Apple introduces pencil thin iPad Mini to counter Amazon's Kindle Fire

Apple Inc will begin to sell an almost 8-inch version of the iPad on Friday to compete with Amazon.com Inc's Kindle and other smaller tablets, but it set a higher-than-expected price tag of $329 that Wall Street fears could curb demand.

The 7.9 inch "iPad mini" marks the iPhone-maker's first foray into the smaller-tablet segment. Apple hopes to beat back incursions onto its home turf of consumer electronics hardware, while safeguarding its lead in a larger tablet space - one that even deep-pocketed rivals like Samsung Electronics have found tough to penetrate.

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Priced at $329 for a wi-fi only model, the iPad mini is a little costlier than some predicted. Others fear the gadget will lure buyers away from Apple's $499 flagship 10-inch iPad, while proving ineffective in combating the threat of Amazon's $199 Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7, both of which are sold at or near cost.

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Wall Street finishes mostly flat in thin trade

[ via Reuters ] 27 Dec

Stocks ended flat on Tuesday after fluctuating between small gains and losses in a light-volume session, as investors took a breather following a 5 percent rally last week.

The S&P 500 turned positive for the year on Friday, with improving economic data boosting equities. Gains were amplified by better-than-expected data on consumer confidence, which hit an eight-month high in December, as Americans grew more upbeat about the labor market and their financial situations.

But after a strong rally and with trading volume light, investors were reluctant to draw many conclusions from the move.

Read more: Reuters

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Occupy Wall Street Camp in Zuccotti Park Dismantled by Police

Full Story: BBC USA 7 Canada 15 Nov

New York police have dismantled the Occupy Wall Street camp in Zuccotti Park and arrested about 200 people following a raid in the early hours, Tuesday.

The New York camp was set up in September to protest against economic inequality - it inspired similar demonstrations around the world. It was the latest camp to be cleared by police in US cities in recent days, reports BBC

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