Pitcher Adams agrees to two-year deal with Phillies

(Reuters) - The Philadelphia Phillies and relief pitcher Mike Adams have agreed to a two-year, $12 million contract, Major League Baseball's website said on Saturday.The deal is pending a physical.Adams, 34, posted a 5-3 record with a 3.27 earned run average in 61 appearances with the Texas Rangers last season.Regarded as one of the major league's top setup men, Adams underwent surgery in October...

Read More..

Hamilton to give Angels everything on and off field

during a news conference at the ESPNZone in Downtown Disneyland in Anaheim, California …more (Reuters) - Josh Hamilton was introduced as a member of the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday and the slugger immediately promised to give everything he has to the team on and off the field.A five-time All-Star who overcame drug and alcohol addictions to become one of Major League Baseball's most feared hitters,...

Read More..

Baseball-Nationals convince LaRoche to extend Washington stay

Jan 8 (Reuters) - The Washington Nationals finally persuaded Adam LaRoche to put pen to paper on Tuesday after spending the first half of the off-season courting their lead slugger.The free agent inked a two-year deal worth $24 million with an option for a third season, adding solidity to an improving Nationals team and rewarding the franchise for their patience.The 33-year-old had earlier declined...

Read More..

AP Exclusive: Richardson pressing NKorean test ban

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Wednesday that his delegation is pressing North Korea to put a moratorium on missile launches and nuclear tests and to allow more cell phones and an open Internet for its citizens.Richardson told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview in Pyongyang that the group is also asking for fair and humane treatment for an American...

Read More..

Diminishing Returns: The Cold, Hard Truth for CES Smartphones

Sony has a new flagship phone at CES called the Xperia Z, and it is pretty decent. The company has another one, called the Xperia ZL, that’s also fairly nice. They’re both roughly as okay as the flagship Ascend D2 phone that Huawei was showing off in another part of the room.If my descriptors seem lacking, that’s intentional. The truth is that none of these phones seem markedly better than last year’s...

Read More..

RIM conducting under-the-radar campaign to promote BlackBerry 10 at CES [video]

RIM (RIMM) isn’t conducting any big press conferences at the Consumer Electronics Show this year and it doesn’t even have a booth, but that doesn’t mean the company isn’t working hard to promote BlackBerry 10 in Las Vegas this week. Jeff Gadway, RIM’s senior manager for BlackBerry product marketing, took some time this week to talk with Forbes about his company’s upcoming new smartphone OS and how...

Read More..

Fixed mortgage rates rise above record lows

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fixed mortgage rates rose slightly this week off their record lows. The year ends much like it began, with few people able to take advantage of the best rates in history.Freddie Mac says the average on the 30-year home loan increased to 3.95 percent from 3.91 percent. Last week's rate was the lowest average on records dating to the 1950s.The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage...

Read More..

Fixed mortgage rates end year above record lows

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fixed mortgage rates rose slightly this week off their record lows. The year ends much like it began, with few people able to take advantage of the best rates in history.Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average on the 30-year home loan increased to 3.95 percent from 3.91 percent. Last week's rate was the lowest average on records dating to the 1950s.The average on the 15-year...

Read More..

First Person: What My College Degree Means to Me

*Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Do you have a personal finance story that you'd like to share? Sign up with the Yahoo! Contributor Network to start publishing your own finance articles.My college degree helped me pursue a successful 30-year career in advertising and public relations. However, it only happened after I realized I had not made the right decision in choosing my college...

Read More..

Nats bolster pitching staff with deal for Haren

(Reuters) - The Washington Nationals bolstered their already strong pitching rotation by agreeing to a one-year, $13 million contract with right-hander Dan Haren, Major League Baseball's (MLB) website reported on Tuesday.Haren, pending a physical, will join a rotation that boasts Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann and Gio Gonzalez, effectively replacing Edwin Jackson from a staff that helped the...

Read More..

Australian league is next move, says NZ head

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Entering a team in Australia's Baseball League by 2014 and building a permanent facility was now in the sights of Baseball New Zealand after their credible performance at last month's World Baseball Classic qualifying tournament, according to the sport's chief executive.The Diamondblacks, a team of locals, expatriates and North Americans with New Zealand heritage, made the...

Read More..

Baseball: Rays extend Longoria contract until at least 2022

(Reuters) - Evan Longoria pledged his loyalty to the Tampa Bay Rays by signing a multi-year contract extension that could keep him in uniform through 2023, the team said on Monday.The 27-year-old's original deal was through 2016, but the third baseman has signed a six-year extension worth $100 million with an option for one additional year."In signing this contract, I kind of wanted to show that...

Read More..

US rate on 30-year mortgage rises to 3.71 pct.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Average rates on fixed mortgages rose this week, the first increase in seven weeks. But mortgage rates remain near historic lows, boosting prospects for home sales this year.Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year loan increased to 3.71 percent. That's up from 3.67 percent last week, the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.The...

Read More..

US fixed mortgage rates fall to new record lows

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fixed U.S. mortgage rates fell again to new record lows, providing prospective buyers with more incentive to brave a modestly recovering housing market.Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average on the 30-year loan dropped to 3.62 percent. That's down from 3.66 percent last week and the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.The average rate on the 15-year...

Read More..

W.Va. teachers to attend 'Finance University'

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia University's business school is teaming up with the state auditor's office and a nonprofit economic literacy group called the West Virginia Jump$start Coalition to present a conference for educators to learn personal finance — and how to teach it to their students.This year's Finance University is the 10th annual event for middle- and high-school teachers. It...

Read More..

South Africa: Nelson Mandela's recovery is good

 South African anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela has recovered from his recent lung infection and a surgical procedure to remove gallstones, according to an announcement Sunday by President Jacob Zuma.Doctors say that Mandela, 94, has made "steady progress and that clinically, he continues to improve," according to a statement issued by Zuma's office. Mandela was hospitalized for nearly three...

Read More..

7 killed, 7 wounded in northwest Nigeria attacks

KANO, Nigeria (AP) — A government official says suspected armed robbers terrorizing northwest Nigeria raided three villages there, killing at least seven people and wounding seven more.Zamfara state Information Commissioner Ibrahim Birnin Magaji said Sunday that the attacks focused on the villages of Akuzo, Makera and Usu in the rural region. Magaji said the gunmen attacked the villages Saturday morning...

Read More..

Ivory Coast report: Many factors caused stampede

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Officials say that the New Year's stampede in Ivory Coast which killed 64 people was caused by a combination of several factors including unofficial tree trunk barricades, the narrowing of a major thoroughfare, bad lighting and a shortage of police officers.Abidjan prosecutor Simplice Kouadio announced the preliminary findings of a police investigation on state television...

Read More..