Twitter and Nielsen pair up to publish new "social TV" ratings

- Nielsen Holdings NV, the television viewership measurement company, said on Monday it will partner with Twitter to publish a new set of ratings that measure chatter on Twitter about TV programming.The new measurement, dubbed the "Nielsen Twitter TV Rating," seeks to tap into the stream of viewer commentary and armchair musings generated on "second screens" - the smartphones and tablets perched on...

Read More..

Florida man sentenced to 10 years in "hackerazzi" case

A Florida man who pleaded guilty to hacking into the email accounts of celebrities to gain access to nude photos and private information was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday.Former office clerk Christopher Chaney, 36, said before the trial that he hacked into the accounts of film star Scarlett Johansson and other celebrities because he was addicted to spying...

Read More..

Massachusetts fines Morgan Stanley over Facebook IPO

 Morgan Stanley , the lead underwriter for Facebook Inc's initial public offering, will pay a $5 million fine to Massachusetts for violating securities laws governing how investment research can be distributed.Massachusetts' top securities regulator, William Galvin, charged on Monday that a top Morgan Stanley banker had improperly coached Facebook on how to disclose sensitive financial information...

Read More..

ARM security improvement to speed mobile e-commerce

British chip designer ARM Holdings and its partners Gemalto and Giesecke & Devrient have launched a new security standard for smartphones that can speed up e-commerce transactions.Trustonic, a joint venture between the companies formed in April, said the security standard could be built into every level of a device, from the chip through the operating system to applications.Ben Cade, Trustonic's...

Read More..

Online shopping to breathe new life into run-down sheds

Owners of run-down warehouses on the edge of European cities could be sitting on goldmines because online shopping will force firms to seek distribution sites closer to customers who think speedy delivery is the norm.In an increasingly fierce market where the likes of Amazon and Tesco pledge next-day or same-day delivery in specific time slots, warehouse rents could rise 40 percent over the next decade,...

Read More..

Home prices rose in ninth straight month: S&P

Single-family home prices rose in October for nine months in a row, reinforcing the view the domestic real estate market is improving and should bolster the economy in 2013, a closely watched survey showed on Wednesday.The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas gained 0.7 percent in October on a seasonally adjusted basis, stronger than the 0.5 percent rise forecast by economists...

Read More..

US economy could handle short fall over 'cliff'

The economic threat that's kept many Americans on edge for months is nearing reality — unless the White House and Republicans cut a budget deal by New Year's Day.Huge tax increases. Deep cuts in domestic and defense programs. The likelihood of sinking stock prices, reduced consumer spending and corporate layoffs. The risk of a recession within months.Still, the start of 2013 may turn out to be far...

Read More..

Egypt's contentious Islamist constitution becomes law

 President Mohamed Mursi admitted on Wednesday that Egypt's economy faces serious problems after he enacted a new, bitterly contested constitution that is supposed to help end political unrest and allow him to focus on the financial crisis.The president said the economy also had great opportunities to grow, but earlier the Egyptian pound tumbled to its weakest level in almost eight years as ever...

Read More..

Washington stirs for "fiscal cliff" talks as Obama heads home

 Efforts to prevent the U.S. economy from going over a "fiscal cliff" stirred back to life on Wednesday with less than a week to go before potentially disastrous tax hikes and spending cuts kick in at the New Year.In a sign that there may be a way through deadlock in Congress, Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner urged the Democrat-controlled Senate to act to pull back from...

Read More..

Asian markets rise amid optimism over Japan

 Japanese stocks surged to their highest level this year as Asian markets rose Thursday on optimism a new Japanese government will stimulate its sluggish economy.Oil gained in Asian trading to stay above $90 a barrel as markets in Hong Kong and Australia reopened after a two-day Christmas break.Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 1.3 percent to 10,368.5. That added to Wednesday's 1.5 percent...

Read More..

Japan's Abe set for second term, to tap allies for cabinet

 Shinzo Abe will be voted in as prime minister by parliament's lower house on Wednesday, giving the hawkish lawmaker a second chance at Japan's top job as the country battles deflation and confronts a rising China.Abe, 58, has promised aggressive monetary easing by the Bank of Japan and big fiscal spending by the debt-laden government to slay deflation and weaken the yen to make Japanese exports...

Read More..

U.S. moves to sell advanced spy drones to South Korea

 The Obama administration formally proposed a controversial sale of advanced spy drones to help South Korea bear more of its defense from any attack by the heavily armed North.Seoul has requested a possible $1.2 billion sale of four Northrop Grumman Corp RQ-4 "Global Hawk" remotely piloted aircraft with enhanced surveillance capabilities, the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said...

Read More..

Pope's Christmas message focuses on Mideast, China

 In his Christmas message to the world Tuesday, Pope Benedict XVI called for an end to the slaughter in Syria and for more meaningful negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, while encouraging more religious freedom under China's new leaders.Delivering the traditional speech from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, Benedict also encouraged Arab spring nations, especially Egypt,...

Read More..

Daiwa CEO sees 2013 Nikkei rally on Abe economy boost

 Japan's Nikkei stock average could rally nearly 30 percent in 2013 due to an aggressive push to reflate the economy under the country's new premier, the chief executive of Daiwa Securities Group told Reuters in an interview.While securities executives are known for their bullish market predictions, the comments from Takashi Hibino reflect an optimism among business leaders that the policies...

Read More..

Obama to cut vacation short to deal with fiscal crisis

President Barack Obama is cutting short his Hawaiian holiday to leave for Washington on Wednesday to address the unfinished "fiscal cliff" negotiations with Congress, the White House said on Tuesday.As the clock ticks toward a January 1 deadline, efforts to avert a sharp rise in taxes and deep spending cuts have stalled, worrying world financial markets.Obama and congressional lawmakers left Washington...

Read More..

No new vote in Venezuela if Chavez sworn in late: official

Venezuela will not call fresh elections if Hugo Chavez's cancer prevents him from taking office by January 10, the head of Congress said on Saturday, despite a constitutional mandate that the swearing-in take place on that date. Chavez is recovering in Cuba from a six-hour cancer operation that followed his October re-election. The socialist leader has not been heard from for nearly two weeks, raising...

Read More..

FDA approves Aegerion's cholesterol drug with strongest warning

Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc said the U.S. health regulator approved its drug as an alternative treatment for patients who have a genetic predisposition to high cholesterol. The drug, Juxtapid, would carry a boxed warning -- the strongest label warning -- and will be available only through a restricted program due to risk of liver damage. Shares of the company fell nearly 4 percent to $24.76 in early...

Read More..

S.Africa's Mandela to remain in hospital for Christmas

Former South African President Nelson Mandela, who is 94, continues to respond to treatment more than two weeks after being taken to hospital in Pretoria and will remain there for Christmas Day, the presidency said on Monday. President Jacob Zuma said in a statement that the anti-apartheid hero, who has been treated for a lung infection and gallstones after being hospitalised on December 8, "will...

Read More..

South Africa's Mandela to remain in hospital for Christmas

Former South African President Nelson Mandela continues to respond to treatment more than two weeks after being taken to hospital in Pretoria and will remain there for Christmas Day, the presidency said on Monday. The 94-year-old anti-apartheid hero and Nobel Peace laureate has been treated for a lung infection and gallstones after being hospitalized on December 8. President Jacob Zuma said in a...

Read More..

Apps to help achieve New Year's resolutions

Whether it is improving health or managing finances better, about 87 percent of Americans will make resolutions for 2013 and there are plenty of apps to help them achieve their goals. Nearly half of New Year's resolutions are about setting health-related goals, which is the most popular category, according to a recent survey by online broker TD Ameritrade. Rather than jumping into a rigorous fitness...

Read More..

Inside David Lynch's Paris art-studio hideaway

Behind the doors of a 19th-century printworks in south-central Paris, filmmaker and painter-by-training David Lynch takes a cigarette break after hours of etching abstract shapes and twisted limbs onto stone and wood. Although best known for dark, surreal movies such as "Eraserhead", "Blue Velvet" and "Mulholland Drive", Lynch was an artist before he began filmmaking and since 2007 has been using...

Read More..

A Minute With: Director Peter Jackson on shooting "The Hobbit"

After bringing J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy to life, filmmaker Peter Jackson is back in the world of Middle Earth with the author's prequel, "The Hobbit." The three-film series is due to open in U.S. theaters on Friday with "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey." The Oscar-winning director, 51, told Reuters about the 3D film, including the 48 frames per second (fps) format he used,...

Read More..

Legendary Indian sitarist, composer Ravi Shankar dead at 92

Sitarist and composer Ravi Shankar, who helped introduce the sitar to the Western world through his collaborations with The Beatles, died in Southern California on Tuesday, his family said. He was 92. Shankar, a three-time Grammy winner with legendary appearances at the 1967 Monterey Festival and at Woodstock, had been in fragile health for several years and last Thursday underwent surgery, his family...

Read More..

Actor Depardieu's Belgium move "pathetic": French PM

Actor Gerard Depardieu's decision to establish residency in Belgium, which does not have a wealth tax, by buying a house just over the border with France, is "pathetic" and unpatriotic, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Wednesday. Depardieu has become the latest wealthy Frenchman after luxury magnate Bernard Arnault to look for shelter outside his native country following tax hikes by...

Read More..

Mick Jagger love letters fetch $300,000 at auction

A collection of love letters written by Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger to American singer Marsha Hunt, believed to be the inspiration for the band's hit single "Brown Sugar", sold at Sotheby's on Wednesday for 187,250 pounds ($301,000). The 10 letters, dating from the summer of 1969, had been expected to fetch 70-100,000 pounds, according to the auctioneer. "The passage of time has given these...

Read More..

Politico financier Joe L. Allbritton dies at 87

Joe L. Allbritton, the millionaire founder of Politico's parent company, died Wednesday of heart ailments in a Houston hospital. He was 87. The founder of Allbritton Communications, which launched Politico and owns several television stations, built the Washington, D.C.-based media empire after controversy-fraught years as the chief of Riggs National Bank. Born in Mississippi and raised in Texas,...

Read More..

Obama Wins 2012 Election: Why Your Taxes Are Going Up

When President Obama and the new Congress begin to tackle important legislation and federal policy in January, one of the key issues will be how to reform America's byzantine tax code. Obama campaigned on a platform to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans, declaring that millionaires and billionaires need to "pay their fair share." The president proposed the highly controversial "Buffett Rule,"...

Read More..