Taxes to Rise for Workers as Budget Deal Still Elusive

With taxes set to increase for almost every U.S. worker at midnight, Congress hasn’t reached a budget deal that Democrats and Republicans say is necessary to prevent a blow to the U.S. economy.
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European Stocks Decline Amid U.S. Talks as Copper Gains on China

Most European stocks fell and gold advanced amid concern U.S. lawmakers will fail to avert more than $600 billion of tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to take effect tomorrow. Copper rose after data showed China’s manufacturing expanded more than forecast.
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Egypt Pound Weakens to Record as Central Bank Sells Dollars

The Egyptian pound extended its decline to a record after the central bank sold $74.8 million to banks in the second of daily dollar sales even as President Mohamed Mursi said the currency was bound to stabilize.
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Singapore Economy Grew 1.2% in 2012, Prime Minister Lee Says

Singapore’s expansion eased in 2012 as weak growth in advanced nations and hiring constraints hurt the city state’s economy, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.
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U.A.E. Limits Mortgages to Foreigners at 50% of Home Value

The United Arab Emirates plans to restrict mortgages for foreigners to 50 percent of the property’s value, threatening to derail a nascent recovery in Dubai home prices after more than three years of declines.
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Woman Says 9/11 Led to Hate-Crime Subway Murder, DA Says

A 31-year-old woman was charged with murder in the death of a man who was pushed in front of a New York City subway train, telling authorities it was an act of revenge for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
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French Court Says 75% Tax Rate on Rich Is Unconstitutional

President Francois Hollande’s 75 percent millionaire-tax is unconstitutional because it fails to guarantee taxpayer equality, France’s top court ruled today.
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Syrian Forces Retake Town as Assad Vows to Finish Term

Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad recaptured a town in western Syria after days of heavy fighting, Al Jazeera television reported.
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Indian Protestors Gather as Rape Victim Dies in Singapore

Protests started in cities across India to mark the death in a Singapore hospital of a woman beaten and gang raped in New Delhi, as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led appeals for calm.
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Lawmakers to Hold Weekend Talks on Averting Budget Change

U.S. lawmakers are entering a weekend of budget negotiations in a final effort to prevent at least some of more than $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts from taking effect in January.
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N.Y. Man Killed After Being Pushed Onto Subway Tracks

A New York City man was pushed to his death in front of a subway train in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Queens, police said, in the second such fatality this month.
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Obama Summons Congress Leaders as Budget Deadline Nears

President Barack Obama summoned congressional leaders to a White House meeting three days before a year-end deadline to avoid $600 billion in spending cuts and tax increases as lawmakers gave little sign they intend to act together on a budget plan.
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U.S. Stocks Fall as Deadline Approaches on Budget Deal

U.S. stocks fell for a fifth day, the longest drop for the Dow Jones Industrial Average since July, amid concern talks between President Barack Obama and Republicans may not produce a budget by the year-end deadline.
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San Francisco Mansion Discounts Luring Tech Millionaires

Jeff Paster, a developer of luxury homes in California’s Marin County, couldn’t find a buyer for the brand-new waterfront mansion he listed in January for $45 million. He’s expecting that one will turn up at an auction this weekend, with a starting bid set at $25 million.
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U.S. Futures, European Shares Fall While Treasuries Rise

U.S. stock-index futures and European shares slid while the dollar strengthened the most in a week as lawmakers prepared to debate tax increases and spending cuts slated to take effect next month. Treasuries extended a weekly advance.
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Mistry at Tata Helm as Investors Query $500 Billion Goal

Cyrus Mistry, who takes charge today at Tata, India’s biggest business group, may face an uphill battle if he is to meet his predecessor’s vision of boosting revenue fivefold to $500 billion in the next decade.
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Singh Pledges Justice as Rape Victim Taken to Singapore

India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh vowed expeditious prosecution of the accused in the gang rape of a student in New Delhi as the victim’s condition remained “extremely critical” in a Singapore hospital.
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McConnell Pushed Into U.S. Fiscal Fight as Deadline Nears

Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader who has stayed largely outside the U.S. budget fight this year, will be thrust into prominence just five days before the deadline for tax increases and spending cuts.
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Home Prices in U.S. Increase More Than Forecast: Economy

Home prices climbed more than forecast in October, indicating a rebounding real-estate market will bolster the U.S. economy for the first time in seven years.
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Heirs of Mao’s Comrades Rise as New Capitalist Nobility

Lying in a Beijing military hospital in 1990, General Wang Zhen told a visitor he felt betrayed. Decades after he risked his life fighting for an egalitarian utopia, the ideals he held as one of Communist China’s founding fathers were being undermined by the capitalist ways of his children -- business leaders in finance, aviation and computers.
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Yen Touches 16-Month Low Versus Euro Before Japan CPI

The euro strengthened toward an eight-month high versus the dollar after French consumer confidence unexpectedly improved this month, underpinning demand for the region’s assets.
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Brent Oil’s Third Year Over $100 Looms on Supply Risk

Brent crude is poised to trade above $100 a barrel for a third consecutive year in 2013 as tension in the Middle East threatens to disrupt supply and global demand is buoyed by Chinese imports.
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U.S. Holiday Sales Rise 0.7% as Washington Hurts Confidence

U.S. holiday sales growth slowed by more than half this year after gridlock in Washington soured consumers’ moods and Hurricane Sandy disrupted shopping, MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse said.
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Grand Bargain Shrinks as Congress Nearing U.S. Budget Deadline

The deal that seems possible to fix the U.S. budget is getting smaller and smaller.
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Americans Miss $200 Billion Abandoning Stocks

Americans have missed out on almost $200 billion of stock gains as they drained money from the market in the past four years, haunted by the financial crisis.
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Fed Flummoxed by Mortgage Yield Gap Refusing to Shrink: Economy

Record-low mortgage rates aren’t cheap enough for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke as he tries to spur economic growth and create jobs.
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Lawmakers Say Time Short to Reach Deal on Fiscal Cliff

Lawmakers said they were losing confidence that Congress and President Barack Obama can reach a deal within a week to avoid more than $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts that could cause a U.S. recession.
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U.S. Stock Futures Drop as Yen Slips Amid Budget Deadlock

U.S. stock futures declined amid growing speculation American lawmakers will miss a year-end budget deadline. The yen weakened as Japan’s incoming pro- stimulus prime minister said he may change rules governing the central bank, while gold rose.
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If You Bought Greek Bonds in January You Earned 80%: Euro Credit

Investors bold enough to buy junk- rated Greek bonds in January have earned twenty times more than owners of top-rated German debt this year even after the biggest ever sovereign restructuring.
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Guns Out of Stock at Wal-Mart as Magazine Prices Surge on

With President Barack Obama endorsing sweeping gun restrictions in the wake of the school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, prices for handgun magazines are surging on EBay and semi-automatic rifles are sold out at many Wal-Mart Stores Inc. locations.
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UBS Trader Hayes Exposed at Core of Libor Investigation

Tom Hayes, one of two former UBS AG traders charged by U.S. prosecutors, is portrayed by American regulators as the kingpin of a three-year campaign that succeeded in manipulating global interest rates.
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Jet Airways Seen Beating Kingfisher for Etihad Investment

Jet Airways (India) Ltd. may trump Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. in the race for funds from Etihad Airways PJSC, hindering the grounded rival’s efforts to win investment to help restart flights.
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Republicans Said to Consider Spending Cuts in Bill

House Republican leaders are considering giving members a chance to vote on spending cuts to firm up support for House Speaker John Boehner’s tax measure, said a Republican lawmaker and a congressional aide who spoke on condition of anonymity.
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James Bond Can’t Fix Sony as Japan Electronics Scrape Lows: Tech

Even James Bond and Spider-Man can’t rescue Sony Corp., the beleaguered Japanese electronics maker.
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Greeks Can’t Find Euros to Buy Heating Oil in Winter Economy

In the Greek mountain town of Kastoria, less than an hour from the Albanian border, Kostas Tsitskos, 88, can’t afford fuel to heat his home against the winter’s cold. So he and his son live in a single bedroom, warmed by a small electric heater.
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Boehner Seeks to Sell Tax Boost to Anti-Tax Republicans

House Speaker John Boehner is trying to sell a tax increase for top earners to fellow Republicans whose opposition to tax increases for anyone is a central part of their identity and pitch to voters.
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China Uses Geology to Challenge Japan on Disputed Islands

After making its first aerial incursion into Japanese-controlled airspace near disputed islands, China compounded tensions with Japan by bolstering its territorial claims at the United Nations.
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AmEx’s Chenault Said to Be Discussed for Treasury Post

White House officials have approached American Express Co. Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Chenault about joining President Barack Obama’s second-term administration, possibly as Treasury secretary, according to two people familiar with the matter.
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Oracle Sales, Profit Top Estimates on Cloud Computing Demand

Oracle Corp. reported fiscal second- quarter sales and profit that topped analysts’ estimates on growing demand for Internet-based software, which is now on track to bring in more than $1 billion in revenue this year.
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Gee Takes Jets as $1.9 Million Payday Roils Ohio Students

The Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee lives in a 9,630-square-foot Tudor Revival mansion that was renovated for him, featuring a great hall, pool, elevator and tennis court.
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Highest-Paid California Trooper Is Chief Banking $484,000

California Highway Patrol division chief Jeff Talbott retired last year as the best-paid officer in the 12 most-populous U.S. states, collecting $483,581 in salary, pension and other compensation.
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Obama Meets With Boehner at White House in Budget Talks

President Barack Obama is considering a possible budget concession on Social Security cost-of-living increases after House Speaker John Boehner dropped his opposition to raising tax rates for some top earners, said two people familiar with the talks.
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Lawmakers Vow Tougher Gun Laws as Obama Weighs Next Steps

U.S. lawmakers yesterday responded to the killings in Connecticut with plans to hold hearings and introduce legislation, as the White House reiterated President Barack Obama’s support for a new ban on assault weapons.
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Singapore Establishment Challenged by Carson Block on Olam

When Carson Block likened Olam International Ltd. to fraud-ridden Enron Corp., he challenged more than the accounting of the Singapore-based commodities firm. He also took on Temasek Holdings Pte, the government-owned investment company whose money has helped build the city-state into a corporate dynamo known as Singapore Inc.
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China Signals Tolerance of Slower Growth After Meeting

China said it will seek a higher “quality and efficiency” of growth next year, signaling new leaders may accept a reduced pace of expansion in exchange for a more sustainable model.
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Connecticut Ban on 30-Round Gun Magazines Failed After Pressure

Magazines that fed bullets into the primary firearm used to kill 26 children and adults at a Connecticut school would have been banned under state legislation that the National Rifle Association and gunmakers successfully fought.
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Gun-Control Advocates Press Obama to Turn Tears to Action

President Barack Obama’s emotional call for “meaningful action” after the shooting at a Connecticut elementary school may signal he’s prepared to push for stronger gun-control laws, a politically fraught issue he shied away from during his first term.
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Lanza Described as Youth Who Found Interaction Impossible

In his Newtown, Connecticut, neighborhood, a woodsy hillside development where dog owners walk together and friends gather for sunsets, 20-year-old Adam Lanza stood apart.
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Clinton Suffers Concussion After Fainting, State Department Says

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, suffering from a stomach virus, sustained a concussion after becoming dehydrated and fainting, a State Department aide said in a statement yesterday.
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Obama Meets Boehner at White House for Budget Talks

President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met for a third time at the White House to discuss averting spending cuts and tax increases before a year- end deadline.
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Hagel Said to Top Obama’s List to Take Over at Pentagon

Former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel has emerged as the leading candidate to become President Barack Obama’s next secretary of defense and may be nominated as soon as this month, according to two people familiar with the matter.
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Apple Caves to Maps Outrage Adding Google Tool on IPhone

Apple Inc., caving to user outrage over faulty directions in its home-grown navigation tool, has let Google Inc.’s mapping application back onto the iPad and iPhone mobile devices.
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Deutsche Bank’s Legal Woes Deepen as Overhaul Hits Profit

Deutsche Bank AG’s announcement yesterday that earnings will suffer this quarter added to a cacophony of negative news over the past two weeks that’s increasing pressure on the company’s new leadership.
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Rothschild Plots Ouster of Bumi Board That ‘Failed’

Nathaniel Rothschild, scion of a centuries-old banking dynasty, said he may seek to remove the board of the coal venture he founded with Indonesia’s Bakrie family in the coming weeks because it has failed shareholders.
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$822,000 Worker Shows California Leads U.S. Pay Giveaway

Nine years ago, California Democrat Gray Davis became the first U.S. governor in 82 years to be recalled by voters. The state’s 20 million taxpayers still bear the cost of his four years and 10 months on the job.
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Snyder Wades Into Angry Debate Over Michigan Union Dues

Republican Governor Rick Snyder, who portrays himself as a pragmatic unifier, plunged Michigan into conflict by signing so-called right-to-work legislation.
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Buffett Joins Soros in Effort to Raise Taxes on Estates

Billionaire investors Warren Buffett and George Soros are calling on Congress to increase the estate tax as lawmakers near a decision on tax policies that expire Dec. 31.
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Chinese Group Buys 80% of AIG Plane Unit for $4.2 Billion

A Chinese group agreed to buy 80.1 percent of American International Group Inc.’s plane-leasing unit for $4.23 billion in the nation’s largest acquisition of a U.S. company.
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Rich Gain as Companies Seek to Beat Obama Tax Increases

The wealthy look set to enjoy a windfall in the closing weeks of the year as companies push money out the door to beat the higher tax rates advocated by President Barack Obama.
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Google Revenues Sheltered in No-Tax Bermuda Soar to $10 Billion

Google Inc. avoided about $2 billion in worldwide income taxes in 2011 by shifting $9.8 billion in revenues into a Bermuda shell company, almost double the total from three years before, filings show.
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U.S. Intelligence Agencies See a Different World in 2030

New technologies, dwindling resources and explosive population growth in the next 18 years will alter the global balance of power and trigger radical economic and political changes at a speed unprecedented in modern history, says a new report by the U.S. intelligence community.
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Hefner Husband Takes Insider Trading Into Playboy Bedroom

Christie Hefner, former chief executive officer of Playboy Enterprises Inc., said she was shocked as her husband of 15 years, William Marovitz, confessed to her that he was being investigated for suspicious trading in Playboy shares. They were in their apartment atop a 42-story Lincoln Park tower overlooking the glittering Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan on a March evening in 2010.
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Singapore Tops HK as Residence for Mobile Rich in Asia

Singapore topped Hong Kong as the most desired place in Asia for so-called mobile millionaires to reside, with quality of life cited as the main attraction, a RBC Wealth Management survey showed.
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Chavez Names Loyalist Heir as Venezuela Eyes Succession

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez named a longtime ally with close ties to Cuba his heir apparent as the cancer-stricken leader prepares for a potential departure after almost 14 years in power.
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Italy Vote Will Test EU Nobel Winners After Greek Buyback

The imminent end of Prime Minister Mario Monti’s government fueled the largest increase in Italian borrowing costs in four months and threatened to open a new front in Europe’s crisis fight before a year-end summit.
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China Trade Slowdown Shows Xi Must Fuel Consumption

China’s exports rose less than forecast in November, underscoring the need to accelerate a shift toward domestic demand as the nation confronts a jobless rate newly estimated at almost double the official figure.
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Sony Loses Science Talent as Student Resumes Go to Dairies: Tech

Japan’s science students are eschewing traditional high-powered employers such as Sony Corp. and Panasonic Corp. to help make ice cream and yogurt.
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Japanese Dealerships in China Retrench in Wake of Dispute

Three months after a territorial dispute led rioters to vandalize Japanese cars in China, automakers from Toyota Motor Corp. to Nissan Motor Co. are luring back buyers with discounts and guarantees. Dealers like William Chen may take more persuasion to invest in the brands.
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Netflix CEO Hastings Faces SEC Action Over Facebook Post

Netflix Inc. and Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings said they may face a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil claim over a July Facebook post that coincided with the stock’s biggest gain in almost six weeks.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Euro Declines as German Data May Add to Signs of Slowdown

The euro declined against most of its 16 major peers after the Bundesbank lowered its 2013 forecast for economic expansion in Germany, following the European Central Bank’s euro-area downgrade.
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Republican Defectors Weigh Deal on Tax-Rate Increase

House Speaker John Boehner is under pressure to defy Republican Party orthodoxy on income taxes to rein in the U.S. deficit, with an increasing number of his rank- and-file members saying they’re willing to discuss raising rates for top earners.
Read more: Bloomberg news

Apple Drops on Nokia China Deal, Google Tablets

Apple Inc. shares declined the most in almost four years yesterday on concern that the company will lose ground in smartphones to Nokia Oyj in China while giving up market share to Google Inc. in tablets.
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Citigroup CEO Corbat Seen Ending Pandit’s Surge With Cuts

Vikram Pandit hired thousands of employees and invested billions of dollars as he sought to boost Citigroup Inc.’s revenue after fighting to survive the financial crisis. His successor Michael Corbat has another idea: cut.
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Obama Lesson on Debt Talks Is Standing Firm on Tax Rates

President Barack Obama is hardening his stance in his first post-election confrontation with Republicans, declaring he will make no deal on the country’s fiscal future unless congressional leaders first accept tax rate increases on top earners.
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Nokia Wins Deal to Sell First Windows Phone 8 Lumia in China

Nokia Oyj, the Finnish mobile-phone maker trying to win back customers of Apple Inc.’s iPhone and devices using Google Inc.’s Android, unveiled a version of its flagship smartphone for China’s largest wireless carrier.
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Republican DeMint Criticizes Boehner’s Deficit-Cut Plan

House Speaker John Boehner’s proposal to generate $800 billion in new revenue “will destroy American jobs” and Republicans should oppose it, Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina said today.
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Facebook Backer Alisher Usmanov Now Focused on China

Billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who made more than $1 billion investing in Facebook Inc., is now avoiding the U.S. and focusing on China, where the company holds stakes in online-commerce companies.
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World’s Richest Man Faces Clampdown in Latin America

Carlos Slim, the world’s richest person, is confronting a mounting backlash from the same Latin American countries that made him wealthy as authorities rein in his expanding mobile-phone empire.
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Vogue Editor Wintour Said to Be Possible Appointee as U.K. Envoy

President Barack Obama is considering nominating Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue, as his next ambassador to either the U.K. or France as he looks to reward his biggest fundraisers with embassies never out of fashion, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Read more: Bloomberg news

House Republicans Propose $2.2 Trillion Fiscal-Cliff Plan

House Republicans, rejecting President Barack Obama’s demand for higher tax rates, countered with a $2.2 trillion deficit-cutting plan that would trim Medicare and Social Security and cap tax deductions for top earners.
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Islands Seek Funds for Climate Damage at UN Discussions

Islands that are most vulnerable to rising oceans are seeking an insurance program to protect against damage related to climate change, adding to pressure on industrial nations to increase aid committed to fight global warming to more than $100 billion a year.
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SEC Says Big Four Audit China-Affiliates Blocked Probe

U.S. regulators probing potential fraud by China-based companies increased pressure on their auditors by formally accusing affiliates of Big Four firms of withholding documents from investigators.
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Virgin Ready to Join Alliance as Delta Said to Mull Stake

Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., which flew solo for a decade as rivals formed the global groups that dominate the industry, may be about to come in from the cold as Singapore Airlines Ltd. considers selling its 49 percent stake.
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Singapore Deportations Show Strains in Work Force

Singapore’s first labor protest since the 1980s led to the deportation of 29 Chinese bus drivers yesterday and the prosecution of five others, highlighting the difficulty balancing a workforce reliant on foreign employees.
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Nokia Speed Advantage Opens Way to Holiday Gain on IPhone

When Tommie Johansson was looking for a new smartphone in Stockholm last month, he quickly ruled out the iPhone 5. The reason: It’s too slow.
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Hedge Funds Increase Bullish Bets Most Since August: Commodities

Hedge funds increased bullish bets on commodities by the most since August as evidence that China is accelerating outweighed concern that U.S. lawmakers have yet to resolve an impasse over automatic spending cuts and tax rises.
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Chiefs Player Kills Self at NFL Stadium After Slaying Girlfriend

The Kansas City Chiefs will play the Carolina Panthers as scheduled today at Arrowhead Stadium, where linebacker Jovan Belcher killed himself after police say he fatally shot his girlfriend.
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Ex-National Lampoon CEO Tim Durham Gets 50 Years Prison

Timothy S. Durham, the onetime chief executive officer of National Lampoon Inc., was sentenced to 50 years in prison for defrauding investors in an unrelated company he partly controlled.
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Norway Wealth Fund to Spend $11 Billion Adding U.S. Real

Norway’s $660 billion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, plans to invest about $11 billion as it enters the U.S. real estate market.
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Bond Investor Gundlach Buys Stocks, Sees 'Kaboom' Ahead

It’s mid-October, and Jeffrey Gundlach is giving a stump speech to a luncheon crowd of about 200 financial advisers and investors at Los Angeles’s City Club. The renowned money manager’s theme: the financial catastrophe on the horizon.
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Microsoft Said to Speed Windows Upgrades to Once a Year

Microsoft Corp. plans to overhaul how it develops the flagship Windows operating system in a strategic shift aimed at keeping pace with nimbler rivals Apple Inc. and Google Inc., people familiar with the matter said.
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