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| China August official PMI seen hitting 3-month high Monday, Aug 26, 2013 09:13 PM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's factory activity in August may have expanded at the fastest pace in three months, a Reuters poll showed, adding to evidence that the world's second-largest economy may be stabilizing after slowing for more than two years. The median forecast of 12 economists polled by Reuters showed China's official manufacturing managers' index (PMI) in August may have risen to 50.6 from July's 50.3. A reading above 50 indicates expanding activity while one below it points to a contraction. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sentencing looms for convicted Fort Hood gunman Monday, Aug 26, 2013 09:11 PM PDT  By Ellen Wulfhorst FORT HOOD, Texas (Reuters) - Tuesday could be the last chance for convicted gunman Major Nidal Hasan to tell a jury his version of the November 2009 shooting rampage that killed 13 people and wounded 31 others, many of them unarmed soldiers, at Fort Hood, Texas. Once family members of the victims finish testifying in the sentencing phase of the court-martial for Hasan, convicted of 45 counts of premeditated murder and attempted premeditated murder, he will have an opportunity to address the jury deciding his fate. Hasan could face execution. ... Full Story | Top |
| High speed rail plan 'not worth the money' - business group Monday, Aug 26, 2013 08:52 PM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain should abandon plans for a multi-billion-pound high speed rail link between London and central and northern England because it will not offer value for money, an influential business group said on Tuesday. The government has said the project will generate thousands of jobs and boost business by slashing travel times from regional cities to the economic powerhouse in the capital. ... Full Story | Top |
| Daimler's Mercedes-Benz outlines strategic plan for China growth Monday, Aug 26, 2013 08:51 PM PDT  By Norihiko Shirouzu BEIJING (Reuters) - Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz will launch around 20 new or upgraded car models in China over the next two years, part of a broader turnaround effort aimed at reversing the brand's recent struggles in the world's biggest auto market. Unveiling details of the strategy in Beijing on Tuesday, Daimler's new China chief, Hubertus Troska, said the company would spend 2 billion euros ($2.67 billion) over the next two years as it seeks to boost sales of Mercedes-Benz cars in China by a third to more than 300,000 cars a year by 2015. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. postpones August 28 meeting with Russia over Syria gas attack Monday, Aug 26, 2013 08:49 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The State Department on Monday postponed a meeting scheduled for Wednesday in The Hague between senior diplomats from the United States and Russia due to "ongoing consultations" over the chemical weapons attack in Syria. The meeting was to have discussed plans for an international peace conference to end the civil war in Syria. But a senior State Department official said in a statement the meeting was called off "given our ongoing consultations about the appropriate response to the chemical weapons attack in Syria on August 21. ... Full Story | Top |
| New Mexico's largest county to allow gay marriage after court ruling Monday, Aug 26, 2013 08:42 PM PDT By Zelie Pollon SANTA FE, New Mexico (Reuters) - Same-sex marriages are now legal in New Mexico's most populous county and the city of Albuquerque, a court ruled on Monday, adding to recent victories for gays and lesbians seeking the right to wed statewide. Last week, a judge in Santa Fe County ordered the county clerk there to issue same-sex marriage licenses and a clerk in the southern part of the state decided to hand out such licenses independently of any court ruling. ... Full Story | Top |
| China sees no basis for talks with Japan over islands dispute Monday, Aug 26, 2013 08:41 PM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - China sees no reason to conduct talks with Japan over their dispute about ownership of a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, Chinese deputy foreign minister Li Baodong said on Tuesday. Li said Japan's call for high-level talks was not genuine, but merely grandstanding. "A meeting between leaders is not simply for the sake of shaking hands and taking pictures, but to resolve problems," said Li, speaking to reporters ahead of President Xi Jinping's attendance at the G20 summit next week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: U.S. could look beyond U.N. Security Council in any Syria strike Monday, Aug 26, 2013 08:21 PM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - In the face of a U.N. Security Council deadlocked on Syria, the United States and its allies could seek other means of legitimizing any retaliatory strike they launch against Syria's government for last week's alleged gas attack on civilians. The 15-nation council has been split on Syria since 2011. Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's ally, and China have vetoed three resolutions condemning Assad and calling for punitive steps against his government. ... Full Story | Top |
| Washington warns Assad over 'undeniable' chemical weapons attack Monday, Aug 26, 2013 07:41 PM PDT  By Lesley Wroughton and Erika Solomon WASHINGTON/BEIRUT (Reuters) - The United States put Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on notice on Monday that it believes he was responsible for using chemical weapons against civilians last week in what Secretary of State John Kerry called a "moral obscenity." "President (Barack) Obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world's most heinous weapons against the world's most vulnerable people," Kerry said in the most forceful U.S. reaction yet to the August 21 attack. Speaking after U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sirius XM sued for digital royalty underpayment Monday, Aug 26, 2013 07:36 PM PDT By Nate Raymond (Reuters) - A U.S. nonprofit charged with collecting digital royalties for music artists sued satellite radio service provider Sirius XM Radio Inc for at least $50 million on Monday for underpaying on recordings, including ones from before 1972. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by SoundExchange Inc, an entity appointed by the Copyright Royalty Board to collect and distribute performance royalties established under federal law. ... Full Story | Top |
| China's vice finance minister says no need for economic stimulus Monday, Aug 26, 2013 07:28 PM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said there was no need for the government to stimulate the world's No. 2 economy, saying on Tuesday that growth can instead be supported through structural adjustments. Zhu said while China faced a severe economic environment at home and abroad, it would keep economic policies stable. Speaking at a briefing ahead of G20 meeting in Russia next week, he said the United States must consider when and how fast it moderates its ultra-loose monetary policy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Argentina offers bond swap to skirt U.S. court rulings Monday, Aug 26, 2013 07:27 PM PDT By Alejandro Lifschitz and Brad Haynes BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's government is proposing a voluntary bond swap on its foreign debt, shifting payments to Buenos Aires, if it cannot overturn U.S. court rulings that threaten to trigger its second debt crisis in just over a decade. The bond swap would allow Argentina to keep paying the creditors who agreed to restructure the country's sovereign debt after a record $100 billion default in 2002, President Cristina Fernandez said in a televised address on Monday night. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan Economics Minister: No instructions from PM Abe to mull corporate tax cut Monday, Aug 26, 2013 07:00 PM PDT  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Economics Minister Akira Amari said on Tuesday that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has given no instructions to mull a cut in the country's corporate tax. Amari made the remark at a news conference after a regular cabinet meeting. Government officials have said cutting Japan's corporate tax may be among options Abe's administration may consider to ease the pain from an expected hike in the sales tax starting next year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Four-way Latin America bloc strikes deal to remove all trade tariffs Monday, Aug 26, 2013 06:50 PM PDT PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile said on Monday they had wrapped up negotiations to remove all trade tariffs between them, cementing a bloc that the four hope will encourage free trade between Latin America and the rest of the world. Ministers from the four member states of the Pacific Alliance group announced the agreement, which is due to be ratified later this year, at a joint news conference in Playa del Carmen, a beach resort on Mexico's Caribbean coast. "You're looking at a deal ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazilian foreign minister resigns, heads to U.N. Monday, Aug 26, 2013 06:26 PM PDT  BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota resigned on Monday after one of his diplomats acknowledged that he had helped a Bolivian senator, who had been accused of corruption, cross the border into Brazil. President Dilma Rousseff accepted Patriota's resignation but appointed him as Brazil's envoy to the United Nations, her office said in a statement. The current Brazilian U.N. ambassador, Luiz Alberto Figueiredo, will become foreign minister. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama talks Syria with Australia's Rudd; Rice meets Israelis Monday, Aug 26, 2013 06:23 PM PDT  By Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama spoke with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Monday about possible international responses to the Syrian crisis while his national security adviser discussed Syria and security with Israeli officials, the White House said. In a call with Rudd, "the two leaders expressed their grave concern about the reported use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime against civilians near Damascus on Wednesday," the White House said in a statement. They "discussed possible responses by the international community," it said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Madoff trustee reaches $98 million settlement with Maxam fund Monday, Aug 26, 2013 05:58 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - The trustee seeking money for victims of Bernard Madoff has reached a $98 million settlement with Maxam Absolute Return Fund, which fed cash into the imprisoned swindler's Ponzi scheme. The accord, disclosed in court papers filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan on Monday, followed a series of other settlements with so-called feeder funds reached by the trustee, Irving Picard. The settlement with Maxam returns $97.8 million that the fund had withdrawn from Madoff's firm, according to court papers. Maxam in exchange will now have an allowed claim of nearly $276. ... Full Story | Top |
| Holder pressed on U.S. drug agency use of hidden data evidence Monday, Aug 26, 2013 05:55 PM PDT  By John Shiffman WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eight Democratic senators and congressmen have asked Attorney General Eric Holder to answer questions about a Reuters report that the National Security Agency supplies the Drug Enforcement Administration with intelligence information used to make non-terrorism cases against American citizens. The August report revealed that a secretive DEA unit passes the NSA information to agents in the field, including those from the Internal Revenue Service, the FBI and Homeland Security, with instructions to never disclose the original source, even in court. ... Full Story | Top |
| Court reverses ruling on Sentinel loan in blow to BNY Mellon Monday, Aug 26, 2013 05:05 PM PDT  By Tom Polansek CHICAGO (Reuters) - Bank of New York Mellon Corp may have to get in line behind former customers of Sentinel Management Group who are seeking to recoup money lost in the futures broker's 2007 collapse, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Monday. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago reversed part of a ruling by U.S. District Judge James Zagel and said he must revisit the case. Zagel had previously put the bank ahead of Sentinel's former clients. ... Full Story | Top |
| Following NY lawsuit, online lender to cease funding loans Monday, Aug 26, 2013 04:54 PM PDT By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - An online lender accused by the New York attorney general of "scamming" consumers with high interest rates says it will cease funding loans next week. Western Sky Financial LLC, which says it is owned by a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, posted a notice on its website saying it would cease funding loans on September 3. No reasons were given. ... Full Story | Top |
| Yosemite blaze rages closer to reservoir for San Francisco Monday, Aug 26, 2013 04:28 PM PDT  By Laila Kearney SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - One of the largest California wildfires in decades roared largely unchecked for a 10th day through forests in and around Yosemite National Park on Monday and threatened a reservoir that supplies most of San Francisco's water. As of midday, the eastern flank of the so-called Rim Fire had burned to within a mile of Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy reservoir on the Tuolumne River, raising concerns about the possibility of ash and soot contaminating the sprawling artificial lake. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazilian Foreign Minister Patriota to step down, move to U.N. Monday, Aug 26, 2013 04:26 PM PDT SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota will leave his post and become Brazil's representative at the United Nations, the president's office said on Monday. Brazil's current representative at the U.N., Luiz Alberto Figueiredo, will take over Patriota's post as the new foreign minister. The switch comes days after a Brazilian diplomat under Patriota helped a Bolivian senator who had been accused of corruption enter Brazil. (Reporting by Reese Ewing and Eduardo Simoes; Editing by Eric Walsh) Full Story | Top |
| South Carolina Governor Haley announces re-election bid Monday, Aug 26, 2013 04:18 PM PDT  By Harriet McLeod CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - South Carolina's Republican Governor Nikki Haley announced her bid for re-election on Monday, railing against President Barack Obama's healthcare reform and touting her support of jobs and businesses. Flanked by three Republican governors and standing before a crowd of about 60 supporters and protesters at a rally in Greenville, Haley pushed her business credentials and said she had brought thousands of jobs to the state. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK high speed rail plan "not worth the money" - business group Monday, Aug 26, 2013 04:08 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Britain should abandon plans for a multi-billion-pound high speed rail link between London and central and northern England because it will not offer value for money, an influential business group said on Tuesday. The government has said the project will generate thousands of jobs and boost business by slashing travel times from regional cities to the economic powerhouse in the capital. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK services firms enjoy best business growth since 2007 - CBI Monday, Aug 26, 2013 04:04 PM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's services firms have enjoyed the fastest rise in business volumes since the boom days of 2007 in the past three months and expect further growth later this year, a survey showed on Tuesday. The poll by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which also found rising optimism in the key sector of the economy, adds to a string of recent signs that Britain's recovery is gathering pace. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. judge tosses BofA suit vs FDIC over $1.7 billion investor losses Monday, Aug 26, 2013 03:51 PM PDT  By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday threw out Bank of America Corp's lawsuit against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp over $1.7 billion of investor losses stemming from the collapses in 2009 of a large regional bank and a large mortgage lender. The lawsuit concerned the FDIC's role as receiver for an banking unit of Alabama's Colonial BancGroup Inc and the implosion of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp, home to what federal prosecutors called a $2.9 billion mortgage fraud. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. points finger at Assad over Syria gas attack Monday, Aug 26, 2013 03:49 PM PDT  By Lesley Wroughton and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry laid the groundwork on Monday for possible military action against the Syrian government over a chemical weapons attack, implicating President Bashar al-Assad's forces in a "moral obscenity." In the most forceful U.S. reaction yet to last week's gas attack outside Damascus, Kerry said President Barack Obama "believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world's most heinous weapons against the world's most vulnerable people." Kerry spoke after U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. lawmakers call on Obama to consult them on Syria Monday, Aug 26, 2013 03:43 PM PDT  By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers urged President Barack Obama on Monday to consult them as he decides how to respond to last week's apparent poison gas attack in the Damascus suburbs, with some complaining that they have not been fully informed. Secretary of State John Kerry issued a tough statement on Monday, saying that the suspected chemical weapons attack was a "moral obscenity" and accused Syria's government of covering it up. He added that the Obama administration was consulting with allies and members of Congress and would decide soon how to respond. ... Full Story | Top |
| Starbucks to sell home-grown coffee to the Colombians Monday, Aug 26, 2013 03:42 PM PDT  By Atossa Araxia Abrahamian NEW YORK (Reuters) - Starbucks Coffee Company, which has exported coffee beans from Colombia for more than four decades, plans to open its first café in the Andean country in 2014 and serve only locally-grown coffee. The world's biggest coffee chain hopes to open at least 50 coffee shops in cities across Colombia in the next five years, starting in the capital Bogota. ... Full Story | Top |
| SEC says Indiana man used Ponzi scheme to fund a reality TV show Monday, Aug 26, 2013 03:18 PM PDT  By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - The Securities and Exchange Commission charged an Indiana man with running a $6 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors out of their retirement savings and used the money to invest in a bridal store, a bounty hunter reality television show, and a soul food restaurant owned by the bounty hunters. The SEC on Monday said it obtained an emergency court order to freeze the assets of defendants John Marcum and his firm Guaranty Reserves Trust LLC. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boehner to White House: consult Congress before any Syria action Monday, Aug 26, 2013 03:16 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner told the White House on Monday that it must consult with Congress before any response to the Syrian government's apparent use of chemical weapons. "The speaker made clear that before any action is taken, there must be meaningful consultation with members of Congress, as well as clearly defined objectives and a broader strategy to achieve stability," Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said in a statement. (Reporting by Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Sandra Maler) Full Story | Top |
| Regulators, Bitcoin group discuss digital currency Monday, Aug 26, 2013 03:07 PM PDT By Emily Stephenson and Brett Wolf WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators and law enforcement agencies met on Monday with an advocacy group for Bitcoin, a digital currency that has been under fire for its purported role in facilitating anonymous money transfers. Jennifer Shasky-Calvery, director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), said her unit hosted a presentation by members of the Bitcoin Foundation, an advocacy group of Bitcoin-related businesses. ... Full Story | Top |
| Another San Diego worker files claim, saying mayor harassed her Monday, Aug 26, 2013 03:07 PM PDT  By Dan Whitcomb (Reuters) - A San Diego parks employee who says Mayor Bob Filner put her in a headlock and rubbed against her breasts at a public event this year filed a $500,000 battery and sexual harassment claim against the city on Monday, her attorney said. Stacy McKenzie, one of 18 women who accuse Filner of making unwanted sexual advances, is the second in two months to initiate legal action against the embattled politician. Her claim is the precursor to a lawsuit. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon adds $1.3 billion to potential value of pact with companies Monday, Aug 26, 2013 03:01 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Department on Monday added $1.3 billion to the potential value of contracts it signed with Lockheed Martin Corp, Boeing Co and five other major defense companies in 2004 to pay for engineering services aimed at updating the military's outdated computers and software. In its daily digest of major weapons contracts, the Pentagon said the move raised the ceiling on the current contracts to just over $6 billion from $4.7 billion, with the work to be completed by December 2016. ... Full Story | Top |
| Libya warns will destroy tankers illegally exporting oil Monday, Aug 26, 2013 02:53 PM PDT TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya warned on Monday it will attack and destroy any tanker illegally exporting oil after forces last week fired at a Liberian-flagged tanker close to the country's largest crude oil export terminal. The tanker, which sought to load crude oil that armed protesters blocking the country's main export ports were attempting to sell illegally, managed to flee, Abdul Razak al-Shbahi, the spokesperson for the minister of defense, told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama administration sees mid-October default deadline Monday, Aug 26, 2013 02:51 PM PDT  By Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration warned Congress on Monday that the United States could run out of money to pay its bills soon after mid-October if lawmakers do not move swiftly to raise a limit on government borrowing. "Congress should act as soon as possible to protect America's good credit," Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in a letter to congressional leaders, urging action "well before any risk of default becomes imminent." The government has been scraping up against its $16. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hundreds of dogs rescued in multi-state dog fighting case Monday, Aug 26, 2013 02:42 PM PDT By Karen Brooks AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Some 367 pit bulls, many scarred and emaciated, have been rescued and a dozen people across the southeastern United States have been charged with dog fighting in what animal advocacy groups called one of the largest such raids in U.S. history. "The number of dogs seized and the amount of money involved in this case shows how extensive this underworld of dog fighting is," U.S. Attorney for the Middle District Alabama George Beck said in a statement on Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama to see Putin at G20 summit in St Petersburg but meeting unclear Monday, Aug 26, 2013 02:39 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will see Russian President Vladimir Putin next week at the G20 summit in St Petersburg, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Monday, but whether they will hold an individual meeting was unclear. Obama and Putin have been at odds over Russia's decision to grant temporary asylum to former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden. The move allowed Snowden to avoid facing U.S. espionage charges for revealing details of U.S. surveillance programs. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. judge approves Facebook privacy settlement over ads Monday, Aug 26, 2013 02:35 PM PDT  By Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Monday granted final approval to Facebook's $20 million settlement of a lawsuit over targeted advertising despite objections that the deal did not go far enough to protect children's privacy. Five plaintiffs filed a class action against Facebook in 2011, saying the social networking giant's "Sponsored Stories" program shared users' "likes" of certain advertisers with friends without paying them or allowing them to opt out. ... Full Story | Top |
| Two charged with stealing source code from NY trading firm Monday, Aug 26, 2013 02:33 PM PDT By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two men have been charged by New York prosecutors with stealing secret computer code from a high-frequency trading firm in an effort to start their own business. Jason Vuu, 26, a former trader at Flow Traders LLC in Manhattan, was charged with emailing himself trading strategies, valuation algorithms and proprietary code from the firm and sharing the code with another man, Simon Lu, 25, according to criminal complaints filed by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance. ... Full Story | Top |
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