By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK | Mon Nov 26, 2012 4:27pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street slipped on Monday, pulling back from last week's gains, as retailers fell on concerns about heavy discounts at the start of the U.S. holiday shopping season and the overhang of the "fiscal cliff" kept investors wary of making big bets. The Nasdaq outperforme...

By Kerry Grens NEW YORK | Mon Nov 26, 2012 4:09pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children in the U.S. appear to be getting as much shut-eye as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends, according to a new study. "We can't say this is the amount that they should be sleeping," said Jessica Williams, the lead author of the stu...

SAN FRANCISCO | Mon Nov 26, 2012 4:06pm EST SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co was sued on Monday by an investor who claimed the company knew statements about its Autonomy acquisition were misleading and led the stock to fall, according to lawyers representing the plaintiff. The proposed class action lawsuit was filed in a San Francisco federal...

By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON | Mon Nov 26, 2012 3:54pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. Congress on Monday called on President Barack Obama to detail long-term spending cuts to help solve the country's fiscal crisis, while holding firm against the income tax rate increases for the wealthy that Democrats seek. The White House has ...

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida | Mon Nov 26, 2012 3:06pm EST CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Two veterans of the International Space Station will return for an experimental year-long stay aboard the orbital outpost, a test run for future missions to the moon, asteroids and Mars, NASA said on Monday. Former U.S. space shuttle pilot and...

LOS ANGELES | Mon Nov 26, 2012 2:59pm EST LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop superstar Beyonce is stepping behind the camera to direct a behind-the-scenes documentary about her personal and professional life, U.S. cable channel HBO said on Monday. The currently untitled film will debut on February 16 and show the Grammy-winning singer's life in the recording st...

WASHINGTON | Mon Nov 26, 2012 2:51pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama spoke with House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner over the weekend on efforts to avert the looming "fiscal cliff" of budget cuts and tax rises that threatens to tip the U.S. economy back into recession. A White House official said on Monday that Obama also spoke...

By Kaustubh Kulkarni MUMBAI | Mon Nov 26, 2012 10:35am EST MUMBAI (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc plans to spend more than $1 billion to raise stakes in its Indian and Nigerian consumer healthcare arms, as Britain's biggest drugmaker deepens its emerging markets and non-prescription consumer health footprint. The deals are the latest of several b...

By Natasha Baker TORONTO | Mon Nov 26, 2012 10:35am EST TORONTO (Reuters) - Trying to get fit or lose weight but lacking the motivation and willpower? A new app that acts like a digital personal coach monitors fitness, activity, sleep and diet and provides tips for health and productivity. The app called Larklife gathers data via a wristband and ...

By Jan Strupczewski BRUSSELS | Mon Nov 26, 2012 9:32am EST BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund began their third attempt in as many weeks to release emergency aid for Greece on Monday, with policymakers saying a write-down of Greek debt is off the table for now. Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stourn...

LONDON | Mon Nov 26, 2012 9:25am EST LONDON (Reuters) - Posting pictures of yourself plastered at a party and talking trash online with your Facebook friends may be more stress than it's worth now that your boss and mom want to see it all. A survey from Edinburgh Business School released on Monday showed Facebook users are anxious that all those self-pub...

By Yasmine Saleh and Edmund Blair CAIRO | Mon Nov 26, 2012 9:23am EST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi meets senior judges on Monday to try to defuse a crisis over his seizure of new powers which has set off violent protests reminiscent of the revolution last year that led to the rise of his Islamist movement. The justice minist...

NEW YORK | Mon Nov 26, 2012 9:35am EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks opened lower on Monday as investors focused on the meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Greece and negotiations over the U.S. "fiscal cliff" after last week's rally. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dropped 56.59 points, or 0.43 percent, to 12,953.09. The Standard & Poor's 5...

By Fiona Ortiz and Braden Phillips BARCELONA, Spain | Mon Nov 26, 2012 8:42am EST BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) - Separatists in Spain's Catalonia won regional elections on Sunday but failed to get a resounding mandate for a referendum on independence, which had threatened to pile political uncertainty on top of Spain's economic woes. Catalan Presid...

LONDON | Mon Nov 26, 2012 8:04am EST LONDON (Reuters) - Film director Danny Boyle won an Evening Standard Theatre Award late on Sunday for the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, which was warmly praised in Britain but befuddled many overseas viewers. The ceremony, a kaleidoscopic romp through Britain's recent history packed with references to ...

By Matthew Goldstein and Jennifer Ablan Mon Nov 26, 2012 7:07am EST (Reuters) - The FBI sees social media as a potential breeding ground for securities fraud, and has agents scouring Twitter and Facebook for tips, according to two top agents overseeing a long-running investigation into insider trading in the $2 trillion hedge fund industry. April Brooks, ...

By Mike Collett-White LONDON | Mon Nov 26, 2012 6:51am EST LONDON (Reuters) - The Rolling Stones pranced, swaggered and laughed through the first of five concerts, celebrating their golden jubilee with a performance that critics said put paid to questions over ticket costs. Virtually every reviewer at the first of two shows in London's O2 Arena o...

HELSINKI | Mon Nov 26, 2012 5:19am EST HELSINKI (Reuters) - Struggling Finnish cellphone maker Nokia unveiled on Monday two new cellphone models, the Asha 205 and the Asha 206, pricing both models at around $62, excluding subsidies and taxes. Both models will go on sale this quarter.Nokia unveiled a new Slam feature which allows consumers to share multim...

By Tan Ee Lyn HONG KONG | Mon Nov 26, 2012 5:05am EST HONG KONG (Reuters) - A gene that keeps embryos alive appears to control the immune system and determine how it fights chronic diseases like hepatitis and HIV, and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, scientists said on Monday. Although the experts have only conducted studies on the ...

By Dorene Internicola NEW YORK | Mon Nov 26, 2012 5:04am EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Although many people begin running as a practical path to weight loss or fitness, for many it becomes a love affair as the miles increase. Tom Holland, running coach and author of "The Marathon Method," tells his clients that running for 3 miles was horrible for him...

Mon Nov 26, 2012 2:52am EST (Reuters) - Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, India's top drugmaker by sales, said it has launched Absorica, a drug used to treat recalcitrant acne, in the United States. The drug is in-licensed from Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc, said Ranbaxy, controlled by Japan's Daiichi Sankyo Co, on Monday.(Reporting by Kaustubh Kulkarni in Mumbai)...

Mon Nov 26, 2012 2:39am EST (Reuters) - Seattle Seahawks starting cornerbacks Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner are facing four-game bans for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drugs policy. The league's website (www.nfl.com) reported on Sunday that both players were appealing the suspensions, which would come as a huge blow to the Seahawks.Seattle (6-5)...

By Maki Shiraki and Mari Saito TOKYO | Mon Nov 26, 2012 1:58am EST TOKYO (Reuters) - Shareholders of Japan's embattled Renesas Electronics Corp are close to approving a government-led bailout, sources familiar with the talks said, sending the firm's shares 17 percent higher on relief that the $2.4 billion rescue was being finalized. The deal is s...

By Tony Jimenez DUBAI | Mon Nov 26, 2012 12:55am EST DUBAI (Reuters) - Rory McIlroy's rivals were in awe of his two-shot victory at the DP World Tour Championship and compared the world number one's form to the dominance 14-times major winner Tiger Woods displayed in his prime. The Northern Irishman landed his fifth title of the year on Sunday, c...

By Tony Jimenez DUBAI | Mon Nov 26, 2012 12:46am EST DUBAI (Reuters) - World number two Luke Donald is planning to have an operation in the off-season in an attempt to cure a lingering problem with his sinuses. "My sinuses are all completely clogged up and every time I get a little bit run down they turn into infections," the 34-year-old Briton t...

By Larry Fine EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey | Mon Nov 26, 2012 12:45am EST EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Reuters) - The New York Giants came out firing after a week off, routing the Green Bay Packers 38-10 on Sunday to break a two-game losing skid and strengthen their hold on the NFC East. Quarterback Eli Manning, who had thrown one touchdown pass a...

By Steve Keating TORONTO | Mon Nov 26, 2012 12:24am EST TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Argonauts tamed the Calgary Stampeders 35-22 to claim the 100th Grey Cup on Sunday, allowing Canada's biggest city to shed its Loserville reputation and celebrate a Canadian Football League (CFL) championship. The week-long Grey Cup party reached a roaring cli...

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK | Mon Nov 26, 2012 12:17am EST NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The number of U.S. children hurt while using inflatable bouncers, such as bounce houses and moonwalks, is 15 times higher than in 1995, according to a new study. Researchers, who published their findings in the journal Pediatrics on Monday, said there are abou...

Sun Nov 25, 2012 11:27pm EST (Reuters) - Kevin Garnett got hot at just the right time to score Boston's final six points of regulation and force overtime as the Celtics dug deep to beat the Orlando Magic 116-110 on Sunday. Garnett put up 24 points and had 10 rebounds, while Paul Pierce knocked down the go-ahead three-pointer in overtime to help deliver the road v...

By Mark Lamport-Stokes SAN DIEGO | Sun Nov 25, 2012 10:04pm EST SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - The high-flying Baltimore Ravens broke San Diego Chargers' hearts and dealt a major blow to their playoff hopes when Justin Tucker kicked a 38-yard field goal to complete a hard fought 16-13 win in overtime on Sunday. While the AFC North leading Ravens improved ...

By Simon Evans Sun Nov 25, 2012 9:09pm EST (Reuters) - Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons kept pace with the 10-1 Houston Texans after a scrappy 24-23 win at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. The Cleveland Browns took advantage of the Pittsburgh Steelers' injury problems to record a 20-14 win over their old rivals while Peyton Manning threw for 285 yards...

Sun Nov 25, 2012 6:45pm EST (Reuters) - Apple Inc has asked a federal court to add six more products to its patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung Electronics Co, including the Samsung Galaxy Note II, in the latest in move in an ongoing legal war between the two companies. The case is one of two patent infringement lawsuits pending in the U.S. District Court...

By Simon Evans MIAMI | Sun Nov 25, 2012 6:12pm EST MIAMI (Reuters) - A last-second, 43-yard field goal from Dan Carpenter gave the Miami Dolphins a surprise 24-21 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, keeping their slim playoff hopes alive. After three successive defeats the win was much-needed for a Miami team which is not yet totally out of ...

By Chris Michaud and Ronald Grover Sun Nov 25, 2012 2:22pm EST (Reuters) - Teen vampire film "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" continued to take a bite out of the domestic box office, drawing $64 million in ticket sales over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend to finish ahead of James Bond film "Skyfall." After opening with a massive $141....

LONDON | Sun Nov 25, 2012 2:11pm EST LONDON (Reuters) - Bajan singer Rihanna equalled Madonna's chart record of three consecutive number one albums this week, while X Factor talent show star Olly Murs scored his fourth number one single, the Official Charts Company said on Sunday. Rihanna's "Unapologetic" went straight to the top of the singles chart, ex...

WASHINGTON | Sun Nov 25, 2012 11:16am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers have made little progress in the last 10 days toward a compromise to avoid the harsh tax increases and government spending cuts scheduled for January 1, a senior Democratic senator said on Sunday. The United States is on course to slash its budget deficit nearly in half next ...

BERLIN | Sun Nov 25, 2012 11:06am EST BERLIN (Reuters) - A write-down on Greek debt should not be part of the country's next rescue package, European Central Bank board member Joerg Asmussen told Germany's Bild newspaper ahead of Monday's euro zone group meeting. "We need a package of measures to close the financial gap that will include a substantial re...

By Sarah Marsh and Hans-Edzard Busemann BOCHUM, Germany | Sun Nov 25, 2012 10:58am EST BOCHUM, Germany (Reuters) - Germany's fast-sinking Pirates Party struggled to overcome infighting at a congress that ended on Sunday and chart a course for next year's federal elections that may see it cast into political oblivion as swiftly as it arrived. Supp...

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN | Sun Nov 25, 2012 10:52am EST AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian rebels said on Sunday they had captured a helicopter base east of Damascus after an overnight assault, their latest gain in a costly battle to unseat President Bashar al-Assad that is drawing nearer to his seat of power. The Marj al-Sultan base, 15 km (10 miles) ...

By Garba Mohammed and Isaac Abrak KADUNA, Nigeria | Sun Nov 25, 2012 10:44am EST KADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Two suicide bombs killed at least 11 people on Sunday at a church in a barracks in northern Nigeria, where the Islamist sect Boko Haram is waging a campaign of violence, the military said. Army spokesman Bola Koleoso said a bus drove into ...