| | |
| Japan may suggest smaller whale catch after ICJ blow Monday, Mar 31, 2014 08:46 PM PDT  Japan could try to rescue its Antarctic whaling program by sharply reducing catch quotas after the highest U.N. court ordered a halt, rejecting Tokyo's argument that the catch was for scientific purposes and not mainly for human consumption. The judgment by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) was a blow to Japan's decades-old "scientific whaling" program, although Tokyo - which said it would abide by the ruling - might be able to resume Antarctic whaling if it devises a new, more persuasive program that requires killing whales. "We want to properly consider our country's response after carefully examining the contents of the ruling." The government was likely to submit to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) a new "scientific whaling" program with sharply reduced catch quotas in an effort to resume the annual hunts, the Asahi newspaper said on Tuesday The outlook was tough, however, with more than half of the IWC members now opposed to whaling, the newspaper said. Full Story | Top |
| HP agrees to pay $57 million to settle shareholder lawsuit Monday, Mar 31, 2014 08:41 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co agreed to pay $57 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the personal computer maker's former management of defrauding shareholders by abandoning a business model it had long touted. The lawsuit was filed after former Chief Executive Leo Apotheker shocked investors on August 18, 2011 by announcing plans to refocus the company on business services and products. He also revealed plans to scrap WebOS, whose rights HP had obtained when it bought Palm Inc in 2010; pay $11. ... Full Story | Top |
| New iPhone 6 screens to enter production as early as May: sources Monday, Mar 31, 2014 08:35 PM PDT  By Reiji Murai TOKYO (Reuters) - Apple Inc suppliers will begin mass producing displays as early as May for the next iPhone, expected to be launched this autumn, with a 4.7-inch screen likely to be produced first while a 5.5-inch version could be delayed, supply chain sources said. Japan Display Inc, Sharp Corp and South Korea's LG Display Co Ltd have all been tapped to make the screens, said the sources, who asked not to be identified. Representatives for the three suppliers and for Apple declined to comment. Both iPhone 6 screens will be larger than the 4.0-inch panels on Apple's existing iPhone 5S and 5C models. Full Story | Top |
| Protest-hit China city says no plant without public support Monday, Mar 31, 2014 08:33 PM PDT A city in southern China which has been the site of violent protests against a proposed chemical plant said it will not go ahead with the project if a majority of residents object to it, as authorities seek to head off more unrest. Photos posted on Weibo, China's Twitter-like microblog service, have showed hundreds of demonstrators marching along the streets over the past two days, an overturned car in flames and protesters laying bloodied on the road. "If the majority of people are against it, the city government won't make a decision contrary to public opinion," it said. Maoming residents have been protesting the production of paraxylene, a chemical used to make fabrics and plastic bottles at a plant run by the local government and state-owned Sinopec Corp, China's biggest refiner. Full Story | Top |
| Green Investment Bank buys wind farm stakes from DONG, RWE Monday, Mar 31, 2014 08:25 PM PDT  The UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) investing in green energy projects has acquired stakes in two offshore wind farms owned by Denmark's Dong Energy and Germany's RWE Innogy, respectively, for nearly 500 million pounds. The GIB, working with 3.8 billion-pound in capital provided by the government, has purchased a 50 percent stake jointly with Japan's Marubeni in DONG Energy's planned Westermost Rough offshore wind farm off the east cost of England. The bank also announced a 10 percent stake purchase in RWE Innogy's Gwynty Mor project, the largest offshore wind farm under construction in Europe, for 220 million pounds. The GIB said DONG Energy and RWE's proceeds from the sales would be re-invested in Britain's renewable energy market. Full Story | Top |
| FCA's handling of insurance review 'not finest hour' Monday, Mar 31, 2014 08:17 PM PDT  By Huw Jones and Chris Vellacott LONDON (Reuters) - The Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) handling of information that sparked a slump in insurance company shares was not its "finest hour," its chief executive said following criticism from an influential lawmaker. FCA boss Martin Wheatley said on Monday he takes responsibility for what happens at the regulator after Andrew Tyrie, the chairman of parliament's Treasury Committee, described the watchdog's actions as an "extraordinary blunder". The debacle over the FCA's release of price-sensitive information on Friday about its planned insurance sector review is embarrassing for the regulator, which is trying to establish its credibility as it marks its first anniversary on Tuesday. The FCA on Friday appointed an external lawyer to examine how the watchdog released news earlier that day of its review into whether insurers treated people locked into 30 million pension and other savings plans fairly compared with new customers. Full Story | Top |
| Government picks Babcock and Fluor for 7 billion pounds nuclear decommissioning Monday, Mar 31, 2014 08:15 PM PDT By Li-mei Hoang and Brenda Goh LONDON (Reuters) - Britain awarded a 7-billion-pound contract to manage the decommissioning of nearly half its nuclear sites to engineering contractors Babcock and U.S. group Fluor in one of the largest government contracts ever put out to tender. The 14-year deal covers some of Britain's oldest nuclear power sites include Hinkley, Sizewell and Dungeness. Britain has moved to outsource large swathes of its public sector services over the last 30 years, a practice which has been heavily criticised in recent months after contractors such as G4S and Serco were found to have overcharged the government on contracts. Full Story | Top |
| FCA steps up scrutiny of traders' activity on benchmark rates Monday, Mar 31, 2014 08:14 PM PDT  The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) plans to step up its scrutiny of banks' control over their traders to see if lessons have been learned from the scandal over benchmark rate rigging. The FCA said its review of the risk that traders manipulate key benchmarks is a central part of its 2014/15 business plan, published on Monday. Regulators around the world are looking closely at traders' behaviour on a number of key benchmarks, spanning interest rates, foreign exchange and commodities markets. Switzerland's competition authority on Monday said it was investigating several banks, including UBS, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, Citigroup and Barclays over their forex trading. Full Story | Top |
| Elton John to marry partner as Britain legalizes gay marriage Monday, Mar 31, 2014 08:04 PM PDT  Singer Elton John will marry long-time partner David Furnish now that Britain's legalization of gay marriage has been put into effect, the singer said in an interview on Monday. John, 67, told NBC's "Today" host Matt Lauer that he and Furnish, who were one of the first couples to become united when Britain legalized the Civil Partnership Act in December 2005, will marry in a small ceremony this year, as early as May. "We'll do it very quietly," the singer said. The singer said he was "very proud of Britain" and the progress made to make gay marriage legal. Full Story | Top |
| Labour party warns against 'foolish' EU exit Monday, Mar 31, 2014 08:01 PM PDT  Britain would be reckless and foolish to walk away from its membership of the European Union, the Labour party's finance spokesman will say on Tuesday, warning of the damage an EU exit would have on jobs and investment. Britain's future in Europe is in doubt with Prime Minister David Cameron promising an in/out referendum by 2017 if his party wins an election next year. The anti-EU UKIP also has a small but growing share of the popular vote according to opinion polls. Labour, ahead of the Conservatives in the polls, broke their silence on the subject this month, saying they would only offer a referendum if there was a further transfer of power to Brussels - something they said was unlikely before 2020. Full Story | Top |
| Charlie Brooks hid his 'smut' to protect wife Rebekah Monday, Mar 31, 2014 07:59 PM PDT  By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - Charlie Brooks, the husband of Rupert Murdoch's former British newspaper chief Rebekah Brooks, told a London court on Monday he hid his porn collection from police investigating phone-hacking because he feared leaks to the press which would embarrass his wife. Brooks' wife Rebekah is on trial at London's Old Bailey accused of conspiracy to hack phones and authorising illegal payments to public officials. They are both accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice by hindering the police investigation. Rebekah Brooks was arrested in July 2011 at the height of a phone-hacking scandal that rocked Murdoch's News Corp. empire and shook Britain's political establishment. Full Story | Top |
| Singapore's OCBC offers to buy Wing Hang Bank for $4.95 billion Monday, Mar 31, 2014 07:47 PM PDT  By Saeed Azhar and Eveline Danubrata SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd has made an offer to buy Wing Hang Bank for HK$38.428 billion ($4.95 billion) after reaching a deal with major shareholders including the founding family of the Hong Kong-based lender. The acquisition, OCBC's biggest, would give Singapore's second-largest bank a much sought-after gateway to the Greater China region, where it earned 6 percent of its pre-tax earnings in 2013. The purchase would also help OCBC narrow the gap with domestic rival DBS Group Holdings , which operates Hong Kong's fifth-biggest bank. Shares of OCBC rose 0.63 percent in early Singapore trading on Tuesday, following the announcement of the deal. Full Story | Top |
| Japan relaxes arms export regime to fortify defense Monday, Mar 31, 2014 07:25 PM PDT  By Kiyoshi Takenaka and Nobuhiro Kubo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan eased its weapons export restrictions on Tuesday in the first major overhaul of arms transfer policy in nearly half a century, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to fortify ties with allies and bolster the domestic defense industry. In a move likely to anger China, where bitter memories of Japan's past militarism run deep, the government decided to allow arms exports and participation in joint weapons development and production when they serve international peace and Japan's security. That is a shift from a decades-old policy of banning all weapons exports in principle, although quite a few exceptions to the rule have been made over the years, such as the transfer of arms technology to the United States, Japan's closest ally. "If you live in a closed market like the Japanese defense industry does, you clearly lag behind in technological development." But even under the new regime, Japan is to focus mainly on non-lethal defense gear such as patrol ships and mine detectors and says it has no plan to export such weapons as tanks and fighter jets. Full Story | Top |
| Asian shares hit four-month high on China data, Yellen Monday, Mar 31, 2014 07:22 PM PDT  By Hideyuki Sano TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares hit four-month high on Tuesday after China's official PMI survey showed manufacturing managed to continue expanding in March, and dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. China's official Purchasing Managers' Index increased to 50.3 in March from February's 50.2, in line with economists' forecasts. While the PMI figure alone is unlikely to dispel concerns of a slowdown in China, investor sentiment has improved on China in recent weeks as they expect Beijing will adopt a stimulus plan to achieve its growth target. Full Story | Top |
| Work at Brazil's World Cup stadium halted after worker dies Monday, Mar 31, 2014 07:21 PM PDT  Brazilian authorities halted work at the temporary stands of the stadium that will host the opening match of this year's World Cup following the death of a worker, the company in charge of the construction said on Monday. The regional labor authority of Sao Paulo demanded that Fast Engenharia stop building to make a technical analysis of the project, the company said in a statement. Fast Engenharia said that after the analysis it will announce a new time frame for finishing the temporary stands. Fabio Hamilton da Cruz died on Saturday after falling 25 feet while installing floors on the stands, becoming the third construction worker to perish while working on the Arena Corinthians on the outskirts of Sao Paulo. Full Story | Top |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment