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| Three men charged with undermining Boston bombing probe Wednesday, May 01, 2013 03:03 PM PDT  By Scott Malone, Tim McLaughlin and Ross Kerber BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. authorities on Wednesday charged three men with interfering with the investigation of the Boston Marathon bombing, saying they hid fireworks and a backpack belonging to one of the suspected bombers as a manhunt was under way. The three, two students from Kazakhstan and a U.S. citizen, were described as college friends of surviving bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19. They were not charged with direct involvement in the April 15 marathon bombings, which killed three people and injured 264. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU considers action, Pope weighs in, after Bangladesh disaster Wednesday, May 01, 2013 07:49 PM PDT  By Ruma Paul DHAKA (Reuters) - The European Union is considering trade action against Bangladesh, which has preferential access to EU markets for its garments, to pressure Dhaka to improve safety standards after a building collapse killed more than 400 factory workers. Pope Francis condemned the conditions of workers who died in the disaster as "slave labor", while in Dhaka several thousand workers rallied to mark Labour Day, some calling for capital punishment for those responsible for the tragedy. "The owner of the building ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Facebook's mobile business expands in first quarter Wednesday, May 01, 2013 06:15 PM PDT  By Alexei Oreskovic (Reuters) - Facebook Inc's mobile advertising revenue growth gained momentum in the first three months of the year as the social network sold more ads to users on smartphones and tablets, partially offsetting higher spending which weighed on profits. New types of ads designed for smartphones, particularly ads aimed at enticing Facebook users to install mobile apps on their phones, helped lift revenue while traffic to the social network remained strong. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fed holds steady on stimulus, worried by fiscal drag Wednesday, May 01, 2013 01:20 PM PDT  By Pedro da Costa and Alister Bull WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve said on Wednesday it will continue buying $85 billion in bonds each month to keep interest rates low and spur growth, and added it would step up purchases if needed to protect the economy. Expressing concern about a drag from Washington's belt-tightening, the Fed described the economy as expanding moderately in a statement that largely mirrored its last policy announcement in March. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama taps former lobbyist Wheeler as telecoms regulator Wednesday, May 01, 2013 04:55 PM PDT  By Alina Selyukh WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tom Wheeler, nominated by President Barack Obama on Wednesday to become the next U.S. communications regulator, is expected to face tough scrutiny from senators over his past close ties to the very industries he would oversee. For the past decade, Wheeler has been a venture capitalist investing in technology firms and a tech adviser for the White House and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). But he is best known in Washington as the chief lobbyist for the cable industry in the 1980s and the wireless industry in the 1990s. ... Full Story | Top |
| Companies hire less, manufacturing growth slows in April Wednesday, May 01, 2013 01:58 PM PDT  By Leah Schnurr NEW YORK (Reuters) - Companies hired the fewest employees in seven months in April while manufacturing growth slowed to a crawl, suggesting the economy has run into a soft patch as budget-cutting in Washington starts to bite. Businesses added 119,000 employees to payrolls last month, according to the ADP National Employment Report released on Wednesday, short of economists' expectations for 150,000 jobs and the smallest gain since last September. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: CIBC's Canada focus raises concerns as growth slows Wednesday, May 01, 2013 01:25 PM PDT  By Cameron French TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's remake from swashbuckling Wall Street player to low-risk Canada-focused lender has stabilized its earnings, but some shareholders now worry that the bank faces outsized exposure to an uncertain housing market. The bank's homebound approach - which CIBC trumpets as a road to reduced risk - is a direct result of previous U.S. forays that cost the bank billions following the 2001 tech meltdown and the 2008 subprime crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Letta wins French backing for focus on growth Wednesday, May 01, 2013 03:11 PM PDT  By James Mackenzie ROME (Reuters) - Italy's new prime minister Enrico Letta won French backing on Wednesday for calls to spur economic growth alongside budget rigor, but problems lay closer to home with coalition partners demanding tax cuts that would blow a hole in the budget. Letta, who took his message to Berlin on Tuesday, met French President Francois Hollande and said he was "100 percent satisfied" with the meeting and Hollande's response to his calls for Europe to start focusing on growth as well as consolidation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Armed protests in Libya threatening safety in capital Wednesday, May 01, 2013 10:24 AM PDT  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Armed protests targeting Libya's ministries and media in the capital this week have alarmed international observers who say deteriorating security conditions are becoming a matter of serious concern. Reporters without Borders said there was cause for "grave concern about recent violent attacks on Libyan journalists, whose safety conditions are deteriorating drastically" and called on the government to act. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkey investigates use of chemical weapons in Syria Wednesday, May 01, 2013 11:16 AM PDT  By Ece Toksabay REYHANLI, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkey is testing blood samples taken from Syrian casualties brought over the border from fighting in recent days to determine whether they were victims of a chemical weapons attack, local government and health officials said on Wednesday. The samples were sent to Turkey's forensic medicine institute after several Syrians with breathing difficulties were brought to a Turkish hospital on Monday in the town of Reyhanli in Hatay province along the Syrian border. ... Full Story | Top |
| Facebook's mobile business expands in first quarter Wednesday, May 01, 2013 02:02 PM PDT By Alexei Oreskovic (Reuters) - Facebook Inc's mobile advertising business continued to expand in the first three months of the year, but the social network's rising spending restrained profit growth. Shares of Facebook were up 11 cents at $27.54 in after-hours trading on Wednesday. Mobile ad revenue, which accounted for 30 percent of Facebook's ad revenue in the first quarter, was at the higher end of the range analysts expected, said Macquarie Research analyst Ben Schachter. But he said, "it needed to be higher for people to get really excited about trend lines. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU considers trade action after Bangladesh factory collapse Wednesday, May 01, 2013 12:11 PM PDT  By Ruma Paul DHAKA (Reuters) - The European Union is considering trade action against Bangladesh, which has preferential access to EU markets for its garments, to pressure Dhaka to improve safety standards after a building collapse killed more than 400 factory workers. Duty-free access offered by Western countries and low wages have helped turn Bangladesh's garment exports into a $19 billion a year industry, with 60 percent of clothes going to Europe. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Highfields Capital raises stake in Tim Hortons - source Wednesday, May 01, 2013 09:07 AM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Highfields Capital Management has increased its stake in Canadian coffee and doughnut chain Tim Hortons from 1.5 percent to around 4 percent this year, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters Wednesday. A Highfields spokeswoman declined to comment. A Tim Hortons spokesman was not immediately available for comment. Hedge fund Highfields Capital, which has a track record of bringing about change at other firms, wants Tim Hortons to boost returns through debt-funded share buybacks and a scaling back of U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thousands rally against European austerity on May Day Wednesday, May 01, 2013 09:18 AM PDT By Clare Kane MADRID (Reuters) - Workers hit by lower living standards and record high unemployment staged May Day protests across Europe on Wednesday, hoping to persuade their governments of the case for easing austerity measures and boosting growth. In the debt-laden euro zone countries of Spain, Greece, Italy and France tens of thousands of people took to the streets to demand jobs and an end to years of belt-tightening. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuelans hold rival May Day marches as vote dispute drags on Wednesday, May 01, 2013 12:17 PM PDT  By Diego Ore and Girish Gupta CARACAS (Reuters) - Opposition and government supporters flooded Venezuelan streets in rival May Day marches on Wednesday as a continuing dispute over the results of last month's presidential vote kept political tensions high in the OPEC nation. On Tuesday, opposition deputies were beaten in a fracas in Congress resulting from their refusal to recognize the presidency of Nicolas Maduro, who narrowly won the April 14 election triggered by the death of socialist leader Hugo Chavez. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. presses China to stop growing trade secret theft Wednesday, May 01, 2013 08:35 AM PDT  By Doug Palmer WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Trade Representative's office criticized China on Wednesday for failing to stop the growing theft of American trade secrets that are the lifeblood of U.S. economic might, in the latest sign of Washington's frustration with the problem. "Not only are repeated thefts occurring inside China, but also outside of China for the benefit of Chinese entities," USTR said in its annual report on countries with the worst records of protecting U.S. intellectual property rights. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bomb kills two teenagers near mall in Russia's Dagestan Wednesday, May 01, 2013 07:23 AM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - A bomb left in a bag exploded near a shopping mall in the capital of Russia's turbulent Dagestan Republic on Wednesday, killing two teenagers, the internal ministry said. Mainly Muslim Dagestan, in recent years the home of the parents of the two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing, has been affected by an Islamist insurgency for over a decade since a war in adjacent Chechnya, where Russian federal security forces forced Islamist separatists from power. ... Full Story | Top |
| Construction spending rate hits seven-month low Wednesday, May 01, 2013 07:05 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Construction spending dropped to a seven-month low in March as public outlays recorded their largest drop since 2006, which could cause the first-quarter economic growth estimate to be trimmed. Construction spending fell 1.7 percent to an annual rate of $856.72 billion, the lowest level since August, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. Spending had increased 1.5 percent in February. Economists polled by Reuters had expected construction spending to rise 0.7 percent in March. ... Full Story | Top |
| Berkshire buys rest of Israel's Iscar for $2.05 billion Wednesday, May 01, 2013 07:24 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Wednesday said it paid $2.05 billion cash to buy the 20 percent it did not already own of toolmaker Iscar from the Israeli company's founding Wertheimer family. Berkshire in 2006 bought an 80 percent stake in Iscar, a maker of metal cutting tools whose formal name is IMC International Metalworking Cos, for $4 billion. At the time, that purchase was one of the largest acquisitions involving an Israeli company, and Buffett's biggest bet outside the United States. Wednesday's purchase suggests that Iscar's value has since more than doubled. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sunni unrest revives fears of sectarian war in Iraq Wednesday, May 01, 2013 06:26 AM PDT  By Kamal Naama and Suadad al-Salhy RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - Wearing military fatigues with his cleric's turban, Sheikh Ali Muhaibes brought Friday prayers in Iraq's Sunni Muslim heartland to a climax with chilling words for the Shi'ite-led government. "If you want jihad, we're ready. If you want confrontation, we're ready. And if you want us to go to Baghdad, we're coming," he roared to the crowd in the western province of Anbar. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Letta faces early squeeze over anti-austerity drive Wednesday, May 01, 2013 06:52 AM PDT  By James Mackenzie ROME (Reuters) - Italy's new prime minister, Enrico Letta, is preaching an end to austerity while pledging to meet European Union debt targets and his fledgling coalition is already at odds over how to pay for cuts to an unpopular housing tax. Letta, who took his message to Berlin on Tuesday, is due to meet French President Francois Hollande later on Wednesday where he can expect a favorable hearing for his calls for Europe to start focusing on economic growth as well as budget rigor. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Rebel gains in southern Syria sharpen Jordan's dilemma Wednesday, May 01, 2013 06:07 AM PDT  By Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - The growing power of Islamist fighters in southern Syria is causing alarm in neighboring Jordan, which backs rebels battling President Bashar al-Assad but fears those linked to al Qaeda. Similar concerns among Syria's other neighbors, including Turkey and Israel, are complicating an already disjointed world response to the bloody turmoil at the heart of the Middle East. Jordan has allowed limited U.S. military training of rebels on its territory. ... Full Story | Top |
| At least 15 killed in Iraq bomb blasts Wednesday, May 01, 2013 05:10 AM PDT BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 15 people were killed in a series of bomb blasts across Iraq on Wednesday, police and medics said, following a sharp increase in violence that has prompted warnings of a full-blown sectarian conflict. Violence in Iraq has increased as the civil war in neighboring Syria puts a strain on fragile relations between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims. Tensions are at their highest in Iraq since U.S. troops pulled out more than a year ago. ... Full Story | Top |
| Myanmar forces restore order after latest anti-Muslim violence Wednesday, May 01, 2013 05:17 AM PDT  By Jared Ferrie KYAW BOI LAY, Myanmar (Reuters) - Hundreds of police and troops restored order in central Myanmar on Wednesday after a fresh outbreak of sectarian violence in which one man was killed after Buddhist mobs trashed property owned by Muslims following a minor street incident. In all, 10 people were injured in Oakkan and nearby villages, just 60 miles north of the commercial capital Yangon, and one died of a head wound, the deputy police commissioner of Yangon, Thet Lwin, told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Private sector job increase smallest since September: ADP Wednesday, May 01, 2013 05:56 AM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private-sector hiring slowed again in April as companies added the fewest employees in seven months, the latest sign the economy is encountering a soft patch, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday. Businesses added 119,000 employees to their payrolls last month, according to the ADP National Employment Report, falling short of economists' expectations for a gain of 150,000 jobs. It was the smallest gain since last September. March's private payrolls were revised down to an increase of 131,000 from the previously reported 158,000. ... Full Story | Top |
| Merck's Januvia diabetes drug lags, 2013 forecast cut Wednesday, May 01, 2013 05:40 AM PDT  By Ransdell Pierson (Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc reported disappointing first-quarter sales on a surprising downturn for its Januvia diabetes medicine, the company's biggest product and usual earnings driver, and the drugmaker cut its profit forecast for the full year. Shares of Merck fell 3.1 percent in premarket trading. The drugmaker's earnings beat forecasts for the quarter, thanks largely to a favorable tax rate, but the quarterly results were overshadowed by Januvia's plight. Merck reported net income of $1.59 billion, or 52 cents per share, compared with $1. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factory activity weakest in six months in April: Markit Wednesday, May 01, 2013 06:01 AM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Manufacturing growth pulled back to its slowest pace in six months in April as new orders and employment cooled, the latest signal the economy has hit a soft spot, a survey showed on Wednesday. Financial data firm Markit said its final Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) slipped to 52.1 from 54.6 in March. It was the lowest final reading since October. Still, that was a slight improvement from the preliminary reading of 52. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. The output index fell to 53.7 from 56.6, while new orders dropped to 51.5 from 55.4. ... Full Story | Top |
| Taliban kill senior peace envoy in south Afghanistan Wednesday, May 01, 2013 03:14 AM PDT KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Taliban fighters killed a senior member of Afghanistan's peace council on Wednesday, officials said, dealing another blow to nascent peace efforts with the insurgency. President Hamid Karzai formed a 70-member High Peace Council in 2010 in a bid to reach a peace settlement with the insurgents, but little has been achieved, with the Taliban saying they will not talk with the Afghan government. ... Full Story | Top |
| China says U.S. should watch Japanese nationalism Wednesday, May 01, 2013 03:57 AM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States should be just as concerned as other countries about a rise in Japanese nationalism, China's ambassador to Washington said, hinting that the United States should not offer Japan encouragement in its dispute with China over a group of islets. China and Japan are involved in an increasingly bitter stand-off over the uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, called Senkaku by Japan and Diaoyu by China, which lie atop of possibly large energy reserves. Beijing last month protested a voyage by 10 boats carrying Japanese activists into waters near the islands. ... Full Story | Top |
| China factory PMI raises doubts about economy's strength Wednesday, May 01, 2013 01:06 AM PDT  By Langi Chiang and Jonathan Standing BEIJING (Reuters) - Growth in China's manufacturing sector unexpectedly slowed in April as new export orders fell, raising fresh doubts about the strength of the economy after a disappointing first quarter. The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 50.6 in April from an 11-month high in March of 50.9. Analysts had expected the April PMI to be 51.0. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Peru rolling back indigenous law in win for mining sector Wednesday, May 01, 2013 03:38 AM PDT  By Mitra Taj and Teresa Cespedes LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's mining minister is winning a crucial cabinet battle by swaying President Ollanta Humala to water down a law that gives indigenous groups more say over new mines and oil projects - and a deputy minister will likely resign in protest. According to half a dozen people with direct knowledge of the internal tug-of-war, Mines and Energy Minister Jorge Merino has prevailed in excluding Quechua-speaking communities in the mineral-rich Andes from being covered by the law. ... Full Story | Top |
| What could U.N. sleuths unearth at Iran's Parchin base? Wednesday, May 01, 2013 10:01 AM PDT  By Fredrik Dahl SEIBERSDORF, Austria (Reuters) - The self-styled "Sherlock Holmeses" of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, now seeking access to a major Iranian base, say they have the capability to find tiny traces of atomic material at a site even if a country were to try to cover it up. In talks later this month, the International Atomic Energy Agency will once again press Tehran to allow its inspectors to visit Iran's sprawling Parchin military complex. That would enable them to bring back swab samples for thorough checks at the IAEA's high-tech laboratory near Vienna. ... Full Story | Top |
| China's emotional ties to North Korea run deep in border city Wednesday, May 01, 2013 01:15 AM PDT  By Ben Blanchard DANDONG, China (Reuters) - Peering at graphic pictures of supposed U.S. biological warfare efforts during the 1950-53 Korean War, Zhang Ping tugs on the sleeve of a visiting foreign reporter to complain about the barbarism visited on his compatriots during the conflict. "Too terrible, those Americans," he mutters, standing at a war museum on the Chinese side of the North Korean border, pointing out the pictures of infected animals and insects which China and North Korea say the United States dropped to poison their enemies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tsarnaev homeland Chechnya: rebuilt from war, ruled by fear Wednesday, May 01, 2013 03:37 AM PDT  By Maria Golovnina GROZNY, Russia (Reuters) - When it was last in the international spotlight, Chechnya was in ruins, its capital Grozny reduced to dust by the deadliest artillery and air onslaught in Europe since World War Two. Today, when the naming of two Chechens as suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings has put it back on the world's front pages, Chechnya appears almost miraculously reborn. The streets have been rebuilt. Walls riddled with bullet holes are long gone. New high rise buildings soar into the sky. Spotless playgrounds are packed with children. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pakistan military angered by treatment of Musharraf: reports Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 10:19 PM PDT  By Michael Georgy ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's powerful army chief has suggested the military is unhappy with how authorities have treated former army chief and president Pervez Musharraf since his return from exile. A Pakistani court on Tuesday imposed a lifetime ban on Musharraf from contesting elections, undermining his efforts to regain influence by winning a seat in parliament. The former army chief returned in March after nearly four years of self-imposed exile to contest a May 11 general election, but election officers disqualified him because of court cases pending against him. ... Full Story | Top |
| Accused Colorado gunman's lawyers may enter insanity plea over his objections Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 10:23 PM PDT  By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - Lawyers for accused Colorado theater gunman James Holmes are questioning the constitutionality of the state's insanity defense law, court records released on Tuesday show, and raising the possibility that they may enter an insanity plea over his objections. Public defenders for Holmes, 25, said in a filing that there is "significant uncertainty and confusion" in Colorado law surrounding an insanity defense in the context of a case where prosecutors are seeking capital punishment. ... Full Story | Top |
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