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Research In Motion (RIMM) is gearing up for a series of make-or-break releases that could be considered the most important device launches in the company’s history. Everything is riding on the success of the RIM’s BlackBerry 10 platform, which will be unveiled in its finished state on January 30th next year. RIM CEO Thorsten Heins is on record confirming that BlackBerry 10 will launch in the first quarter and company COO Kristian Tear previously stated new BlackBerry devices will be available “not too long after” the platform is unveiled late next month, but exact timing is still a mystery. According [...]

ATHENS Greek pension funds will not take part in a debt buy-back that is a key part of the country’s international bailout, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said in a newspaper interview. Greece must conduct the deal by December 13, before it receives more than 30 billion euros ($ 39 billion) in bailout payments from the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund. Athens has said it is vital the buy-back is successful, but it must attract enough interest from bondholders, who need to decide whether to participate in the process, to ensure the country’s debt is deemed viable in [...]

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Tuesday said it was “deeply implausible” that Republicans won’t agree to a fiscal-cliff deal over objections to upper-income tax hikes. Speaking at the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council event in Washington, Geithner said it’s a “good” recognition on the part of Republican leadership of the need for increased revenue. “You have Republican leadership acknowledging in public that they are prepared to increase revenue, that’s an important change,” Geithner said. He said there just aren’t enough loopholes to close to generate the revenue that increased taxes on the top 2% would generate.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not intend to charge any JPMorgan Chase & Co executives in two investigations relating to the allegedly fraudulent sale of mortgage-backed securities, the Wall Street Journal reported. Last week, JPMorgan said it reached an agreement in principle with the SEC to resolve the probes. The bank will pay a penalty under the settlement, according to the WSJ, citing people close to the probes. The payment is expected to be less than the $ 550 million paid by Goldman Sachs Group Inc in 2010 to settle claims by the SEC that it misled investors [...]

President Barack Obama won a second four-year term in office as voters handed him a victory on Tuesday over Republican challenger Mitt Romney, television networks projected. Here is a snap analysis of the result: Obama’s win is not likely to change the dynamic in Washington. Obama’s victory will not strike fear into the hearts of Republicans, who are projected to retain control of the House of Representatives. Obama’s Democrats will hold on to the Senate, but fewer moderates of either party will be returning to Capitol Hill. That is a recipe for more white-knuckle showdowns over taxes and spending, and [...]

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has told close friends he probably will not stand for a third term at the central bank even if President Barack Obama wins the Nov. 6 election, the New York Times reported. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has already said he would not re-nominate Bernanke if he wins the presidency. Bernanke’s term as chairman ends in January 2014. Bernanke, who was first appointed to run the U.S. central bank by former president George W. Bush and was given a second term by Obama, has declined to comment publicly on whether he would accept another [...]

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has told close friends he probably will not stand for a third term at the central bank even if President Barack Obama wins the November 6 election, the New York Times reported. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has already said he would not re-nominate Bernanke if he wins the presidency. Bernanke’s term as chairman ends in January 2014. Bernanke, who was first appointed to run the U.S. central bank by former president George W. Bush and was given a second term by Obama, has declined to comment publicly on whether he would accept another four-year [...]

SEATTLE There was once a time when the launch of a new Windows operating system was a huge deal for the technology departments in many businesses. Not anymore. Microsoft Corp’s release of Windows 8 on Friday is likely to be a non-event for most companies — and some experts say many may never adopt it. The system may appear to offer something for everyone: touch-screen functionality for tablet enthusiasts, a slick new interface for the younger set, and multiple versions to make it compatible with traditional desktop PC software. Many businesses, though, say there is no compelling reason to adopt. [...]

Do you feel like your credit report is spying on you? Sometimes it seems like just about everything personal is included in your credit history, including your name, address and Social Security number. Even your birth date is on it. But you still have a few secrets even your credit report doesn’t know. Here are seven items that lenders won’t see when they pull your credit report. Your Salary Salaries haven’t “been on a report since the early 1990s,” says John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education for Even then, it was “highly dubious” because the information came from the consumers [...]

A European Union flag flies at the Mirador de San Vicente in Rio Madrid, Spain, in April 2011.The EU is often seen as most ambitious conflict management project ever undertakenBut Ker-Lindsay questions whether it has brought about as much peace as people thinkHe points to the still unresolved situation in Cyprus as a major failingHowever, it is in the Balkans that the prize has been greeted with most skepticism he saysEditor’s note: James Ker-Lindsay is Eurobank EFG Senior Research Fellow on the Politics of South East Europe at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is the co-editor [...]