Canada new home prices inch up 0.1 percent in November

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Prices of new homes in Canada rose 0.1 percent in November from October on strength in Toronto, the country's biggest city, continuing an advance in prices that began in mid-2009, Statistics Canada said on Thursday.Analysts had expected a 0.2 percent gain in the new housing price index following a 0.2 percent increase in October.New home prices in the combined Toronto-Oshawa region...

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Wind shift may have freed whales trapped off Quebec

(Reuters) - A group of killer whales trapped under the ice of Hudson Bay and taking turns breathing from a small hole may have been freed by a shift in the winds, Canadian media reported on Thursday.The 11 whales, who sometimes appeared to be panicking as they fought for air, created a worldwide sensation as news and a video about their plight spread.The mammals, which likely included two adults...

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Macklem would be quieter Bank of Canada chief, no pushover

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The man tipped to be the next governor of Canada's central bank has the reputation of being a mild-mannered sideman to charismatic bank chief Mark Carney, but former colleagues say Tiff Macklem is a mover and shaker in his own quiet way.As Carney prepares to leave the Bank of Canada to start his new job as head of the Bank of England on July 1, Macklem, his No. 2, has emerged as...

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Spond cherishing chance at BCS title

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Notre Dame linebacker Danny Spond values every chance he gets to be on the football field.That might sound trivial. After all, doesn't every player feel that way?Probably so, but then again, few players have seen what Spond has seen.The native of Littleton, Colo., was a star quarterback at Columbine High, where a school shooting took the lives of 13 people in 1999. Now...

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Can BCS title game challenge TV ratings record?

NEW YORK (AP) — Two undefeated teams, three Heisman Trophy finalists, five lead changes and 19 seconds left when the winning touchdown was scored.No other BCS title game has come close to matching that perfect formula for broad appeal. The 2006 tilt between Texas and Southern California was on in nearly 22 percent of American homes with televisions; the second-best number is under 18 percent.Now,...

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Johnny "Football" Manziel favorite for Heisman

MIAMI (Reuters) - Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel is in line to become the first 'freshman' winner of the Heisman Trophy when the annual award for the top player in college football is made on Saturday.Manziel, nicknamed "Johnny Football", is one of three players to be invited to Saturday's ceremony, along with Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o and Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein.Wednesday's...

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Bahrain extends activist custody on Twitter charge

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — A defense lawyer in Bahrain says a court has refused a request to free a prominent human rights campaigner charged with posting false reports on Twitter.The arrest last month of Yousef al-Muhafedha marked the latest crackdown on Bahrain activists and is part of wider pressures on social media across the Gulf Arab states.Bahrain has been gripped by nearly two years of unrest...

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Social media masters, ninjas, and gurus: How Twitter pros describe themselves

What we talk about when we talk about social mediaIs it weird for you to see your name without an @ symbol in front of it? Do you ever wake up in a cold sweat after dreaming about your Klout score? Does the mere thought of losing your iPhone make your hands tremble? If you answered yes to any of these questions, read on. FollowerWonk, an analytics tool that allows you to keep tabs on your Twitter...

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Rumors suggesting Facebook (FB) is working on a smartphone have resurfaced a number of times over the past year. Each time, Facebook denied the various claims. Facebook may indeed still be working on its own phone but as a new report from market research firm NPD Group shows, it probably doesn’t need to.[More from BGR: Is Samsung the new Apple?]Facebook makes money by gathering information about...

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French government says will propose a rejigged 75 percent tax plan

PARIS (Reuters) - The French government will redraft a proposal for a 75 percent upper income tax band and resubmit it, the prime minister's office said on Saturday, after the Constitutional Council rejected the measure included in the 2013 budget."It will be presented as part of the next budget law," Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault's office said in a statement, without giving a time frame. The...

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