TSX near 18-month high, buoyed by Agrium, RIM

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index hit a near 18-month high on Thursday, as shares of Agrium Inc rose after the fertilizer maker raised its profit forecast and as U.S. manufacturing and labor data drove optimism on the economic outlook of Canada’s largest trade partner.

Shares of Research In Motion Ltd also boosted the market, rising more than 3 percent after a report that China’s Lenovo Group said a bid for the BlackBerry maker was among the options available to boost its mobile business.

Canadian stocks were also supported by data that showed Chinese manufacturing growth hit a two-year high this month. Gains were kept in check by falling gold stocks, which slipped with the price of the precious metal.

In the United States, a private survey showed that factory activity advanced at the fastest pace in nearly two years this month, while the government reported the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits hit a five-year low last week.

“There’s a growing feeling that we’re heading in the right direction. The U.S. economy is showing a little bit of life, and that’s spilling over into Canada,” said Fred Ketchen, director of equity trading at ScotiaMcLeod.

The Toronto Stock Exchange‘s S&P/TSX composite index <.gsptse> was up 41.36 points, or 0.32 percent, at 12,835.41, after touching 12,863.47, its highest since August 2, 2011.</.gsptse>

Seven of the 10 main sectors on the index were trading higher.

The materials sector, which includes mining stocks, slipped 0.1 percent as declines in gold stocks offset a rise in shares of fertilizer giants Agrium and Potash Corp .

Agrium rose 3.5 percent to C$ 114.55 after it raised its fourth-quarter earnings forecast as strong grain and oilseed prices spurred demand for its fertilizer products over the fall season.

Ketchen, noting the activity in Agrium shares over the past few days, said, “People are taking another look at it, thinking maybe it’s time to get back in.”

Potash was up 2.1 percent at C$ 42.77.

The energy sector gained 0.6 percent and was the biggest contributor to the market’s gains as U.S. crude oil prices rose.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd rose 1.5 percent to C$ 30.62.

Financials, the index’s weightiest sector, added 0.4 percent. Toronto Dominion Bank

was up 0.4 percent at C$ 83.51, and the Royal Bank of Canada rose 0.3 percent to C$ 61.62.

(Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson and Leslie Adler)

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Lady Gaga to Collaborate with Tony Bennett on New Duets Album

Just days after Lady Gaga gave a surprise performance with Tony Bennett at an inaugural ball for President Barack Obama, the pop superstar confirmed she's doing a duet album with the music icon.

PICS: Michelle Obama, First Lady of Fashion

Gaga, 26, revealed the news in a Twitter post that included a link to a photo of her duet Tuesday night with the 86-year-old Bennett for a performance of The Lady is a Tramp. "And here's me and my handsome date, I simply cannot wait for our album together, he's my darling!" she tweeted.

RELATED: Gaga Gives Private Show to Obama Supporters

The two artists had previously performed The Lady Is a Tramp for Bennett's release of his 2011 album Duets II. At the time, the music legend said he was in awe to work with Gaga. "She's the biggest. I'll tell you, I never met anyone with more talent than that lady," he gushed to MTV News.

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A clue? Clintons house hunting in Hamptons - choose broker who listed 'White House'

Bill and Hillary Clinton are house hunting in the Hamptons.

The former president, 66, and wanna-be future president, 65, are looking for an oceanfront property where they can unwind and prepare for their next phase of life, sources tell the Post.

On the heels of her recent health scare, Hillary Clinton — who had a blood clot in her head — is about to step down as Secretary of State and is potentially plotting a 2016 presidential run.

The Clintons have been summering in the Hamptons and enjoy its unique mix of R&R and highly social scene, sources tell The Post.

UPI

Former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at President Obama's inauguration ceremony.

While they have in the past rented a $19 million home on Lily Pond Lane, the political duo have decided to “mix it up” and look elsewhere a source said, adding that they are working with Saunders & Associates.

One of the homes Saunders lists is dubbed the 'White House,' but that $6.9 million home is not private or stately enough for the power pair.

The Clintons own a home in Washington, DC, and a Chappaqua home they purchased prior to Hillary's successful run for Senate.

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Miami Dolphins slam Norman Braman, Marlins Park deal

The Miami Dolphins ramped up their public campaign for a tax-funded stadium renovation this week, buying full-page ads against their top critic and trying to distance the plan from the unpopular Marlins deal.

The team bought an ad in Tuesday’s Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald knocking auto magnate Norman Braman’s criticism of the Sun Life Stadium deal, which would have Florida and Miami-Dade split the costs with owner Stephen Ross for a $400 million renovation. The Dolphins would pay at least $201 million, with taxpayers using state funds and a higher Miami-Dade hotel tax to pay $199 million.

In a fact sheet sent to media Tuesday morning, the Dolphins listed ways their deal differs from the 2009 Marlins deal. First: Ross, a billionaire real estate developer, would use private dollars to fund at least 51 percent of the Sun Life effort, compared to less than 25 percent from Marlins owner Jeff Loria. Second, Sun Life helps the economy more than the Marlins park does.

“Just because the Marlins did a bad deal doesn’t mean we should oppose a good deal where at least a majority of the cost is paid from private sources and more than 4,000 local jobs are created during construction alone,” the fact sheet states. And while the Dolphins’ Miami Gardens stadium has hosted two Super Bowls since 2007 and is in the running for the 2016 game, “Marlins Stadium does not generate the ability to attract world-class sports events -- other than a World Series from time to time depending on the success of the team.”

NFL teams play eight home games a year if they don’t make the playoffs, while baseball teams have 81.

Miami and Miami-Dade built the Marlins a $640 million stadium at the site of the Dolphins’ old home at the Orange Bowl in Little Havana. The Marlins contributed about $120 million and agreed to pay between $2.5 million and $4.9 million a year for 35 years to pay back $35 million of debt the county borrowed for the stadium. As a publicly owned stadium, the Marlins ballpark pays no property taxes. Most of the public money came from Miami-Dade hotel taxes, along with $50 million of debt tied to the county’s general fund.

Sun Life is privately owned and pays $3 million a year in property taxes to Miami-Dade. It currently receives $2 million a year from Florida’ s stadium program, a subsidy tied to converting the football venue to baseball in the 1990s when the Marlins played there. The Dolphins also paid for a second full-page ad with quotes from leading hoteliers in Miami-Dade endorsing the stadium plan. Among them: Donald Trump, whose company recently purchased the Doral golf resort. “Steve Ross’ commitment to modernize Sun Life Stadium -- while covering most of the construction costs -- is the right thing for Miami-Dade,’’ the ad quotes Trump as saying.

Also on Tuesday, Ross and team CEO Mike Dee sent a letter to Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and county commissioners requesting negotiations over the stadium deal. The letter said the deal Ross unveiled last week is a “baseline for debate” and asked for talks. The letter also urged the commission to adopt a resolution proposed by Commissioner Barbara Jordan endorsing the state bill that would allow taxes for Sun Life. The resolution is on the agenda for Wednesday’s commission meeting.

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Many customers on third day without AT&T&#x2019;s U-Verse service

Many AT&T U-Verse customers still did not have Internet, TV or phone service Wednesday, the result of a mass outage that began Monday and has affected users in Florida and about 13 other states across the Southeast and Southwest.

“I’m living in a prehistoric age with AT&T,” vented Sabrina from Miami on her Twitter account.

Many customers have been frustrated with the lack of communication from the communications giant. Over the past three days, the company has provided little information about the cause of the outage or the timeframe for when customers might see their service restored.

Tuesday, the company provided an email to The Miami Herald that stated the problem was with a server that supports U-Verse, which uses fiber-optic technology. It also stated that the company’s technicians and engineers were working to restore the service, and included an apology to its customers for the inconvenience.

The outage has caused more than an inconvenience for many customers who use the fast Internet service for their businesses.

On Twitter, AT&T U-Verse posted that some customers might be able to restore service by restarting their systems. “More to come ASAP.” That post was about 8 p.m. Tuesday. There had been no update as of early Wednesday afternoon.

“Not a happy camper,” Michael Johnson of Little Rock, Ark., posted on AT&T’s U-Verse Facebook page. The page has yet to post any information about the outage.

On an AT&T support forum, one post said the outage was caused by authentication servers that went down in Texas. It states if the residential gateways can’t authenticate, they can’t get IP addresses. Other angry social media posts have suggested the problem may be due to hacking of the system.

A Twitter post from Carrie Carlton Schumacher of Boynton Beach said it’s no use calling customer service because a recording says that agents will have no information about the outage.

By 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, AT&T issued a statement that said the outage was at that point affecting “less than 1 percent of our U-verse subscribers."

The statement continued: "But that is too many and we are working hard to fix this. We are making progress in resolving the issue which is related to a server complex, and are working to determine when service will be completely restored. “

Meanwhile, AT&T’s U-Verse refer-a-friend sweepstakes continues.

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Emmy Rossum 'Beautiful Creatures' Featurette

Warring supernatural beings, forbidden love between a mysterious individual and a young mortal… Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Beautiful Creatures is looking to capture a bit of that Twilight lightning in a bottle, and we have a first look at the spooky Southern tale starring relative newcomers Alice Englert and Alden Ehrenreich opposite Shameless star Emmy Rossum and veteran thesps Jeremy Irons, Emma Thompson and Viola Davis.

Pics: 13 Must-See Movies of 2013

"Audiences can expect to fall in love with these two young people who just desperately want to be together," says Rossum of star-crossed lovers Lena and Ethan (played respectively by Englert and Ehrenreich), who are confronted with a situation much bigger than the two of them.

Ethan is a young man longing to escape his small town, and Lena is the new girl with a dark secret – she comes from a family of witches (they prefer the term "casters"), and when she turns 16 her powers will be claimed by either the forces of light or darkness. With only weeks before her birthday, the two lovers are caught in a tug-of-war between good and evil.

"What I'm offering to audiences is an adventure, but most of all a love story," says director Richard LaGravenese (P.S. I Love You).

Related: Emmy Rossum's 'Journey'

An adaptation of the first novel in the best-selling series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, Beautiful Creatures casts its spell in theaters on Valentine's Day.

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Knicks top Lakers as most valuable NBA team

The New York Knicks have pulled back ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers to top Forbes’ annual ranking of the most valuable NBA teams.

The Knicks rose 41 percent in value to $1.1 billion, thanks largely to the ongoing renovation of Madison Square Garden, which led to more suite sales, ads and sponsorships, Forbes Senior Editor Kurt Badenhausen told The Post.

The overhaul resulted in the Knicks leading the league in revenue with $243 million.

The Lakers fell to No. 2 and are valued at $1 billion, up a more modest 11 percent. Last year, the Lakers were ahead of the Knicks because of a lucrative cable rights deals the team signed with Time Warner Cable.

Besides the new arena, the Knicks sold the most NBA merchandise, showing that fan support is growing, Badenhausen said.

Teams on average this year gained 30 percent in value due to the league’s new collective bargaining agreement.

The Brooklyn Nets — boosted by the move from New Jersey — are valued at $530 million, up 48 percent.

Badenhausen said the Nets may not make money this year, when considering the $30 million-plus annual pilot payments its owners pay for the new stadium.

But revenue will rise significantly from $84 million last year to what sources project could reach $140 million.

jkosman@nypost.com

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Miami Dolphins slam Norman Braman, Marlins Park deal

The Miami Dolphins ramped up their public campaign for a tax-funded stadium renovation this week, buying full-page ads against their top critic and trying to distance the plan from the unpopular Marlins deal.

The team bought an ad in Tuesday’s Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald knocking auto magnate Norman Braman’s criticism of the Sun Life Stadium deal, which would have Florida and Miami-Dade split the costs with owner Stephen Ross for a $400 million renovation. The Dolphins would pay at least $201 million, with taxpayers using state funds and a higher Miami-Dade hotel tax to pay $199 million.

In a fact sheet sent to media Tuesday morning, the Dolphins listed ways their deal differs from the 2009 Marlins deal. First: Ross, a billionaire real estate developer, would use private dollars to fund at least 51 percent of the Sun Life effort, compared to less than 25 percent from Marlins owner Jeff Loria. Second, Sun Life helps the economy more than the Marlins park does.

“Just because the Marlins did a bad deal doesn’t mean we should oppose a good deal where at least a majority of the cost is paid from private sources and more than 4,000 local jobs are created during construction alone,” the fact sheet states. And while the Dolphins’ Miami Gardens stadium has hosted two Super Bowls since 2007 and is in the running for the 2016 game, “Marlins Stadium does not generate the ability to attract world-class sports events -- other than a World Series from time to time depending on the success of the team.”

NFL teams play eight home games a year if they don’t make the playoffs, while baseball teams have 81.

Miami and Miami-Dade built the Marlins a $640 million stadium at the site of the Dolphins’ old home at the Orange Bowl in Little Havana. The Marlins contributed about $120 million and agreed to pay between $2.5 million and $4.9 million a year for 35 years to pay back $35 million of debt the county borrowed for the stadium. As a publicly owned stadium, the Marlins ballpark pays no property taxes. Most of the public money came from Miami-Dade hotel taxes, along with $50 million of debt tied to the county’s general fund.

Sun Life is privately owned and pays $3 million a year in property taxes to Miami-Dade. It currently receives $2 million a year from Florida’ s stadium program, a subsidy tied to converting the football venue to baseball in the 1990s when the Marlins played there. The Dolphins also paid for a second full-page ad with quotes from leading hoteliers in Miami-Dade endorsing the stadium plan. Among them: Donald Trump, whose company recently purchased the Doral golf resort. “Steve Ross’ commitment to modernize Sun Life Stadium -- while covering most of the construction costs -- is the right thing for Miami-Dade,’’ the ad quotes Trump as saying.

Also on Tuesday, Ross and team CEO Mike Dee sent a letter to Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and county commissioners requesting negotiations over the stadium deal. The letter said the deal Ross unveiled last week is a “baseline for debate” and asked for talks. The letter also urged the commission to adopt a resolution proposed by Commissioner Barbara Jordan endorsing the state bill that would allow taxes for Sun Life. The resolution is on the agenda for Wednesday’s commission meeting.

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Growers want state to give them 30-year no-bid access to Everglades land

TALLAHASSEE --
Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet will be asked on Wednesday to agree to a no-bid contract to allow two major agriculture companies to farm on Everglades land for another 30 years, a deal that would include pouring tons of phosphorous-laden fertilizer onto the site the state is spending billions to clean-up.

The request from Florida Crystals and A. Duda and Sons is supported by the state Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Herschel Vinyard and South Florida Water Management District officials. But environmentalists aren’t happy.

“The State of Florida is putting 13,952 acres of state land off the table as a possible solution to future problems,’’ said Charles Lee, director of advocacy for Audubon of Florida at a meeting of the Cabinet aides last week. “It is passing up an opportunity.”

Environmentalists have agreed to allow Florida Crystals to continue sugar farming 7,862 acres in the Everglades Agricultural Area because they believe the company is “holding the state hostage” and won’t allow a crucial next step to go forward in the Everglades clean-up plan if they don’t get the deal.

But environmentalists strongly oppose the Duda deal, which would allow that company to continue to grow vegetables farm 6,089 acres of land and pump 339 tons of fertilizer each year into the Everglades, exacerbating the clean-up problem the state is spending billions to fix. They want the state to require Duda to reduce its phosphorous run-off in exchange for the favorable no-bid contract.

According to emails obtained by the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee bureau, Tracy Peters of the Division of State Lands initially suggested that Florida Crystals reduce its pollution levels in exchange for the lease extension. But the attorney for the company, Silvia Morell Alderman of Akerman Senterfitt, responded that such requirements “would be deal breakers” because the company has been improving its phosphorous levels for 17 years.

Peters then backed off and, on several occasions, asked Alderman’s permission to make other minor changes to the proposal, the emails show.

Under a 1994 Everglades Forever Act, the companies were to give 20-year leases to farm land in the Everglades Agricultural Area in exchange for reducing polluted run-off that is choking the Everglades. The proposal to be voted on by the governor and Cabinet Wednesday will extend five of those leases, which are set to expire between 2015 and 2018, and allow them to continue for another 30 years.

In September, Scott formally signed off on $880 million worth of Everglades cleanup projects that will expand efforts to stem the flow of polluted farm, ranch and yard runoff into the famed River of Grass. The agreement between the state, sugar growers and the Environmental Protection Agency, would allow the state to move forward with building stormwater treatment projects and meet a series of discharge limits beginning in 2018.

Lee told the Cabinet aides that the state may not have the legal authority to negotiate the lease renewal in the first place but, if it does, it should attempt to reduce phosphorous loads onto the land. A similar deal was cut three years ago when the state renewed agricultural leases as part of a land-purchase deal with U.S. Sugar and the company agreed to reduce phosphorous levels on the land in exchange for the deal.

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Is Facebook envy making you miserable?

LONDON (Reuters) – Witnessing friends’ vacations, love lives and work successes on Facebook can cause envy and trigger feelings of misery and loneliness, according to German researchers.

A study conducted jointly by two German universities found rampant envy on Facebook, the world’s largest social network that now has over one billion users and has produced an unprecedented platform for social comparison.

The researchers found that one in three people felt worse after visiting the site and more dissatisfied with their lives, while people who browsed without contributing were affected the most.

“We were surprised by how many people have a negative experience from Facebook with envy leaving them feeling lonely, frustrated or angry,” researcher Hanna Krasnova from the Institute of Information Systems at Berlin’s Humboldt University told Reuters.

“From our observations some of these people will then leave Facebook or at least reduce their use of the site,” said Krasnova, adding to speculation that Facebook could be reaching saturation point in some markets.

Researchers from Humboldt University and from Darmstadt’s Technical University found vacation photos were the biggest cause of resentment with more than half of envy incidents triggered by holiday snaps on Facebook.

Social interaction was the second most common cause of envy as users could compare how many birthday greetings they received to those of their Facebook friends and how many “likes” or comments were made on photos and postings.

“Passive following triggers invidious emotions, with users mainly envying happiness of others, the way others spend their vacations and socialize,” the researchers said in the report “Envy on Facebook: A Hidden Threat to Users’ Life Satisfaction?” released on Tuesday.

“The spread and ubiquitous presence of envy on Social Networking Sites is shown to undermine users’ life satisfaction.”

They found people aged in their mid-30s were most likely to envy family happiness while women were more likely to envy physical attractiveness.

These feelings of envy were found to prompt some users to boast more about their achievements on the site run by Facebook Inc. to portray themselves in a better light.

Men were shown to post more self-promotional content on Facebook to let people know about their accomplishments while women stressed their good looks and social lives.

The researchers based their findings on two studies involving 600 people with the results to be presented at a conference on information systems in Germany in February.

The first study looked at the scale, scope and nature of envy incidents triggered by Facebook and the second at how envy was linked to passive use of Facebook and life satisfaction.

The researchers said the respondents in both studies were German but they expected the findings to hold internationally as envy is a universal feeling and possibly impact Facebook usage.

“From a provider’s perspective, our findings signal that users frequently perceive Facebook as a stressful environment, which may, in the long-run, endanger platform sustainability,” the researchers concluded.

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith, editing by Paul Casciato)

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