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...

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Azarenka secures back-to-back Australian titles

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Victoria Azarenka won her second consecutive Australian Open title, beating Li Na 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a dramatic final that contained a break for fireworks, two medical timeouts and a nasty fall to the court by Li.The Chinese star first tumbled to the court after twisting her left ankle in the fifth game of the second set and had it taped.On the first point after a 10-minute...

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Can sanctions deter North Korea?

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3 dead, 2 wounded in pair of early morning shootings

Photo: Three men were shot outside of a diner in the Bridgeport neighborhood ...

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At least 16 die in Egyptian clashes over death sentences

PORT SAID/CAIRO (Reuters) - At least 16 people died in a rampage by protesters angry at the sentencing of 21 people to death over a soccer stadium disaster, amid a wave of bloody unrest posing a challenge for Egypt's new Islamist rulers. Armored vehicles and military police were deployed on the streets of Port Said after the violence in the Mediterranean city on Saturday. The state news...

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Stock futures edge up, S&P 500 poised to extend rally

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures gained on Friday after Procter & Gamble reported a higher quarterly profit and as the S&P 500 looked set to extend its best winning streak in more than six years. The strong start to the year has been attributed to solid corporate earnings, agreement in Washington over raising the debt limit, encouraging recovery signs in the global economy...

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Murray beats Federer, reaches Australian final

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Andy Murray has beaten Roger Federer for the first time in a Grand Slam event to advance to the Australian Open final against top-ranked Novak Djokovic.Murray, who became the first British man to win a major in 76 years when he beat Djokovic in last year's U.S. Open final, missed a chance to serve for the match in the fourth set before beating Federer 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3,...

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3 On Your Side: Cold Weather Car Advice

By Jim DonovanPHILADELPHIA (CBS) – As the coldest weather to hit the area in two years has settled in, we can consider ourselves lucky that we haven’t had to deal with much snow like much of the Midwest has. Eventually though, we’ll have to deal with it too, and many drivers aren’t prepared for the task of driving in it. So 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan has advice to prepare for the...

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Cantor CEO: 'Off the fiscal cliff we go'

.cnn_stryspcvh4 { position:static; }.cnn_stryspccvh6 { position:static; float:left; width:172px; font-size:10px; margin-left:130px; top:0; }.cnn_stryspccvrgebot { font-size:3px; overflow:hidden;}Part of complete coverage onBy Ramy Inocencio, for CNNJanuary 25, 2013 -- Updated 1120 GMT (1920 HKT)STORY HIGHLIGHTS'U.S. fiscal cliff still coming' in form of failure to raise debt ceiling, Cantor Fitzgerald...

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Snow expected to fall through morning rush hour

Snow started falling about 4:45 a.m. near O'Hare International Airport, jeopardizing a 335-day streak of calendar days without...

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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...

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Stock futures drop as Apple revenue miss to halt stocks rally

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures fell Thursday as Apple slid nearly 10 percent following a revenue miss, and analysts said equities may be due for a pullback after a six-day rally for the S&P 500. Apple Inc missed Wall Street's revenue forecast for a third straight quarter after iPhone sales came in below expectations, fanning fears its dominance of consumer electronics is...

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NCAA announces problems with Miami investigation

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — The NCAA's probe of Miami's athletic compliance practices is ramping up yet again.Only this time, the Hurricanes aren't exactly the subject of the inquiry.In a bizarre twist, it's college sports' governing body itself that is being investigated after NCAA President Mark Emmert acknowledged on Wednesday "a very severe issue of improper conduct" by former investigators working...

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Adelie penguins: cool, efficient killing machines

TOKYO (Reuters) – Fish of the Antarctic, be very afraid. There’s an unlikely stealth predator on the loose – Adelie penguins.Forget their ungainly waddling on land or comical bobbing at the ocean’s surface. As soon as these penguins dive into the icy Antarctic ocean, they become calculating, efficient killing machines, say Japanese researchers.“You could say the penguins have an amazing stealth mode,”...

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Meet today's most ambitious women

STORY HIGHLIGHTSReport: Women in Brazil, Russia, India and China more ambitious than U.S. counterpartsExtended families, affordable childcare makes it easier for mothers to work, says authorEldercare and "daughterly guilt" are a more significant barrier than in Western worldWomen report: Assertiveness not considered feminine in China and India Editor's note: Sylvia Ann Hewlett is an economist and...

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Bridgeport warehouse fire rekindles

Fire rekindles at warehouse gutted by blaze earlier this week. (WGN-TV...

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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...

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