Deals of the Hour

Trying to find out what's the deal with the world, tracking what's on sale and who's talking about it on Twitter. Update hourly.

Deals of the Hour / October 8, 2010, 7:40 am

Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa wins Nobel Prize for literature

New York — Mario Vargas Llosa, the newest winner of the Nobel Prize in literature, has never found much honor in boundaries. "Literature shouldn't be secluded, provincial or regional," the Peruvian author said in New York after Thursday's announc ... (Source: LJWORLD 2010-10-08T13:52:08Z)

Microsoft CEO Says Canal+ Can Offer Content on Xbox Game Console

Microsoft Corp. signed an accord which will allow French pay-tv company Canal Plus to offer content on its Xbox game console, Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said in Paris today. To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Campbell in London at ... (Source: Bloomberg 2010-10-07T15:26:23Z)

To cool property deals, Shanghai sets 1 home limit

SHANGHAI— Authorities in China's largest city have ordered that families be allowed to only purchase one home each, part of a series of moves aimed at cooling surging property prices. "One family in Shanghai, whether local or migrant, can only buy one ... (Source: Boston Globe 2010-10-08T05:38:13Z)

Sarah Palin, 'Jersey Shore' cast offer 'DWTS' support

September 28, 2010 (LOS ANGELES) -- Sarah Palin may be outspoken, but she kept her opinions to herself on "Dancing With the Stars." The former vice-presidential candidate was in the ABC ballroom Monday to cheer on her daughter, whom she called "Bristol the ... (Source: KABC 2010-09-28T15:01:16Z)

Wells Fargo to offer mortgage relief to Florida borrowers

More than 4,000 Florida homeowners will be eligible for loan modifications and mortgage-balance forgiveness totaling nearly $388 million under an agreement Wells Fargo Bank reached with eight states, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said Wednesday ... (Source: TradingMarkets.com 2010-10-07T15:55:01Z)

Wells Fargo In Pact To Provide $772M In Mortgage Relief

Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) agreed to offer hundreds of millions of dollars in mortgage relief to borrowers in eight states as part of a pact over allegedly deceptive marketing of payment-option adjustable rate mortgage loans offered by companies it acquired ... (Source: Wall Street Journal 2010-10-06T19:02:19Z)

French pay-TV service Canal+ to swap set-top box for Xbox

Microsoft has struck a deal with French pay-TV company Canal+ to deliver TV programs to the Xbox 360 game console via the Xbox Live online service. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Canal+ Group Chairman Bertrand Méheut announced the deal at a news ... (Source: CIO.de 2010-10-07T20:27:02Z)

Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo wins the Nobel Peace Prize

In a sharp rebuke to Beijing, the Nobel Committee named imprisoned Chinese scholar Liu Xiaobo the 2010 Peace Prize winner for "his long and nonviolent struggle for fundamental human rights in China." The decision by the five-member committee appointed by ... (Source: Times Herald-Record 2010-10-08T11:14:39Z)

Afghan mosque blast kills governor, 14 others

KABUL, Afghanistan - A provincial governor and at least 14 other people were killed by a massive bomb blast inside a packed mosque during Friday prayers in northern Afghanistan, where insurgents have stepped up violence amid intensified NATO-Afghan ... (Source: AZCentral.com 2010-10-08T14:06:27Z)

Microsoft search engine Bing signs deal for access to France's national library

PARIS — Microsoft Corp. says it has signed an deal that will give its Bing search engine access to the digital archives of France's National Library. The agreement signed Thursday will permit Bing to index and search the library's Gallica online archive ... (Source: Washington Examiner 2010-10-07T17:42:23Z)

Nobel Prize for ultrathin carbon discovery

STOCKHOLM - Two Russian-born scientists shared the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for groundbreaking experiments with the strongest and thinnest material known to mankind - a potential building block for faster computers and lighter airplanes and ... (Source: Philadelphia Daily News 2010-10-07T07:12:28Z)

Shall We Dance? The Secret Love Lives of 'DWTS' Dancers

"Extra" has the inside scoop on the how the " Dancing with the Stars " contestants juggle the competition with their love lives, starting with "Jersey Shore" star Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino . Putting the kibosh on rumors he's hooking up with his "DWTS ... (Source: Celebrity Justice 2010-10-07T22:57:21Z)

Israeli troops kill 2 Hamas militants in raid on a house in the West Bank

JERUSALEM - Israeli troops killed two senior Hamas militants in an early-morning raid in the West Bank city of Hebron on Friday, the Israeli military and Hamas officials said, raising tensions as peace talks remain stuck over Israeli settlements. The two ... (Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune 2010-10-08T11:07:30Z)

Nobel Prize a platform for outspoken Mario Vargas Llosa

CARACAS, Venezuela — The Nobel Prize in literature brings a long-awaited accolade to Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa, and also a new platform for him to assail leftist leaders Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Fidel Castro of Cuba. The 74-year-old writer ... (Source: Boston Herald 2010-10-08T09:41:36Z)

Shoppers might have the upper hand this Christmas

NEW YORK — The Christmas shopping season doesn't kick off for six weeks, but retailers already are signaling they're prepared to employ aggressive discounts to entice shoppers still skittish about spending. Gift buyers are likely to scrutinize every ... (Source: Daily Oklahoman 2010-10-08T04:12:19Z)

2 militants dead in Israeli raid in West Bank

Israeli troops killed two senior Hamas militants in an early-morning raid Friday in the West Bank city of Hebron, the Israeli military and Hamas officials said, raising tensions as peace talks remain stuck over Israeli settlement building. The two gunmen ... (Source: AP - msnbc.com 2010-10-08T12:04:46Z)

Skittish retailers mean great holiday deals

The Christmas shopping season doesn't kick off for another six weeks, but retailers already are signaling they're prepared to discount aggressively to entice shoppers still skittish about spending. Gift buyers are likely to scrutinize every purchase, from ... (Source: AP - msnbc.com 2010-10-07T15:40:42Z)

Peruvian writer/politician Mario Vargas Llosa wins Nobel Prize in Literature

The 74-year-old writer is the first South American to win the Nobel since Colombian magic-realist innovator Gabriel Garcia Marquez in 1982 (Mexico's Octavio Paz won the prize in 1990). Like Paz and many other Latin American authors, Vargas Llosa has ... (Source: Entertainment Weekly Online 2010-10-08T08:58:39Z)

European Stocks Finish Mixed After ECB, BoE Hold Steady

(RTTNews) - European markets ended on a mixed note Thursday. While retreating commodity prices brought about selling pressure in mining and energy stocks, automakers and utilities ended mostly on the positive side. The Bank of England this morning left its ... (Source: RTT News 2010-10-07T17:13:45Z)

Nobel physics prize for ultrathin carbon discovery

Two Russian-born scientists shared the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for groundbreaking experiments with the strongest and thinnest material known to mankind — a potential building block for faster computers and lighter airplanes and satellites ... (Source: AP - msnbc.com 2010-10-05T14:24:20Z)

Report: Guards at U.S. bases have Taliban ties

WASHINGTON – Afghan private security forces with ties to the Taliban, criminal networks and Iranian intelligence have been hired to guard U.S. military bases in Afghanistan, exposing U.S. soldiers to surprise attack and confounding the fight against ... (Source: Dallas Morning News 2010-10-08T13:52:08Z)

UPDATE 1-Beijing Capital Land to relaunch A-share IPO

* IPO to fund property development in China (Adds details, quote) HONG KONG Oct 8 (Reuters) - Hong Kong-listed Beijing Capital Land Ltd ( 2868.HK ) said on Friday that it aims to relaunch an A-share initial public offering (IPO) in Shanghai to fund ... (Source: Reuters UK 2010-10-08T10:53:11Z)

ECB Articulated Steady−on Approach, BOE Does Not Offer Up More QE, Yet

The European Central Bank held its rates steady at 1% and articulated a steady-on approach to monetary policy in its meeting today. That runs counter to what we saw from the Bank of Japan earlier this week which introduced a quantitative easing fund, and ... (Source: FXStreet.com 2010-10-07T20:05:33Z)

Both Gold and Crude Reverse Sharply as Risk Appetite Stalls, ECB Disappoints

Despite a reported tumble in fuel consumption in the US and an improvement in growth forecasts from the IMF, both crude and gold would extend their impressive rallies to new relative highs. Where do fundamentals end and speculative begin? Over the past two ... (Source: Yahoo Finance 2010-10-08T00:16:06Z)

Israel's West Bank settlement slowdown expires; no Palestinian decision to quit peace talks

REVAVA, West Bank (AP) — Jewish settlers released balloons and broke ground on a kindergarten in celebration Sunday as a 10-month construction slowdown expired, while U.S. and Israeli leaders tried to figure out how to keep Palestinians from walking out ... (Source: Chicago Tribune 2010-09-27T07:02:51Z)

The Unpeaceful Karzai-Taliban 'Peace Talks'

On the eve of the 9th anniversary of the U.S. attack to remove the Taliban regime from power, the Washington Post reported that the comeback extremists were 'in high-level talks with Karzai government.' The Post claimed that the talks were aimed to 'end ... (Source: Huffingtonpost.com 2010-10-08T13:09:11Z)

Wells Fargo in Mortgage-Relief Pact

Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to offer hundreds of millions of dollars in mortgage relief to borrowers in eight states as part of a pact over allegedly deceptive marketing of payment-option adjustable-rate mortgage loans offered by companies it acquired. The ... (Source: Wall Street Journal 2010-10-06T19:45:16Z)

Are Karina Smirnoff and The Situation Destined to Become Partners Off the DWTS Floor?

Will Karina Smirnoff and The Situation Partner Off the DWTS Floor? Karina Smirnoff has had her share of Dancing With the Stars romances and is now paired with Jersey Shore star Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino. Is it written in the stars that these two ... (Source: Gather.com 2010-10-02T09:12:55Z)

Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov win Nobel Prize in physics

S TOCKHOLM — Two Russian-born scientists shared the Nobel Prize in physics on today for groundbreaking experiments with the strongest and thinnest material known to mankind — a potential building block for faster computers and lighter airplanes and ... (Source: Boston Herald 2010-10-06T11:09:52Z)

Retailers ready to slash prices for skittish Christmas shoppers

New York — The Christmas shopping season doesn't kick off for another six weeks, but retailers already are signaling they're prepared to discount aggressively to entice shoppers still skittish about spending. Gift buyers are likely to scrutinize ... (Source: LJWORLD 2010-10-08T14:06:27Z)

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