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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