Wall Street flat ahead of Fed after GDP shock

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Wednesday as data showing the economy unexpectedly contracted in the fourth quarter was offset by upbeat parts of the report and strong results from Boeing and Amazon. Economists stressed that the 0.1 percent contraction in U.S. gross domestic product, caused partly by a plunge in government spending and lower business inventories, is...

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China may consider ending its decade-long ban on video game consoles

Shares of Sony (SNE) and Nintendo (NTDOY) surged on Monday following a report from China’s official newspaper that claimed the country is considering the lift of a decade-long ban on video game consoles. An unnamed source told the China Daily newspaper that the Ministry of Culture is “reviewing the policy,” and has conducted surveys and held discussions with other ministries on the possibility of...

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Katy Perry Reveals Her Fast Food Indulgence

How does Katy Perry get that perfectly curvy bod? With lots of hiking, a little bit of training ... and the occasional double cheeseburger. "I've cut out most fast food," the pop star, 28, told PEOPLE last week. "The only thing I stop for now is In-N-Out Burger." Perry, who's been going strong with beau John Mayer for several months, also has a new work out addiction. "I'm really obsessed with...

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Soldier looks forward to driving with new arms

BALTIMORE (AP) — A soldier who lost all four limbs in a roadside bombing in Iraq says he's looking forward to driving and swimming with new arms after undergoing a double-arm transplant."I just want to get the most out of these arms, and just as goals come up, knock them down and take it absolutely as far as I can," Brendan Marrocco said Tuesday.The 26-year-old New Yorker spoke at a news conference...

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Defensive stocks extend rally as caution sets in

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Tuesday, led by defensive sectors, in a sign the cash piles recently moving into the market are being put to use by cautious investors to pick up more gains. The S&P 500 is on track to post its best monthly performance since October 2011 and its best January since 1997 as investors poured $55 billion in new cash into stock mutual funds and exchange-traded...

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The Lede Blog: Images of New Clashes in Egypt, Two Years After the Revolution's 'Day of Rage'

Last Updated, 2:02 p.m. As my colleague David Kirkpatrick reports from Egypt, there were protests in the Suez Canal city of Port Said and fresh clashes in Cairo on Monday.Video uploaded to YouTube on Sunday showed officers firing at protesters in Port Said, killing four, including a man in a wheelchair, according to Mosireen, a collective of activist Egyptian filmmakers.Video said to show Egyptian...

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Siemens picks banks for two disposals: sources

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Siemens AG has picked banks to organize the sale of two units as part of its efforts to streamline operations and stay competitive in a weak global economy, people familiar with the matter said.Goldman Sachs Group Inc will advise the German conglomerate on the sale of its Water Technologies units, while Rothschild will oversee the divestment of its smaller security products arm,...

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Downton Abbey's Dramatic Plot Turn: What Caused It?

TV Watch By Lesley Messer and Stephen M. Silverman 01/28/2013 at 01:20 PM EST Downton Abbey season 3 cast Carnival Film & Television/PBS How seriously do TV viewers take what happens to the Crawleys and those in their sphere on Downton Abbey?So seriously that,...

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Soldier who lost 4 limbs has double-arm transplant

The first soldier to survive after losing all four limbs in the Iraq war has received a double-arm transplant.Brendan Marrocco had the operation on Dec. 18 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, his father said Monday. The 26-year-old Marrocco, who is from New York City, was injured by a roadside bomb in 2009.He also received bone marrow from the same dead donor who supplied his new arms. That novel...

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S&P 500 slips after rally, but Apple lifts Nasdaq

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 edged lower on Monday as a four-week rally stalled, while a rebound in Apple shares helped buoy the Nasdaq. Caterpillar shares helped cap losses in the Dow industrials even as the company posted a 55 percent drop in quarterly profit due to a charge connected with accounting fraud at a Chinese subsidiary and weak demand among its dealers. Caterpillar's...

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