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Illinois Senate defeats sweeping pension reform bill Thursday, May 30, 2013 09:08 PM PDT SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (Reuters) - The Illinois Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly defeated a sweeping reform of the state's sinking public pension system, leaving scant time for maneuvering with the Democrat-controlled legislature set to adjourn late on Friday. Senators voted 16-42 against the measure, which was approved by the House of Representatives this month. The bill was championed by House Speaker Michael Madigan as the best way to curb Illinois' nearly $100 billion unfunded pension liability. ... Full Story | Top |
Asian shares, Nikkei recover as soft U.S. data sees QE staying on Thursday, May 30, 2013 08:54 PM PDT By Chikako Mogi TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares recovered but the dollar stayed pressured on Friday after lackluster U.S. data eased concerns about an early end to the Federal Reserve's strong stimulus program which has sharpened investor appetite for risk. Global markets rose overnight as U.S. GDP grew a slightly less-than-expected annualized 2.4 percent in the first quarter, new jobless benefits claims rose in the latest week, and pending home sales grew far less than expected in April, pointing to a fragile economy which still requires support from monetary policy. ... Full Story | Top |
Tornadoes in Oklahoma, Arkansas injure at least five Thursday, May 30, 2013 08:33 PM PDT By Suzi Parker LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - Severe storms spawned a dozen reported tornadoes in Oklahoma and Arkansas on Thursday, injuring at least five people and sending residents scrambling for cover 10 days after a powerful twister killed 24 people in Oklahoma. In western Arkansas, two people were injured in a tornado near Oden that destroyed a house and downed power lines. Three others were injured in a storm north of Amity, Arkansas, the state emergency management department said. One tornado warning included Cushing, Oklahoma, a critical hub for the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
Wall Street ends up on optimism, Fed stimulus to remain Thursday, May 30, 2013 07:55 PM PDT By Angela Moon NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Thursday, rebounding from the previous session's losses, as tepid economic data eased concerns the Federal Reserve would begin to gradually scale back its policy of stimulating growth. The day's gain put the S&P 500 on track to end the month about 3.6 percent higher, while the Dow was up 3.3 percent for the month so far. The Nasdaq was up 4.9 percent. Stocks have been volatile recently and closely tied to alternating views of the future of the Fed's loose monetary policy. ... Full Story | Top |
P&G to regroup products into four sectors - WSJ Thursday, May 30, 2013 07:17 PM PDT (Reuters) - Procter & Gamble Co is working to regroup its countless products and brands into four sectors, each led by a president reporting to chief executive A.G. Lafley, who returned to the helm last week, the Wall Street Journal reported. The elevation of four executives to the new roles would publicly identify candidates most likely to succeed Lafley, who is expected to step aside in two or three years, the Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter. (http://link.reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
Media editors say U.S. attorney general to change investigations Thursday, May 30, 2013 06:44 PM PDT By Susan Heavey and David Ingram WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told media editors on Thursday that he would change the way the Justice Department handles investigations that involve reporters and not repeat searches that have raised concerns about freedom of the press, the editors said. After a meeting that other media outlets boycotted because of its secrecy, the editors who did attend said they were encouraged by officials' expressions of regret, though one said the Justice Department still has a long way to go to understand how journalists work. ... Full Story | Top |
Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj leaving 'American Idol' Thursday, May 30, 2013 06:18 PM PDT By Eric Kelsey LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop singer Mariah Carey and rapper Nicki Minaj will leave "American Idol" after just one season as judges on the singing contest show, following on the heels of longtime judge Randy Jackson who left amid a TV ratings slump. "Thank you American Idol for a life changing experience! Wouldn't trade it for the world! Time to focus on the Music!!!" Minaj said on her Twitter page on Wednesday. Carey's departure was also announced on Twitter by her public relations firm PMK BNC, which said the singer "says goodbye 2 idol" as she prepared to embark on a world ... Full Story | Top |
Analysis: Dividend stocks lose shine as U.S. bond yields rise Thursday, May 30, 2013 06:08 PM PDT By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) - As the S&P 500 stormed to a gain of 16 percent for the first five months of the year, the run was fueled by investors searching for yield. With central banks driving interest rates lower, slower-growth sectors with big dividends like utilities and telecom were attractive because they offered better returns over government debt along with the possibility of price appreciation. Those sectors led stocks higher for several months - but that outperformance appears to have come to an end as U.S. Treasury bond yields climbed to 13-month highs this week. ... Full Story | Top |
CA-BUSINESS Summary Thursday, May 30, 2013 05:50 PM PDT TSX ends higher as gold shares jump; RBC falls TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index climbed on Thursday as gold mining stocks, which jumped with bullion prices, offset a decline in Royal Bank of Canada after the lender reported quarterly results. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index unofficially closed up 13.94 points, or 0.11 percent, at 12,746.55. Five of the 10 main sectors on the index were higher. ... Full Story | Top |
Sharks worth more for tourism than in soup: study Thursday, May 30, 2013 05:49 PM PDT By Environment Correspondent Alister Doyle OSLO (Reuters) - Sharks swimming free in the oceans may soon become more valuable as tourist attractions than when caught, sliced up and served in soup, a global study showed on Friday. It urged better protection for the fish, from Australia to the Caribbean, to reduce catches of an estimated 38 million a year to meet demand for shark fin soup, mainly in China. "We are hoping that people will recognize that sharks are not only valuable on the plate," lead author Andres Cisneros-Montemayor of the University of British Columbia in Canada said. ... Full Story | Top |
Japan deflation ebbs, output up; Bank of Japan target still elusive Thursday, May 30, 2013 05:49 PM PDT By Tetsushi Kajimoto and Kaori Kaneko TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's factory output picked up in April and deflation abated slightly as a weaker yen and firmer overseas demand boosted growth, boding well for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's efforts to shake the world's third-largest economy out of nearly two decades of stagnation. But core consumer prices continued to fall and manufacturers forecast further weakness ahead, government data showed on Friday, underscoring the challenges the Bank of Japan, under new Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, faces in meeting its 2-percent inflation target. ... Full Story | Top |
Oprah Winfrey tells Harvard graduates to learn from mistakes Thursday, May 30, 2013 05:47 PM PDT By Daniel Lovering CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - Talk show host, entrepreneur and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey used the struggles of her television network on Thursday to try to inspire Harvard graduates, saying they were armed with more tools of empowerment than any generation in history. In a commencement address at the Ivy League school outside Boston, Winfrey told the graduates that they were bound to stumble no matter how high they might rise, but that "there is no such thing as failure — failure is just life trying to move us in another direction. ... Full Story | Top |
Disney, Jerry Bruckheimer sued over 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise Thursday, May 30, 2013 05:36 PM PDT By Tim Kenneally LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Could Disney have done a little plundering of its own when coming up with the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie franchise? The company has been hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit by a man who claims that he came up with numerous elements of the hugely successful "Pirates" film series, including characters, supernatural elements, storylines, plots, themes, sequence structures and screenplay elements, according to court documents obtained by TheWrap. In the suit, filed in U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
Judge approves $19.5 million Dewey mismanagement settlement Thursday, May 30, 2013 05:36 PM PDT By Casey Sullivan (Reuters) - A New York federal judge on Thursday approved a settlement that requires the insurer and former chairman of defunct law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf to pay $19.5 million to resolve claims with a trustee that leaders mismanaged the firm. Dewey once employed more than 1,200 lawyers in 26 offices worldwide, but last May it became the largest U.S. law firm to file for bankruptcy. Its demise has been largely attributed to compensation guarantees the firm made to a significant portion of its partners. The $19. ... Full Story | Top |
Oprah Winfrey should dump Tyler Perry because of racial stereotypes, petition demands Thursday, May 30, 2013 05:32 PM PDT By Tim Kenneally LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Madea goes bye-bye? A new petition published on Change.org is demanding that Oprah Winfrey's network remove Winfrey's friend and business partner Tyler Perry from OWN's airwaves, claiming that Perry "perpetuates stereotypes" about the black community. Or, as the petition puts it more whimsically, Perry "is 'malt liquor' for the community!" Perry's new series, "The Haves and the Have Nots," premiered Tuesday night on OWN to record breaking ratings. ... Full Story | Top |
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