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| Lupita Nyong'o wins supporting actress Oscar for '12 Years a Slave' Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 07:19 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Lupita Nyong'o won the Oscar for best supporting actress on Sunday for her depiction of hardworking slave Patsey in drama "12 Years a Slave," capping a breakout awards season for the Yale-trained Kenyan actress. Nyong'o, 31, won her first Oscar after earning the same award from her peers at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in January. (Reporting By Eric Kelsey; Editing by Sandra Maler) Full Story | Top |
| Italy's 'The Great Beauty' wins best foreign language Oscar Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 07:07 PM PST  Visually stunning Italian drama "The Great Beauty" won the Oscar for best foreign language film on Sunday, capping its successful awards season run in the United States and Europe. Director Paolo Sorrentino's film about an aging writer's reflections on life and his search for meaning among Rome's idle rich also won top foreign film honors at the Golden Globes and Britain's BAFTAs. It was the first Oscar for Sorrentino and the 11th win for an Italian film since foreign language film became a competitive category in 1956, the most of any country. In his acceptance speech, Naples-born Sorrentino gave a nod to Italian director Federico Fellini, former Argentine soccer player Diego Maradona - who once played for Naples soccer club - his wife and the central focus of his film, Rome. Full Story | Top |
| Ellen DeGeneres brings deadpan affability back to Oscars Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 07:02 PM PST  By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedian and talk show star Ellen DeGeneres returned as Oscar host on Sunday in an appearance many saw as calculated to project a lighter, more affable tone for Hollywood's biggest night after the provocative performance of her immediate predecessor, Seth MacFarlane. While veering away from the ribald streak that marked MacFarlane's widely-panned stint as emcee last year, DeGeneres showed in her opening monologue she was not above poking fun at some of the film industry's biggest names. She zeroed in early in the show on supporting actress nominee, and last year's best actress winner, Jennifer Lawrence, who famously tripped on the stairs on her way to accepting last her Oscar in 2013. Turning to June Squibb, whom she noted was the oldest performer ever nominated for an acting Oscar at age 84, DeGeneres congratulated Squibb for her role in "Nebraska." She then raised her voice to address Squibb as if she were hard of hearing, adding, "I'm telling everyone that you were wonderful in 'Nebraska.'" She joked that long-haired actor Jared Leto, a candidate for best supporting actor for his role as a transgender woman in "Dallas Buyers Club," was "the prettiest" nominee of the evening. Full Story | Top |
| G7 finance ministers say ready to aid Ukraine Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 06:45 PM PST Finance ministers from the Group of Seven rich nations on Sunday pledged to throw a financial lifeline to Ukraine as long as the new government in Kiev agreed to pursue economic reforms sought by the International Monetary Fund. "We are united in our commitment to provide strong financial backing to Ukraine," the G7 ministers said in a joint statement. "The transition to a new government in Ukraine offers a unique opportunity to put in place urgently needed market-oriented reforms." The G7 said the IMF, which is sending a team to Kiev this week, needed to be in the forefront of efforts to help Ukraine with both policy advice and financing to help it through its most-pressing economic challenges. "We are also committed to mobilize rapid technical assistance to support Ukraine in addressing its macroeconomic, regulatory, and anti-corruption challenges," it added. Full Story | Top |
| Jared Leto wins supporting actor Oscar for 'Dallas Buyers Club' Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 06:43 PM PST  By Piya Sinha-Roy LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jared Leto, the former teen heartthrob who left Hollywood to become a rock star, won the best supporting actor Oscar on Sunday in his return to movies as an HIV positive transgender woman in "Dallas Buyers Club." Leto, 42, won over both critics and audiences with his portrayal of Rayon in the 1980s era AIDS drama, and was seen as favorite for the supporting actor Oscar. He beat out Bradley Cooper, Barkhad Abdi, Jonah Hill and Michael Fassbender. But it was Leto's return to film in "Dallas Buyers Club" that piqued the interest of audiences, especially as the actor documented a weight loss of 30 to 40 lbs (13-18 kg) to transform himself into HIV-positive character Rayon. Full Story | Top |
| Stocks tumble, oil prices jump on Ukraine standoff Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 06:32 PM PST  By Hideyuki Sano TOKYO (Reuters) - Stock prices plummeted while oil prices shot up on Monday as escalating tensions between Russia and the West after Russia bloodlessly seized a part of Ukraine. Kiev mobilized for war on Sunday after Russia declared its right to invade its neighbor, with their forces already controlling strategically important Crimea, an isolated Black Sea peninsula where Moscow has a naval base. The Group of Seven countries (G7) condemned Russia's move, cancelling for now preparations for the G8 summit that includes Russia and had been scheduled to take place in Sochi in June. U.S. stock futures fell 1.0 percent from a record high hit on Friday while Japan's Nikkei average tumbled 2.3 percent . Full Story | Top |
| Massive storm system takes aim at winter-weary U.S. East Coast Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 06:29 PM PST  By Victoria Cavaliere NEW YORK (Reuters) - A massive winter storm system packing cold air, snow and freezing rain was bearing down on the U.S. East Coast, causing federal and local offices in Washington to close on Monday after it pummeled the central United States over the weekend. The National Weather Service predicted the storm will bring up to 9 inches of snow to the Washington area. Votes scheduled for Monday in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate were postponed, and District of Columbia Public Schools have canceled classes. The storm "is going to be a real mess," said Bruce Sullivan, a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Silver Spring, Maryland. Full Story | Top |
| 'Frozen' wins best animated feature Oscar Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 06:24 PM PST  The blockbuster movie, "Frozen," a Walt Disney Animation Studios musical fairy tale about the bond between two royal sisters in an icy Scandinavian kingdom, won the Oscar on Sunday for best animated feature film. The win is the first in the category for Walt Disney Animation Studios, the animation house founded by the man who pioneered the genre. The animated feature category was created in 2002 and has been dominated by Disney-owned Pixar, which has won it seven times but failed to win a nomination this year for the second time in three years. Full Story | Top |
| Oscars kick off with Leto win for 'Dallas Buyers Club' Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 06:10 PM PST By Mary Milliken LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Academy Awards kicked off on Sunday by bestowing the best supporting actor Oscar on favorite Jared Leto for his role as a transgender woman in "Dallas Buyers Club," in a night that may yield few surprises apart from the tight best picture race. Dressed in a tuxedo, returning host Ellen DeGeneres opened the 86th annual Academy Awards taking friendly jabs at nominees, from Jennifer Lawrence for her tripping on the stage last year to Leto. Leto, who returned to acting after a six-year break with the portrayal of Rayon in the low-budget AIDS drama, thanked his mother and honored victims of AIDS. Full Story | Top |
| China HSBC manufacturing PMI hits seven-month low in February Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 06:06 PM PST  By Adam Rose BEIJING (Reuters) - China's factory activity shrank again in February as output and new orders fell, a private survey found on Monday, reinforcing concerns of a slowdown in the world's second largest economy. "Signs are becoming clear the risks to GDP growth are tilting to the downside," said Hongbin Qu, chief economist for China at HSBC, in a statement accompanying the PMI results. Output was likely affected by manufacturers closing for China's biggest annual holiday, the Lunar New Year festival, which began on January 31 and covered early February, although the PMI results are seasonally adjusted. That sub-index is one of the few indicators to measure the health of China's labor market, a priority area for Beijing, which wants to keep unemployment low in order to maintain social stability. Full Story | Top |
| Obama must carefully calibrate Russia response, rhetoric: Gates Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 05:41 PM PST  By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama needs to look "two or three moves out" as he weighs his response to Russia's seizure of Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula, which Moscow is unlikely to soon reverse, Obama's former defense secretary, Robert Gates, said on Sunday. Gates, a Russia expert and former CIA chief, portrayed a difficult path for Obama in which European allies may "huff and puff" but fail to match rhetoric with strong action and where Russian President Vladimir Putin feels he has the upper hand. Full Story | Top |
| China's February official services PMI rises to three-month high Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 05:39 PM PST  By Adam Rose BEIJING (Reuters) - China's services sector grew at its fastest pace in three months in February, data showed on Monday, a positive sign for the world's second-largest economy following a string of indicators suggesting a loss in momentum. "I'm not surprised it's up," said Ting Lu of Bank of America-Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong, noting that the Lunar New Year, a prime travel and holiday, fell in early February. The pick-up in the services PMI contrasted with Saturday's drop in the official manufacturing PMI to an eight-month low of 50.2 in February. China's services industry contributed 45 percent of gross domestic output in 2012, and it overtook manufacturing as the country's biggest employer in 2011. Full Story | Top |
| SEC investigates Citigroup over fraudulent Mexican loans: source Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 05:24 PM PST  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Citigroup for accounting fraud after it disclosed bogus loans in its Mexican Banamex unit, a source familiar with the investigation said. The securities regulator is also examining whether Citigroup violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the source said. An employee at Banamex has been questioned by Mexican police after being suspected by the bank of involvement in the loan scheme, another source familiar with the police investigation said. Citigroup said on Friday it had found $400 million in bad Banamex loans and was reducing its full year profit by $235 million to $13.67 billion, after the bank had first reported its 2013 earnings more than one month ago. Full Story | Top |
| Taiwan's HTC February sales down 36.5 percent Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 04:36 PM PST  TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp posted a 36.5 percent fall in February sales from a year earlier. (Reporting by Faith Hung; Editing by Richard Pullin) Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine mobilizes after Putin's 'declaration of war' Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 03:54 PM PST  By Natalia Zinets and Alissa de Carbonnel KIEV/BALACLAVA, Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukraine mobilized for war on Sunday and Washington threatened to isolate Russia economically after President Vladimir Putin declared he had the right to invade his neighbor in Moscow's biggest confrontation with the West since the Cold War. Yatsenuik heads a pro-Western government that took power in the former Soviet republic when its Moscow-backed president, Viktor Yanukovich, was ousted last week. Putin secured permission from his parliament on Saturday to use military force to protect Russian citizens in Ukraine and told U.S. President Barack Obama he had the right to defend Russian interests and nationals, spurning Western pleas not to intervene. Russian forces have already bloodlessly seized Crimea, an isolated Black Sea peninsula where Moscow has a naval base. Full Story | Top |
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