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| Court rules Obama's appointments unconstitutional Friday, Jan 25, 2013 04:27 PM PST  (Reuters) - A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that President Barack Obama violated the U.S. Constitution when he used recess appointments to fill a labor board, in a sweeping decision that could limit presidential power to push through federal nominees. The court found that the Senate was not truly in recess, for the purpose of a recess appointment, when Obama in January 2012 installed three nominees to the National Labor Relations Board. The nominees were facing stiff Republican opposition, and the appointments caused an uproar at the time. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt deploys troops in Suez after 9 killed on anniversary of uprising Friday, Jan 25, 2013 06:24 PM PST  CAIRO/ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) - Egypt's armed forces deployed troops in the city of Suez early on Saturday after nine people were shot dead during nationwide protests against President Mohamed Mursi, underlining the country's deep divisions as it marked the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak. Eight of the dead, including a policeman, were shot dead in Suez, and another was shot and killed in the city of Ismailia, medics said. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea threatens war with South over U.N. sanctions Friday, Jan 25, 2013 11:27 AM PST  SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea threatened to attack rival South Korea if Seoul joined a new round of tightened U.N. sanctions, as Washington unveiled more of its own economic restrictions following Pyongyang's rocket launch last month. In a third straight day of fiery rhetoric, the North directed its verbal onslaught at its neighbor on Friday, saying: "'Sanctions' mean a war and a declaration of war against us." The reclusive North this week declared a boycott of all dialogue aimed at ending its nuclear program and vowed to conduct more rocket and nuclear tests after the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Goldman finds a way past Volcker with new credit fund Friday, Jan 25, 2013 02:12 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group is looking to raise up to $600 million from its wealthy customers for a publicly traded credit fund that will provide loans to mid-sized companies - believed to be the first fund of its kind for the Wall Street bank. The new fund, in which Goldman could invest another $150 million of its own money, is being structured as a business development company, an investment vehicle that is specifically exempt from the so-called Volcker Rule that puts limits on some activities by Wall Street firms. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon cutting jobs, maintenance due to budget fears: official Friday, Jan 25, 2013 02:18 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon has begun laying off many of its 46,000 temporary and contract workers and delaying maintenance on aircraft and ships to slow spending due to fears it may be hit by new budget cuts, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said on Friday. The Pentagon also plans to formally notify Congress in the next few weeks that if further budget cuts take place on March 1, it will furlough most of its 800,000 full-time civilian employees, probably by asking them to take a day off per week for the last 22 weeks of the fiscal year, Carter said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Lengthy 787 probe, fixing problem, may cost Boeing dear Friday, Jan 25, 2013 06:12 PM PST  SEATTLE (Reuters) - The slow progress of investigations into battery problems on Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner jets suggest the new plane could be grounded for months, raising fears that the financial hit to Boeing will be greater than had been initially predicted. Wall Street had been working on the assumption that safety inspectors would find the root cause of two battery incidents in the United States and Japan within weeks and Boeing would implement a speedy fix costing no more than a few hundred million dollars. But on Thursday, the head of the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: US Air, AMR deal could come in next two weeks - sources Friday, Jan 25, 2013 03:34 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - US Airways Group Inc and American Airlines parent AMR Corp are in the final stages of negotiating a merger, with the final price and management structure still to be resolved, four people familiar with the matter said. The two airlines, as well as AMR's creditors and its bondholders, have focused their efforts in recent weeks on reaching a merger agreement, and a deal could come in the next two weeks, the people said on Friday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exxon Mobil regains market-value crown from slumping Apple Friday, Jan 25, 2013 02:37 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp has reclaimed its place as the largest U.S. publicly traded company by market value one year after losing it to Apple Inc, as shares of the technology giant extended their recent fall on Friday. Apple's market capitalization has fallen by about $250 billion - roughly the total market value of Google Inc - since hitting a high last September, when the stock traded above $700. Apple shares traded as low as $435 before closing down 2.4 percent on Friday at $439.88, for a market value of roughly $413 billion. Exxon shares, up 0.4 percent on the day to $91. ... Full Story | Top |
| French-backed Mali forces push towards rebel-held Gao Friday, Jan 25, 2013 02:44 PM PST  SEGOU/BAMAKO, Mali (Reuters) - French-backed government forces advanced into northern Mali towards the Islamist rebel stronghold of Gao on Friday, recapturing the town of Hombori and forcing al Qaeda-allied fighters to pull back under relentless French air strikes. France sent troops and aircraft to its former colony two weeks ago to block a southward offensive by Islamists occupying Mali's north. French and Malian troops have been pushing forward on either side of the Niger River, securing several farming towns recaptured over the last week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian troops and militia push to take Sunni Homs areas Friday, Jan 25, 2013 08:06 PM PST  AMMAN (Reuters) - The Syrian army has stepped up an offensive on opposition Sunni Muslim strongholds in the central city of Homs, bringing in ground forces and loyalist militia to try to secure a major road junction, opposition sources said on Friday. Around 15,000 Sunni civilians are trapped on the southern and western edge of the city near the intersection of Syria's main north-south and east-west arteries, crucial to let the army travel between Damascus and the Mediterranean coast, opposition campaigners in Homs said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian troops and militia push to take Sunni Homs areas Friday, Jan 25, 2013 12:10 PM PST  AMMAN (Reuters) - The Syrian army has stepped up an offensive on opposition Sunni Muslim strongholds in the central city of Homs, bringing in ground forces and loyalist militia to try to secure a major road junction, opposition sources said on Friday. Around 15,000 Sunni civilians are trapped on the southern and western edge of the city near the intersection of Syria's main north-south and east-west arteries, crucial to let the army travel between Damascus and the Mediterranean coast, opposition campaigners in Homs said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Five die in Egypt violence on anniversary of uprising Friday, Jan 25, 2013 12:59 PM PST CAIRO/ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) - Five people were shot dead in the Egyptian city of Suez during nationwide protests against President Mohamed Mursi on Friday, the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak. One of the dead was a member of the security forces, medics said. Another 280 civilians and 55 security personnel were injured, officials said, in demonstrations fuelled by anger at the president and his Islamist allies in the Muslim Brotherhood. ... Full Story | Top |
| Court says Obama recess appointments invalid Friday, Jan 25, 2013 03:06 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that President Barack Obama violated the U.S. Constitution when he used recess appointments to fill a labor board, a decision that could curtail the president's options in filling vacancies. Obama, frustrated by Republican opposition to his nominees, made the three "recess" appointments to the National Labor Relations Board in January 2012, while the Senate was on one of its many recesses but not formally adjourned for the year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iranian nuclear talks face further delay Friday, Jan 25, 2013 10:35 AM PST  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The next talks between six global powers and Iran on its nuclear program are likely to be delayed until February, a diplomat said on Friday, after European officials accused Tehran of stalling on fixing a time and place for a meeting. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is coordinating efforts by the powers to persuade Iran to scale back nuclear activity that the West suspects is aimed at developing the capability to produce nuclear weapons. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan's airlines back Boeing, as battery probes make slow progress Friday, Jan 25, 2013 04:07 AM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's leading airlines are firmly behind Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner, saying they have had no second thoughts on orders for several dozen more of the planes - even as they have $5 billion worth of the futuristic aircraft sitting idle pending a complex investigation into unexplained battery problems. ... Full Story | Top |
| New home sales rise to three-year high in 2012 Friday, Jan 25, 2013 10:17 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of new single-family homes rose last year to the highest level since 2009, a sign the troubled U.S. housing market has turned a corner. Americans bought 367,000 new single-family homes in 2012, up 19.9 percent from the prior year, the Commerce Department said on Friday. Sales hit a nearly three-year high in November, before pulling back somewhat in December, it said. The housing sector has been a point of strength in the economy over the last year, and Friday's data reinforced expectations it will help offset the economic damage from tax hikes enacted this year. ... Full Story | Top |
| China, Japan move to cool down territorial dispute Friday, Jan 25, 2013 02:24 AM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - China and Japan sought to cool down tensions over a chafing territorial dispute on Friday, with Communist Party chief Xi Jinping telling an envoy from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that he was committed to developing bilateral ties. Xi will consider holding a summit meeting with Abe, Natsuo Yamaguchi, a senior lawmaker and head of the junior partner in Japan's ruling coalition, told reporters after his talks with the Chinese leader. The meeting came as China took the dispute over a series of uninhabited islands to the United Nations. ... Full Story | Top |
| IAEA stresses Iran nuclear "dialogue", Tehran defiant Friday, Jan 25, 2013 07:10 AM PST  VIENNA/ZURICH (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog signaled on Friday it would keep trying to secure Iran's cooperation with a long-stalled investigation, but a senior Iranian lawmaker suggested Tehran would only cooperate if it won sanctions relief in return. The comments by Alaeddin Boroujerdi, who chairs parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, add to Western suspicions that Iran may be using its talks with the U.N. agency as a bargaining chip to win concessions from world powers. "Lifting sanctions against Iran is a national right of ours ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama loyalist McDonough named White House chief of staff Friday, Jan 25, 2013 10:13 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday named longtime foreign policy aide Denis McDonough as his new White House chief of staff, tapping a trusted loyalist to help drive his second-term agenda as he unveiled a major overhaul of senior staff. Obama announced the appointment of McDonough, who had been widely tipped to fill the vacancy created by Jack Lew's nomination as Treasury secretary, at a ceremony in the White House's ornate East Room. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Samsung Total strikes Iran oil deal, lured by cheap fuel - sources Friday, Jan 25, 2013 05:15 AM PST SINGAPORE/SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's Samsung Total Petrochemicals Co has revived a contract to buy Iranian oil after a year's hiatus, as thin margins in plastics make the cheap fuel from Iran hard to resist, people familiar with the deal said on Friday. Stringent U.S. and European sanctions aimed at reducing Iran's oil income and forcing Tehran to curb its nuclear program have made shipping and paying for the oil hard, halving the Islamic Republic's crude exports. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. man who aided Mumbai plotters sentenced to 35 years in prison Friday, Jan 25, 2013 12:38 AM PST  CHICAGO (Reuters) - David Headley, an American who admitted scouting targets for the 2008 Islamic militant raid on Mumbai and later agreed to testify against the plotters to avoid the death penalty, was sentenced on Thursday to 35 years in prison. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber, was the maximum sought by federal prosecutors. The attacks killed more than 160 people, including six Americans. Headley, a 52-year-old U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent, admitted videotaping sites that were targeted by the Mumbai attackers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Trial of China's Bo Xilai opens next week, says Beijing-backed paper Friday, Jan 25, 2013 01:33 AM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's disgraced former senior politician, Bo Xilai, will go on trial next week, a Beijing-backed Hong Kong newspaper said on Friday, in what would be the final act of a drama that has shaken the ruling Communist Party. Bo, once a contender for the top leadership in the world's second-largest economy, was ousted in China's biggest political scandal in two decades last year following his wife's murder of a British businessman, Neil Heywood. ... Full Story | Top |
| Samsung puts lid on capex for the first time since financial crisis Friday, Jan 25, 2013 04:24 AM PST  SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co turned cautious on spending for the first time since the global financial crisis, keeping its annual investment plan unchanged at 2012 levels, as demand for computer chips wanes and the smartphone market slows. Samsung, one of the industry's most aggressive spenders, has ramped up capital expenditure every year since 2004 except 2009 to meet soaring demand for its array of consumer electronics and mobile devices. It sold a record 700,000 smartphones a day in the last quarter. ... Full Story | Top |
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