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Fed's Lacker: Libor scandal hurting confidence
Fri,13 Jul 2012 07:16 PM PDT
Reuters -  RICHMOND, Virginia (Reuters) - A growing scandal surrounding manipulation of a key benchmark interest rate is feeding public anger towards banks, Richmond Federal Reserve bank President Jeffrey Lacker told Reuters in an interview on Friday. The debacle over the setting of the London interbank offered rate, a global benchmark for $550 trillion of interest rate derivatives contracts, has already cost Barclays' CEO Bob Diamond and other top executives at the London-based bank their jobs and the fallout continues to broaden. ...
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Barclays flagged Libor problems to Fed in 2007
Fri,13 Jul 2012 07:09 PM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Barclays alerted U.S. regulators as far back as 2007 to concerns that banks were rigging benchmark interest rates, according to documents released on Friday, but policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic did not appear to take decisive action, underscoring the chaos of the financial crisis. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York was pushed to release the documents amid a furor that was touched off when Barclays late last month agreed to pay $453 million in fines for attempting to manipulate Libor. ...
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UK lawmakers to grill Barclays, FSA execs on Libor
Fri,13 Jul 2012 07:09 PM PDT
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - A panel of UK lawmakers will question Adair Turner, the head of Britain's financial regulator, as well as Barclays' former chief operating officer, Jerry del Missier, on Monday in the Libor interest rate rigging scandal. The Treasury Select Committee said del Missier will appear on Monday at 1500 GMT, followed by Turner, executive chairman of the Financial Services Authority, at 1545 GMT. Barclays was fined $450 million by U.S. and UK authorities for manipulating the benchmark Libor interbank interest rate. ... Full Story | Top |
Chavez: Venezuela is no threat, Obama is a "good guy"
Fri,13 Jul 2012 06:45 PM PDT
Reuters -  CARACAS (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez denied on Friday that Venezuela was a threat to anyone, after U.S. presidential hopeful Mitt Romney criticized Barack Obama for playing down the risk posed by the socialist leader. Obama told a Spanish-language television station in an interview screened this week that Chavez's actions over recent years had not had a serious impact on the national security of the United States. Romney said Obama's comments were "stunning and shocking" and showed a pattern of weakness in the Democratic president's foreign policy. ...
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Tribune finally wins court nod to exit bankruptcy
Fri,13 Jul 2012 06:33 PM PDT
Reuters -  (Reuters) - Tribune Co has won court approval to emerge from bankruptcy, more than 3-1/2 years after seeking Chapter 11 protection following a leveraged buyout that saddled the publisher of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times with too much debt. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Carey in Wilmington, Delaware, on Friday overruled objections to the plan by a variety of creditors. He said he would confirm Tribune's fourth amended reorganization plan once some revisions were made. ...
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Romney demands Obama apology over Bain attacks
Fri,13 Jul 2012 06:32 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney struck back on Friday against attacks over his business record that are pulling him further away from his campaign message that the White House is mishandling the economy. In a blitz of television interviews, Romney demanded an apology from President Barack Obama for his campaign's assertion that the Republican may have committed a felony by misrepresenting his position at private equity firm Bain Capital. "It's ridiculous," Romney told Fox News in response to the charge. ... Full Story | Top |
Judge rules Mississippi abortion clinic can stay open for now
Fri,13 Jul 2012 06:00 PM PDT
Reuters -  (Reuters) - Mississippi's sole abortion clinic won a court battle on Friday to stay open while it challenges the constitutionality of a new state law requiring its doctors to have local hospital admitting privileges. The law, which abortion rights advocates say is a thinly veiled attempt to ban abortions in Mississippi, has threatened to make Mississippi the only U.S. state without such a facility. The law requires doctors who perform abortions to be board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology, and to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. ...
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Judges ask tough questions about Texas voter ID law at trial
Fri,13 Jul 2012 05:36 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A three-judge federal panel deciding the fate of Texas' new voter identification law grilled the state's lawyer in closing arguments on Friday and suggested that the controversial legislation would disproportionately hurt racial minorities. The law, passed by the Republican-dominated Texas legislature in 2011, requires voters show a voter registration card - which does not have a photo - or an acceptable alternative, such as a driver's license or a utility bill. Texas says the new measure will prevent voter fraud. ... Full Story | Top |
Obama campaign staffer dies after collapsing at Chicago HQ
Fri,13 Jul 2012 05:14 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A 29-year-old staffer working for President Barack Obama's re-election died on Friday after collapsing at the Obama campaign headquarters in Chicago, campaign officials said. There was no immediate word on the cause of death. Alex Okrent had worked with the Obama team since 2004. The president, who was campaigning in Virginia ahead of the November 6 election, called Okrent's family to express his condolences and also spoke with other campaign staffers in a conference call. (Reporting By Alister Bull; Editing by Eric Beech) Full Story | Top |
Florida health officials deny cover-up in TB outbreak
Fri,13 Jul 2012 04:21 PM PDT
Reuters - TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida state health officials have denied they covered up a sharp spike in tuberculosis infections among the homeless in Jacksonville and said the public was not at risk from what is believed to be the worst TB outbreak in the nation in 20 years. At least 13 people have died and another 99 have contracted TB in the outbreak in Jacksonville, the state's largest city with a population of 825,000. ... Full Story | Top |
Kerry Kennedy arrested for driving while impaired: police
Fri,13 Jul 2012 04:14 PM PDT
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Kerry Kennedy, the ex-wife of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and a daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, was arrested after a traffic accident on Friday on charges of driving while impaired by drugs, the state police said. Kennedy, 52, was found seated behind the wheel of a white Lexus at about 8 a.m. in the Westchester County town of North Castle. "911 calls reported a white vehicle operating in an erratic manner in the southbound lanes south of exit 4 that collided with a tractor-trailer," police said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
Obama administration pledges $80 million more to Everglades restoration
Fri,13 Jul 2012 04:11 PM PDT
Reuters - KISSIMMEE, Florida (Reuters) - With Florida cattlemen looking on, Obama administration officials announced on Friday the latest infusion of $80 million into an Everglades restoration plan to buy development rights to farms and ranches and improve water flow. The administration says its three-year, multi-agency $1.5 billion investment in the project since 2009 has created 6,600 jobs. President Barack Obama has also requested $246 million for 2013. ... Full Story | Top |
IRS denials a worry for political tax-exempt groups: attorneys
Fri,13 Jul 2012 04:10 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Internal Revenue Service's denial of tax-exempt status to two small U.S. political groups is prompting concern among other tax-exempt organizations raising millions of campaign dollars that they could lose the ability to collect anonymous donations, tax attorneys say. The IRS announced in May and June that it took the actions against two groups defined as tax-exempt under the 501(c)(4) section of the tax code. The IRS on Thursday declined comment on its tax-exempt final rulings. ... Full Story | Top |
Made-in-China U.S. Olympic uniforms spark political row
Fri,13 Jul 2012 04:00 PM PDT
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ralph Lauren's stylish uniforms for the U.S. Olympic team, complete with a jaunty beret, have sparked a political row because the red, white and blue outfits were made in China. With U.S. unemployment hovering just above 8 percent, politicians have spoken out against the uniforms for the London Games that start later this month, and six Democratic senators said they plan to introduce legislation requiring the ceremonial uniforms be produced in the United States. ...
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SEC staff pans direct adoption of global accounting
Fri,13 Jul 2012 04:00 PM PDT
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - A full-scale adoption of international accounting standards by the United States has little support and few investors or companies are prepared for it, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Friday. In a long-awaited staff report, the SEC said a wholesale switch to international standards would strain the resources of U.S. companies and a staged transition has more support. The SEC, responsible for U.S. accounting rules, has for years been weighing a decision on whether to move U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
G4S says unable to fulfil Olympics security contract
Fri,13 Jul 2012 03:55 PM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Private security firm G4S said on Friday it would be unable to completely fulfil its contract to supply guards for this month's London Olympics and would incur a loss of up to 50 million pounds. The company has been at the centre of a political firestorm after the government admitted on Thursday that extra troops would need to be put on standby dye to G4S's problems processing applicants in time for the Games that start in two weeks' time. Shares in the FTSE 100-listed G4S have fallen in the past 24 hours to their lowest level for almost a month. ...
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NAACP's support of gay marriage reverberates at convention
Fri,13 Jul 2012 03:54 PM PDT
Reuters - HOUSTON (Reuters) - The biggest U.S. civil rights group's two-month-old decision to support same-sex marriage has opened rifts at its convention in Houston this week, pitting religious conservatives against political progressives. The 103-year-old National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's support for same-sex marriage is "a continuation of its historic commitment to equal protection under the law," the organization said in a statement when the resolution was approved at a board meeting in Miami on May 19. ... Full Story | Top |
Romney demands Obama apologize over Bain attacks
Fri,13 Jul 2012 03:51 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney demanded President Barack Obama apologize for his campaign's attacks at him over whether he led a private equity firm when it outsourced U.S. jobs abroad. "The president needs to take control of these people," Romney told ABC News, part of a flurry of television interviews he held to address allegations about his time at Bain Capital. "He ought to disavow it and reign in these people who are running out of control. ... Full Story | Top |
G4S says unable to fulfill Olympics security contract
Fri,13 Jul 2012 03:49 PM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Private security firm G4S said on Friday it would be unable to completely fulfill its contract to supply guards for this month's London Olympics and would incur a loss of up to 50 million pounds ($77.73 million). The company has been at the centre of a political firestorm after the government admitted on Thursday that extra troops would need to be put on standby dye to G4S's problems processing applicants in time for the Games that start in two weeks' time. Shares in the FTSE 100-listed G4S have fallen in the past 24 hours to their lowest level for almost a month. ...
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Romania government pursues campaign to remove president
Fri,13 Jul 2012 03:48 PM PDT
Reuters -  BUCHAREST/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Romania's ruling party plans to extend voting in a referendum on whether to impeach the president to two days from one, a senior politician said on Friday, seeking to boost voter turnout and minimize the risk of failure in its efforts to drive him out. Leftist Prime Minister Victor Ponta's campaign against conservative President Traian Basescu, his long-time political rival, has drawn criticism from the European Union which sees a threat to democratic rule of law in the Balkan state. ...
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World outrage at Syria "massacre", but no action
Fri,13 Jul 2012 03:46 PM PDT
Reuters -  AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - The United States has branded Syria's leaders murderers after an attack on a village by President Bashar al-Assad's troops left dozens dead, but there was no break in the deadlock among world powers over how to bring about an end to the bloodshed. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also condemned what his monitors on the ground had seen as an "indiscriminate" bombardment that included rocket-firing helicopters of the town of Tremseh in rebellious Hama province, and he questioned Assad's commitment to a U.N.-sponsored peace plan for Syria. But at U.N. ...
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Trayvon Martin's killer seeks new judge in murder case
Fri,13 Jul 2012 03:44 PM PDT
Reuters -  MIAMI (Reuters) - The Florida man charged with second-degree murder in the killing of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin asked for a new judge in his case on Friday, accusing the current judge of bias. Lawyers for George Zimmerman filed a motion requesting that Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester withdraw from the trial. Zimmerman alleged in the filing that Lester made "gratuitous" and "disparaging remarks" about him during a July 5 bond hearing and offered "a personal opinion" in the case. "In doing so, the Court has created a reasonable fear in Mr. ...
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Georgia death row inmate seeks reprieve due to mental disability
Fri,13 Jul 2012 03:23 PM PDT
Reuters - ATLANTA (Reuters) - Attorneys for a Georgia man facing execution next week argued to the state's pardons board on Friday that executing the two-time murderer would be unjust because of his limited mental capacity. Warren Lee Hill, 52, is scheduled to die by lethal injection on July 18. In a series of unsuccessful appeals, his lawyers have said his execution should be halted because he suffered from what they termed mental retardation. The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles held a closed hearing in the case on Friday but did not issue a ruling. ... Full Story | Top |
Tunisian revolution hero's mother arrested: brother
Fri,13 Jul 2012 03:10 PM PDT
Reuters -  TUNIS (Reuters) - The mother of the Tunisian peddler whose suicide sparked the Arab Spring has been arrested after getting into a scuffle with a court official, a family member said on Friday. Salem Bouazizi, brother of Mohammed Bouazizi whose death made him a symbol for the frustrations of many, said their mother had been held for allegedly attacking the official in Sidi Bouzid, the central town where Tunisia's revolution began. ...
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First-term House Republicans urge action on Russia trade
Fri,13 Jul 2012 03:09 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. business groups, armed with a letter of support from 73 first-term Republicans in the House of Representatives, said on Friday they were redoubling efforts to win approval of a controversial Russian trade bill in coming weeks. "We are pressing very hard to encourage a resolution by the August recess," said Randi Levinas, executive vice president of the U.S.-Russia Business Council, arguing U.S. jobs were at stake if the bill is not approved. "This is not a slam dunk and it's not something that's very easily done. ... Full Story | Top |
Spain sets out spending cuts to chorus of protest
Fri,13 Jul 2012 03:05 PM PDT
Reuters - MADRID (Reuters) - Spain created an emergency fund to protect regional governments from defaulting and warned that pensions will be overhauled as protesters rallied on Friday against deep spending cuts needed to dodge an international bailout. After a weekly cabinet meeting, the government gave details of the 65-billion-euro ($80 billion) austerity package Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. indicts Iranian, Chinese for nuclear export plot
Fri,13 Jul 2012 02:57 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. investigators believe two men indicted on charges of conspiring to send materials to Iran via Hong Kong and China were trying to acquire sensitive equipment and materials used to construct uranium enrichment centrifuges, a law enforcement official said on Friday. The materials and components the suspects were trying to obtain comprised almost "everything you need to build gas centrifuges for uranium enrichment," the official told Reuters. ...
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U.S. should scale down $1 billion Kansas biodefense lab: study
Fri,13 Jul 2012 02:54 PM PDT
Reuters -  KANSAS CITY, Kansas (Reuters) - The United States should consider scaling down ambitious plans for a $1 billion laboratory in Kansas to study potentially deadly animal diseases, the National Research Council said on Friday in a key report to help the government decide how to proceed. Construction of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas, has been stalled by concerns that deadly animal diseases could escape and devastate agriculture. Some have called the facility a costly boondoggle. ...
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Obama reminds supporters Virginia could hold key to White House
Fri,13 Jul 2012 02:47 PM PDT
Reuters -  VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama took his pitch for a second White House term to Virginia on Friday, reminding supporters that the election battleground state could secure him victory over Republican challenger Mitt Romney. The Democratic president painted himself as a champion of ordinary Americans as his re-election team stepped up attacks on Romney over his business record and wealth. ...
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Condoleezza Rice's name surfaces, then fades, as Romney VP pick
Fri,13 Jul 2012 02:32 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's name surfaced briefly as a possible vice presidential running mate for Mitt Romney, but faded quickly as an aide said on Friday she was still not interested in the position. The Drudge Report reported on Thursday that Rice was a front-runner for the No. 2 spot on the Republican presidential ticket, prompting endorsements by some leading conservatives. Romney's campaign has not commented. ... Full Story | Top |
Pro-Obama Super PAC raised $6 million in June
Fri,13 Jul 2012 02:29 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The "Super PAC" working to re-elect U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday it had raised $6.1 million in June, in a further improvement after a bad start in the race for cash ahead of the November 6 election. The group, Priorities USA Action, raised $4 million in May when it first started to narrow the fundraising gap with its chief rival group, Restore Our Future, which supports Obama's Republican challenger Mitt Romney. ...
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Syria massacre part of air force operation: U.N
Fri,13 Jul 2012 02:27 PM PDT
Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. observers in Syria described an attack on a village in the Hama region in which about 220 people were reported killed as part of a continuing Syrian air force operation, the U.N. mission said in an assessment obtained by Reuters on Friday. "The situation in Hama province continues to be highly volatile and unpredictable," said the "flash report" from the U.N. observer mission on Thursday's incident. "SAAF forces continue to target populated urban areas north of Hama City in a large scale," the report said, referring to the Syrian Arab Air Force. ... Full Story | Top |
Algerian diplomats freed in north Mali: sources
Fri,13 Jul 2012 01:52 PM PDT
Reuters - ALGIERS (Reuters) - Seven Algerian diplomats abducted by Islamist rebels in northern Mali in April have been freed, an Algerian security source and a Malian Islamist source said on Friday, a move that could ease tension along the volatile border. "They are all safe and should be back home very soon," the security source said, adding that the seven consisted of a consul and six consular staff who were based in Mali. Security officials in Algeria do not normally speak on the record and there was no confirmation from the government. ... Full Story | Top |
Uzbek man gets nearly 16 years in prison for plot to kill Obama
Fri,13 Jul 2012 01:29 PM PDT
Reuters - BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) - A federal judge sentenced an Uzbek man living illegally in the United States to nearly 16 years in prison on Friday on terrorism and weapons charges stemming from his plot to kill President Barack Obama. Ulugbek Kodirov, who arrived in the United States in 2009 to attend medical school but never enrolled, had plotted to shoot Obama while the president campaigned for re-election this year, according to federal authorities in Alabama. ... Full Story | Top |
U.N. chief says Syria massacre casts doubt on Assad's peace pledge
Fri,13 Jul 2012 01:22 PM PDT
Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday reports of a massacre by Syrian government forces cast "serious doubts" on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's commitment to a U.N.-backed peace plan. "I condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the indiscriminate use of heavy artillery and shelling of populated areas, including by firing from helicopters," Ban said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
Fed's Lockhart signals backs easing if no improvement
Fri,13 Jul 2012 01:02 PM PDT
Reuters -  JACKSON, Mississippi (Reuters) - A voting member of the Federal Reserve's policy-setting body said on Friday he has edged closer to supporting another round of quantitative easing if the sluggish economy can't shake its doldrums. "My support for the current stance of policy rests on a forecast that sees a step-up of output and employment growth by year-end and into 2013," Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart told a business group. ...
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After missteps, Romney adds to communications team
Fri,13 Jul 2012 01:02 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney added two Washington veterans to his media relations team on Friday after weeks of criticism that he didn't respond strongly enough to a barrage of attacks from the Obama campaign. The hiring of Danny Diaz and Kevin Sheridan, two longtime Republican operatives, was aimed at helping the Romney campaign react better to media reports and Democratic attacks, according to a campaign official. ...
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U.S. approves new rules to protect futures customers
Fri,13 Jul 2012 01:00 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. futures regulators approved new regulations on Friday to shore up protection of brokerage customer funds following last year's collapse of MF Global. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved the rule on the same day that Russell Wasendorf Sr., the founder of another failed brokerage firm, PFGBest, was arrested on fraud charges in connection with allegedly misappropriating customer money. Friday's new final rules address the kinds of problems that have been seen at both MF Global and PFGBest, where customer money was not properly segregated. ... Full Story | Top |
Chavez says Venezuela is no threat to anyone
Fri,13 Jul 2012 12:54 PM PDT
Reuters - CARACAS (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez denied on Friday that Venezuela was a threat to anyone, after U.S. presidential hopeful Mitt Romney criticized Barack Obama for playing down the risk posed by the socialist leader. Obama told a Spanish-language television station in an interview screened this week that Chavez's actions over recent years had not had a serious national security impact on the United States. Romney said Obama's comments were "stunning and shocking" and showed a pattern of weakness in the Democratic president's foreign policy. ...
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Berlusconi keeps Italy guessing over 2013 plans
Fri,13 Jul 2012 12:53 PM PDT
Reuters -  ROME (Reuters) - Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi failed to appear at a political rally on Friday, dashing expectations that he would use the occasion to announce he would run for his former post in next year's election. On Thursday, Fabrizio Cicchitto, parliamentary leader of Berlusconi's PDL party, had said that the 75-year-old media billionaire would be the centre-right candidate for premier in the general election due in early 2013. But reporters and television camera teams gathered at a Rome hotel in the hope of a clear statement from the man himself were disappointed. ...
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