New York, November 22: U. S. President-elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle have announced the name of the school where their two daughters will study.

The couple have decided to send their children — Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7 — to Sidwell Friends School, the pricey and prestigious academy that has educated generations of this city’s elite.

“A number of great schools were considered,’’ the New York Times quoted Katie McCormick Lelyveld, a spokeswoman for Michelle as saying.

New York  - In an unexpected move, Wal-Mart Stores Inc said Friday it would replace its chief executive of nine years.

Lee Scott, 59, will retire February 1 and be replaced by Mike Duke, 58, who has led the company's international division since 2005.

Scott, who has been with the world's largest retailer for nearly 30 years, will remain chairman of the executive committee of the board.

The change comes at a time of uncertainty in the US retail market with the financial crisis hanging over the holiday shopping season. But discounter Wal-Mart looks poised to benefit from more cost- conscious shoppers and it was set to be the top earner in the Dow Jones Industrial Average for the year, Bloomberg financial news reported.

New York, Nov 21: Victoria's Secret models Alessandra Ambrosio and Heidi Klum have done something that remains almost an unattainable task for many new mommies—they got back in their sexy shape just a couple of months after giving birth.

And the miracle has nothing to do with superhuman genes –it’s the women’s trainers who helped them achieve their tight and toned post-baby bodies.

Alessandra Ambrosio lost 20 pounds to get back to her pre-baby shape, while Heidi Klum bounced back to shape in less than two months in 2005.

New York, Nov 21 : Over 50 percent of Americans favour Senator Hillary Clinton as President elect Barack Obama’s Secretary of State.

A new Gallup poll found 57 percent of Americans support President-elect Obama appointing Hillary secretary of state, while 30 percent oppose it, the Daily News reported.

Among Democrats, the potential nomination is even more popular, with nearly 8 in 10 hoping the former First Lady will become the nation’s top diplomat.

New York, Nov 21: Though she is yet to be conferred with the title of US First Lady, Michelle Obama has already become a fashion icon.

And the incoming First Lady is getting her own fashion book.

Avon has signed former Made moiselle editor Mandi Norwood to write a "Michelle Obama Style Guide,” which is due to release next spring.

"Not since Jackie O have we had a first lady become a fashion icon,” the New York Post quoted Avon vice president Carrie Feron as saying.

New York - JP Morgan Chase will cut about 3,000 jobs in its investment banking division as a result of the global financial crisis, a report said Thursday.

The layoffs would hit about 10 per cent of the division and some employees had already been given notice, Bloomberg financial news reported citing a person familiar with the matter.

JP Morgan Chase, the largest US bank, had not been as hard hit as many other financial firms by the crisis, reporting falling earnings but remaining in the black.