Decent jobs report despite slowdown in hiring pace

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pace of U.S. job growth slowed a bit in December, keeping the unemployment rate steady at 7.8 percent, but details of the Labor Department's U.S. employment report were fairly encouraging.* Nonfarm payrolls increased 155,000, but job gains for the previous month were revised up to show 15,0000 more positions created than previously reported.* Construction employment rebounded...

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Bank of America, other banks move closer to ending mortgage mess

CHARLOTTE/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp announced more than $14 billion of legal settlements over bad mortgages it sold to investors and flaws in its foreclosure process, taking the bank a step closer to ending the home loan problems that have dogged it for years.About $3 billion of Bank of America's Monday's settlements were part of a larger $8.5 billion deal between 10 big mortgage...

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Nasdaq CEO says would definitely consider Euronext

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nasdaq OMX Group would definitely consider bidding for Euronext, the operator of the Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and Lisbon stock exchanges, if it were put up for sale, Nasdaq's Chief Executive Robert Greifeld said in an interview."We would have to take a look at it," he said. "I'm not saying we would bid on it, but we would have to take a look."Chatter that Euronext could be...

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Gadget Watch: Electronic fork nags you on eating

LAS VEGAS (AP) — If you've always wanted a fork that spies on your eating habits, you're in luck: A company has developed a utensil that records when you lift it to the mouth.The electronic fork is one of the gadgets getting attention this week at the International CES in Las Vegas, an annual showcase of the latest TVs, computers and other consumer-electronic devices.WHAT IT IS: The HAPIfork is a...

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Google executive chairman arrives in North Korea

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — Google's chairman wants a firsthand look at North Korea's economy and social media landscape during his private visit Monday to the communist nation, his delegation said, despite misgivings in Washington over the timing of the trip.Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of one of the world's biggest Internet companies, is the highest-profile U.S. executive to visit North Korea...

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U.S. banks to pay $8.5 billion to end foreclosure reviews

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of 10 mortgage servicers agreed on Monday to pay a total of $8.5 billion to end a U.S. government-mandated case-by-case review of housing crisis foreclosures in an acknowledgement the program had proven too cumbersome and expensive.Roughly 3.8 million borrowers whose homes were in foreclosure within the time frame of the review will receive cash compensation ranging...

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Bank of America in mortgage claims settlement

NEW YORK (AP) — Bank of America reached an $11.6 billion settlement with government mortgage agency Fannie Mae to settle claims resulting from mortgage-backed investments that soured during the housing crash, bringing it a step closer to clearing up its legacy of bad home loans.Under the deal announced Monday, Bank of America will pay $3.6 billion in cash to Fannie Mae and buy back $6.75 billion...

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U.S. to Pass Saudi Arabia in Energy Production, IEA Says: Huge Foreign Policy, Economic Implications

A new report by the International Energy Association says the U.S. will become the world's largest oil producer by 2017, overtaking current leaders Saudi Arabia and Russia. U.S. energy policies initiated by the George W. Bush administration and implemented by President Barack Obama have moved the U.S. toward energy independence and away from Middle East energy sources. U.S. oil production has risen...

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Eurozone back in recession in Q3

LONDON (AP) -- The 17-country eurozone has bowed to the inevitable and fallen back into recession for the first time in three years as a sprawling debt crisis took its toll on the region's stronger economies.And with surveys pointing to increasingly depressed conditions across the eurozone at a time of high unemployment in many countries, there are fears that the recession will deepen, and make the...

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Are We Regulating Ourselves Back Into Recession?

"Let us put an end to self-inflicted wounds," President Gerald Ford told Congress in 1975. "And let us remember that our national unity is a most priceless asset." While Ford was talking about the scars from the Vietnam War, his words seem relevant today. Our nation grapples with not one divisive issue, but a basket of them, each pulling and undermining our already battered confidence, while testing...

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Bigger fights loom after "fiscal cliff" deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans face even bigger budget battles in the next two months after a hard-fought "fiscal cliff" deal narrowly averted devastating tax increases and spending cuts.The agreement, approved late on Tuesday by the Republican-led House of Representatives and signed by Obama on Wednesday, was a victory for the president, who had won re-election...

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Oil prices tumble over ample supplies, flat demand

BANGKOK (AP) — Oil prices fell Thursday as fiscal-cliff euphoria fizzled and the traders evaluated ample energy supplies against lackluster demand.Benchmark crude for February delivery fell 21 cents at midday Bangkok time to $92.91 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices had jumped Wednesday after a deal in Washington averted the dreaded "fiscal cliff." The contract rose...

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Asia stocks eke out gains on China hopes, oil eases

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Most Asian stock markets edged higher on Thursday on hopes of a steady economic revival in China, although oil gave back part of the previous session's strong gains as investors took some money off the table and braced for more U.S. budget battles.The MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index of stocks <.miapj0000pus> rose 0.2 percent following Wednesday's 2 percent jump on relief...

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'Fiscal cliff' deal leaves lots of issues dangling

The "fiscal cliff" compromise on taxes leaves a big part of the nation's budget crisis still dangling.Lawmakers bought a little time with a New Year's agreement to hold income tax rates steady for 99 percent of Americans while allowing payroll taxes to go up. But they left themselves only two months to settle seemingly irreconcilable differences over how much the United States should borrow and spend...

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2016 politics on display as Congress ends term

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Paul Ryan, the GOP's 2012 vice presidential candidate, voted for the "fiscal cliff" compromise that raised taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Republican Sens. Marco Rubio and Rand Paul voted against it. And Vice President Joe Biden helped broker the deal with GOP leaders in the Senate.As Congress closed out its term this week, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie accused fellow Republicans...

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg donating $500 million in stock to Silicon Valley charity

 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Tuesday he is donating nearly $500 million in stock to a Silicon Valley charity with the aim of funding health and education issues.Zuckerberg donated 18 million Facebook shares, valued at $498.8 million based on their Tuesday closing price. The beneficiary is the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a non-profit that works with donors to allocate their gifts.This...

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Facebook CEO Zuckerberg donating $500M in stock

 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he is donating nearly $500 million in stock to a Silicon Valley charity with the aim of funding health and education issues.Zuckerberg donated 18 million Facebook shares, valued at $498.8 million based on their Tuesday closing price. The beneficiary is the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a nonprofit that works with donors to allocate their gifts.This is...

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You Can Download Your Entire Twitter History Now

this last weekend, but Twitter has made it official in a blog post today: you can download all your tweets, from forever. The archiving feature still isn't available to all users, but it's on its way, says Twitter, which will roll out the option "over the coming weeks and months." So maybe not that soon for some of you. Only those who currently see that option under the "settings" section of the site...

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Facebook rejects German demand to allow fake names

 Facebook will fight a German privacy watchdog's demand to allow users to register with fake names, insisting Tuesday that its current practice fully complies with the law.The California-based social networking site has long required users to register with their real names — a policy that the data protection commissioner of Schleswig-Holstein state says is in breach of German law and European...

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Is Facebook the New Walmart?

It’s hard to keep up with the ways we are being duped daily, living in a fast-paced society of convenience, unlimited social sharing and a desire to get more for less. Numbed from the sheer quantity of what we take in, we forget that for every action, is a reaction.Danish philosopher, theologian, poet and social critic Søren Aabye Kierkegaard summed it up when he said “As a result of knowing and being...

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