WASHINGTON | Mon Oct 29, 2012 12:51pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney were virtually tied in a Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll released on Monday, with the Democrat leading by a single percentage point eight days before the November 6 U.S. presidential election. Obama leads Romney 48 percent to 47 perce...

Mon Oct 29, 2012 12:39pm EDT (Reuters) - The Florida Department of Health has temporarily suspended compounding operations at a pharmacy, the latest in a growing number of closings since a deadly meningitis outbreak caused by contaminated drugs in a Massachusetts facility. The Florida pharmacy, based in Boca Raton and called Rejuvi Pharmaceuticals, prepares injec...

LONDON | Mon Oct 29, 2012 11:15am EDT LONDON (Reuters) - "Skyfall" set the record for the biggest UK weekend box office takings of any James Bond film, its producers said on Monday. The 23rd official cinematic adventure of the suave, but brutal 007, earned 20.1 million pounds ($32.36 million) after opening last Friday at 587 cinemas across the United Kin...

WASHINGTON | Mon Oct 29, 2012 9:40am EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer spending rose solidly in September as households stepped up purchases on automobiles and a range of other goods, but the increase came at the expense of savings. The Commerce Department said on Monday consumer spending rose 0.8 percent, the largest increase since February, after an ...

By Mohammed Abbas LONDON | Mon Oct 29, 2012 9:38am EDT LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Labor party piled pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday by pushing for an even tougher line on the European Union budget than that proposed by his ruling Conservative Party. Cameron is promi...

By Emma Thomasson and Sarah White ZURICH/LONDON | Mon Oct 29, 2012 9:27am EDT ZURICH/LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in UBS (UBSN.VX) soared on Monday after media reports the Swiss bank would announce up to 10,000 job cuts as it takes the knife to its investment banking operations, particularly its fixed income business. UBS Chief Executive Sergio Ermo...

By Fiona Ortiz and James Mackenzie MADRID/ROME | Mon Oct 29, 2012 9:25am EDT MADRID/ROME (Reuters) - Italian political turmoil and Spanish hesitancy over seeking euro zone assistance put the two countries on the front line of the currency area's debt crisis back under market pressure on Monday as their leaders met in Madrid. Former Prime Minister...

By Richard Balmforth and Olzhas Auyezov KIEV | Mon Oct 29, 2012 9:23am EDT KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovich's party was on course on Monday to secure a parliamentary majority but international monitors said flaws in the way the election was conducted meant the country had taken a "step backwards". Exit polls and first result...

By James Mackenzie ROME | Mon Oct 29, 2012 9:22am EDT ROME (Reuters) - Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi faced a fresh setback on Monday as early counting in a local election in Sicily showed his divided center-right party trailing in a former stronghold and big gains for the anti-establishment 5 Star Movement. The election for a regional ...

TRIPOLI | Mon Oct 29, 2012 9:16am EDT TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Thousands of Libyans who fled fighting in the former Gaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid will not be allowed to return home for several more days until work was complete to make the town safe and restore services, officials said on Monday. Militias aligned with the defense ministry took control of Ba...

By Paul Carsten PATTAYA, Thailand | Mon Oct 29, 2012 9:09am EDT PATTAYA, Thailand (Reuters) - China is stonewalling attempts to start talks on a multilateral "code of conduct" governing the strategically located South China Sea and an agreement could still be years away, Southeast Asian officials said on Monday. Beijing's assertion of sovereignty...

By Thomas Escritt THE HAGUE | Mon Oct 29, 2012 9:03am EDT THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's Liberal Party and the Labor Party have agreed a coalition deal, the parties said on Monday, paving the way for a pro-austerity, pro-European government to be sworn in as early as next week. Rutte won the most seats in the September 12...

HELSINKI | Mon Oct 29, 2012 8:59am EDT HELSINKI (Reuters) - Verizon Wireless will begin selling Nokia's new Lumia smartphones this autumn, helping the Finnish company to fight back against Apple and Samsung in the United States The Nokia Lumia 822, which will run on Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 software, will include an 8 megapixel camera and allow for wi...

By Edward Krudy NEW YORK | Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:00am EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures fell on Monday as a huge and potentially damaging hurricane was expected to hit the U.S. East Coast later in the day, and traders eyed renewed uncertainty in Europe that hit bonds in peripheral euro zone nations. All U.S. stock markets will be closed ...

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN | Mon Oct 29, 2012 8:41am EDT AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian jets bombed suburbs of Damascus and a car bomb killed 10 people in the capital on Monday, the last day of a four-day truce which U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon acknowledged had failed. Each side blamed the other for breaching the Eid al-Adha truce arranged by internationa...

By Jeff Mason Orlando, Florida | Mon Oct 29, 2012 8:34am EDT Orlando, Florida (Reuters) - President Barack Obama canceled a campaign event in Florida on Monday to return to Washington ahead of Hurricane Sandy, a White House spokesman said. "Due to deteriorating weather conditions in the Washington area, the president will not attend today's campa...

MOSCOW | Mon Oct 29, 2012 8:29am EDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Telecoms group Vimpelcom (VIP.N) is set to sell a number of businesses in Asia and Africa to focus on its core markets such as Russia and Italy, the Financial Times reported on Monday. The New York-listed phone company is holding talks with potential buyers for its assets in Burundi and the Central ...

By Richard Hubbard LONDON | Mon Oct 29, 2012 8:26am EDT LONDON (Reuters) - World share and commodity prices fell on Monday as a recent run of downbeat corporate earnings casts a shadow over the outlook for growth and markets braced for the impact of a major U.S. hurricane. All U.S. stock markets were shut in the first weather-related closure for ...

By Bill Berkrot NEW YORK | Mon Oct 29, 2012 8:09am EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global drugmakers are paying tens of millions of dollars to settle U.S. allegations that they bribed their way across emerging markets, but harsher penalties may be needed to deter the practice in untapped regions where billions are at stake. Federal authorities have cast...

DUBAI | Mon Oct 29, 2012 8:02am EDT DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran holds pictures of Israeli bases and other restricted areas obtained from a drone launched into Israeli airspace earlier this month, an Iranian lawmaker was quoted as saying on Monday. Earlier this month, Israel shot down a drone after it flew 25 miles into the Jewish state. Lebanese militant grou...

By Alan Wheatley, Global Economics Correspondent BRUSSELS | Mon Oct 29, 2012 7:58am EDT BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe has won the immediate battle to save the euro, but the war to make the single currency sustainable in the long run has only just begun. Relief in Brussels is palpable: the European Central Bank's conditional promise to act as buyer ...

Mon Oct 29, 2012 7:24am EDT (Reuters) - Former world number two Sergio Garcia will make his comeback after eye surgery in the European Tour's season-ending Dubai World Championship next month. The 32-year-old Spaniard, who has not played since Europe's Ryder Cup victory over the United States in Chicago four weeks ago, had an operation this month to correct an as...

By Dave Graham TORREON, Mexico | Mon Oct 29, 2012 7:24am EDT TORREON, Mexico (Reuters) - In a five-year struggle with Mexico's most notorious drug cartel, the city of Torreon has suffered a 16-fold increase in murders, fired its police department and lost control of its main prison to the gang. The Zetas cartel arrived in Torreon in mid-2007, and...

Mon Oct 29, 2012 7:12am EDT (Reuters) - The 2015 Solheim Cup, the women's equivalent of the Ryder Cup, will be held at the St Leon-Rot Golf Club near Heidelberg, an hour's drive from Frankfurt. "It will be a fantastic experience for our golf in Germany," said Sandra Gal, a member of the victorious 2011 European team."I am sure my home country will be a great host...

By Ben Hirschler and Mayumi Negishi LONDON/TOKYO | Mon Oct 29, 2012 7:03am EDT LONDON/TOKYO (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline has raised its bet on a promising drug for HIV/AIDS by redrawing a deal with Japan's Shionogi which gives it a much bigger economic interest in the new product. Dolutegravir, a once-daily drug that has performed strongly in clin...

By Karolina Tagaris ATHENS | Mon Oct 29, 2012 6:56am EDT ATHENS (Reuters) - A major Greek newspaper reprinted the names of more than 2,000 wealthy Greeks with Swiss bank accounts on Monday and the editor who first published the list was to go on trial for violating data privacy laws. Ta Nea devoted 10 pages to the list of accounts said to hold so...

By Nanette Byrnes Mon Oct 29, 2012 6:02am EDT (Reuters) - Can peer pressure make delinquent taxpayers pony up what they owe the government? Behavioral economists say it can, and some tax agencies in both the United States and Britain are taking their advice to heart -- and finding that they are reaping rewards.Behavioral economics has already upended inve...

Mon Oct 29, 2012 5:49am EDT (Reuters) - Nicolas Colsaerts, dubbed 'The Dude' by his team mates after making a stylish Ryder Cup debut last month, is still floating on a cloud four weeks after Europe's stunning victory in Chicago. The beanpole Belgian reeled off eight birdies and an eagle as he and partner Lee Westwood beat Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker one up in...

ZHENGZHOU, China | Mon Oct 29, 2012 5:37am EDT ZHENGZHOU, China (Reuters) - Rory McIlroy staked an early lead before holding on to win by a stroke in his "Duel at Jinsha Lake" 18-hole exhibition event against Tiger Woods on Monday. "It was a pretty exciting day and the match was pretty close all day," Northern Ireland's McIlroy told reporters just 24 hou...

By Amlan Chakraborty NEW DELHI | Mon Oct 29, 2012 5:21am EDT NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A significant dip in race-day attendances failed to stop Indian Grand Prix organizers basking in the glory of an otherwise successful second edition. The Buddh International Circuit on the outskirts of Delhi put behind the teething problems that plagued the inaugur...

Mon Oct 29, 2012 2:56am EDT (Reuters) - Rory McIlroy believes becoming golf's world number one has lifted his game to new heights and that he will be hard to beat at next month's Singapore Open. The 23-year-old Northern Irishman heads a quality field at the $6 million tournament from November 8-11 that also includes American Phil Mickelson and three-times winner ...

By Steve Keating DETROIT | Mon Oct 29, 2012 2:46am EDT DETROIT (Reuters) - The San Francisco Giants capped a wild post-season ride by beating the Detroit Tigers 4-3 in 10 innings on Sunday to complete a four-game sweep and be crowned World Series champions for the second time in three years. Marco Scutaro, the most valuable player in the National...

By John McCrank and Caroline Humer NEW YORK | Mon Oct 29, 2012 1:27am EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock and options markets will be closed on Monday, and possibly Tuesday, as regulators, exchanges and brokers worry about the integrity of markets and the safety of employees in the face of Hurricane Sandy. Market participants and regulators decid...

By John Whitesides WASHINGTON | Mon Oct 29, 2012 1:21am EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With one week left in the tight battle for the White House, it's all about the vital swing state of Ohio. Unless it's about Colorado - or Iowa, or tiny New Hampshire. Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney both have clear paths to t...

By Julian Linden Mon Oct 29, 2012 1:19am EDT (Reuters) - The Atlanta Falcons extended their unbeaten start to the National Football League season to seven games with victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. Showing no signs of complacency or rustiness after having a week off, the Falcons coasted to a comfortable 30-17 win with quarterback Matt Ryan...

Mon Oct 29, 2012 1:04am EDT (Reuters) - Peyton Manning threw for three touchdowns and 305 yards as the ever-improving Denver Broncos smashed the visiting New Orleans Saints 34-14 on Sunday. A red-hot Manning outclassed Drew Brees in a rematch of Super Bowl XLIV, where New Orleans beat Manning's former team Indianapolis.It was no contest between the quarterbacks t...

By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON | Sun Oct 28, 2012 10:21pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hurricane Sandy blew the U.S. presidential race off course on Sunday even before it came ashore, forcing Republican Mitt Romney to shift his campaign inland and fueling fears that the massive storm bearing down on the East Coast could disrupt an election that is alr...

NEW YORK | Sun Oct 28, 2012 9:40pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - Drugmaker Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and power companies Entergy Corp (ETR.N) and NRG Energy Inc (NRG.N) said they would postpone releasing quarterly earnings results because of the hurricane approaching the U.S. Northeast. Pfizer and Entergy had been due to report their third-quarter results on Tuesday...

By Chikako Mogi TOKYO | Sun Oct 28, 2012 8:28pm EDT TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares edged higher on Monday after global equities ended last week on a subdued note, with investors torn between signs of stable growth in the United States and caution over the global corporate earnings outlook. The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAP...

By Alan Wheatley, Global Economics Correspondent Sun Oct 28, 2012 8:11pm EDT (Reuters) - The last employment report before the U.S. presidential election is likely to have something for everyone - for those bullish and bearish on the economy and for Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Non-farm payrolls in October are forecast to have risen 124,000, barely more ...