Profits fall at Marks and Spencer

6 November 2012 Last updated at 03:30 ETMarks and Spencer, the UK’s biggest clothing retailer, has posted pre-tax profits of £290m for the six months to the end of September, down 9.7% from the same period last year. Group sales were up 0.9% to £4.7bn, with much of the growth coming from the food side of the business.Food...

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Cautious reformers tipped for new China leadership

BEIJING (Reuters) – China‘s ruling Communist Party will this month unveil its new top leadership team, expected to again be an all-male cast of politicians whose instincts are to move cautiously on reform.Sources close to the leadership say 10 main candidates are vying for seven seats on the party’s next Politburo Standing Committee, the peak decision-making...

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Ericsson eyes steady growth despite global downturn

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Telecoms gear maker Ericsson expects slower expansion in the more profitable services segment of its business and the same level of growth in its core mobile network equipment market, it said on Tuesday.Competition and increased product commoditization have pressured prices in the industry for years. Europe’s debt crisis and weaker...

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Why “Skyfall” Will Be Biggest Bond Ever at the Box Office

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – The sky isn’t falling! The sky isn’t falling!In fact, releasing “Skyfall” to foreign audiences 10 days ahead of its domestic release is a ploy that will pay off nicely: It will help make the first Bond film in four years the biggest 007 ever at the box office, the first to score over $ 600 million worldwide. Daniel...

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Congressional panels to hold hearings on meningitis outbreak

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two congressional oversight committees will hold hearings next week on the deadly U.S. meningitis outbreak linked to tainted steroid injections and one panel has invited an official from the compounding pharmacy involved, aides said on Monday.The House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee expects to hear testimony from...

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HSBC earmarks more for US fines

5 November 2012 Last updated at 03:47 ETHSBC bank has put aside a further $ 800m (£500m) to cover potential money-laundering fines in the US as it announced a fall in quarterly profits. The bank had already put aside $ 700m after a US Senate report published in July said lax controls had left it vulnerable to money...

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Bomb shakes Damascus, opposition holds unity talks

AMMAN (Reuters) – A bomb exploded near army and security compounds in Damascus, Syrian television reported, and fractured opposition groups seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad began unity talks abroad to win international respect and arms supplies.The 50-kilogram (110-pound) bomb, near a large hotel in a heavily guarded district, was described...

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Katy Perry wears dress with Obama slogan at rally

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Pop star Katy Perry is sporting a skin-tight minidress with President Barack Obama‘s campaign slogan “Forward” emblazoned across it at the president’s rally in Milwaukee.Perry came on stage at Saturday’s event initially wearing a red, white and blue dress and holding a microphone shaped like the Statue of Liberty’s torch. But...

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Modest results in program to reduce kids’ screen time

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A program aimed at reducing the number of hours young children spent in front of a screen didn’t accomplish that goal, but it did cut back on the meals they ate in front of a television, a new study found.That’s good news according to the lead author, because people tend to eat more and eat unhealthy food while watching television. “The...

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Anglogold strikers return to work

affiliate marketing 2 November 2012 Last updated at 10:31 ETStriking miners at two South African Anglogold Ashanti pits have agreed to return to work as tensions across the country’s mineral sector ease. affiliate marketing Hundreds of miners have been holding underground sit-ins...

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