By Crispian Balmer JERUSALEM | Mon Nov 19, 2012 1:49pm EST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip will not provide any long-term solution to the problem posed by the Islamist group Hamas, and this will make the government think long and hard before sending in the troops. After six days of intensive military strikes against th...

By Toni Clarke Mon Nov 19, 2012 1:30pm EST (Reuters) - Celgene Corp's experimental cancer drug pomalidomide significantly improved survival in patients with multiple myeloma who had failed other therapies, according to a summary of data to be presented at a medical meeting next month. The trial tested pomalidomide plus a low dose of dexamethasone, a stand...

By Jason Lange WASHINGTON | Mon Nov 19, 2012 1:26pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Home resales rose in October and a gauge of homebuilder sentiment climbed to a six-year high in November, signs of surprising vigor in the country's still-struggling housing market. The National Association of Realtors said on Monday that existing home sales climbed 2....

By Jessica Wohl Mon Nov 19, 2012 1:24pm EST (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc on Monday became the biggest corporation yet to move its planned dividend into late December from early January to help shareholders avoid a looming jump in the tax rate on payouts due to the so-called fiscal cliff. The move by the world's largest retailer will give shareholders, ...

Mon Nov 19, 2012 12:30pm EST (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc said U.S. health regulators had approved its drug Promacta for the additional use of treating low platelet count in hepatitis C patients that will allow them to undergo a standard therapy for the liver disease. The drug, already approved as a treatment for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura — low plate...

NEW YORK | Mon Nov 19, 2012 12:09pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - AC/DC'S entire catalogue, including 20 studio and live albums and three compilations will be available on iTunes for the first time worldwide, Columbia Records and Apple said on Monday. Until now the Australian heavy metal group that was formed by two brothers, Angus and Malcolm Young, in 1973,...

ZURICH | Mon Nov 19, 2012 10:12am EST ZURICH (Reuters) - The case of the South Korean soccer player who inflamed a diplomatic row with Japan by waving a political placard at the London Olympic soccer tournament will be heard again by FIFA's disciplinary committee on Tuesday. The committee, which has to decide whether Park Jong-woo will face suspension fo...

By Vernell Hackett NASHVILLE, Tennessee | Mon Nov 19, 2012 9:27am EST NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - Aaron Lewis stands as one of the more unusual crossovers into country music, but the singer of the metal band Staind believes it was a fit made in the cradle. "It's been quite the pleasant eclectic mix of tattoos and black eyeliner, and Stetsons...

Mon Nov 19, 2012 8:58am EST (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc said on Monday a late-stage trial of a once-daily version of its drug Lyrica in patients with fibromyalgia, a pain condition affecting more than 5 million Americans, met its main goal. Patients taking once-daily Lyrica, also known as pregabalin, went for a significantly longer period of time before feeling pain c...

CAIRO | Mon Nov 19, 2012 7:46am EST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's efforts to negotiate a truce between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza are ongoing and a deal to stop the fighting could be close, the Egyptian prime minister said on Monday. "Negotiations are going on as we speak and I hope we will reach something soon that will stop this violence and count...

LONDON | Mon Nov 19, 2012 8:11am EST LONDON (Reuters) - Scotland's most capped prop Allan Jacobsen has called time on his international career after winning 65 caps. "To play international rugby you have to be absolutely committed. You have to make sacrifices and do all the extra stuff in training and preparat...

By Jason Szep and James Pomfret PHNOM PENH | Mon Nov 19, 2012 7:57am EST PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Japan warned on Monday that a row over the South China Sea could damage "peace and stability" in Asia as China stalled on a plan to ease tensions and disagreements flared between the Philippines and Cambodia over the dispute. The acrimony provided an u...

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Jeffrey Heller GAZA/JERUSALEM | Mon Nov 19, 2012 7:56am EST GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave. As internat...

By Angela Moon NEW YORK | Mon Nov 19, 2012 7:50am EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures started off a holiday-shortened trading week in an upbeat mood on Monday, with investors encouraged by signs of progress in talks to resolve the fiscal crunch in the United States. Leading U.S. lawmakers expressed confidence on Sunday that they could re...

Mon Nov 19, 2012 7:49am EST (Reuters) - Lowe's Cos Inc's reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Monday as preparation and rebuilding efforts tied to superstorm Sandy boosted business at the world's No. 2 home improvement chain, which raised its full-year sales forecast. Shares of Lowe's rose 3.5 percent to $33.10 in premarket trading.The company said...

By Kelvin Soh and Denny Thomas HONG KONG | Mon Nov 19, 2012 7:49am EST HONG KONG (Reuters) - HSBC (HSBA.L) is in talks to sell its $9.3 billion stake in China's Ping An Insurance (2318.HK), stepping up a program by Europe's biggest bank to shed non-core operations to boost profitability. A sale, widely expected as part of HSBC's three-year recove...

DAKAR | Mon Nov 19, 2012 7:44am EST DAKAR (Reuters) - The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday rejected a 24-hour ultimatum from rebels in the east of the country to open talks or face an onslaught, accusing neighboring Rwanda of being behind the rebellion. "M23 is defined by the government as a fiction created by Rwanda to hide their...

By Matt Spetalnick and Jeff Mason YANGON | Mon Nov 19, 2012 7:23am EST YANGON (Reuters) - Barack Obama became the first American president to visit Myanmar on Monday, using a six-hour trip to balance U.S. praise for the government's progress in shaking off military rule with pressure to complete the process of democratic reform. Obama, greeted by...

BRUSSELS | Mon Nov 19, 2012 7:14am EST BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Turkey is expected to request on Monday that NATO missiles be placed on its border with Syria to defend against mortar rounds fired from its neighbor, Germany's defense minister said. Only the United States, the Netherlands and Germany have the appropriate Patriot missile system available. Germa...

VILNIUS | Mon Nov 19, 2012 7:09am EST VILNIUS (Reuters) - Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said on Monday she would choose a center-left opposition leader as prime minister, ending a political stalemate after elections last month. She had earlier refused to back Social Democrat head Algirdas Butkevicius as prime minister as she objected to his pla...

FRANKFURT | Mon Nov 19, 2012 7:08am EST FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) co-Chief Executive Juergen Fitschen said Europe's banking sector remains too dependent on extraordinary support measures taken by the European Central Bank. "Some banks are staying alive because the European Central Bank has made available cheap money. Without this it ...

MADRID | Mon Nov 19, 2012 6:51am EST MADRID (Reuters) - Spain captain Alex Corretja has defended his decision to pick Nicolas Almagro for the Davis Cup final after the holders were beaten 3-2 by Czech Republic when Almagro lost the decisive singles rubber to Radek Stepanek on Sunday. Corretja, in his first year in charge, had to field questions about why...

TOKYO | Mon Nov 19, 2012 6:34am EST TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's main opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) saw its voter support slip, but still maintained a commanding lead against rivals, including the ruling Democratic Party, ahead of a December election, public opinion polls showed on Monday. The Nikkei business daily survey said 25 percent of thos...

By Gilbert Kreijger and Robert-Jan Bartunek AMSTERDAM/BRUSSELS | Mon Nov 19, 2012 6:30am EST AMSTERDAM/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Dutch banking and insurance group ING has won more time from regulators to shed assets and repay government aid, avoiding a fire sale but keeping it under state supervision for longer and delaying dividend payments. The Euro...

By Alan Baldwin LONDON | Mon Nov 19, 2012 6:10am EST LONDON (Reuters) - Red Bull and Renault will be working flat out to ensure Formula One championship leader Sebastian Vettel does not go into next weekend's title showdown in Brazil with a 'ticking time bomb' deep inside his car. Vettel leads Ferrari's Fernando Alonso by 13 points ahead of the f...

By Natasha Baker TORONTO | Mon Nov 19, 2012 5:01am EST TORONTO (Reuters) - Customers who are annoyed by automated voice prompts and music when they contact a company for information about a bill, price, product or service can send a text instead. A new app, TalkTo, lets users interact with any business in the United States via text messages sent ...

Mon Nov 19, 2012 3:05am EST (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (C.N) has agreed to pay $360 million to the brokerage estate of Lehman Brothers to resolve a dispute over $1 billion in collateral that the investment bank was forced to post in the days leading up to its bankruptcy in 2008. According to a settlement reached on Friday with the trustee liquidating Lehman Brothe...

By Laura L.Myers TACOMA, Washington | Mon Nov 19, 2012 3:03am EST TACOMA, Washington (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier accused of killing five fellow servicemen at a military combat stress center in Baghdad in 2009 will face an arraignment at a military base in Washington state on Monday, preparing the way for a trial that could result in the death pena...

Mon Nov 19, 2012 2:09am EST (Reuters) - The Lakers are still waiting for coach Mike D'Antoni to take charge of his first game but Los Angeles continued their recent revival with a 119-108 win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday. Dwight Howard had 28 points and 13 rebounds, and Kobe Bryant registered a triple-double with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, as th...

Mon Nov 19, 2012 1:55am EST (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (C.N) is on track to cut 300 sales and trading jobs globally this year, as part of its plan to streamline its banking operations, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people briefed on the process. The sales and trading unit of the bank employs about 17,000 people, the Journal said. (link.reuters.com/kyz93...

DUBAI | Mon Nov 19, 2012 1:20am EST DUBAI (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Inc (GS.N) bought warrants worth 147 million dirhams ($40 million) in Dubai's Drake & Scull International DSI.DU, less than a week after helping arrange a loan facility for the contracting firm. Drake, which specializes in mechanical, engineering and plumbing operations, said the "st...

By Steve Keating AUSTIN, Texas | Mon Nov 19, 2012 1:12am EST AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton claimed the victory and Red Bull clinched the constructors title but the biggest winner at the U.S. Grand Prix was Formula One with commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone immediately calling for more races in America. "The future of F1 in the USA? ...

Mon Nov 19, 2012 1:09am EST (Reuters) - The Baltimore Ravens took advantage of a Pittsburgh offense lacking the potency of Ben Roethlisberger to grind out a 13-10 win over the Steelers on Sunday, tightening their grip on the AFC North. The Ravens did not enjoy a spectacularly offensive night themselves but with Steelers quarterback Roethlisberger nursing a sprain...

Mon Nov 19, 2012 1:08am EST (Reuters) - Online financial services company E*Trade Financial Corp (ETFC.O) will shut down its British brokerage business as the company shifts focus back to its core U.S. operations, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the decision. Customers of the British unit, E*Trade Securities Ltd, were recently notifi...

ALMATY | Mon Nov 19, 2012 12:43am EST ALMATY (Reuters) - A Russian Soyuz capsule landed on the Kazakh steppe on Monday, safely delivering a trio of astronauts from a four-month stint aboard the International Space Station. The Soyuz TMA-05M capsule, carrying Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and U.S. astronaut Sunita ...

By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK | Mon Nov 19, 2012 12:20am EST NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - About five percent of middle and high school students have used anabolic steroids to put on muscle, according to a new study from Minnesota. In addition to steroid use, more than one-third of boys and one-fifth of girls in the study said they had used protein p...

By Ronald Grover Mon Nov 19, 2012 12:15am EST (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp (NWSA.O) is expected to announce this week that it will acquire a 49 stake in the YES Network from the New York Yankees baseball team and its partners, in a deal that would value the sports channel at $3 billion, a person with knowledge of the talks told Reuters. The deal...

By Simon Evans Mon Nov 19, 2012 12:04am EST (Reuters) - L.A. Galaxy and Houston Dynamo will meet in the MLS Cup final for the second straight year after clinching their Conference championships on Sunday. The Galaxy, featuring David Beckham in midfield, lost 2-1 in Seattle but a 3-0 first leg win last week that was enough to secure them a chance to defend...

By Piya Sinha-Roy LOS ANGELES | Sun Nov 18, 2012 11:55pm EST LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Canadian pop star Justin Bieber swept the American Music Awards on Sunday, topping strong competition from Rihanna and Nicki Minaj, and sending newcomers British boybands One Direction and The Wanted home empty-handed. Bieber, 18, won all three categories in whic...

Sun Nov 18, 2012 11:24pm EST (Reuters) - Brad Keselowski won his first NASCAR Sprint Cup title on Sunday with a 15th place finish in the final race of the year at Homestead, securing him top place ahead of Clint Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson. Johnson, who was searching for a sixth championship, paid the price for a pit road mistake and a part failure, completing just...