France avoids recession; GDP up 0.2 pct in Q3

PARIS (AP) — France‘s economy narrowly avoided a recession, growing slightly in the third quarter, according to official statistic released Thursday.The French economy hasn’t recorded growth since the third quarter of last year and had been widely expected to start its slide into recession in the third quarter — technically defined as two consecutive quarters...

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Beating tax cheats key to Italy’s recovery plan

ROME (AP) — Good plumbers may be worth their weight in gold, but when one was spotted zipping around in a bright red Ferrari, Italian tax police were fast on his trail.Stamping out entrenched tax evasion is crucial to Premier Mario Monti‘s quest to keep Italy from succumbing to the European debt crisis, and it is critical to fellow eurozone members in...

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Rolling Stones add fifth date to anniversary tour

LONDON (Reuters) – The Rolling Stones have added a fifth date to their 50th anniversary tour later this year, the band announced on its website.In between two shows at London‘s O2 Arena starting on November 25 and two more at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ opening on December 13 the veteran quartet will play the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY on...

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Merck scraps combination diabetes drug

(Reuters) – Merck & Co no longer plans to develop a drug to treat type 2 diabetes that would have combined its largest selling diabetes drug, Januvia, with a generic version of Pfizer Inc‘s cholesterol drug Lipitor.Merck, one of the country’s largest drugmakers, said in a regulatory filing on Friday that it decided to stop clinical development of the...

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China rails against protectionism at party congress

BEIJING (Reuters) – China‘s top trade and investment officials are railing against what they call a rising tide of global protectionism that blocks its major companies from expanding overseas and further integrating into the global economy.The officials, speaking on the sidelines of a week-long Communist Party Congress, said protectionism was emerging...

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General investigated for emails to Petraeus friend

PERTH, Australia (AP) — In a new twist to the Gen. David Petraeus sex scandal, the Pentagon said Tuesday that the top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, is under investigation for alleged “inappropriate communications” with a woman who is said to have received threatening emails from Paula Broadwell, the woman with whom Petraeus had an...

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Lakers intrigued by chance to play for D’Antoni

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Pau Gasol got home from the game and read about it on Twitter, while Dwight Howard got a midnight message on his BlackBerry. They shared most Los Angeles Lakers fans’ mix of surprise, trepidation and anticipation.Just when everybody thought the Lakers were getting back together with Phil Jackson, they switched course in the middle...

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‘Sesame Street’ Elmo puppeteer takes leave amid sex scandal

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The puppeteer and voice behind the character Elmo on “Sesame Street” has taken a leave of absence from the children’s television show following allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy, producers said on Monday.New York-based Sesame Workshop said in a statement that its own inquiry concluded that the...

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Mushroom Poisonings Spike as 2 Die

The accidental deaths of two California women from mushroom poisoning comes at a time of mounting reports of poisoning from wild toadstools across the county, according to a prominent liver specialist.The two elderly women died after a caregiver at their senior care facility inadvertently served them a meal with poison mushrooms picked on the Loomis, Calif.,...

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Thompson takes helm at NYTimes, faces stiff challenges

(Reuters) – Mark Thompson reported to work as the New York Times Co chief executive on Monday, confronting challenges ranging from making the publisher less dependent on advertising to trimming costs and figuring out what to do with its pile of cash.Thompson is also dealing with questions pertaining to a series of scandals at the BBC, where he served as...

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