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| 'Three Amigos' look to reduce trade frictions, Keystone nags Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 08:11 PM PST  By Mark Felsenthal and Lizbeth Diaz TOLUCA, Mexico (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and his Canadian and Mexican counterparts on Wednesday discussed ways to reduce any trade frictions at a summit in central Mexico, but clear divisions remained over the Keystone XL oil pipeline project. U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said earlier this month that the 20-year anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the three nations was an appropriate moment to look at how to "upgrade" North American trade ties. However, retooling the trade pact between Canada, Mexico and the United States is not necessary because trans-Pacific talks will cover any gaps left by NAFTA, Mexican Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Meade said this week. Full Story | Top |
| A new suit, chemotherapy for ageing Koreans attending reunions Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 08:02 PM PST  By Michelle Kim and Narae Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean octogenarian Jang Choon bought a new suit before he finally made it to North Korea on Thursday to meet the family he has not seen since the 1950-53 Korean War. Kim Dong-bin, a 78-year-old diagnosed with lung cancer last September, has been undergoing chemotherapy that he says will allow him to meet the elder sister he was separated from more than 60 years ago before he dies. Jang and Kim are among a group of 100 South Koreans that crossed the world's most heavily fortified border on Thursday morning, a frontier that separates two countries that remain at war after their conflict ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty. The group was due to arrive at the North's Mount Kumgang resort, 50 km (30 miles) north of the border, later in the day, the Yonhap News Agency said. Full Story | Top |
| Wife of China's jailed Nobel Laureate Liu hospitalized Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 07:36 PM PST  By Sui-Lee Wee BEIJING (Reuters) - The wife of jailed Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo has been admitted to a Beijing hospital after police refused to allow her to seek medical help overseas, a close family friend said on Thursday. Liu Xia, who has been under effective house arrest since her husband Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, suffers from heart problems, possibly severe depression, and other ailments made worse during her time under guard, her friends say. She was admitted to another hospital earlier this month under heavy police guard but the hospital told her to leave after a day without giving a reason, said Mo Shaoping, a prominent human rights lawyer and a close family friend. Liu Xia was admitted to the second hospital on Tuesday but it is unclear how long she will remain there because her family has been told by police not to disclose details about her condition and whereabouts, Mo said. Full Story | Top |
| BOJ board member says Japan can weather tax hike, grow above potential rate Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 07:17 PM PST By Stanley White WAKAYAMA, Japan (Reuters) - Japan's economy can continue to exceed its potential growth rate after a planned sales tax hike in April, Bank of Japan board member Yoshihisa Morimoto said on Thursday, in a sign of confidence the tax hit to consumption will not derail the economy. Morimoto also said he expects exports to grow gradually as a recovery in advanced countries spreads to Asia, but some economists are starting to worry about external demand after Japan posted a record trade deficit in January. Morimoto's comments were in line with the BOJ's official stance that the economy does not need additional monetary easing. "We expect demand to rise before the tax hike and then fall afterwards," Morimoto said in a speech to business leaders in Wakayama, western Japan. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine president agrees truce with opponents as U.S. imposes visa bans Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 06:54 PM PST  By Richard Balmforth and Natalia Zinets KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said he reached agreement with opposition leaders on a "truce" to halt fighting that has killed 26 people, even as the United States stepped up pressure by imposing travel bans on 20 senior Ukrainian officials. A statement on the presidential website announced an accord for "the start to negotiations with the aim of ending bloodshed, and stabilizing the situation in the state in the interest of social peace." Responding cautiously, U.S. President Barack Obama deemed the truce a "welcome step forward," but said the White House would continue to monitor the situation closely to "ensure that actions mirror words." "My hope is at this point that a truce may hold but ... ultimately the government is responsible for making sure that we shift toward some sort of unity government, even if it's temporary, that allows us to move to fair and free elections so that the will of the Ukrainian people can be rightly expressed without the kinds of chaos we've seen on the streets," Obama told a news conference in Mexico after a North American summit. Full Story | Top |
| Fed officials see more QE cuts, changes to low-rate vow Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 06:51 PM PST  By Jonathan Spicer and Ann Saphir NEW YORK/ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - Three Federal Reserve officials on Wednesday said they believe the U.S. economy is gaining traction despite a recent slowdown from severe weather, allowing the central bank to stick to its plan to wind down its massive bond-buying stimulus this year. The comments, from the heads of the Federal Reserve banks of St. Louis, San Francisco and Atlanta, freshen the message in the minutes of the Fed's most recent policymaking meeting, also released Wednesday, which showed many thought only a big change in outlook could disrupt further measured reductions in purchases. Indeed, several Fed policymakers wanted to drive home the idea that their asset-purchase program would be trimmed in predictable, $10-billion, increments, according to minutes of the Fed's January 28-29 policy meeting. At the meeting, which was former chairman Ben Bernanke's last, the Fed decided to make another modest cut to its bond-buying program, which now runs at $65 billion per month. Full Story | Top |
| Accused Colorado movie theater gunman ordered to undergo new sanity exam Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 06:46 PM PST  By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - The man charged with mass murder for a shooting rampage that killed 12 people in a suburban Denver movie theater must submit to a second pretrial sanity examination because the first was incomplete and inadequate, a Colorado judge ruled on Wednesday. The second court-ordered exam will focus on James Holmes' state of mind at the time of the killings, not on his competency to stand trial, and on whether any mental illness precludes him from facing the death penalty if convicted. Holmes, 26, a former graduate student of neuroscience, had been slated to go on trial this month for the July 2012 massacre of moviegoers during a midnight screening of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises." But Arapahoe County District Court Judge Carlos Samour ruled in November that the trial be postponed indefinitely to deal with requests by prosecutors for further mental evaluations of the defendant. Holmes underwent an extensive psychological examination at a state mental hospital last year after pleading not guilty by reason of insanity, meaning that prosecutors have the burden of showing he knew right from wrong at the time of the shooting. Full Story | Top |
| Stocks slip, yen gains as China flash PMI disappoints Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 06:38 PM PST  By Lisa Twaronite TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian stocks tumbled on Thursday and the yen firmed as a survey painted a grim picture of China's manufacturing sector, heightening uncertainty about the outlook for the region's economic powerhouse. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan extended losses after the China survey, losing 0.7 percent, while Japan's Nikkei stock average was down 1.2 percent. The preliminary China Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) from HSBC/Markit for February fell to a seven-month low of 48.3 in February from January's final reading of 49.5, as employment fell at the fastest pace in five years. "The building-up of disinflationary pressures implies that the underlying momentum for manufacturing growth could be weakening," said Qu Hongbin, chief economist for China at HSBC, in comments accompanying the PMI data. Full Story | Top |
| Obama cautious on Ukraine truce, urges move to unity government Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 06:38 PM PST  U.S. President Barack Obama reacted cautiously to a truce between the Ukrainian government and protesters on Wednesday, saying it "may hold" but that ultimately Ukraine should move toward a unity government and free and fair elections. Obama, speaking at a news conference that ended a North American summit, said he condemned the violence in which 26 people were killed in Kiev. A truce on Wednesday was declared between the government and protesters. "My hope is at this point that a truce may hold but ... ultimately the government is responsible for making sure that we shift toward some sort of unity government, even if it's temporary, that allows us to move to fair and free elections so that the will of the Ukrainian people can be rightly expressed without the kinds of chaos we've seen on the streets," Obama said. Full Story | Top |
| China military to tighten building controls in anti-graft drive Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 06:35 PM PST  China's military said on Thursday it would tighten controls over the construction and sale of buildings to ensure proper accounting and transparency for all financial transactions as part of a wider government anti-corruption drive. China launched a crackdown on rampant graft in the military in the late 1990s, banning the People's Liberation Army from engaging in business. The latest rules, printed on the front page of the official PLA Daily, mandate that money from the sale of military buildings must be handed over to the military fully and in a timely manner. "Make decisions in accordance with the law and effectively prevent corruption." The short statement gave no specifics for how the new rules are to be carried out or enforced, nor did it mention the scale of the problem the army is confronting. Full Story | Top |
| Japan posts record trade deficit, sluggish exports dim outlook Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 06:27 PM PST  By Tetsushi Kajimoto TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan suffered a record trade deficit in January as a weak yen pushed up the cost of imports and failed to substantially raise exports, suggesting that the trade-reliant economy faces a bumpy ride even as policymakers put on a brave face about the outlook. The data followed on the heels of a survey showing manufacturers' sentiment worsened in January, underscoring the stiff challenges for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's strategy to spark sustainable growth over the long run. The ballooning deficit is a reminder that a weak yen alone cannot boost exports as Japanese firms are shifting production abroad, while overseas demand lacks strength needed to offset a blow from a sales tax hike in April. A stumble in the economy could force policymakers to resort to further stimulus to prop up growth, although at this week's meeting the Bank of Japan ruled out the immediate need for more monetary steps. Full Story | Top |
| California senators float post-2020 climate change bill Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 06:24 PM PST By Rory Carroll SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Two California state senators released a bill on Wednesday that would give regulators the authority to design a plan to meet the state's long-term greenhouse gas reduction goals and improve air quality in the state's poorest communities. The bill is an effort by Democratic senators Fran Pavley and Ricardo Lara to get the legislature's blessing for an extension of the state's pioneering climate change efforts beyond the end of the decade. But it would leave details of how to achieve the state's goals to the California Air Resources Board, which is already working on a post-2020 climate change plan. "This bill looks to the future, sending a clear signal that California intends to continue its climate leadership," Pavley said. Full Story | Top |
| China Feb HSBC flash PMI hits seven-month low of 48.3 Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 06:24 PM PST  By Adam Rose BEIJING (Reuters) - Activity in China's factories shrank again in February as employment fell at the fastest pace in five years, a preliminary private survey showed on Thursday. The Lunar New Year festival, which began on January 31 and covered early February, likely affected factory output as manufacturers shut shop for China's biggest annual holiday. The Australian dollar lost nearly half a U.S. cent after the report was released, reflecting China's status as Australia's biggest export market. The weak China preliminary index for January was believed to be one cause of last month's selloff of emerging market assets. Full Story | Top |
| Appropriate to refresh U.S. Fed's longer-term 'exit strategy': Williams Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 06:19 PM PST  The U.S. Federal Reserve should update its longer-term "exit strategy" for winding down its swollen balance sheet to reflect changes in the plan since it was published in 2011, a top Fed policymaker said on Wednesday. San Francisco Fed President John Williams, asked about updating the strategy by reporters, said, "When the world changes, we have changed our plan in an appropriate way." He also noted that the Fed has made clear, for example, that it does not intend to sell any of the assets it has bought until perhaps "later on" as it looks to shrink the balance sheet. Full Story | Top |
| Beauty queen the latest victim in Venezuela unrest Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 06:16 PM PST  By Tomas Sarmiento and Diego Ore CARACAS (Reuters) - A local beauty queen died of a gunshot wound on Wednesday, the fifth fatality from Venezuela's political unrest, as imprisoned protest leader Leopoldo Lopez urged supporters to keep fighting for the departure of the socialist government. Tensions have risen in Venezuela since Lopez, a 42-year-old Harvard-educated economist, turned himself in to troops on Tuesday after spearheading three weeks of often rowdy protests against President Nicolas Maduro's government. The latest victims of the unrest included college student and model Genesis Carmona, 22, who was shot in the head at a protest on Tuesday in the central city of Valencia. Three people were shot dead in Caracas after an opposition rally a week ago, and a fourth person died after being run over by a car during a demonstration in the coastal town of Carupano. Full Story | Top |
| Same-sex couples challenge Colorado ban on gay marriage Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 06:12 PM PST  By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - Nine same-sex couples filed suit on Wednesday challenging Colorado's ban on gay marriage, following a recent string of court decisions striking down similar restrictions in New Mexico, Utah and Virginia. The lawsuit, filed in state court in Denver, says a 2006 voter-passed state constitutional amendment defining marriage as exclusively "a union of one man and one woman" violates U.S. constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process. The suit also takes aim at a civil unions law enacted by the Democratic-controlled state Legislature last year, saying it fails to grant gay and lesbian couples legal status equal to heterosexual couples. "Same-sex couples in Colorado are relegated to a second-class level of citizenship that denies their relationships the full panoply of rights enjoyed by married opposite-sex couples," the lawsuit said. Full Story | Top |
| In Mexico, Obama criticizes Venezuelan government Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 06:00 PM PST  U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday sharply criticized the Venezuelan government for arresting protesters and urged the government to focus on the "legitimate grievances" of its people. At a news conference concluding a North American summit, Obama did not mince words in reacting to Venezuela's expulsion this week of three U.S. diplomats accused of recruiting students to lead protests in Caracas. Instead of "making up false accusations" against U.S. diplomats, the Venezuelan government should focus on the "legitimate grievances of the Venezuelan government," Obama said. Full Story | Top |
| Washington state regulators set stricter limits on pot production Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 05:53 PM PST  By Jonathan Kaminsky OLYMPIA, Washington (Reuters) - Washington state marijuana regulators moved on Wednesday to curtail the size and number of pot farms it will allow to serve the state's nascent recreational cannabis market, citing the need to prevent excess supply from illicitly leaving the state. Washington state and Colorado voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in 2012 even as pot remains illegal under federal law, and Washington plans to begin licensing retail pot stores in June. Regulators hope the changes will reduce the projected footprint of pot plantations statewide by two-thirds, to under 300 acres, said Randy Simmons, deputy director of the state's Liquor Control Board. "Some of this will be self-correcting as operators fall out," said Simmons, whose Liquor Control Board has been tasked with regulating the state's marijuana industry. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Moldova, Georgia leaders to visit U.S. - congressional aides Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 05:48 PM PST  By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The leaders of Georgia and Moldova are due to visit Washington in the next two weeks, congressional aides said on Wednesday, in what appears to be an effort to show U.S. support for Russia's neighbors amid the ongoing political crisis in Ukraine. Congressional aides said that Georgian Prime Minister Irakly Garibashvili will be in Washington next week and Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca will visit during the first week of March. Full Story | Top |
| Gap to raise hourly pay to $10 in 2015; Wal-Mart remains 'neutral' Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 05:36 PM PST  Apparel retailer Gap Inc said it would raise the hourly pay for its U.S. employees to $9 in June 2014 and $10 in June 2015, after the White House said the minimum wage for federal contract workers would be raised to $10.10 an hour in 2015. Gap, owner of Old Navy, Banana Republic and Gap apparel chains, said the increased pay will benefit about 65,000 store employees. "I applaud Gap for announcing that they intend to raise wages for their employees beginning this year," U.S. President Barack Obama said. Separately, Wal-Mart Stores Inc , the largest private employer in the United States, said it remains "neutral" on the issue of the federal minimum wage order of at least $10.10 per hour as it already pays most full-time employees above that level. Full Story | Top |
| Martin Luther King Jr.'s Nobel medal, Bible placed in care of court Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 05:33 PM PST  By David Beasley ATLANTA (Reuters) - Martin Luther King Jr.'s Nobel Peace Prize medal and personal Bible must be moved to a court-controlled safety deposit box, a judge ruled on Wednesday as the late civil rights leader's children are engaged in a fight over ownership of his estate. King, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, was assassinated four years later in Memphis, Tennessee. His two sons, Dexter and Martin Luther King III, want to sell the Nobel medal and the Bible. Their sister, Bernice King, is opposing the sale. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. judge gives broadcasters injunction against Aereo online TV Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 05:29 PM PST A federal judge in Utah on Wednesday barred online television service provider Aereo from retransmitting programs in a handful of U.S. states, ahead of a closely watched Supreme Court hearing this year between the company and major broadcasters. U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball in Salt Lake City issued an injunction, ruling that broadcasters including Twenty-First Century Fox Inc had shown a likelihood that they could prove Aereo committed copyright infringement. The ruling will largely impact Aereo customers in the Salt Lake City and Denver metro areas. Full Story | Top |
| California governor announces $687 million drought package Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 05:12 PM PST  By Laila Kearney SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - California Governor Jerry Brown announced a $687 million drought-relief package on Wednesday to help residents, farm workers and local communities cope with a water shortage he called the worst in the state's modern history. Brown, joined in Sacramento by top Democratic state lawmakers, told a news conference the money would provide food and housing aid to those who have lost work because of the drought and expedite funding to state and local water conservation and reuse projects. The governor said he expected a bill containing the package to quickly pass both chambers of the Democratic-controlled California legislature and speed the money to drought-hit communities across the parched state within a matter of weeks. "Unlike a lot of problems we face here in Sacramento, this drought is not caused by partisan gridlock or ideology, it's caused by mother nature herself," Brown said. Full Story | Top |
| Keystone pipeline approval in limbo after Nebraska ruling Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 05:11 PM PST By Patrick Rucker and Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Nebraska court on Wednesday voided the governor's decision to allow the Keystone XL pipeline to pass through the Midwestern state, creating another snag for the controversial project to link Canada's oil sands with refineries in Texas. Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman last year supported legislation that cleared the way for TransCanada Corp's $5.4 billion pipeline to cross parts of his state. The Nebraska Public Service Commission, or PSC, is the proper state agency to decide pipeline matters, Judge Stephanie Stacy wrote in a lengthy ruling, declaring the governor's decision "unconstitutional and void." State officials and a lawyer for landowners agreed a new permit application for the pipeline could require at least six months of work - and probably much longer. Full Story | Top |
| Biden: 'We may not get to 7 million' by Obamacare deadline Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 05:10 PM PST  Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged on Wednesday that it will be hard to reach the target on the number of people signing up for health insurance by a looming March 31 deadline for Obamacare enrollment. The Congressional Budget Office had originally forecast that 7 million people would sign up for insurance, many with help from subsidies provided under the Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare. Full Story | Top |
| Canada wireless sale nets C$5.27 billion; Quebecor makes splash Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 04:58 PM PST  By Randall Palmer and Alastair Sharp OTTAWA/TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian telecommunications companies paid a record C$5.27 billion ($4.78 billion) in an auction to secure wireless airwave licenses, the federal government said on Wednesday, as a new national challenger emerged from Quebec. "To be quite frank, I thought this would be a much more sedate auction with people sitting on their hands, it turns out to be not so," said Iain Grant, managing director of telecom consultancy Seaboard Group. Market leader Rogers Communications Inc was by far the biggest spender, paying out C$3.29 billion, or more than 60 percent of the total, to grab a so-called prime block in every region of the country except its three remote northern territories. But it was Quebecor Inc's Videotron that made the biggest splash at the auction, as the regional cable and wireless company expanded its reach outside its home base in the mostly French-speaking province of Quebec. Full Story | Top |
| Google prepares 34-city push for ultra-fast Fiber service Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 04:50 PM PST  By Edwin Chan SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc is exploring a major expansion of its super-fast "Fiber" TV and Internet service, which could extend the nascent network to 34 more U.S. cities and pose a competitive threat to home broadband providers. Google executives told reporters on Wednesday the search company has reached out in recent weeks to cities from nine metropolitan areas around the country, including San Jose, Atlanta and Nashville, to discuss the feasibility of building out Fiber, which Google says delivers the Internet at speeds up to 100 times faster than average networks. As Google delivers more music, videos and other content to mobile devices, it is increasing investment in ensuring it gets the bandwidth it needs. Google had initially billed its first Fiber broadband offer, launched in Kansas City last year, as a test project to spur development of Web services and technology. Full Story | Top |
| Archdiocese of Los Angeles to pay $13 million in sex abuse settlement Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 04:46 PM PST By Alex Dobuzinskis LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Seventeen people who brought sexual abuse lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles have won a $13 million legal settlement, with most of the allegations involving a priest who left the country as an investigation got under way, attorneys said on Wednesday. The settlement, reached last week, averted a trial that would have centered largely on abuse allegations against Father Nicolas Aguilar-Rivera, who in 1988 left his Los Angeles parish for Mexico as a probe was being mounted against him. Eleven men who said they were abused by Aguilar-Rivera as boys in the late 1980s were among the 17 people sharing the settlement. Full Story | Top |
| School coach charged with murder in Missouri girl's abduction Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 04:45 PM PST  By Kevin Murphy KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - A Missouri prosecutor on Wednesday charged an elementary school coach with first degree murder in the death of a 10-year-old girl who had gone missing, hours after authorities said they recovered her body at his home. Craig Michael Wood, 45, was charged with first degree murder, armed criminal action and child kidnapping in the abduction of Hailey Owens, said Greene County Prosecutor Dan Patterson. "It is a tragedy that it was not quick enough to save Hailey. Witness calls to police about the abduction triggered multiple Amber Alerts in Missouri and neighboring states. Full Story | Top |
| Probe into Wisconsin governor expanded before vote: documents Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 04:41 PM PST  By Brendan O'Brien and Mary Wisniewski MILWAUKEE/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Investigators looking into possible wrongdoing by Republican Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker expanded their probe the day before he was elected governor in 2010, seizing computers and hard drives from his offices, documents revealed on Wednesday. His campaign said that the documents were part of a legal process completed early last year, and he is confident they were "thoroughly reviewed by the authorities." Democrats compared the Walker case with the controversy surrounding New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, another potential Republican presidential candidate, whose aides are accused of tying up traffic to punish a political opponent. Full Story | Top |
| Once-defiant Venezuelan TV goes quiet amid opposition protests Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 04:33 PM PST  By Brian Ellsworth CARACAS (Reuters) - Twelve years after they played a key role in a coup, Venezuelan television networks have so heavily scaled back their coverage of anti-government protests that critics are decrying a "media blackout" that helps the government cling to power. Stations that openly encouraged Venezuelans to take to the streets in 2002 and helped trigger the coup that briefly ousted socialist leader Hugo Chavez are now offering minimal real-time coverage of nearly a week of anti-government protests. When security forces arrested opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez on Tuesday, bringing tens of thousands of supporters into the streets to block the path of the vehicle carrying him, networks that for years covered every twist and turn of Venezuelan politics offered almost no live coverage. President Nicolas Maduro, who was elected last year after Chavez's death from cancer, scoffs at allegations that his government has restricted free speech, insisting he is simply seeking to prevent the media from causing panic. Full Story | Top |
| SEC's Stein calls for more reforms to short-term lending market Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 04:26 PM PST  By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The short-term lending market is in need of reform to improve its transparency, a top U.S. regulator said on Wednesday, saying that the lack of public information on how much financial firms rely on such borrowing could lead to another financial crisis. "We should be doing more to improve large financial firms' disclosures about how reliant they are on short-term funding, and how susceptible they may be to liquidity crises," Kara Stein, a Democratic commissioner at the Securities and Exchange Commission, said in an interview with Reuters. "Improving disclosures about short-term funding will empower the markets to help prevent the next liquidity crisis," said Stein, who joined the SEC last summer. Brokerages such as Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley borrow those securities and then pledge them as collateral to money market funds in exchange for cash, in a financing transaction known as a "repurchase" or "repo" agreement. Full Story | Top |
| New fighting in Central African Republic blocks U.N. visit Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 04:23 PM PST By Media Coulibaly BANGUI (Reuters) - Heavy fighting erupted near the airport in Central African Republic's capital Bangui on Wednesday, as Christian militia tried to block the evacuation of Muslims and disrupted a visit by a top United Nations aid official, witnesses said. About 6,000 African and 1,600 French peacekeepers have failed to halt the conflict. The latest clashes began after Chadian troops tried to escort a convoy of Muslims out of the city, said Songokoua Yetinzapa, a Bangui resident living in a vast camp for displaced civilians near the airport. Sebastien Wenezoui, a spokesman for the anti-balaka, said their fighters came out to defend the local population near the airport after they were targeted by Chadian troops who were escorting the convoy. Full Story | Top |
| Ex-Madoff aide testifies at own trial, denies he knew of fraud Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 04:22 PM PST  By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - Only minutes into the prosecution's questioning of former Bernard Madoff aide Daniel Bonventre at trial on Wednesday, it was clear he was in for a long day. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall Jackson asked Bonventre repeatedly whether he was "close friends" with one of four co-defendants accused of helping to conceal Madoff's decades-long, multibillion-dollar fraud, former portfolio manager Annette Bongiorno. Bonventre repeatedly said he did not know what Jackson meant. "Do you have any difficulty with the definition of the word 'close'?" A flustered Bonventre eventually said, "Yes, I struggle with the meaning of 'close.'" Bonventre did, however, acknowledge that he and Bongiorno were friendly colleagues. Full Story | Top |
| Less than a third of Scots plan to vote for independence: poll Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 04:19 PM PST  Just under one-third (29 percent) of Scots plan to vote for independence in this year's referendum, according to a poll on Thursday that also found 42 percent intended to vote against. But the TNS poll also found another 29 percent were still undecided ahead of the September 18 vote to decide whether Scotland, which has a population of just over 5 million and is a source of North Sea oil, should end its 307-year-old union with England and leave the UK. The poll of 996 adults was carried out between January 28 and February 6. That was before the three main parties at Westminster - who oppose a break-up - had rejected the idea of an independent Scotland sharing the pound. Full Story | Top |
| Wall St. falls after Fed minutes; Facebook drops late Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 04:18 PM PST  By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks slid on Wednesday in a late selloff after minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy-setting meeting indicated that the central bank will keep trimming its bond-buying stimulus unless there is a significant economic surprise. The market also faced technical resistance as the S&P 500 earlier traded within a point of its record closing high set last month. Minutes from the January meeting of the Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee showed that several policymakers wanted to hone in on the idea that their asset-purchase program would be trimmed in predictable, $10-billion steps unless there is a big economic surprise this year. The statement doesn't deviate much from previous Fed communications, but market participants have been expecting the Fed to point to recent weakness in the economic data and reinforce their commitment to stimulating the economy. Full Story | Top |
| Florida woman tricked into abortion seeks fetal protection laws Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 04:09 PM PST By Bill Cotterell TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Remee Jo Lee was excited in the winter of 2013 over her pregnancy with a baby she already named Memphis, even though her new boyfriend envisioned a very different future. This winter, John Welden, formerly a pre-med student from a privileged background, sits in prison serving a nearly 14-year federal sentence for tricking Lee into taking an abortion pill. Meanwhile, Lee is in Florida's capital, changing hearts and minds instead of diapers, to pass a new state law that would set criminal penalties for causing a pregnant woman to lose her fetus regardless of how early in the pregnancy. I deal with this every day of my life," Lee told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. Full Story | Top |
| North Carolina defends coal ash oversight after second leak Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 03:47 PM PST  By Marti Maguire RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) - North Carolina state officials defended their oversight of coal ash ponds on Wednesday, a day after a second leak was found to be threatening a river already tainted by toxic sludge from a spill earlier this month. The state ordered Duke Energy Corp on Tuesday to plug the second leak of arsenic-laced wastewater into the Dan River from its decommissioned Eden power plant, this time through a 36-inch stormwater pipe. The state's Department of Natural Resources (DNER) said the leak had been 90 percent contained. The agency has come under fire for its handling of the state's coal ash ponds, which it concedes are contaminating groundwater as well as harming aquatic life. Full Story | Top |
| Virgin America airline wins eight final Reagan National slots Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 03:45 PM PST  Virgin America airline said on Wednesday it had won the last eight takeoff and landing slots at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The slots at the popular, gate-restricted airport that serves the political and business communities are among those American Airlines Group Inc was required to sell to win antitrust approval for its merger with US Airways. The win by Virgin comes after bidding last month that awarded 54 slots at Reagan National to Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co and 40 to New York-based JetBlue Airways Corp , including 16 that JetBlue had been leasing. Earlier Wednesday, Spirit Airlines Inc said it had lost a bid for the slots. Full Story | Top |
| Gap to raise workers' hourly pay to $10 in 2015 Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 03:42 PM PST  (Reuters) - Apparel retailer Gap Inc said it would raise the hourly pay for its U.S. employees to $9 in June 2014 and $10 in June 2015, after the White House said the minimum wage for federal contract workers would be raised to $10.10 an hour. U.S. President Barack Obama signed an executive order last week to raise the minimum wage for federal contract workers to $10.10 an hour starting January 1, 2015 and encouraged employers nationwide to increase wages for their workers. Gap, owner of Old Navy, Banana Republic and Gap apparel chains, said the increased pay will benefit about 65,000 store employees. Wal-Mart Stores Inc , the largest private employer in the United States, said on Wednesday it was "looking at supporting" an increase in the federal minimum wage, Bloomberg reported, citing a company spokesman. Full Story | Top |
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