European shares dip, euro steady ahead of ZEW, Fed

LONDON (Reuters) - European shares and Italian bonds edged lower on Tuesday as political turmoil in Italy weighed on confidence, but moves were subdued as investors waited for German confidence data later and the U.S. Federal Reserve's end of year meeting. Following some disappointing euro zone data this month, the ZEW survey of German business sentiment will be released at 1000 GMT (5...

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Damascus Is Tested as Clashes Draw Near

Muzaffar Salman/ReutersA member of Syria's symphony orchestra ahead of a concert in Damascus in November. DAMASCUS, Syria — Business has been terrible for Abu Tareq, a taxi driver, so last week, without telling his wife, he agreed to drive a man to the Damascus airport for 10 times the usual rate. But, he said later, he will not be doing that again. On the airport road, he could hear the...

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Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Kick Off Special Series of Las Vegas Shows

By Mark Gray 12/09/2012 at 05:00 PM EST Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Denise Truscello/WireImage Tim McGraw and Faith Hill looked at each other, their hands on each others knees and shared a passionate kiss just after midnight Sunday morning. The moment was a long...

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Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

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Stock index futures signal lower Wall Street open

LONDON (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a weaker open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 falling 0.1 to 0.3 percent. President Barack Obama met with Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner on Sunday at the White House to negotiate ways to avoid the "fiscal cliff," according to White House officials...

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Karzai Implicates Pakistan in Attack on Afghan Spy Chief

KABUL, Afghanistan — The suicide bomber who tried to assassinate Afghanistan’s powerful new intelligence chief came from Pakistan and the attack was organized with the help of a sophisticated foreign intelligence service, President Hamid Karzai said Saturday. Mr. Karzai said he would ask for clarification from Pakistan’s president, when the two men meet later this month, on whether Pakistan’s...

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How one startup is overhauling Android to make it enterprise-ready

The common misconception that Android isn’t secure enough for the business world or government employees is about to change. A Boston-based startup called Optio Labs has created a custom version of Google’s (GOOG) mobile operating system that can control what can and cannot be accessed depending on location, network or running apps. The technology can even allow a phone to display sensitive company...

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Michelle Branch's Daughter's Dream Job Is For the Birds - Literally

Mom & Babies Celebrity Baby Blog 12/03/2012 at 02:00 PM ET Sthanlee B. Mirador/Shooting StarIt seems as if Michelle Branch‘s daughter won’t be following in her musical footsteps any time soon.While the Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter and her husband, bass player Teddy Landau, are no strangers...

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Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

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Wall Street Week Ahead: "Cliff" worries may drive tax selling

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors typically sell stocks to cut their losses at year end. But worries about the "fiscal cliff" - and the possibility of higher taxes in 2013 - may act as the greatest incentive to sell both winners and losers by December 31. The $600 billion of automatic tax increases and spending cuts scheduled for the beginning of next year includes higher rates for capital...

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