S&P 500 and Nasdaq inch higher, fiscal cliff a concern

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks mostly ticked higher on Monday, but persistent concerns about the upcoming debate on the fiscal cliff limited gains even after last week’s steep sell-off.Barclays cut its year-end target for the S&P 500 to 1,325, citing fiscal cliff issues. The S&P 500 dropped 2.4 percent last week,...

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Clarke’s 218 puts Australia on front foot

BRISBANE (Reuters) – Australia captain Michael Clarke scored a brilliant unbeaten double century to give the hosts a remarkable 37-run first innings lead on the fourth day of the first test against South Africa on Monday.Supported first by a maiden century from opener Ed Cowan in a record stand of 259, and then by Mike Hussey‘s 86 not out, Clarke’s 218...

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Dutch teenagers sentenced in “Facebook murder”

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Two Dutch teenagers were sentenced to two years in juvenile detention and three years of compulsory therapy on Monday for ordering the death of a girl after an argument on Facebook.The case, known in the Netherlands as the “Facebook murder”, has caused widespread debate about the role of social media in violent crime. The...

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Bond bounds back to top of box office in “Skyfall”

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The new James Bond movie “Skyfall” dominated movie box offices with $ 87.8 million in ticket sales in its U.S. and Canadian debut over the weekend for the biggest Bond opening ever, according to studio estimates released on Sunday.“Skyfall,” starring Daniel Craig as the famous super-spy, finished ahead of last weekend’s winner,...

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Swiss seek progress on U.S. tax deal: economy minister

ZURICH (Reuters) – Switzerland hopes to restart talks with the U.S. over a long-simmering tax dispute following the re-election of president Obama, its economy minister was quoted as saying on Sunday.Switzerland is trying to reach a deal to end investigations by U.S. tax authorities into 11 banks, including Credit Suisse and Julius Baer , suspected of...

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Israel kills Gaza rocket crewman in second day of clashes

GAZA (Reuters) – An Israeli air strike killed a Palestinian militant in the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip on Sunday as a surge in cross-border violence entered its second day, local officials said.Islamic Jihad, a smaller faction than Hamas which often operates independently, identified the dead man as one of its own, saying he was a member of a rocket crew...

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Ohio teen sentenced to life in Craigslist murders

AKRON, Ohio (Reuters) – Seventeen-year-old Brogan Rafferty was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Friday for his role in the killing of three men and the attempted murder of another, some of whom were lured by a Craigslist ad promising work on an Ohio farm.Rafferty was 16 when he was arrested in November 2011, but was tried as an adult. He was...

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Weinstein Co., Clear Channel, Madison Square Garden Hosting Benefit Concert for Sandy Relief

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Clear Channel Media, The Madison Square Garden Company and The Weinstein Company are joining together to produce a benefit concert to raise money for victims of Hurricane Sandy.The concert, titled “12-12-12,” will feature live music, although the producers did not reveal who would be performing. The roster should be an A-list...

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Gilead posts positive results in mid-stage Hepatitis C study

(Reuters) – Gilead Sciences Inc on Saturday reported a 100 percent cure rate using a combination of drugs in a small number of patients with the most common and hardest to treat form of hepatitis C.Rival Abbott Laboratories Inc, meanwhile, said a trio of its oral medicines to treat hepatitis C produced unprecedented cure rates in a larger number of patients...

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Czech PM Necas: Soften austerity drive to help economy – paper

PRAGUE (Reuters) – The Czech government must change tack to help the economy out of a recession and “stop scaring” the public with further budget tightening, Prime Minister Petr Necas was quoted as saying on Saturday.Pressure has been building on his centre-right cabinet to ease its austerity zeal after the economy slid into a recession and Necas’s Civic...

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