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| Search for lost Malaysian jet shifts significantly after new lead Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 08:04 PM PDT  By Lincoln Feast and Michael Martina SYDNEY/PERTH (Reuters) - Australian authorities said on Friday they were shifting the focus of their Indian Ocean search for the wreckage of Malaysia's missing jet, moving it 1,100 km (685 miles) to the northeast after receiving new information from Malaysia. For more than a week, ships and surveillance planes have been scouring seas 2,500 km (1,550 miles) southwest of Perth, where satellite images had suggested there could be debris from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which went missing on March 8 with 239 people aboard. The dramatic shift in the search area was based on analysis of radar data between the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said. At that time, the Boeing 777 was making a radical diversion west from its course from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Full Story | Top |
| Microsoft CEO signals new course with Office for iPad Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 08:24 PM PDT  By Gerry Shih and Bill Rigby SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp's new Chief Executive Officer, Satya Nadella, finally unveiled Office for Apple Inc's iPad in a polished debut that set him apart from his energetic predecessor while signaling his plans to make mobile apps the top priority at the world's largest software company. At a news conference Thursday, executives demonstrated a new "touch-first" version of Office crafted for the iPad, available for download as a free app, though a subscription is needed to let users create or edit documents rather than just read them. Significantly, they did not demonstrate any software on Windows machines, telegraphing a departure from former Chief Executive Steve Ballmer's focus on the personal computer operating software and its own devices. "Their absence speaks volumes," said Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets. Full Story | Top |
| Mudslide deaths expected to soar; some question disaster response Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 08:32 PM PDT  By Jonathan Kaminsky DARRINGTON, Washington (Reuters) - Rescuers searching for 90 people still missing five days after a massive mudslide in Washington state braced the public on Thursday for an impending steep rise in the death toll even as they sought to deflect criticism about the early disaster response. Only the first 16 victims recovered and examined by coroners have been formally counted among the dead, though local fire district chief Travis Hots said that figure would soon climb sharply higher. Snohomish County officials said on Wednesday about 90 people remained missing, down from 176, and Hots said on Thursday the revised figure was holding. Full Story | Top |
| Indicted California state senator ends Secretary of State campaign Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 06:09 PM PDT  By Laila Kearney SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A prominent state senator withdrew from a race for California Secretary of State on Thursday, a day after he was arrested by FBI agents and charged with corruption and conspiring to import and traffic firearms, his attorney said. Democratic state Senator Leland Yee said he would end his campaign to become California's chief elections officer in a letter submitted to Secretary of State Debra Bowen's office on Thursday, his attorney Paul DeMeester told reporters. A former San Francisco supervisor and one-time mayoral candidate, Yee had been considered a strong candidate for the seat, but now risks becoming the first California state senator ever suspended. "This was a very personal decision on the part of the senator," DeMeester told a news conference. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine wins IMF lifeline as Russia faces growth slump Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 11:57 AM PDT  By Natalia Zinets and Elizabeth Piper KIEV/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Ukraine won a $27-billion international financial lifeline on Thursday, rushed through in the wake of Russia's annexation of Crimea, while Moscow's economy minister acknowledged that his country's growth would slow dramatically as funds flee abroad. The International Monetary Fund announced a $14-18 billion standby credit for Kiev in return for tough economic reforms that will unlock further aid from the European Union, the United States and other lenders over two years, effectively pulling Kiev closer to Europe. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wal-Mart sues Visa for $5 billion over card swipe fees Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 03:40 PM PDT  Wal-Mart Stores Inc this week sued Visa Inc for $5 billion, accusing the credit and debit card network of excessively high card swipe fees, several months after the retailer opted out of a class action settlement between merchants and Visa and MasterCard Inc. Visa declined to comment on the suit, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, where Wal-Mart is headquartered. Visa and other card networks charge retailers fees, called swipe fees or interchange fees, each time a shopper uses a debit or credit card to pay. Full Story | Top |
| Nine officers removed, one resigns in Air Force cheating probe Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 03:01 PM PDT  By David Alexander and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the nuclear missile wing at a base in Montana resigned on Thursday and nine officers were removed from their jobs over a test-cheating scandal that involved 91 missile launch officers, the Air Force said. Lieutenant General Stephen Wilson, head of the Air Force's Global Strike Command, said Colonel Robert Stanley, commander of the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, had resigned on Thursday and would retire from the service. Full Story | Top |
| A string of mega deals drives global M&A recovery in first quarter Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 05:13 PM PDT  By Sophie Sassard and Anjuli Davies LONDON (Reuters) - A string of large transactions drove the value of global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity up by 54 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, reflecting greater deal-making confidence among chief executives. The value of worldwide announced deals totaled $710 billion in the first three months of the year, according to Thomson Reuters data, which includes competing bids for Time Warner Cable and SFR. I'm hopeful that we'll see more of this in 2014.", said Hernan Cristerna, co-head of global M&A at JP Morgan. "We've seen something of a return of animal spirits." Comcast Corp trumped Charter Communications with a bid valuing Time Warner Cable at $70.6 billion in enterprise value, the largest transaction in the works since January. Full Story | Top |
| Obamacare enrollment tops six million as deadline looms: White House Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 02:33 PM PDT  By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 6 million people have now signed up for private insurance plans under President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law known as Obamacare, reflecting a surge in enrollments days before the March 31 deadline, the White House said on Thursday. The milestone gives the White House some ammunition to counter Republican critics, who have described the program as an expensive flop in the build-up to midterm congressional campaigns in November, when Democratic control of the U.S. Senate is at stake. Only 10 days ago, the administration had pegged enrollment at more than 5 million people, and enlisted celebrities and top government officials to try to persuade more uninsured people, particularly the young and healthy, to sign up. The last-minute boost has exceeded the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office's estimate that 6 million people would sign up in the program's first year, down from earlier expectations of 7 million enrollees because of problems with websites used for shopping for insurance. Full Story | Top |
| Euro zone not preparing third Greek bailout so far: official Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 03:44 PM PDT  By Jan Strupczewski and Martin Santa BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The euro zone is not making any preparations for a third bailout for Greece and will consider it only if expressly asked by Athens, which has not happened so far, a senior euro zone official said on Thursday. Instead, the euro zone is now focusing on the timing and size of disbursements of badly delayed tranches of loans that have already been promised under the first two rescue packages, the official, directly involved in the Greek bailouts said. Euro zone countries have come up with aid of 240 billion euros for Greece to help it reform and put its public finances back in order after since the country was cut off from markets in 2010 because its public finances have spun out of control. The second euro zone bailout program for Greece expires at the end of this year. Full Story | Top |
| White House unveils plan to end NSA's bulk collection of phone data Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 12:02 PM PDT  By Roberta Rampton and Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Thursday announced details of its plan to end the government's vast bulk collection of data about phone calls made in the United States, including new procedures to get judicial approval before asking companies for such records. Under the plan, phone companies would have to provide data from their records quickly and in a usable format when requested by the government, a senior administration official told reporters on condition of anonymity. Under the Administration's plan, instead of telephone metadata being collected and stored in bulk from telephone companies by the National Security Agency, companies themselves would hold the data and be required to respond to specific, court-approved queries about it from the NSA. However, officials familiar with current laws and regulations governing how telephone companies handle such data said that Obama's plan raises, but does not answer, significant practical questions about how companies would collect and store such data. Full Story | Top |
| Malaysian jet search resumes, U.S. sends second Poseidon plane Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 04:59 PM PDT  The disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines jet, which vanished from civilian radar screens less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on a routine flight to Beijing on March 8, has gripped the world and baffled investigators. The search zone centers on the latest sightings of possible wreckage that were captured by Thai and Japanese satellites in roughly the same frigid expanse of sea as earlier images reported by France, Australia and China. Full Story | Top |
| Indicted California state senator ends Secretary of State campaign Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 04:55 PM PDT By Laila Kearney SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A prominent state senator withdrew from a race for California Secretary of State on Thursday, a day after he was arrested by FBI agents and charged with corruption and conspiring to import and traffic firearms, his attorney said. Democratic state Senator Leland Yee said he would end his campaign to become California's chief elections officer in a letter submitted to Secretary of State Debra Bowen's office on Thursday, his attorney Paul DeMeester told reporters. "This is what he wanted to do in relation to that election for office given the circumstances of the federal case." Prosecutors criminally charged Yee, a child psychologist, in federal court in San Francisco on Wednesday with two felony counts of conspiring to import and traffic in firearms and six corruption counts. Yee's arrest deals a blow to California Democrats, whose two-thirds majority in the state Senate was eroded when fellow senators Ron Calderon, indicted on corruption charges, and Rod Wright, found guilty of voter fraud, took paid leaves of absence earlier this year. Full Story | Top |
| Microsoft CEO signals new course with Office for iPad Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 03:42 PM PDT  By Gerry Shih and Bill Rigby SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp's new Chief Executive Officer, Satya Nadella, finally unveiled Office for Apple Inc's iPad in a polished debut that set him apart from his energetic predecessor while signaling his plans to make mobile apps the top priority at the world's largest software company. At a news conference Thursday, executives demonstrated a new "touch-first" version of Office crafted for the iPad, available for download as a free app, though a subscription is needed to let users create or edit documents rather than just read them. Significantly, they did not demonstrate any software on Windows machines, telegraphing a departure from former Chief Executive Steve Ballmer's focus on the personal computer operating software and its own devices. "Their absence speaks volumes," said Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. economy shows some muscle, housing still weak Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 10:52 AM PDT  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy grew a bit faster than previously estimated in the fourth quarter and new claims for jobless aid dropped to a near four-month low last week, suggesting the economy has plenty of momentum to break out of its winter chill. "The economy looks in a better place than it did just 24 hours ago," said Chris Rupkey, an economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in New York. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two thirds of U.S. economic activity, was raised sharply higher and the pace of restocking by businesses was not as robust as previously estimated. A separate report from the Labor Department showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 311,000 last week, the lowest level since November. Full Story | Top |
| Philippines, Muslim rebels sign final peace deal to end conflict Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 12:36 PM PDT  The Philippines and its largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), on Thursday signed a final peace pact, ending about 45 years of conflict that has killed more than 120,000 people in the country's south. The fight against Muslim separatists and Maoist guerrillas for almost five decades has stunted growth in resource-rich rural areas, besides scaring off potential investment in mines, plantations, energy and infrastructure. President Benigno Aquino and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who briefly put aside his own country's problems over a missing Malaysia Airlines jet to witness the event, smiled and clapped as peace panel leaders signed the autonomy deal. "Let us exchange our bullets for ripening fruit, our cynicism for hope, our histories of sorrow for a future of harmony, peace, and prosperity," Aquino told a gathering of officials, diplomats, lawmakers and Muslim community members. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Pakistan Taliban agrees to ceasefire to help Afghan allies Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 08:34 AM PDT  By Katharine Houreld KABUL (Reuters) - The Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan have secretly agreed to focus on carrying out operations in Afghanistan, with Pakistani militants announcing a ceasefire with their government in order to preserve militant bases used to stage cross-border attacks. The collaboration between the two Talibans, revealed to Reuters by militant chiefs and security officials in the region, increases the risk that violence will escalate further in a crucial year for Afghanistan. The nation of 30 million people holds a presidential election on April 5, a litmus test for foreign donors hesitant about bankrolling the government after the bulk of NATO troops stationed in Afghanistan withdraw this year. The Pakistani and Afghan Taliban are closely allied and both aim to impose a strict form of Islam on their societies. Full Story | Top |
| Trapped at sea, tanker captain craved salvation from Libya rebels Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 02:45 PM PDT  By Ulf Laessing TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Pakistani sea captain Mirza Noman Baig knew he was trapped when dozens of fighters armed with rifles boarded his tanker just off a rebel-held port on Libya's coast. A militia from the country's restive east forced his crew to load oil onto Baig's vessel, the Morning Glory, and demanded they escape the navy before the ship was stormed by U.S. special forces on March 16, according to his account of events. Full Story | Top |
| Ex-UBS employee-turned-witness avoids prison in bid rigging case Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 10:32 AM PDT  By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former UBS AG trader who became a cooperating witness in the U.S. government's sweeping probe of bid-rigging in the $3.7 trillion municipal bond market was sentenced to time served on Thursday. Mark Zaino, a former director on UBS' municipal bond and derivatives desk in New York, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud charges in 2010, becoming the fourth person to admit wrongdoing as part of the antitrust investigation. The probe has resulted in numerous convictions and resulted in $743 million of settlements with UBS, Bank of America Corp, General Electric Co, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo & Co. UBS' payment was $160 million. U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood in Manhattan said Zaino's eight years of cooperation with government investigators justified the sentence. Full Story | Top |
| Data privacy shapes up as a next-generation trade barrier Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 09:45 AM PDT  By Krista Hughes WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Revelations about U.S. digital eavesdropping have fanned concerns about Internet privacy and may complicate U.S. attempts to write rules enshrining the free flow of data into trade pacts with European and Pacific trading partners. "Restrictions on information flows are trade barriers," Google's executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, said at a Cato Institute event last month, warning that the worst possible outcome would be for the Internet to turn into "Splinternet." The unease of U.S. technology companies has mounted in lockstep with rising worries overseas about data privacy. German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- a target of U.S. spying -- has called for a European Internet protected from Washington's snooping. Brazil and the European Union plan to lay their own undersea communications cable to reduce reliance on the United States. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. jobs market dropouts increasingly likely to stay out Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 04:39 AM PDT  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A growing number of Americans quitting the labor force are likely gone for good, offering a cautionary note to the Federal Reserve as it tries to gauge how tight the jobs market is and how quickly to raise interest rates. For a long time, data suggested a significant portion of the decrease in labor force participation was because many job seekers had grown frustrated with their search and had given up looking. "The data suggest that the recent exits from the labor force have been more voluntary in nature than was the case in 2009, when the economy was weak and job prospects were dire," said Omair Sharif, senior economist at RBS in Stamford, Connecticut. In contrast, between 2007 and 2010, retirees made up a quarter of the six million people who left the labor force, while 18 percent were classified as disabled. Full Story | Top |
| Philippines, Muslim rebels sign final peace deal to end conflict Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 04:36 AM PDT  The Philippines and its largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), on Thursday signed a final peace pact, ending about 45 years of conflict that has killed more than 120,000 people in the country's south. The fight against Muslim separatists and Maoist guerrillas for almost five decades has stunted growth in resource-rich rural areas, besides scaring off potential investment in mines, plantations, energy and infrastructure. President Benigno Aquino and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who briefly put aside his own country's problems over a missing Malaysia Airlines jet to witness the event, smiled and clapped as peace panel leaders signed the autonomy deal. "Let us exchange our bullets for ripening fruit, our cynicism for hope, our histories of sorrow for a future of harmony, peace, and prosperity," Aquino told a gathering of officials, diplomats, lawmakers and Muslim community members. Full Story | Top |
| Merck names Baxter exec as CFO Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 10:02 AM PDT Merck & Co Inc appointed Baxter International Inc executive Robert Davis as chief financial officer, as it looks to cut costs and focus on drugs that are more likely to be approved by regulators. Merck - struggling with slowing sales, delays in new drug approvals and failures of experimental drugs - said in October it would cut 8,500 jobs and chop annual operating costs by $2.5 billion. "The main thing for Davis to focus on is trying to make Merck's structure more flexible so that it can move more quickly to areas that have good returns," Morningstar analyst Damien Conover said. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt army extends power by taking charge of Gulf aid Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 08:00 AM PDT  By Maggie Fick CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's army is taking charge of billions of dollars of development aid from the United Arab Emirates, an army official said, raising further doubts over the narrow separation of powers with the military backed administration in place since July. One of several Gulf states to shower Egypt with cash and petroleum products after the army ousted elected Muslim Brotherhood president Mohammed Mursi, the UAE also looked ahead, seeking to bolster a system that could keep Islamists it sees as an existential threat from running the most populous Arab state. Alongside money to build clinics, schools and housing units, it offered to fund a project in Egypt's strategic wheat sector--the construction of 25 wheat silos that could help the world's biggest importer of the commodity lower its huge food bill. Bread is a politically-explosive issue in Egypt -- failure to deliver it at an affordable price has triggered major riots in the past and the government wants to boost its storage capacity to reduce its reliance on international markets. Full Story | Top |
| Merck appoints Baxter executive as CFO Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 05:52 AM PDT (Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc said Baxter International Inc executive Robert Davis would join as chief financial officer, effective April 23, replacing Peter Kellogg. The move come as Merck is struggling with slowing sales of its flagship drugs and failures or delays in new drug approvals, while Baxter is planning to split into two companies. Sales of Merck's diabetes drug, Januvia, have been slowing and sales of its asthma drug, Singulair, fell by a more than a third last quarter due to generic competition. Davis "will be an asset to us in implementing a significantly streamlined, more flexible cost structure and operating model, while enabling us to focus on our highest-potential growth opportunities," Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| China loses WTO bid to overturn U.S. law against unfair subsidies Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 07:28 AM PDT By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - China lost its bid to overturn U.S. legislation targeting unfair trade subsidies on Thursday, its second defeat in a World Trade Organization dispute within 24 hours. A WTO dispute panel threw out China's claim that the U.S. "Public Law 112-99", signed by President Barack Obama in March 2012, broke world trade rules. "The WTO panel's decision to reject China's challenge to our law is a significant victory for the United States," U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Yahoo Japan buys SoftBank's eAccess to set up new mobile Internet service Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 07:05 AM PDT  Yahoo Japan Corp will buy mobile network operator eAccess from No. 3 Japanese wireless carrier SoftBank Corp for 324 billion yen ($3.17 billion) to launch its own mobile Internet service. Yahoo Japan, the country's biggest Internet portal and 42.6 percent owned by SoftBank, said on Thursday its new Y!mobile service would aim for more than 20 million users and would use a simple pricing structure to attract new customers. The purchase, scheduled for June 2, will immediately follow eAccess' planned merger with wireless provider Willcom, another SoftBank subsidiary. Yahoo Japan President Manabu Miyasaka said the company wanted to have control of its own network, rather than using the network of SoftBank or another provider. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. Security Council to meet Thursday on North Korea missile launch Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 01:19 AM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council will hold closed-door consultations on Thursday to discuss a possible condemnation of North Korea's latest ballistic missile launches, U.N. diplomats said. The request for a special session on North Korea came from the United States, council diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity on Wednesday. The U.N. mission of Luxembourg, which holds the presidency of the Security Council this month, announced on its Twitter feed that U.N. political affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman would brief council members on developments on the Korean peninsula during the session. In what appeared to be a show of defiance, North Korea fired two medium-range Rodong ballistic missiles into the sea at 2:35 a.m. Japan and Korea time, both Tokyo and Seoul said. Full Story | Top |
| China to strengthen Internet security after U.S. spying report Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 07:53 AM PDT  China will beef up its internet security after recent reports that the U.S. government spied on a major telecommunications firm, the Defence Ministry said on Thursday. Reports that the U.S. National Security Agency infiltrated servers at the headquarters of Huawei Technologies Co. "lay bare the United States's hypocrisy and despotic rule," ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng told a briefing. "But the truth is that this is without any basis in fact, it's simply a thief crying 'Stop, thief!'" The ministry did not say what steps would be taken to strengthen Internet security. In the same briefing, Geng warned the United States not to sell arms to Taiwan, which China sees as a rogue province. Full Story | Top |
| Iran fuel price hikes will be big test for Rouhani Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 12:40 AM PDT  By Parisa Hafezi ANKARA (Reuters) - Looming fuel price rises in Iran will be the first major test of President Hassan Rouhani's ability to retain public support in the face of attacks from his hardline rivals. Since he was elected in August, Rouhani has pleased many Iranians by reaching an interim agreement with the United States and the European Union on his country's nuclear program, and pursuing a deal that would end economic sanctions against Iran. But this could be threatened if Rouhani's government mishandles planned cuts in the massive state subsidies which keep domestic prices of gasoline and other fuels far below global levels. The cuts are a key part of Rouhani's efforts to reform the economy after years of erratic management under his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Full Story | Top |
| Prodigal son returns, Lachlan Murdoch back in News Corp Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 05:55 AM PDT  By Jane Wardell and Byron Kaye SYDNEY (Reuters) - Lachlan Murdoch's appointment to senior positions within his father Rupert Murdoch's media empire marks the return of the prodigal son. Nearly a decade after walking away from the News Corp inner circle in New York to set up his own investment company and settle in Sydney with his young family, it appears Lachlan has accepted the mantle of successor, whether alone or jointly with younger brother James. "It's like the royal family," said Alan Knight, professor of journalism at the University of Technology in Sydney. "Murdoch senior has always treated News Corp as a family business and this guy is just basically accepting his inheritance." Lachlan, 42, will become non-executive co-chairman of both entertainment company 21st Century Fox and publishing operation News Corp, sharing both roles with his father. Full Story | Top |
| US mudslide death toll expected to soar as survivors sought Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 03:06 PM PDT By Jonathan Kaminsky DARRINGTON, Washington (Reuters) - Rescuers searching for 90 people still missing five days after a massive Washington state mudslide said they expect the death toll to climb sharply soon, even as they clung to hope on Thursday of finding a miracle survivor. At least 25 people are known to have died when a rain-soaked hillside collapsed without warning on Saturday, unleashing a wall of mud that engulfed dozens of homes in a river valley near the rural town of Oso, 55 miles northeast of Seattle. Only the first 16 victims recovered and examined by coroners have so far been officially counted as dead, although local fire district chief Travis Hots said that figure would soon spike upwards. Snohomish County officials said on Wednesday that about 90 people remained missing or unaccounted for, down from an earlier estimate that was nearly twice that number, and Hots said on Thursday the revised figure was holding. Full Story | Top |
| IMF agrees $14-18 billion bailout for Ukraine Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 02:35 AM PDT  The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday it had agreed a $14-18 billion bailout for Ukraine, a deal that will unlock further credits to reach a total of $27 billion over the next two years. The agreement is intended to help Ukraine meet debt payments looming this year after months of anti-government protests which resulted in the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovich and a standoff with Moscow in which Russia annexed the Crimea region. "The mission has reached a staff-level agreement with the authorities of Ukraine on an economic reform program that can be supported by a two-year Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with the IMF," the IMF said in a statement. "Following the intense economic and political turbulence of recent months, Ukraine has achieved some stability, but faces difficult challenges," the IMF statement said. Full Story | Top |
| As Kiev looks West, Putin turns east to build Eurasian dream Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 12:28 AM PDT  By Dmitry Solovyov ALMATY (Reuters) - With his biggest prize escaping his grasp in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is likely to turn to the autocrats of Central Asia, particularly Kazakhstan's Nursultan Nazarbayev, to further his aim of erecting a Eurasian Union of former Soviet states. The Russian president's swift annexation of Crimea has earned him huge popularity at home but ends his dream for now of bringing the rest of Ukraine voluntarily into the new structure he plans to build on as much as possible of the ex-Soviet space. "Having lost Ukraine, Central Asia will be much more sought after by Moscow in striking its integration plans," said Lilit Gevorgyan, an analyst at IHS Global Insight. Full Story | Top |
| U.S., EU to work together on tougher Russia sanctions Thursday, Mar 27, 2014 12:01 AM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Lidia Kelly BRUSSELS/MOSCOW (Reuters) - The United States and the European Union agreed on Wednesday to work together to prepare possible tougher economic sanctions in response to Russia's behavior in Ukraine, including on the energy sector, and to make Europe less dependent on Russian gas. U.S. President Barack Obama said after a summit with top EU officials that Russian President Vladimir Putin had miscalculated if he thought he could divide the West or count on its indifference over his annexation of Crimea. Leaders of the Group of Seven major industrial powers decided this week to hold off on sanctions targeting Moscow's economy unless Putin took further action to destabilize Ukraine or other former Soviet republics. "If Russia continues on its current course, however, the isolation will deepen, sanctions will increase and there will be more consequences for the Russian economy," Obama told a joint news conference with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. Full Story | Top |
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