Thursday, October 31, 2013

Daily News: Reuters Business News Headlines - Walmart kicks off online holiday deals early in intense season

Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 09:09 PM PDT
Today's Reuters Business News Headlines - Yahoo! News:

Walmart kicks off online holiday deals early in intense season 
Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 09:09 PM PDT
A Wal-Mart Stores Inc company distribution center in BentonvilleBy Dhanya Skariachan NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. retailers facing the shortest holiday season in years are preparing to assail customers with deals and promotions this week, before they have even digested their Halloween candy. U.S. retailers have traditionally kicked off the all-important holiday shopping season on or the day after Thanksgiving and saved some of their best online deals for "Cyber Monday," the Monday after Thanksgiving when workers return to offices and use computers to make holiday purchases. This year, the holiday falls on November 28 and a result there are six fewer shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, prompting many retailers to jump the gun on incentives. Some analysts say the holiday season, which typically accounts for the lions' share of most retailers' annual revenue, will be the most heavily discounted in years as competition for shrinking budgets ramps up.
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Sony suffers TV relapse as Japan peers change channel 
Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 08:38 PM PDT
Logos of Sony Corp. are seen at an electronics store in TokyoBy Sophie Knight TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp CEO Kazuo Hirai's determination to stick to the consumer electronics that made the company's fame will be put to the test in the months ahead as domestic rivals step up a shift to more profitable industrial technology. Meanwhile Panasonic Corp raised its earnings forecast on strong sales of products like batteries to industry clients, and Sharp Corp bounced to its first quarterly net profit in two years, helped by sales of solar panels. Since Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai took the helm last year, Sony has promised a rebound in hardware with a three-pronged strategy focused on mobile devices, imaging technology and gaming. But the below-expectations performance in the second quarter stirred doubts about how Sony can anchor a turnaround by reviving fervor among consumers who now covet goods like Apple's iPad and Samsung's Galaxy smartphone.
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Asia factory sector upbeat, led by China 
Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 08:22 PM PDT
Employee stands next to coils of steel inside a factory in DalianAsian manufacturing activity picked up in October led by China, where factory sector growth hit its fastest pace in 18 months off the back of new orders, purchasing managers' reports showed on Friday. The surveys provide a more upbeat view of world demand following a month in which a political standoff in Washington over the U.S. debt ceiling and the sixth straight cut in IMF global economic forecasts had raised fresh concerns about the health of the global economy. China's official purchasing managers index (PMI) rose to 51.4 in October, up from 51.1 in September and above expectations for a reading of 51.2. "With global demand momentum likely to pick up gradually and domestic demand growth remaining solid, we expect GDP growth to comfortably exceed the government's bottom line in the coming quarters," Louis Kuijs, an economist at RBS, said of the China PMI in a client note.
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Venezuelan leader says construction workers see Chavez apparition 
Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 08:13 PM PDT
Venezuela's President Maduro shows a picture of a metro tunnel wall with an image which he says is the face of late President Chavez, in CaracasBy Andrew Cawthorne CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said an image of his political idol and predecessor, the late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, had appeared miraculously in the wall of an underground construction site. In the latest of a series of accusations since taking office in April, Maduro also accused U.S.-based social network Twitter of colluding with his foes in a "massive attack" on his and other prominent government members' accounts.
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Syria meets deadline to destroy chemical production facilities 
Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 07:42 PM PDT
U.N. vehicles transporting a team of OPCW experts, leave their hotel in DamascusBy Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria has destroyed or rendered inoperable all of its declared chemical weapons production and mixing facilities, meeting a major deadline in an ambitious disarmament program, the international chemical weapons watchdog said Thursday. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which won the Nobel Peace prize this month, said its teams had inspected 21 out of 23 chemical weapons sites across the country. Syria "has completed the functional destruction of critical equipment for all of its declared chemical weapons production facilities and mixing/filling plants, rendering them inoperable," it said, meeting a November 1 deadline for the work. The next target date is November 15, by when the OPCW and Syria must agree to a detailed plan of destruction, including how and where to destroy more than 1,000 metric tonnes of toxic agents and munitions.
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Asian shares sag, dollar rises on upbeat U.S. data 
Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 07:38 PM PDT
A visitor walks past logos at the TSE in TokyoBy Lisa Twaronite TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares sagged on Friday though upbeat signals on China's manufacturing activity limited losses, while the dollar pushed higher after upbeat U.S. data led some investors to price-in a less dovish stance at the U.S. Federal Reserve. China's manufacturing sector grew at the fastest in 18 months in October, with the official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rising to 51.4 last month from September's 51.1, beating economists' consensus forecast of 51.2. The final HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 50.9, up from 50.2 in September and unchanged from a preliminary flash estimate released last week. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell about 0.2 percent, while Australian shares gave up 0.2 percent, but still remained just shy of five-year highs.
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China final HSBC PMI rises to 50.9 in October 
Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 07:06 PM PDT
An employee works inside a steel factory in CaofeidianChina's giant manufacturing sector grew at its fastest rate in seven months in October, buoyed by new export orders, a private survey showed on Friday, adding to signs that the economy is stabilizing in the run up to a key government meeting on economic reform. China's official PMI released earlier in the day put manufacturing growth at 51.4, the highest in 18 months. The official PMI is weighted more towards bigger and state owned enterprises and tends to produce more favorable results than the private survey, which focuses more on smaller and private sector firms The HSBC survey showed a surprise jump in new export orders to 51.3, up from the initial reading of 50.8.
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Banksy's latest prank on New York art world hangs in thrift shop 
Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 07:06 PM PDT
An installation by British graffiti artist Banksy is pictured in the Bronx section of New YorkBy Elizabeth Dilts NEW YORK (Reuters) - The renegade graffiti artist Banksy snubbed the art world again on Tuesday when he dropped off one of his paintings at a New York City thrift store. The Housing Works thrift store, part of a chain that sells donated knickknacks to fund charities for AIDS and the homeless, began auctioning the Banksy original for $74,000 on Tuesday. "It could go for as high as a million dollars or even higher because there's so much buzz about," said Elizabeth von Habsburg, managing director at the art appraisal firm Winston Art Group. The auction ends Thursday night and Von Habsburg, who has a client that collects Banksy works, said she expects the painting to sell for $600,000 to $1 million.
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Santa Monica sues for control over historic California airport 
Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 07:05 PM PDT
By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The city of Santa Monica filed a lawsuit on Thursday to wrest control of its municipal airport from the federal government, marking the latest chapter in a decades-long dispute over the future of the historic general aviation hub. Filed against the Federal Aviation Administration in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, the suit comes weeks after the fiery crash-landing of a small business jet killed four people and reignited a debate over safety at the 86-year-old facility. Critics of the airport, where various Hollywood celebrities and show business executives keep their private planes, seized on the September 29 wreck as a wake-up call to hazards they say the facility poses to densely populated surrounding communities. The crash occurred about 150 feet from homes nearest the airport in the seaside town west of Los Angeles.
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Senate panel passes plan to restrict but keep mass surveillance 
Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 06:28 PM PDT
An undated aerial handout photo shows the National Security Agency (NSA) headquarters building in Fort Meade, MarylandBy Patricia Zengerle and Joseph Menn WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate Intelligence Committee approved legislation on Thursday that would tighten controls on the government's sweeping electronic eavesdropping programs but allow them to continue. In a classified hearing, the panel voted 11-4 for a measure that puts new limits on what intelligence agencies can do with bulk communications records and imposes a five-year limit on how long they can be retained. Despite growing national concern about surveillance, the "FISA Improvements Act" would not eliminate programs that became public this year after former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden leaked documents describing how the government collects far more internet and telephone data than previously known. "The NSA call-records program is legal and subject to extensive congressional and judicial oversight, and I believe it contributes to our national security.
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Enrollment in Obamacare very small in first days: documents 
Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 06:16 PM PDT
Janet Perez oversees specialists help callers with health insurance, at a customer care center in Providence, Rhode IslandBy Susan Cornwell and David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Enrollment in health insurance plans on the troubled Obamacare website was very small in the first couple of days of operation, with just 248 Americans signing up, according to documents released on Thursday by a U.S. House of Representatives committee. The Obama administration has said it cannot provide enrollment figures from HealthCare.gov because it doesn't have the numbers. The federal website, where residents of 36 states can buy new healthcare plans under President Barack Obama's law, was launched on October 1. "We do not have any reliable data around enrollment, which is why we haven't given it to date," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told lawmakers on Wednesday.
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Fannie Mae sues nine banks for rigging Libor 
Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 06:14 PM PDT
A view shows the Fannie Mae logo at its headquarters in WashingtonBy Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fannie Mae sued nine of the world's largest banks on Thursday, accusing them of colluding to manipulate interest rates and seeking more than $800 million of damages. In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the government-controlled mortgage company accused the banks of conspiring for many years to suppress Libor, or the London Interbank Offered Rate, including during the 2008 financial crisis. Libor underpins hundreds of trillions of dollars of transactions, and is used to set interest rates on such things as credit cards, student loans and mortgages. But according to Thursday's 71-page lawsuit, "defendants' promises and representations regarding the legitimacy of Libor were false," causing Fannie Mae to lose money on swaps, mortgages, mortgage securities and other transactions.
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U.S. Navy cancels notice on possible F/A-18 fighter jet order 
Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 06:06 PM PDT
A U.S. Navy F/A 18 Hornet aircraft prepares its tailhook to catch an arresting wire in a landing maneuver during a tour of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier on patrol in the South China SeaBy Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy on Thursday canceled a notice about a possible order of up to 36 more Boeing Co F/A-18 fighter jets or EA-18G electronic warfare planes after the posting on a federal procurement website sparked confusion this week. Boeing has sought for years to sell the Navy more of its F/A-18E/F Super Hornets for use on aircraft carriers, as a hedge in case the more capable carrier variant of the F-35 fighter jet runs into further delays or technical challenges. Navy officials this week said they had no plans to buy more Super Hornets or EA-18G Growlers in fiscal 2015 despite the notice on a federal procurement website.
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Mayor in Hawaii vetoes measure curbing pesticides, GMO crops 
Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 06:00 PM PDT
By Christopher D'Angelo LIHUE, Hawaii (Reuters) - The mayor of the tropical island of Kauai, Hawaii, vetoed a measure on Thursday that reins in pesticide use by agricultural companies and limits where they can plant genetically modified crops, saying the bill was "legally flawed." The Kauai County Council voted 6-1 on October 16 in favor of the bill that would require buffer zones around schools, hospitals and homes where no crops can be grown and limits pesticide use. Kauai County Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said in a statement that while he agrees with the intent of the bill, he is not going to allow it to go into effect. This latest twist comes after months of protests by islanders and mainland U.S. groups who want to see a range of broad controls on the global agrichemical companies that have found Kauai's tropical climate ideal for year-round testing of new biotech crops. Among those testing biotech crops on Hawaii's "Garden Isle," as Kauai is known, are DuPont, Syngenta AG, BASF, and Dow AgroSciences, a division of Dow Chemical Co. Kauai Coffee, the largest coffee grower in Hawaii, also opposed the measure.
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Peru's Humala swears in fourth prime minister, retains finance minister 
Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 05:59 PM PDT
Peru's President Humala greets new Prime Minister Villanueva during the swearing-in ceremony of new members of his cabinet at the government palace in LimaPeru's President Ollanta Humala swore in a widely praised regional politician as his fourth prime minister in a Cabinet reshuffle on Thursday, but retained his finance minister despite rumors he might quit. The new prime minister, Cesar Villanueva, has twice been elected president of the northern Amazonian region of San Martin and is affiliated with center-left parties. In his first interview after being sworn in, Villanueva said he supports the free-market economic policies that have been in place for years in Peru. "The major lines have been drawn," Villanueva, 67, said on the state television channel.
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