All posts published in May 2014
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – One of the founders of file-sharing website Pirate Bay has been arrested in southern Sweden to serve an outstanding sentence for copyright violations after being on the run for nearly two years, Swedish police said on Saturday. Peter Sund... More »
HELSINKI (Reuters) – American rock star Steven Tyler took over a street musician’s self-made instrument consisting of water-filled wine bottles to play in the streets of Helsinki on Saturday, performing Aerosmith’s 1973 hit “Dream On.” Tyler played a glass-bot... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki resigned on Friday after a political firestorm over widespread delays in veterans’ medical care, leaving President Barack Obama with a freer hand to address systemic problems bedeviling the a... More »
(Reuters) – BlackRock Inc Chief Executive Larry Fink this week dropped a stink bomb on a small corner of the $2.5 trillion global market for exchange-traded funds. Fink, who runs the world’s largest asset manager and ETF provider, said structural problems with... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – In a foreign policy address this week, U.S. President Barack Obama gave his clearest outline yet of his counterterrorism strategy. Al Qaeda splinter groups remain the largest threat to the United States, he said, but Washington must respon... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Hackers stole nearly $2 million from the online bank accounts of Japanese businesses in April, a surge in theft that has prompted some banks to curtail online services and rethink compensation policies, executives and regulators say. In April... More »
(Reuters) – Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (IPO-ALIB.N ) is one of several companies that are in talks to invest for a stake in U.S.-based advertising technology firm AppNexus, the Wall Street Journal said, citing sources familiar with the ... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The Ukrainian prankster who struck actor Brad Pitt in the face at the Los Angeles premiere of the movie “Maleficent” was ordered to stay away from celebrity events as he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge on Friday. Vita... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The rally in U.S. Treasury bonds surprised many, taking 10-year yields to their lowest levels in 11 months. Jobs data and the European Central Bank meeting next week will determine whether bond prices have further to go. The bond market’s ... More »
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s telecommunications regulator on Friday barred America Movil and Televisa from buying exclusive rights to broadcast the final stages of the World Cup soccer tournament and Olympics ceremonies at home as it seeks to curb the comp... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Institutions as diverse as the New York Public Library and Major League Baseball paid homage on Friday to African-American poet and author Maya Angelou, who died in her North Carolina home this week at the age of 86. The New York Public Li... More »
SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Erik Huggers is leaving Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N ) just five months after joining the company via the acquisition of the Intel Corp (INTC.O ) “OnCue” streaming service he developed, signaling the communications giant’... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Global equity markets traded mostly flat on Friday but the Dow and S&P 500 set fresh closing highs, while the dollar eased on the likelihood the European Central Bank will deliver monetary stimulus next week. Wall Street traded in a tight ra... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Dow and the S&P 500 edged up to end at record highs on Friday, wrapping up four straight months of gains, after mixed economic data gave investors little reason to rush into stocks. After the benchmark S&P 500’s latest record closing h... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Scientists have come up with a bright idea – literally – to repair teeth. And they say their concept – using laser light to entice the body’s own stem cells into action – may offer enormous promise beyond just dentistry in the field of r... More »
ORLANDO Fla. (Reuters) – Florida has a new phone app to help cull the invasion of its waters by the spiked lionfish, a venomous species that is devouring other fish and harming reef ecosystems. The state is home to more than 500 non-native species, but few as ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The dollar retreated from recent highs against other major currencies and closed lower on Friday as traders braced for potentially market-moving meetings next week by the European Central Bank and other monetary policymakers. The dollar, as ... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Google and other internet companies find themselves in a quandary over how to strike a balance between privacy and freedom of information as the top world search engine took a first step towards upholding an EU privacy ruling. Google moved... More »
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish telecoms watchdog BTK said on Friday it had not yet received a ruling by Turkey’s top court ordering the removal of a two-month block on video-sharing website YouTube. The Constitutional Court on Thursday ruled that a block on acce... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Is it too late to save for retirement when you’re 50 or older? When should you start taking Social Security? These are some of the questions Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, president of the Charles Schwab Foundation and member of the President’s ... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Former Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O ) CEO Steve Ballmer has purchased the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers franchise for $2 billion, a record for a professional basketball team, sole trustee Shelly Sterling announced on Friday. In a news release fr... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Asian shares saw their gains unravel on Friday after rising on another record Wall Street close, while the dollar groaned under the pressure of slumping U.S. yields. A similar session is expected in Europe, where shares are expected to tread ... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged to alleviate poverty and improve ethnic unity in restive Xinjiang, the most direct indication yet that China’s leaders want to address the causes of violence in the remote western region. Xi’s commen... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – An al Qaeda renegade group killed 15 Kurdish people, seven of them children, in an attack on a village in northern Syria, a monitoring group and a photographer at the scene said on Friday. The attack by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Leva... More »
DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) – Pro-Russian separatists shot down a Ukrainian army helicopter on Thursday, killing 14 soldiers including a general, as government forces pressed ahead with an offensive to crush rebellions in the east swiftly following the election ... More »
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – A Cambodian court found 25 people guilty on Friday of acts of violence during strikes by garment workers but all were given suspended sentences and freed, a ruling likely to be welcomed by global manufacturers operating in the country. T... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Just two days after one of the worst nights of his professional career, Henrik Lundqvist was celebrating one of his greatest successes, leading the New York Rangers to their first Stanley Cup appearance in two decades. The Swedish goalie i... More »
(Reuters) – Rocker Bret Michaels was rushed offstage apparently suffering from seriously low blood sugar during a New Hampshire concert on Thursday, his bandmate said in a statement posted on the singer’s website. Michaels, who suffers from diabetes, was three... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – For the Montreal Canadiens, hockey’s most successful team, the 1-0 loss to the New York Rangers in Game Six of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday meant another year added to their title drought. But the ramifications of Montreal’s l... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Small northern nation to vote on independence in peaceful referendum. Should the world care at a time when Ukraine has pitted East versus West in an echo of the Cold War? Scotland has punched above its weight for centuries, bringing the worl... More »
JAKARTA/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Indonesian authorities said on Friday they were testing products made by British confectioner Cadbury to check they complied with Islamic standards after two chocolate varieties in neighboring Malaysia were found to be contamin... More »
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand is expected to publish data on Friday showing stagnant consumption and investment, more evidence of a stumbling economy that will lend urgency to the military junta’s efforts to get the country working again. Southeast Asia’s secon... More »
DETROIT (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co (F.N ) said on Thursday it is recalling 1.39 million SUVs and sedans in North America, most for the possible loss of power steering. About 1.186 million of the vehicles Ford said it is recalling are in the United States. That ... More »
May 29(Reuters) – Manu Ginobili and Boris Diaw were electric off the bench as the San Antonio Spurs routed the Oklahoma City Thunder 117-89 in Game Five of the Western Conference Finals on Thursday to move one win away from a berth in the NBA Finals. Ginobili ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday to seal their first Stanley Cup appearance in two decades. Dominic Moore scored the game’s only goal in the second period as the Rangers wrapped up t... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – A senior International Monetary Fund official said on Friday that the yen is broadly in line with Japan’s medium-term fundamentals, and urged the country to focus on efforts to improve its competitiveness and growth potential. David Lipton, t... More »
SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese software companies such as Neusoft Corp and China National Software & Service Co Ltd (ChinaSoft) are picking up sales and expanding their marketing as China trades cyber spying accusations with the United States. For Neusof... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – When Lorillard Inc bought the blu eCigs brand two years ago, the electronic cigarette had a 10 percent share of a tiny U.S. market, generating about $50 million in sales. It was available in only 12,000 retail outlets and over the Internet... More »
CLEVELAND (Reuters) – The newest Federal Reserve policymaker is probably not as hawkish as her background suggests, and Loretta Mester’s expertise in financial markets and inflation could make a splash as the U.S. central bank reverses its most accommodative p... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Some of the largest U.S. companies are looking to hire cybersecurity experts in newly elevated positions and bring technologists on to their boards, a sign that corporate America is increasingly worried about hacking threats. JPMorgan Chas... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL Fla. (Reuters) – Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, on Thursday unveiled an upgraded passenger version of the Dragon cargo ship NASA buys for resupply runs to the International Space Station. Rather than parachuting down into the ocean, ... More »
PALO ALTO, Calif. (Reuters) – Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George said Thursday she is open to leaving the U.S. central bank’s balance sheet big even as it withdraws accommodation, a comment that reveals the extent of uncertainty at the Fe... More »
SYDNEY/TOKYO (Reuters) – The yen’s advance to multi-month highs against the euro stalled on Friday as investors booked profits before the weekend. The euro fetched 138.14 yen, off a four-month low of 137.98. It was still on track to end down for a fourth strai... More »
(Reuters) – Google Inc has launched a service through which European citizens can request that links to what they deem as objectionable material be taken off search results, the first step to comply with a court ruling affirming the “right to be forgotten.” Th... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An email exchange released on Thursday shows Edward Snowden questioned the U.S. National Security Agency’s legal training programs, but provides no evidence the former contractor complained internally about vast NSA surveillance programs... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Asian shares edged higher on Friday, catching a lift from another record close on Wall Street, while the dollar groaned under the pressure of slumping U.S. yields. The S&P 500 index .SPX posted its third record closing high in four sessions, ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A New Jersey hedge fund manager pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges he traded on inside information about the children’s clothing company Carter’s Inc, according to court papers. Steven Slawson, the co-founder of Titan Capital Manage... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Television executive Garth Ancier filed a motion on Thursday to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a man who claims he and other Hollywood executives sexually abused him as a teenager. Ancier, who has worked at Fox and NBC, filed the motion i... More »
SACRAMENTO Calif. (Reuters) – A bill to require sugary soft drinks to carry labels warning of obesity, diabetes and tooth decay passed the California Senate on Thursday, the latest move by lawmakers nationwide aimed at persuading people to drink less soda. The... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – Second seed Novak Djokovic tackles Croatia’s Marin Cilic in the third round of the French Open on Friday as his attempt to win the only grand slam title to elude him gathers pace. The Serbian has yet to drop a set in his two matches at Roland... More »
PHOENIX (Reuters) – Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed legislation on Thursday to create a new child-welfare agency, providing $60 million in additional funding to improve a scandal-ridden system that was found last year to have ignored nearly 6,600 reports of... More »
HAVANA (Reuters) – The head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Thursday urged Cuba to speed up and extend market-style economic reforms, saying world investors would respond and that it might be the best path toward better relations with the United States. Cha... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – William Shakespeare excoriated Richard III, the last king of England to die in battle more than 500 years ago, with vibrant verbiage: a “foul bunch-back’d toad,” “deformed, unfinish’d” and a hunchback so ugly that dogs barked as he passe... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama’s second term was supposed to be a crowning opportunity to make his mark on the world stage, but instead he’s leading an intense effort to redefine his foreign policy record – and the odds look stacked against him.... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The yen nursed modest losses early in Asia on Friday, having retreated from multi-month highs against the euro as investors booked some profit before the weekend. The euro fetched 138.39 yen, off a four-month low of 137.98. Still, it was o... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The S&P 500 index climbed to its third record closing high in four sessions on Thursday as traders shrugged off data that showed the economy shrank in the first quarter and bet on improvement in the second quarter. New claims for unemploym... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An email exchange released on Thursday shows that Edward Snowden questioned the U.S. National Security Agency’s legal training programs, but provides no evidence the former contractor complained internally about vast NSA surveillance pro... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government’s unwillingness to stop Amazon.com from using hardball tactics in fights with book publishers has angered book lovers but antitrust experts say regulators are unlikely to intervene in what appear to be business disput... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Former Microsoft Corp chief executive Steve Ballmer has won the bidding for the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers franchise with a $2 billion offer, a source with knowledge of the bidding said on Thursday. Ballmer outbid two groups, one led by... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – BlackRock pushed back on Thursday against a U.S. report that raised concerns about asset managers and securities lending, arguing in a paper sent to regulators that its activities do not pose outsized risks. At issue are transactions in ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Original manuscripts and autographed drawings for two acclaimed books produced by former Beatle John Lennon in the mid-1960s will be sold at auction next week in New York, Sotheby’s said on Thursday. Eighty nine lots, ranging in price from... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Global equity markets hit an all-time high on Thursday, boosted by the U.S. S&P 500 which scored its third record closing high in four sessions as investors shrugged off data that showed the U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter. U.... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Thursday rejected Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O ) bid to delay a July trial to determine damages after the company was found to have colluded to fix the prices of e-books. In a brief order, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appea... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Kevin Reilly, the top executive at Fox broadcast television, is leaving the network next month, the company said on Thursday, after Fox slumped to last place in ratings among the big U.S. broadcasters. Reilly’s seven years as chairman o... More »
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O ) said on Thursday it would integrate rival Salesforce.com Inc (CRM.N ) apps into its Windows and online Office platforms, furthering Chief Executive Satya Nadella’s drive to make the company more cloud-computin... More »
RALEIGH N.C. (Reuters) – North Carolina, the top U.S. tobacco-producing state, will levy a modest tax on increasingly popular electronic cigarettes as part of legislation adopted by state lawmakers and signed by the governor on Thursday. Republican Governor Pa... More »
DALLAS (Reuters) – It took a Texas man five days to polish off what has been hailed as one of the most expensive drinks produced at Starbucks, a several-thousand calorie frozen concoction that included 60 shots of espresso and was topped with whipped cream. “I... More »
(Reuters) – Apple’s $3 billion purchase of headphones and music business Beats shows exactly how foggy our thinking about the distinction between ‘cheap’ and ‘affordable’ has become. At first glance the deal, which values Beats at about three times more than w... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Police on Thursday issued a restraining order against the Ukrainian prankster who struck actor Brad Pitt in the face as he signed autographs at the Los Angeles premiere of “Maleficent,” the new Disney film starring Pitt’s partner Angeli... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The dollar eased on Thursday and finished down against other major currencies as traders shrugged off government data showing America’s economy shrank at a 1 percent annual rate during the first quarter. “The movement today mostly reflects... More »
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – New Intel-based tablets from major brands will start hitting store shelves in June, and senior executives at the chipmaker hope the offerings will move it closer to an aggressive sales goal. Far behind rival Qualcomm (QCOM.O ) in mobi... More »
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A team of security experts may seek to restore and improve a popular computer encryption system after its developers mysteriously shut it down, claiming “unfixed security issues,” a leader of the effort told Reuters on Thursday. TrueC... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A town fair, a block of ice, and even the doctor are just some of the “Million Ways” to meet one’s demise in the American Old West, as “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane lends his raunchy humor to parody the harsh conditions of life o... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Thursday more effort is needed to prevent concussions in young athletes, including greater awareness of the severity of head injuries, which are too often dismissed as headaches instead of serious brain tra... More »
(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is strengthening its regulation of tanning beds, which have been shown to increase the risk of skin cancer. The FDA, which is reclassifying sun lamp products from low risk to moderate risk, said on Thursday tha... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL Fla. (Reuters) – Leaving politics behind, a veteran Russian cosmonaut and a pair of rookie astronauts from the United States and Germany blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday for a six-month mission aboard the Inter... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A college dropout who has gone on to build a $100 million fashion business, NastyGal founder Sophia Amoruso has lifted the lid on her unlikely journey from thief to chief, rags to riches and anti-capitalist to CEO. “#Girlboss,” Amoruso’... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Director and writer Sebastian Junger took audiences into a combat zone with U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan in his first documentary and goes a step further in “Korengal,” delving into their psyche to explore the experience and effects of war... More »
(Reuters) – Quebecor Inc QBRb.TO plans to promote former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to chairman after the media and telecommunications conglomerate’s controlling shareholder stepped down to enter politics. Mulroney, a staunch supporter of a federal... More »
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s highest court ruled on Thursday that a block on access to video-sharing website YouTube, imposed by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s government two months ago, was a violation of rights, local media reported. Blocks on access to YouT... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A family portrait by Colombian artist Fernando Botero and works by Uruguayan artist Joaquin Torres-Garcia and Brazilian sculptress Lygia Clark led Latin American art auctions in New York. Christie’s sold a total of $17.6 million and Sotheb... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – It’s too bad women can’t computer-generate more of their own participation in the technical side of filmmaking. Digital animation and visual effects are so widespread today that studios can end up using them in nearly every shot. Yet as... More »
(Reuters) – Satellite TV operator Dish Network said it would accept bitcoin payments from customers from the third quarter, joining companies such as Overstock.com Inc and Zynga Inc in accepting the digital currency. Dish said it selected Coinbase as the payme... More »
(Reuters) – An infamous red carpet prankster struck actor Brad Pitt in the face as he signed autographs at the Hollywood premiere of a film starring his partner Angelina Jolie on Wednesday, police said. Pitt, a Golden Globe-winning actor, was at the premiere o... More »
(Reuters) – An infamous red carpet prankster struck actor Brad Pitt in the face as he signed autographs at the Hollywood premiere of a film starring his partner Angelina Jolie on Wednesday, police said. Pitt, a Golden Globe-winning actor, was at the premiere o... More »
(Reuters) – An infamous red carpet prankster struck actor Brad Pitt in the face as he signed autographs at the Hollywood premiere of a film starring his partner Angelina Jolie on Wednesday, police said. Pitt, a Golden Globe-winning actor, was at the premiere o... More »
(Reuters) – Wells Fargo & Co lost its bid to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the city of Los Angeles, which accuses the bank of predatory lending practices that targeted minority borrowers and led to the loss of property tax revenue. U.S. District Judge Otis Wright... More »
RANCHO PALOS VERDE California (Reuters) – Intel Corp introduced a walking, talking robot on Wednesday made from 3D-printed parts that will be available to consumers later this year, if they are willing to assemble it with a kit that costs around $1,600. The co... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL Fla. (Reuters) – Leaving politics behind, a veteran Russian cosmonaut and a pair of rookie astronauts from the United States and Germany blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday for a six-month mission aboard the Inter... More »
(Reuters) – BlackRock Inc (BLK.N ) Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said on Wednesday that leveraged exchange-traded funds contain structural problems that could “blow up” the whole industry one day. Fink runs a company that oversees more than $4 trillion in... More »
(Reuters) – Climate changes that have made Montana streams much warmer over the last 30 years are helping invasive trout push their native cousins toward extinction, researchers said on Tuesday, saying study is an example of global warming reducing biodiversit... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Jade Rabbit moon rover is alive and functional, state media said on Wednesday, but technical problems and bitterly cold lunar nights have “weakened considerably” the buggy’s ability to operate. Jade Rabbit, named after a lunar godde... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Rating agencies are falling over each other to upgrade the euro zone’s crisis countries, but with debt levels in most still rising and growth and reforms slow, the question is whether the new-found optimism has swung too far. Moody’s, Standa... More »
(Reuters) – Climate changes that have made Montana streams much warmer over the last 30 years are helping invasive trout push their native cousins toward extinction, researchers said on Tuesday, saying study is an example of global warming reducing biodiversit... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – New musicals, original plays, revivals and star performers boosted Broadway’s grosses this season more than 11 percent and pushed attendance up 5.6 percent, according to figures released on Tuesday. Forty-four productions opened during the... More »
KATHMANDU (Reuters) – Nepal said on Tuesday it was investigating whether a Chinese woman, this season’s sole climber of Mount Everest from the Nepalese side, used a helicopter to reach a high camp after a deadly avalanche last month washed away part of the rou... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Stunning gains by anti-EU and populist parties in the European Parliament elections will prevent any new treaty on deeper euro zone integration for the foreseeable future and may tilt Europe’s economic policy mix more towards expansion. Wi... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – The chairman of the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Tuesday the euro zone must “jointly reform” and added that high taxes on labor are an obstacle to growth. Speaking in Berlin, Dijsselbloem said that nat... More »
VIENNA (Reuters) – Inflation in the euro zone will likely stay “significantly” below the European Central Bank’s target this year and next, ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said in the Austrian National Bank’s annual report. “But over the medium term... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Asian stocks erased early modest gains on Tuesday, while the euro steadied but remained vulnerable after overnight comments from the European Central Bank chief heightened expectations of easing steps in the euro zone. MSCI’s broadest index o... More »
