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| U.S. seeks to tackle trade-secret theft by China, others Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 07:52 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Faced with the growing theft of U.S. trade secrets, the White House said on Wednesday it was stepping up diplomatic pressure and mulling tougher laws to stem the threat to American businesses and security from China and other nations. The plan includes working with like-minded governments to put pressure on bad actors, using trade policy tools, increasing criminal prosecutions and launching a 120-day review to see whether new U.S. legislation is needed. "A hacker in China can acquire source code from a software company in Virginia without leaving his or her desk," U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Homebuilding takes a breather; wholesale prices up Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 01:30 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. builders broke ground on fewer homes last month but a jump in permits for future construction to a 4-1/2-year high indicated the housing market recovery remains on track. Another report on Wednesday showed wholesale prices rose in January for the first time in four months. However, the gain was smaller than expected and left scope for the Federal Reserve to keep buying bonds to stimulate the economy. Housing starts dropped 8. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chesapeake probe finds no "intentional" CEO misconduct Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 03:03 PM PST  (Reuters) - Chesapeake Energy Corp said on Wednesday its internal investigation of the financial dealings of outgoing chief executive Aubrey McClendon found no "intentional" wrongdoing, but authorities and analysts said the issue was far from over. The company's statement also said a review by its board of directors found Chesapeake "did not violate antitrust laws" as it acquired oil and gas rights in Michigan in 2010. The company did not say how it reached its conclusions and did not release a full report of its investigation, and state and federal investigations of the company continue. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama settles on EPA, Energy Department nominees: source Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 01:42 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama intends to nominate air quality expert Gina McCarthy to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and nuclear physicist Ernest Moniz to head the Department of Energy as early as this week, according to a source familiar with the process. McCarthy would likely become the face of Obama's latest push to fight climate change. Currently the assistant administrator for the EPA Office of Air and Radiation, she would replace Lisa Jackson, who stepped down as EPA chief this month. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sony unveils new PlayStation 4 console Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 07:36 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sony Corp unveiled its first video game console in seven years on Wednesday that will let users stream and play video games hosted on servers, hoping the move will help stem user losses, pre-empt the next version of Microsoft's Xbox and propel it back to the top of the videogame hardware industry. The company revealed its PlayStation 4 console, which will succeed the PlayStation 3, at a flashy event in New York with game developers like Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard in attendance. Sony said the console would be available for the holiday 2013 season. ... Full Story | Top |
| Majority of U.S. citizens say illegal immigrants should be deported Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 05:09 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than half of U.S. citizens believe that most or all of the country's 11 million illegal immigrants should be deported, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday that highlights the difficulties facing lawmakers trying to reform the U.S. immigration system. The online survey shows resistance to easing immigration laws despite the biggest push for reform in Congress since 2007. Thirty percent of those polled think that most illegal immigrants, with some exceptions, should be deported, while 23 percent believe all illegal immigrants should be deported. ... Full Story | Top |
| Major powers to make "substantial and serious offer" to Iran Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 12:38 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Major powers are ready to make "a substantial and serious offer" to Iran during talks next week in return for concessions on its nuclear program, a Western diplomat said on Wednesday. He declined to give details of the offer - aimed at reviving efforts to reach a diplomatic solution to long-stalled talks over Iran's disputed nuclear work. "We will take an offer with us which we believe to be a substantial and serious offer," the diplomat said of talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan. "This is an offer which we think has significant new elements in it. ... Full Story | Top |
| French general urges EU to equip "impoverished" Mali army Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 01:58 PM PST  BAMAKO, Mali (Reuters) - The European Union should complement a mission to train Mali's army, routed by rebels last year, by providing equipment from uniforms to vehicles and communications technology, a French general said on Wednesday. General Francois Lecointre, appointed to head the EU training mission to Mali (EUTM) that was formally launched this week, said in Bamako equipping the "very impoverished" and disorganized Malian army was as important as training it. ... Full Story | Top |
| Spy agencies scrounge for details on North Korean nuclear test Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 02:44 PM PST  WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. and allied spy agencies have found no traces of telltale nuclear-related particles from North Korea's February 12 nuclear bomb test, leaving unresolved basic questions about the device's design, according to officials in the United States, Europe and South Korea. This lack of scientific evidence suggests that key questions may remain unanswered about the type of fissile material used in the test, which was detected by seismic sensors. It also leaves unaddressed questions about how far the North has advanced in its bomb design. After the test, the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Office Depot in $976 million deal to buy rival OfficeMax Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 01:31 PM PST  (Reuters) - Office Depot Inc will acquire smaller rival OfficeMax Inc in a $976 million all-stock deal, the companies said on Wednesday, confirming an agreement inadvertently announced earlier in the day, before it was completed. The combined entity's name, headquarters and CEO are all undetermined, an unusual level of major decisions yet to be made that points to the integration challenge the companies face. "I have seldom seen a situation where they can't decide on the name, the CEO or the corporate headquarters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Witness heard "non-stop shouting" before Pistorius shooting Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 10:09 AM PST PRETORIA (Reuters) - A witness heard "non-stop shouting" in the home of South African athletics star Oscar Pistorius shortly before his girlfriend was shot dead, the detective leading the murder investigation said on Wednesday. Warrant officer Hilton Botha, a detective with 24 years on the force, also told the Pretoria magistrates court in a bail hearing that police had found two containers of testosterone and needles in Pistorius' bedroom. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pope may change conclave rules before leaving: Vatican Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 10:20 AM PST  VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict may change rules governing the conclave that will secretly elect his successor, a move that could move up the global meeting of cardinals who are already in touch about who could best lead Catholics through a period of crisis. The Vatican appears to be aiming to have a new pope elected and then formally installed before Palm Sunday on March 24 so he can preside at Holy Week services leading to Easter. The rule changes could mean that the conclave in the Sistine Chapel, where cardinals will choose the next leader of the 1. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. to tackle trade secret theft from China, others Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 01:14 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Wednesday it will step up diplomatic pressure and study whether tougher laws are needed to stop a wave of trade secret theft from China and other countries in a strategy that offered few new ideas for dealing with the threat. "Trade secret theft threatens American businesses, undermines national security and places the security of the U.S. economy in jeopardy," the White House said in a report that laid out its strategy. "These acts also diminish U.S. export prospects around the globe and put American jobs at risk. ... Full Story | Top |
| China says U.S. hacking accusations lack technical proof Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 09:43 AM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - Accusations by a U.S. computer security company that a secretive Chinese military unit is likely behind a series of hacking attacks are scientifically flawed and hence unreliable, China's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. The statement came after the White House said overnight that the Obama administration has repeatedly taken up its concerns about cyber-theft at the highest levels of the Chinese government, including with Chinese military officials. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bulgarian government resigns amid growing protests Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 07:51 AM PST SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's government resigned on Wednesday after mass protests against high power prices and falling living standards, joining a long list of European administrations felled by austerity during four years of debt crisis. Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, an ex-bodyguard who took power in 2009 on pledges to root out graft and raise incomes in the European Union's poorest member, faces a tough task of propping up eroding support ahead of an expected early election. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Core problem for Europe as France, Germany drift apart Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 08:08 AM PST  LONDON (Reuters)- Even as the euro zone periphery starts to spy some glimmers of hope, concern is mounting that Germany is drifting apart from other countries at the core of the single currency bloc, notably France. Economically, the worry is that insistence on fiscal austerity by an out-performing Germany will delay an upturn in France, which has been steadily losing competitiveness to its larger neighbor. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Rome will burn, regardless of Italian election result Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 08:57 AM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Regardless of who wins next weekend's parliamentary election, Italy's long economic decline is likely to continue because the next government won't be strong enough to pursue the tough reforms needed to make its economy competitive again. Bankers, diplomats and industrialists in Rome and Milan despair at how Italians are shifting allegiances ahead of the February 24-25 vote to favor anti-establishment upstarts and show disgust with the established parties. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boeing engineers split on contract, talks to resume Tuesday, Feb 19, 2013 11:21 PM PST  SEATTLE (Reuters) - The largest group of engineers working at Boeing Co approved the planemaker's latest contract offer in a vote on Tuesday, likely paving the way for a full agreement as Boeing attempts to focus its resources on fixing battery problems on its 787 Dreamliner. However, members of the union representing about 23,000 engineers also authorized it to call a strike, giving the union some leverage as parties head back toward negotiations. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thousands of Greeks rally in anti-austerity strike Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 08:56 AM PST ATHENS (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Greeks took to the streets of Athens on Wednesday as part of a nationwide strike against austerity that confined ferries to ports, shut schools and left hospitals with only emergency staff. Beating drums, blowing whistles and chanting "Robbers, robbers!" more than 60,000 people angry at wage cuts and tax rises marched to parliament in the biggest protest for months over austerity policies required by international lenders. ... Full Story | Top |
| British PM regrets "deeply shameful" colonial Indian massacre Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 04:08 AM PST  AMRITSAR, India (Reuters) - David Cameron on Wednesday became the first serving British prime minister to voice regret about one of the bloodiest episodes in colonial India, a massacre of unarmed civilians in the city of Amritsar in 1919. The killings, known in India as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, were described by Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Indian independence movement, as having shaken the foundations of the British Empire. A group of soldiers opened fire on an unarmed crowd without warning in the northern Indian city after a period of unrest, killing hundreds in cold blood. ... Full Story | Top |
| China January FDI falls, reflects global firms' caution, cheaper rivals Tuesday, Feb 19, 2013 09:43 PM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's foreign direct investment inflows fell at their fastest rate in more than three years in January, highlighting the challenges it faces competing for funds with cheaper rivals in a sluggish global growth environment. China Commerce Ministry data on Wednesday showed the world's second-biggest economy drew in $9.3 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) in January, down 7.3 percent on a year ago. The fall was the steepest in year-to-date inflows since a 9.9 percent drop in November 2009, and it was the worst January performance in four years. ... Full Story | Top |
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