Market rises on data but caution settles on Wall Street

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks edged higher on Friday, with the benchmark S&P index hitting a five-year high after a batch of positive economic reports, but gains were capped as investors grew cautious about a further advance. Data showing stronger international trade from China and Germany and a report showing a smaller U.S. trade deficit in December were seen as encouraging signs of...

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IHT Rendezvous: Stark Numbers Reveal the Scale of Elephant Killings

HONG KONG — The past couple of years has seen a stream of news about elephant killings and increasingly massive ivory seizures, a stream so relentless that it has become numbing.A study released on Wednesday, however, still has the power to shock. Over the past eight years or so, according to the study, 11,000 elephants have been killed by poachers in the western African state of Gabon, where the...

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Rihanna & Chris Brown Go from the Courthouse to the Studio Together

By Maggie Coughlan 02/07/2013 at 12:15 PM EST Chris Brown (far left) and Rihanna (right) at Brown's court hearing Splash News Online That's one way to stand by your man.Rihanna attended boyfriend Chris Brown's court hearing in Los Angeles on Wednesday – and later...

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Southern diet, fried foods, may raise stroke risk

Deep-fried foods may be causing trouble in the Deep South. People whose diets are heavy on them and sugary drinks like sweet tea and soda were more likely to suffer a stroke, a new study finds.It's the first big look at diet and strokes, and researchers say it might help explain why blacks in the Southeast — the nation's "stroke belt" — suffer more of them.Blacks were five times more likely than whites...

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Wall Street dips on renewed euro zone concerns

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares fell on Thursday after the euro currency dropped against the safe-haven dollar and yen, raising worries about Europe's outlook and curbing investors' appetite for risky assets such as stocks. The euro sank after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the exchange rate was important to growth and price stability, which investors took as a sign the...

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Clashes Erupt in Damascus, Shattering Lull, as Prospects for Talks Dim

Goran Tomasevic/ReutersA building in the Damascus suburb of Zamalka was hit by a mortar shell fired by the Syrian Army on Wednesday. BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian insurgents attacked military checkpoints and other targets in parts of central Damascus on Wednesday, antigovernment activist groups reported. The fighting shattered a lull there as prospects for any talks between the antagonists appeared to...

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Leighton Meester Is Dating Adam Brody

By Julie Jordan 02/06/2013 at 12:45 PM EST Adam Brody and Leighton Meeste Henry S. Dziekan III/Wireimage It looks like Leighton Meester is getting a taste of Orange County, Calif.The former Gossip Girl star, 26, who has been an N.Y.C. staple, is dating former...

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Critics seek to delay NYC sugary drinks size limit

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents are pressing to delay enforcement of the city's novel plan to crack down on supersized, sugary drinks, saying businesses shouldn't have to spend millions of dollars to comply until a court rules on whether the measure is legal.With the rule set to take effect March 12, beverage industry, restaurant and other business groups have asked a judge to put it on hold at least until...

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Wall Street flat as rally runs out of steam, results eyed

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed in late morning trading on Wednesday as investors awaited fresh trading incentives after recent rallies took the S&P 500 to five-year highs. Transportation stocks were among the worst performers, weighed down by a 10-percent drop in CH Robinson Worldwide to $60.49 after it reported fourth-quarter earnings. The Dow...

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China Issues Plan to Narrow Income Gap

HONG KONG — The Chinese government on Tuesday issued a long-awaited plan to narrow the gulf between rich and poor, offering broad vows to lift the incomes of workers and farmers and choke off corrupt wealth but few specific goals to rein in the nation’s wide inequality. The proposal was mired for months in an internal dispute about whether to aggressively scale back the rising salaries and...

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