All posts published in January 2014
MONTREUX, Switzerland (Reuters) – Syria’s government and opposition, meeting for the first time, vented their mutual hostility on Wednesday but a U.N. mediator said the enemies may be ready to discuss prisoner swaps, local ceasefires and humanitarian aid. Russ... More »
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian opposition leaders emerged from crisis talks with President Viktor Yanukovich on Wednesday saying he had failed to give concrete answers to their demands, and told their supporters on the streets to prepare for a police offensive. Us... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The dwarf planet Ceres, one of the most intriguing objects in the solar system, is gushing water vapor from its unusual ice-covered surface, scientists said on Wednesday in a finding that raises the question of whether it might be hospit... More »
(Reuters) – Carl Icahn has taken a stake in eBay Inc and is proposing a spin-off of the its fast-growing PayPal division, but the e-commerce giant rebuffed the overture, setting the stage for a potential battle with the activist investor. EBay, which bought Pa... More »
SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) – California Governor Jerry Brown took credit for his state’s fiscal rebound in a state of the state address on Wednesday that also urged continued restraint by lawmakers seeking to rebuild a social safety net tattered by years... More »
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff gave assurances on Wednesday that the Curitiba stadium, the most delayed of the venues for the World Cup, will be ready on time for the soccer tournament that kicks off June 12. World soccer body FIFA sai... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian markets got off to a soggy start on Thursday as investors counted down to data on Chinese manufacturing, while diverging outlooks for interest rates sent the British pound soaring and tipped the Canadian dollar into a tailspin. An indi... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – More than 6.3 million Americans were deemed eligible for government healthcare plans for the poor since the October 1 launch of President Barack Obama’s healthcare law through December, federal officials reported on Wednesday. The swelling... More »
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – Bombardier Inc does not need to refinance to complete the development of its $3.9 billion CSeries jet program, the Canadian train and plane maker’s chief executive said on Wednesday. “We don’t think we need to (do a debt refinanc... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Pop singer Elton John spoke out on Wednesday against Russia’s ban on homosexual propaganda, saying the law legitimized homophobia and provided legal cover to extremists. John’s 500-word statement comes a month after he performed in the ... More »
(Reuters) – Carl Icahn has taken a stake in Ebay Inc and is proposing a spin-off of the company’s fast-growing PayPal division, but the e-commerce giant rebuffed the overture, setting the stage for a potential battle with the activist investor. EBay, which bou... More »
(Reuters) – Tiger Woods could not wish for a better place to launch his 2014 PGA Tour campaign than at the Torrey Pines Golf Club for this week’s Farmers Insurance Open outside San Diego where he will be hunting a record eighth victory. Not only was the pictur... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Boy band, The Wanted, said on Wednesday they were taking a break and that their upcoming Word of Mouth Tour would be their last for a while. The group, whose members are British and Irish and whose hit singles include “I Found You,” “Chasi... More »
DALLAS (Reuters) – A Texas jury found former Dallas Cowboys player Josh Brent guilty on Wednesday of intoxication manslaughter for drinking heavily at a club, getting behind the wheel and causing a car crash that killed teammate Jerry Brown Jr. in December 201... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The Canadian dollar wallowed at four-year lows early on Thursday after the Bank of Canada all but begged the market to sell the currency, while sterling took off as investors priced in an earlier start to rate hikes in the UK. The loonie tra... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – After five acclaimed seasons and multiple Emmys for playing a meth-making chemistry teacher on television’s “Breaking Bad,” actor Bryan Cranston is stepping into the shoes of President Lyndon B. Johnson for his Broadway debut in “All the W... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Thousands of U.S. anti-abortion activists braved frigid temperatures to rally at the annual March for Life on Wednesday, and a top Republican lawmaker vowed that the House of Representatives would vote soon to end taxpayer-funded abortio... More »
BOSTON (Reuters) – Fidelity Investments’ asset management head, Ron O’Hanley, will leave the company at the end of February, executives said on Wednesday, after a cautious stint running a key unit of the family-controlled business coming out of the financial c... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “The Boss” is back on top of the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday as Bruce Springsteen scored his 11th No. 1 album with “High Hopes,” more than three decades after first reaching the chart’s apex. The album from the 64-year-old ro... More »
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Activist investor Carl Icahn lashed out against Apple Inc again on Wednesday, and tweeted that he had bought $500 million more shares in the company in just the past two weeks, bringing his investment in the iPhone maker to over $3 bi... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House is not considering a financial bailout for Puerto Rico, where chronic fiscal challenges have raised the specter of a Detroit-like bankruptcy, an Obama administration official said on Wednesday. The island’s woes have led ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The S&P 500 closed flat on Wednesday as a mixed bag of corporate earnings failed to give investors the confidence to push equities higher with the index near record levels. For the second day in a row, the Dow posted outsized losses follow... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Christie’s art sales surged to a record high of £4.54 billion ($7.13 billion) in 2013 as new buyers and rising Asian demand contributed to a buoyant art market in a fragile global economy. Sales at the London-based auction house rose 16 perc... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The baby boom generation is moving into retirement with something no other generation has had: huge tax liabilities. With their savings concentrated in tax-deferred retirement accounts like 401(k)s or individual retirement accounts, many b... More »
(Reuters) – Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is set to announce “significant state participation” in a plan to aid Detroit’s art museum and public pensions, mediators said Wednesday, as the city works through its historic bankruptcy. The move by the state’s Repub... More »
BOSTON (Reuters) – Hedge fund manager David Einhorn, whose Greenlight Capital ranked among last year’s best performers, has taken new positions in Micron Technology Inc and BP Plc, both of which he praised in a letter to investors for practices focused on retu... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Options traders are bracing for about a 10 percent move up or down in Netflix Inc shares after the video streaming service reports results after the closing bell on Wednesday. Bearish bets in the options market had been picking up in recen... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Support for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, which soared over his handling of Superstorm Sandy, has fallen almost 20 points since his landslide re-election in November as he faces probes into the conduct of his top aides. The brash and... More »
KABUL (Reuters) – The Afghan government, increasingly at odds with Washington, is cracking down on advertisements that promote keeping U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014 and has already shut down a spot aired by the country’s most widely watched broadcaster... More »
PARK CITY, Utah (Reuters) – Actor Miles Teller has become the poster boy for the average American teenage male in film, but in a new indie drama, the actor flips into a distinctly unique character – a teen driven to become one of the world’s greatest jazz drum... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – When the corporate cash dam bursts, everything will be ok, right? Well, maybe. Investors betting that the past year of more than 20 percent gains in western stock markets can be echoed, or at least sustained, through 2014 have long assumed t... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – News Corp said Lex Fenwick was leaving as chief executive of Dow Jones, less than two years after taking the helm, an abrupt departure that calls into question the future of its news wires and other products aimed at financial institutions... More »
PARK CITY, Utah (Reuters) – A year after Internet activist Aaron Swartz committed suicide, a new documentary brings to light the young computer prodigy’s earnest battle to bring online freedom of access to information for everyone. “The Internet’s Own Boy: The... More »
RIGA (Reuters) – Latvia’s parliament approved on Wednesday Laimdota Straujuma to become the first female prime minister of the Baltic state, which joined the euro zone on January 1. Valdis Dombrovskis, 42, who steered the country through the economic crisis, r... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) – Scientists are stumped as to how a rock mysteriously appeared in images taken two weeks apart by NASA’s Mars rover Opportunity. The rover, which landed in an area known as Meridiani Planum a decade ago, is exploring the rim ... More »
(Reuters) – Verizon Communications Inc’s acquisition of Intel Corp’s venture to create a web-based TV service may be the catalyst that pushes U.S. cable players to start similar products to fend off fast-growing video rivals such as Netflix Inc and Amazon.com ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Comcast Corp has added Barclays Plc as an adviser as it evaluates a potential deal for Time Warner Cable Inc, according to people familiar with the matter. Comcast, the top U.S. cable company, hired Barclays late last year to review its de... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Comedian Ellen DeGeneres’ daytime talk show will be the first daily American show of its kind to be distributed in China, its U.S. and Chinese distributors said on Tuesday. Episodes of Emmy-winning “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” are now ava... More »
(Reuters) – Two members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot who were jailed for nearly two years on charges of religious hatred and became international emblems for human rights campaigners will appear at a concert in New York, organizer Amnesty International ... More »
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) – Outspoken real estate magnate Donald Trump said on Tuesday he may seek the Republican presidential nomination for 2016, adding that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s prospects for a White House run have dimmed since a s... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The owner of Britain’s Guardian newspaper has agreed to sell its 50.1 percent stake in cash-generative Trader Media Group to private equity firm Apax for around 600 million pounds ($985.2 million), the companies and sources said. Terms were ... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Syngenta AG is pressing ahead with U.S. sales of a new corn trait that is not approved in China, fueling concerns of another jarring GMO trade quarrel with the world’s fastest-growing food importer. While the U.S. grain industry lobbies the... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Syngenta AG is pressing ahead with U.S. sales of a new corn trait that is not approved in China, fueling concerns of another jarring GMO trade quarrel with the world’s fastest-growing food importer. While the U.S. grain industry lobbies the... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s largest carrier All Nippon Airways said on Tuesday it was pulling a TV advertisement featuring a Japanese actor in a large false nose and blonde wig after it was criticized online for having racist overtones. The ad, which is in Engli... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Comet-chasing spacecraft Rosetta woke from nearly three years of hibernation on Monday to complete a decade-long deep space mission that scientists hope will help unlock some of the secrets of the solar system. Rosetta, which was launched... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – New Jersey’s lieutenant governor on Monday denied a claim by the mayor of Hoboken that Governor Chris Christie’s administration linked release of Superstorm Sandy relief funds to approval of a Hoboken development project. Hoboken Mayor Daw... More »
UNITED NATIONS/ANKARA (Reuters) – An unexpected last-minute U.N. invitation for Iran to attend a peace conference on Syria threw the talks into doubt on Monday, with the Syrian opposition saying it would pull out unless Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon withdraws ... More »
BANGUI (Reuters) – Central African Republic’s transitional parliament elected the mayor of Bangui, Catherine Samba-Panza, as interim president on Monday, tasked with ending months of sectarian killings and guiding the country to elections. Samba-Panza, who def... More »
MILAN (Reuters) – Claudio Abbado, who decided to become a conductor after hearing a concert at La Scala at the age of eight and went on to lead the Milan opera company and top orchestras for more than half a century, has died aged 80, La Scala said on Monday. ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Jerome Champagne launched his bid to stand for the FIFA presidency on Monday but immediately undermined his campaign by saying he did not think he could beat Sepp Blatter should the Swiss incumbent stand for re-election. Frenchman Champagne,... More »
HONG KONG (Reuters) – A Hong Kong woman was arrested on Monday on suspicion of abusing her Indonesian maids in a case that has sparked widespread outrage and drawn fresh attention to the risks faced by the migrant community. A housewife surnamed Law, 44, was a... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Representatives from Germany’s financial watchdog Bafin will visit the London offices of Deutsche Bank, the country’s biggest lender, as it steps up investigations into alleged currency market manipulation, a source familiar with the process... More »
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Syria’s main opposition body, the National Coalition, will not attend peace talks in Switzerland scheduled for this week unless the United Nations retracts its invitation to Iran by 1900 GMT (14:00 PM EST) on Monday, a senior coalition mem... More »
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai authorities are “very seriously” considering a state of emergency after a weekend of violence in the capital where protesters have been trying for more than two months to bring down the government, the security chief said on Monday. Th... More »
VIENNA/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Iran has halted its most sensitive nuclear activity under a ground-breaking deal with world powers, a confidential U.N. atomic agency report reviewed by Reuters on Monday showed, paving the way for the easing of some Western sanctio... More »
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The global chemical weapons watchdog said on Monday it had received tenders from 14 commercial companies, including firms from America, Europe and China, offering to destroy part of Syria’s toxic stockpile. The Hague-based Organization fo... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Which investment takes your fancy: BRIC, MINT or CIVETS? For many fund managers seeking the next big thing in emerging markets, the answer is none. Acronym investment – putting money into small groupings of markets which often have little in... More »
DETROIT (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co (F.N ) is betting that the tight bond between two of its senior executives can help the automaker prevent quality missteps from derailing its busiest-ever year for launching new vehicles. Joe Hinrichs, head of North and South ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Asthmatic children who are exposed to cigarette smoke are more likely to make repeat trips to the hospital for breathing problems. But researchers say asking parents about kids’ smoke exposure may not yield the most reliable informa... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Two men said by Islamist militants to have carried out suicide attacks in south Russia appeared in a video donning explosive belts and warning Vladimir Putin to expect a “present” at the Sochi Winter Olympics from fighters following after th... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Big losses for Germany’s biggest bank meant European markets started the week on a sour note on Monday as slightly better than expected Chinese data failed to dispel a general air of caution. Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE ) reported a surprise pre... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Global regulators are planning the world’s first common rule within three years to value hard-to-price assets held by banks after unexpected revisions have unsettled investors, the man overseeing the plan told Reuters. The initiative may fac... More »
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s ailing economy cannot afford more mine labor unrest, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Monday, as the platinum industry’s main trade union served notice on the world’s top three producers that it planned to strike ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – As Jillian Michaels, the tough-love trainer on NBC’s hit reality show “The Biggest Loser,” lunges towards her middle years she infuses her fitness routine with the same take-no-prisoners mindset that impels her TV contestants to shape up. ... More »
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Rafa Nadal came through his first proper test to storm into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Monday but Maria Sharapova was ushered to the exit after a second big shock in as many days in the women’s draw. Victoria Azarenka wa... More »
(Reuters) – International Business Machines Corp is thinking of selling off its low-end server business and Dell Inc may be among potential bidders, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources. A deal to sell all or part of the world’s largest technology ... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE ) shares tumbled on Monday following a surprise fourth-quarter loss due to a steep drop in debt trading revenues and heavy litigation and restructuring costs that prompted the bank to warn of a challenging 2014. Ge... More »
RIYADH (Reuters) – Companies in Saudi Arabia will favor local debt markets over international bond issues to meet their financing requirements in 2014 as high liquidity keeps funding costs down, a top executive at Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE ) said. Saudi firms ha... More »
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – A majestic Roger Federer emphatically returned to the grand slam big-time by trouncing Jo Wilfried-Tsonga 6-3 7-5 6-4 at the Australian Open on Monday to book a blockbuster quarter-final with Wimbledon champion Andy Murray. The former wor... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The euro recovered slightly from a two-month low against the dollar on Monday, helped by higher short-term market interest rates, although speculation the European Central Bank may step in limited its gains. After breaking through support at... More »
HONG KONG/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Anheuser-Busch InBev SA, the world’s biggest brewer, agreed to buy back South Korea’s Oriental Brewery Co Ltd (OB) for $5.8 billion including debt, returning to a large Asian market at a time of strong industry growth across the ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Pele has endorsed Jerome Champagne’s bid to become the next president of FIFA, saying he supported the 55-year-old Frenchman’s vision for the future of world soccer’s governing body on Monday. The Brazilian, widely regarded as the world’s gr... More »
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Intellectual Ventures is set to square off this week against Google Inc’s Motorola Mobility unit in the first trial that the multibillion-dollar patent-buying firm has undertaken since it was founded. Privately-held Intellectual Ventu... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Reuters has interviewed Jerome Champagne who has announced his intention to stand as FIFA president in next year’s election. The 55-year-old Frenchman, who worked at FIFA for 11 years between 1999 and 2010, is a former member of the French d... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – As results prove every week, nothing can be taken for granted in soccer and despite long odds, FIFA could next year have its first French president since Jules Rimet with Jerome Champagne planning to succeed Sepp Blatter. Champagne, 55, want... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – The value of online exports in six of the top e-commerce markets will grow fivefold to $130 billion by 2020, with Britain currently generating the biggest online trade surplus by selling more goods abroad, research showed on Monday. The stud... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Another seven people in China have been infected with the new and often deadly H7N9 strain of bird flu, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday, adding to at least 24 new cases last week and confirming a fresh wave of the virus. O... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Nintendo Co Ltd will likely be reluctant to make radical changes such as allowing its games to be played on rivals’ devices as it grapples with poor sales of its flagship Wii U game console, which forced it to slash its outlook and sent its s... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – After years of hiding under their desks, short sellers are re-emerging – slowly. Investors who make a living betting that stock prices will fall are happy to forget 2013: The S&P 500 gained nearly 30 percent while Credit Suisse’s index of ... More »
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – A ruffled Rafa Nadal fumed after being called for multiple time violations but composed himself to fend off a gallant Kei Nishikori and reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Monday with a tense 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 7-6 (7-3) win. Na... More »
(Reuters) – After a 10-year journey, Europe’s Rosetta spacecraft is due to end its hibernation on Monday and prepare for an unprecedented mission to orbit a comet and dispatch a lander to the surface. Rosetta’s on-board alarm clock is due to go off at 5 a.m. E... More »
BEVERLY HILLS, California (Reuters) – Hollywood producers injected drama into the race for Oscars on Sunday by choosing not one but two movies as their best films of the year, the space thriller “Gravity” and the slavery drama “12 Years a Slave”. It is the fir... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s financial services industry is beginning to feel the benefits of economic recovery, as firms report growth in profits, business volumes and optimism in the fourth quarter, according to a survey. Some 69 percent of firms said they f... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A data breach at Target Corp that exposed the credit card information of tens of millions of holiday shoppers was a major black eye for the retailer. In its wake, investors and analysts are circling companies that could benefit from a majo... More »
LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) – “Ride Along,” a buddy cop comedy starring Kevin Hart and Ice Cube, collected $41.2 million in ticket sales to win the weekend box office race, leaving another new release, political thriller “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,” in the ... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian markets were in a hesitant mood on Monday ahead of figures that are expected to show a slight slowdown in regional powerhouse China, while Deutsche Bank soured sentiment by reporting a surprise loss and falling revenues. In muted early... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The U.S. dollar started Monday near a two-month high, having enjoyed a solid comeback last week after a string of mostly upbeat data convinced markets the Federal Reserve will continue its gradual withdrawal of stimulus. The dollar index sto... More »
PARK CITY, Utah (Reuters) – Robert De Niro may best be known as an Oscar-winning actor, but in a new documentary he takes on the role of a devoted son as he spotlights his own artist father, Robert Sr., for his influential but not well-known works in the New Y... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The head of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee objected on Sunday to President Barack Obama’s proposal for the government to give up control of the storage of the telephone records of millions of Americans it holds as part of its cou... More »
(Reuters) – Hewlett-Packard Co said on Friday it has made decisions on how to address shareholders’ securities fraud claims over its $8.8 billion writedown for its purchase of British software company Autonomy Plc, but wants six more weeks to decide what legal... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The head of the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee said on Sunday he is investigating whether former spy agency contractor Edward Snowden had help from Russia in stealing and revealing U.S. government secrets. “I believ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. singer Bruce Springsteen snatched top spot in Britain’s album chart on Sunday for the 10th time with “High Hopes”, pushing British singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding’s “Halcyon” into second place, the Official Charts Company said. “High H... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New Jersey mayor who added to Governor Chris Christie’s woes with fresh claims that his office punishes uncooperative local officials stuck to her story on Sunday, overshadowing the governor’s fundraising trip in Florida. Widely seen a... More »
PARK CITY, Utah (Reuters) – After exploring the quarter-life crises of young adults in the critical and commercial hit “Garden State” a decade ago, actor-director Zach Braff turned his eye to examine the existential dilemmas faced by parents in his new film “W... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Vodafone and BSkyB have held high-level discussions on how to curb BT’s growing reach over the broadband market, the Sunday Times reported, citing senior sources. The newspaper said the talks illustrate the extent to which the once-staid tel... More »
BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China’s Commerce Ministry has condemned a $1.1-trillion spending bill passed by the U.S. Congress last week over clauses that limit technological purchases from the Asian giant, saying they clash with the principles of fair trade... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The cast of the 1970s crime caper “American Hustle” grooved its way to the top prize from the Screen Actors Guild on Saturday in a key test of the film’s Oscar mettle six weeks ahead of a likely competitive race for Academy Awards. “Ame... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Softbank Corp has entered direct talks with Deutsche Telekom as it seeks to combine its Sprint Corp unit with the German company’s T-Mobile US, Bloomberg reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. Deutsche Telekom this we... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Rita Moreno, the 82-year-old actress who won an Oscar for her role as Anita in “West Side Story,” lit up the Screen Actors Guild awards on Saturday accepting a lifetime achievement award with a wistful song and an exclamation of profani... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration is delaying enforcement of a provision of the new healthcare law that prohibits employers from providing better health benefits to top executives than to other employees, the New York Times reported on Saturday. ... More »
