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Allstate apologizes for Zodiac confusion
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NORTHBROOK, Ill., Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Illinois-based Allstate Insurance is apologizing for a study ranking road safety on the basis of Zodiac signs.

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British manufacturing kicks up its heels
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LONDON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Domestic and foreign demand growth pushed an index of manufacturing activity in Britain to a record high in January, a research group said Tuesday.

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Chaos in Egypt pressures oil prices
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NEW YORK, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices eased slightly overnight, but remained pressured by chaos in Egypt, as March contract crude held close to $92 per barrel.

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Weak dollar pushes grain prices higher
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CHICAGO, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Grain futures prices jumped higher Monday on the Chicago Board of Trade as the dollar index dropped 0.5 percent.

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Gold left out of gains Monday
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NEW YORK, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Gold prices slid Monday, as investors turned toward equity markets, looking for bargains after Friday's sell off.

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Study: Men retain less from sexy anchors
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Men tend to retain less information and women more from female TV news anchors dressed in a "sexually alluring manner," researchers in Indiana say.

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Buyers are scarce in housing slump
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NEW YORK, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- A home construction industry consultant in California said the housing market lacks a critical component: Qualified buyers.

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Chicago manufacturing shows strong gains
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CHICAGO, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- The Institute of Supply Management, Chicago, said Monday the Chicago Business Barometer rose to the highest level since July 1988 in January.

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Alpha, Massey in big U.S. coal acquisition
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RICHMOND, Va., Jan. 30 (UPI) -- Alpha Natural Resources acquired rival U.S. coal-producer Massey Energy in a $7.1 billion deal, the companies announced.

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Ground Zero mosque open to new site
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- A Muslim cleric says he would be open to moving the site of the so-called Ground Zero mosque in New York to a different location.

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Thieves make off with live lobsters
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YARMOUTH, Nova Scotia, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- The Royal Canadian Mounted Police were searching for 10 crates of live lobsters stolen from a company in Nova Scotia.

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Bomb threats close 4 Moscow malls
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MOSCOW, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Traffic was jammed Saturday as bomb scares shut down four Moscow shopping malls, Russian police said.

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Fannie, Freddie, rejected $21B in loans
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Mortgage brokers in Washington forced U.S. banks to repurchase $20.9 billion in substandard loans during the financial crisis, a government report said.

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Louisville-based FirsTier Bank shut down by state
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Jan. 29--The Colorado Division of Banking shut down Louisville-based FirsTier Bank late Friday after investigators found that commercial real estate loans had depleted the bank's capital, leaving it insolvent.

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Massey disputes findings on mine explosion
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- A large leak of methane or natural gas caused a deadly explosion in a West Virginia coal mine, Massey Energy said Friday, contradicting federal investigators.

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