All posts published in August 2013
LONDON (Reuters) – The dollar bounced back from a two-week low against the yen and climbed versus the Swiss franc on Wednesday as traders took the view that it is the safest currency of all as military action against Syria looms. Strategists added that the yen... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – The teenage son of a prominent Chinese general denied the charge of gang rape on Wednesday, inflaming public anger in a case that has stirred resentment against the offspring of the political elite who are widely seen as spoilt. Li Tianyi, ... More »
BANGKOK (Reuters) – The Thai government plans to appeal a court victory by tobacco giant Philip Morris to keep larger health warnings off cigarette packets for sale in Thailand. The Central Administrative Court ruled last Friday to temporarily suspend a new he... More »
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Media companies, including the New York Times, Twitter and the Huffington Post, lost control of some of their websites Tuesday after hackers supporting the Syrian government breached the Australian Internet company that manages many m... More »
WELLINGTON (Reuters) – Dairy giant Fonterra’s products at the center of a global contamination scare this month did not contain a bacteria that could cause botulism, and posed no food safety threat, New Zealand officials said on Wednesday. The Ministry for Pri... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – According to Blackstone Group LP’s (BX.N ) books, the private equity firm’s investment in Hilton Worldwide Inc was worth 50 percent more this year than when it took the international hotel chain private in 2007. While that might not seem l... More »
MUMBAI (Reuters) – The Indian rupee slumped to a record low below 68 per dollar and shares tumbled on Wednesday on growing worries that foreign investors will continue to sell out of a country facing stiff economic challenges and volatile global markets. Forei... More »
(Reuters) – Bank of America Corp’s (BAC.N ) Merrill Lynch unit agreed to pay $160 million to settle a racial bias lawsuit that went through two appeals at the United States Supreme Court, the New York Times reported, citing the plaintiff’s lawyer. Longtime Mer... More »
(Reuters) – U.S. federal regulators are preparing to impose a fine of $80 million on JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N ) relating to its dealings with retail customers during the recession, the New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Under th... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – German consumer confidence eased slightly heading into September, albeit remaining close to its highest level in nearly six years, as shoppers worried about creeping inflation. GfK market research group said on Wednesday its forward-looking ... More »
(Reuters) – U.S. government housing finance authorities are pressing JPMorgan Chase & Co for at least $6 billion to settle lawsuits over bonds backed by subprime mortgages, according to a person familiar with the matter. The company is arguing that it should p... More »
SAYRE, Pennsylvania (Reuters) – As the natural gas industry struggles to cope with depressed prices, Chesapeake Energy Corp has begun shifting a much larger share of transportation and marketing costs to the owners of Pennsylvania land it leases. The largest n... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Possible U.S. military strikes against Syria could cool the temperature of Washington’s autumn budget debates, perhaps lessening the odds of a shutdown of the federal government or a default on the country’s debt. Americans are already f... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration has delayed a step crucial to the launch of the new healthcare law, the signing of final agreements with insurance plans to be sold on federal health insurance exchanges starting October 1. The U.S. Department of... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Most Americans want no part of a U.S. military intervention in Syria, but there is a growing sense in Washington that President Barack Obama would face more political risks from a weak response to Syria’s use of chemical weapons than fro... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Federal regulators on Wednesday will unveil a reworked proposal aimed at reducing risk in the mortgage market and limiting the type of shoddy underwriting practices that fueled the housing bubble. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Billions of dollars in U.S. tax breaks prized by manufacturers, energy companies and other industries could be targeted for elimination when two powerful lawmakers are expected to introduce proposals to overhaul the United States’ tax sy... More »
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – The White House has yet to begin vetting Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellen to take over the top job at the U.S. central bank, according to three sources with knowledge of the situation, after one report said the process ha... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A teenage American girl with a squeaky voice and an incredible tale of survival stole the spotlight at the U.S. Open on Tuesday with a stunning upset win over the former champion, Sam Stosur. While Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic and the ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia lived up to his ranking by playing to near perfection in overwhelming Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis 6-1 6-2 6-2 in his opening match at the U.S. Open on Tuesday. The world number one committed only two unfo... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Twelve months after her agonizing defeat in the U.S. Open final, Victoria Azarenka made a triumphant return to Flushing Meadows on Tuesday. In her first match back on the Arthur Ashe Stadium since her gut-wrenching loss to Serena Williams,... More »
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – MelbourneIT, an Australian Internet service provider that sells and manages domain names including Twitter.com and NYTimes, said on Tuesday the credentials of a reseller had been used improperly to change domain settings and hack into... More »
WELLINGTON/DHAKA (Reuters) – New Zealand’s Fonterra said on Wednesday some of its milk powder products had been held up for chemical testing in Bangladesh, the latest country to stop the company’s products at its borders after a food safety scare earlier this ... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Former Chicago Bulls basketball star Scottie Pippen will not be prosecuted over an altercation with a man at a Malibu restaurant in June, prosecutors said on Tuesday, citing insufficient evidence. Pippen, 47, was questioned by police fo... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – California Governor Jerry Brown, facing a federal court order to ease overcrowding in the state’s prison system, proposed a $315 million plan on Tuesday to expand inmate capacity by leasing space from county jails and other facilities. ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama met on Tuesday with a five-member panel he appointed to review the privacy issues involved with U.S. government surveillance programs, the White House said, part of an effort to rebuild public trust after leaks by ... More »
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s borrowing costs rose on Tuesday as an attempt to move the country’s debt beyond the reach of foreign law risked aggravating U.S. federal courts that are judging its defense against holdout bondholders. President Cristina Fe... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Five-time U.S. Open champion Roger Federer gave evidence he could still be a force with a commanding 6-3 6-2 7-5 victory over Slovenia’s Grega Zemlja in his opening match at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday. The Swiss master, who suffered a sho... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The safe-haven yen held at one-week highs against the dollar and euro early in Asia on Wednesday, having posted its biggest rally in over two months as investors scrambled for safety amid heightened geopolitical tensions. The United States a... More »
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Google Inc’s Android, the dominant mobile operating system, is by far the primary target for malware attacks, mostly because many users are still using older versions of the software, according to a study by the Department of Homeland... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Mark Carney will use his first speech as Bank of England governor on Wednesday to take on his doubters who question how long he can keep interest rates at record low levels. Carney failed to win over financial markets when the central bank a... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Roger Federer made the perfect start to his bid for a sixth U.S. Open title when he easily won his first-round match at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday. Defying critics who have dismissed his chances here, the Swiss master was all class as he ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street stocks suffered their worst day since June on Tuesday, slumping in a broad decline as geopolitical uncertainty rose over a possible U.S.-led military strike by the West against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. The S&P... More »
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa (Reuters) – The Pennsylvania girl who underwent a double lung transplant after a court battle over U.S. organ donation policies waved slowly and mouthed “Hi” to well wishers on Tuesday, her first day home from the hospital. Dressed from head... More »
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Governments sought information on over 38,000 Facebook users in the first half of 2013 and the No.1 social network complied with most requests, the firm said in its first report on the scale of data inquiries it gets from countries ar... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The Argentinian actress wife of Canadian Grammy-winning singer Michael Bublé gave birth to a boy on Tuesday, the singer said on Twitter. The first child together for the singer and Luisana Lopilato was born in Vancouver, British Columbi... More »
SEATTLE (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp has a stable of senior executives who could be contenders to succeed Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, even though outsiders have sparked the most discussion so far. After Ballmer’s surprise announcement on Friday that he would ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. tax authorities can assess penalties broadly on taxpayers using tax shelters, an appeals court said on Tuesday, in a decision that could influence a similar case set for oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court in October. With a lo... More »
(Reuters) – The website of The New York Times experienced another outage on Tuesday afternoon, likely caused by hackers, the company said. New York Times Co spokeswoman Eileen Murphy tweeted on Tuesday that the “issue is most likely the result of a malicious e... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama says he teared up watching a movie about an African-American man who served for 34 years at the White House during the tumultuous time of the civil rights movement. Lee Daniels’ “The Butler” is a hit movie starring... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – It’s well known that small-company stocks have outperformed large-company stocks in terms of average annualized return since the 1920s, and bargain-priced stocks tend to outperform growth stocks. Now there’s another factor worth watching: d... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. judge weighing remedies to assure that Apple Inc does not fix prices again in the e-books market said on Tuesday that she plans to require it to hire an external monitor, something the company considers unnecessary. But U.S. Distric... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Space, stars and taboo sex will be on display in Venice this week as the world’s oldest international film festival fights to keep its head above water in a city slowly slipping into the sea. The 70th Venice Film Festival will try and see of... More »
AUGUSTA, Maine (Reuters) – A Maine man who lived in the woods with nearly no human contact for 27 years, supporting himself by stealing food and supplies, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to seven counts of burglary and six of theft. Christopher Knight, 47, was c... More »
(Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Tuesday it will offer health insurance benefits to domestic partners of its U.S. employees starting next year, following the lead of other major companies. The world’s largest retailer, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, al... More »
IRVINE, California (Reuters) – Nissan Motor Co Ltd said it will be ready to bring fully self-driving vehicles to market by 2020. The Japanese automaker said it plans to offer “multiple, commercially viable” vehicles that are capable of autonomous operation wit... More »
ZURICH (Reuters) – Positive results for Roche’s experimental eye drug should bolster its position in the multibillion-dollar-a-year market for vision loss treatments, as it looks to branch out beyond its core cancer expertise. After scrapping drugs to treat di... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union has warned Beijing it has evidence Chinese solar companies benefit from illegal subsidies, people close to the issue said on Tuesday, but Brussels says it will not take action for now following a deal to defuse the row. ... More »
ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) – Police seized a painting of Russia’s president and prime minister in women’s underwear from a gallery in St Petersburg, saying the satirical display had broken unspecified laws. The officers also removed a picture of the head ... More »
TORONTO (Reuters) – BlackBerry Ltd is considering spinning off its messaging service into a separate unit, the Wall Street Journal said on Tuesday, quoting people familiar with the matter. The subsidiary would be called BBM Inc, the newspaper said. (link.reute... More »
ZURICH (Reuters) – Greeted by a press pack rather than prostitutes, the first customer to roll up to Switzerland’s sex drive-in on opening night took one lap of the facility before making a hasty exit. The second car, a family vehicle driven by a man in sungla... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive of bond giant Pimco, said Tuesday that the economy cannot absorb uncertainties, including another “fight” on the debt limit. “The economy cannot, cannot absorb a whole list of uncertainties, including anot... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Tuesday said it is essential for Congress to raise the statutory borrowing limit this fall so the government can continue to pay its bills on time, and he warned the administration will not allow politician... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – McLaren considered signing Kimi Raikkonen last year but there have been no talks – so far – with their former driver since last season, team principal Martin Whitmarsh said on Tuesday. Raikkonen, the 2007 Formula One champion with Ferrari wh... More »
CANBERRA (Reuters) – Australia’s newspaper regulator on Tuesday weighed in on a row over bias by Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers in the country’s election campaign, telling editors to provide an accurate account of public issues. The Australian arm of Murdoch’s Ne... More »
(Reuters) – The Michigan state Senate is expected to vote as early as Tuesday on a bill to expand Medicaid, the health program for the poor, under President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder broke with other Republican governo... More »
DHAKA (Reuters) – Bangladesh customs authorities have restricted the import of more than 600 metric tons (661.39 tons) of powdered milk mainly from New Zealand-based Fonterra pending mandatory chemical tests, a senior official said on Tuesday. Fonterra, the wo... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – German business sentiment surged to its highest level in 16 months in August, driven by a pickup in the manufacturing sector, and suggesting Europe’s largest economy is gaining momentum following strong growth in the second quarter. The Ifo ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Serena Williams needed just one hour on Monday to remind everyone why she remains the overwhelming favorite to win the U.S. Open. In one of the most one-sided matches seen on the Arthur Ashes center court, Williams demolished Italy’s Franc... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Bayer’s cancer drug Nexavar was given priority review status by U.S. healthcare regulators for the oral drug’s use against a difficult-to-treat type of thyroid cancer, the company said on Tuesday. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration aim... More »
HONG KONG (Reuters) – At a workshop in an old Hong Kong neighborhood, paper craftsman Ha Chung-kin uses delicate sheets of paper and sticks of bamboo to fashion a huge, expensive boat that will soon be consigned to the flames. The Hungry Ghosts festival that h... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The State Department on Monday postponed a meeting scheduled for Wednesday in The Hague between senior diplomats from the United States and Russia due to “ongoing consultations” over the chemical weapons attack in Syria. The meeting was ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Steady rain hit the U.S. Open on Monday, washing out the last match on Arthur Ashe Stadium court featuring five-time champion Roger Federer. The match between seventh-seeded Federer and unseeded Grega Zemlja of Slovenia will be rescheduled... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Rafa Nadal made an ominous return to the U.S. Open on Monday while the sister act of Serena and Venus Williams shared the spotlight as the last grand slam of the year got underway. Roared on by the energetic Flushing Meadows crowds, the tr... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Rafa Nadal ran his 2013 record on hardcourts to 16-0 by steamrolling American Ryan Harrison in his first-round match at the U.S. Open on Monday but would not say he was playing his best tennis ever on concrete. The second-seeded Spaniard c... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama spoke with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Monday about possible international responses to the Syrian crisis while his national security adviser discussed Syria and security with Israeli officials, the Whi... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Secretary of State John Kerry laid the groundwork on Monday for possible military action against the Syrian government over a chemical weapons attack, implicating President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in a “moral obscenity.” In the most for... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Eight Democratic senators and congressmen have asked Attorney General Eric Holder to answer questions about a Reuters report that the National Security Agency supplies the Drug Enforcement Administration with intelligence information use... More »
(Reuters) – United States skater Simon Cho has been banned for two years by the International Skating Union (ISU) after confessing he had tampered with a Canadian rival’s skates at the 2011 world team short-track championships in Poland. The suspension, announ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – After being perplexed by a suggestion that her first match at the U.S. Open was “hairy,” Sloane Stephens admitted the bald truth – the spotlight at her home grand slam can be overwhelmingly bright. The 20-year-old American was riddled with... More »
(Reuters) – All-Star starting pitcher Matt Harvey of the New York Mets has a partially torn ligament in his right elbow and is likely to miss the rest of the Major League Baseball season, the team said on Monday. Harvey, a candidate for the National League’s C... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Rafa Nadal made an ominous return to the U.S. Open on Monday after Venus Williams rolled back the years as the last grand slam of the year burst into life. Roared on by the energetic New York crowds, Nadal and Williams both turned on a mas... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – She’s still the Material Girl. Pop diva Madonna 55, is the world’s top-earning celebrity, according to a Forbes list released on Monday, raking in an estimated $125 million in the past year, mainly from her $305 million-grossing MDNA tour,... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The three-hour trading halt last week in Nasdaq stocks has raised questions about the exchange’s communications effort and whether procedures need to be established to keep the investing public informed when mishaps occur. Trading in about... More »
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Monday granted final approval to Facebook’s $20 million settlement of a lawsuit over targeted advertising despite objections that the deal did not go far enough to protect children’s privacy. Five plaintiffs filed a cl... More »
(Reuters) – Another sports team owner is eyeing the possibility of becoming a newspaper publisher. Mark Walter, the controlling partner of the group that owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, said he could be interested in buying the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago ... More »
AMSTERDAM/MADRID (Reuters) – Telefonica has raised its bid for KPN’s German arm by 6 percent to 8.55 billion euros ($11.5 billion), winning over top KPN investor America Movil and setting the stage for consolidation in Europe’s largest mobile market. Mexican b... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Race in America has been a hot topic of debate this summer and Hollywood, as if on cue, has muscled its way into the conversation. This year is shaping up to be a big one in film for African American, black and civil rights themes, offe... More »
COLOGNE, Germany (Reuters) – Videogames maker Electronic Arts knows that in the Vatican there are more than just a few soccer fans thanks to customer feedback for its flagship sports title FIFA Soccer mined from connected gamers all over the world. Game develo... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Justin Timberlake won big on Sunday at MTV’s annual Video Music Awards, taking home the top prize for video of the year for “Mirrors” and a special achievement honor, and also led a much-anticipated onstage reunion of the boy band ‘N Sync.... More »
TORONTO (Reuters) – A new app lets shoppers flipping through retail flyers purchase items that catch their eye using image recognition technology. The iOS app Pounce allows shoppers to scan images they spot in print media with their device’s camera, then purch... More »
SEATTLE (Reuters) – The next CEO of Microsoft Corp has one big decision to make: press on with retiring chief executive Steve Ballmer’s ambitious plan to transform the software giant into a broad-based devices and services company, or jettison that idea and ra... More »
LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Civil rights drama “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” took home its second U.S. and Canadian box office title, topping a Jennifer Aniston comedy and a newly released supernatural teen film. “The Butler,” starring Forest Whitaker and Opr... More »
LIMA (Reuters) – In Peru, home to the spectacular Inca city of Machu Picchu and thousands of ancient ruins, archaeologists are turning to drones to speed up sluggish survey work and protect sites from squatters, builders and miners. Remote-controlled aircraft ... More »
(Reuters) – Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong has reached an agreement with the Sunday Times after it had sued the drugs-tainted American for around one million pounds ($1.56 million), the British paper announced on Sunday. “It is the final episode in a long l... More »
SKOPJE (Reuters) – Macedonia’s prime minister threatened on Saturday to call a snap election unless the main opposition party did more to resolve a political deadlock that is damaging its European Union membership prospects. Nikola Gruevski said the prospect o... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s commissioner to the European Commission said on Saturday he expects a new bailout for Greece to amount to a little more than 10 billion euros, fuelling a debate that could hurt Chancellor Angela Merkel in next month’s election. Alt... More »
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich on Saturday re-affirmed his commitment to signing key agreements with the European Union, including on trade, despite a threat by Russia’s Vladimir Putin of possible retaliatory measures. Russia, the ex-So... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Grammy-winning singer Linda Ronstadt is suffering from Parkinson’s disease and says she can no longer “sing a note,” the group AARP said on Friday. In an interview with AARP to be published next week, Ronstadt, 67, said the Parkinson’s dia... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Guardian has agreed with the New York Times to give the U.S. newspaper access to some classified documents leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, both papers said on Friday. In a brief story posted on it... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – America’s foster care system is the unlikely setting for a love story in “Short Term 12,” an independent film that examines a young couple’s relationship amid the troubles, trauma and camaraderie of teenagers in foster care. Written and... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – AT&T unfairly terminated an affiliation agreement with Al Jazeera America, the cable network says in a recently unsealed lawsuit that highlights AT&T’s subscriber base in conservative states. Under a heavily redacted description of the all... More »
(Reuters) – The monthly cable and Internet bill for the Adrienne Capollupo’s Roanoke, Virginia, family had reached $150 when they decided to cut the cord – the one that runs to the television set. Now Capollupo, 37, estimates that she saves $100 a month, and m... More »
(Reuters) – An elaborate temple-like structure perched on an apartment block in southeastern China is an illegal hazard that should be torn down, residents say. But they may not be as lucky as opponents of a lavish rooftop villa in Beijing. The temple in Shenz... More »
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – Business surveys on Thursday suggested the world economy was on the mend, with U.S. and Chinese manufacturing activity at multi-month highs and better-than-expected growth in the euro zone. The data should bolster the case for the F... More »
WARSAW/LONDON (Reuters) – The currencies of emerging European countries such as Poland and Hungary have dodged the giant selloffs hitting other emerging markets, and their links to a steadily recovering euro zone are likely to keep them insulated. For years, E... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union will review relations with Zimbabwe given its “serious concerns” about the conduct of the southern African state’s election, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Thursday. The EU’s verdict on the fairness of ... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – If Apple hopes to woo more Chinese by adding a glitzy coating – some call it champagne, some gold – to its next iPhone, it may be in for a surprise. While gold is hugely popular as a safe haven and a status symbol – China is set to overtake... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Mexican telecoms group America Movil said it has put in place financing to buy the rest of Dutch group KPN even though its offer may be too late to influence the sale of KPN’s German unit in October. The Mexican group controlled by billion... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British state-backed lender Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L ) has sold German life insurer Heidelberger Leben to a joint venture between private equity group Cinven and Hannover Re for around 300 million euros ($400 million). The deal, which he... More »
