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| Ending long break, White House and Republicans renew budget talks Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 04:04 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After weeks without talks on the U.S. budget crisis, President Barack Obama called Republican leaders on Thursday to discuss the harsh "sequestration" cuts to government spending due to begin in just over a week. In what might be just the start of long negotiations to prevent the $85 billion in cuts, Obama spoke to House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The conversations were "good," White House spokesman Jay Carney said, but he declined to provide details. ... Full Story | Top |
| Markets on edge as Fed officials differ on bond-buying Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 02:04 PM PST  NEW YORK/DALLAS (Reuters) - Two top Federal Reserve officials on Thursday signaled support for scaling back the U.S. central bank's aggressive bond-buying program, adding fuel to a contentious debate over how long the Fed should continue its extraordinary measures to support the economy. But even as James Bullard, president of the St. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Gulf Coast oil spillers about to face day in court Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 05:13 PM PST  (Reuters) - Nearly three years after a deepwater well rupture killed 11 men, sank a rig and spewed 4 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, BP and the other companies involved are scheduled to face their judge in court. The trial over the worst U.S. offshore oil spill is set to start Monday in New Orleans before a federal judge and without a jury. Few expect the case, seen lasting several months, will be decided by the judge. An eleventh-hour settlement this weekend is a possibility, but legal experts expect a resolution, at least with the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran move to speed up nuclear program troubles West Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 05:46 PM PST  VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran has begun installing advanced centrifuges at its main uranium enrichment plant, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Thursday, a defiant step that will worry Western powers ahead of a resumption of talks with Tehran next week. In a confidential report, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said 180 so-called IR-2m centrifuges and empty centrifuge casings had been put in place at the facility near the town of Natanz in central Iran. They were not yet operating. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela's Chavez still suffers breathing trouble Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 07:29 PM PST  CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's cancer-stricken president, Hugo Chavez, is still suffering respiratory problems after surgery in Cuba two months ago, the government said on Thursday in a somber first communiqué since his homecoming this week. Struggling to talk and breathing through a tracheal tube, the 58-year-old socialist leader is being treated at a Caracas military hospital after returning unseen before dawn on Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian opposition says Assad cannot be part of deal Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 04:53 PM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - The opposition Syrian National Coalition is willing to negotiate a peace deal to end the country's civil war but President Bashar al-Assad must step down and cannot be a party to any settlement, members agreed after debating a controversial initiative by their president. The meeting of the 70-member Western, Arab and Turkish-backed coalition began on Thursday before Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem is due for talks in Moscow, one of Assad's last foreign allies, and as U.N. mediator Lakhdar Brahimi renews efforts for a deal. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Japan's mission impossible: to spend $100 billion in 15 months Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 01:05 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - What do you buy the nation that already seems to have everything? That is the question facing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as he aims to spend more than $100 billion on infrastructure in the next 15 months to help revive his country's economy. But with its gleaming bullet trains, jungles of elevated highways and strings of man-made islands, ultra-modern Japan doesn't appear to want for much. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama expresses doubt about a March 1 deal to head off cuts Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 03:20 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama expressed doubt on Thursday that a deal can be struck with Republican lawmakers by a March 1 deadline to head off the start of $85 billion in spending cuts. His comments, made in an interview with radio talk show host Al Sharpton, suggested the White House was preparing for the possibility the March 1 deadline will pass with no deal. That would set off a chain reaction of automatic spending cuts that if left unchecked over the next few months could lead to thousands of job furloughs. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Mursi calls elections beginning April 27 Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 03:49 PM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - President Mohamed Mursi on Thursday called parliamentary elections that will begin on April 27 and finish in late June, a four-stage vote that the Islamist leader hopes will conclude Egypt's turbulent transition to democracy. The vote will take place in a country deeply divided between Islamist parties that have come out on top in all elections held since Hosni Mubarak was ousted in 2011 and more secular-minded opposition parties that have struggled to get organized. ... Full Story | Top |
| French, Malian forces fight Islamist rebels in Gao Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 02:46 PM PST  GAO, Mali (Reuters) - French and Malian troops fought Islamists on the streets of Gao and a car bomb exploded in Kidal on Thursday, as fighting showed little sign of abating weeks before France plans to start withdrawing some forces. Reuters reporters in Gao in the country's desert north said French and Malian forces fired at the mayor's office with heavy machineguns after Islamists were reported to have infiltrated the Niger River town during a night of explosions and gunfire. ... Full Story | Top |
| Facebook blocks access to NBC.com after reports site is infected Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 01:54 PM PST  BOSTON (Reuters) - Facebook Inc has blocked users from accessing the NBC.com website following reports that the site is infected with a computer virus. Facebook users were told "This link has been reported as abusive" on Thursday when they attempted to access the NBC.com website. Several security bloggers warned on Thursday that the site was infected with malicious software, advising computer users to avoid the site. Officials with NBC could not immediately be reached for comment. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Gulf Coast oil spillers about to face day in court Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 01:29 PM PST (Reuters) - Nearly three years after a deepwater well rupture killed 11 men, sank a rig and spewed 4 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, BP and the other companies involved are scheduled to face their judge in court. The trial over the worst U.S. offshore oil spill is set to start Monday in New Orleans before a federal judge and without a jury. Few expect the case, seen lasting several months, will be decided by the judge. An eleventh-hour settlement this weekend is a possibility, but legal experts expect a resolution, at least with the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jobs, factory, inflation data favor easy Fed policy Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 01:55 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A raft of U.S. economic data on Thursday from claims for jobless aid to factory activity and consumer prices pointed to a still tepid recovery and supported the argument for the Federal Reserve to maintain its monetary stimulus. The Fed is currently buying $85 billion in bonds per month and has said it would keep up purchases until the labor market outlook improves substantially, although officials are increasingly divided over the wisdom of that course. "The economy is in a holding pattern. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran move to speed up nuclear program troubles West Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 01:48 PM PST VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran has begun installing advanced centrifuges at its main uranium enrichment plant, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Thursday, a defiant step that will worry Western powers ahead of a resumption of talks with Tehran next week. In a confidential report, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said 180 so-called IR-2m centrifuges and empty centrifuge casings had been put in place at the facility near the central town of Natanz. They were not yet operating. ... Full Story | Top |
| NATO may keep Afghan forces at peak strength longer Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 12:27 PM PST  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO officials are strongly considering a proposal to keep Afghan forces at their peak strength of 352,000 until at least 2018, as opposed to current plans to cut the force by a third after 2015, alliance officials said on Thursday. Backers say the proposal, disclosed to a small group of reporters during NATO talks in Brussels, would send a crucial signal of enduring support for Afghanistan and bolster Afghan confidence after the United States and its allies declare their long, unpopular war in the country over at the end of 2014. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pistorius bail decision expected in South African court Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 03:15 PM PST  PRETORIA (Reuters) - A judge is likely to decide on Friday whether to grant bail to Oscar Pistorius, with prosecutors arguing he is a cold-blooded killer and his own lawyers that he is far too famous to have any chance of fleeing prosecution. The bail hearing, which began last Friday, was set to resume at 0800 GMT. Defense lawyers for Pistorius say the athlete shot dead his girlfriend only by terrible mistake, and deserves bail to prepare for a case that has garnered global attention and has been marred by a bungled police investigation. ... Full Story | Top |
| French hostages probably separated, Hollande says Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 10:28 AM PST  PARIS/MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Seven French hostages abducted by suspected Nigerian Islamist militants have probably been separated into two groups and efforts are continuing to locate them, French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday. French, Nigerian and Cameroonian officials earlier denied French media reports that the seven family members, who were seized in Cameroon on Tuesday and taken over the border, had been freed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wal-Mart eases investors fears, U.S. shoppers feel pain Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 10:10 AM PST  CHICAGO/BOCA RATON, Florida (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc 18 percent dividend increase and comments that U.S. sales patterns were more normal late last week after a slow start to the year helped boost shares of the world's largest retailer 2.6 percent on Thursday. The retailer also reported a bigger-than-expected profit increase, which was helped by a lower-than-anticipated tax rate. Still, the company's results solidified a picture of a U.S. consumer worried about the impact of higher payroll taxes and gasoline prices, along with slow tax refunds that put some spending on hold. Walmart U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Berlusconi's last throw of the dice in Italy election Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 10:52 AM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Billionaire showman Silvio Berlusconi has again astonished Italy with a storming comeback that has frayed nerves in European capitals and among investors, but the signs are his final gamble has failed. The 76-year-old media magnate and four-times prime minister looked down and out for much of 2012 after a jeering crowd hounded him from office in November 2011 as Italy tottered towards a Greek-style debt crisis. His indecision over whether to stand in this weekend's election brought his People of Freedom Party (PDL) to the brink of disintegration. ... Full Story | Top |
| Car bomb kills over 50 near Damascus ruling party office Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 12:32 PM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - A car bomb killed more than 50 people and wounded 200 in central Damascus on Thursday when it blew up on a busy highway close to ruling Baath Party offices and the Russian Embassy, state media and activists said. Syrian television showed charred and bloodied bodies strewn across the street after the blast, which it described as a suicide bombing by "terrorists" battling President Bashar al-Assad. It said 53 people were killed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Existing home sales edge higher, inventory at 13-year low Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 07:13 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. home resales edged higher in January and left the supply of homes at its lowest level in 13 years, a sign that steam is gathering in the U.S. housing market. The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday that existing home sales rose 0.4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.92 million units. That was the second highest rate of sales since November 2009, when a federal tax credit for home buyers was due to expire. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a 4.9 million-unit rate. The U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Icelanders question their lauded economic recovery Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 06:11 AM PST  REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Iceland's biggest IT company CCP is what the island needs to leave its economic crisis behind. It is global, growing and employs hundreds but its tale is also one of frustration that echoes concerns about the country's future. For CEO Hilmar Petursson, Iceland's lauded recovery model that included a sharp currency fall coupled with capital controls may have pulled a $13 billion economy back from the brink after a 2008 bank crash. But it is now a drag on firms like his. "The economic remedy has now become part of the problem ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Nigerian troops surround French family's kidnappers: source Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 07:46 AM PST  YAOUNDE/MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian security forces surrounded the kidnappers of a French family in northeast Borno state on Thursday in an operation to rescue the hostages, a Nigerian military source said. French, Nigerian and Cameroonian officials earlier denied French media reports that the family, who were seized in Cameroon and taken over the border, had been freed. The Nigerian military located the hostages and kidnappers between Dikwa and Ngala in the far northeast, the military source in Borno said, asking not to be identified. ... Full Story | Top |
| Louis Freeh's law firm taps top white-collar lawyers Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 08:37 AM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Law firm Pepper Hamilton, which two weeks ago elevated former FBI director Louis Freeh to chairman, said on Thursday it had hired Larry Byrne, a former federal prosecutor and head of Linklaters' U.S. litigation department in New York, along with three other Linklaters lawyers. The hires underscore Pepper Hamilton's aggressive move into the lucrative practice of investigations. Byrne, 53, served as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan and Washington from 1988 to 1994, and as head of Linklaters' litigation department from 2006 to 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| China's Bo Xilai not cooperating on probe, been on hunger strike: sources Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 02:47 AM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - Disgraced former senior Chinese leader Bo Xilai is refusing to cooperate with a government investigation into him and has staged hunger strikes in protest and at one point was treated in hospital, sources with knowledge of the matter said. Almost a year after Bo's fall from grace under a cloud of lurid accusations about corruption, abuse of power and murder, the government has given no definitive time frame for when he will face court, and has not even announced formal charges. ... Full Story | Top |
| Asda says horse meat scandal could mean higher prices Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 08:48 AM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's cash-strapped shoppers may have to bear some of the cost of a more rigorous food testing and policing regime in the wake of a scandal over the discovery of horse meat in beef products, the boss of the country's second-biggest grocer said. "Can I say that nothing will be passed on (to consumers)? No I can't," Andy Clarke, chief executive of Asda, the British arm of U.S. retailer Wal-Mart, told reporters on Thursday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chasm opening between weak French and strong German economies Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 04:59 AM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - The schism dividing the euro zone's strong and weak economies deepened to include its core pairing in February as French firms suffered their worst month in four years in stark contrast to prospering Germany. The gap between the two biggest economies in the euro zone is now at its widest since purchasing manager surveys (PMIs) started in 1998, the latest sounding showed. It dealt a blow to hopes the euro zone might emerge from recession soon, showing the downturn across the region's businesses worsened unexpectedly this month. ... Full Story | Top |
| Consumer prices unchanged as gasoline falls Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 05:36 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer prices were flat for a second straight month in January, providing scope for the Federal Reserve to maintain its very accommodative monetary policy stance to stimulate the sluggish economy. The Labor Department said on Thursday its Consumer Price Index was held back by weak gasoline prices and food prices, which were unchanged after rising over the past months. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the CPI to edge up 0.1 percent. In the 12-months through January, consumer prices rose 1.6 percent, the smallest gain since July. They had advanced 1. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sony seeks head start over Microsoft with new PlayStation Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 05:00 AM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sony Corp said it will launch its next-generation PlayStation this year, hoping its first video game console in seven years will give it a much-needed head start over the next version of Microsoft's Xbox and help revive its stumbling electronics business. The new console will have a revamped interface, let users stream and play video games hosted on servers, and allow users to play while downloading titles as well as share videos with friends. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan's Abe seeks to show off alliance, gets Obama nod on Abenomics Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 02:48 AM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be seeking to put a strong U.S.-Japan alliance on full display in the face of potential threats from a nuclear North Korea and an assertive China when he meets U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday. Abe, who has kept his ratings high since taking office in December, also needs Obama's signoff on his economic revival recipe of big spending and hyper-easy monetary policy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pistorius detective on attempted murder charges Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 02:47 AM PST  PRETORIA (Reuters) - The lead detective in the Oscar Pistorius murder case is himself facing attempted murder charges for firing on a minibus full of passengers, South African police said on Thursday as prosecutors argued in court to deny the athlete bail. Hilton Botha, who took the stand against Pistorius at the Paralympic and Olympic track star's bail hearing earlier this week, is due to appear in court in May over the 2011 shooting incident, police spokesman Brigadier Neville Malila said. "Botha and two other policemen allegedly tried to stop a minibus taxi with seven people. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico security forces abducted dozens in drug war: rights group Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 09:45 PM PST  IGUALA, Mexico (Reuters) - Dozens of people were abducted and murdered by Mexican security forces over the past six years during a gruesome war with drug cartels, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday, urging President Enrique Pena Nieto to overhaul the military justice system. The rights group said that since 2007 it has documented 149 cases of people who were never seen again after falling into the hands of security forces, and that the government failed to properly investigate the "disappearances. ... Full Story | Top |
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