Wall Street ends lower after Fed statement

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said in its latest statement that economic growth had stalled but indicated the pullback was likely temporary. Stocks were flat for most of the session prior to the Fed statement at the end of a two-day policy meeting. The Fed repeated its pledge to keep purchasing securities until employment improves substantially....

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Lewis says he's 'agitated,' not angry about story

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Smiling, even laughing, at questions about a report linking him to a company that purports to make performance-enhancers, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said Wednesday he "never, ever took" the stuff.Lewis described himself as "agitated," not angry, that the story has become part of the Super Bowl-week prelude to Baltimore's game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.He...

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Macquarie analyst downgrades Exxon Mobil

NEW YORK (AP) — Macquarie Equities Research downgraded Exxon Mobil because it doesn’t believe shares have much more room to move to the upside. Shares are nearing an all-time high after rising 6 percent over the past month.THE OPINION: “We believe that Exxon will struggle to generate production growth in the near term, and now forecast essentially flat production in both 2013 and 2014, with about...

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BlackBerry must remember strengths

BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins displays one of the new Blackberry 10 smartphones at the product launch January 30.STORY HIGHLIGHTSBlackBerry sales have slumped in the U.S. but is still strong in emerging marketsNew models launched should remember why they are popular in developing worldIn places like Brazil and South Africa, the 10 is the update to their current phonein Sub-Saharan Africa there is...

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Schaumburg officers in drug case resign, more tainted cases dropped

Three Schaumburg police officers accused of dealing drugs have resigned from the northwest suburban department as fallout from...

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Egypt curfew scaled back as Mursi seeks end to bloodshed

CAIRO/BERLIN (Reuters) - Egyptian authorities scaled back a curfew imposed by President Mohamed Mursi, and the Islamist leader cut short a visit to Europe on Wednesday to deal with the deadliest violence in the seven months since he took power. Two more protesters were shot dead before dawn near Cairo's central Tahrir Square on Wednesday, a day after the army chief warned that the state...

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Wall Street advances as defensive stocks extend rally

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks advanced on Tuesday, led by defensive sectors, in a sign the cash piles recently moving into the market are being put to use by cautious investors to pick up more gains. The S&P 500 is on track to post its best monthly performance since October 2011 and its best January since 1997 as investors poured $55 billion in new cash into stock mutual funds and exchange-traded...

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Is flag football ahead for NFL?

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Players on both Super Bowl teams say they are confused about when a hit is legal by NFL standards.Rules designed to make the game safer are also making players uncertain about which hits are considered clean and which ones could lead to a fine.San Francisco tight end Vernon Davis wondered if two-hand touch is in the future for the NFL."I think the rules will change a lot," he said...

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Ohio regulator tied to group opposing renewables

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A top state utility regulator who opposed plans for an Ohio solar farm and openly questioned global warming maintained ties with an influential conservative group that supports repealing states’ renewable energy requirements.Todd Snitchler, chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, was a keynote speaker at the American Legislative Exchange Council‘s task force meeting...

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Is the U.S. getting Egypt wrong again?

Egyptian riot police stand guard as people protest against Egypt's President Mohamed Morsy in Cairo on December 29, 2012.STORY HIGHLIGHTSNational protests against Morsy set for second anniversary of Egypt's revolution Cynthia Schneider: U.S. out of step, underestimates the anti-Morsy sentiment She says proponents of secular democracy think the U.S. backs Muslim BrotherhoodShe says massive protests...

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