Month

October 2013

All posts published in October 2013

709 posts
Bookmark?Remove?

Book says Obama aides considered replacing Biden with Clinton: NYT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama’s top aides considered replacing Vice President Joe Biden with Hillary Clinton for Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign but decided it would not significantly help, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing a ne... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Obamacare controversy hits close to home for Capitol Hill staff

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican lawmakers opposed to Obamacare have been grappling with a predicament of their own making as they decide whether to move their staff into the new insurance marketplaces tied to President Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul. Mor... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

U.S. to allow expanded electronic device use on flights

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Airline passengers will soon be able to use certain electronic devices throughout their entire flight after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ended a long-standing ban on Thursday. Mobile phone calls remain barred under Federal Co... More »

Exclusive: EU, IMF coordinate on Ukraine as Russia threat looms

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union is in advanced discussions with the International Monetary Fund on providing standby financing to Ukraine should the country come under economic pressure from Russia later this year, senior EU officials have told Reuters... More »

Pimco’s Gross urges ‘privileged 1 percent’ to pay more tax

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bill Gross, manager of the world’s largest bond fund, urged fellow members of the “privileged 1 percent,” earning the highest incomes, to support higher U.S. taxes on carried interest and capital gains to help the economy. Gross, co-founde... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

U.S. authorities quiz AstraZeneca over heart drug trial

LONDON (Reuters) – AstraZeneca is being investigated by U.S. authorities over a major clinical trial that was used to win marketing approval for its new heart drug Brilinta, casting fresh doubts over the medicine. Brilinta sales have been a disappointment sinc... More »

Saving for college? 529 plan aren’t as safe as you think

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Your 529 college savings plan may not be as safe as you think. “Safe” is a relative term in investing, but the age-based options in these tax-deferred plans typically tilt away from stocks and toward bonds as the beneficiary – your kid ... More »

As stock market rallies, U.S. firms pull back allocation

NEW YORK (Reuters) – With stock indexes at record highs, U.S. fund managers pared their total equity allocations to the lowest level since 2007 in October and raised cash holdings to the highest in almost a year, a Reuters poll found on Thursday. The survey of... More »

Time Warner Cable loses subscribers, says open to deals

(Reuters) – Time Warner Cable Inc reported a steep decline in video and Internet customers, blaming a month-long blackout of No. 1 U.S. broadcaster CBS Corp and said it was open to consolidation if it would make money for shareholders. Merger speculation boost... More »

New York Times revenue rises on subscriptions

(Reuters) – New York Times Co reported higher third-quarter revenue on Thursday after more readers paid for its flagship newspaper and its digital products. The company is relying on customers to open their wallets as advertisers pull back from newspapers. “Ci... More »

Batista’s OGX files for bankruptcy protection in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – OGX Petróleo e Gas Participações SA, the Brazilian oil company controlled by former billionaire Eike Batista, sought court protection from creditors on Wednesday in Latin America’s largest-ever corporate bankruptcy filing. The bankru... More »

China’s Alibaba to launch online fund sales service: media

BEIJING (Reuters) – Alibaba Group Holdings has secured approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to act as a third party for the online sale of fund products, local media group Caixin reported on its website. The fund products will soon b... More »

Bahrain police close art display on pro-democracy uprising

DUBAI (Reuters) – Bahraini authorities have shut and dismantled an exhibition on anti-government protests staged by the main Shi’ite opposition group al-Wefaq, saying it violates the law and incites hatred. Unrest has gripped Bahrain, a Western ally which host... More »

Marvin Gaye’s family sues ‘Blurred Lines’ composers

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Family of late soul singer Marvin Gaye sued R&B recording artists Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams for copyright infringement on Wednesday, accusing them of stealing from the Motown legend’s musical composition for the hit single “Blu... More »

Katy Perry tops Billboard in worst week for album sales since 1991

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Pop singer Katy Perry shot to the top of the weekly Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday with her latest album, “Prism,” although overall album sales for the week were the lowest since the publication began charting in 1991. “Prism,” ... More »

James Blake wins Mercury music prize for 2013 best UK/Irish album

LONDON (Reuters) – Songwriter and singer James Blake won the 2013 Barclaycard Mercury Prize for best album on Wednesday for “Overgrown”, with the winner announced at the end of a star-packed concert and awards event in London. The album selected by a panel of ... More »

Vienna museum director quits in Nazi looted art row

VIENNA (Reuters) – The director of Vienna’s Leopold Museum, home to extensive collections of work by Austrian artists such as Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt, has quit in a row over Nazi-looted art. Tobias Natter said he could no longer stay at the museum after ... More »

JPMorgan Chase gains in small business satisfaction ranking

NEW YORK (Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N ) ranked first in a small business customer satisfaction survey in three of four regions of the United States, a sharp improvement from 20th place nationally two years ago, research firm J.D. Power and said on We... More »

Honda profit up as U.S., Japan car sales offset Thai drop

TOKYO (Reuters) – Honda Motor Co (7267.T ) said strong car sales in the United States and Japan offset a slowdown in Thailand in the three months to September, helping the Japanese carmaker post a 46 percent growth in quarterly net profit. Honda reported stron... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Egypt arrests Muslim Brotherhood leader: ministry source

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian authorities have detained senior Muslim Brotherhood leader Essam El-Erian, an Interior Ministry source said on Wednesday, the latest arrest in a government crackdown against the Islamist movement. Erian, the deputy leader of the Brot... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Freed French hostages leave Niger after 3 years in Sahara

NIAMEY (Reuters) – Four Frenchmen held hostage in the Sahara desert by al Qaeda-linked gunmen for three years left Niger on a French government plane on Wednesday morning. The men, who were kidnapped in 2010 while working for French nuclear group Areva and a s... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

China police seek eight in connection with Tiananmen car crash

BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese police were scouring hotels in Beijing on Wednesday for eight people wanted in connection with the crash of an SUV at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, which authorities suspect may have been a suicide attack by people from the Xinjiang r... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Mickelson eyes Sheshan hat-trick as Tiger sits out

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – The absence of Tiger Woods will not go unnoticed at this week’s WGC-HSBC Champions tournament but the attendance of 40 of the world’s top 50 players suggests the tournament is living up to its billing as a World Golf Championships tourname... More »

Dollar inches up as market awaits Fed decision

LONDON (Reuters) – The dollar edged up to a one-week high against a basket of major currencies on Wednesday as investors trimmed their recent bearish bets ahead of a post-policy meeting statement from the Federal Reserve. The Fed’s Federal Open Market Committe... More »

Barclays says helping with FX probe, profits fall

LONDON (Reuters) – Barclays (BARC.L ) said it was cooperating with regulators investigating the possible manipulation of currency trading by major banks, deepening scrutiny of the bank’s practices as it grapples with a slump in investment bank income. Barclays... More »

Japan factory output rebounds, bodes well for wage outlook

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s factory output rebounded in September to its highest level in nearly one-and-a-half years as robust domestic demand driven by the government’s stimulus policies and a looming tax rise compensated for slowing exports to the rest of Asi... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Twitter goes for more eye-catching look

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Twitter was born in 2006 as a stream of SMS text messages. Before going public in 2013, it’s now reveling in images. The company tweaked its design Tuesday to favor image- and video-sharing by showing visual media directly within the ... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

China to step up own security after new NSA allegations

BEIJING (Reuters) – China will step up its security following allegations that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) collected data on millions of phone calls in Europe and snooped on leaders of major U.S. allies, the government said on Wednesday. “Like many... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Fed to maintain aggressive policy stimulus amid soft data

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve is expected to maintain its massive bond-buying campaign when it concludes a two-day meeting on Wednesday and may point to softer readings on the U.S. economy to signal that the policy will be extended into 2014. The ... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Toshiba nudges up profit outlook, memory chips buoyant

TOKYO (Reuters) – Toshiba Corp, Japan’s largest computer chipmaker, raised its operating profit outlook more than 10 percent for the year to next March, expecting continued buoyant demand for its NAND memory chips used in smartphones and tablets. Toshiba raise... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Tepco shouldn’t be in charge of Fukushima shutdown: Japan panel

TOKYO (Reuters) – Tokyo Electric Power Co should be stripped of the responsibility for shutting down its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, according to a draft proposal by a panel of Japan’s ruling party. Tokyo Electric, or Tepco, has been widely critici... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Insight: Starvation in Syria: a war tactic

(This story was reported by a visiting journalist whose name has been withheld for security reasons) DAMASCUS (Reuters) – One Syrian security official called it the “Starvation Until Submission Campaign”, blocking food and medicine from entering and people fro... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

China Mobile flags 4G on website, stokes iPhone speculation

BEIJING (Reuters) – China Mobile has put an advert for the faster 4G mobile network on its website, raising expectations that a long-awaited distribution deal between the world’s largest mobile carrier and Apple Inc may be announced as early as next week. Chin... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Abyei welcomes UN-backed referendum in disputed region

ABYEI (Reuters) – Abyei officials welcomed a push by the African Union to involve the U.N. Security Council in helping plan a referendum to resolve a dispute in the remote border region. The AU last year promised Abyei a plebiscite in October 2013 but shied aw... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Afghans to visit Pakistan for talks with ex-Taliban chief

KABUL (Reuters) – Senior Afghan officials will travel to Pakistan soon to speak to former Taliban No.2 leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar following a breakthrough in negotiations during a London summit, the Afghan presidential palace said on Wednesday. Baradar ... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

China official PMI seen hitting 18-month high in October

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s manufacturing activity in October likely grew at its fastest rate since April 2012, a Reuters poll showed, adding to signs of a stabilization in the world’s No.2 economy as the government readies a series of key economic reforms. Th... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Mickelson schedule cuts will come but not before majors

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Phil Mickelson plans to play in the week before each of the major championships next year despite making as yet unspecified cuts to his overall schedule for 2014, the British Open champion said on Wednesday. The 43-year-old American said h... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Ice queen Yuna hones routines ahead of Sochi swan song

SEOUL (Reuters) – So used to commanding the spotlight, South Korean figure skating queen Kim Yuna steps past her Sochi-bound colleagues and coaches, fixes her hair and sits down centre stage, ready to face the media. Informed she has taken a Korean Olympic Com... More »

Analysis: Global liquidity swell to spill into 2014

LONDON (Reuters) – After a bone-dry summer, world markets seem awash with cash again and it looks like spilling into 2014. Even though the U.S. Federal Reserve has kept its $85 billion-a-month of bond buying constant throughout, fevered speculation surrounding... More »

Asian shares creep ahead, count on Fed being benign

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian share markets took heart from record highs in U.S. stocks on Wednesday as investors wagered the Federal Reserve would rock no boats at its policy meeting and leave stimulus in place for the next few months at least. Japan’s Nikkei .N22... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Heat keep fires burning with season-opening win over Bulls

(Reuters) – The Miami Heat got their NBA championship rings, watched a video tribute to last season’s record-setting campaign and then went out and showed why they are still the team to beat. Playing host to the Chicago Bulls in one of three games that launche... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Bharti Airtel’s operating performance boosts outlook

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Bharti Airtel Ltd’s better-than-expected operating performance and higher margins reinforced expectations that India’s long-suffering mobile phone services market is turning the corner even as the market leader reported its 15th consecuti... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Hyundai Motor to recall 103,214 Genesis sedans in Korea

SEOUL (Reuters) – Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS ) plans to recall 103,214 Genesis sedans in South Korea to address potential brake problems, the third recall for the automaker in its home market this year. The recall follows a similar one for 27,500 Genesis larg... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Senate confirms new U.S. top telecom regulator

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Tuesday approved Tom Wheeler to be the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), enabling the agency to start operating under a permanent leader after a holding period of several months. Republican S... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Google takes secrecy to new heights with mystery barge

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – How badly does Google want to keep under wraps a mysterious project taking shape on a barge in San Francisco Bay? Badly enough to require U.S. government officials to sign confidentiality agreements. At least one Coast Guard employee ... More »

Singer Chris Brown enters rehab after assault charge

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – R&B singer Chris Brown is entering rehab “to gain focus and insight into his past and recent behavior,” the singer’s representatives said on Tuesday, after Brown was arrested and charged with assault over the weekend. Brown, 24, pleaded... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

NSA chief defends agency amid U.S. spy rift with Europe

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The head of the National Security Agency defended his beleaguered organization on Tuesday, saying it acts within the law to stop militant attacks and calling reports that the NSA collected data on millions of phone calls in Europe false.... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

In Boston speech, Obama seeks to reset ideas about his health law

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – After four rocky weeks while his landmark health insurance law has been disparaged as poorly managed, expensive and disappointing, President Barack Obama will travel to Boston on Wednesday to try to reset expectations about Obamacare. Ob... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Once turned away, Jesse Jackson Jr. finally in prison

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Former U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. began his first day of a 30-month sentence in a North Carolina federal prison on Tuesday, a day after he had attempted to report early and was turned away. The son of civil rights leader Reverend... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Obama under fire as Americans lose prior health plans

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama is facing fresh attacks for his pledge that Americans who like their current healthcare plans can keep them under Obamacare after reports that thousands of Americans facing cancellation notices. Accusations that th... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

U.S. nuclear arms overhaul needed to ensure reliability: officials

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. nuclear arsenal needs a multi-billion dollar overhaul in the coming decade to ensure the weapons’ safety and effectiveness, defense officials said on Tuesday, despite warnings from arms control groups that the effort is unafford... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Bidders on the grid for Germany’s legendary Nuerburgring

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Ever since Niki Lauda’s Ferrari exploded in a fireball on the Nuerburgring in 1976, the circuit has been deemed too dangerous for Formula One, instead hosting car companies putting new models through their paces and amateurs trying to set... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

U.S. senators seek to cut Iran’s oil sales in half – again

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Fresh U.S. sanctions over Iran’s disputed nuclear program being debated behind closed doors in the Senate aim to slash the country’s oil sales in half within a year of the plan being signed into law, an influential senator said this week... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Chelsea rejoice as Wenger’s Mourinho hoodoo continues

LONDON (Reuters) – Jose Mourinho got the better of old adversary Arsene Wenger once again as Chelsea showed their strength-in-depth by reaching the League Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over London rivals Arsenal on Tuesday. Both teams rang the changes but ... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Argentina’s Supreme Court upholds controversial media law

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a controversial media law that government proponents applauded as an effort to reduce market concentration but opponents viewed as state meddling aimed at quieting dissent. The ruling, which ... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Caceres back for Uruguay World Cup playoff against Jordan

MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) – Juventus defender Martin Caceres has been recalled to the Uruguay squad for their intercontinental World Cup playoff against Jordan next month. Caceres, who missed Uruguay’s last South American group qualifiers last month through injury,... More »

Activist investor Ackman remains convinced Herbalife will fail

OXFORD (Reuters) – Billionaire investor William Ackman is still convinced that U.S. nutrition company Herbalife will fail as he sits on hundreds of millions in unrealized losses, nearly one year after predicting the company’s stock price would go to zero. Spea... More »

Bitcoin goes mainstream with ATM in Vancouver coffee shop

VANCOUVER (Reuters) – A silver and blue ATM, perched up next to the espresso bar in a trendy Vancouver coffee shop, could launch a new era for the digital currency bitcoin, offering an almost instant way to exchange the world’s leading virtual money for cash. ... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Dish wins dismissal of Harbinger’s LightSquared lawsuit

(Reuters) – Charlie Ergen’s Dish Network Corp won dismissal on Tuesday of a lawsuit brought by Phil Falcone’s Harbinger Capital Partners in a fight over LightSquared Inc, a wireless communications business that is in bankruptcy. Harbinger had sought $4 billion... More »

Adobe data breach more extensive than previously disclosed

BOSTON (Reuters) – Adobe Systems Inc said on Tuesday that the scope of a cyber-security breach disclosed nearly a month ago was far bigger than initially reported, with attackers obtaining data on more than 38 million customer accounts. The software maker also... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Pfizer third-quarter profit beats estimates, oncology drugs shine

(Reuters) – Pfizer Inc reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, helped by cuts in costs and growing sales of cancer medicines approved over the past two years. The largest U.S. drugmaker, whose shares rose 1.7 percent, earned $2.59 bill... More »

SAC Capital plea deal may come early next week: WSJ

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The settlement U.S. prosecutors are hammering out with SAC Capital Advisors, Steven A. Cohen’s multibillion-dollar hedge fund, over criminal charges related to insider trading could be announced early next week, the Wall Street Journal rep... More »

Nasdaq says human error behind latest trading snafu

(Reuters) – Nasdaq OMX Group said human error left the U.S. exchange unable to transmit index values for nearly 45 minutes on Tuesday, leading to a temporary halt in options trading on some stock indexes. Index values for the Nasdaq Composite, Nasdaq 100, PHLX... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

In Syria outbreak, polio exploits conflict once more

LONDON (Reuters) – With the world tantalizingly close to wiping out polio, conflict in Syria has allowed the crippling disease to take hold again, putting at risk the rest of the region as well as plans for global eradication. War, unrest and poverty have ofte... More »

Malaysia’s Maybank launches Islamic asset management unit

LONDON (Reuters) – Malaysia’s Malayan Banking Bhd, the country’s largest lender, has launched an Islamic asset management unit to cater to growing investor appetite for sharia-compliant investment products. The Islamic asset management sector is gradually maki... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

NY Post must face bias lawsuit linked to Obama chimp cartoon

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Post and its top editor must face a bias lawsuit brought by a woman who said she was fired for complaining about harassment at the newspaper and a political cartoon that some people said likened President Barack Obama to a chi... More »

TD Ameritrade profit up 40 percent as trades rise

(Reuters) – TD Ameritrade Holding Corp, the biggest U.S. discount brokerage by client-trading volume, reported a 40 percent jump in its fiscal fourth-quarter net income that just beat analysts’ estimates as both trading commissions and product fees soared. Sha... More »

European banks pay heavy price for scandals

AMSTERDAM/ZURICH (Reuters) – Four European banks paid a heavy price on Tuesday in a clean-up of the financial industry, with Rabobank fined $1 billion and three other major lenders preparing for possibly huge legal costs after a string of scandals. Dutch Rabob... More »

Thomson Reuters cuts 3,000 jobs, stock rises

(Reuters) – Thomson Reuters Corp said on Tuesday that new sales of its financial terminals outpaced cancellations in the third quarter for the first time since 2011, and it announced 3,000 job cuts to reduce costs. The global news and information company’s sto... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

British justice on trial in phone-hacking trial, jury told

LONDON (Reuters) – The jury trying the editors of one of Rupert Murdoch’s former newspapers over phone hacking were told on Tuesday that British justice itself would be on trial. Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, former editors of Murdoch’s now defunct News of ... More »

Jonas Brothers pop-rock band splits up

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Jonas Brothers pop-rock band, which formed in 2005 and soared to fame as members of Disney’s stable of teenage stars, has decided to call it quits for now, a band representative said on Tuesday. The decision by the New Jersey-raised br... More »

Treasure trove of Neapolitan jewels shown in rare Rome exhibition

ROME (Reuters) – A rarely seen Neapolitan collection of sumptuous jewellery, hidden away for centuries and estimated to be more valuable than England’s crown jewels, opened in Rome on Tuesday. The “Treasure of San Gennaro”, precious objects donated in tribute ... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

EU makes new bid for deal on Ukraine’s jailed Tymoshenko

KIEV (Reuters) – European Union mediators resumed a push on Tuesday to secure the release of jailed Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, with EU politicians warning time was running out before the signing of a landmark trade agreement next month. Russ... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

Blockbuster UK set to fall back into administration

LONDON (Reuters) – Blockbuster’s chain of film and computer game rental shops in Britain is set to go into administration, a form of bankruptcy protection, for the second time in 10 months after its private equity owner failed to turn the business around. The ... More »

Springsteen to play for first time in South Africa

LONDON (Reuters) – Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are to play their first ever concerts in South Africa, nearly 30 years after his guitarist Steven Van Zandt led a campaign by rock musicians in protest against apartheid. Shows are scheduled for Cape T... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

EU makes new bid to reach deal on Ukraine’s jailed Tymoshenko

KIEV (Reuters) – European Union mediators were to resume a push on Tuesday aimed at securing the release of Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, with EU politicians warning that time is running out for the signing of a landmark trade agreement next mo... More »

Singer Chris Brown pleads not guilty to assault

(Warning: Language in seventh paragraph may be offensive to some readers) By Ian Simpson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – R&B singer Chris Brown pleaded not guilty on Monday to a charge of misdemeanor assault as a result of a fight on Sunday outside a Washington hotel, ... More »

Bookmark?Remove?

India, U.S. preparing satellites to probe Martian atmosphere

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) – Two new science satellites are being prepared to join a fleet of robotic Mars probes to help determine why the planet most like Earth in the solar system ended up so different. India’s Mars Orbiter Mission, the country’s fir... More »

Rapper 50 Cent gets probation in domestic violence case

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – American rapper 50 Cent on Monday struck a deal with Los Angeles prosecutors for three years’ probation and 30 days of community service after allegedly kicking the mother of his child and destroying her property during a June altercati... More »

Apps help parents track Halloween trick or treaters

TORONTO (Reuters) – Parents worried about letting their children go trick-or-treating at Halloween can download new apps that track kids and send alerts when they venture outside designated safe areas. With the free iPhone app Track n Treat, children send a ti... More »