"Cliff" concerns give way to earnings focus

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors' "fiscal cliff" worries are likely to give way to more fundamental concerns, like earnings, as fourth-quarter reports get under way next week. Financial results, which begin after the market closes on Tuesday with aluminum company Alcoa , are expected to be only slightly better than the third-quarter's lackluster results. As a warning sign, analyst current...

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Germany Moves Closer to Accepting Military Role

Tobias Schwarz/ReutersGermans with a Patriot missile battery. Germany has voted to send two Patriot missile batteries and 400 soldiers to Turkey. BERLIN — When Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted a recent reception for military families, she greeted parents, wives and children whose loved ones were spending their holidays in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Kosovo and off the Horn of Africa. German deployments overseas,...

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We Salute the First Baby Senator

We realize there’s only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cell phone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today:RELATED: Claire McCaskill and How to Attack the Opponent You’re Rooting ForHere’s our suggestion to improve...

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Bethenny Frankel Divorcing Jason Hoppy

By Sarah Michaud 01/05/2013 at 05:00 PM EST Bethenny Frankel and Jason Hoppy Albert Michael/Startraks It's official – Bethenny Frankel and Jason Hoppy's marriage is over.Having announced a separation over the holidays, the reality star began the divorce process...

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FDA: New rules will make food safer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration says its new guidelines would make the food Americans eat safer and help prevent the kinds of foodborne disease outbreaks that sicken or kill thousands of consumers each year.The rules, the most sweeping food safety guidelines in decades, would require farmers to take new precautions against contamination, to include making sure workers' hands are...

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S&P 500 finishes at 5-year high on economic data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index ended at a five-year high on Friday, lifted by reports showing employers kept up a steady pace of hiring workers and the vast services sector expanded at a brisk rate. The gains on the S&P 500 pushed the index to its highest close since December 2007 and its biggest weekly gain since December 2011. Most...

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Exports of U.S. Gas May Fall Short of High Hopes

Michael Stravato for The New York TimesCheniere Energy is building a facility for liquefied natural gas in Cameron Parish, La. It is the first to secure an export license. HOUSTON — Only five years ago, several giant natural gas import terminals were built to satisfy the energy needs of a country hungry for fuels. But the billion-dollar terminals were obsolete even before the concrete was dry as an...

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The Death of E-Readers Is All Your Fault

So there’s a reading gadget and a reading gadget with Angry Birds Star Wars. Which do you pick? Well, you, cultured person that you are, would select the dedicated e-reader, of course, just like you would rather watch Frontline instead of Honey Boo Boo, or pick up Vanity Fair instead of Us Weekly on the checkout line. Or at least that’s what the ideal version of yourself would...

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Courteney Cox: I'll 'Show My Boobs' on the New Season of Cougar Town

TV Watch 01/04/2013 at 08:00 PM EST Courteney Cox is taking the term "boob tube" literally.The Cougar Town star, 48, whose show moves from ABC to TBS on Jan. 8, eagerly anticipates more um, revealing scenes once the program makes its way to the cable network. "You will not see one scene that I don't show my...

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FDA proposes sweeping new food safety rules

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Friday proposed the most sweeping food safety rules in decades, requiring farmers and food companies to be more vigilant in the wake of deadly outbreaks in peanuts, cantaloupe and leafy greens.The long-overdue regulations could cost businesses close to half a billion dollars a year to implement, but are expected to reduce the estimated 3,000 deaths...

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Asian shares drop on Fed minutes, dollar extends gain

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares fell on Friday, tracking overnight weakness in global equities after senior Federal Reserve officials expressed concerns about continuing to expand stimulative bond buying, but the dollar extended gains as U.S. debt yields rose. Minutes from the Fed's December policy meeting released on Thursday showed some voting members of the Federal Open Market Committee...

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5 in New Delhi Rape Case Face Murder Charges

Sajjad Hussain/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesIndian lawyers protested on Thursday outside a court in New Delhi where charges were filed in a gang rape case. NEW DELHI — Rape, murder and other charges were filed on Thursday against five men suspected of carrying out the gang rape of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student who later died of her injuries in a case that has prompted outrage and protests...

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Google emerges from FTC probe relatively unscathed

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google has settled a U.S. government probe into its business practices without making any major concessions on how the company runs its Internet search engine, the world’s most influential gateway to digital information and commerce.Thursday’s agreement with the Federal Trade Commission covers only some of the issues raised in a wide-ranging antitrust investigation that could...

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George Lucas Engaged to Mellody Hobson

01/03/2013 at 07:35 PM EST George Lucas and Mellody Hobson Mike Coppola/Getty George Lucas is following the Force – right down the aisle.The Star Wars director, 68, is engaged to DreamWorks animation chairman Mellody Hobson, a rep for Lucasfilm confirmed to The...

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CDC: 1 in 24 admit nodding off while driving

NEW YORK (AP) — This could give you nightmares: 1 in 24 U.S. adults say they recently fell asleep while driving.And health officials behind the study think the number is probably higher. That's because some people don't realize it when they nod off for a second or two behind the wheel."If I'm on the road, I'd be a little worried about the other drivers," said the study's lead author, Anne Wheaton...

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Asia stocks eke out gains on China hopes, oil eases

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Most Asian stock markets edged higher on Thursday on hopes of a steady economic revival in China although oil gave back some of the previous session's strong gains as investors took some money off the table and braced for more U.S. budget battles. The MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index of stocks <.miapj0000pus> was up 0.3 percent following Wednesday's 2 percent...

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World Briefing | Europe: Russia: Navy Embarks on Major Exercise

Russian warships have embarked on a long voyage to the Black and Mediterranean Seas to take part in what the Defense Ministry said Wednesday would be the largest naval exercise in decades. It said the exercise would test the ships’ ability to act together outside Russian waters. Moscow has been trying to strengthen its military presence in the Mediterranean region. President Vladimir V. Putin has...

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Judge rejects part of Apple App Store suit vs Amazon

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Wednesday rejected part of Apple Inc‘s lawsuit against Amazon.com Inc‘s use of the term App Store, ruling Apple cannot bring a false advertising claim against the online retailer.U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton in Oakland, California, granted Amazon‘s motion for partial summary judgment, which only challenged Apple’s false advertising allegations. Apple...

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Jennie Garth Wants to Date a Man with 'Positive Energy'

01/02/2013 at 07:10 PM EST When it comes to her current love life, Jennie Garth has a new mantra."I'm learning to date again," the actress, who split from husband Peter Facinelli in March 2012, tells Health in its January issue, "[and] looks aren't important to me anymore. ... I like positive energy." The actress,...

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Brain image study: Fructose may spur overeating

This is your brain on sugar — for real. Scientists have used imaging tests to show for the first time that fructose, a sugar that saturates the American diet, can trigger brain changes that may lead to overeating.After drinking a fructose beverage, the brain doesn't register the feeling of being full as it does when simple glucose is consumed, researchers found.It's a small study and does not prove...

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Asia stocks at five-month high as end nears for U.S. fiscal cliff

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stocks hit a five-month high and the dollar fell as a last-minute deal looked set to end the U.S. "fiscal cliff" crisis that threatened a U.S. recession and roiled world financial markets. The U.S. Senate early on Tuesday passed a bill that aims to avoid the cliff's automatic implementation of $600 billion in spending cuts and tax increases. The...

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