Stock index futures signal lower start

LONDON (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 down 0.2 percent, and Dow Jones contracts down 0.1 percent at 0905 GMT. Japan's Nikkei <.n225> ended a four-day winning run on Tuesday as investors took profits in exporters, which had rallied on hopes Japan's main opposition party would win next...

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Israel pounds Gaza as rocket fire wanes; talks in Egypt

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel bombed dozens of suspected guerrilla sites in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Monday and Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave dropped off as international efforts to broker a truce intensified. Ten civilians and two field commanders from the Islamic Jihad faction were killed and at least 30 other Palestinians were hurt in the new air strikes, hospital...

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Facebook takes another shot at settling privacy lawsuit

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A U.S. judge said he would consider whether to preliminarily approve Facebook‘s second attempt to settle allegations the social networking company violated privacy rights.Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg rejected a proposed class action settlement over Facebook’s ‘Sponsored Stories’ advertising feature. But...

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Justin Bieber Brings His Mom to the American Music Awards

By Maggie Coughlan 11/18/2012 at 09:35 PM EST Pattie Mallette and Justin Bieber Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters/Landov Mother knows best!Despite his recent split from Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber still had a date for the 40th American Music Awards on Sunday: his mother,...

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EU drug regulator OKs Novartis' meningitis B shot

LONDON (AP) — Europe's top drug regulator has recommended approval for the first vaccine against meningitis B, made by Novartis AG.There are five types of bacterial meningitis. While vaccines exist to protect against the other four, none has previously been licensed for type B meningitis. In Europe, type B is the most common, causing 3,000 to 5,000 cases every year.Meningitis mainly affects infants...

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Global shares rally on U.S. fiscal hopes

LONDON (Reuters) - World shares rose and German government bond prices fell on Monday as investors were encouraged by an improving outlook for talks to resolve an imminent fiscal crunch in the United States. U.S. lawmakers expressed confidence on Sunday that they could reach a deal to avert the $600 billion "fiscal cliff", which threatened to send the giant economy back into recession....

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Israel, Gaza fighting rages on as Egypt seeks truce

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel bombed Palestinian militant targets in the Gaza Strip from air and sea for a fifth straight day on Sunday, preparing for a possible ground invasion while also spelling out its conditions for a truce. Palestinian fire into Israel subsided during the night but resumed in the morning, with two rockets targeting Tel Aviv. Both were shot down by Israel's Iron...

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Taylor Swift and One Direction's Harry Styles: Are They Dating?

By Patrick Gomez 11/17/2012 at 10:40 PM EST Taylor Swift and Harry Styles Janet Mayer/Splash News Online; Don Arnold/Wireimage Taylor Swift appears to be taking her love life in a new direction.The "Never Ever Getting Back Together" singer is seemingly taking...

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EU drug regulator OKs Novartis' meningitis B shot

LONDON (AP) — Europe's top drug regulator has recommended approval for the first vaccine against meningitis B, made by Novartis AG.There are five types of bacterial meningitis. While vaccines exist to protect against the other four, none has previously been licensed for type B meningitis. In Europe, type B is the most common, causing 3,000 to 5,000 cases every year.Meningitis mainly affects infants...

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Wall Street Week Ahead: Going off "cliff" with a bungee cord

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The 1987 crash. The Y2K bug. The debt ceiling debacle of 2011. All these events, in the end, turned out to be buying opportunities for stocks. So will the "fiscal cliff," some investors say as they watch favorite stocks tumble during the political give-and-take happening in Washington. The first round of talks aimed at avoiding the "fiscal cliff" caused...

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