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..

Canada’s Flaherty less optimistic on Keystone prospects

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama‘s emphasis in his inaugural address on fighting climate change may not bode well for the contentious project to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline, Canada’s finance minister said on Friday.The Canadian government has been an enthusiastic supporter of TransCanada Corp‘s plan to build the $ 5.3 billion pipeline, which would open up a huge new...

Read More..

Stan Musial remembered during funeral Mass

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Stan Musial was remembered as a Hall of Famer on and off the field during a 2-hour funeral Mass.Broadcaster Bob Costas, his voice cracking at times, pointed out during Saturday's lengthy tribute that in 92 years of life, Musial never let anyone down.Among those in attendance were baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, former St. Louis standout Albert Pujols and Hall of Famers Bob Gibson,...

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..

Friend of man shot dead: 'I held him, they had to pry me from him'

At the north end of the 1100 block of South Mozart Street in the Lawndale neighborhood, two people were shot. One also died there, police said. (Posted Jan. 26th, 2013) ...

Read More..

At least 30 die in riots over Egyptian death sentences

PORT SAID, Egypt/CAIRO (Reuters) - At least 30 people were killed on Saturday when Egyptians rampaged in protest at the sentencing of 21 people to death over a soccer stadium disaster, violence that compounds a political crisis facing Islamist President Mohamed Mursi. Armored vehicles and military police fanned through the streets of Port Said, where gunshots rang out and protesters burned...

Read More..

S&P 500 vaults 1,500 as earnings cheer Wall Street

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 index on Friday closed above 1,500 for the first time in more than five years as strong earnings reports, including Procter & Gamble's, helped the benchmark extend its rally to eight days. The winning streak is the longest in eight years and left the S&P 500 about 4.1 percent away from its all-time closing high of 1,565.15 on October 9, 2007....

Read More..

After beating Federer, Murray reaches Aussie final

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Andy Murray was sucking in deep breaths, trying to recover from his exhausting win over Roger Federer. Pain was very much on his mind.The U.S. Open champion defeated Federer 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2 in a four-hour Australian Open semifinal Friday night. It was Murray's first victory against the 17-time major winner at a Grand Slam event.But with the clock about to...

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..

Victim's mom removed from hearing

A basketball coach at a charter high school in the South Shore neighborhood is charged with sexually assaulting a 17-year-old student. (Source: WGN - Chicago) ...

Read More..

Five die in Egypt violence on anniversary of uprising

CAIRO/ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) - Five people were shot dead in the Egyptian city of Suez during nationwide protests against President Mohamed Mursi on Friday, the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak. One of the dead was a member of the security forces, medics said. Another 280 civilians and 55 security personnel were injured, officials said, in demonstrations...

Read More..

S&P rises for seventh day but 1,500 too steep a climb

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The smallest of gains gave the Standard & Poor's 500 its seventh straight winning day on Thursday, but the index failed to hold above the 1,500 line, restrained by Apple's worst day in more than four years. Apple Inc slid 12.4 percent to $450.50 a day after it posted revenue that missed Wall Street's forecast as iPhone sales were poorer than expected. ...

Read More..

EQT Q4 profit plummets on low natural gas prices

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Natural gas company EQT Corp. posted sharply lower net income for the fourth quarter because natural gas prices fell, but strong sales and an increase in gas reserves buoyed shares Thursday.Net income for the fourth quarter fell 47 percent to $ 48 million on revenue of $ 490 million. When adjusted to remove the effect of an interest rate hedge and expenses relating to the sale of...

Read More..

Te'o tells Couric 'pain' and 'sorrow' was real

NEW YORK (AP) — Manti Te'o told Katie Couric the feelings he had for what turned out to be a fake, online girlfriend were real and reiterated he had nothing to do with the hoax.The All-American linebacker said he was truly sorrowful and pained after finding out the woman he knew as Lennay Kekua died in September.Te'o's once-heartwarming tale of inspired play after the deaths of his grandmother and...

Read More..

Neanderthal cloning? Pure fantasy

A display of a reconstruction of a Neanderthal man and boy at the Museum for Prehistory in Eyzies-de-Tayac, France.STORY HIGHLIGHTSArthur Caplan: It would be unethical to try and clone a Neanderthal baby Caplan: Downsides include a good chance of producing a baby that is seriously deformedHe says the future belongs to what we can do to genetically engineer and control microbesCaplan: Microbes can...

Read More..

Girl: 'My sister's on fire'

3 children were injured, 1 critically after a fire started...

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..