By Karen Freifeld Fri Dec 14, 2012 10:37am EST (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) has sued bond insurer MBIA Inc (MBI.N) in a New York state court for allegedly interfering with a tender offer to buy MBIA's bonds. At issue is a change MBIA sought to make to the terms of some bonds to eliminate the risk that it might be considered in default if a tro...

By Joseph Akwiri MOMBASA, Kenya | Fri Dec 14, 2012 10:25am EST MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) - Kenya does not expect its already suffering tourist trade to see any improvement until after a presidential election in March because of fears of a repeat of the ethnic violence that rocked the country when Mwai Kibaki was re-elected in 2007. Tourism is one ...

By Leah Schnurr NEW YORK | Fri Dec 14, 2012 10:23am EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Friday, with the Nasdaq weighed by a 3-percent drop in shares of tech giant Apple, amid investor worries about a lack of progress by politicians in ongoing fiscal negotiations. Apple (AAPL.O) was down 2.8 percent at $515.11 as UBS cut its pr...

BRASILIA | Fri Dec 14, 2012 10:21am EST BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff remains highly popular despite a stalled economy and political scandals that have tarnished the reputation of her ruling Workers' Party, an opinion poll published on Friday showed. Rousseff's personal approval rating rose slightly to 78 percent from 77 percent...

Fri Dec 14, 2012 10:18am EST (Reuters) - Southwest Airlines, known for its popular "bags fly free" policy, said it will implement new travel fees next year as part of a plan to increase revenue by $1.1 billion. The company told investors on Friday that it will raise fees on third bags and overweight baggage, increase fees for flights on AirTran, the carrier it bo...

By Oliver Holmes BEIRUT | Fri Dec 14, 2012 10:17am EST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's rebel leadership and the United States seized on Russian pessimism over President Bashar al-Assad's future to urge Moscow to help push its ally into ceding power and end the battles closing in around his capital. "We want to commend the Russian government for finall...

Fri Dec 14, 2012 10:04am EST (Reuters) - Best Buy Co Inc (BBY.N) agreed to extend the deadline to February 28 for founder Richard Schulze to make a bid for the company, continuing the uncertainty for shareholders over whether he can put a bid together. Best Buy shares fell 13.5 percent to $12.22 on the New York Stock Exchange.The company said on Friday the extens...

By Huw Jones LONDON | Fri Dec 14, 2012 10:02am EST LONDON (Reuters) - Swiss bank UBS (UBSN.VX) is expected to pay about $1 billion to settle charges of rigging the Libor interest rate benchmark, according to a person familiar with the situation, making it the second major bank to be officially ensnared by the global scandal. The announcement coul...

By Mark John BRUSSELS | Fri Dec 14, 2012 9:57am EST BRUSSELS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande called on Friday for like-minded EU countries to push ahead with further, deeper integration, even if it means leaving behind more Eurosceptic states which insist on protecting sovereignty. Speaking after a two-day summit on the debt crisis...

JERUSALEM | Fri Dec 14, 2012 9:57am EST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman resigned on Friday after being charged with fraud and breach of trust, in a move that could have repercussions on next month's election. "I have decided to resign my post as foreign minister and deputy prime minister and ... also to remove my (parliam...

By Alister Bull and Ann Saphir WASHINGTON/CHICAGO | Fri Dec 14, 2012 9:51am EST WASHINGTON/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Two top Federal Reserve officials on Friday raised questions about the U.S. central bank's unprecedented decision to tie monetary policy to specific economic guideposts, and warned that its latest policy actions risk straying into fiscal...

By Himank Sharma Fri Dec 14, 2012 11:03am EST (Reuters) - Apple Inc shares fell 3.9 percent on Friday after the iPhone 5 debuted in China to a cool reception and two analysts cut shipment forecasts. Jefferies analyst Peter Misek trimmed his iPhone shipment estimates for the Jan-March quarter, saying that the technology company had started cutting orders t...

By Fred Barbash WASHINGTON | Fri Dec 14, 2012 9:32am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The failure of Democrats and Republicans to break the impasse over the "fiscal cliff" is raising the possibility of Congress going beyond the year-end deadline to complete the work necessary to avert steep tax hikes and budget cuts that experts fear could push the nat...

By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA | Fri Dec 14, 2012 9:23am EST VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear agency expects to reach a deal with Iran next month enabling it to resume a stalled probe into suspected nuclear weapon research in the Islamic state, the chief U.N. inspector said after returning from Tehran on Friday. Even though the International Atomic En...

By Jill Serjeant LOS ANGELES | Fri Dec 14, 2012 8:34am EST LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - It has taken 10 years of hard work and indie movies, but Ben Affleck finally has moved past his "Bennifer" nightmare. Affleck, 40, once a tabloid staple who risked becoming a laughingstock during his romance with Jennifer Lopez and their movie flop "Gigli," is back...

By Jon Herskovitz BOTSHABELO, South Africa | Fri Dec 14, 2012 8:26am EST BOTSHABELO, South Africa (Reuters) - A billboard of a smiling President Jacob Zuma reminds Botshabelo residents his ruling ANC will hold an important meeting down the road next week to shape the future of South Africa. But behind the giant poster, people see little to smile ...

By Kim Dixon and Patrick Temple-West WASHINGTON | Fri Dec 14, 2012 1:15am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The tax break that U.S. states, cities and counties get on the bonds they issue is in growing jeopardy now that Republicans, in addition to Democrats, are considering limits on the exemption. As part of the "fiscal cliff" negotiations to raise mor...

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida | Thu Dec 13, 2012 8:43pm EST CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA plans to crash a pair of small robotic science probes into the moon next week after a successful year-long mission to learn what lies beneath the lunar surface, officials said on Thursday. The twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory...

Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:41am EST (Reuters) - Best Buy Co Inc (BBY.N) founder Richard Schulze is expected to make a fully financed offer to buy the consumer electronics retailer by a mid-December deadline, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported, citing a source. Schulze's bid would be at least $5 billion to $6 billion, the newspaper reported late Wednesday, citing the ...

By John O'Donnell and Andreas Rinke BRUSSELS | Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:32am EST BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European governments reached a landmark deal on Thursday that gives the European Central Bank new powers to supervise banks, boosting confidence in the single currency bloc as it enters the fourth year of its debt crisis. EU finance ministers forged a...

By Alexei Anishchuk MOSCOW | Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:31am EST MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday U.S. legislation to punish Russian violators of human rights would hurt relations with Washington, but called for a measured response. "This is a purely political and unfriendly a...

By Jason Lange WASHINGTON | Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:28am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New jobless claims fell sharply last week to a near four-year low and retail sales rebounded in November, hopeful signs for an economy that appears to have slowed sharply in the fourth quarter. New claims fell for a fourth straight week, dropping 29,000 to a seasonall...

By Steve Gutterman and Oliver Holmes MOSCOW/BEIRUT | Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:27am EST MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels are gaining ground and might win, Russia's Middle East envoy said on Thursday, in the starkest such admission from a major ally of President Bashar al-Assad in 20 months of conflict. "One must look the facts in the face," Russ...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan | Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:24am EST KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden car near a NATO base in southern Afghanistan on Thursday soon after a visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, killing two people and wounding 16, Afghan and NATO officials said. His spokesman said there was no indica...

By Leah Schnurr NEW YORK | Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:23am EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks opened little changed on Thursday after data showed first time claims for jobless benefits fell sharply last week, but investors were cautious about making aggressive bets in the midst of ongoing "fiscal cliff" negotiations. Shares of Best Buy Co (BBY.N) surged al...

By Ben Klayman DETROIT | Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:22am EST DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co (GM.N) is counting on muscled up, more refined versions of its lucrative Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickup trucks to show investors and car buyers the No. 1 U.S. automaker is back on the right track. The 2014 trucks are the most critical ...

By Ben Berkowitz and Tanya Agrawal Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:17am EST (Reuters) - MetLife Inc (MET.N) warned that 2013 earnings might be well below Wall Street expectations and said it did not expect to buy back any shares next year, a blow to investors who have been waiting more than a year for a capital return. The largest life insurer in the United States al...

By Fred Barbash WASHINGTON | Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:08am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Negotiations are expected to continue Thursday on the "fiscal cliff" with Republicans at a growing public opinion disadvantage and approval ratings for President Barack Obama rising to levels not seen since the killing of Osama bin Laden. Senior Democratic Senator Ke...

By David Chance SEOUL | Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:04am EST SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's next step after rattling the world by putting a satellite into orbit for the first time will likely be a nuclear test, the third conducted by the reclusive and unpredictable state. A nuclear test would be the logical follow-up to Wednesday's successful rocket lau...

JERUSALEM | Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:02am EST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman will be indicted for fraud and breach of trust, charges that may lead him to resign, but the Justice Ministry dropped more serious corruption allegations in a nearly 12-year-old case. The announcement comes just weeks before a January 22 election in ...

By Steve Scherer and Giselda Vagnoni ROME | Thu Dec 13, 2012 9:56am EST ROME (Reuters) - Outgoing Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and the man most likely to succeed him brushed off Silvio Berlusconi's latest turnaround on Thursday as speculation grew that the billionaire might drop out of the election race. Monti, speaking in Brussels, refused...

By Jill Serjeant LOS ANGELES | Thu Dec 13, 2012 9:52am EST LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. Civil War-era drama "Lincoln" led the Golden Globe nominations on Thursday with seven nods including best drama, best director for Steven Spielberg, and best actor for Daniel Day-Lewis. Following the film among top nominees for the Hollywood awards were Iran h...

By Gerry Shih SAN FRANCISCO | Thu Dec 13, 2012 9:48am EST SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - When the Israeli army and Hamas trade virtual blows in cyberspace, or when hacker groups like Anonymous rise from the digital ether, or when WikiLeaks dumps a trove of classified documents, some see a lawless Internet. But Matthew Prince, chief executive at CloudF...

By Julian Linden NEW YORK | Thu Dec 13, 2012 9:41am EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tom Watson was named on Thursday as the United States captain for the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in Scotland, a move the Americans hope will end their run of losses in the biennial match against Europe. Watson succeeded Davis Love III as the American captain for the ne...

BERLIN | Thu Dec 13, 2012 9:31am EST BERLIN (Reuters) - The Berlin film festival on Thursday announced the first movies of its 2013 lineup, and among the main competition entries will be U.S. director Gus Van Sant's drama starring Matt Damon and centering around the controversial shale gas industry. "Promised Land" will have its international premiere at...

WASHINGTON | Thu Dec 13, 2012 9:29am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top central banks around the world on Thursday renewed a series of currency swap lines set up during the 2007-2009 financial crisis as a precaution against future market strains. The Federal Reserve said it had extended for another year the dollar swaps with the European Central Bank, Bank o...

By Himank Sharma and Sinead Carew Thu Dec 13, 2012 9:28am EST (Reuters) - Sprint Nextel Corp (S.N), the majority owner of Clearwire Corp (CLWR.O), has offered $2.1 billion to buy the rest of the wireless service provider but it will likely have to offer more money in order to secure a deal. Clearwire, which said it is reviewing the offer, saw its share ju...

Thu Dec 13, 2012 9:09am EST (Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co said it will stop one of three late-stage trials of its rheumatoid arthritis (RA) drug tabalumab due to insufficient efficacy. The decision to stop the trial came after an interim futility analysis of the study, called FLEX-M.The trial was testing the drug in patients with moderate-to-severe RA who had an i...

By Giles Elgood CAIRO | Thu Dec 13, 2012 8:55am EST CAIRO (Reuters) - A leading opposition figure warned of more blood on the streets when Egyptians vote on a new constitution championed by Islamist President Mohamed Mursi amid a growing political crisis. In the referendum this Saturday and next, Egyptians must accept or reject a basic law that h...

By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS | Thu Dec 13, 2012 8:52am EST BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Google agreed on Thursday to help boost online revenues for a group of Belgian newspaper publishers and authors, settling a six-year dispute over copyright which it hopes will be a model for resolving similar clashes around the world. Publishers have been trying to get Go...