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UK Conservatives take poll lead after EU veto: poll
Tue,13 Dec 2011 07:08 PM PST
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Conservatives have overtaken the Labour opposition in an opinion poll for the first time this year, enjoying a bounce on the back of Prime Minister David Cameron's veto of a new European Union treaty, the latest Reuters/Ipsos MORI poll showed on Wednesday. The rise in support for Cameron's Conservatives is all the more remarkable given Britons' increasing pessimism on the economy, with only 12 percent expecting it to improve in the next year, the lowest figure since the credit crunch began to bite in September 2008. ...
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Conservatives take poll lead after EU veto
Tue,13 Dec 2011 07:05 PM PST
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - The Conservatives have overtaken Labour in an opinion poll for the first time this year, enjoying a bounce on the back of Prime Minister David Cameron's veto of a new European Union treaty, the latest Reuters/Ipsos MORI poll showed on Wednesday. The rise in support for Cameron's Conservatives is all the more remarkable given Britons' increasing pessimism on the economy, with only 12 percent expecting it to improve in the next year, the lowest figure since the credit crunch began to bite in September 2008. ...
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Most dealers see Fed buying more MBS: Reuters poll
Tue,13 Dec 2011 06:15 PM PST
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Most Wall Street economists expect the Federal Reserve will undertake another major economic stimulus program, even though the U.S. central bank did not announce any new action at its policy meeting on Tuesday, according to a Reuters poll. Ten of 17 primary dealers, the large financial institutions that do business directly with the Fed, said they expect the central bank to undertake a new program of buying mortgage-backed securities. That compares with 13 of 20 primary dealers calling for a new MBS purchase program in a similar poll conducted on December 2. ... Full Story | Top |
Chinese man arrested for hiring wedding strippers
Tue,13 Dec 2011 06:13 PM PST
Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese police have arrested a man who hired two strippers to perform at his son's wedding after the performance was mobbed by villagers, a newspaper reported on Wednesday. Zhang Cheng, from Xuzhou in eastern Jiangsu province, had originally wanted a band to play at the nuptials, but was then advised he could get performers whose show would have "special features," the Global Times said. "After watching the show, Zhang decided it would be appropriate for his son's wedding and requested two strippers for the event," it added. "... ... Full Story | Top |
Express Scripts in contract dispute with WellPoint
Tue,13 Dec 2011 05:43 PM PST
Reuters - (Reuters) - Pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts Inc and its client WellPoint Inc said on Tuesday they are involved in a contract dispute and that they are trying to settle it through negotiation. Express Scripts said WellPoint, the No. 2 U.S. health insurer by market value, had raised the issues leading to the dispute. Shares of Express scripts fell 3.5 percent after hours, while WellPoint stock rose 2 percent. Officials from both companies declined to provide details and said there is no assurance the matters will be settled without litigation. ... Full Story | Top |
Occupy Baltimore evicted, western ports normal
Tue,13 Dec 2011 05:32 PM PST
Reuters -  BALTIMORE (Reuters) - Police in Baltimore evicted anti-Wall Street protesters on Tuesday and operations returned to normal at West Coast ports a day after a series of marches that disrupted operations at several terminals. The early morning clearing of the Occupy camp's roughly 40 demonstrators near downtown Baltimore was conducted without injuries or arrests, said Ryan O'Doherty, spokesman for the city's mayor. Occupy camps in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and other major cities were shut down in recent weeks in operations that resulted in hundreds of arrests. ...
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Lawmakers in showdown over payroll tax cuts
Tue,13 Dec 2011 05:13 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican and Democratic lawmakers were locked in an end-of-year fight on Tuesday that threatens a government shutdown, an effective tax hike for 160 million Americans and the loss of benefits for millions of unemployed. With just days left to resolve the crisis, both parties accused each other of "playing politics" with Americans' livelihoods even as they tried to gain the upper hand with a complex series of maneuvers on Capitol Hill. ...
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USTR intensifying China WTO enforcement
Tue,13 Dec 2011 04:43 PM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top U.S. trade official said on Tuesday the United States was not satisfied with the way China was meeting its obligations in the World Trade Organization and would continue to step up its enforcement activity. "We are intensifying our efforts and we are not going to let go," Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Claire Reade told the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. appeals court revives Oracle overtime lawsuit
Tue,13 Dec 2011 04:43 PM PST
Reuters - (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Tuesday revived a class-action lawsuit against Oracle Corp, basing its ruling on a state court decision that employers in California must pay nonresident workers for overtime work performed in the state. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit reversed a federal district court ruling in favor of Oracle. Under the California's wage and hour laws, the appellate court found, Oracle could be liable for unpaid wages if it did not compensate out-of-state computer trainers for overtime work performed in the state. ... Full Story | Top |
White House presses for 11th-hour tax deal
Tue,13 Dec 2011 04:36 PM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Tuesday accused congressional Republicans of trying to score political points against President Barack Obama and said it still expects Congress to reach an "11th hour" tax deal. "This Congress needs to do its job and stop the tax hike that's scheduled to affect 160 million Americans in 18 days," the White House said after the Republican-led House of Representatives defied Obama's veto threat and passed a bill to expedite approval of the Keystone XL Canada-to-Texas pipeline project as part of broader bill to extend payroll tax cuts. ... Full Story | Top |
Defense cuts could cost 1.5 million jobs: lawmaker
Tue,13 Dec 2011 04:27 PM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense cuts that begin in the 2012 budget will ultimately cost up to 800,000 jobs, and additional spending reductions could push that figure to 1.5 million over the next decade, a top Republican lawmaker testified on Tuesday. Representative Buck McKeon, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said his panel estimated the initial $489 billion in defense cuts approved by Congress would cost 100,000 military jobs, mostly Army and Marines, as well as 200,000 civilian defense jobs and 500,000 defense industry positions. "We're looking at ... ... Full Story | Top |
Gunman turns Belgian Christmas market into bloodbath
Tue,13 Dec 2011 04:24 PM PST
Reuters -  LIEGE, Belgium (Reuters) - A lone gunman brought carnage to the Belgian city of Liege on Tuesday, spraying bullets at Christmas shoppers and hurling a grenade at people waiting for a bus, killing four people including a girl of 17 months before shooting himself dead. The attack, in which another 125 people were wounded, paralyzed the centre of Belgium's fifth city, with workers trapped in offices as police sealed off the area, helicopters circled, and ambulances poured in from as far away as the Netherlands. ...
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U.S. move to hold aid strains ties with Pakistan
Tue,13 Dec 2011 04:16 PM PST
Reuters - ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Lawmakers are ready to freeze up to $700 million in aid to Pakistan until Congress gets assurances that Islamabad is helping fight the spread of homemade bombs in the region, a move one Pakistani senator called unwise and likely to strain ties further. Pakistan is one of the largest recipients of U.S. foreign aid and the holdup on some aid for fiscal 2012 affects only part of the civil and military assistance it gets each year. But it could presage even greater cuts. ... Full Story | Top |
Syrian Alawite figure speaks out against violence
Tue,13 Dec 2011 04:03 PM PST
Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - A Syrian Alawite centrist political figure said on Tuesday that four of his relatives were shot or kidnapped in sectarian violence threatening to undermine a nine-month pro-democracy uprising. In a rare named testimony about sectarian killings that have racked the central city of Homs in the last few weeks, Mohammad Saleh told Reuters that the four were targeted because they were Alawites, the same sect as President Bashar al-Assad. "The violence by the regime has provoked counter violence. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. Postal Service puts 5-month pause on closings
Tue,13 Dec 2011 04:00 PM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Postal Service has agreed to a five-month moratorium on closures of post offices and processing facilities while lawmakers hammer out legislation to overhaul the cash-strapped mail carrier, a group of U.S. senators said on Tuesday. The Postal Service was studying about 3,700 money-losing post offices for possible closure starting in February 2012, and considering closing hundreds of processing centers in April. ... Full Story | Top |
Syrian Alawite figure speaks out against violence
Tue,13 Dec 2011 03:41 PM PST
Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - A Syrian Alawite centrist political figure said on Tuesday that four of his relatives were shot or kidnapped in sectarian violence threatening to undermine a nine-month pro-democracy uprising. In a rare named testimony about sectarian killings that have racked the central city of Homs in the last few weeks, Mohammad Saleh told Reuters that the four were targeted because they were Alawites, the same sect as President Bashar al-Assad. "The violence by the regime has provoked counter violence. ... Full Story | Top |
Michael Jackson's doctor too poor to fund appeal
Tue,13 Dec 2011 03:37 PM PST
Reuters -  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson's doctor on Tuesday asked for a publicly-funded lawyer to handle his appeal on a manslaughter conviction in the pop star's death, saying he could not afford to pay for one himself. Dr. Conrad Murray, serving a four-year jail term for the involuntary manslaughter of Jackson in 2009, filed papers with Los Angeles Superior Court saying he was unable to fund his legal help any longer. "The defendant is indigent and respectfully requests the appointment of counsel on appeal," the court papers said. ...
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Thousands of Poles protest against new EU treaty
Tue,13 Dec 2011 03:12 PM PST
Reuters -  WARSAW (Reuters) - About 5,000 Poles protested in Warsaw on Tuesday against closer European integration after the government agreed to a new EU treaty for closer fiscal cooperation to tackle economic crisis. The protesters waved Polish flags and at one point chanted "Disgrace!" during the rally organized by the main opposition, the conservative, euro-skeptic Law and Justice (PiS) party. The peaceful demonstration took place on the 30th anniversary of a crackdown by communist authorities against the pro-democratic opposition lead by the Solidarity trade union. ...
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New state laws threaten U.S. voting rights: Holder
Tue,13 Dec 2011 03:02 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Attorney General Eric Holder is venturing deeper into a political thicket over how individual states run elections, saying discrimination based on race or ethnicity still prevents people from voting. Holder, the chief U.S. law enforcement official, is addressing the issue on the eve of an election year. His department is responsible for carrying out the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a law intended to protect minority voters. "The reality is that - in jurisdictions across the country - both overt and subtle forms of discrimination remain all too common. ...
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Obama winds down Iraq war but verdict elusive
Tue,13 Dec 2011 02:46 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - "Mission Accomplished" are two words President Barack Obama will not use as he winds down the most unpopular U.S. military venture since Vietnam and declares an end to another war without victory. Obama's visit to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on Wednesday will be a chance to tout the completion of a troop pullout from Iraq by year-end, fulfilling a promise that helped him win the presidency in 2008 and which he hopes will help him keep it in 2012. ...
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Exclusive: Cuba targets military firm in corruption probe
Tue,13 Dec 2011 02:43 PM PST
Reuters -  HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba has detained top executives of the powerful military-run Tecnotex company, broadening a corruption investigation that has already shuttered three foreign firms, foreign business sources told Reuters. Tecnotex is one of the most important trading companies on the Communist-run island, purchasing equipment, technology, construction materials and other goods for a myriad of military-owned firms in the civilian sector of the economy. Tecnotex's director Fernando Noy was among those arrested, according to a foreign businessman who deals with the company. ...
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Canada energy regulator lax on pipelines: watchdog
Tue,13 Dec 2011 02:38 PM PST
Reuters - CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Canada's energy regulator has failed to make adequate checks to ensure pipeline operators fix safety problems uncovered at their facilities and keep emergency procedures up to date, the country's Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development said on Tuesday. ... Full Story | Top |
Man shoots Belgian shoppers, children, kills three
Tue,13 Dec 2011 02:36 PM PST
Reuters -  LIEGE, Belgium (Reuters) - A man hurled grenades at a bus stop in the Belgian city of Liege and sprayed gunfire at crowds of Christmas shoppers and children on Tuesday, killing three people and wounding 123 before fatally shooting himself in the head. It was not clear what his motive was, but Belgian officials said there was no indication it was an act of terrorism. ...
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Impact of a French rating cut would depend on size
Tue,13 Dec 2011 02:36 PM PST
Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - France is now braced to lose its AAA credit rating, with a downgrade largely priced into financial markets and President Nicholas Sarkozy saying it would be manageable, but a two-notch cut would deal a blow to public finances. Ratings agency Standard and Poor's dropped a bombshell last week when it placed 15 euro zone countries on negative review, warning it could downgrade their sovereign ratings if Europe failed to resolve its deepening debt crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
Spending bill in jeopardy as lawmakers bicker
Tue,13 Dec 2011 02:35 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bill that would keep the U.S. government operating beyond the weekend appeared in trouble on Tuesday as lawmakers bickered over whether they had resolved policy issues such as abortion funding and travel to Cuba. The bill has been caught up in a year-end fight between Republicans and Democrats over taxes and spending that has left Americans watching a familiar scene unfold - both parties trying to outmaneuver the other to score points ahead of the 2012 elections. ...
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U.S. cracking down on Medicare painkiller abuse
Tue,13 Dec 2011 02:33 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Health authorities are directing Medicare prescription drug plans to withhold payments for popular painkillers when they suspect patient abuse, part of a wider effort to combat fraud. The Department of Health and Human Services noted evidence of "doctor shopping," when patients approach several doctors to get multiple prescriptions of addictive painkillers like OxyContin and Percocet. It also encouraged doctors to issue prescriptions for such drugs that provide a supply of 30 days or less. ...
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Nokia Siemens to ramp down Iran operations
Tue,13 Dec 2011 02:29 PM PST
Reuters -  HELSINKI (Reuters) - The world No. 2 mobile telecom equipment maker Nokia Siemens Networks will start to gradually ramp down its business in Iran, pressured by tightening international sanctions. Nokia Siemens -- one of the key suppliers to Iranian telecom operators along with Ericsson and Huawei -- has decided to refrain from seeking new business and gradually reduce its commitments in Iran, it said in a letter to its staff in the country. ...
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Bickering hurts U.S. nuclear agency: report
Tue,13 Dec 2011 02:10 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A report from a top Congressional watchdog said on Tuesday the dysfunction within the five-member U.S. nuclear safety regulator is damaging the agency as it released new details about a breakdown that is hurting staff morale and slowing policy decisions. An investigation by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, led by Republican Darrell Issa, blames Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman Gregory Jaczko for the mess and paints an unflattering picture of his decisions and his temper. ...
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Fitch warns it may cut Detroit's credit ratings
Tue,13 Dec 2011 02:06 PM PST
Reuters - CHICAGO (Reuters) - Fitch Ratings warned on Tuesday it may drop Detroit's credit ratings further into the junk territory as the state of Michigan reviews the city's troubled finances. The rating agency said it placed Detroit's BB-minus unlimited tax general obligation rating affecting $553 million of debt, B-plus limited tax GO rating affecting $486 million of debt and the BB-minus rating on $1.5 billion of pension obligation debt on a watch list for a possible downgrade. (Reporting by Karen Pierog; Editing by Padraic Cassidy) Full Story | Top |
Iraq's oil police gear up for attacks as U.S. withdraws
Tue,13 Dec 2011 01:58 PM PST
Reuters -  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's oil police have stepped up patrols to protect installations against a possible surge in al Qaeda attacks as U.S. troops withdraw, the head of the force said on Tuesday. Multibillion-dollar deals Baghdad signed with energy majors could quadruple oil output capacity to Saudi levels within six years but that depends on the OPEC member securing oilfields, refineries and other vital infrastructure. Major General Hamid Ibrahim, head of Iraq's energy protection force, said half of all attacks planned by al Qaeda targeted the country's oil sector. ...
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CME says MF's Corzine knew of customer-backed loans
Tue,13 Dec 2011 01:53 PM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An auditor with CME Group was told that former MF Global chief Jon Corzine knew about loans backed by customer segregated accounts that were made to a European affiliate of the firm, a CME executive said on Tuesday. CME Executive Chairman Terrence Duffy said his company has provided this information to the Justice Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. ... Full Story | Top |
ACLU sues Wisconsin over voter ID law
Tue,13 Dec 2011 01:50 PM PST
Reuters - MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - The American Civil Liberties Union sued the state of Wisconsin on Tuesday over its law that will require voters to present official identification, claiming it is unconstitutional and will deprive citizens of their right to vote. The federal complaint seeks to block the voter ID law, which takes effect on February 21, 2012 for Wisconsin's spring primary elections. It requires voters to present identification, such as a driver's license or a passport, to cast ballots in federal, state and local elections. ... Full Story | Top |
Canada, out of Kyoto, must still cut emissions: U.N.
Tue,13 Dec 2011 01:46 PM PST
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Canada still has a legal obligation under United Nations rules to cut its emissions despite the country's pullout from the Kyoto Protocol, the U.N. climate chief said on Tuesday. Christiana Figueres also said the timing of Canada's move, a day after a deal to extend the protocol was clinched at a U.N. summit in South Africa, was regrettable and surprising. Canada on Monday withdraw from Kyoto, dealing a symbolic blow to the treaty, with environment minister Peter Kent breaking the news just after his return from talks in Durban. ...
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Tribal elders broker end to fighting in Libya region
Tue,13 Dec 2011 01:21 PM PST
Reuters -  WAMIS, Libya (Reuters) - An outbreak of fighting south of the Libyan capital which killed at least four people stopped on Tuesday after local elders agreed a ceasefire, Reuters journalists in the area said. The conflict, a flare-up of an old rivalry between the provincial town of Zintan and the neighboring El-Mashasha tribe, underlined the tension and insecurity in Libya after the overthrow of leader Muammar Gaddafi. ...
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U.S. Postal Service puts 5-month pause on closings
Tue,13 Dec 2011 01:07 PM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Postal Service has agreed to a five-month moratorium on closures of post offices and processing facilities while lawmakers hammer out legislation to overhaul the cash-strapped mail carrier, a group of U.S. senators said on Tuesday. The Postal Service was studying about 3,700 money-losing post offices for possible closure starting in February 2012, and considering closing hundreds of processing centers in April. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. regulators act to quiet blaring TV commercials
Tue,13 Dec 2011 12:57 PM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. communications regulators cracked down on excessively loud TV commercials on Tuesday, implementing a bill passed last year to quiet commercials to the same volume as the programs they accompany. The Federal Communications Commission has been fielding viewer complaints about loud commercials almost as long as commercial television has existed, the agency said. The commission voted unanimously to require TV stations and cable and satellite operators to ensure that the average volume of a commercial does not exceed the average volume of the programming around it. ... Full Story | Top |
Russian tycoon eyes paper to back election bid
Tue,13 Dec 2011 12:51 PM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, who hopes to challenge Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in a presidential election next March, is exploring a bid for the influential daily Kommersant to back up his campaign. A source at Onexim, Prokhorov's investment fund, told Reuters that Onexim was in the early stages of negotiations to buy the Kommersant publishing house from tycoon Alisher Usmanov. ...
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USTR intensifying China WTO enforcement: aide
Tue,13 Dec 2011 12:50 PM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top U.S. trade official on Tuesday said the United States was not satisfied with how China was meeting its obligations in the World Trade Organization and has been stepping up its enforcement activity. "We are intensifying our efforts and we are not going to let go," Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Claire Reade told the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. ... Full Story | Top |
State Medicaid spending soars
Tue,13 Dec 2011 12:49 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Spending by U.S. states on Medicaid, the healthcare program for the poor, soared last year and will likely continue growing despite measures to contain costs, according to a report released on Tuesday. Total Medicaid spending, excluding administrative costs, likely reached $398.6 billion in fiscal 2011, which ended in June for most states. That was up 10.1 percent from the year before, when spending rose 6 percent, the National Association of State Budget Officers reported. ...
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U.S. nuclear agency: Can they all just get along?
Tue,13 Dec 2011 12:40 PM PST
Reuters - ROCKVILLE, Maryland (Reuters) - Drawn and stone-faced, the five members of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission sat side by side at a table, speaking the complex language of engineering acronyms and numbers with people who run nuclear plants. It was business as usual on Tuesday at an NRC briefing on mathematical risk models used to prevent fires, despite the infighting that has broken out in a very public way at an agency that critics say has become dysfunctional. ... Full Story | Top |
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