Wal-Mart holiday profit rises despite lackluster sales

(Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc posted a larger-than-expected rise in quarterly profit on Thursday, as a lower-than-anticipated tax rate helped to overcome some weakness in sales at its major Walmart U.S. unit that persisted into the beginning of February. The world's largest retailer also raised its dividend payout. Its shares fell 1 percent in premarket trading. Wal-Mart...

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Prosecutors: Detective should be dropped from case

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority acknowledged Thursday that the timing of attempted murder charges against a policeman leading the investigation into Oscar Pistorius was "totally weird" and that the policeman should be dropped from the case against the world-famous athlete.Bulewa Makeke, spokeswoman for the NPA, said it was a decision for police and not prosecutors...

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Would the pope vote be hackable?

The Conclave of Cardinals that will elect a new pope will meet in the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. STORY HIGHLIGHTSBruce Schneier: Rules for picking a new pope are very detailedHe says elaborate precautions are taken to prevent election fraudEvery step of the election process is observed by people who know each otherSchneier: Vatican's procedures, centuries in the making, are very secureEditor's...

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Are you getting the fish you paid for?

Dirk Fucik, owner of Dirk's Fish Gourmet Shop on February 19, 2013 says fish substitution in the restaurant industry is a common phenomena driven by profits. (Alex Garcia, Chicago Tribune) ...

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Cameroon, Nigeria officials deny French hostages freed

YAOUNDE (Reuters) - The fate of seven French tourists seized in Cameroon by suspected Nigerian Islamist militants was unclear on Thursday after government officials denied French media reports that they had been freed. The hostages, four children and three adults, were captured this week while on an excursion to the Waza national park near Cameroon's border with Nigeria. ...

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Stock futures flat with data, Fed minutes on tap

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday, ahead of data on the housing market and inflation, as well as minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's January meeting. Housing starts and permits for January along with the January producer price index are due at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey forecast the housing starts...

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Police: No inconsistencies in Pistorius account

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — A police detective, testifying at Oscar Pistorius' bail hearing Wednesday, said that police have not found anything inconsistent with how the star athlete described his shooting of his girlfriend — a killing that Pistorius says was accidental but which prosecutors call murder.The second day of the bail hearing in a case that has riveted South Africa and much of the world...

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Obama can't kick his legacy down road

By Gloria Borger, CNN Chief Political AnalystFebruary 19, 2013 -- Updated 2122 GMT (0522 HKT)President Obama has a small window of opportunity to get Congress to act on his priorities, Gloria Borger says.STORY HIGHLIGHTSGloria Borger: Prospect of deep budget cuts was designed to compel compromiseShe says the "unthinkable" cuts now have many supportersThe likelihood that cuts may happen shows new level...

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Jesse Jackson Jr., Sandi Jackson expected to plead guilty today

WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., and his wife, former Chicago Ald. Sandi Jackson, are expected to plead guilty to...

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Bulgarian government resigns amid growing protests

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's government resigned on Wednesday after violent nationwide protests against high power prices, joining a long list of European administrations felled by austerity during Europe's debt crisis. Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, a former bodyguard who swept to power in 2009 on pledges to root out corruption and raise living standards in the European Union's poorest...

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