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| California lawmaker indicted on bribery, corruption charges Friday, Feb 21, 2014 06:09 PM PST  By Dan Whitcomb and Dana Feldman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California state senator has been indicted on federal charges that he took $100,000 in bribes from a businessman and from undercover FBI agents posing as Hollywood movie executives in exchange for steering legislation in their favor, prosecutors said on Friday. Democrat Ron Calderon, 56, has agreed to turn himself in on Monday to face two dozen counts of bribery, fraud, money laundering and other charges, U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte said at a news conference to announce the charges. "Senator Calderon is accused of accepting tens of thousands of dollars in bribes and using the powers of his elected office to enrich himself and his brother Tom, rather than for the benefit of the public he was sworn to serve," Birotte said. State senate leader Darrell Steinberg called on Calderon, a veteran legislator and member of a political dynasty going back several decades in California, to resign or take a leave of absence. Full Story | Top |
| Ex-Madoff aide on trial in N.Y. wins dismissal of two counts Friday, Feb 21, 2014 06:04 PM PST  By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - One of five former Bernard Madoff aides on trial for abetting his massive Ponzi scheme will face two fewer counts when the case goes to a jury, after a judge agreed to throw out charges that he arranged for his son to get a no-show job at the firm. In an opinion filed late on Friday, U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan federal court granted Daniel Bonventre's motion to dismiss the counts, which charged him with violating federal law by causing false documents to be filed with the Department of Labor. However, Swain denied motions from Bonventre and from two other defendants, portfolio manager Annette Bongiorno and Joann Crupi, to dismiss a number of other counts related to alleged tax violations. The five defendants, who also include former computer programmers Jerome O'Hara and George Perez, have said they were duped by Madoff into believing the business was legitimate. Full Story | Top |
| Detroit's bankruptcy plan spares pensions from deepest cuts Friday, Feb 21, 2014 05:58 PM PST  Detroit's blueprint for dealing with $18 billion in debt and emerging from municipal bankruptcy requires cuts to worker pensions and even deeper cuts for bondholders, setting the stage for a new round of negotiations and court challenges. The potentially precedent-setting plan the city filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Friday would cut retired worker's pensions by up to 30 percent while owners of bonds deemed unsecured would lose up to 80 percent of their investment. The fact that voter-approved general obligation bonds were lumped into the city's $12 billion unsecured debt pile has roiled the U.S. municipal bond market. Retirees and pension funds argued the proposed cuts go too deep, while bond insurers complained that bondholders were being treated unfairly and forced to bear most of the losses. Full Story | Top |
| Defense argues Cole bombing mastermind should not face death Friday, Feb 21, 2014 05:58 PM PST  By Medina Roshan FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - Defense lawyers for the Saudi man charged with masterminding the 2000 USS Cole bombing that killed 17 American sailors argued on Friday he should not face the death penalty because the murders were not premeditated. The move was among several pre-trial motions heard in the murder case against Abd al-Rahim al Nashiri at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, viewed by closed-circuit television at Fort Meade. The charges Nashiri is faced with - among them murder, terrorism and conspiracy - carry the death penalty. In arguing for dismissal of the death penalty in his case, lawyers for the 49-year-old Saudi national challenged the constitutionality of several facets of the military commissions, among other arguments. Full Story | Top |
| G20 support builds to adopt ambitious target for global growth Friday, Feb 21, 2014 05:54 PM PST  By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) - The world's top 20 economies may agree to set an ambitious target for faster global growth at a weekend meeting in Sydney, where major central banks are also being urged to coordinate policies to avoid "surprises" that could roil emerging markets. Opening the two-day meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers on Saturday, Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey said support was building for setting a numerical goal for growth. "I have a great sense of hope that this G20 meeting will be able to lay down a real and tangible framework for an increase in the growth of the global economy over the next five years," said Hockey, who is hosting the Sydney gathering. And while a target would largely be aspirational, it would mark a sea change from recent meetings where the debate was all about growth versus budget austerity. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. government seeks to cut Medicare payments to insurers Friday, Feb 21, 2014 05:51 PM PST  By Caroline Humer (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Friday proposed a cut in payments to private health insurers for 2015 Medicare Advantage plans, a move Republican lawmakers said would hurt benefits for the elderly and disabled. The proposal, released in a document by a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, appeared to cut payments by more than the 6 to 7 percent the insurance industry had expected, one Wall Street analyst said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Discovery in talks with BSkyB over possible Channel 5 bid: FT Friday, Feb 21, 2014 05:32 PM PST  (Reuters) - John Malone-backed Discovery Communications Inc is in talks with British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc over a joint bid for Britain's free-to-air Channel 5, the Financial Times reported on Friday. The Discovery-BSkyB talks have focused on the British pay-TV provider taking over Channel 5's advertising sales operation, the report cited people familiar with the matter as saying. Channel 5, which broadcasts Big Brother, was bought by British media baron Richard Desmond in 2010 for 103.5 million pounds ($172.71 million). Bids for Channel 5 are due next Thursday. Full Story | Top |
| Apple says security flaw could allow hackers to beat iPhone encryption Friday, Feb 21, 2014 05:23 PM PST  By Joseph Menn SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A major flaw in Apple Inc software for mobile devices could allow hackers to intercept email and other communications that are meant to be encrypted, the company said in a Friday afternoon announcement. "It's as bad as you could imagine, that's all I can say," said Johns Hopkins University cryptography professor Matthew Green. Apple did not say when or how it learned about the flaw in the way iOS handles sessions in what are known as secure sockets layer or transport layer security, nor did it say whether the flaw was being exploited. Apple did not reply to requests for comment. Full Story | Top |
| Libyan official, patients killed as military plane crashes in Tunisia Friday, Feb 21, 2014 05:08 PM PST  An Islamist official in Libya's government and 10 other passengers and crew were killed when a military plane carrying medical patients crashed near Tunisia's capital early on Friday, officials said. The Libyan Antonov aircraft went down after the pilot tried to land in farmland near Grombalia town south of Tunis, Tunisia's TAP state news agency reported. Sheikh Meftah Daouadi, undersecretary at the Libyan Ministry of Martyrs which looks after families of fighters killed in Libya's 2011 revolution, was among the dead, said a spokesman for his organization, the Operations Room for Libyan Revolutionaries. The veteran Islamist fighter took part in the revolt against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Full Story | Top |
| S&P 500 may stall near high; Yellen in focus Friday, Feb 21, 2014 04:51 PM PST  By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) - After the S&P 500 slipped on Friday and broke a two-week rally, stocks may find tougher sledding in the coming week as investors may be unwilling to push the benchmark index to a record high. The Standard & Poor's 500 has risen 3 percent over the past three weeks, as investors have largely been willing to forgive a flurry of soft economic data due to harsh winter weather. The main focus will be Part Two of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's semi-annual monetary policy testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. Ironically, Yellen's congressional testimony before U.S. lawmakers was rescheduled after a Senate panel previously canceled the original hearing date due to a recent snowstorm in Washington, D.C. Yelena Shulyatyeva, an economist at BNP Paribas in New York, said investors and economists will pay attention to Yellen's answers on "questions about the weather, how much does she think the weather is impacting economic activity and how much will (the Fed) pay attention to that." Market participants will also monitor Yellen's statements for any signs regarding the central bank's plans as it tapers its stimulus measures. Full Story | Top |
| Rook considering U.S. IPO this year: Bloomberg Friday, Feb 21, 2014 04:37 PM PST (Reuters) - U.S. television start-up Roku is aiming to launch an initial public offering this year, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The company, which makes set-top boxes that connect TVs to the Internet, recently spoke to banks about the possibility of going public but is yet to hire a lead bank for the process, the report said. (http://r.reuters.com/mex96v) Roku competes with Apple Inc's Apple TV and is working with U.S. cable operators such as Time Warner Cable Inc to let users stream their cable TV through the box. ... Full Story | Top |
| Motor racing-Brazilian Nasr gets Williams reserve role Friday, Feb 21, 2014 04:30 PM PST Felipe Massa's Williams Formula One team have signed another Brazilian with Felipe Nasr joining the former world champions as test and reserve driver for 2014. Williams said the 21-year-old would take part in three tests this year - including the current one in Bahrain - and five Friday practice sessions at grand prix weekends as well as simulator work at the Grove factory. "I'm really happy to be joining the Williams family," Nasr, a former British Formula Three champion, said in a statement on Saturday. Full Story | Top |
| Turkey signs $3.5 billion deal for Sikorsky helicopters Friday, Feb 21, 2014 04:27 PM PST Turkey signed a deal worth $3.5 billion on Friday to buy helicopters from United Technologies Corp's Sikorsky Aircraft unit, finalizing an order originally agreed upon in 2011, the prime minister said. The 109 helicopters, a version of Sikorsky's popular Black Hawk, will be assembled in Turkey. The main contractor is Turkish Aerospace Industries with components to be supplied by Sikorsky, Aselsan and other Turkish companies. Sikorsky said the deal marked the start of an important partnership with Turkish industry. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. government proposes cut to insurer payments for Medicare Friday, Feb 21, 2014 03:55 PM PST  The U.S. government on Friday proposed a cut in payments to private health insurers for 2015 Medicare Advantage plans, a move Republican lawmakers said would hurt benefits for the elderly and disabled. The proposal, released in a document by a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, appeared to cut payments by more than the 6 to 7 percent the insurance industry had expected, one Wall Street analyst said. Insurers have said they could only maintain benefits if there was no change in payments for 2015 from 2014. Many factors go into determining the government's total reimbursement to insurers. Full Story | Top |
| Southwest gets two free Reagan slots but won't use them -report Friday, Feb 21, 2014 03:46 PM PST  Southwest Airlines said on Friday they will not use two of the 56 take-off and landing slots at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport which they received from American Airlines Group . Southwest purchased 54 of the slots from American Airlines in a sale ordered in November by the U.S. Justice Department. Bloomberg reported that Southwest had been given the additional slots. The slots at Reagan airport became available because of a Justice Department settlement with US Airways and American Airlines. Full Story | Top |
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