Waiting on fiscal cliff compromise, stocks inch up

NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market ended higher Thursday after flipping between small gains and losses throughout the morning. Uncertainty about the "fiscal cliff," just days away, was top of mind for many traders.The Republican-controlled House pushed ahead with a bill aimed at averting the "fiscal cliff," but President Barack Obama has threatened to veto it and Democratic leaders in the Senate vowed...

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News Summary: NYSE plans a sale, Scholastic slips

A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE?: In Washington, hopes faded that Republicans and Democrats would work out a budget compromise before Christmas. If they don't reach a deal before the end of the month, higher taxes and government spending cuts will kick in.A BIG DEAL: The parent of the New York Stock Exchange announced that it plans to sell itself to IntercontinentalExchange, a lesser-known exchange operator based...

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Well-timed options trades before NYSE deal raise eyebrows

(Reuters) - A surge in bullish options bets on NYSE Euronext shares ahead of Thursday's announced merger has raised eyebrows among options strategists.IntercontinentalExchange said on Thursday it planned to buy NYSE Euronext for $8.2 billion, or $33.12 per NYSE share. The deal's value represents a 37.7 percent premium over NYSE's closing stock price on December 19, the companies said.NYSE Euronext...

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ICE to buy NYSE Euronext for $8.2 bln

REUTERS - In October, Jeff Sprecher, chief executive of upstart IntercontinentalExchange , approached NYSE Euronext CEO Duncan Niederauer with a modest proposal to team up on clearing trades in London.As the men continued talking, Sprecher grew bolder, instead suggesting that ICE buy NYSE in what became an $8.2 billion deal announced on Thursday.The deal will link up two powerful derivatives exchange...

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Former Bankia executives reject blame for bank's fall

MADRID (Reuters) - Former chiefs of nationalised Spanish lender Bankia denied blame for its fall at court hearings, as they attempted to fend off a lawsuit from small shareholders who lost out in the company's stock market flotation.Rodrigo Rato, a former International Monetary Fund head and the last of 33 former executives accused of fraud, price-fixing and falsifying accounts, appeared before the...

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White House TV comedy aims for laughs, not politics

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - There is a crazy family living at the White House, but it's not the Obamas. It's the Gilchrists, whose never-ending follies pulse and push upcoming TV comedy romp "1600 Penn."Starring Bill Pullman as U.S. President Dale Gilchrist and Jenna Elfman as his first lady, the show's co-creator Josh Gad said on Friday that there is plenty of precedent for family madness at the Oval...

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Roll Up! "Magical Mystery Tour" gets U.S. TV debut

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Give four pop stars turned hippies a movie camera in 1967 and what do you get? The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" film, which will receive its long-awaited U.S. broadcast television debut on Friday on PBS.Long a curiosity in the United States, the film will be accompanied by a new documentary about its making. A restored version was released on DVD and blu-ray in October.The...

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Hulu Plus doubles subscribers to 3 million

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Hulu Plus more than doubled the number of subscribers who pay for access to its premium content in 2012. The streaming service now numbers 3 million paid subscribers, Hulu CEO Jason Kilar announced in a blog post Monday.That's a far cry from the nearly 30 million subscribers the company's main rival Netflix attracts, but it is a sign that Hulu is moving in the right direction....

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"X Factor" judge L.A. Reid quitting TV talent show

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - L.A. Reid, "The X Factor" judge, says he is leaving the TV talent show next season after two years on the panel.Reid, 56, chairman and chief executive of Epic Records, told "Access Hollywood," the television program and website, he has decided to leave the Fox reality singing show to return to the record label full time."I have decided that I will not return to 'The X Factor'...

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"Best Funeral Ever" premiere delayed after Newtown school shootings

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Fans of death-centric reality TV will have to wait a little longer to dig into TLC's "Best Funeral Ever."TLC has pushed back the premiere of the special to January 6 at 10/9c in light of the school shootings in Newtown, Conn. last week."Best Funeral Ever" was initially scheduled to premiere on December 26 at 8/7c."Best Funeral Ever" centers around the Golden Gate Funeral...

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