Fantasy Perspective As stated Cutler and co

Egypt, another Arab government close to Washington but with a strong Islamist opposition, is trying to broker a ceasefire to halt the fighting on its northern border. A senior Western diplomat and a Hamas official called Monday's talks positive Israeli leaders, who are also fighting for power in a Feb. 10 election, have given few clues on how long they are prepared to continue the offensive, although some officials have cited the inauguration of Obama, a U.N. ceasefire resolution and the election as factors pushing them toward calling off the troops. Political sources said Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, head of the ruling Kadima party, and Defence Minister Ehud Barak, head of centre-left Labour, wanted to halt the operation as soon as possible.

Israel, backed by its Western allies, says any ceasefire must depend on Hamas halting rocket fire 16 landed in Israel on Monday, the army said and, crucially, also wants measures to stop Hamas from rearming via tunnels under the Egypt-Gaza border, in an area known as the Philadelphi corridor. "We want Hamas to understand there will be no possibility of smuggling arms into Gaza, because any such attempt will be met by the iron fist of the Israeli people," Olmert said "Nothing more, nothing less. If it takes time, it takes time." Hamas negotiators returned to Cairo late on Monday after consulting the leadership in exile in Damascus. Jan 12 (Reuters) - Exact Sciences Corp (EXAS.O), whichdevelops technologies that detect cancer, said its boardrejected Sequenom Inc's (SQNM.O) offer to buy the company for$1.50 per share in stock. Stocks Mergers & Acquisitions The company said it is actively pursuing a strategicalternative "that the board believes can provide greater valueto Exact and its shareholders than the Sequenom proposal." Shares of Exact closed up about 52 percent at $1.50, whilethose of Sequenom closed down 3 percent at $22.29 Monday onNasdaq. Last week, Sequenom, which makes genetics products,proposed to buy Exact in an all-stock deal valued at about $41million to boost its cancer diagnostics offering.

(Reporting by Anand Basu in Bangalore; Editing by DeepakKannan) Stocks Mergers & Acquisitions. Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler threw a career-high five interceptions as his offense never got off the ground against a determined San Francisco 49ers defense.49ers’ quarterback Alex Smith didn’t blow anyone with his performance either, but it was Cutler who had all the eyes on him, as he took four interceptions into a final drive, leading Chicago fearlessly down the field to the 49ers 12-yard line.The game was over on the next throw, however, as Cutler’s pass into the end-zone was intercepted by Michael Lewis, sealing the 49ers’ 10-6 victory.It was a horrific offensive display on both sides, as San Francisco’s Frank Gore was the only player who was truly outstanding on the night, while Chicago’s Matt Forte broke loose on several receptions and finished with 80-plus yards receiving.Overall, it was quite the fantasy football letdown, as experts and fans alike had pegged this game as a break-out contest for two meandering offenses that had been sputtering. Chicago has been struggling to compete and put points on the board against it’s last two opponents, and really has struggled all season.San Francisco, on the other hand, while sparked by Alex Smith’s return to the starting line-up, had dropped four straight game and gave up 24 points to the Tennessee Titans the week before on turnovers alone.Both teams ended the night at 4-5, with San Francisco feeling accomplished and looking forward to the future, while Chicago was left wondering what was left of theirs.Fantasy Perspective: As stated, Cutler and co. didn’t muster anything worth having in a starting line-up, while the unlikely fantasy hero in Chicago, Matt Forte , combined for 100-plus total yards, more than 80 of them coming through the air.Frank Gore paced the 49ers, as he scored the only touchdown of the game, and would-be Week 10 fantasy sleepers, Alex Smith, Vernon Davis, and Michael Crabtree all stunk it up in a disappointing showdown.For more NFL news and fantasy insight, head over to NFL Soup.

Ohayo gozaimasu from Reuters Tokyo newsroom For real-time forecasts and updates of Japanese economicindicators click ECONJP For top Japan news click on TOP/JP All events in Tokyo unless stated otherwise. Times, when available, shown in GMT; asterisk indicatesGMT is previous day. Inclusion of an event in the diary does not always meanthat Reuters will report on that item. Tuesday, Jan. 13 ECONOMY/POLITICS/MARKETS Cabinet Meeting Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa news conference Economics Minister Kaoru Yosano news conference 2350 - November current account balance data JPCURAECIECONJP 2350 Bank lending, money stock data for DecemberJPBNKECIJPLEINECI ECONJP 0300 Local Japan governors including Tokyo GovernorShintaro Ishihara speak at Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japanon a campaign to resolve North Korean abduction issue. 0430 Corporate bankruptcy data for December 2008 0500 Economy watchers survey for December JPEWDIECIECONJP Wednesday, Jan 14. ECONOMY/POLITICS/MARKETS Transport officials from 22 countries, including ministersfrom 10 countries, to meet for conference on climate change 0130 Five-year JGB auction 0300 U.S.