Wall Street Week Ahead: Bears hibernate as stocks near record highs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks have been on a tear in January, moving major indexes within striking distance of all-time highs. The bearish case is a difficult one to make right now. Earnings have exceeded expectations, the housing and labor markets have strengthened, lawmakers in Washington no longer seem to be the roadblock that they were for most of 2012, and money has returned to stock...

Read More..

Armstrong meeting with USADA appears unlikely

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Lance Armstrong's lawyers say the cyclist will talk more about drug use in the sport, just likely not to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that led the effort to strip him of his Tour de France titles.In a testy exchange of letters and statements revealing the gulf between the two sides, USADA urged Armstrong to testify under oath to help "clean up cycling."Armstrong's attorneys responded...

Read More..

Can sanctions deter North Korea?

Kim Jong Un and his militaryKim Jong Un and his militaryKim Jong Un and his militaryKim Jong Un and his militaryKim Jong Un and his militaryKim Jong Un and his militaryKim Jong Un and his militaryKim Jong Un and his militaryKim Jong Un and his militaryKim Jong Un and his militaryKim Jong Un and his militaryKim Jong Un and his militaryKim Jong Un and his militaryKim Jong Un and his militaryKim Jong...

Read More..

Police and protesters clash in Egypt, army sent to Suez

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian protesters scuffled with police in Cairo on Saturday and troops were deployed in Suez after nine people were shot dead in nationwide protests against President Mohamed Mursi, exposing deep rifts two years after Hosni Mubarak was ousted. After a day of clashes on Friday, tension remained high with a court expected to rule later on Saturday in a case against suspects...

Read More..

Stock index futures signal mixed Wall Street open

LONDON (Reuters) - Stock futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500 rising 0.2 percent, the Dow Jones futures down 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.3 percent. Apple stepped up audits of working conditions at major suppliers last year, discovering multiple cases of underage workers, discrimination and wage problems. ...

Read More..

Voice of Te'o prankster? Couric plays voicemails

NEW YORK (AP) — The person Manti Te'o says was pretending to be his online girlfriend told the Notre Dame linebacker "I love you" in voicemails that were played during his interview with Katie Couric.Taped earlier this week and broadcast Thursday, the hour-long talk show featured three voicemails that Te'o claims were left for him last year. Te'o said they were from the person he believed to be Lennay...

Read More..

NASA testing vintage engine left over from Apollo 11 rocket to improve for future missions

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Good ideas from the past come back around eventually.At NASA, that means looking to the Apollo program for new ideas to develop the next generation of rockets for future space missions to the moon and beyond.On Thursday, young engineers who weren’t even alive when Neil Armstrong took his small step completed a series of tests on part of a vintage Apollo engine.The gas generator...

Read More..

Where is aid for Syria going?

STORY HIGHLIGHTSThe U.S. ambassador to Syria says the U.S. has provided $210 million in humanitarian aidThe assistance has to be discrete, he said, to protect workers from being targetedWashington has also provided $35 million worth of assistance to Syria's political oppositionAmbassador: We can help, but it's up to Syrians to find their way forward(CNN) -- It has been more than a year since the United...

Read More..

Soccer coach suspended in Maine West hazing case

Another soccer coach linked to hazing allegations on athletic teams at Maine West High School has been suspended without pay...

Read More..

North Korea threatens war with South over U.N. sanctions

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea threatened to attack rival South Korea if Seoul joined a new round of tightened U.N. sanctions, as Washington unveiled more of its own economic restrictions following Pyongyang's rocket launch last month. In a third straight day of fiery rhetoric, the North directed its verbal onslaught at its neighbor on Friday, saying: "'Sanctions' mean a war and a declaration...

Read More..

Stock futures signal losses; all eyes on Apple

PARIS (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.22 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.02 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 1.3 percent at 1014 GMT. Shares of Apple Inc will be in the spotlight after the world's biggest tech company missed Wall Street's revenue forecast for the third straight quarter after...

Read More..

Djokovic advances to Australian Open final

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic advanced to his third consecutive Australian Open final with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 4-seeded David Ferrer on Thursday night.The top-ranked Djokovic was in dominating form, hitting 30 crisp winners in the 1-hour, 29-minute match. He is aiming to be the first man in the Open era to win three consecutive Australian titles.On...

Read More..

Iran nuclear power plant stokes worries closer to home, too

DUBAI (Reuters) – For the Iranian government, the Bushehr nuclear power plant is proof to a world worried about Tehran’s intentions that its atomic program is aimed only at securing a modern, clean energy source for its people.But for villagers living next to the facility, as well as Arab capitals nearby, the plant poses a potential danger that is less geopolitical and more immediate: the risk of...

Read More..

Benghazi blame-game is useless

Hillary Clinton through the yearsHillary Clinton through the yearsHillary Clinton through the yearsHillary Clinton through the yearsHillary Clinton through the yearsHillary Clinton through the yearsHillary Clinton through the yearsHillary Clinton through the yearsHillary Clinton through the yearsHillary Clinton through the yearsHillary Clinton through the yearsHillary Clinton through the yearsHillary...

Read More..

Bulls rally to beat Pistons 85-82

As the United Center rocked and the Bulls celebrated Marco Belinelli's go-ahead, three-point play with 7.5 seconds left, Joakim...

Read More..

North Korea to target U.S. with nuclear, rocket tests

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Thursday it would carry out further rocket launches and a nuclear test that would target the United States, dramatically stepping up its threats against a country it called its "sworn enemy". The announcement by the country's top military body came a day after the U.N. Security Council agreed to a U.S.-backed resolution to censure and sanction North...

Read More..