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| Asian shares up with eye on "fiscal cliff"; yen slips more Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 07:24 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Thursday amid caution about the chances of U.S. lawmakers striking a deal to avoid a fiscal crunch by December 31, while the yen hit a 21-month low against the dollar on the prospect of drastic monetary easing and massive state spending. In a sign that there may be a way to break the deadlock in Congress, Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner urged the Democrat-controlled Senate to act to pull back from the cliff, and offered to at least consider any bill the upper chamber produced. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Toyota seeks to settle acceleration cases for $1.1 billion Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 06:23 PM PST  DETROIT (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp plans to spend $1.1 billion to resolve sweeping U.S. class-action litigation over claims that millions of its vehicles accelerate unintentionally, as the Japanese automaker looks to turn the page on the biggest safety crisis in its history. About 16 million Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles sold in the United States spanning the model years 1998 to 2010 are covered by the action, according to court filings made public on Wednesday. Thirty nameplates are affected, including the top-selling Toyota Camry midsize sedan and Corolla compact car. Toyota, the No. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wells Fargo doesn't have to pay clients $203 million: court Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 06:03 PM PST . SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court vacated an injunction and a $203 million restitution order against Wells Fargo & Co in consumer litigation over the bank's overdraft policies, according to a ruling issued on Wednesday. But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco also found Wells had violated part of California's unfair competition law, and sent the case back to trial court in San Francisco to determine what relief is appropriate. A spokesman for the bank, Ancel Martinez, said Wells was pleased with the decision. ... Full Story | Top |
| BMW's vehicle sales reach 1.8 million in 2012: CFO Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 03:56 PM PST  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - BMW , the world's largest premium carmaker, has sold about 1.8 million vehicles in 2012, its chief financial officer told a German newspaper. "One of our goals was to increase vehicle sales in 2012 and to reach a new record in deliveries. With about 1.8 million vehicles, we have achieved this," the executive, Friedrich Eichiner, told Die Welt in an interview. In December, BMW said vehicle sales in the January-November period had increased by 10.1 percent to 1.66 million. For the whole of 2011, BMW had vehicles sales of 1.67 million. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wall Street drops in thin session, led by retailers Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 03:44 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell for a third straight day on Wednesday, dragged lower by retail stocks after a report showed consumers spent less in the holiday shopping season than last year. Trading was light, with volume at a mere 4.01 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and NYSE MKT, well below the daily average so far this year of about 6.48 billion shares. The day's volume was the lightest full day of trading so far in 2012. Many senior traders were still on vacation during this holiday-shortened week and major European markets were closed for the day. ... Full Story | Top |
| Toyota to settle acceleration cases for up to $1.4 billion Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 03:41 PM PST  DETROIT (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp has agreed to pay as much as $1.4 billion to settle U.S. litigation claims that its vehicles suddenly and unintentionally accelerated, according to court filings made public Wednesday. Toyota said it will take a one-time pre-tax charge of $1.1 billion to cover the estimated costs of the settlement. Hagens Berman, the law firm representing Toyota owners who brought the case in 2010, said in a press release the settlement was valued between $1.2 billion and $1.4 billion. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Treasury's tools to delay hitting debt limit Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 02:43 PM PST (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury on Wednesday announced the first of a series of emergency measures to delay the date the United States will reach the statutory $16.4 trillion limit on its debt. Republicans want to use the need to raise the nation's borrowing authority as leverage in talks over averting the so-called fiscal cliff. The White House is insisting any budget deal include an increase in the debt ceiling. Wrangling over the debt limit in 2011 led Standard & Poor's to strip the United States of its prized AAA credit rating. It also cost taxpayers $1. ... Full Story | Top |
| Treasury unveils plan to buy time under debt ceiling Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 02:43 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Treasury on Wednesday announced the first of a series of measures that should push back the day when the government will exceed its legal borrowing authority as imposed by Congress by around two months. Without any action, Treasury said the government is set to reach its $16.4 trillion debt ceiling on December 31. The government is facing a crunch on the debt ceiling because the issue has become ensnarled in talks to avoid some $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts due to begin in early January. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Japan's yen offensive may give Toyota an edge over Hyundai Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 02:14 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - When Toyota Motor Corp President Akio Toyoda visited northern Japan in July last year and announced a $24 million engine plant expansion, some analysts saw it as evidence of a flawed strategy that put patriotism above profitability. At the time, Toyota was struggling to rebuild its supply base after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami and the yen was climbing toward a post-war record high against the dollar. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. retailers scramble after lackluster holiday sales Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 02:08 PM PST  (Reuters) - The 2012 holiday season may have been the worst for retailers since the 2008 financial crisis, with sales growth far below expectations, forcing many to offer massive post-Christmas discounts in hopes of shedding excess inventory. While chains like Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Gap Inc are thought to have done well, analysts expect much less from the likes of book seller Barnes & Noble Inc and department store chain J. C. Penney Co Inc. ... Full Story | Top |
| Retailers lead U.S. shares lower; yen hits two-year low Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 01:37 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - The yen fell to a two-year low against the dollar on Wednesday as Japan's new prime minister called for weakening the currency to stimulate inflation, while U.S. stocks slipped, led by declines in retailers' shares. Sales growth at U.S. retailers was projected to have fallen short of expectations during the holiday shopping season, according to preliminary estimates from firms that track retail spending. The S&P 500 lost 0.5 percent, with consumer discretionary stocks among the hardest-hit. The Morgan Stanley Retail index dropped 1.7 percent. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Future of state estate taxes hangs on U.S. "fiscal cliff" Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 11:50 AM PST (Reuters) - Falling off the "fiscal cliff" is a bad thing, right? Not necessarily for some state governments that could begin collecting more in estate taxes on wealth left to heirs if the United States goes over the "cliff," allowing sharp tax increases and federal spending cuts to take effect in January. In an example of federal and state tax law interaction that gets little notice on Capitol Hill, 30 states next year could collect $3 billion more in estate taxes if Congress and President Barack Obama do not act soon, estimated the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, a Washington think tank. ... Full Story | Top |
| Samsung Electronics seeks U.S. sales ban on some Ericsson products Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 10:55 AM PST  SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday it had filed a complaint against Ericsson with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), requesting a U.S. import ban and sales ban on some of the Swedish telecoms equipment maker's products. The action taken on Friday by the world's top smartphone maker, which accused Ericsson of breaching seven of its patents, came after Ericsson requested an ITC U.S. import ban on Samsung products and sued the South Korean firm for patent infringement. "We have sought to negotiate with Ericsson in good faith. ... Full Story | Top |
| Perelman scores victory versus Rennert in billionaire battle Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 10:33 AM PST  (Reuters) - Ronald Perelman has notched a legal victory against fellow billionaire Ira Rennert, who has been ordered by a Delaware court to direct his business to turn over $48.7 million in a dispute over a jointly owned truck maker. The two moguls have battled in court for the past six months over a 2004 deal in which a Perelman company bought 70 percent of AM General LLC from Rennert. AM General makes Humvees for military forces in the United States and around the world. ... Full Story | Top |
| Starbucks to use cups for "fiscal cliff" message to lawmakers Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 08:51 AM PST  (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp will use its ubiquitous coffee cups to tell U.S. lawmakers to come up with a deal to avoid going over the "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax hikes and government spending cuts. Chief Executive Howard Schultz is urging workers in Starbucks' roughly 120 Washington-area shops to write "come together" on customers' cups on Thursday and Friday, as President Barack Obama and lawmakers return to work and attempt to revive fiscal cliff negotiations that collapsed before the Christmas holiday. Whether members of Congress actually drink in the message is another matter. ... Full Story | Top |
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