Wall Street Week Ahead: Earnings, money flows to push stocks higher

NEW YORK (Reuters) - With earnings momentum on the rise, the S&P 500 seems to have few hurdles ahead as it continues to power higher, its all-time high a not-so-distant goal. The U.S. equity benchmark closed the week at a fresh five-year high on strong housing and labor market data and a string of earnings that beat lowered expectations. Sector indexes in transportation...

Read More..

Algerian army stages "final assault" on gas plant

ALGIERS/IN AMENAS, Algeria (Reuters) - The Algerian army carried out a dramatic final assault to end a siege by Islamic militants at a desert gas plant on Saturday, killing 11 al Qaeda-linked gunmen after they took the lives of seven more foreign hostages, the state news agency said. The state oil and gas company, Sonatrach, said the militants who attacked the plant on Wednesday and took...

Read More..

Dotcom says new site legal, no revenge for Megaupload saga

AUCKLAND (Reuters) – Kim Dotcom, founder of outlawed file-sharing website Megaupload, said his new “cyberlocker” was not revenge on U.S. authorities who planned a raid on his home, closed Megaupload and charged him with online piracy for which he faces jail if found guilty.Dotcom said his new offering, Mega.co.nz, which will launch on Sunday even as he and three colleagues await extradition from New...

Read More..

Buzzmakers: Golden Globes Glamour and Jennifer Lawrence's Butt

1. Jennifer Lawrence: That's Not My Flabby Butt! Jennifer Lawrence has been silent long enough! The Silver Linings Playbook actress showed up on the Late Show With David Letterman this week to both clarify her Meryl Streep comments during her Golden Globes acceptance speech, and set the record straight on a photoshopped pic of her bikini backside.The actress is convinced that the paparazzi put a much...

Read More..

Lilly drug chosen for Alzheimer's prevention study

Researchers have chosen an experimental drug by Eli Lilly & Co. for a large federally funded study testing whether it's possible to prevent Alzheimer's disease in older people at high risk of developing it.The drug, called solanezumab (sol-ah-NAYZ-uh-mab), is designed to bind to and help clear the sticky deposits that clog patients' brains.Earlier studies found it did not help people with moderate...

Read More..

Wall Street slips after disappointing Intel results

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks edged lower on Friday from a five-year high for the S&P 500 as a weak outlook from tech heavyweight Intel offset a better-than-expected quarterly profit at Morgan Stanley. But the S&P 500 was still on track to end higher for a third consecutive week. Shares of Intel Corp slumped nearly 7 percent to $21.11 a day after it forecast quarterly...

Read More..

Foreigners still caught in Sahara hostage crisis

ALGIERS (Reuters) - More than 20 foreigners were still being held hostage or missing inside a gas plant on Friday after Algerian forces stormed the desert complex to free hundreds of captives taken by Islamist militants, who threatened to attack other energy installations. Thirty hostages, including at least seven Westerners, were killed during Thursday's assault, along with at least 18 of their...

Read More..

Morrisons to launch online kitchenware business

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain‘s fourth largest supermarket group Wm Morrison said on Friday it would extend its online presence in the spring with the launch of a kitchenware website in partnership with specialist Lakeland.The joint venture will be Morrisons‘ third fully transactional website following the launch of wine website MorrisonsCellar.com in November and the purchase of baby care retailer Kiddicare.com...

Read More..

Stars Without Makeup!

Kim Kardashian Kim Kardashian learned the hard way the consequences of falling asleep while tanning. Khloe Kardashian tweeted this pic of her big sister's unevenly sun burnt face writing, "TBT this picture makes me laugh. My little Keeks fell asleep in the sun with her sunglasses on. Still stunning even with a...

Read More..

Flu season 'bad one for the elderly,' CDC says

Flu hospitalizations among the elderly rose sharply last week, prompting federal officials to take unusual steps to make more flu medicines available and to urge wider use of them as soon as symptoms appear.The U.S. is about halfway through the flu season, which is shaping up to be worse than average and a bad one for the elderly, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control...

Read More..

Data, eBay earnings lift Wall Street to five-year high

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street rose on Thursday, with the S&P 500 climbing to a five-year intraday high, on improved housing and jobs data along with better-than-expected results from online marketplace eBay . The data showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to a five-year low last week, while groundbreaking for homes rose to the fastest pace...

Read More..

Algerian forces launch operation to break desert siege

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Twenty-five foreign hostages escaped and six were killed on Thursday when Algerian forces launched an operation to free them at a remote desert gas plant, Algerian sources said, as one of the biggest international hostage crises in decades unfolded. Fast-moving details of the military operation to free the hostages were difficult to confirm. Algeria's official APS...

Read More..

AT&T Offers $100 Off HSPA+ Nexus 7 for a Limited Time

The Nexus 7, made by Asus in partnership with Google, was the first really successful Android tablet that wasn’t made by a bookseller. It brought the hundreds of thousands of games and apps on Google Play (formerly the Android Market) to a wide audience, and it did so at an unheard-of price point: Only $ 199, for a device packing a Tegra 3 processor which made it much more powerful (and better for...

Read More..

Drew Barrymore Reveals Her Favorite Red Carpet Look

In a new interview with People, Drew Barrymore is revealing her favorite beauty red carpet moment of all time -- and the choice is surprising to say the least.Drew chose her much-criticized look at the Los Angeles premiere of her HBO film Grey Gardens, where she rocked voluminous blonde locks and retro makeup.Pics: The Top 10 Celebrity Collections "We did this big blonde hair for the L.A. premiere...

Read More..

Study: NYC better than LA at cutting kids' obesity

NEW YORK (AP) — A new study shows New York City is doing better than Los Angeles in the battle against childhood obesity, at least for low-income children.From 2003 to 2011, obesity rates for poor children dropped in New York to around 16 percent. But they rose in Los Angeles and ended at about 20 percent.The researchers focused on children ages 3 and 4 enrolled in a government program that provides...

Read More..

Wall Street flat as Apple gains; Boeing drags Dow

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks held near the unchanged mark on Wednesday as concerns about global economic growth and a drop in Boeing shares offset strong bank results and gains in technology stocks. Goldman Sachs shares hit their highest level since May 31, 2011 as earnings nearly tripled on increased revenue from dealmaking and lower compensation expenses, while JPMorgan Chase said...

Read More..

Dozens held after Islamists attack Algerian gas field

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Islamist militants attacked a gas field in Algeria on Wednesday, claiming to have kidnapped up to 41 foreigners including seven Americans in a dawn raid in retaliation for France's intervention in Mali, according to regional media reports. The raiders were also reported to have killed three people, including a Briton and a French national. An al Qaeda...

Read More..

“GameStick” and NVIDIA “Project SHIELD” Consoles-in-a-Controller on Their Way

Both GameStick and NVIDIA’s Project Shield are upcoming game consoles the size of a game controller, which can hook up to a larger display. Both are powered by Android, Google‘s open-source operating system that’s normally used on smartphones and tablets. And both have working hardware prototypes already. But one is a $ 99 Kickstarter project by an indie group, while the other has the backing of two...

Read More..

Diff'rent Strokes Star Conrad Bain Dies

Conrad Bain, best known for playing Philip Drummond on Diff'rent Strokes, has passed away. He was 89 years old.Bain died Monday night in his hometown of Livermore, CA, of natural causes, The Washington Post reports.Related: Gary Coleman's 'Diff'rent Strokes' Co-Stars React to His Death Bain's television credits include the 1972 series Maude, and guest star appearances on The Facts of Life and The...

Read More..

ER visits tied to energy drinks double since 2007

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A new government survey suggests the number of people seeking emergency treatment after consuming energy drinks has doubled nationwide during the past four years, the same period in which the supercharged drink industry has surged in popularity in convenience stores, bars and on college campuses.From 2007 to 2011, the government estimates the number of emergency room visits involving...

Read More..

Wall Street pulls flat as Apple pares losses, retailers gain

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks pared losses and pulled near the unchanged mark on Tuesday as tech heavyweight Apple came off earlier lows and economic data helped retailers advance. Apple fell for the third day in a row as the biggest drag on both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 <.ndx> after reports on Monday of cuts to orders for iPhone parts. Shares were down nearly 2.5 percent at...

Read More..

France to stay in Mali until stability restored

BAMAKO/DUBAI (Reuters) - France will end its intervention in Mali only once stability has returned to the West African country, French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday, raising the prospects of a costly, drawn-out operation against al Qaeda-linked rebels. Paris has poured hundreds of soldiers into Mali and carried out air raids since Friday in the northern half of the country,...

Read More..