Canada spending growth sluggish in November, Mastercard says

(Reuters) – Canada‘s holiday shopping season got off to a slow start in November with retail sales rising only 1.3 percent from the previous year, compared with 4.2 percent growth a year earlier, according to data released by MasterCard on Thursday.Still, the shopping season was still young in November. MasterCard Advisors, the payment company’s research and consulting division, found that in recent...

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U.S. teen smoking declines to record low in 2012: study

(Reuters) – Cigarette smoking among American teenagers dropped to a record low in 2012, a decline that may have been partly driven by a sharp hike in the federal tobacco tax, researchers said on Wednesday.An annual survey of about 45,000 students in the eighth, 10th and 12th grades found that the overall proportion of those saying they had smoked in the prior 30 days fell by just over a percentage...

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Alan Ball’s ‘Banshee’ Screeches Onto Cinemax in January

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – “True Blood” creator Alan Ball‘s new television series “Banshee” will premiere January 11 at 10 p.m. on Cinemax, the network said Thursday.The drama, which is executive-produced by Ball and “House M.D.” executive producer Greg Yaitanes, centers on ex-con and master thief Lucas Hood (played by “Rush” star Anthony Starr), who assumes the identity of the sheriff of Banshee,...

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Final day of funerals for Newtown shooting victims

The final three victims of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School will be laid to rest today, ending a somber week of funerals.A mass will take place today at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church for Josephine Gay, who had celebrated her 7th birthday on Dec. 11.Friends and family have been asked to wear Josephine's favorite color, purple, in her honor. ...

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Italy PM Monti resigns, elections likely in February

ROME (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti tendered his resignation to the president on Friday after 13 months in office, opening the way to a highly uncertain national election in February.The former European commissioner, appointed to lead an unelected government to save Italy from financial crisis a year ago, has kept his own political plans a closely guarded secret but he has faced growing...

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RIM shares dive as fee changes catch market off guard

(Reuters) – Shares of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd dropped 20 percent on Friday on fears that a new fee structure for its high-margin services segment could put pressure on the business that has set the company apart from its competitors.The shares were still more than 80 percent above the year’s low, which was hit in September. They started to rally in November as investors began to bet...

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Halozyme inks drug development deal with Pfizer

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. said Friday it has reached an agreement with Pfizer to develop injectable versions of the drugmaker’s biotech drugs.Halozyme specializes in a recombinant hyaluronidase enzyme technology, which is designed to temporarily break down a substance in the body that forms a barrier between cells so drugs can be absorbed faster. That would allow some drugs to be...

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Singer Odell first male to win Brit newcomer award

LONDON (Reuters) – Singer-songwriter Tom Odell was named the Brit Awards’ tip for the top in 2013, the first male artist to receive the honor previously won by chart queens including Adele and Jessie J.The 22-year-old, whose musical style and voice has drawn comparisons to Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin, beat London electronic duo AlunaGeorge and classically trained soul singer Laura Mvula to the...

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Wounded presage health crisis for postwar Syria

ATMEH, Syria (AP) — A baby boy joined the ranks of Syria’s tens of thousands of war wounded when a missile fired by Bashar Assad‘s air force slammed into his family home and shrapnel pierced his skull.Four-month-old Fahed Darwish suffered brain damage and, like thousands of others seriously hurt in the civil war, he will likely need care well after the fighting is over. That’s something doctors say...

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The Benghazi Report and Parents of Children With Mental Illness: Today’s Qs for O’s WH, 12/20/12

TAPPER: Has the president read the Accountability Review Board report?CARNEY: I don’t know. I haven’t – I know he has been briefed on it. I don’t know if he’s read it word for word, but he’s a voracious reader, so he may have.TAPPPER: The – I believe one person has resigned and three have been – stepped down from their current duties but are still State Department employees. There might – there might...

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