Massive HP conference draws 10,000 attendees to ogle products, speakers, presentations

By Suzy HansenMore than 10,000 customers, partners and attendees flocked to the Hewlett-Packard Discover conference in Frankfurt, Germany, this week to learn about HP’s latest products, exchange ideas, swap business cards and basically examine whether HP can improve the way their companies are run. The event was held at Messe Frankfurt, one of the world’s largest trade exhibition sites.CEO Meg Whitman...

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Hayden Panettiere Splits with Scotty McKnight

12/10/2012 at 07:50 PM EST Hayden Panettiere and Scotty McKnight Splash News Online Is there a tear in her beer?Nashville star Hayden Panettiere has broken up with her boyfriend of more than a year, New York Jets wide receiver Scotty McKnight, a source confirms...

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Surprise: New insurance fee in health overhaul law

WASHINGTON (AP) — Your medical plan is facing an unexpected expense, so you probably are, too. It's a new, $63-per-head fee to cushion the cost of covering people with pre-existing conditions under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.The charge, buried in a recent regulation, works out to tens of millions of dollars for the largest companies, employers say. Most of that is likely to be passed...

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Lawyer says Goldman failed speech software "geniuses"

BOSTON (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs bankers failed to raise red flags about Lernout & Hauspie's accounting irregularities more than a decade ago, costing speech recognition software pioneers at Dragon Systems nearly all of their life's work and about $600 million, a lawyer told a jury on Monday in federal court. "They were relying on Goldman to take care of them and whether or not they...

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Memo From Italy: In Italy, Mario Monti Morphs From Technocrat to Politician

ROME — For months, he had flirted with the idea of staying out of politics, but in the end former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi just could not resist. His statement on Saturday that he would seek office again out of a sense of “responsibility” for Italy effectively ended the mandate of Prime Minister Mario Monti, who said he would step down after Parliament passes a budget bill this month. ...

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Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Kick Off Special Series of Las Vegas Shows

By Mark Gray 12/09/2012 at 05:00 PM EST Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Denise Truscello/WireImage Tim McGraw and Faith Hill looked at each other, their hands on each others knees and shared a passionate kiss just after midnight Sunday morning. The moment was a long...

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Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

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Asian shares firm as China, U.S. data brighten outlook

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian shares clambered to a 16-month high on Monday as investors took heart from economic data from China and the United States that raised hopes about the outlook for growth in the world's top two economies. The euro was under pressure, having been knocked by the prospect of a recession in Germany and political uncertainty in Italy after Prime Minister Mario Monti,...

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Somber Chávez to Have Surgery and Names Successor

ORURO, Bolivia — President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela announced Saturday in Caracas that he would have to undergo another operation for cancer, and he designated his vice president, Nicolás Maduro, as his successor if he should prove unable to continue to lead the country. Mr. Chávez, appearing somber and contemplative, made the announcement in a televised address from the presidential palace....

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Jason Aldean's Holiday Plans: Visiting Santa with His Kids

By Eileen Finan 12/08/2012 at 06:30 PM EST Jessica Ussery and Jason Aldean Bauer-Griffin After a year of professional highs – and personal lows – Jason Aldean is looking forward to a quiet holiday with family."I'm on the road so much during the year, so what I...

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