Sun Life sells U.S. annuity business, shares drop

TORONTO (Reuters) - Sun Life Financial Inc will sell its U.S. annuity business for $1.35 billion to a firm connected to Guggenheim Partners in a deal that should reduce the exposure of the insurer's earnings to market swings and boost its cash levels.While the deal could bring long-term benefits to Sun Life, whose earnings have been derailed by wild market swings during recent years, investors pulled...

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FactSet forecasts second-quarter results largely below estimates, shares fall

(Reuters) - FactSet Research Systems Inc reported lower-than-expected first-quarter revenue, and the financial information provider forecast current-quarter results largely below estimates as banks and brokerages cut costs.FactSet shares fell 5 percent before the bell on Tuesday.The company, which provides data to portfolio managers, research analysts and investment bankers, forecast second-quarter...

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Jefferies results beat estimates on higher fixed-income revenue

(Reuters) - Jefferies Group Inc reported a higher-than-expected adjusted quarterly profit as the investment bank benefited from higher earnings from its fixed-income unit, and said its business expansion in Asia has started delivering.The midsized investment bank has been expanding in China and India and recently poached bankers from the Royal Bank of Scotland to expand its business in China.Jefferies...

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Oracle 2Q earnings rise 18 pct as tech spending up

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Oracle says its latest quarterly earnings rose 18 percent as companies splurged on more software and other technology toward the end of the year.The results announced Tuesday are an improvement from Oracle's previous quarter, when the company's revenue dipped slightly from a year earlier.The latest quarter spanned September through November. That makes Oracle the first technology...

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Oracle sees third-quarter profit of 64 to 68 cents per share

OSTON (Reuters) - Oracle Corp, the world's No. 3 software maker, said it expects to report non-GAAP earnings per share of 64 cents to 68 cents in its fiscal third quarter.Oracle forecast that third-quarter new software sales and cloud subscriptions sales will rise 3 percent to 13 percent from a year earlier.The company said its sees third-quarter hardware products sales flat to down 10 percent from...

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What's behind Russia's bill banning US adoptions?

A Russian bill that had seemed initially like a tit-for-tat response to US legislation now looks to be exploding into broad legislation that bars almost any US citizen from engaging in non-business activity in Russia – including the adoption of Russian children.Russia's State Duma on Wednesday passed a bill, in key second reading, that would ban all adoptions of Russian children by US citizens, order...

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South Korea elects its first woman president, Park Geun-hye

The United States has proposed a boundary between Lebanon and Israel's maritime economic zones to help end a lingering dispute over rival claims and open up oil and gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.If the idea is accepted by both sides, it will reduce the risk of renewed conflict between the two enemy states and hasten Lebanon’s efforts to begin tapping the billions of dollars of natural...

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Israel moves to further seal off Jerusalem from West Bank

Israeli officials today approved plans for 2,612 new homes to be built on Givat HaMatos, or Airplane Hill, which is set to become the first new Jerusalem neighborhood to be built outside Israel's internationally recognized borders since 1996.The placement profoundly concerns Palestinians and advocates of a two-state solution. They say that it and other building projects under way would make drawing...

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Newtown shooting cranks up Canada's gun-control debate

Though the massacre in Newtown, Conn., last week has drawn sympathy from all over the world, it has a particular resonance in Canada.The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 26 victims dead, including 20 children, comes just a week after the 23rd anniversary of Canada's own "Montreal Massacre," which reshaped the country's gun laws. Moreover, it occurred even as Canadians recently renewed...

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Palestinians begin returning to Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria

• A daily summary of global reports on security issues.Refugees have started returning to the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Syria after fighting between rebels and government-allied forces sent them fleeing, but the status of the Palestinian refugees, along with hundreds of thousands of others displaced by the Syrian conflict, remains a top concern for observers outside the country.The Associated...

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Notre Dame's Te'o eyes Heisman after Maxwell win

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Manti Te'o is one of the most important leaders for undefeated Notre Dame, having played in a ton of big games for the Fighting Irish.Even so, he had a tough time processing this victory.The senior linebacker was "at a loss for words" after capturing the Maxwell Award as the nation's most outstanding player, one of three honors he received at the 22nd Home Depot College...

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Vikings lead NFL with 5 players from Notre Dame

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) — Notre Dame is one of the few college football teams that truly can boast a national following.Why, there's even an alumni chapter in the Minnesota Vikings locker room."It's really fun to be able to talk trash to everybody," said center John Sullivan, who has a leprechaun tattoo on his left shoulder.Sullivan is one of five ex-Notre Dame players on the Vikings, the most of...

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Te'o and Manziel hit Manhattan with Heisman hopes

NEW YORK (AP) — Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o was looking forward to a break after a five-city-in-five-days tour, during which he has become the most decorated player in college football."I'm just trying to get a workout in and get some sleep," he said Friday about his plans for the night.Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel seemed to have more energy when he arrived at a midtown Manhattan...

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Manziel is first freshman Heisman Trophy winner

NEW YORK (AP) — Johnny Football just got himself a way cooler nickname: Johnny Heisman.Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy, taking college football's top individual prize Saturday night after a record-breaking debut.Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o finished a distant second and Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein was third in the voting. In...

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Manziel is first freshman to win Heisman Trophy

NEW YORK (AP) — He's Johnny Best in Football now — and a freshman, at that.Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel became the first newcomer to win the Heisman Trophy, taking college football's top individual prize Saturday night after a record-breaking debut.Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o finished a distant second in the voting and Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein was third. In a Heisman...

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