A few words by an American scholar, a crumbling Mexican monument and the love of a good yarn were all it took to spawn the belief that the world could end this week. December 21 marks the end of an age in a 5,125 year-old Maya calendar, an event that is variously interpreted as the
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The trade deficit shrank to EUR 373,839 in October according to preliminary figures, from EUR 388,536 in October 2011. For the period January-October, the deficit dropped to EUR 3.65 bln from EUR 4.11 bln in the same period of 2011. According to revised data for January-September 2012, total imports amounted to EUR 4,356.1 mln compared
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The harmonised consumer price inflation rate dropped to 1.4% in November from 2.6% in October. One key reason is that prices dropped by 0.8% compared with the year earlier for the heavily weighted category of food. They also eased for another large category, housing, water electricity and gas, which is influenced by oil prices and
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Tourism arrivals slipped in November after a strong showing in the summer months. According to the Passengers’ Survey, arrivals of tourists fell by 9.5% over the year earlier in November to 84,020 compared with 92,878 in November 2011. The main reason was a 15.5% drop in arrivals from the UK—still by far the largest market—to
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The Bank of Japan will ease monetary policy this week and consider adopting a 2% inflation target no later than in January, sources say, responding to pressure from incoming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for stronger efforts to beat deflation. Turning up the heat, Abe made a rare, direct push for a higher inflation target when
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U.S. private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management said on Tuesday it will immediately begin selling its investment in gunmaker Freedom Group in light of last week's school shooting in Connecticut. Cerberus acquired Bushmaster in 2006 and later merged it with other gun companies to create Freedom Group, which reported net sales of $677.3 million for
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The schools of Newtown, which stood empty in the wake of a shooting rampage that took 26 of their own, will again ring with the sounds of students and teachers on Tuesday as the bucolic Connecticut town struggles to return to normal. But among the normal sounds of a school day – teachers reading to
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A California judge has denied Apple's request for a permanent injunction against Samsung Electronics' smartphones, depriving the iPhone maker of key leverage in the mobile patent wars. Apple had been awarded $1.05 billion in damages in August after a U.S. jury found Samsung had copied critical features of the iPhone and iPad. The Samsung products
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In a major counteroffer that moves the White House and congressional Republicans closer to resolving the "fiscal cliff" standoff, President Barack Obama is now seeking $1.2 trillion from higher tax revenues, including increased rates on those earning more than $400,000 a year, a source familiar with the negotiations said on Monday. In exchange, the president
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Asian shares and other risk assets rose on Tuesday as signs of compromise sparked new optimism that the U.S. "fiscal cliff" budget tussle could be settled before tax hikes and spending cuts begin to bite early next year. Differences over how to resolve the fiscal cliff narrowed significantly Monday night as President Barack Obama made
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