Hong Kong shares may trim strong 2013 start after Fed voices concern

HONG KONG, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares could end atwo-day rally on Friday, tracking Wall Street weakness aftersigns that the U.S. Federal Reserve has growing concerns aboutits stimulative monetary policy.Any losses could be limited if mainland China markets reopenstrongly on Friday, trading for the first day in 2013 after athree-day New Year holiday.On Thursday, the Hang Seng Index ended up...

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Analysis: Alimta patent seen as Lilly's "wild card"

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Eli Lilly & Co may have a $15 billion wild card up its sleeve as it waits for desperately needed new drugs to bear fruit.Should an obscure patent on Lilly lung cancer drug Alimta survive a court challenge this year, the company would be able to wring more than five additional years of peak sales out of the fast-growing product that it would otherwise lose to cheaper generics.Annual...

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Stocks fade after Fed discloses split on stimulus

NEW YORK (AP) — A two-day rally in the stock market came to an end Thursday afternoon when an account of the Federal Reserve's last meeting revealed a split between bank officials over how long the Fed should keep buying bonds to support the economy.The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 index treaded water for much of the day, then slid into the red around 2 p.m. Eastern,...

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Egypt says it seizes US-made missiles near Gaza

 Egyptian authorities seized six U.S.-made missiles in the Sinai Peninsula Friday that security officials said were likely smuggled from Libya and bound for the Gaza Strip.Libya's 2011 uprising and subsequent civil war left the country awash in weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, automatic rifles and other munitions. Since the end of the country's eight-month conflict, smugglers have...

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Saudi's top cleric warns against mixing of genders

 Saudi Arabia's top cleric on Friday warned against the mixing of the genders, saying it poses a threat to female chastity and society, as the kingdom prepares for the first time to grant women seats on the country's top advisory body.Delivering his traditional Friday sermon, Grand Mufti Sheik Abdul-Aziz Al-Sheik said authorities must adhere to Shariah, or Islamic law, by ensuring men and women...

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Iraq's al-Sadr visits church, site of 2010 attack

BAGHDAD (AP) — Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr reached out to Iraq's religious minorities Friday, visiting a Baghdad church desecrated in a deadly 2010 attack and a prominent Sunni mosque as public opposition spread against his rival, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.The anti-U.S. cleric's stops at the holy sites — a rare public appearance outside predominantly Shiite parts of Iraq — came as tens of thousands...

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Fatah rally in Gaza looks toward unity with Hamas

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Tens of thousands of Fatah supporters rallied in the Hamas stronghold of Gaza on Friday for the first time since they were routed from power in the territory by the Islamist militants in 2007.The rally, approved by Gaza's Hamas rulers, marks a renewed attempt by the rival Palestinian factions to show unity following a fierce Hamas battle with Israel in November and Fatah's...

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Syrian forces bombard rebel areas near capital

 Syrian government warplanes and artillery pounded restive suburbs of Damascus on Friday and anti-regime activists said a car bomb targeted an intelligence building north of the capital.Fighting in Syria's civil war has flared in areas around Damascus as rebels seeking to topple President Bashar Assad try to push into the city itself. The rebel advances in the suburbs threaten the government's...

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Private hiring jumps in December despite fiscal worries

Private-sector employers added more new jobs than expected last month even as a potential budget crisis loomed, helping the job market end 2012 on a high note, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Thursday.The ADP National Employment Report showed the private sector added 215,000 jobs in December, comfortably above economists' expectation of a 133,000 gain.The increase came even as companies...

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Fiscal cliff market relief fades in Europe

Enthusiasm waned Thursday in Europe over U.S. legislators' deal to stave off the so-called fiscal cliff, a series of automatic tax increases and spending cuts that could have hurt the world's largest economy.While the deal passed by Congress this week avoids the near-term risk of a major blow to businesses and households, it left unsolved several budget measures, mainly government spending cuts. Major...

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Monti says political rivals should sideline extremists

 Mario Monti, bidding for a second term as Italy's prime minister, said on Thursday a left-wing party on track to lead the next government should sideline "extreme" elements who hinder vital economic reforms.The 69-year-old former European Commissioner was appointed in November 2011 to lead an unelected right-left government of experts to save Italy from financial crisis after then-Prime Minister...

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December retail sales mixed, nimble chains do better

Several major U.S. retailers beat expectations of modest sales increases in December as shoppers wrapped up holiday buying, but overall results were mixed and only stores that were nimble enough thrived in an uncertain economy.Costco Wholesale Corp , Nordstrom Inc , TJX Cos Inc and Ross Stores Inc were among the winners of the month, while such chains as Target Corp and Family Dollar Stores Inc felt...

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World stocks put relief rally on pause

 Enthusiasm faded on Wall Street and in European markets Thursday over U.S. legislators' deal to stave off the so-called fiscal cliff, a series of automatic tax increases and spending cuts that could have hurt the world's largest economy.While the deal passed by Congress this week avoids the near-term risk of a major blow to businesses and households, it left unsolved several budget measures,...

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Unreleased ‘BlackBerry X10′ QWERTY phone appears again in new photos

As Research In Motion’s (RIMM) January 30th BlackBerry 10 unveiling draws closer, nearly every last detail surrounding RIM’s first two BlackBerry 10-powered smartphones will likely soon emerge. The vendor has a long history of leaks leading up to its new device announcements, and this time around RIM reps toured the world showing the phones to every carrier that would meet with them. Pictured once...

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BlackBerry Z10 with AT&T-compatible LTE uncovered ahead of January unveiling

Hang in there, American BlackBerry fans — your wait for a new device is nearly over. Engadget reports that the Federal Communications Commission has granted approval to what looks like RIM’s (RIMM) BlackBerry Z10 smartphone for use on AT&T’s (T) LTE and HSPA networks. The Z10, which will be the first device released with the new BlackBerry 10 operating system, is rumored to include a Qualcomm...

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No surprise: YouTube, Angry Birds, Instagram and Facebook among 2012′s top apps

Although every app developer dreams of creating the next big mobile app, it seems that established applications are becoming more firmly entrenched at the top of the food chain. Per Reuters, year-end totals from the Apple (AAPL) App Store and Google (GOOG) Play show that stalwarts such as YouTube, Angry Birds, Instagram and Facebook (FB) “continued to be among the most downloaded apps of the year,”...

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Thieves stole more than $1 million worth of Apple products during a New Years Eve heist

As the world celebrated the New Year, masked men forced their way into an Apple (AAPL) retail store in Paris and made off with an estimated $1.32 million worth of iPads, iPhones and Macs, according to The Wall Street Journal. The suspects are said to have broken in through an employee entrance, slightly injuring a cleaner and a security guard. Apple products have been a hot commodity for thieves this...

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Poll: Would you buy a blue, pink or yellow iPhone 5S?

A report issued by Topeka Capital Markets on Wednesday morning suggested that Apple (AAPL) has some big changes in store for the next-generation iPhone. According to analyst Brian White, the “iPhone 5S” will be available with two different screen sizes to help Apple better address emerging markets, marking the first time Apple offers a single smartphone model with multiple screen size options. In...

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Egypt budget deficit expected to widen to 200 billion pounds: agency

 Egypt's budget deficit in the year to end-June 2013 could widen by 50 percent from the original forecast made in July, according to a figure released by the planning minister on Monday."The budget deficit is expected to rise to 200 billion Egyptian pounds ($31.5 billion) in the current fiscal year unless strict economic policies are put in place to confront it," the state news agency quoted...

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Egypt's leader sees currency stabilising "within days"

 Egypt's pound fell to a record low on Monday as the president signalled his government would allow it to depreciate slowly for several more days to stop a drain on foreign reserves that has driven the economy into crisis since the fall of Hosni Mubarak.Hit by a new bout of political turmoil in the last month, the pound had weakened to a record low on Sunday at a new dollar auction brought in...

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Egypt budget deficit expected to widen to 200 bln pounds: agency

Egypt's budget deficit in the year to end-June 2013 could widen by 50 percent from the original forecast made in July, according to a figure released by the planning minister on Monday."The budget deficit is expected to rise to 200 billion Egyptian pounds in the current fiscal year unless strict economic policies are put in place to confront it," the state news agency quoted Ashraf al-Araby as saying...

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Nigerian forex reserves up 34.4 pct yr-on-yr by December 24

Nigeria's foreign exchange reserves rose 34.45 percent year-on-year to $44.25 billion by December 24, latest figures from the central bank showed on Monday.The forex reserves of Africa's second biggest economy were down from their year peak of $44.64 billion on December 7. Reserves stood at $44.03 billion a month ago and $32.91 billion the same the same time last year.Nigeria's central bank has been...

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Markets calm despite looming fiscal cliff

Markets appeared Monday to take in stride the ongoing failure of U.S. politicians to agree to a budget deal in time to avoid automatic tax increases and spending cuts that many economists think could tilt the world's largest economy back into recession.With just hours to go before the U.S. falls off the so-called "fiscal cliff," Republicans and Democrats remained divided over taxes and spending, raising...

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