‘Star Trek’ Beams Into Oscar Night

“Star Trek” fans got quite a treat last night during the Academy Awards last night (Feb. 24).Actors who portray major characters from the film and television versions of the iconic science fiction series made cameo appearances during the three-hour-long ceremony celebrating the best movies of 2012.William Shatner, the actor that played Starship Enterprise captain James T. Kirk in original series helped...

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Strong data lifts Wall Street, trumps sequester fears

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks edged higher on Friday as strong economic figures more than offset growth concerns out of China and Europe and as investors shrugged off expected across-the-board U.S. goverment spending cuts. Stocks opened sharply lower as Asian factories slowed and European output fell, but most of the losses disappeared after a report showed U.S. manufacturing activity expanded...

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‘Star Trek’ Beams Into Oscar Night

“Star Trek” fans got quite a treat last night during the Academy Awards last night (Feb. 24).Actors who portray major characters from the film and television versions of the iconic science fiction series made cameo appearances during the three-hour-long ceremony celebrating the best movies of 2012.William Shatner, the actor that played Starship Enterprise captain James T. Kirk in original series helped...

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US economy grew at 0.1 percent rate in 4th quarter

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a 0.1 percent annual rate from October through December, the weakest performance in nearly two years. But economists believe a steady housing rebound, stronger hiring and solid spending by consumers and businesses are pushing economic growth higher in the current quarter.The Commerce Department's second estimate of fourth-quarter growth was only slightly...

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‘Star Trek’ Beams Into Oscar Night

“Star Trek” fans got quite a treat last night during the Academy Awards last night (Feb. 24).Actors who portray major characters from the film and television versions of the iconic science fiction series made cameo appearances during the three-hour-long ceremony celebrating the best movies of 2012.William Shatner, the actor that played Starship Enterprise captain James T. Kirk in original series helped...

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S&P 500 rises more than 1 percent

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose 1 percent on Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke remained steadfast in his support of the Fed's stimulus policy and data pointed to economic improvement. In his second day before a congressional committee, Bernanke repeated testimony in which he defended the Fed's policy of buying bonds to keep interest rates low in order to promote growth...

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‘Star Trek’ Beams Into Oscar Night

“Star Trek” fans got quite a treat last night during the Academy Awards last night (Feb. 24).Actors who portray major characters from the film and television versions of the iconic science fiction series made cameo appearances during the three-hour-long ceremony celebrating the best movies of 2012.William Shatner, the actor that played Starship Enterprise captain James T. Kirk in original series helped...

Read More..

Dow, S&P rise as Bernanke defends policy, warns on cuts

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks mostly rose on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke defended the Fed's bond-buying stimulus before Congress, but warned forced spending cuts that could be triggered this week represented a headwind for the economy. Gains in homebuilders and other consumer stocks, following strong economic data, kept the S&P 500 nearly unchanged, while a 5...

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‘Star Trek’ Beams Into Oscar Night

“Star Trek” fans got quite a treat last night during the Academy Awards last night (Feb. 24).Actors who portray major characters from the film and television versions of the iconic science fiction series made cameo appearances during the three-hour-long ceremony celebrating the best movies of 2012.William Shatner, the actor that played Starship Enterprise captain James T. Kirk in original series helped...

Read More..

Dow, S&P slip after uncertain Italian election

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks mostly fell on Monday on fears that a divided parliament in Italy would get in the way of the country's reforms and hamper the euro zone's stability. Election projections showed the center-right coalition led by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was leading in the race for the Italian Senate, contradicting initial exit polls and raising the specter...

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‘Vulcan’ and ‘Cerberus’ Win Pluto Moon Naming Poll

The votes are in, and it looks like ‘Vulcan‘ could be the new name for one of Pluto‘s smallest moons.After weeks of online ballot casting by people around the world, the poll asking the public to name two of Pluto’s moons — currently called P4 and P5 — ended today (Feb. 25).As of 12 p.m. (1700 GMT), the polls closed with a total of 450,324 total votes cast since Feb. 11 with ‘Vulcan,’ a Pluto moon...

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Investors face another Washington deadline

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors face another Washington-imposed deadline on government spending cuts next week, but it's not generating the same level of fear as two months ago when the "fiscal cliff" loomed large. Investors in sectors most likely to be affected by the cuts, like defense, seem untroubled that the budget talks could send stocks tumbling. Talks on the U.S. budget...

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Serious Stargazing: Spot Bright Star Sirius This Week

Around this time of year, I often get lots of inquiries concerning a certain very bright star-like object shining over toward the southern part of the sky. It’s Sirius, the Dog Star, the brightest star in the night sky. Granted, the planet Jupiter currently shines three times brighter and appears much higher in the sky, but while Jupiter shines with a steady, silvery glow, Sirius will remind...

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HP lifts Wall Street, S&P on pace for first weekly loss of year

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Friday, rebounding off two days of losses as Dow component Hewlett-Packard surged on strong results, but the S&P 500 was on track to end a seven-week-long streak of gains. The S&P shed 1.9 percent over the previous two sessions, its worst two-day drop since early November, putting the index on pace for its first weekly decline of the year. The...

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Nigerian offshore attacks surge as pirates advance

ABUJA/LONDON (Reuters) – A spike in piracy off Nigeria‘s oil-rich coast has shown gangs are willing to venture further afield and use more violent tactics, increasing the risk of doing business in Africa’s largest energy producer.Pirates demanded a 200 million naira ransom for the release of six foreigners kidnapped on Sunday, the latest in at least five attacks in Nigerian waters this month.Exxon...

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Wall Street extends losses, Nasdaq down 1 percent

DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend, "Doug" (24), and I (22) have been in a long-distance relationship for a year, but we were friends for a couple of years before that. I had never had a serious relationship before and lacked experience. Doug has not only been in two other long-term relationships, but has had sex with more than 15 women. One of them is an amateur porn actress.I knew about this, but it didn't...

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Wall Street dips after rally, energy shares weaker

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks dipped on Wednesday, with energy shares falling as investors found few reasons to buy following a rally that has held major indexes near five-year highs for three weeks. In addition, investors waited for the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's January meeting due at 2 p.m. (1900 GMT) for clues to the interest rate outlook. Traders...

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Whale Watchers Have a Close Encounter With Gray Whales

Boaters aboard a whale watching safari off the coast of California got their money’s worth when a gray whale got up close and personal.The whale allowed the delighted adults and children on the boat to pet its skin and inside its mouth, something that could make whales just like their human admirers.“According to the naturalists who see them every day, these gray whale calves enjoy having people touch...

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M&A deals lift shares, suggest more value in market

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as merger activity suggested the market could offer investors still more value even as the S&P 500 and Dow industrials hover near five-year highs. Equities have resisted a pullback as investors use dips in stocks as buying opportunities. The S&P is up about 7 percent so far in 2013 and has climbed for the past seven weeks in its...

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Yen resumes fall after G20, U.S. holiday thins trade

LONDON (Reuters) - The yen resumed falling on Monday after Japan signaled it would push ahead with expansionist monetary policies having escaped criticism from the world's 20 biggest economies at the weekend. Industrial metals also dipped and European shares were soft on lingering worries about the economic outlook, especially for the euro zone. While the risk of an inconclusive outcome...

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