Wed Jan 2, 2013 5:53pm EST n">(Reuters) - SunPower Corp (SPWR.O) said it sold two solar projects in California to a company controlled by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N), and would receive up to $2.5 billion in proceeds and related

n">(Reuters) - Family Dollar Stores Inc (FDO.N) posted a lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday as its emphasis on selling more everyday items such as cigarettes and soft drinks put pressure on margins.Its shares fell 8.6 percent premarket

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) (front, in green tie) walks with Congressman Dave Camp (R-MI) (R) after a meeting with House Republicans about a ''fiscal cliff'' deal on Capitol Hill in Washington January 1, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Joshua RobertsNEW

Cranes tower over the World Trade Center site in New York's lower Manhattan, December 12, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Brendan McDermidWASHINGTON | Wed Jan 2, 2013 10:12am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Construction spending fell in November for the first time

Job seekers apply for the 300 available positions at a new Target retail store in San Francisco, California August 9, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Robert GalbraithNEW YORK | Thu Jan 3, 2013 8:41am EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private-sector employers added more

Ford Assembly workers Calvin Thompson (R ) and Jimmie Lackey install a battery in the back of a partially assembled C-MAX Hybrid vehicle at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan November 7, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Rebecca CookNEW YORK | Wed

A machine that makes bubble wrap padded envelopes is pictured at the Wrap-Tite manufacturing facility in Solon, Ohio July 13, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Aaron JosefczykNEW YORK | Wed Jan 2, 2013 2:48pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. manufacturing ended 2012

A man walks past the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington December 17, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Joshua RobertsWASHINGTON | Wed Jan 2, 2013 4:52pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington has steered clear of severe austerity measures for now, reducing the

1 of 12. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) walks with House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) to a meeting with House Republicans on the ''fiscal cliff'' budget deal on Capitol Hill in Washington on January 1, 2013. Washington's last-minute

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (L) and President Barack Obama (R) depart following Obama's remarks after the House of Representatives acted on legislation intended to avoid the ''fiscal cliff,'' at the White House in Washington January 1, 2013. The Republican-controlled

NEW YORK | Thu Jan 3, 2013 7:57am EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Planned layoffs at U.S. firms fell in December for the first time in four months, while the overall job-cut total in 2012 was the lowest since 1997, a report showed on Thursday.Employers announced

Job seekers stand in line to meet with prospective employers at a career fair in New York City, October 24, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Mike SegarWASHINGTON | Thu Jan 3, 2013 8:32am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for

1 of 3. People arrive at a district court in New Delhi January 3, 2013. The December 16 attack on the physiotherapy student and a male companion provoked furious protests close to the seat of government in New Delhi and has fuelled a nationwide debate

1 of 6. Police stand near a crime scene in the Swiss village of Daillon near Sion January 3, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Denis Balibouse DAILLON, Switzerland | Thu Jan 3, 2013 7:28am EST DAILLON, Switzerland (Reuters) - Three women were killed and two

Italy's outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti talks during a news conference in Rome December 28, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Tony GentileROME | Thu Jan 3, 2013 6:36am EST ROME (Reuters) - Mario Monti, bidding for a second term as Italy's prime minister, said

1 of 2. Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake (front L) is blessed by Christian priests before leaving the Supreme Court for the Parliament to appear before the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed to look into impeachment charges against

Pro-Taliban Pakistani tribal leader Maulvi Nazir Wazir, also known as Mullah Nazir, speaks during a news conference in Wana, the main town of the South Waziristan region bordering Afghanistan in this April 20, 2007 file photo. A U.S. drone strike killed

KADUNA, Nigeria | Thu Jan 3, 2013 8:26am EST KADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Gunmen have killed four people and burned down a police station in northeast Adamawa state, the police said on Thursday, the latest such attack in a region where Islamist sect

1 of 4. Labour party candidates Itzik Shmuli (R) and Stav Shaffir attend a mock election at a high school in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv December 6, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Amir CohenTEL AVIV | Thu Jan 3, 2013 7:31am EST TEL AVIV (Reuters) - They are young

Residents run along a street after an air strike by a fighter jet loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo's al-Marja district December 31, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Muzaffar SalmanAZAZ, Syria | Thu Jan 3, 2013 8:50am EST AZAZ, Syria (Reuters)

Smoke is seen rising from a mountain in Kachin state in this still image taken from a video dated December 27, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Courtesy of Democratic Voice of Burma/HandoutYANGON | Thu Jan 3, 2013 6:38am EST YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's military

JERUSALEM | Thu Jan 3, 2013 8:44am EST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli forces raided the West Bank city of Jenin on Thursday in search of a suspected Palestinian militant, touching off clashes with residents who threw rocks and petrol bombs at them, an

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) arrives to speak to the media on the ''fiscal cliff'' on Capitol Hill in Washington, December 21, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Yuri GripasWASHINGTON | Wed Jan 2, 2013 11:13pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In the wake of bruising

A man walks past the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington December 17, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Joshua RobertsWASHINGTON | Wed Jan 2, 2013 4:52pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington has steered clear of severe austerity measures for now, reducing the