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| U.S. Navy testing more sophisticated pilotless helicopters Friday, Apr 04, 2014 09:05 PM PDT The helicopter, filmed during testing by the Naval Research Laboratory, was piloted by a 100-pound (45-kg) sensor and software package that officials said can turn any rotary-winged aircraft into a virtually autonomous drone able to fly with minimal input from the Marine Corps troops it was designed to serve. Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder, chief of Naval Research, said the sensor and software pack is "truly leap-ahead technology" that will let a Marine with no flight experience issue landing instructions to a cargo helicopter via tablet computer after just a few minutes of training. Klunder, who will preview the technology for industry and military leaders at a conference in Washington on Tuesday, said the aim of the project was to give troops a simple tool for battlefield resupply, reducing the casualties inherent in using ground convoys to deliver food, water and weapons. An Army study of data from 2003 to 2007 showed that one person was killed or wounded for every 24 fuel resupply convoys in Afghanistan and one was killed or wounded for every 29 water resupply convoys. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine in emergency talks with EU neighbors on gas imports Friday, Apr 04, 2014 07:14 PM PDT By Pavel Polityuk and Henning Gloystein KIEV/LONDON (Reuters) - Ukraine is in emergency talks with European Union neighbors on the possibility of importing natural gas from the West, following a leap in the price it pays for Russian supplies, Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said on Friday. The urgency of securing affordable supplies has grown since Moscow - which annexed Crimea from Ukraine last month - raised its discounted gas tariff for Kiev twice this week, almost doubling it in three days. Yatseniuk told reporters that one possibility was "reverse flows", in which EU countries would send gas back down pipelines normally used in the transit of Russian supplies through Ukraine to the West. Full Story | Top |
| Momentum names may see more pain Friday, Apr 04, 2014 06:08 PM PDT  Familiar names such as Netflix, Facebook and Tesla Motors, along with a number of biotechnology and cloud-computing stocks, have been pummeled in the last month. Some stocks are down more than 20 percent over that period, falling into their own bear market, and yet their valuations still far exceed those of the broader U.S. stock indexes. Wall Street defines a bear market as a drop of 20 percent or more from a recent peak. Facebook Inc , for example, has fallen nearly 22 percent from an intraday record reached less than a month ago. Full Story | Top |
| Minnesota patient has West African virus, search on for others exposed Friday, Apr 04, 2014 03:26 PM PDT A traveler who flew back to the United States from West Africa was diagnosed with the rare and sometimes deadly Lassa fever, said health authorities who on Friday were trying to identify others on the plane who may have been exposed. In the first Lassa case in the United States in four years, an unnamed patient was admitted to a Minnesota hospital on Monday suffering from fever and confusion, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. Blood samples sent to CDC tested positive for Lassa fever on Thursday. The patient was recovering and in stable condition on Friday, the CDC said. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. judge refrains from making GM 'park' recalled cars Friday, Apr 04, 2014 03:14 PM PDT  District Court Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos at a hearing in Corpus Christi, Texas, said she would need more time to study briefs submitted by attorneys for two owners of a recalled GM car and receive documents from the carmaker's lawyers. Since February, GM has recalled 2.6 million cars equipped with the switch. So far this year, GM has recalled a total of nearly 7 million vehicles, or about the same number recalled in the previous four years combined. GM has said it would take a charge of $750 million in the first quarter, mostly for the recalls announced in that period, including ones linked to the defective ignition switch. Full Story | Top |
| 'Human skin' book at Harvard found to be bound in sheepskin Friday, Apr 04, 2014 02:56 PM PDT By Daniel Lovering CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - A 17th century book owned by Harvard Law School, thought to have been bound in human skin because of an inscription that referred to a man "flayed alive," has been shown through scientific testing to have been bound in sheepskin. The binding material of the Spanish law book published in 1605-1606 was determined after an analysis of nine samples of its front and back covers, binding and glue, Karen Beck, a rare books curator at Harvard Law School Library, said on Friday. The Harvard conservation scientist who conducted the testing used a technique for identifying proteins called peptide mass fingerprinting to differentiate the samples from other parchment sources such as cattle, deer, goat and human skin, Beck wrote in a post on the Harvard Law School Library blog. Curators, dermatologists and others had studied the book for years because of a suggestive inscription on its last page that reads: "The bynding of this booke is all that remains of my dear friende Jonas Wright, who was flayed alive by the Wavuma on the Fourth Day of August, 1632. Full Story | Top |
| EU must be ready with Russia sanctions over Ukraine: Britain Friday, Apr 04, 2014 02:42 PM PDT By Justyna Pawlak ATHENS (Reuters) - Britain urged its European Union partners on Friday to press ahead with preparing tough economic sanctions against Russia, saying large numbers of Russian forces remained on Ukraine's eastern border and there had been only a "token" withdrawal. "We haven't seen real de-escalation by Russia and therefore Europe must not relax in preparing a third tier of sanctions and making sure we continue to have a strong and united response," British Foreign Secretary William Hague told reporters as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Athens. He was referring to trade and economic measures the EU has threatened to take against Russia after its annexation of Crimea if it moves into southern and eastern Ukraine. Full Story | Top |
| Iran oil exports will be in line with sanctions target: U.S. Friday, Apr 04, 2014 02:34 PM PDT By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States on Friday dismissed suggestions that Iran was exporting much more oil than it is allowed to sell under a preliminary nuclear deal with world powers and predicted that aggregate Iranian oil sales would meet targets set for Tehran. The remarks from a senior U.S. official came ahead of a new round of senior-level negotiations between Iran and the United States, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia in Vienna on April 8-9. It will be the third round of talks this year in the Austrian capital on a long-term deal with Iran. Iran's oil exports have stayed above levels allowed under Western sanctions for a fifth month, the latest sign that the limited sanctions relief agreed upon in November is helping Tehran sell more crude, according to sources who track tanker movements. Full Story | Top |
| Momentum stocks sink; Nasdaq posts worst day since February Friday, Apr 04, 2014 02:09 PM PDT  By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - Momentum shares like Netflix and TripAdvisor sold off sharply for a second straight day on Friday, giving the Nasdaq its worst day since February and leaving investors anxious about how much further they may fall. The big drop in momentum stocks overshadowed the day's relatively strong March jobs data, which helped the Dow and S&P 500 hit intraday record highs early in the session. Nasdaq's 2.6 percent loss follows a nearly 1 percent slide on Thursday and puts the index more than 5 percent below its closing high for the year, which was set on March 5. "For the past couple of weeks, the high-beta, high-risk, high-reward type plays have been underperforming the larger-cap S&P 500 and even the Dow," said Joe Bell, senior equities analyst with Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Enbridge plans to re-export Canadian oil via United States Friday, Apr 04, 2014 02:00 PM PDT  By Selam Gebrekidan and Nia Williams NEW YORK (Reuters) - Enbridge Inc has obtained a license to re-export Canadian oil from the United States, becoming the first company to publicly confirm a move that could fuel debate over U.S. trade policy and oil sands pipelines. U.S. subsidiary Tidal Energy Marketing has a license to export "limited quantities" of Canadian-origin oil from a U.S. port, Enbridge said, confirming weeks of market rumors and speculation about such shipments. Terri Larson, an Enbridge spokeswoman, told Reuters in an email that the firm planned to export "less than 1.5 percent of Enbridge's total U.S. shipments." She declined to provide specifics on the port of departure, the destination or the type and volume of oil involved, saying this is commercially sensitive information. Full Story | Top |
| TSX steady as banks slip, resources gain Friday, Apr 04, 2014 01:48 PM PDT  By John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index was little changed on Friday as a decline in the financial sector after a U.S. jobs report helped offset strength in natural resource shares spurred by higher commodity prices. In Canada, twice as many jobs as expected were created in March and the unemployment rate dropped for the first time this year, a government report showed. But the U.S. numbers missed market expectations, raising doubts among investors about the health of the economy and driving up gold prices. And the Fed is probably going to want to see some material progress before they begin to tighten." The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index closed down 9.11 points, or 0.06 percent, at 14,393.10. Full Story | Top |
| Ex-BP boss Hayward could stay Glencore chair: WSJ Friday, Apr 04, 2014 12:27 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Glencore Xstrata Plc's interim chairman, former BP Plc chief executive Tony Hayward, is in the running to take the job permanently, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the situation. Hayward is on a shortlist with Roger Agnelli, the former chief executive of Brazil's Vale SA , and Frank Chapman, former head of oil and gas producer BG Group Plc , according to the Journal, which said it is not clear whether the shortlist is final, or who is the front runner. Full Story | Top |
| Mali suspects first Ebola cases as regional death toll tops 90 Friday, Apr 04, 2014 10:55 AM PDT  Mali said it had identified its first possible cases of Ebola since the start of an outbreak in neighboring Guinea, adding to fears that the deadly virus was spreading across West Africa. More than 90 people have already died in Guinea and Liberia in what medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has warned could turn into an unprecedented epidemic in an impoverished region with poor health services. Foreign mining companies have locked down operations and pulled out some international staff in mineral-rich Guinea. It added that the health of the three suspected victims was showing signs of improving. Full Story | Top |
| Halozyme halts trial of drug delivery system, shares slump Friday, Apr 04, 2014 10:52 AM PDT Halozyme Therapeutics Inc halted a mid-stage trial testing an advanced version of its flagship drug delivery technology in patients with pancreatic cancer, sending its shares tumbling 32 percent. The biotechnology company said it halted enrollment and patient dosing as a "precautionary measure" following the recommendation of an independent safety committee. The pancreatic cancer study was testing a more potent form of the company's existing technology to deliver chemotherapy drugs intravenously and to prolong the effectiveness of its synthetic enzyme, Hylenex, in the blood stream. Halozyme said on Friday the committee is assessing a possible difference in the rate of blood clots found in patients receiving its treatment against those receiving approved cancer treatments. Full Story | Top |
| Big Chinese soy project in Brazil: so far, just an empty field Friday, Apr 04, 2014 10:17 AM PDT  By Caroline Stauffer BARREIRAS, Brazil (Reuters) - No signs identify a barren field in northeastern Brazil that was meant to be the center of one of China's most ambitious agricultural forays into South America. In 2011, Chongqing Grain Group Corp announced plans to build a soy crushing plant, railways and a giant inland storage and transportation hub to export goods back to China. Brazil's notorious bureaucracy, its slowing economy and a deep-seated mistrust of China's hunger for land and commodities all appear to explain why the field is still empty. A Reuters investigation last year found that after a rush of investment announcements in recent years, as many as two-thirds of Chinese projects in Brazil face lengthy delays or never get off the ground. Full Story | Top |
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