IHT Rendezvous: How Far Will Europeans Support France's Counter-Jihad?

LONDON — It did not require a crystal ball to foresee, as Rendezvous did in our 2013 preview, that Mali would be in the news and that France might be the first to intervene there to counter a perceived terrorist threat to Europe.Less predictable, however, is the extent to which the French can rely on the support of their European allies now that they have decided to go it alone.The crisis had been...

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DealBook: Morgan Stanley's $481 Million 4th-Quarter Profit Beats Estimates

8:23 a.m. | Updated Morgan Stanley reported adjusted earnings for the fourth quarter on Friday that beat analyst estimates, driven by gains in wealth management and stock trading.Including charges, the firm had a fourth-quarter profit of $481 million, or 25 cents a share. That compares with a per-share loss of 15 cents in the year-ago period. The results seem to please investors. Morgan Stanley shares...

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The Neediest Cases: Medical Bills Crush Brooklyn Man’s Hope of Retiring

Andrea Mohin/The New York TimesJohn Concepcion and his wife, Maria, in their home in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. They are awaiting even more medical bills. Retirement was just about a year away, or so John Concepcion thought, when a sudden health crisis put his plans in doubt. For the past 100 years, The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund has provided direct assistance to children, families...

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The Neediest Cases: Medical Bills Crush Brooklyn Man’s Hope of Retiring

Andrea Mohin/The New York TimesJohn Concepcion and his wife, Maria, in their home in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. They are awaiting even more medical bills. Retirement was just about a year away, or so John Concepcion thought, when a sudden health crisis put his plans in doubt. For the past 100 years, The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund has provided direct assistance to children, families...

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DealBook: Michael Dell’s Empire in a Buyout Spotlight

The computer empire of Michael S. Dell spreads across a campus of low-slung buildings in Round Rock, Tex.But his financial empire — estimated at $16 billion — occupies the 21st floor of a dark glass skyscraper on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.It is there that MSD Capital, started by Mr. Dell 15 years ago to manage his fortune, has quietly built a reputation as one of the smartest investors on Wall Street....

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U.N. Refugee Agency Warns of Crisis in Mali

GENEVA — As French and African troops prepare to escalate their offensive against Islamist forces in the north of Mali, the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday it was preparing for around 700,000 people to flee the violence, many to neighboring countries. The U.N. believes more than 400,000 refugees could flee to neighboring countries and another 300,000 are likely to be displaced internally...

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DealBook: Facing Legal Costs, Citigroup Disappoints in 4th Quarter

Citigroup, which has been working to cut costs and unload troubled assets, continues to struggle under the weight of its mortgage woes.The bank reported fourth quarter profit of $1.2 billion or 38 cents a share, significantly below analysts estimates. Excluding one-time time items, earnings amounted to 69 cents a share.Ahead of the bank’s quarterly earnings, analyst estimated earnings at 96 cents...

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The New Old Age Blog: Officials Say Checks Won't Be in the Mail

The jig is up.Two years ago, the Treasury Department initiated its Go Direct campaign to persuade people still receiving paper checks for their Social Security, Veterans Affairs, S.S.I. and other federal benefits to switch to direct deposit.“At that point, we were issuing approximately 11 million checks each month,” or about 15 percent of the total, Walt Henderson, director of the campaign, told me.After...

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The New Old Age Blog: Officials Say Checks Won't Be in the Mail

The jig is up.Two years ago, the Treasury Department initiated its Go Direct campaign to persuade people still receiving paper checks for their Social Security, Veterans Affairs, S.S.I. and other federal benefits to switch to direct deposit.“At that point, we were issuing approximately 11 million checks each month,” or about 15 percent of the total, Walt Henderson, director of the campaign, told me.After...

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Gadgetwise Blog: Q&A: Moving from Hotmail to Outlook.com

I want to switch my Hotmail account to an Outlook.com account, but will I have to change my e-mail address?Even if you switch your Hotmail account to the newer mail system at Outlook.com, Microsoft says you can still keep the old @hotmail.com address. (Users with the @live.com or @msn.com accounts can also switch to Outlook.com and keep their original addresses.) You also have the option of adding...

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