City sackings ‘at five-year high’

14 January 2013 Last updated at 07:35 ETDismissals and suspensions in the UK financial services sector hit a five-year high in 2012, according to data from the Financial Services Authority.Some 1,373 workers were sacked for disciplinary reasons, up 76% from 2011.The total number of job losses in the sector – including redundancies, resignations and retirements – was also at a five-year high, of 177,697.The...

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MetLife, GE close deal for $6.4 billion in bank deposits

(Reuters) – MetLife Inc (MET) said on Monday it had closed the sale of its deposit business to General Electric Co (GE), a move that allows the U.S. insurer to drop its registration as a bank holding company and provides GE Capital with an alternative source of funding for its lending business.The deal, for $ 6.4 billion in bank deposits, had been in the works for more than a year with regulatory...

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Wall Street edges lower at open as Apple drags

MELBOURNE, Jan 14 (Reuters) - A nervous Sam Stosur survived the first test of her annual battle with stage-fright at the Australian Open, but the spotlight is set to focus on the ninth seed after all of her compatriots were dumped from the first round on Monday. Australia's hopes of a home-bred champion at the year's first grand slam have gone unfulfilled for 34 years and, with Lleyton Hewitt crashing...

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Title games feature Ravens-Pats, 49ers-Falcons

One game is a rematch. The other might feel like one — at least to one of the teams.For the second straight year in the AFC, the New England Patriots will host the Baltimore Ravens with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.In the NFC, it will be San Francisco traveling to Atlanta, with the Falcons defense trying to stop a versatile, running quarterback for the second straight week."Russell Wilson...

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Quest: U.S. economy to dominate Davos

The United States and the sorry state of its political and budgetary process will be the center of attention at Davos, writes QuestSTORY HIGHLIGHTSQuest: Davos is a chance to see where the political and economic landmines are in 2013Quest: People will be speculating about how dysfunctional the U.S. political process has becomeQuest: Davos has been consumed by eurozone sovereign debt crises for three...

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PHOTOS: Miss America winners, yesterday and today

Miss America is in a New York state of mind.Mallory Hagan of New York City won the beauty pageant Saturday night after tap dancing to James Brown’s “Get Up Off of That Thing” and answering a question about whether armed guards belong in grade schools by saying we should not fight violence with violence.By capturing the crown, Hagan receives a $ 50,000 scholarship and a yearlong run as an advocate...

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Support for Spain’s leaders drops to a new low: poll

MADRID (Reuters) – Support for Spain‘s political leaders has fallen to a new low, according to a poll published by El Pais on Sunday, in the midst of a deep economic recession and record high unemployment.In a survey by Metroscopia January 9 and 10, only 29.8 percent said they would vote for Spain’s ruling People’s Party (PP), the lowest level of support since the November 2011 election when it won...

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Qatar Airways sells stake in Cargolux carrier

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The head of Qatar Airways says the carrier has sold its entire 35 percent stake on the freight hauler Cargolux back to authorities in Luxembourg.The move comes just months after Qatar Airways boosted cargo services to the U.S. via Cargolux’s base. Qatar Airways bought the 35 percent stake in Cargolux in June.Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker says the deal was finalized Jan. 1 to...

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Wall Street Week Ahead: Attention turns to financial earnings

NEW YORK (Reuters) - After over a month of watching Capitol Hill and Pennsylvania Avenue, Wall Street can get back to what it knows best: Wall Street. The first full week of earnings season is dominated by the financial sector - big investment banks and commercial banks - just as retail investors, free from the "fiscal cliff" worries, have started to get back into the markets. ...

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Ravens shock Broncos; 49ers rout Packers

The 49ers and Ravens are getting another shot at making the Super Bowl.Losers in tight conference championship games a year ago, they are returning to the final step before the big game in the Big Easy after wins Saturday.Baltimore took the long, frigid route, rallying at Denver for a 38-35 victory in an AFC divisional playoff. The Ravens will go to either New England, where they lost 23-20 in the...

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