All posts published in October 2012
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co agreed to buy filmmaker George Lucas’s Lucasfilm Ltd and its “Star Wars” franchise for $4.05 billion in cash and stock, a blockbuster deal that includes the surprise promise of a new film in the series in 2015. The deal u... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Fresh allegations emerged on Wednesday of sexual misconduct by late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile, further damaging the corporation’s reputation and increasing pressure on its management. Facing questions on how suspicions about Savile were han... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co’s $4 billion deal to buy George Lucas’s Lucasfilm Ltd, Disney’s third major entertainment acquisition in seven years, started taking shape in May 2011, when the “Star Wars” creator had to show Disney CEO Bob Iger how to u... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – The European Union will lose Turkey if it doesn’t grant it membership by 2023, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday. It was the first time Erdogan has given an indication of how long Ankara might continue down the path towar... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Viewers looking for an update as Hurricane Sandy approached the U.S. East Coast made The Weather Channel the most-watched cable news channel on Sunday. An average of more than 1.4 million people watched The Weather Channel at some point... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union is considering sending about 200 troops to train Mali’s army to retake the Islamist-held north, but is not willing to deploy them in battle, EU officials said on Tuesday. Fears are growing in Europe that the African coun... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone economic sentiment fell less than expected in October, data showed on Tuesday, thanks to small improvements in optimism among consumers and in the retail sector, which helped limit the downward pull from industry, services and co... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – German joblessness rose for a seventh month in a row in October, highlighting the vulnerability of Europe’s biggest economy to the euro zone crisis. Economists expect the trend to reverse, however, as growth revives in the new year. The numb... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – European Central Bank Chief Mario Draghi backed a proposal by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble to radically expand the powers of the European Union’s monetary affairs commissioner giving Brussels greater control over member states ... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Current TV, the liberal cable news channel started by former Vice President Al Gore, has hired JP Morgan and The Raine Group to assess strategic options that may include a sale or strategic partnership with another media company, accord... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Premium cable network HBO delayed the launch of video and online distribution of its programming in four Scandinavian countries, giving a head start in the region to a video streaming service by rival Netflix Inc. HBO Nordic, the joint ... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German publisher Burda has bid to take over professional social network Xing AG as it further reduces its dependence on traditional printed media. Privately held Burda said it had raised its stake in Xing to 38.89 percent, exceeding a leg... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British police investigating alleged sexual abuse by one of the BBC’s most celebrated TV stars said on Thursday some 300 victims had come forward and they were preparing to make arrests in a scandal that has thrown the broadcaster into disar... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Loans to euro zone companies dropped significantly in September as the euro debt crisis and a darkening economic outlook dampened their appetite to borrow, while ECB efforts to encourage lending showed little impact. Loans to the private ... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The number of American TV viewers who watched the last debate between U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney fell sharply on a night when football and baseball competed with politics for eyeballs. Final Nielse... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union countries will examine a plan this week to allow the ECB to supervise banks in states outside the euro zone alongside those within the currency area, according to an EU document that lays down limits on the central bank’s ro... More »
(Reuters) – Sirius XM Radio Inc Chief Executive Mel Karmazin will step down in February, a move that comes at a time when media mogul John Malone’s Liberty Media Corp is trying to wrest full control of the satellite radio broadcaster. Shares of the company wer... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The head of the BBC denied on Tuesday helping to cover up sexual abuse by one of its former stars but accepted the British broadcaster had been damaged by a scandal that has shaken public trust in a national institution. George Entwistle, wh... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The director general of the BBC said on Tuesday allegations of sexual abuse carried out by one of the publicly funded broadcaster’s former stars represented a very grave matter that had an impact on its reputation. “This is a gravely serious... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The head of the BBC goes before lawmakers on Tuesday with the publicly funded British broadcaster facing one of the biggest crises in its history over accusations it pulled a probe into sexual abuse by a former presenter as part of a wider c... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain is increasingly disillusioned with the European Union which it sees as a “machine that sucks up decision-making”, Britain’s foreign secretary said on Tuesday in prepared remarks. “People feel that the EU is a one way process, a great... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Global stocks faltered on Monday on weak corporate results and outlooks, while the euro gained after a regional vote in Spain was seen as moving a solution to the euro zone debt crisis one step closer. U.S. stocks eked out gains in a late-... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Netflix Inc launched its subscription video service in 49 countries in a little more than a year, a push that has left Wall Street analysts wondering if the company is trying to expand its reach too quickly. Last week, the Los Gatos, Ca... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The euro zone’s fiscal deficit fell sharply last year as governments slashed expenses and raised taxes to regain market confidence in their public finances, but public debt still climbed, data from the European Union’s statistics office sh... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Pressure on the BBC to address allegations its bosses covered up sexual abuse claims leveled at one of its former TV stars mounted on Monday after British Prime Minister David Cameron said the broadcaster had serious questions to answer. The... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – European Central Bank policymaker Klaas Knot has thrown his support behind German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble’s call for a euro zone commissioner with power over European Union nations’ budgets. The EU needs not only stricter budget ... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised new hurdles on Friday to using the euro zone’s rescue fund to inject capital directly into ailing banks from next year, dashing Spain’s hopes of soon removing the cost from its strained national debt.... More »
(Reuters) – Newsweek, one of the most internationally recognized magazine brands in the world, will cease publishing a print edition after nearly 80 years. The decision to go all-digital underscores the problems faced by newsweeklies, as more consumers favor t... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The BBC said on Thursday that broadcasts had been disrupted in the Middle East and Europe, just weeks after its satellite transmission provider accused Iran of trying to jam U.S. and European programs.. Britain’s public broadcaster did not s... More »
MILAN/MADRID (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund called on the eve of a European Union summit for both Spain and Italy to seek euro zone assistance to draw a line under the bloc’s debt crisis, but Rome has rebuffed the idea and Madrid seems likely to a... More »
MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) – German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on the eve of a summit of European leaders that debt-ridden euro zone states must help themselves while Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe needed to resolve its crisis to become comp... More »
BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Europe and the United States are set to launch trade talks early next year to deepen the world’s largest trading relationship, EU and U.S. officials say, potentially unleashing billions of euros of new transatlantic business. To... More »
(Reuters) – The erupting scandal at Britain’s public broadcaster, the BBC, over allegations of sexual abuse involving late TV host Jimmy Savile is leading to awkward questions for the New York Times Co’s incoming chief executive, Mark Thompson. The BBC is faci... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Rupert Murdoch survived yet another attempt to oust him as chairman of his News Corp media empire on Tuesday, the second straight year he has defeated critics who say his family wields too much control over the company. Shareholders re-... More »
LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) – European Union governments agreed further sanctions against Iran’s banking, shipping and industrial sectors on Monday, cranking up financial pressure on Tehran in the hope of drawing it into serious negotiations on its nuclear program. T... More »
VILNIUS (Reuters) – Lithuania’s newly-elected opposition tried to reassure financial markets on Monday it will not throw away fiscal prudence, after voters fed up with four years of harsh austerity measures ejected the government. An ex-Soviet state of about t... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Britain is pushing for changes to a proposed euro zone banking union to dilute the power of the European Central Bank, EU officials said, potentially hampering efforts to build the infrastructure urgently needed to underpin the euro. The E... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – ING Groep NV (ING.AS ) is in talks with the Dutch government and European Commission to repay the 4.5 billion euros ($5.84 billion) in aid as soon as possible, an executive said. ING, which received a capital infusion of 10 billion euros ... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – The European Union’s Nobel peace prize comes just as a realization is dawning that Europe’s single currency – the EU’s most ambitious project – has survived three years of incessant financial turmoil and is not going to break up. But having n... More »
PODGORICA (Reuters) – Montenegro’s ruling party leader Milo Djukanovic claimed victory in a parliamentary election on Sunday, extending his DPS party’s 23-year old rule in the ex-Yugoslav republic as it starts European Union accession talks. The new government... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union provisionally approved new economic sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program on Friday, with senior diplomats giving their backing to measures against Tehran’s banking sector, industry and shipping. The move marks... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Spain on Friday said a European bond-buying plan was fully ready for use and that there was absolutely no political resistance from within the euro zone to a Spanish bailout request. The situation in Spain, which is considering seeking an aid... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David Cameron made no comment on the European Union’s Nobel Peace Prize win on Friday, a stark contrast to the effusion of other EU leaders and a reflection of Britain’s uneasy relationship with Europe. Cameron is unde... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s interior minister called on Friday for the suspension of visa-free travel for Serbs and Macedonians to the European Union following a surge in asylum applications from citizens of the two Balkan countries. Serbs and Macedonians acc... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Greece, Spain and the euro zone’s slow progress toward debt reform take centre stage at IMF meetings on Friday despite Europe’s best effort to remove itself from the spotlight. The International Monetary Fund recommended that some of Europe’s... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union accused the United States on Thursday of ignoring a World Trade Organization ruling to stop subsidies to planemaker Boeing (BA.N ) and asked the Geneva-based body to investigate, prolonging the world’s largest trade disp... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s lower house of parliament adopted on Wednesday the law needed to enact a European Union fiscal discipline treaty obliging governments to balance their budgets or face sanctions. Lawmakers voted 490 in favor of the legislation with 34... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission said on Wednesday Serbia was not ready to start accession talks with the EU because of its tensions with Kosovo, and criticized Turkey for its human rights record and insufficient reforms. In its annual report on co... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund urged European policymakers to deepen the financial and fiscal ties within the euro area with some urgency to restore sagging confidence in the global financial system. The IMF’s stark tone on the euro area deb... More »
LUXEMBOURG/ATHENS (Reuters) – Eleven euro zone countries agreed on Tuesday to press ahead with a disputed tax on financial transactions aimed at making traders share the cost of fixing a crisis that has rocked the single currency area. The initiative, pushed h... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund urged European policymakers to deepen the financial and fiscal ties within the euro area with some urgency to restore sagging confidence in the global financial system. In its semi-annual check on the world’s f... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Apple Inc’s antitrust case with the European Union over e-book publishing could be settled in a couple of months, European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said on Tuesday. Almunia, the EU’s antitrust chief, said he hoped to resolv... More »
(Advisory: this article contains profanity in the fourth, 27th and 41st paragraphs.) By Jennifer Saba NEW YORK (Reuters) – He’s tearing down walls. He’s tossing out old business models. And he’s dressing down people, publicly and profanely, in the once-buttone... More »
LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) – Euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund held a “thorough and robust” debate on Greece on Monday, but failed to make significant progress in deciding how best to get the country back on track with its bailout progr... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – The IMF cut its global growth forecast on Tuesday for the second time since April and warned U.S. and European policymakers that failure to fix their economic ills would prolong the slump. Global growth is too weak to bring down unemployment ... More »
(Reuters) – Gannett Co Inc said it reached a deal with Charles Ergen’s Dish Network Corp on Monday avoiding a blackout that would have prevented some Dish customers in the United States from seeing content broadcast by networks ABC, NBC and CBS. Newspaper and ... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – European diplomats discussing the possibility of a separate budget to improve monetary union in the euro zone are considering a sum of around 20 billion euros ($26 billion), according to the Financial Times Deutschland (FTD). There is still ... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Euro zone inflation does not present a threat and should ease below the two percent mark next year, ECB executive board member Joerg Asmussen told Germany’s top-selling tabloid Bild, according to an advance copy of an article due to appear o... More »
WASHINGTON/PARIS (Reuters) – The U.S. government said on Saturday it had received European Union documents on funding for the Airbus (EAD.PA ) A350 after requesting them from the World Trade Organization over a month ago in an ongoing transatlantic dispute ove... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel will make her first visit to Greece next week since the euro zone debt crisis erupted, in a show of support for Athens after it said it would run out of money at the end of November without fresh international... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Heavily indebted euro zone firms are reaping the benefits of the European Central Bank’s pledge to pull the region out of crisis, allowing them to borrow more cheaply and draw investors back into their shares. In the aftermath of the 2008 cr... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union is poised to ban imports of Iranian gas as part of a set of new measures to ratchet up pressure on the Islamic Republic over its nuclear programme, diplomats said on Thursday. Diplomats from EU member states have started... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Regulators and operators should act now to improve safety at nuclear power plants, the EU energy commissioner said on Thursday, following inspections across the European Union. The stress tests, carried out in the aftermath of the Fukushim... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Airlines cannot use strikes as an excuse not to pay compensation to travelers they bump off flights, Europe’s highest court said on Thursday, widening the scope of passenger rights in the European Union. Judges at the Luxembourg-based EU C... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel is hardening her stance on additional help for struggling euro zone economies like Greece and Spain as pressure from parliamentary allies and a looming election campaign shrink her room for maneuver in Europe.... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – The euro zone has made much progress in battling its three-year old debt crisis with the tough reforms taken by hardest-hit countries particularly encouraging and it needs to keep up the momentum, Japan’s top financial diplomat said on Wednes... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Banking supervision, the single market, a centralized euro zone budget, a single bank resolution fund, direct recapitalization of banks from rescue funds and much stricter fiscal oversight. If there were any doubts about how complex a task... More »
MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Tuesday a request for European aid was not imminent following a report the country could apply for help as soon as this weekend. Rajoy made the comments after meeting in Madrid with the 17 leaders... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The euro zone debt crisis is pushing the International Monetary Fund into new, and at times, uncomfortable territory. The global lender is preparing to monitor some of Europe’s largest economies possibly without its biggest weapon – mone... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Trader Glencore (GLEN.L ) has formally notified the European Commission of its $33 billion plan to take over miner Xstrata XTA.L, sources familiar with the matter said, after months of preliminary talks designed to pave the way for a swift a... More »
