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| Americans back Iran deal by 2-to-1 margin: Reuters/Ipsos poll Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 05:49 PM PST  By Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans back a newly brokered nuclear deal with Iran by a 2-to-1 margin and are very wary of the United States resorting to military action against Tehran even if the historic diplomatic effort falls through, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Tuesday. The findings were rare good news in the polls for President Barack Obama, whose approval ratings have dropped in recent weeks because of the botched rollout of his signature healthcare reform law. According to the Reuters/Ipsos survey, 44 percent of Americans support the interim deal reached between Iran and six world powers in Geneva last weekend, and 22 percent oppose it. Even if the Iran deal fails, 49 percent want the United States to then increase sanctions and 31 percent think it should launch further diplomacy. Full Story | Top |
| Atheist group erects 'Good without God' billboards in California Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 05:38 PM PST By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - As the Christmas season approaches in the United States, a group of non-believers in the California capital are planning to erect billboards explaining why they are atheists in hopes of bringing broader visibility to their lack of religious faith. The 55 billboards that will soon dot the Sacramento landscape will feature pictures of local residents and slogans such as "Good without God," and follow similar campaigns in other major U.S. cities in recent years. "Those of us who are free from religion, who work to keep dogma out of government, science, medicine and education, have a lot to offer society," said Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation, which sponsored the ads. The billboards set to go up in Sacramento on the day after Thanksgiving are part of the increasingly loud arguments between many deeply religious Christians whose faith has informed U.S. conservative politics for a generation, and a vocal cohort of secular, often younger voters who want to keep religion out of public life. Full Story | Top |
| British engineer Amec eyeing Foster Wheeler takeover: report Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 04:49 PM PST is eyeing a takeover of U.S.-listed engineering company Foster Wheeler AG in a potential deal that could create a 5 billion pound ($8 billion) energy services group, The Times reported on Wednesday, citing sources. The Times said Amec, which provides services and equipment for the oil and gas, mining, nuclear and renewable energy sectors, has appointed Goldman Sachs A spokesman for Amec declined to comment. Full Story | Top |
| Winter storm lashes eastern U.S., threatens Thanksgiving travel Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 03:36 PM PST  By Ian Simpson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A powerful storm dumped heavy rain and snow over much of the eastern United States on Tuesday, threatening to snarl travel plans for millions of people over the busy Thanksgiving holiday, forecasters said. The Atlantic coast into New England will be drenched with 2 to 4 inches of rain by late Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, as the storm moves northeast out of the South, said the National Weather Service. The windswept rain will pound the Atlantic corridor from Richmond, Virginia, as far north as Portland, Maine, likely causing poor visibility, flight delays and urban flooding, said online forecasters Accuweather.com. The Thanksgiving holiday is one of the nation's busiest travel times. Full Story | Top |
| Study links high sodium "fizzy" medicines to raised heart risks Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 03:30 PM PST By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Millions of patients worldwide taking effervescent, dispersible and soluble medicines have an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes because of the high salt content of such drugs, scientists said on Wednesday. Researchers from Britain's University of Dundee and University College London found that with some "fizzy" versions of painkillers, vitamin supplements or other common medicines, taking the maximum daily dose would on its own exceed daily recommended limits for sodium, the main component of salt. High salt intake has been linked to high blood pressure, or hypertension, which is a key risk factor for strokes, heart attacks and other cardiovascular diseases. Full Story | Top |
| OSX Brasil board elects Euchério Rodrigues Chief Executive Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 02:54 PM PST  OSX Brazil SA, the shipbuilding company controlled by Brazilian tycoon Eike Batista, said on Tuesday that its board of directors elected Euchério Lerner Rodrigues chief executive officer, a move that comes a day after a judge approved the company's bankruptcy-protection plan. OSX, which operates a shipyard under construction at the Port of Açu north of Rio de Janeiro, has 180 days to present the court with a plan to restructure the company and reorganize some or all of its 5.34 billion reais ($2.33 billion) of debt. Rio de Janeiro-based OSX filed for bankruptcy protection shortly after OGX Petróleo e Gas Participações SA The OGX bankruptcy petition is the largest in Latin America. Full Story | Top |
| Nasdaq closes above 4,000 for first time in 13 years Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 02:23 PM PST  By Luke Swiderski NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Nasdaq composite index closed above 4,000 on Tuesday for the first time since 2000, while the Dow and S&P ended barely changed. Retailers and homebuilders were among the best performing sectors, responding to stronger-than-expected earnings and robust housing market data. Big-cap technology stocks helped the Nasdaq the most on Friday to finish above 4,000 for the first time since the dot-com bubble burst in 2000 and sent the tech-heavy index hurtling. Tiffany & Co jumped 7 percent to $88. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. fines Weatherford $253 million over Iran work, junkets Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 02:03 PM PST  Oilfield services firm Weatherford International will pay $253 million in fines to the U.S. government to settle charges that ranged from flouting sanctions against Iran and Syria to sending business partners on World Cup soccer junkets, officials said on Tuesday. Weatherford was charged with exporting oil and gas equipment to Iran, Syria, Sudan and Cuba in violation of sanctions, and exporting items controlled for nuclear nonproliferation reasons to Venezuela and Mexico. Prosecutors also filed criminal charges against Weatherford itself for failing to establish a compliance program, but they agreed to defer and drop them if the company improves its controls. The charges against Weatherford, the smallest of the four main oilfield services firms, also include Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) breaches and violations of export laws. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. trial ends over Ecuador pollution judgment against Chevron Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 01:44 PM PST  By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - An attorney for Chevron Corp on Tuesday accused U.S. lawyer Steven Donziger of orchestrating an international criminal conspiracy by using bribery and fraud in Ecuador to secure a multibillion-dollar pollution judgment against the oil company. "It was a scheme so audacious, so bold, that it would make even a Mafia boss blush," lawyer Randy Mastro said during his closing argument before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is presiding over the non-jury trial. Lawyers for the defense said Chevron had failed to prove Donziger's involvement in any conspiracy. "Steven Donziger may be a jerk. Full Story | Top |
| TSX drops to one-week low as resource shares dive Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 01:10 PM PST  TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index dropped to its lowest in more than a week on Tuesday as volatile commodity prices hurt natural resource stocks, with gold-mining shares bearing the brunt of a widespread selloff. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index unofficially closed down 123.39 points, or 0.92 percent, at 13,348.83. Eight of the 10 main sectors on the index were in the red. (Reporting by John Tilak; Editing by Peter Galloway) Full Story | Top |
| Canada does bad job of overseeing rail safety: official watchdog Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 12:27 PM PST  By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada, where 47 people died in a tanker train crash in July, is not doing enough to ensure rail safety thanks to inadequate audits, ill-trained staff and too little focus on high-risk railroads, an official watchdog said on Tuesday. The damning report from Auditor-General Michael Ferguson revealed a series of problems at the federal transport ministry, which is supposed to check that the 31 railways it oversees have effective safety management systems. "Transport Canada needs to address significant weaknesses in its oversight of safety management systems," Ferguson said in the report, adding the ministry was taking too long to resolve significant safety issues. "I've told Transport Canada officials that the public expect better of them," Transport Minister Lisa Raitt said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine leader to go to EU summit, but not ready to sign pact Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 12:27 PM PST  By Natalia Zinets and Richard Balmforth KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said on Tuesday he would attend an EU summit this week, but, criticizing the bloc for a 'humiliating' financial aid offer, declared he would sign a free trade pact only when it suited Ukraine's interests. Shifting Ukraine's economy onto European standards would require not less than $20 billion per year, he said in a television interview. Yanukovich's government announced last week it had shelved plans to sign a landmark pact with the European Union at the summit in Lithuania's capital, stunning EU leaders and igniting pro-Europe rallies in the former Soviet republic. Ukraine's decision to renew instead closer economic cooperation with Moscow revived Western fears of a swing back into Russia's sphere of influence. Full Story | Top |
| Alberta expects balanced operating budget for this year Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 11:54 AM PST  The Canadian province of Alberta, the biggest source of oil exports to the United States, said on Tuesday it expects to balance its operating budget in the current fiscal year on higher than expected resource revenue. The forecast, which does not include capital spending for roads, schools and other items, is up from the initial estimate of a C$451 million deficit made in the province's spring budget. In its second-quarter budget update, the province said second-quarter operating revenue was C$20.35 billion ($19.31 billion), C$1.38 billion higher than forecast in the government's spring budget, as energy and other resource revenue, at C$4.48 billion, was 27 percent higher than expected. "We expect revenue growth the stall in the face of that growing differential," Doug Horner, the province's finance minister, said on a conference call. Full Story | Top |
| Bayer bids $2.4 billion for Norwegian cancer drug partner Algeta Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 10:59 AM PST  has offered to pay $2.4 billion for Norway's Algeta , its partner for a new prostate cancer treatment, at a 27 percent premium to the stock's last close, Algeta said on Tuesday. The deal would boost Bayer's drugs division by giving it outright control over Xofigo, a drug the two have developed jointly since 2009 and started selling in the United States this year. Investors, however, bet that the German drugs and chemicals group has a fight on its hands and Algeta's Chief Financial Officer said that rival bids could not be ruled out. Full Story | Top |
| Ghana, Ivory Coast aim to settle maritime boundary peacefully Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 10:51 AM PST West African neighbors Ghana and Ivory Coast aim to settle a long dispute over their maritime boundary, the Ivorian government said, which could defuse sometimes tense relations and smooth the way for oil and gas exploration. So far only Ghana has awarded acreage in the disputed area. Oil exploration in Africa's Gulf of Guinea has accelerated since Ghana discovered its giant Jubilee oil and gas field in 2007 and brought it online in record time in late 2010. Ivory Coast, meanwhile, drilled only a handful of offshore exploration wells during a decade-long political crisis that ended in 2011. Full Story | Top |
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