 skiable property. The smallest condomin- der the loan’s terms, used most of pledged an additional $100 mil- transparent and work with mem- existing designs for 5,000- to acres. iums cost about $4 million, and the proceeds for other purposes, lion for capital improvements bers to outline a strategy for 8,800-square-foot houses that can “It wasn’t my plan to buy them single-family homes start at $5 including an unsuccessful effort and payments to unsecured cred- eventually turning over owner- be built in 14 months. This option all,” said Mr. Byrne, who along million, with annual assessments to assemble luxury properties itors. CrossHarbor in turn invited ship to the club. When the club particularly appeals to buyers be- with his partners controls 95 per- in the thousands of dollars. There around the world for an ultraex- members and other investors, in- reaches 700 to 750 households, cause the supply of completed cent of the future developable is also an initial fee of $300,000, in clusive vacation club. In October cluding the Discovery Land Com- Mr. Byrne will start the handover homes is at its lowest level. real estate in the area. Neverthe- addition to $36,000 a year for 2008, the Blixseths divorced, with pany, to buy into the deal under process. In the meantime, he The club is also putting land less, he says there is no shortage dues. Ms. Blixseth assuming owner- the same terms. said, the club has no remaining that was slated to be developed of opportunity to build additional Only members, their families ship of the club and its debt. “Sam was uniquely positioned debt from the bankruptcy and higher up on the mountain into a lodging, services and housing and guests have access to the When the club filed for bankrupt- to pull this off,” said Scott Prince, has positive cash flow. conservation easement, instead around what is now the largest club, with its ski-in, ski-out cy a month later, it was losing $20 a former Goldman Sachs partner Before the bankruptcy, new de- focusing on building condos, du- ski resort, by skiable acres, in the homes that typically include ski million a year between operating who joined the club in 2004 and velopment came to a standstill. plexes and amenities near the United States. rooms with individual lockers, expenses and debt servicing. was among the 78 members who Secondary market sales in the base of Pioneer Mountain. When Yellowstone Club mem- heated driveways, bunk rooms Homeowners weren’t caught invested. “Had it been an oppor- first few years were “even worse “The village is the low-hanging bers want a change of scenery, and $5,000 boot dryers. They unaware. In spring 2008, a group tunistic investor, I don’t think than our most conservative fruit,” said Mr. Meldman, whose they need only hop on the South- have access to 15 chairlifts, an 18- of 14 members formed an ad hoc you would have seen the same plans,” said Mr. Prince, who is on company, Discovery Land, has ern Comfort chairlift, which hole golf course designed by Tom board to represent all owners, balance of doing what’s right for the club’s advisory board. Spec- developed communities in places speeds them over to the slopes at Weiskopf and three ski lodges, who collectively owned more the members and the investors.” ulators ran for the exit, and de- like Mexico and the Bahamas. Big Sky. the largest of which is the than $3 billion in real estate at the One of Mr. Byrne’s first tasks mand for 8,000-square-foot cha- “That’s where most people want The club’s own slopes, howev- 140,000-square-foot Warren Mill- club. More than 200 people con- after the purchase was to repair lets dwindled. “It took a full three to be.” er, will always stay private, Mr. er Lodge at the base of Pioneer tributed money to hire their own the club’s reputation. The former years to burn through excess in- Likewise, the new owners have Byrne said. Yellowstone Club Mountain. There are no fences, legal team. “Nobody wanted to owners burned bridges, owing ventory,” Mr. Byrne said. “We toned down the décor in the lodge may be all about being discreet, but the surrounding 250,000 acres see a bankruptcy,” Mr. Byrne $10 million to local contractors, don’t allow speculators now.” and converted the caviar bar to a but the “No Trespassing” signs of Gallatin National Forest and a said. vendors and employees. While the club has not strayed breakfast buffet. What was to be marking its coveted boundary security team run by a former Se- When that did happen, Credit “I personally delivered a lot of from Mr. Blixseth’s original vi- a grand ballroom in the basement are anything but. Quick Compassion From AirAsia Chief

Yogyakarta and a Batik Air jet vals and shake things up. The From First Business Page that was landing. And on Tues- company has been relentless in volved in fatal incidents. day a plane operated by AirAsia cutting its cost structure to Officials there were criticized Zest, an affiliate of AirAsia Phil- among the lowest of budget air- for the confusion and miscommu- ippines, overshot the runway at lines globally, selling cheap nication that prevailed for days an airport in central Philippines. flights but lifting revenue by after the disappearance of Ma- No one was hurt. charging customers fees on op- laysia Airlines Flight 370, which Mr. Fernandes, 50, came to the tions like choosing seats or was carrying 239 people when it airline industry as an outsider. checking in at the airport counter lost contact with air traffic con- He was raised in the coastal city (online check-in remains free). trol after midnight on March 8 of Malacca, the son of a doctor Competition is increasing as and is now believed by investiga- from Goa, India, and a mother more budget operators pile in, tors to have crashed into the Indi- from Malacca who built a busi- but sales rose 2.4 percent in the an Ocean west of Australia. An- ness across Malaysia selling Tup- first nine months of the year to other plane, Malaysia Airlines perware. He was sent to boarding $1.1 billion, and the company con- Flight 17, was shot down over school in Britain at age 12, and re- tinues to make a healthy profit. It reported it flew 43 million pas- Ukraine in July. tains a polished British accent. sengers in 2013. So far, analysts are impressed An accountant by training, he Early on, the company began with how AirAsia and Mr. Fer- spent the early part of his career nandes have handled the crisis, to look overseas for partners to in the music publishing business help it expand. Business in Asia which involved the company’s 49- and rose to become Warner Mu- percent-owned Indonesian affili- is often segregated by national sic’s top regional executive in ate. “I don’t think this will break borders, with state-run compa- Southeast Asia. But the music them,” said Zulkifli Hamzah, nies and wealthy tycoons control- business was in turmoil because head of research at MIDF Ama- ling large sectors of many econo- nah Investment Bank Berhad in of widespread counterfeiting in mies. This was particularly true Malaysia. “I think the main thing Asia and the rise of online file in the airline industry at the time. right now is to protect their To succeed, AirAsia expanded by brand, and I think that will be in- forming joint ventures, taking mi- strumental in the future of their nority stakes.It began in 2004 company.” An approach in sharp with a partnership in Thailand Nonetheless, the biggest chal- with Shin Corp, which was con- lenge facing AirAsia today is a contrast to how trolled by the family of Thaksin new one for both the company Malaysia Airlines Shinawatra, the prime minister of and for Mr. Fernandes. The de- Thailand at the time. mise of Flight 8501 on Sunday handled its crashes. Over the last decade, AirAsia was the airline’s first major acci- has expanded further. In addition dent, and is adding to concerns to Malaysia, Thailand and Indo- about safety in a region that has nesia, it also has affiliates in the experienced a boom in the num- sharing globally. In 2001, after the Philippines and more recently, ber of low-cost carriers flying to ill-fated merger of AOL and Time India. A sister company, AirAsia destinations across Asia. Warner, Mr. Fernandes decided X, operates low-cost, long-haul Indonesia has not fared well in to try something different. flights. But growth hasn’t always international safety rankings. In “I got tired of piracy,” he said been smooth for AirAsia. In June 2007, the United States Transpor- at the World Islamic Economic 2013, AirAsia decided to leave the tation Department’s Federal Avi- Forum in London in 2013. He was Japanese market after little more ation Administration gave the inspired to bring the low-cost air- than a year, following repeated country a Category 2 ranking, line model to Asia by Stelios Haji- disagreements over business which means Indonesia’s regula- Ioannou, founder of the British strategy with its joint venture tions do not comply with safety budget carrier easyJet. partner, All Nippon Airways. standards set by the Internation- He saw his opportunity with Its entry to the huge, develop- al Civil Aviation Organization. AirAsia, a struggling subsidiary ing India market was also diffi- AirAsia and its affiliates have a of a Malaysian state-owned con- cult. The venture was announced solid safety record, industry ex- glomerate. He agreed to acquire in February 2013, but AirAsia perts say. The company relies on the airline for the token sum of 1 didn’t begin flights until June a fleet of relatively newer planes Malaysian ringgit, or 29 cents at 2014 after facing fierce opposition composed of Airbus A320s — a today’s exchange rates, and from local competitors. model tried and tested over the signed the deal on Sept. 8, 2001, Likely to be facing his toughest years by scores of airlines just three days before the 9/11 challenge now, Mr. Fernandes around the world. terrorist attacks. will be squarely — and very vis- “They haven’t had any safety For the first few years, he fo- ibly — in charge of how AirAsia problems,” Greg Waldron, the cused on turning AirAsia into a responds to the investigation. Asia managing editor for the avi- budget carrier by building local “I am the leader of this compa- ation publication Flightglobal, allies. Mr. Fernandes worked ny, and I have to take responsibil- said of the company. with the former head of Malay- ity. That is why I am here,” he But, he added, there was a sia’s Road Transport Depart- told reporters at the Surabaya “warning sign” in a 2013 near col- ment, Datuk Pahamin A Rajab, airport Tuesday evening after lision between an Indonesia and brought in former Warner meeting relatives of the passen- AirAsia jet taxiing on a runway in Music colleagues, Asian airline gers and crew of the downed veterans and a top executive plane. He added, “Even though Austin Ramzy contributed report- poached from Ryanair, the Irish we don’t know what’s wrong, the ing from Hong Kong and Michael budget carrier. passengers were on my aircraft, Forsythe from Putrajaya, Malay- He also used his position as an and I have to take responsibility sia. industry outsider to take on ri- for that.”