Oracle beats outlook, shrugs off fiscal debate

BOSTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Technology giant Oracle Corp said software sales growth will stay strong into the new year despite fears that there could be big tax hikes and U.S. government spending cuts that could cause a slump in spending by customers.Shares of the world's No. 3 software maker rose 1.3 percent after it reported fiscal second-quarter revenue and earnings that surpassed Wall Street...

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BofA CEO: Fed wants bank to show consistent earnings

BofA CEO: Fed wants bank to show consistent earningsCHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp needs to show the U.S. Federal Reserve it can produce consistent earnings as part of the annual process to gain permission to return more capital to shareholders, CEO Brian Moynihan said in an interview.The second-largest U.S. bank is turning a profit in most of its main businesses, but it...

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Top UBS shareholder pins rebound hopes on private wealth

LONDON (Reuters) - UBS's wealth management business will help it bounce back from a $1.5 billion rap for rigging interest rates, one of its largest investors said, although fears of costly civil lawsuits could cast a pall over its shares for some time.Paras Anand, European equities head at Fidelity Worldwide Investment, said legal action sparked by the Libor scandal posed an unpredictable threat to...

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Drugs group Lundbeck's shares hit by profit warning

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Shares in Danish drugs firm Lundbeck fell to their lowest level in over 12 years on Wednesday after it cut its profits forecast for the next two years as European sales slow and spending on new products rise to combat generic competition.The company has already warned that earnings would stall until 2015 due to cheap generic competition for its existing drugs, meaning new products...

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New Mauritius Hotels posts 25 pct drop in full-year profit

PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - Luxury hotels group New Mauritius Hotels (NMH) reported a 25 percent fall in full-year pretax profit, citing higher finance costs and fewer tourists, and forecast a 15 percent drop in first-quarter earnings.Ranked among the Indian Ocean island's most-traded stocks, NMH said on Wednesday that pretax profit for the year to September 30 fell to 603 million Indian rupees, with earnings...

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Ireland announces abortion law reforms, leaving no one satisfied

Ireland took a step today toward loosening its strict antiabortion regime, as the government announced legislation to legalize abortion in limited circumstances. But a battle lies ahead, as both abortion-rights and antiabortion groups appear dissatisfied with the government's new prescription.A statement issued after a meeting of ministers today announced legislation and medical-legal guidance allowing...

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Panel on Benghazi attack heaps blame on State, citing 'systemic failures'

• A daily summary of global reports on security issues.An independent panel investigating the 9/11 attack on the United States consulate in Benghazi concluded that the State Department suffered “systemic failures” in providing adequate security.The failures listed in a report released last night include relying too heavily on poorly trained local militias for security; “leadership and management”...

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Manziel first freshman to win Heisman Trophy

(Reuters) - Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel was awarded the Heisman Trophy on Saturday, making him the first 'freshman' to win college football's top honor.Manziel, nicknamed "Johnny Football", beat out Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o and Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein at the swanky ceremony in New York."This is a moment I've dreamed about since I was a kid running around the backyard...

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TV technical union strikes against Pac-12 Networks

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The union representing freelance technical employees who work on live sporting events for Pac-12 Networks went on strike Saturday.The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees wants to establish area standard wages and benefits for the freelancers who work on the network's telecasts.About 100 union members picketed outside Galen Center, where Southern California hosted...

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Aresco, basketball schools talk Big East future

NEW YORK (AP) — Big East Commissioner Mike Aresco is working with the officials from the conference's seven nonfootball members to keep the rebuilding league from splitting apart.A person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press that Aresco and officials from those seven Catholic schools held a conference call Thursday to discuss the future of the league. Those schools are considering...

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Big East nonfootball members mull future of league

NEW YORK (AP) — The seven Big East schools that don't play football spoke with the conference commissioner Thursday about possibly breaking from a league that has been drastically reshaped. Such a breakup would be complicated and could conceivably kill the Big East.Commissioner Mike Aresco conferred by phone with the leaders of those seven schools, according to a person familiar with the situation....

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Navy, Notre Dame meet at Redskins' home in 2014

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Notre Dame will face Navy at the home stadium of the Washington Redskins in 2014. Navy officials announced Thursday that the long-time rivalry will move to FedExField in Landover, Md., on Nov. 1, 2014. The teams last played there in 1998. The Irish and Midshipmen meet in South Bend on odd years, and on even years the contest is Navy's...

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