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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Chávez Is Optimistic, Says Venezuelan Vice President

CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chávez is experiencing the “best moment” yet of his recovery from cancer surgery, Vice President Nicolás Maduro said Saturday. He emphatically added that Mr. Chávez would return to Venezuela take charge of the government again. Mr. Maduro spoke on his return from Cuba, where Mr. Chávez had surgery on Dec. 11. “The commander is in the best...

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Spanish newspaper sorry for “false photo” of Venezuela’s Chavez

MADRID/CARACAS (Reuters) – Spain‘s influential El Pais newspaper apologized on Thursday for splashing a “false photo” of Venezuela‘s cancer-stricken leader Hugo Chavez on its front page, prompting a furious response from the government in Caracas, which vowed to take legal action.Within minutes of posting the image online as a global exclusive, El Pais said it had discovered from social media that...

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Katy Perry Sparkles at Gambling Night in West Hollywood

Caught in the Act 01/25/2013 at 06:50 PM EST Katy Perry gambled the night away a The London West Hollywood hotel on Thursday evening – but it was all in good fun.The pop star, 28, wearing a form fitting black Cavalli dress with sparkly purple accents – joked with fellow guests and table dealers on the rooftop...

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CDC: Flu seems to level off except in the West

New government figures show that flu cases seem to be leveling off nationwide. Flu activity is declining in most regions although still rising in the West.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hospitalizations and deaths spiked again last week, especially among the elderly. The CDC says quick treatment with antiviral medicines is important, in particular for the very...

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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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The Lede Blog: Street-Level Views of Protests in Cairo to Mark Two Years of Revolution

Thousands of protesters remained in Cairo’s Tahrir Square late Friday despite thick clouds of tear gas, after a day of nationwide demonstrations on the second anniversary of the revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.BBC anchor says journo in Tahrir couldnt go on tv cos of tear gas. Switch to Nile TV, and their journalist freaking out over tear gas— Samer Al-Atrush (@SameralAtrush) 25 Jan...

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Nintendo Reaches into Wii U Grab Bag, Pulls Out Some Vague, Some Fascinating Promises

It’s been a ho-hum 2013 for Nintendo’s Wii U so far: some carry-over posturing about scads of “launch window” titles, but less than a handful of games with bankable release dates. When I checked the hopper for January, February and March, I counted four, maybe five Wii U titles with firm dates, all of them least a month or two off.That’s not how you move systems, and Nintendo ran damage control Wednesday...

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Baby Born with Heart Outside Her Chest Goes Home from Hospital

By Dahvi Shira 01/24/2013 at 06:40 PM EST Ashley and Audrina Cardenas Three-month-old Audrina Cardenas is a survivor.The infant, delivered on Oct. 15 with a rare genetic deformity called "ectopia cordis," was born with part of her heart outside of her body. Following...

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Penalty could keep smokers out of health overhaul

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of smokers could be priced out of health insurance because of tobacco penalties in President Barack Obama's health care law, according to experts who are just now teasing out the potential impact of a little-noted provision in the massive legislation.The Affordable Care Act — "Obamacare" to its detractors — allows health insurers to charge smokers buying individual policies...

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