Wall Street rises on confidence about "fiscal cliff" talks

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks added to a surge on Tuesday, bolstered by views that the "fiscal cliff" negotiations were progressing, even as Democrats and Republicans in Congress bantered back and forth.

The gains followed a steep rally on Monday, which lifted the S&P 500 to its highest point in nearly two months.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner said President Barack Obama's most recent offer on taxing the wealthy is "not there yet," but he was hopeful of an agreement to avert steep tax hikes and spending cuts before a December 31 deadline.

Boehner had earlier edged closer to Obama's position on raising taxes on the wealthy while extending tax cuts for other Americans, but gaps remained between the two men's positions. Boehner took the latest negotiating positions before House Republicans and said a vote could come as early as this week.

"As you get more and more clarity and dialogue that there will be a compromise to avoid a fiscal cliff, I think the markets are going to rally," said Weston Boone, vice president of listed trading at Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets.

"What's holding this market back -- the S&P 500 -- from continuing to reach higher highs is the macro headwinds, and a lot of that emanates from (Washington) D.C."

Investors have been reluctant to make big bets in the face of uncertainty because many fear going over the cliff would push the economy into recession.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 85.62 points, or 0.65 percent, to 13,321.01. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> rose 11.77 points, or 0.82 percent, to 1,442.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> added 30.29 points, or 1.01 percent, to 3,040.90.

Tech shares rose, and gains in large-cap technology shares lifted the Nasdaq. Seagate Tech rose 4.2 percent to $29.23 while F5 Networks Inc rose 3.3 percent to $95.64. The S&P Information Technology Index <.gspt> rose 0.88 percent.

Arbitron Inc surged 23 percent to $47.00 after Nielsen Holdings NV agreed to buy the media and marketing research firm in a deal worth $1.26 billion. Nielsen rose 1.9 percent to $30.18.

Baker Hughes Inc said third-quarter margins and revenue would be below its expectations because of lower land drilling activity and price erosion. Shares rose 3.1 percent to $41.91, reversing a decline in the premarket session.

The New York Times said that Wal-Mart Stores Inc's Mexican affiliate routinely used bribes to open stores in desirable locations. The story cited 19 instances of the retail giant paying off local officials. In a statement Monday night, Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar said the company was looking into the allegations. Wal-Mart shares fell 0.2 percent to $69.07.

(Editing by)

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Gérard Depardieu Says He Is Giving Up French Citizenship

PARIS — Gérard Depardieu, the famous French actor, will be French no more, so exasperated is he with French taxes and the French government, he declared in an angry open letter to France’s prime minister on Sunday.

Mr. Depardieu, who has been accused by France’s Socialist government of abandoning the country to avoid paying taxes, will be giving up his French citizenship and taking up residence over the border in Belgium, he wrote. Mr. Depardieu insisted that his move was not solely for tax reasons, but also because he felt the government believed that “success, creation, talent — difference, in fact — must be punished.”

Mr. Depardieu’s decision to leave France, where the Socialist government has created a 75 percent marginal tax rate for incomes above $1.3 million amid stagnating growth, rising unemployment and a contracting budget, has drawn reprobation from politicians of all ideological stripes, as well as the news media and a good number of ordinary citizens. Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has called the actor’s departure unpatriotic and “pathetic,” while the labor minister, Michel Sapin, deemed it the sign of a “form of personal degeneration.”

In his letter, published in the newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, Mr. Depardieu said he had paid an 85 percent tax rate on his 2012 revenue and a total of 145 million euros, or $190 million, in taxes over his working life.

“I am neither to be pitied nor to be praised, but I refuse the word ‘pathetic,’ ” Mr. Depardieu wrote.

Mr. Depardieu, 63, who has been in almost 200 films and has won numerous awards, has drawn attention in recent years for his love of drink and several related episodes that caused him embarrassment.

“Who are you to judge me so, I ask you, Mr. Ayrault?” he wrote in his letter. “Despite my excesses, my appetite and my love of life, I am a free being, sir, and I will remain polite.”

On Friday, President François Hollande took up the subject, calling for “ethical behavior” by French taxpayers and suggesting that France may renegotiate its fiscal conventions with Belgium. He also joked that French residents of Néchin, the Belgian border village where Mr. Depardieu has bought a home, should not get too comfortable. Mr. Hollande noted that the mayor there is also a Socialist.

While several wealthy French citizens have reportedly departed for other fiscal shores since Mr. Hollande’s election in May, Sunday brought the unanticipated return to France of the writer Michel Houellebecq, who had been living in Ireland, where tax rates are relatively low.

“The major reason is that I want to speak my language, once again, in everyday life,” Mr. Houellebecq wrote in an e-mail to Agence France-Presse, insisting that taxes and politics had little to do with his repatriation.

Mr. Depardieu, too, will be able to speak his native tongue in his new home. Though many Belgians speak Flemish, Mr. Depardieu’s neighbors in Néchin speak French.

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Clearwire accepts slightly sweeter bid from Sprint

(Reuters) – Clearwire Corp agreed to sell roughly half of the company for $ 2.2 billion to majority shareholder Sprint Nextel Corp, which would then have full ownership of spectrum that will help it offer high-speed wireless services.

The $ 2.97-per-share deal is only 7 cents per share higher than a bid many minority shareholders said was too low days before. Clearwire shares tumbled 12.2 percent to $ 2.96 in morning trading on Monday.

Sprint already owns slightly more than half of Clearwire. The company said owners of 13 percent of Clearwire shares – Comcast Corp, Intel Corp and Bright House Networks LLC – had agreed to vote for the deal.

But it was not immediately clear whether Sprint, the No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier, could win the backing of a majority of Clearwire’s minority shareholders, which it needs to take control.

“This is not going to be popular with the minority shareholders,” said Davidson & Co analyst Donna Jaegers.

But Clearwire’s top executive told analysts on a Monday call that the company had little alternative.

“Despite our efforts we have been unable to secure new partnerships,” said Clearwire Chief Executive Officer Erik Prusch. “Our existing governance agreements prevented us from offering third parties the governance rights they desired in a partnership.”

Shareholders with more than 13 percent of Clearwire shares said last week that they were not happy with the $ 2.90-per-share offer, and some have said Sprint should offer as much as $ 5 per share.

Crest Financial, which owns more than 3 percent of Clearwire, recently filed a lawsuit to stop the company from selling itself to Sprint.

After the deal was announced on Monday, Crest said it had amended the lawsuit to make it a class action.

Another shareholder, Mount Kellett, said last week that the $ 2.90-a-share deal “grossly” undervalued Clearwire.

Clearwire, which also counts Sprint as its biggest customer, has been seeking financing for a high-speed wireless network upgrade and to keep itself afloat.

While some analysts and shareholders said Clearwire did not need to rush into a sale to Sprint, others have said that move would be its best hope for survival.

Sprint, whose shares rose 1 percent to $ 5.61 on Monday, needs Clearwire’s substantial spectrum to better arm itself against larger rivals Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc.

Reuters reported last week that Japan’s Softbank Corp, which recently struck a deal to buy 70 percent of Sprint, would not consent to a bid of more than $ 2.97 per share.

Softbank said on Monday that it supported the deal.

(Reporting by Sinead Carew in New York and Sayantani Ghosh in Bangalore; Editing by Rodney Joyce, Sriraj Kalluvila and Lisa Von Ahn)

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Honey Boo Boo Reveals Her Celebrity Crush - It's Justin Bieber!

We asked – and she answered!

Talking to PEOPLE TV, pint-sized reality star Honey Boo Boo (a.k.a. Alana Thompson) offered a glimpse into her small but decisive world, sharing her celebrity crush on Justin Bieber – as well as many other favorite things.

What's her favorite item of clothing? "My jeans," she offers. If she could be anyone else in the world, she tells PEOPLE, it would be singers Pink or Nicki Minaj.

Recently named one of Barbara Walters's 10 most fascinating people, her culinary sensibilities lean toward finger foods, with Alana citing chicken nuggets as tops. And if she could travel anywhere in the world where would she go? With her mom to Walmart, natch.

After her recent HOLLADay specials, new episodes of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo will begin airing on TLC in January.

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Experts: No link between Asperger's, violence

NEW YORK (AP) — While an official has said that the 20-year-old gunman in the Connecticut school shooting had Asperger's syndrome, experts say there is no connection between the disorder and violence.

Asperger's is a mild form of autism often characterized by social awkwardness.

"There really is no clear association between Asperger's and violent behavior," said psychologist Elizabeth Laugeson, an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Little is known about Adam Lanza, identified by police as the shooter in the Friday massacre at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school. He fatally shot his mother before going to the school and killing 20 young children, six adults and himself, authorities said.

A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the unfolding investigation, said Lanza had been diagnosed with Asperger's.

High school classmates and others have described him as bright but painfully shy, anxious and a loner. Those kinds of symptoms are consistent with Asperger's, said psychologist Eric Butter of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, who treats autism, including Asperger's, but has no knowledge of Lanza's case.

Research suggests people with autism do have a higher rate of aggressive behavior — outbursts, shoving or pushing or angry shouting — than the general population, he said.

"But we are not talking about the kind of planned and intentional type of violence we have seen at Newtown," he said in an email.

"These types of tragedies have occurred at the hands of individuals with many different types of personalities and psychological profiles," he added.

Autism is a developmental disorder that can range from mild to severe. Asperger's generally is thought of as a mild form. Both autism and Asperger's can be characterized by poor social skills, repetitive behavior or interests and problems communicating. Unlike classic autism, Asperger's does not typically involve delays in mental development or speech.

Experts say those with autism and related disorders are sometimes diagnosed with other mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"I think it's far more likely that what happened may have more to do with some other kind of mental health condition like depression or anxiety rather than Asperger's," Laugeson said.

She said those with Asperger's tend to focus on rules and be very law-abiding.

"There's something more to this," she said. "We just don't know what that is yet."

After much debate, the term Asperger's is being dropped from the diagnostic manual used by the nation's psychiatrists. In changes approved earlier this month, Asperger's will be incorporated under the umbrella term "autism spectrum disorder" for all the ranges of autism.

__

AP Writer Matt Apuzzo contributed to this report.

___

Online:

Asperger's information: http://1.usa.gov/3tGSp5

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Wall Street rises on "fiscal cliff" hopes, financials gain

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks climbed on Monday, bolstered by signs of the first real movement this weekend in negotiations over the "fiscal cliff," though trading volumes were light.

Nine of the S&P 500's 10 sectors were higher, led by financials, as the S&P Financial Index <.gspf> gained 1.6 percent. Shares of Bank of America rose 2.7 percent to $10.87 and Citigroup gained 2.6 percent to $38.57.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner edged closer to President Barack Obama's position as they try to avoid the automatic tax hikes and spending cuts that would take place in the new year if no deal is reached.

Sources familiar with the talks confirmed that Boehner proposed extending low tax rates for everyone who earns less than $1 million. Still, his new position remains far from that of President Obama.

"We have a nice little move here following the conversations between the GOP and the White House on getting a deal done," said Frank Davis, director of sales and trading at LEK Securities in New York.

"Really, the fiscal cliff is starting to get ironed out, with Boehner raising the possibility of taxes, moving in the right direction."

Trading is normally quiet during this time of year and investors have been cautious because of uncertainty about a fiscal deal. They are worried the U.S. economy could slide into recession if the tax and spending changes are implemented, though most expect a deal will eventually be reached.

The market shrugged off Monday's gloomier economic data that showed manufacturing activity in the New York region declined for a fifth straight month in December.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> rose 50.01 points, or 0.38 percent, at 13,185.02. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> gained 7.79 points, or 0.55 percent, at 1,421.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was up 12.46 points, or 0.42 percent, at 2,983.80.

If the S&P 500 keeps its gains, it would snap a two-day losing streak that came after a six-day run of higher finishes. Despite the uncertainty, the S&P has performed well in the last month, grinding higher in mostly light volume.

Clearwire Corp agreed to sell the rest of the company to Sprint Nextel Corp for a slightly sweeter $2.2 billion offer, days after minority shareholders criticized the previous bid as too low. Clearwire tumbled 13.3 percent to $2.92, while Sprint dropped 0.3 percent to $5.53.

Apple Inc shares slipped 0.9 percent to $505.12 after two firms cut their price targets on the stock.

The tech giant said it sold more than 2 million of its new iPhone 5 smartphones in China during the three days after its launch there on Friday, but the figures did not ease worries about stiffer competition. Apple shares have tumbled nearly 30 percent in about three months.

(Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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Egypt Votes on Constitution; Muslim Brotherhood Expects Approval

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

A polling site in Cairo on Saturday. Lines were long as a referendum on an Islamist-backed charter got off to an orderly start. More Photos »

CAIRO — Millions of Egyptians voted peacefully on Saturday in a referendum on an Islamist-backed draft constitution, hoping that the results would end three weeks of violence, division and distrust between the Islamists and their opponents over the ground rules of Egypt’s promised democracy.

The Muslim Brotherhood, the main Islamist group aligned with President Mohamed Morsi, predicted a big win for ratification. In the districts that voted Saturday, including the opposition strongholds of Cairo and Alexandria, about 57 percent of voters approved the new constitution, according to preliminary tallies by state news media early Sunday morning.

Half of the country will vote next Saturday, in predominantly rural areas that are expected to heavily favor the charter. The relatively narrow margin of victory for the charter so far, combined with low turnout — 33 percent, according to the unofficial tallies, down from 41 percent in a referendum on a temporary constitution last year — seemed likely to embolden the non-Islamist opposition that has called for Mr. Morsi to scrap the charter and convene a new constitutional assembly.

A spokesman for the main coalition opposing the charter said that it had found widespread irregularities in voting and that its leaders would speak later on Sunday. In Cairo, the biggest city, about 56 percent voted no, according to an unofficial tally by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Regardless of the results, the orderly balloting and long lines marked yet another turning point for Egypt’s nearly two-year-old revolution. After three weeks of clashes and threats of a boycott, millions of voters appeared for the moment to pull back from the brink of civil discord and reaffirm their trust in the ballot box, spending hours in long lines to vote in the sixth national election since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak 22 months ago.

It remained to be seen if the losing side would accept the results, or how long the peace might last. Many who voted yes said they were doing so to end the chaos of the transition rather than to endorse the text of the charter. Despite opposition warnings of chaos, the streets of the capital were free of major protests for the first time in weeks.

And if the constitution is approved by the margins his supporters predict, the smooth vote could fortify Mr. Morsi’s power and legitimacy.

Military officers guarded polling places, and there were few reports of violence. Egyptian state media reported nine injuries in clashes around the Nile Delta town of Dakahleya, and that unknown assailants threw Molotov cocktails near the headquarters of a liberal party that had been part of the opposition under Mr. Mubarak.

As they waited in line to vote, neighbors continued to spar over the contentious process that produced the charter. Some said that it had been unfairly steamrolled by Egypt’s new Islamist leaders over the objections of other parties and the Coptic Christian Church, and that as a result the new charter failed to protect fundamental rights.

Others blamed the Islamists’ opponents for refusing to negotiate, in an effort to undermine democracy because they could not win at the ballot box. Many expressed discontent with political leaders on both sides.

“Neither group can accept its opposition,” said Ahmed Ibrahim, 40, a government clerk waiting to vote in a middle-class neighborhood in the Nasr City area of Cairo. Whatever the outcome, he said, “one group in their hearts will feel wronged, and the other group will gloat over their victory, and so the wounds will remain.”

The referendum once promised to be a day when Egyptians realized the visions of democracy, pluralism and national unity that defined the 18-day revolt against Mr. Mubarak. But then came nearly two years of chaotic political transition in which Islamists, liberals, leftists, the military and the courts all jockeyed for power over an ever-shifting timetable.

The document that Egyptians voted on was a rushed revision of the old Mubarak charter, pushed through an Islamist-dominated assembly in an all-night session, after Christian and secular representatives quit in protest. Many international experts faulted the charter as a missed opportunity, stuffed with broad statements about Egyptian identity but riddled with loopholes regarding the protection of rights.

Mayy El Sheikh and Mai Ayyad contributed reporting.

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Kelly Clarkson Shows Off Her Canary Diamond Engagement Ring

Stylewatch
Style News Now

12/16/2012 at 11:25 AM ET

Kelly Clarkson on WhoSay

Looks like the ginormous carat club has a new member.

Kelly Clarkson showed off her engagement ring on WhoSay on Saturday, hours after announcing her engagement to Brandon Blackstock.

“Everyone has been asking about my engagement ring, so here it is,” she wrote. “It’s a yellow canary diamond with diamonds around it and Brandon designed it with Johnathon Arndt! They did an amazing job!”

Clarkson and Blackstock, a talent manager, began dating late last year. But by November, Clarkson was already eager for some bling. She told Ellen DeGeneres, “I mean, he’s got to put a ring on [it] at some point.”

Now that she has her rock, she’s already thinking wedding bands, too. As she wrote on Twitter, “I can’t wait to make Brandon’s ring with Johnathon as well!” Tell us: What do you think of Clarkson’s ring?

PHOTOS: SEE THE BIGGEST STAR ENGAGEMENT RINGS OF 2012!

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Experts: No link between Asperger's, violence

NEW YORK (AP) — While an official has said that the 20-year-old gunman in the Connecticut school shooting had Asperger's syndrome, experts say there is no connection between the disorder and violence.

Asperger's is a mild form of autism often characterized by social awkwardness.

"There really is no clear association between Asperger's and violent behavior," said psychologist Elizabeth Laugeson, an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Little is known about Adam Lanza, identified by police as the shooter in the Friday massacre at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school. He fatally shot his mother before going to the school and killing 20 young children, six adults and himself, authorities said.

A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the unfolding investigation, said Lanza had been diagnosed with Asperger's.

High school classmates and others have described him as bright but painfully shy, anxious and a loner. Those kinds of symptoms are consistent with Asperger's, said psychologist Eric Butter of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, who treats autism, including Asperger's, but has no knowledge of Lanza's case.

Research suggests people with autism do have a higher rate of aggressive behavior — outbursts, shoving or pushing or angry shouting — than the general population, he said.

"But we are not talking about the kind of planned and intentional type of violence we have seen at Newtown," he said in an email.

"These types of tragedies have occurred at the hands of individuals with many different types of personalities and psychological profiles," he added.

Autism is a developmental disorder that can range from mild to severe. Asperger's generally is thought of as a mild form. Both autism and Asperger's can be characterized by poor social skills, repetitive behavior or interests and problems communicating. Unlike classic autism, Asperger's does not typically involve delays in mental development or speech.

Experts say those with autism and related disorders are sometimes diagnosed with other mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"I think it's far more likely that what happened may have more to do with some other kind of mental health condition like depression or anxiety rather than Asperger's," Laugeson said.

She said those with Asperger's tend to focus on rules and be very law-abiding.

"There's something more to this," she said. "We just don't know what that is yet."

After much debate, the term Asperger's is being dropped from the diagnostic manual used by the nation's psychiatrists. In changes approved earlier this month, Asperger's will be incorporated under the umbrella term "autism spectrum disorder" for all the ranges of autism.

__

AP Writer Matt Apuzzo contributed to this report.

___

Online:

Asperger's information: http://1.usa.gov/3tGSp5

Read More..

Wall Street Week Ahead: Holiday "on standby" as clock ticks on cliff

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The last two weeks of December are traditionally quiet for stocks, but traders accustomed to a bit of time off are staying close to their mobile devices, thanks to the "fiscal cliff."

Last-minute negotiations in Washington on the so-called fiscal cliff - nearly $600 billion of tax increases and spending cuts set to take effect in January that could cause a sharp slowdown in growth or even a recession - are keeping some traders and analysts from taking Christmas holidays because any deal could have a big impact on markets.

"A lot of firms are saying to their trading desks, 'You can take days off for Christmas, but you are on standby to come in if anything happens.' This is certainly different from previous years, especially around this time of the year when things are supposed to be slowing down," said J.J. Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist at TD Ameritrade in Chicago.

"Next week is going to be a Capitol Hill-driven market."

With talks between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner at an apparent standstill, it was increasingly likely that Washington will not come up with a deal before January 1.

Gordon Charlop, managing director at Rosenblatt Securities in New York, will also be on standby for the holiday season.

"It's a 'Look guys, let's just rotate and be sensible" type of situation going on," Charlop said.

"We are hopeful there is some resolution down there, but it seems to me they continue to walk that political tightrope... rather than coming up with something."

Despite concerns that the deadline will pass without a deal, the S&P 500 has held its ground with a 12.4 percent gain for the year. For this week, though, the S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent.

BEWARE OF THE WITCH

This coming Friday will mark the last so-called "quadruple witching" day of the year, when contracts for stock options, single stock futures, stock index options and stock index futures all expire. This could make trading more volatile.

"We could see some heavy selling as there is going to be a lot of re-establishing of positions, reallocation of assets before the year-end," Kinahan said.

RETHINKING APPLE

Higher tax rates on capital gains and dividends are part of the automatic tax increases that will go into effect next year, if Congress and the White House don't come up with a solution to avert the fiscal cliff. That possibility could give investors an incentive to unload certain stocks in some tax-related selling by December 31.

Some market participants said tax-related selling may be behind the weaker trend in the stock price of market leader Apple . Apple's stock has lost a quarter of its value since it hit a lifetime high of $705.07 on September 21.

On Friday, the stock fell 3.8 percent to $509.79 after the iPhone 5 got a chilly reception at its debut in China and two analysts cut shipment forecasts. But the stock is still up nearly 26 percent for the year.

"If you owned Apple for a long time, you should be thinking about reallocation as there will be changes in taxes and other regulations next year, although we don't really know which rules to play by yet," Kinahan said.

But one indicator of the market's reduced concern about the fiscal cliff compared with a few weeks ago, is the defense sector, which will be hit hard if the spending cuts take effect. The PHLX Defense Sector Index <.dfx> is up nearly 13 percent for the year, and sits just a few points from its 2012 high.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Jan Paschal)

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