Andy Warhol works to be auctioned in cybersale

By Patricia Reaney

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Seasoned art collectors and first-time buyers wanting to own an Andy Warhol will get their chance next week when 125 paintings, drawings and photographs by the artist will be auctioned in a week-long cybersale.

The global online auction from February 26 through March 5 will include works with estimated values ranging from $600 to $70,000 and bring Warhol to a much broader audience.

Interested buyers can browse and bid online and will receive updates if a higher bid comes in.

"Increasingly clients are comfortable bidding in an online format," said Amy Cappellazzo, chairwoman of Post-War and Contemporary Development at Christie's, which is conducting the online sale.

"I think that the online space is for works of art under a certain price point," she added in an interview. "Works under $50,000 or $100,000 might well be conducted in an online capacity."

Cappellazzo also believes that Warhol, who died in 1987 before the Internet became globally accessible, would have approved of the cybersale.

"Andy would have loved the Internet. He would have loved the idea that his works could be distributed far and wide and that anyone who wanted one, could get one because bringing the works to an online format will allow anyone with a credit card to buy it. I think, for sure, he would have liked that."

Warhol's 1964 "Campbell's Chicken with Rice Soup," a tin soup can filled with concrete, which is one of several produced by him, is expected to be a highlight of the online sale with a pre-sale estimate ranging from $50,000 to $70,000.

"That is one of the top lots and we have sold others like it," said Cappellazzo.

"I Love Your Kiss Forever Forever," a lithograph based on an image of Marilyn Monroe's lips, could fetch as much as $5,000, and "Self-Portrait," a Polaroid print taken in 1986 the year before Warhol's death, has a pre-sale estimate of up to $25,000.

Another highlight is a T-shirt with the silk-screened image of Warhol's painting, "Self-Portrait in Fright Wig," which sold for $50,000 auction last year. It is expected to sell for as much as $20,000.

"Self portraits were a really important part of his production," said Cappellazzo. "He is an icon himself. He made his own body a work of art."

Proceeds from the sale will benefit the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, which announced in September that it would sell thousands of the artist's works through Christie's in-house auctions and online sales.

The foundation was established following Warhol's death to advance the visual arts. The cybersale is the second phase of Christie's partnership with the foundation, which will include other auctions, three more themed online sales this year, as well as private sales. Christie's in-house sale last November earned more than $17 million.

Joel Wachs, the president of the foundation, said in a statement that the online sale "will greatly expand access to Andy Warhol's work, in a fundamentally democratic manner that is entirely consistent with his art."

The highest price paid for a Warhol was $100 million for "Eight Elvises" in a private sale, according to Art Market Monitor.

The auction site does not go live until Tuesday, but the viewing site is www.christies.com/warhol. (Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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Wall St Week Ahead: Investors face another Washington deadline

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. investors face another Washington-imposed deadline on government spending cuts next week, but it's not generating the same level of fear as two months ago when the "fiscal cliff" loomed large.

Investors in sectors most likely to be affected by the cuts, like defense, seem untroubled that the budget talks could send stocks tumbling.

Talks on the U.S. budget crisis began again this week leading up to the March 1 deadline for the so-called sequestration when $85 billion in automatic federal spending cuts are scheduled to take effect.

"It's at this point a political hot button in Washington but a very low level investor concern," said Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The fight pits President Barack Obama and fellow Democrats against congressional Republicans.

Stocks rallied in early January after a compromise temporarily avoided the fiscal cliff, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen 6.3 percent since the start of the year.

But the benchmark index lost steam this week, posting its first week of losses since the start of the year. Minutes on Wednesday from the last Federal Reserve meeting, which suggested the central bank may slow or stop its stimulus policy sooner than expected, provided the catalyst.

National elections in Italy on Sunday and Monday could also add to investor concern. Most investors expect a government headed by Pier Luigi Bersani to win and continue with reforms to tackle Italy's debt problems. However, a resurgence by former leader Silvio Berlusconi has raised doubts.

"Europe has been in the last six months less of a topic for the stock market, but the problems haven't gone away. This may bring back investor attention to that," said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.

OPTIONS BULLS TARGET GAINS

The spending cuts, if they go ahead, could hit the defense industry particularly hard.

Yet in the options market, bulls were targeting gains in Lockheed Martin Corp , the Pentagon's biggest supplier.

Calls on the stock far outpaced puts, suggesting that many investors anticipate the stock to move higher. Overall options volume on the stock was 2.8 times the daily average with 17,000 calls and 3,360 puts traded, according to options analytics firm Trade Alert.

"The upside call buying in Lockheed solidifies the idea that option investors are not pricing in a lot of downside risk in most defense stocks from the likely impact of sequestration," said Jared Woodard, a founder of research and advisory firm condoroptions.com in Forest, Virginia.

The stock ended up 0.6 percent at $88.12 on Friday.

If lawmakers fail to reach an agreement on reducing the U.S. budget deficit in the next few days, a sequester would include significant cuts in defense spending. Companies such as General Dynamics Corp and Smith & Wesson Holding Corp could be affected.

General Dynamics Corp shares rose 1.2 percent to $67.32 and Smith & Wesson added 4.6 percent to $9.18 on Friday.

EYES ON GDP DATA, APPLE

The latest data on fourth-quarter U.S. gross domestic product is expected on Thursday, and some analysts predict an upward revision following trade data that showed America's deficit shrank in December to its narrowest in nearly three years.

U.S. GDP unexpectedly contracted in the fourth quarter, according to an earlier government estimate, but analysts said there was no reason for panic, given that consumer spending and business investment picked up.

Investors will be looking for any hints of changes in the Fed's policy of monetary easing when Fed Chairman Ben Bernake speaks before congressional committees on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Shares of Apple

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Iran move to speed up nuclear programme troubles West

By Fredrik Dahl

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran has begun installing advanced centrifuges at its main uranium enrichment plant, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Thursday, a defiant step that will worry Western powers ahead of a resumption of talks with Tehran next week.

In a confidential report, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said 180 so-called IR-2m centrifuges and empty centrifuge casings had been put in place at the facility near the central town of Natanz. They were not yet operating.

If launched successfully, such machines could enable Iran to speed up significantly its accumulation of material that the West fears could be used to devise a nuclear weapon. Iran says it is refining uranium only for peaceful energy purposes.

Iran's installation of new-generation centrifuges would be "yet another provocative step," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in Washington.

White House spokesman Jay Carney warned Iran that it would face further pressure and isolation if it fails to address international concerns about its nuclear programme in the February 26 talks with world powers in the Kazakh city of Almaty.

Britain's Foreign Office said the IAEA's finding was of "serious concern". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the report "proves that Iran continues to advance swiftly towards the red line" that he laid down last year.

Netanyahu, who has strongly hinted at possible military action if sanctions and diplomacy fail to halt Iran's nuclear drive, told the U.N. in September that Iran should not have enough higher-enriched uranium to make even a single warhead.

Iran denies Western accusations that it is seeking to develop a capability to make atomic bombs. Tehran says it is Israel's assumed nuclear arsenal that threatens peace.

The IAEA's report showed "no evidence of diversion of material and nuclear activities towards military purposes," Iranian envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh told Iranian media.

U.S. lawmakers meanwhile are crafting a bill designed to stop the European Central Bank from handling business from the Iranian government, a U.S. congressional aide said on Thursday, in an attempt to keep Tehran from using euros to develop its nuclear programme.

In the early stages of drafting, it would target the ECB's cross-border payment system and impose U.S. economic penalties on entities that use the European Central Bank to do business with Iran's government, the aide said on condition of anonymity.

The aide disclosed the new push for sanctions ahead of fresh talks on Tuesday in which major powers hope to persuade the Iranian government to rein in its atomic activities, which the West suspects may be a cover to develop a bomb capability.

RISING WESTERN PRESSURE

It was not clear how many of the new centrifuges Iran aims to install at Natanz, which is designed for tens of thousands.

An IAEA note informing member states late last month about Iran's plans implied that it could be up to 3,000 or so.

Iran has for years been trying to develop centrifuges more efficient than the erratic 1970s IR-1 model it now uses, but their introduction for full-scale production has been dogged by delays and technical hurdles, experts and diplomats say.

The deployment of the new centrifuges underlines Iran's continued refusal to bow to Western pressure to curb its nuclear programme, and may further complicate efforts to resolve the dispute diplomatically, without a spiral into Middle East war.

Iran has also started testing two new centrifuge types, the IR-6 and IR-6s, at a research and development facility, the IAEA report said. Centrifuges spin at supersonic speed to increase the ratio of the fissile isotope in uranium.

In a more encouraging sign for the powers, however, the IAEA report said Iran in December resumed converting some of its uranium refined to a fissile concentration of 20 percent to oxide powder for the production of reactor fuel.

That helped restrain the growth of Iran's higher-grade uranium stockpile since the previous report in November, a development that could buy more time for diplomacy.

The report said Iran had increased to 167 kg (367 pounds) its stockpile of 20 percent uranium - a level it says it needs to make fuel for a Tehran research reactor but which also takes it much closer to weapons-grade material if processed further.

NEW OFFER TO IRAN

One diplomat familiar with the report said this represented a rise of about 18-19 kg since November, a notable slowdown from the previous three-month period when the stockpile jumped by nearly 50 percent after Iran halted conversion.

Israel last year gave a rough deadline of mid-2013 as the date by which Tehran could have enough higher-grade uranium to produce a single atomic bomb if processed further. Experts say about 240-250 kg of 20 percent enriched uranium would be needed.

But a resumption of conversion, experts say, means the Israeli "red line" for action could be postponed.

Refined uranium can fuel nuclear energy plants, which is Iran's stated aim, or provide the core of an atomic bomb, which the United States and Israel suspect may be its ultimate goal.

Next week's talks between the six powers and Iran to try again to break the impasse in the decade-old dispute are their first since mid-2012 but analysts expect no real progress toward defusing suspicions that Iran is seeking atomic bomb capability.

The United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany want Iran to halt 20 percent enrichment and shut the Fordow underground plant where this takes place.

Iran wants them to recognise what it regards as its right to refine uranium for peaceful purpose and to relax increasingly strict sanctions battering its oil-dependent economy.

In Paris, French deputy foreign ministry spokesman Vincent Floreani said the powers were ready to make a new offer to Iran with "significant new elements" and that they hoped Tehran would engage seriously in the negotiations. (Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris; Zahra Hosseinian in Zurich; Rachelle Younglai, Arshad Mohammed and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Paul Carrel in Frankfurt; Editing by Roger Atwood)

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Forlorn Torres fails to deliver as Chelsea limp through

By Toby Davis

LONDON (Reuters) - Fernando Torres left Chelsea fans wondering if they would ever see the striker who once terrorised defences after another forlorn performance as they limped into the last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday.

A stunning injury-time goal from substitute Eden Hazard salvaged a 1-1 draw against Sparta Prague on the night to send Chelsea through 2-1 on aggregate after David Lafata had put the Czechs ahead in the first half at Stamford Bridge.

The tie could have been put to bed, however, before the nerves set in had Spain forward Torres managed to find the net with any of the four gilt-edged chances that fell to him.

Chelsea's interim manager Rafa Benitez, who brought out the best in Torres when they were both at Liverpool, said the 50 million pound striker worked hard for the team, but it seemed a laboured effort to boost the striker's spirits.

"I think we can be talking about Fernando not scoring goals because he has four chances, but I will look at the positive - he had four good chances," Benitez told reporters.

"For the team he was doing a good job, he was in the right place at the right time and working very well."

A bad night for the Spaniard started after just six minutes when he steered a cross from Victor Moses wide from 12 metres.

It got worse when Torres somehow scooped a Juan Mata pass over the bar when it seemed easier to score five minutes later.

At this point his shoulders dropped and he looked shorn of the last few drops of confidence, a quality that oozed from him when he was at his devastating best for Liverpool.

He ended the first half with a close-range header that flew over the bar and began the second with a failed effort to flick the ball over the keeper when through on goal.

TERRIBLE FORM

Torres has now scored just one goal in his last 13 games in a run stretching back to December.

His terrible form in front of goal has coincided with the arrival of Demba Ba from Newcastle United, a player who was meant to take the weight off Torres's shoulders but seems merely to have added to his woes.

"He had the chances and I'm sure next time he will score one or two goals," added Benitez. "I don't agree he was playing bad, but I agree if he could take the chances it would be better."

Torres's blushes were spared to some extent by Hazard's superb late equaliser.

When Benitez signalled that the Belgium winger would replace playmaker Oscar, Chelsea fans responded with a chorus of "You don't know what you're doing".

While Chelsea's interim coach would have taken little pleasure from his team's unspectacular progress, he might have enjoyed a wry smile as Hazard let fly with a powerful left-foot drive to send his side through to face Steaua Bucharest in the next round.

"Today I was thinking maybe I could give him (Hazard) a rest and then maybe he would be ready for then (Sunday's Premier League match at Manchester City) as well," Benitez said. "We had to use him but you could see he was fresh and he was confident." (Reporting by Toby Davis; Editing by Ken Ferris)

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Ponting's retirement fund reduced by $250 after fine

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Ricky Ponting's competitive spirit has clearly not been dulled by the approach of the end of his career and a stormy reaction to a dismissal in a one-day match for Tasmania this week has earned him a A$250 fine.

The former Australia captain, who retired from international cricket at the end of last year after a glittering career, has enjoyed something of an Indian summer in his final season on the domestic scene.

After being run out for 95 in a match against Western Australia to be denied his 80th first class century in Perth on Tuesday, however, the 38-year-old threw his bat in the air in disgust.

That attracted the ire of Cricket Australia, who handed down the fine for a breach of the rule banning abuse of "cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings" after a hearing on Wednesday. (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)

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Asian shares fall as sentiment wavers on liquidation talk, Fed

By Chikako Mogi

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares fell and the Australian dollar eased on Thursday as risk sentiment was shaken by talk in global markets overnight that a hedge fund had been liquidating large positions in commodities, as well as worries the Federal Reserve could slow its bond buying programme.

Crude oil posted its biggest daily fall so far this year on Wednesday, while gold fell nearly 3 percent to a seven-month low in its biggest single-day drop in almost a year, on the market rumours that the hedge fund was forced to liquidate substantial commodity positions.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which gauges investor risk appetite on Wall Street, rose 19 percent to 14.68 in the biggest jump this year.

Traders said the selling in broad markets coincided with the release of the minutes from the Fed's January 29-30 meeting, which showed policymakers discussed the slowing or stopping of Fed bond purchases aimed at reducing unemployment.

We all heard the hedge fund rumour and price action appeared to back such a rumour, but nobody has seen hard news,"

said Yuji Saito, director of foreign exchange at Credit Agricole in Tokyo.

"The price action also happened at the same time as the Fed's minutes which suggested the risk of an exit (from the quantitative easing), so it's natural that money which had fled the dollar was returning, such as from gold. I think the fallout from the Fed's minutes will continue this session, prompting some money to head towards the dollar," Saito said.

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.5 percent, snapping a three-day rising streak and off its highest levels since August 2011 reached on Wednesday.

Resources-reliant Australian shares fell 0.8 percent, pulled down by weakness in the mining sector after gold, equities and resource-linked currencies were all knocked lower the day before. The Australian stock market hit a 4-1/2-year high on Wednesday.

The Australian dollar was down 0.1 percent to $1.0244 after sliding 1 percent to $1.0245.

South Korean shares opened down 0.5 percent after hitting a one-month high the day before while Tokyo's Nikkei stock average opened 0.6 percent lower, after closing on Wednesday at its highest since late September 2008.

European shares fell on Wednesday as surprise dividend cuts by RSA and Lufthansa and weak results from the likes of Accor and BHP Billiton weighed on sentiment.

MSCI's all-country world equity index rose to its highest level since June 2008 on Wednesday, before retreating to trade down 0.7 percent after the Fed's minutes.

"A number of participants stated that an ongoing evaluation of the efficacy, costs and risks of asset purchases might well lead the committee to taper or end its purchases before it judged that a substantial improvement in the outlook for the labor market had occurred," the minutes said.

The Fed's bond buying has played a significant role in calming markets by ensuring the central bank will keep its ultra-accommodative stance until growth is solid.

"We wouldn't leap to conclusions over the trajectory of QE4 (quantitative easing), which Fed officials in recent days have suggested would likely be sustained at least into H2 13. But it raises the stakes for Fed chairman Bernanke's semi-annual testimony on Tuesday (February 26)," said Sean Callow, a senior currency strategist at Westpac, in a note to clients.

The dollar rose 0.1 percent to 93.66 yen while the euro eased 0.1 percent to $1.3270, hovering near its lowest since January 23.

U.S. crude fell 0.6 percent to $94.62 a barrel.

Spot gold was up 0.5 percent to $1,569.14 an ounce.

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Singer Morrissey requests meat-free Los Angeles concert venue

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - British singer Morrissey has convinced a Los Angeles concert venue to not sell meat at concessions during his performance next month.

The longtime animal rights activist and former singer for 1980s rock group The Smiths urged the Staples Center arena to shutter the concession stands of fast food chain McDonald's and to halt the sale of meat by other outlets at the venue for his March 1 performance.

"We respect Morrissey's lifestyle and his concern for the wishes of so many of his fans and are happy that we are able to honor his requests in this manner," Lee Zeidman, the arena's general manager, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Staples Center operator Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) said the arena will also roll out a special line of meatless food concessions, including vegan sloppy Joes, vegan sushi, and hummus and pita bread.

"I don't look upon it as a victory for me, but a victory for the animals," the "Irish Blood, English Heart" singer said earlier this week.

AEG and its promoter subsidiary Goldenvoice will donate a portion of ticket sales from the show to the animal rights group PETA, Morrissey said.

Morrissey, 53, who co-wrote The Smiths' 1985 song "Meat Is Murder," postponed a series of concerts on his North America tour last month after being hospitalized for a bleeding ulcer.

He is expected to relaunch the tour with a performance on U.S. late-night talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" next week. (Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Stacey Joyce)

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Oscar 'losers' to go home with $45,000 gift bags

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oscar nominees who don't end up with a coveted gold statuette at the Academy Awards on Sunday won't go home empty handed after all.

Los Angeles-based marketing firm Distinctive Assets will be handing out its annual "Everyone Wins at the Oscars Nominee Gift Bag", valued at more than $45,000, to the talented and well-dressed "losers," the company said on Tuesday.

Among the items in the gift bags, known as swag bags, are trips to Australia, Hawaii and Mexico, personal training sessions, condoms, a bottle of tequila, hand-illustrated tennis shoes, appointments for injectable fillers and 'portion-controlled' dinnerware for those watching their figure, Distinctive Assets said in a statement.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hands out the Oscars, stopped its practice of giving gift baskets to presenters and performers in 2007 after the practice came under closer scrutiny from U.S. tax authorities.

Celebrities who receive gifts and free trips at awards shows are expected to declare them to the Inland Revenue Service as income and pay the appropriate taxes.

The Distinctive Assets gift bag is not endorsed by the Academy but has been creating consolation goodie bags for 11 years now. The bags are delivered to the losing nominees to their homes directly or through their agents or publicists.

This year's "Not Everyone Wins...." swag bag also includes an under-the-counter water filtration system, acupuncture and aromatherapy sessions, a one-week stay at a fitness and weight-loss retreat, and a one-year membership to London's Heathrow Airport's private VIP service.

Nominees' children also benefit: they get to enroll in professional all-kid circus classes.

The Academy Awards, the highest honors in the movie business, will be handed out a ceremony on Sunday in Hollywood. (Reporting by Zorianna Kit, editing by Jill Serjeant and Philip Barbara)

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Britain and India to agree cyber crime joint taskforce

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Britain and India are expected to agree to set up a joint task force to fight cyber crime on Tuesday, a move London hopes will help it safeguard the personal banking and mobile phone data of millions of Britons, much of which is stored on Indian servers.

The agreement is expected to be sealed at a meeting between British Prime Minister David Cameron and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in New Delhi, one of the highlights of Cameron's three-day trade and investment trip to India.

"The two leaders are expected to agree a substantial strengthening of practical co-operation between British and Indian authorities to increase the security of British and Indian computer networks and to help defend them against cyber attacks by terrorists, criminals and hostile states," Cameron's office said in a statement.

It said India was set to have one of the biggest online populations by 2015 with an expected 300 million users - larger than the United States and up from the 137 million users already in India today.

Cameron told reporters: "I think why we're forging these partnerships with other countries - including trusted partners like India - is twofold.

"One is, other countries securing their data is effectively helping us secure our data. Secondly, I think this is an area where Britain has some real competitive and technology advantages." (Reporting By Andrew Osborn; Editing by Robert Birsel)

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Wall Street ends slightly down, SP positive for seventh week

By Ryan Vlastelica

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 dipped in a late decline on Friday as Wal-Mart dropped following a report of a weak start to February sales, though the index just barely extended its streak of weekly gains to seven.

Equities were little changed for much of the session, with investors finding few reasons to make big bets following an extended rally on Wall Street, but stocks turned lower in afternoon action.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc dropped 2.1 percent to $69.30 after Bloomberg News reported a weak start to February sales, citing internal company e-mails. The stock was the biggest decliner on the Dow, while the S&P retail index <.SPXRT> fell 0.5 percent.

"When a retailer of this size comes out with this kind of lousy news, the whole market can fall off, especially on a Friday afternoon," said Mike Shea, trader at Direct Access Partners in New York. "However, I'm not worried that this is indicative of any larger macro issue with retail."

Equities have struggled for direction recently, with major indexes moving only slightly in the past several sessions. The S&P didn't end a session with a move greater than 0.2 percent at all this week.

The benchmark index, up 6.6 percent so far this year, is facing strong technical resistance near the 1,525 level. But investors, expecting the index to advance further in the quarter, have held back from locking in profits.

"There's no news that suggests the strong underpinning for stocks isn't appropriate. We may have gotten ahead of ourselves, but there's also an absence of bad news," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.

Many investors are starting to look ahead to a debate in Washington over sequestration, automatic across-the-board spending cuts put in place as part of a larger congressional budget fight. The cuts are due to kick in March 1 unless lawmakers agree to an alternative.

"This had been far enough out to not yet become an impediment for stocks, but it will start to move into the forefront and cause people to take a bit of a jaundiced eye towards the market," said Luschini, who helps oversee about $54 billion in assets.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 11.27 points, or 0.08 percent, at 13,984.66. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 0.32 points, or 0.02 percent, at 1,521.70. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 0.21 percent at 3,192.03.

For the week, both the Dow and Nasdaq fell 0.1 percent while the S&P rose 0.1 percent in its seventh straight week of gains, a period during which the index rose 8.4 percent. The last such seven-week run was between December 2010 and January 2011.

The New York Federal Reserve said manufacturing in New York state expanded for the first time in seven months, while Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary reading of consumer sentiment rose from the prior month and beat expectations.

But U.S. manufacturing fell in January after a rise in the prior month.

Wall Street's gain thus far in 2013 has largely been driven by strong corporate earnings, while data indicated some weakening in economic conditions.

A surge in merger and acquisition activity, with more than $158 billion in deals announced so far in 2013, has given further support to the equity market as it points to healthy valuations and bets on the economic outlook.

Herbalife shares cut earlier gains to rise 1.2 percent to $38.74. Late Thursday, billionaire investor Carl Icahn said in a regulatory filing that he now owns 13 percent of Herbalife and was ready to put it in play.

MeadWestvaco Corp climbed 12.5 percent to $35.65 as the biggest percentage gainer on the S&P index after activist investor Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management LP said it had bought about 1.6 million shares of the packaging company.

Burger King Worldwide shares gained 4.7 percent to $17.36 after it beat estimates with a 94 percent rise in fourth-quarter profit, thanks to new menu additions.

Oil service stocks declined, weighed by a 5.1 percent drop in shares of Transocean to $56.26, after the rig contractor reported its fleet update and Deutsche Bank cut its rating on the stock to "sell." The PHLX oil service sector <.OSX> lost 1.5 percent.

Slightly more stocks fell than rose on the New York Stock Exchange while about 50 percent of Nasdaq shares ended lower. About 6.69 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and NYSE MKT, above the daily average so far this year of about 6.48 billion shares.

(Editing by Nick Zieminski)

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Cyprus heads for runoff vote, conservative chief leads

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus was headed for a runoff vote in its presidential election after conservative leader Nicos Anastasiades failed to muster an outright majority after the bulk of votes were counted.

The 66-year-old lawyer, who is in favour of a quick bailout deal with European Union and International Monetary Fund lenders to avert a Cypriot bankruptcy, led with 45.2 percent of the vote, just short of the over 50 percent level needed to avoid the run-off.

Leftist rival Stavros Malas, who is backed by the Communist party AKEL, had a 27.1 percent share of the vote, while a third contender, independent candidate George Lillikas, had a 25 percent share of the vote after 87 percent of the vote was counted.

(Reporting by Michele Kambas, Writing by Deepa Babington)

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Anna Hazare to tour country campaigning for Jan Lokpal Bill

Hyderabad, Feb 17 (PTI) Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare today said he would tour the entire country for the next one and a half years to campaign on his demand for the Jan Lokpal Bill. Hazare, who launched his 'Janatantra' movement in Patna on January 30 to fight for changing the system, expressed confidence that he would be able to rope in at least six crore committed people to fight for the cause. Noting that the Jan Lokpal Bill would not remove corruption totally, but only about 50 per cent, he said other measures like 'Right to Reject' and 'power to gram sabhas', as envisaged by the 'Janatantra' movement are needed to root out corruption and to "change the system". "These measures," he said, "would mount pressure on political parties and lawmakers to serve the people in a sincere manner and usher in clean politics and not behave like masters of the people as it is the case today." Had the anti-corruption measures as sought by him been in place, at least 15 ministers in the UPA government would have been behind bars, he said. Alleging that the government was not sincere in bringing the Jan Lokpal bill, he said he would continue to fight for it till his last breath. The 'Janatantra' movement would be apolitical and have no core committee, as existed during the Jan Lokpal campaign undertaken by 'Team Anna', and all those who are part of it would be its leaders. He said he would build up the campaign to reform the system from the grassroots level by extensively touring the country. Hazare, who circulated mobile phone numbers at the Patna rally where the movement was launched, said that 25,000 text messages were received. He announced his mobile number at the end of his speech here too. (MORE) PTI SJR BA AVT SDM

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Centre had given all possible help to UP for Kumbh: Jaiswal

Kanpur, Feb 16 (PTI) Urging the state and Union government to work together to avoid any mishap at Kumbh in the future, Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal today said that the Centre had extended all possible help for organising the Mela. "The deaths in the stampede at the Allahabad railway station is a sad incident, but this is not the time for the Centre and the state government to blame each other. It is the time for the two to work together to ensure the safety of the devotees at the mela," Jaiswal said at a press conference ahead of the inauguration of the renovated Congress headquarters at the Tilak Hall. The hall will be inaugurated tomorrow by Motilal Bora while the chief of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Nirmal Khatri will preside over the function, said the Congress MP from Kanpur. "The Centre had provided all possible help to the state government for the organisation of the Kumbh Mela," he added. In reply to a query about the alleged helicopter scam, Jaiswal said that the deal was being probed and the government was ready to take the right decision. "Defence Minister A K Antony and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are very honest leaders," he said. PTI Corr SRS SHL

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PAK-3RDLD BLAST 2 LAST

Security forces cordoned off the area and did not allow Security forces cordoned off the area and did not allow the media to approach the site of the blast. Officials said this was done as terrorists had set off a bigger bomb after a smaller initial blast in recent attacks. No group claimed responsibility for the blast. Similar attacks in the recent past have been blamed on the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a notorious militant group that often targets Shias. On January 10, a twin suicide attack in Quetta killed 92 Hazara Shias and injured over 100, the highest toll in a single attack on Shias, who make up 20 per cent of Pakistan's population of 180 million. Following the attack, the federal government imposed Governor's Rule in Balochistan. Shia groups and political parties asked people to observe three days of mourning and called for a strike in Quetta tomorrow to protest the killing of members of the minority community. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf condemned the attack and reiterated the government's resolve to continue the fight against militants. Ashraf directed provincial authorities to arrest the perpetrators of the blast. "We will not be intimidated by such cowardly acts and such acts will not deter our resolve to fight terrorism," he said. PTI RHL ASK ASK

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