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| U.S. leads pushback against emerging market angst at G20 Thursday, Feb 20, 2014 07:49 PM PST  As finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the Group of 20 developed and emerging gather ahead of a weekend meeting in Sydney, many are already talking at cross purposes. Emerging nations want the U.S. Federal Reserve to calibrate its winding down of stimulus so as to mitigate the impact on their economies. "Emerging markets need to take steps of their own to get their fiscal house in order and put structural reforms in place," U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said at a financial conference in Sydney ahead of the ministerial meetings. That was a sentiment very much echoed by the finance ministers of Japan and Britain. Full Story | Top |
| Illinois leads multistate probe of Sallie Mae's student loan practices Thursday, Feb 20, 2014 07:42 PM PST By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - SLM Corp, better known as Sallie Mae, faces a multistate probe led by Illinois into its student loan practices, a spokeswoman for Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said on Thursday. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, Sallie Mae said it was facing "significant year-over-year increases" in the number of investigative demands and in the breadth of information being sought. The rise in requests has been largely driven by state attorneys general and by the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the company said. Madigan's spokeswoman, Natalie Bauer, said Illinois and other states have opened an "active investigation" into Sallie Mae's loan servicing and debt collection practices, among other issues. Full Story | Top |
| What's WhatsApp? A messages service that spans borders, devices Thursday, Feb 20, 2014 07:17 PM PST  By Molly Hensley-Clancy NEW YORK (Reuters) - What in the world is WhatsApp? The online messaging platform has been catching on for a few years with younger users and international sets of friends, but a much larger audience noticed it on Wednesday, when Facebook Inc said it had agreed to pay $19 billion for the service. And it's adding a million users daily, which caught Facebook's eye. Full Story | Top |
| Next-generation GPS satellite launched into orbit Thursday, Feb 20, 2014 06:58 PM PST  By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A U.S. Global Positioning System satellite was launched into orbit on Thursday, buttressing a 31-member navigation network in constant use by the military, civilian agencies and commercial customers worldwide. The satellite, built by Boeing, was carried into space aboard an unmanned Delta 4 rocket, which blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 8:59 p.m. EST/0159 Friday GMT. The Delta 4 rocket was built and launched by United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, under contract with the U.S. Air Force. Once in position 12,000 miles above the planet, the new satellite will replace a 16-year-old member of the GPS constellation, one that already has lasted more than twice as long as expected. Full Story | Top |
| California senate leader: Carbon tax would return revenue to poor, transit Thursday, Feb 20, 2014 06:54 PM PST By Rory Carroll SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A carbon tax proposal outlined on Thursday by California Senate leader Darrell Steinberg would raise an estimated $3.6 billion in its first year, revenue he said would go into the pocketbooks of the state's poorest residents as well as public transportation. The tax, which would apply to fuels like gasoline, would start at 15 cents a gallon in 2015 and rise to 24 cents a gallon in 2020, Steinberg said in a speech at the Sacramento Press Club. Poverty in the state is growing and money raised by the tax would be returned to low- and moderate-income working people via a federal tax credit, Steinberg said. The tax would halt plans to bring fuels under the state's cap and trade program next year, a policy that since the beginning of 2013 has regulated the emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases from large stationary sources, such as power plants and cement factories. Full Story | Top |
| Asian shares ride U.S. optimism but EM concerns remain Thursday, Feb 20, 2014 06:53 PM PST  By Hideyuki Sano TOKYO (Reuters) - A brisk U.S. manufacturing survey gave Asian stocks markets a lift on Friday and bolstered the dollar, though underlying concerns about China's economic growth kept investors from rushing to buy some emerging market shares. Further tension in emerging economies could direct investors' attention to the Group of 20 finance ministers meeting in Sydney this weekend. Full Story | Top |
| Vitol pays $2.6 billion for Shell's Australian refinery, petrol stations Thursday, Feb 20, 2014 06:46 PM PST  By Byron Kaye and Cezary Podkul SYDNEY/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Vitol SA is buying Royal Dutch Shell's Australian downstream businesses for about A$2.9 billion ($2.6 billion) in its biggest acquisition, as the oil trader looks to grab a share of the country's lucrative oil product market. The purchase, which includes a refinery and 870 service stations plus Shell's bulk fuels, bitumen and chemicals businesses, will pit Swiss-based Vitol against rival Trafigura Beheer , which became Australia's largest independent fuel retailer last year. Australia has become one of Asia's biggest fuel importers as oil majors have shut older refineries and turned away from the relatively small market in favor of higher yielding opportunities elsewhere. Shell, attempting to win round investors after a major profit warning early this year, said in January it was targeting $15 billion of disposals over the next two years as it tries to deliver more attractive returns to shareholders. Full Story | Top |
| Citi CEO Corbat gets $14.1 million in 2013 Thursday, Feb 20, 2014 06:45 PM PST  (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Michael Corbat received a 23 percent pay rise in 2013, his first full year after replacing Vikram Pandit at the helm, a regulatory filing on Thursday showed. Corbat earned an estimated $14.1 million in 2013 under Citi's executive pay structure, which the company overhauled last year amidst shareholder pressure. He had received a salary of $11.5 million in 2012. According to the regulatory filing, Corbat received deferred stock worth about $3.78 million based on the stock's Thursday close. (http://r.reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Consortium resumes work on Panama Canal expansion Thursday, Feb 20, 2014 06:39 PM PST  By Lomi Kriel and Sonya Dowsett PANAMA CITY/MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish-led consortium resumed expansion work on the Panama Canal on Thursday, raising hopes the two sides will finally draw a line under an acrimonious stand-off over massive cost overruns. As workers returned to the construction site after a stoppage lasting more than two weeks, a source close to the consortium led by Spanish builder Sacyr and Italy's Salini Impregilo said it had resolved internal disagreements over the key issue of financing. "The restarting of the works is being done in a way that will enable it to reach full pace in the shortest time possible," the consortium said in a statement. A source close to negotiations between the consortium and the Panama Canal Authority confirmed that work had resumed. Full Story | Top |
| Mexico criticizes fatal San Diego border shooting Thursday, Feb 20, 2014 06:28 PM PST By Marty Graham SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Mexican government officials criticized the U.S. Border Patrol on Thursday for the fatal shooting of one of its citizens in a confrontation in Southern California this week, saying it opposed the use of lethal force in border control operations. A U.S. border agent shot and killed a Mexican man on Tuesday while on patrol near San Diego, after being pelted with rocks while trying to apprehend a group of suspected illegal border crossers. "We firmly reiterate that the use of lethal force in border control operations is unacceptable," Mexico's foreign ministry said in a statement released by the Mexican consulate in San Diego. The statement cited 21 deaths of Mexican nationals as a result of encounters with U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents along the U.S.-Mexico border since 2010. Full Story | Top |
| No media access to images of semi-clad Bieber - for now: judge Thursday, Feb 20, 2014 06:27 PM PST  By David Adams MIAMI (Reuters) - A Miami judge on Thursday temporarily blocked media access to any more video images of a semi-clad Justin Bieber filmed while the teenage pop singer was in police custody last month after his arrest for driving under the influence. The police station footage included clips of Bieber giving a urine sample behind a low wall. Miami-Dade County Judge William Altfield ordered that about 10 hours of police surveillance video not be released until he has been able to review them in his chambers. "Do you believe that the public has the right to ... see Justin Bieber urinating?" the judge asked attorneys representing several large media companies seeking access to the video under Florida's broad public records law. Full Story | Top |
| Angry and unpaid, Thai farmers poised for airport protest Thursday, Feb 20, 2014 06:25 PM PST  By Pairat Temphairojana BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thousands of Thai farmers threatened to head for Bangkok's main airport in their tractors on Friday in protest against non-payment in a controversial rice subsidy scheme, heaping pressure on Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to step down. The rice program was among the populist policies pioneered by Yingluck's billionaire brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, a former prime minister central to a conflict that has divided Thais for years and triggered protests, violent at times, that have paralyzed parts of the capital for weeks. It was not immediately clear what the farmers planned to do at the airport or how long they would stay, but the convoy evoked memories of 2008 when anti-Thaksin protesters blockaded Bangkok's airports and held crippling rallies against two Thaksin-backed governments. "We are not sure where we will set up camp, but we will not leave the capital until we are paid for every grain of rice sold," former member of parliament Chada Thaiseth said on Thursday. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. proposes new safety rules for farm pesticide use Thursday, Feb 20, 2014 05:55 PM PST Farm workers, children and other people working or living near farm fields would have more protection from hazardous pesticides under changes proposed on Thursday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "Today marks an important milestone for the farm workers who plant, tend, and harvest the food that we put on our tables each day," Gina McCarthy, EPA administrator, said in a statement. EPA is proposing revisions to the agency's 22-year-old "Worker Protection Standard" that EPA officials say will help protect approximately 2 million U.S. farm workers and their families from exposure to pesticides used to protect crops from weeds, insects, and disease. The EPA said pesticides are beneficial tools in agriculture when used in proper concentrations and with proper protections. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. calls on China, Japan and Europe to boost domestic demand Thursday, Feb 20, 2014 05:54 PM PST  SYDNEY (Reuters) - China, Japan and Europe need to concentrate on boosting domestic demand to help rebalance the world economy, the head of the U.S. Treasury said on Friday. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told a finance conference ahead of this weekend's G20 meeting that Japan's economic reforms, known as Abenomics after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, had made progress, although more still needed to be done. Asked about the risks from China's shadow banking sector, Lew said the sheer size of the Chinese economy meant Beijing had the scope to deal with any dangers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan, U.S. remain far apart on TPP trade talks: Amari Thursday, Feb 20, 2014 05:50 PM PST Japan and the United States remain far apart on bilateral trade talks that are key to a Pacific-wide trade deal, Japanese economy minister Akira Amari said on Friday. The two biggest economies in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks are seeking agreement on their key bilateral issues - cars for the United States and farm products such as rice for Japan - to facilitate a deal among the 12 Pacific Rim nations in the talks. Amari told a regular news conference that "considerable gaps remain" between Tokyo and Washington. "Prime Minister (Shinzo Abe) instructed me to make my utmost efforts in the negotiations," Amari said. Full Story | Top |
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