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| Japan considers tax breaks to promote investment, help companies: report Friday, May 02, 2014 08:33 PM PDT  Japan is considering expanding tax breaks and loosening some rules to promote investment in start-ups as part of the second installment of the government's economic growth strategy, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Saturday. Japan is also likely to say next month that it will lower the effective corporate tax rate to 20 percent from around 35 percent currently, the Yomiuri newspaper said citing several government sources, which could encourage firms to boost much-needed capital expenditure in Japan. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government is set to announce the second part of its growth strategy next month. One proposal is to expand the value of an investment that a so-called angel investor can deduct from his or her taxable income from the current limit of 10 million yen ($97,800) to several times as much, the Nikkei reported without citing the source of its information. Full Story | Top |
| Nevada court rejects U.S. request on Okada probe, says Wynn suit can proceed Friday, May 02, 2014 08:23 PM PDT  By Alexia Shurmur LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - A Nevada state judge ruled on Friday that a civil lawsuit between Wynn Resorts and Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada could proceed, rejecting the U.S. government's request to keep it on hold for another six months to protect the identity of witnesses in a criminal probe into Okada's business in the Philippines. In requesting a third, six-month "stay of discovery," Department of Justice attorney Laura Perkins told a hearing that allowing the civil case to proceed risked causing "irreparable harm if the witnesses' identities are revealed." Clark County District Judge Elizabeth Gonzales, who had already granted two previous motions suspending the civil proceedings for a total of 12 months, said the U.S. government had already been given enough time. It's been a year," Gonzales said, adding that she hoped her ruling would prompt the government to accelerate its criminal investigation. No representative for Universal Entertainment Corp , the Japanese gaming machine maker founded by Okada and the company at the heart of government's criminal investigation, could be reached for comment. Full Story | Top |
| China's April services growth quickens slightly: government survey Friday, May 02, 2014 08:02 PM PDT  Growth in China's services sector accelerated slightly in April as new orders held steady, an official survey showed, an encouraging sign of strength in an economy that otherwise faces a cloudy outlook. The purchasing manufacturing index (PMI) for the services industry edged up to 54.8 last month, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday, up marginally from 54.5 in March. The mild improvement in the services sector, which mirrors a marginal gain in the official PMI survey of Chinese factories in April, should be welcomed by investors fretting about the health of the world's second-largest economy. But the pick-ups in the official PMI surveys for factories and services firms would not be enough to dispel concerns that China's slowing growth engine might cool at a sharper pace faster in coming months. Full Story | Top |
| Honda to double number of models in China: media Friday, May 02, 2014 07:07 PM PDT  Honda Motor Co will double the number of car models it sells in China over the next two years to try to capture market share from rivals such as General Motors Co , Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported on Saturday. Honda will expand its product range to about 20 models by sharing platforms and other major parts between its two joint ventures in China, the Nikkei said without citing the source of its information. Honda also plans to source more Chinese parts to keep costs low, the Nikkei said. Spokesmen for Honda were not available for comment. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. jury orders smartphone maker Samsung to pay Apple $120 million Friday, May 02, 2014 06:38 PM PDT  By Dan Levine SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) - A U.S. jury on Friday ordered Samsung Electronics Co Ltd to pay $119.6 million to Apple Inc, far less than Apple had sought and marking a big loss for the iPhone maker in the latest round of their globe-spanning mobile patent litigation. During the month-long trial in a San Jose, California, federal court, Apple accused Samsung of violating patents on smartphone features including universal search, while Samsung denied wrongdoing. On Friday, the jury found the South Korean smartphone maker had infringed two Apple patents. Apple and Samsung have been litigating around the world for three years. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. jury orders Apple to pay Samsung $158,400 in mobile patents trial Friday, May 02, 2014 05:56 PM PDT SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) - A U.S. jury on Friday ordered Apple Inc to pay $158,400 to Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, after it found the iPhone maker infringed on at least one of the Korean company's patents. During the month-long trial in a San Jose, California, federal court, Apple accused Samsung of violating patents on smartphone features including universal search, while Samsung denied wrongdoing. (Reporting by Dan Levine; Editing by Ken Wills) Full Story | Top |
| Nineteen hurt in New York subway derailment Friday, May 02, 2014 05:53 PM PDT  A New York City subway train carrying 1,000 riders derailed on Friday morning while traveling through a tunnel in the borough of Queens, injuring 19 people, city fire officials said. The incident, at 10:24 a.m., involved six cars in an eight-car Manhattan-bound 'F' line subway, they said. The cause of the derailment was not immediately known but MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast said the mass-transit agency will begin a full inspection of signals and tracks. My car went dark," said Connie Wang, 24, a freelance photographer who was riding in a car in the middle of the train. Full Story | Top |
| Obama, Merkel still struggle over spying but agree on trade Friday, May 02, 2014 05:52 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel could not hide differences on Friday over U.S. surveillance practices despite Obama's offer of "cyber dialogue" with Berlin and a pledge to bridge gaps that have tarnished their relationship. The two leaders have been at odds over the U.S. National Security Agency's spying habits since revelations from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden last year showed the United States had listened in on many of its allies, including Merkel. Obama has since banned the practice of eavesdropping on allied political leaders, but the measure has not placated Germany. "We have a few difficulties yet to overcome," Merkel said in a joint news conference with Obama at the White House, referring to the conflict and pointedly declining to say, when asked, that trust between the two nations had been restored. Full Story | Top |
| Activists sue San Francisco over controversial tech bus program Friday, May 02, 2014 05:15 PM PDT  By Mary Papenfuss SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Activists have sued the city and county of San Francisco over a pilot program giving shuttles run by Google and other private companies access to municipal bus stops, claiming it favors higher-paid technology workers over low-income residents. The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court on Thursday, marks the latest sign of tensions in the Bay Area over the growing income divide, which has been widened by the latest tech industry boom. Late last year, protesters began to block the commuter buses that ferry employees from San Francisco to the offices of tech companies, including Facebook, Google and Yahoo, south of the city, which they say symbolize the rift being created by abundant tech money. Under the 18-month pilot program the unmarked, WiFi-equipped buses use San Francisco Municipal transit system stops for a fee of $1 per stop per day and are viewed by many as a symbol of the industry's disconnect from a broader community left behind by the tech boom. Full Story | Top |
| Bill Gates on track to own no Microsoft stock in four years Friday, May 02, 2014 05:06 PM PDT  Bill Gates, the former chief executive and chairman of Microsoft Corp, will have no direct ownership in the company he co-founded by mid-2018 if he keeps up his recent share sales. Gates, who started the company that revolutionized personal computing with school-friend Paul Allen in 1975, has sold 20 million shares each quarter for most of the last dozen years under a pre-set trading plan. Assuming no change to that pattern, Gates will have no direct ownership of Microsoft shares at all four years from now. With his latest sales this week, Gates was finally eclipsed as Microsoft's largest individual shareholder by the company's other former CEO, Steve Ballmer, who retired in February, but has held on to his stock. Full Story | Top |
| First U.S. case of deadly MERS virus confirmed: CDC Friday, May 02, 2014 04:53 PM PDT  A healthcare worker who had traveled to Saudi Arabia was confirmed as the first U.S. case of Middle East Respiratory Virus (MERS), an often fatal illness, raising new concerns about the rapid spread of such diseases, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. The male patient traveled via a British Airways flight on April 24 from Riyadh to London, where he changed flights at Heathrow airport to fly to the United States. He landed in Chicago and took a bus to an undisclosed city in Indiana. According to the Indiana State Department of Health, the man visited the emergency department at Community Hospital in Munster, Indiana, on April 28 and was admitted that same day. Full Story | Top |
| Jury reaches verdict in Apple-Samsung patents trial Friday, May 02, 2014 04:49 PM PDT  SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) - The jury has reached a verdict on Friday in a patent trial between Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, which will be read in a San Jose, California federal courtroom shortly, according to a court official. During the month-long trial, Apple accused Samsung of violating patents on smartphone features including universal search, while Samsung denied wrongdoing. (Reporting by Dan Levine; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: U.S. anti-money laundering authority faces hiring probe - sources Friday, May 02, 2014 04:32 PM PDT  By Emily Flitter and Brett Wolf NEW YORK/ST LOUIS (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department temporarily froze all recruitment by its anti-money laundering arm and forced the agency to rescind 11 job offers, after an investigation found it violated the federal employment code during an aggressive hiring push, according to several government officials. The Office of Personnel Management, a federal agency that governs labor practices in the government, determined that the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN, illegally screened candidates in a quest to hire only lawyers for certain jobs, the officials said. It has recommended further investigations by two other federal agencies into FinCEN's practices, they added. Rules for hiring at government agencies make it illegal to screen candidates for qualifications that aren't stipulated in the job description, and the jobs FinCEN had posted weren't designated as being only for lawyers, the officials said. Full Story | Top |
| Obama, Merkel vow broader Russian sanctions if Ukraine election derailed Friday, May 02, 2014 04:14 PM PDT By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Russia on Friday it will face additional sanctions against key sectors of its economy if Moscow disrupts Ukraine's plan to hold elections on May 25. The two leaders linked the threat to the election when they addressed a joint news conference in the White House Rose Garden after Oval Office talks dominated by the situation in Ukraine. Obama and Merkel said they were united in vowing to move to the tougher sanctions but made clear there were still negotiations to determine how to structure the sanctions should they be necessary. The election is to choose a successor to President Viktor Yanukovitch, the pro-Russian leader who resigned in the face of unrelenting protests and whose ouster has provoked the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War. Full Story | Top |
| Berkshire quarterly profit hurt by winter weather, insurance Friday, May 02, 2014 03:49 PM PDT  By Jonathan Stempel and Luciana Lopez OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Friday said quarterly profit declined 4 percent, falling short of analyst forecasts, as earnings from insurance underwriting declined and bad weather disrupted shipping at its BNSF Railway unit. A lack of big mergers has also driven up Berkshire's cash stake, which rose to $48.95 billion from $48.19 billion at the end of 2013. Full Story | Top |
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