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Tech Giants Summoned by Australia Pricing Inquiry

Global technology giants Microsoft, Apple and Adobe were Monday ordered to appear before a pricing inquiry examining the often-higher cost of tech goods in Australia compared with other economies.

The lower house committee holding the probe, which was launched last May, said it had summoned the trio to appear at a public hearing next month to explain why Australian customers paid more for the same products.

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Report: ECB Presses for Cyprus Aid Deal

A top European Central Bank official is pressing for an agreement soon on a rescue package for Cyprus — a prospect viewed with little enthusiasm in Germany.

ECB executive board member Joerg Asmussen was quoted Monday as telling Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper that he expects an aid program to be drawn up by the end of March.

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Euro Strength Poses Headache for Eurozone Ministers

Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem holds his first eurozone meeting Monday just as hard-won measures to stabilize the bloc pose a different problem -- a strong euro dampening the economy.

The debt crisis Dijsselbloem inherits has eased greatly since the European Central Bank vowed last year to intervene in the markets to tame borrowing costs and EU leaders agreed tough steps to bolster the euro's defenses.

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Obama Urges Balanced Approach to Deficit Reduction

U.S. President Barack Obama urged Congress Saturday to find a balanced approach to deficit reduction, warning that steep budget cuts known as "the sequester" would hurt the economy and threaten thousands of American jobs.

"If the sequester is allowed to go forward, thousands of Americans who work in fields like national security, education or clean energy are likely to be laid off," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address.

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Erdogan: Turkey to Clear IMF Debt by May

Turkey is set to make a "clean break" with the International Monetary Fund by paying off its remaining debt by May, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

"We have been paying and paying... Right now the debt stands at $860 million (643 million euros)," Erdogan said in televised remarks.

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Rocky Week Ends with New Highs on U.S. Markets

U.S. stocks stumbled through the week on a mix of dull earnings and weak forecasts before encouraging data from both Beijing and Washington edged the indices to fresh multi-year highs on Friday.

The catalyst for Friday's jump was a sharply narrowed U.S. trade deficit in December -- driven by both lower oil imports and rising oil exports -- that pointed to a better economy in the 2012 fourth quarter than data has suggested.

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Australian Retailers Reach out to Chinese Shoppers

Be polite but not too familiar, display lucky symbols and take things slowly -- unusual advice for the frantic world of retail but Australian stores hope it will help lure cashed-up Chinese tourists.

As Sydney gears up to host one of the world's biggest Chinese New Year celebrations, officials are working to help struggling retailers use the key tourism event to set their cash registers ringing.

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Las Vegas Sands Confirms Madrid Mega-Casino Dig

U.S. firm Las Vegas Sands said Friday it was set to go ahead with building a huge casino near Madrid, which could create hundreds of thousands of jobs at a time of record unemployment in Spain.

The controversial "Eurovegas" project plans to build four casino complexes with 12 hotels providing 36,000 rooms, nine theaters, three golf courses, and convention centers over 10-15 years.

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Venezuela Devalues Currency 32% against U.S. Dollar

Venezuela said it was devaluing its currency by 32 percent against the dollar on the orders of cancer-stricken President Hugo Chavez, in part to trim a bloated budget deficit.

The bolivar will go from 4.3 to the dollar to 6.3 at the official exchange rate. The move was announced Friday at a press conference by Planning and Finance Minister Jorge Giordani. He said it will take effect on Wednesday.

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Van Rompuy Urges Hostile EU Parliament to Pass Budget

The European Parliament, hostile to just agreed spending cuts in the EU budget and with the final say on the deal, must now live up to its responsibilities and pass it, EU President Herman Van Rompuy said Friday.

EU leaders had settled sharp their differences over the 2014-20 budget and now "I hope that the European Parliament will meet it's (responsibilities)," Van Rompuy said after marathon talks lasting more than 24 hours.

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