Sony, BMG in joint bid for Parlophone, EMI labels – FT

TOKYO (Reuters) – Sony Corp is joining with BMG to bid for Parlophone and other EMI labels on sale by Universal Music, reuniting Sony and Bertelsmann four years after they ended their music joint venture, the Financial Times said on Monday.Vivendi-owned Universal is being forced to sell Parlophone – EMI’s oldest active label with artists including Coldplay and Pet Shop Boys – to satisfy regulators’...

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Tehran Is Choked by Annual Buildup of Air Pollution

TEHRAN — Already battered by international threats against their nation’s nuclear program, sanctions and a broken economy, Iranians living here in the capital are now trying to cope with what has become an annual pollution peril: a yellowish haze that engulfs Tehran this time of year. For nearly a week, officials here and in other large cities have been calling on residents to remain indoors...

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BofA to pay $3.6B to Fannie Mae

Tourists walk past a Bank of America banking center in Times Square in New York. ...

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Bears' list grows with Texans' Dennison, report says

As the number of teams searching for a head coach shrinks, the list of candidates for the Chicago Bears continues to grow.General manager Phil Emery has requested and...

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RIM unveils a new BlackBerry phone! (But it’s only a Curve for T-Mobile running BlackBerry 7)

Research In Motion (RIMM) on Thursday took the wraps off a brand new BlackBerry smartphone — but it’s not the kind of smartphone BlackBerry fans have been waiting more than a year for. Instead, it’s a low-end BlackBerry Curve 9315 that will launch later this month on T-Mobile. The phone features the BlackBerry 7.1 operating system, a 3.2-megapixel camera, microSD memory expansion and a full QWERTY...

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French actor Depardieu gets Russian passport

MOSCOW (AP) — The day after receiving his new Russian passport from President Vladimir Putin, French actor Gerard Depardieu flew Sunday to the provincial town of Saransk, where he was greeted as a local hero and offered an apartment for free.Depardieu had sought Russian citizenship as part of his battle against a proposed super tax on millionaires in France.Putin granted his request last week and...

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Despite New Health Law, Some See Sharp Rise in Premiums

Health insurance companies across the country are seeking and winning double-digit increases in premiums for some customers, even though one of the biggest objectives of the Obama administration’s health care law was to stem the rapid rise in insurance costs for consumers. Bob Chamberlin/Los Angeles TimesDave Jones, the California insurance commissioner, said some insurance companies...

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Chicago restaurateurs shrug off economic worries

Chicago may have lost a few of its Michelin-starred restaurants in 2012 and waved goodbye to the inimitable Charlie Trotter's,...

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Escaped convict was using cane and beret as disguise

Chicago Tribune reporter Jason Meisner on the recent arrest of Kenneth Conley, a convicted bank robber who escaped from federal jail in December. (Posted on: Jan. 4, 2013.) ...

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A+E Networks and Amazon Prime Reach Licensing Deal

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – “Pawn Stars” fans, rejoice; you’ll now be able to catch Big Hoss and Chumley on Amazon Prime.Amazon announced Friday that it has struck a licensing deal with A+E Networks to carry A&E, bio, History and Lifetime programs on its premium Prime Instant Video service. The deal includes prior seasons of programs such as “Pawn Stars,” “Storage Wars” and “Dance Moms.”Amazon...

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