| | |
| Delhi's rubble-strewn Connaught Place mirrors ruling party's election struggle Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 07:46 PM PST  By Frank Jack Daniel NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The broken paving stones and exposed cables that mar the neo-Georgian grandeur of India's prime shopping precinct give a glimpse into why the ruling Congress party might struggle to hold on to the capital Delhi in a local election on Wednesday. Work is still unfinished on a costly face lift to Connaught Place that was meant to showcase Delhi to the world for the 2010 Commonwealth Games and businesses located in what is some of the world's most costly office real estate are furious. The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is hopeful a widespread perception that government corruption and incompetence is to blame for shambles like Connaught Place's facelift will feed into voter anger at high prices and unsafe streets, and help it unseat Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit after 15-years in office. Full Story | Top |
| Venezuelan president says he has proof blackout was sabotage Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 07:40 PM PST  By Daniel Wallis and Deisy Buitrago CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday he had proof that a massive power outage was caused by saboteurs aiming to throw the country into chaos before municipal elections this weekend. The blackout on Monday night was the second major power outage the year, plunging much of the country into darkness and prompting accusations of government incompetence from the opposition. Speaking on state TV alongside Electricity Minister Jesse Chacon and other officials, Maduro briefly showed a photo of what appeared to be a cut conductor cable lying on the floor. "Whoever made this criminal attack wanted to leave our Venezuela without electricity for 24 to 48 hours ... thinking that would convince people not to continue with the revolution." Maduro's combative rhetoric echoed his allegations in September, when he also accused the opposition of sabotaging the national grid to discredit him after a blackout that was one of the worst in the OPEC nation's history. Full Story | Top |
| Washington state ex-campaign director sentenced for embezzlement Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 07:35 PM PST By Jonathan Kaminsky OLYMPIA, Washington (Reuters) - The former head of a Democratic Party fundraising committee in Washington state has been sentenced to over a year in prison for embezzling in excess of $300,000 in campaign contributions to feed an alcohol-fueled gambling habit, prosecutors said on Tuesday. Michael King, 32, pleaded guilty in October to four counts of first-degree theft and four counts of second-degree theft. He concealed the theft from the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee in part by reporting it as a series of phony reimbursements for political polling, according to court documents. King County Superior Court Judge John Erlick sentenced King to just over one year in prison to be followed upon his release by an equal term in community custody, the state's version of parole. Full Story | Top |
| Asian shares retreat as Fed taper talk returns Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 07:31 PM PST  By Hideyuki Sano TOKYO (Reuters) - Most Asian shares slumped on Wednesday as the prospects of a reduction in the U.S. Federal Reserve's stimulus early next year prompted investors to cash in gains from their recent rallies. That retreat, which came after European shares had suffered their biggest falls since August, stemmed from profit-taking ahead of Friday's U.S. job data, but also reflected worries about the Fed's exit from its asset purchase scheme. "I think financial markets have already priced in an eventual tapering in the Fed's stimulus. QE1 and QE2 refer to the Fed's previous episodes of massive asset purchasing, or quantitative easing, the first in 2008-2010 and the second in 2010-11. Full Story | Top |
| HTC 'One Mini' faces UK ban after court ruling on patent infringement Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 07:31 PM PST  LONDON/TAIPEI (Reuters) - HTC Corp will have to stop selling its One Mini smartphone in Britain from December 6 after a British court ruled the Taiwanese company had infringed patents owned by Finnish rival Nokia. Justice Richard Arnold of the England and Wales High Court on Tuesday granted Nokia a final injunction to stop HTC from continuing to infringe upon a European Patent held by Nokia related to mobile phone microchips. The judge had ruled in October that HTC's One phone contained the microchips. HTC, responding to the lawsuit, said on Wednesday it would appeal the ruling. Full Story | Top |
| Biden won't make headway in China if he repeats 'erroneous' remarks: paper Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 07:01 PM PST  By Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden should not expect to make much progress in defusing tensions over the East China Sea if he plans to repeat "erroneous and one-sided remarks" on the issue when he visits China, a top state-run paper said on Wednesday. Beijing's decision to declare an air defense identification zone in an area that includes disputed islands has triggered protests from the United States, Japan and South Korea and dominated Biden's talks in Tokyo on Tuesday. The United States has made clear it will stand by treaty obligations that require it to defend the Japanese-controlled islands, but it is also reluctant to get dragged into any military clash between rivals Japan and China. Biden is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Vice President Li Yuanchao in Beijing on Wednesday before flying to Seoul later in the week. Full Story | Top |
| Michael Jackson's family to seek new trial in wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 06:40 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The family of late singer Michael Jackson has filed court documents indicating they plan to seek a new trial in a wrongful death lawsuit against concert promoter AEG, after a Los Angeles jury cleared the company of liability in October. Attorneys for Jackson's mother Katherine, 83, and his three children filed court documents in citing misconduct of the jury and insufficient evidence among the reasons for the pending request for a new trial. ... Full Story | Top |
| After healthcare website woes, Obama turns to economic agenda Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 06:29 PM PST  By Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Looking to bolster his support after a rocky couple of months, President Barack Obama will speak out on income inequality and economic mobility, issues likely to resonate with his core supporters, in a speech on Wednesday. Obama's speech in one of Washington's lowest-income districts is seen as his chance to swing the focus back to the struggles of the poor and middle class. "The president has said that this is the defining issue of our time - making sure our economy works for every working American — and that the decisions we make over the next few years will determine whether or not our children will grow up in an America where if you work hard, you can get ahead," a White House official said. Obama is to make his address at the Town Hall Education Arts and Recreation Campus, a community facility situated across the Anacostia River from the Capitol. Full Story | Top |
| Texas executes inmate who killed guard in escape attempt Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 06:13 PM PST By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Texas executed by lethal injection on Tuesday a man convicted of slamming a pickup truck into a mounted correctional officer in a prison escape attempt in 2007, knocking her off the horse and killing her. Jerry Martin, 43, was pronounced dead at 6:27 p.m. U.S. Central Time (0027 GMT on Wednesday) at a state prison in Huntsville, Texas, according to a spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Full Story | Top |
| Vatican refuses to share sex abuse investigations with U.N. panel Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 06:04 PM PST  The Vatican refused to provide a United Nations rights panel with information on the Church's internal investigations into the sexual abuse of children by clergy, saying on Tuesday that its policy was to keep such cases confidential. In response to a series of tough questions posed by the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Holy See said it would not release information on its internal investigations into abuse cases unless required to do so by a request from a state or government to cooperate in legal proceedings. The response of the Holy See, which will be directly questioned by the panel in January 2014, will be closely watched as it tries to draw a line under financial scandals and abuse by priests that have damaged the standing of the Roman Catholic Church around the world. In its response the Vatican said internal disciplinary proceedings "are not open to the public" in order to protect "witnesses, the accused and the integrity of the Church process", but said this should not discourage victims from reporting crimes to state authorities. Full Story | Top |
| China services industry growth steady in November: HSBC PMI Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 05:55 PM PST  China's services industry grew at a steady pace in November, a private survey showed on Wednesday, a further indication of strength in the world's second-largest economy as the government embarks on a sweeping restructuring drive. The HSBC/Markit services PMI stood at 52.5 in November, little changed from October's 52.6 and above the 50 line that separates expansion from contraction. On Tuesday a government PMI survey of the services industry showed growth holding near a one-year high. "Service sectors maintained a steady pace of growth in November, translating into the third consecutive month of employment expansion," said Hongbin Qu, chief economist for China at HSBC. Full Story | Top |
| Illinois lawmakers pass long-awaited pension reform Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 05:40 PM PST  By Joanne von Alroth and Karen Pierog SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (Reuters) - Illinois' Democratic-controlled legislature on Tuesday passed a landmark pension reform bill, choosing to address the state's crumbling finances over strong public labor union opposition to cuts in retirement benefits. The bill addresses problems that have built up over decades in the nation's worst-funded state pension system, which is underfunded by $100 billion. The vote comes despite union threats to challenge pension reform in state court, based on claims it would violate a state constitution provision that guards against cuts to pension benefits. It now heads to Governor Pat Quinn, who told reporters he hopes to sign the bill into law soon, although it will not take effect until June. Full Story | Top |
| Britain to tackle 'Islamist extremism' after soldier's murder Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 05:37 PM PST  By Andrew Osborn SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Britain plans to classify "Islamist extremism" as a distinct ideology, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday, as part the government's response to the murder of a soldier on a busy London street. A court heard that one of them said it was an "eye for an eye" and revenge for what they considered to be Britain's wars against Muslims. "These tragedies were a wakeup call for government and wider society to take action to confront extremism in all its forms, whether in our communities, schools, prisons, Islamic centers or universities." "Islamist extremism" would, for the first time, be classified as a distinct ideology to guard against it being confused with traditional religious practice, he said. The new definition would make it clear that "Islamist extremism" was a distorted interpretation of Islam that betrayed the religion's principles and tried to sow division. Full Story | Top |
| Texas executes inmate who killed guard in prison escape attempt Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 05:35 PM PST AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Texas executed by lethal injection on Tuesday a man convicted of slamming a pickup truck into a mounted correctional officer in a prison escape attempt in 2007, knocking her off the horse and killing her. Jerry Martin, 43, was pronounced dead at 6:27 p.m. U.S. Central Time (2427 GMT) at a state prison in Huntsville, Texas, according to a spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz, Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis) Full Story | Top |
| Miami suburb sued for aggressive police tactics, racial profiling Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 05:34 PM PST The mayor and police department of a predominantly black Miami suburb have been hit with a federal civil rights lawsuit over allegations of aggressive police tactics, including stop-and-frisk searches and arbitrary arrests, targeting African Americans. The lawsuit against the city of Miami Gardens, filed on Friday in U.S. District Court, alleges a long history of police abuse and racial profiling in the crime-plagued suburb on the northern outskirts of Miami. The 11 plaintiffs named in the lawsuit are led by Ali Amin Saleh, a Latin American man of Middle Eastern descent who is identified as having been the owner since 1999 of a convenience store in Miami Gardens that was subjected to frequent police searches. Full Story | Top |
| Illinois Senate advances incentive bill to keep ADM headquarters Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 05:33 PM PST By Mary Wisniewski CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Illinois Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would offer incentives for Archer Daniels Midland Co to keep its global headquarters in Illinois. ADM has been the dominant corporate presence in the central Illinois city of Decatur for 44 years. Its disclosure in September that it was seeking a new global headquarters shook Decatur and brought other cities, including Chicago, into a contest to land a new corporate nameplate. In exchange, ADM would locate its global headquarters in Chicago, moving 100 jobs there, while also adding 100 jobs a year in Decatur over 5 years. Full Story | Top |
| Japan readies $182 billion economic package, no new debt needed: sources Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 05:20 PM PST  By Takaya Yamaguchi TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is readying a $182 billion economic package this week in his latest bid to pull the economy out of deflation, but the new measures will not require the government to sell more debt. The headline figure usually announced by the Japanese government on economic measures often includes spending that has already been committed, and tends to far exceed the amount of actual new government spending. Full Story | Top |
| Four California students sickened with meningitis bacteria Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 05:08 PM PST An outbreak of meningococcal disease has sickened four students at a major California university, prompting discussions with federal regulators about using a vaccine approved for use in Europe but not in the United States. The students, at the University of California at Santa Barbara, were all sickened within a three-week period last month with the disease, a sometimes fatal illness that can affect the brain or the blood, according to a spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara County Department of Public Health. They were stricken by a form of the bacteria that does not respond to the meningitis vaccine currently approved for use in the United States, said the spokeswoman, Susan Klein-Rothschild. A vaccine known to be effective against this form of meningitis is approved for use in Europe, and Santa Barbara public health officials were in discussions with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about using it to protect students at the California university. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. surgeon general says Healthcare.gov making progress Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 04:57 PM PST By Daniel Lovering CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - The acting U.S. surgeon general said on Tuesday he was "enthusiastic" about the recent improvements to the troubled HealthCare.gov website, which was designed to allow users to shop for health insurance required under new reforms. Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak, who has been acting as the surgeon general since July, said President Barack Obama's administration had acknowledged there was "still a way to go" to fix the site, "but in fact progress is being made." "When I looked at some of the numbers recently - a million, for example, hits or a million people at least connecting up with the site, I get a sense of enthusiasm that we're headed obviously in the right direction," he told Reuters ahead of a health care innovation conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Full Story | Top |
| White House tells Senate it opposes new Iran sanctions effort Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 04:55 PM PST  By Patricia Zengerle and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Tuesday it opposes a fresh effort by some members of the U.S. Senate to impose new sanctions against Iran, even if the new restrictions would not take effect for months. Some senators have been discussing the idea of imposing new sanctions on Iran that would kick in after six months or if Iran violated terms of an interim deal reached 10 days ago that attempts to contain its nuclear program. "If we pass sanctions now, even with a deferred trigger which has been discussed, the Iranians, and likely our international partners, will see us as having negotiated in bad faith," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters. Administration officials have been pushing lawmakers not to move ahead with a sanctions package, saying doing so risked alienating Tehran and other countries engaged in the talks by making Washington seem to be acting in bad faith. Full Story | Top |
| Key witness faces heat in Steinberg insider trading case Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 04:53 PM PST  By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - The star witness in the government's case against SAC Capital Advisors portfolio manager Michael Steinberg faced aggressive questioning on Tuesday from Steinberg's lawyer, who sought to discredit his earlier testimony. Jon Horvath, a former analyst at Steven A. Cohen's SAC hedge fund, was on his fourth day on the witness stand in Steinberg's high-profile insider trading trial in a federal court in New York. Barry Berke, Steinberg's lawyer, questioned Horvath about statements he made last week that Steinberg had pushed him to obtain "edgy" information, at times eliciting seemingly contradictory answers from Horvath. Full Story | Top |
| Despite ethics ban, lawyers find ways to reach N.Y. train accident victims Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 04:48 PM PST  Indeed, in the hours following the Metro-North train derailment just outside Manhattan on Sunday that claimed four lives and critically injured 11, New York lawyers began marketing their services on the Internet, delivering messages of sympathy along with descriptions of their law practices. In New York, as in several other states, lawyers are barred from directly soliciting business from victims for 30 days following an accident. But that prohibition has generally been interpreted as applying to in-person and targeted solicitations, not general marketing or advertising, say legal ethics experts. So while many critics, including the more button-downed legal establishment, frown on the practice of soliciting, for lawyers who make their living representing accident victims - and who claim a portion of whatever money their clients recover in court - the fatal train derailment was a call to action. Full Story | Top |
| Short-term fix eyed for another problem with U.S. healthcare website Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 04:44 PM PST  By Roberta Rampton and Caroline Humer WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's administration has found a short-term fix to pay insurance companies for plans selected on HealthCare.gov, the not-yet-complete government website used to shop for insurance required under Obama's healthcare program. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has not yet finished building the part of the website that would transfer billions of dollars in subsidies for plan premiums and cost-sharing payments to insurance companies. The healthcare program faces a critical test to enroll hundreds of thousands of people by December 23, the deadline for people who need insurance coverage starting on January 1, 2014. Julie Bataille, a spokeswoman for CMS, said the government will make the payments to insurers for premium tax credits and cost sharing on time. Full Story | Top |
| Fed's Williams: Cutting rate on banks' reserves 'would make sense' Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 04:42 PM PST  By Ann Saphir SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve has more reason than ever to cut a key U.S. lending rate it has kept at just above zero since the depths of the financial crisis, a top Fed policymaker suggested on Tuesday. The Fed set the interest rate it pays banks on their excess reserves at 0.25 percent when it introduced it in 2008, and it has sat there ever since. Investors have lately been abuzz with speculation that the Fed could cut that rate as a way to signal its seriousness about keeping interest rates low even after it reduces its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying stimulus program. "As everybody says, it's not going to be a game changer, but given that we're doing a lot of unconventional policy and pushing hard, I think it would make sense," San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams told Reuters in an interview. Full Story | Top |
| Arafat did not die of poisoning, French tests conclude Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 04:37 PM PST  By Paul Taylor PARIS (Reuters) - Yasser Arafat was not the victim of poisoning, French forensic scientists concluded on Tuesday, countering a Swiss report on the 2004 death of the Palestinian leader that found he was probably killed with radioactive polonium. The French conclusions were immediately challenged by his widow, Suha Arafat, who has argued the death was a political assassination by someone close to her husband. A senior Palestinian official dismissed the report as "politicized". "You can imagine how much I am shaken by the contradictions between the findings of the best experts in Europe in this domain," Suha Arafat, dressed in black and reading from a written statement, told a news conference in Paris. Full Story | Top |
| Mexican left-wing leader Lopez Obrador has heart attack, surgery Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 04:36 PM PST  Mexican leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was rushed to hospital for surgery on Tuesday after suffering a heart attack, which could undermine his ability to lead protests against President Enrique Pena Nieto's push to open up the oil sector. Lopez Obrador, who was runner-up to Pena Nieto in last year's presidential election, is perceived as one of the biggest threats to the planned reform to open the state-controlled oil sector to private investment. Patricio Ortiz, the cardiologist who attended Lopez Obrador, told a news conference that he was making "satisfactory progress" and was conscious. He could not say how long Lopez Obrador would remain in hospital. Full Story | Top |
| Hezbollah chief says he met Qatari envoy in recent days Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 04:31 PM PST  By Mariam Karouny BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Tuesday he recently received an envoy from Qatar, the first contact between the two sides since divisions over the crisis in Syria severed their once strong relations. "There is talk between us ... there was a line between us and Qatar which was reopened (recently) but up to a certain limit," Nasrallah said in an interview with Lebanon's OTV television. He did not disclose details about the identity or seniority of the envoy but when asked by the interviewer if the meeting took place in the past few days Nasrallah said: "Yes, it is true. I cannot hide it." Hezbollah, a Shi'ite Muslim group, had developed relatively strong ties with Qatar, especially after the Gulf state funded the reconstruction of many Shi'ite villages destroyed during a 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. Full Story | Top |
| Sturdy jobs report eyed, may put December Fed taper on table Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 04:30 PM PST  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. job growth likely remained solid in November, with the unemployment rate falling, which could bring the Federal Reserve a step closer to curtailing its massive monetary stimulus. Nonfarm payrolls are expected to have increased by 180,000 last month, according to a Reuters survey of economists. Evidence points toward a pick-up in U.S. hiring this fall," said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania. "There is usually a lot of seasonal hiring in the run-up to the holiday season, concentrated in the retail sector," said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York. Full Story | Top |
| North Korea's Kim seen behind sacking of powerful uncle Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 04:28 PM PST  By Jack Kim and Ju-min Park SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is believed to have dismissed a powerful uncle, a man key to his rise to power, from his posts, South Korean lawmakers said on Tuesday, a move that could help consolidate his power base with a younger guard of aides. Jang Song Thaek was likely sacked as vice chairman of the powerful National Defence Commission and as a department head of the ruling Workers' Party, lawmaker Jung Cheong-rae said, citing a senior South Korean official with the National Intelligence Service (NIS). Analysts who watch the North's power structure say Jang's removal would not have been possible without the approval of the third Kim to rule in the family dynasty. Choe Ryong Hae, director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, has been the most prominent figure to accompany Kim at public events and is a reminder of the state's political roots in military power. Full Story | Top |
| Notre Dame challenges U.S. contraceptive mandate in lawsuit Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 04:25 PM PST  (Reuters) - The University of Notre Dame filed a lawsuit on Tuesday challenging mandatory coverage of contraception under U.S. federal healthcare laws that it said run contrary to the Catholic university's religious beliefs. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in South Bend, Indiana, followed university discussions with the Obama Administration that sought an expanded exception for schools and universities from the requirement, Notre Dame said. "This lawsuit is about one of America's most cherished freedoms: the freedom to practice one's religion without government interference," Notre Dame said in the lawsuit filed on Tuesday that asks a judge to block the requirement. The 2010 Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, requires employers to provide health insurance policies with cover preventive services for women including access to contraception and sterilization. Full Story | Top |
| Health deteriorates for American pastor in Iran prison: law center Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 04:25 PM PST  An Iranian-American pastor imprisoned in Iran for more than a year because of his Christian faith is in declining health for lack of proper nutrition and necessary medication, a group seeking his release said on Tuesday. An Iranian court in January sentenced Saeed Abedini, 33, a naturalized U.S. citizen, to eight years in prison for undermining national security by working to establish home-based Christian churches in Iran from 2000 to 2005. The Washington-based American Center for Law and Justice, which has petitioned Congress and President Barack Obama to seek Abedini's release, said on Tuesday that the pastor's father was allowed to visit him on Monday for the second time since he was moved a month ago to a prison that houses violent offenders. "It's a worsening situation," said Gene Kapp, spokesman for the center. Full Story | Top |
| EPA fracking study could hurt energy boom: U.S. business leader Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 04:23 PM PST America's largest business lobby group warned the Obama administration on Tuesday against snuffing out the country's energy boom with regulations on new oil and natural gas drilling technologies. U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue said an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study due next year could be used to justify clamping down on drilling techniques that have sparked a surge in U.S. oil and natural gas output. A major force in U.S. politics, the Chamber of Commerce is the biggest business lobbying group in the country and has been a steady critic of President Barack Obama. Full Story | Top |
| UK insurers plan to invest 25 billion pounds in infrastructure Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 04:21 PM PST  By David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) - British insurers plan to invest 25 billion pounds in transport and energy projects over the next five years, the finance ministry said on Wednesday, a day before it presents a half-yearly economic update. Boosting private-sector infrastructure investment is a priority for Britain's government, as an unexpected rebound in growth so far this year has been driven mostly by consumer spending, which is unsustainable in the long run. Many British power stations are due for replacement in the coming years, roads, railways and airports are overcrowded. Deputy finance minister Danny Alexander said the new investment was "a massive vote of confidence in the UK economy" and would help fund the 100 billion pounds of investment projects over the next seven years that he announced in June. Full Story | Top |
| EU to hold marathon talks on new securities law Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 04:07 PM PST  By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) - Negotiations over sweeping changes to European Union securities market rules enter what may be the final stretch on Wednesday with several key elements already agreed. The bloc's Markets in Financial Instruments Directive or MiFID is being updated to reflect rapid advances in trading technology and apply lessons from the 2007-09 financial crisis to stock, bond and derivatives markets. The European Parliament and EU states have joint say on the final shape of the law and representatives from both sides have set aside over six hours to hammer out an outline deal. There is also agreement on a new breed of trading platform, known as an organized trading facility or OTF for trading off-exchange swaps contracts, the EU's counterpart to the new U.S. organized trading facilities which are already up and running. Full Story | Top |
| Insurers warn of problems with Obamacare enrollment surge Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 03:56 PM PST  By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. insurers fear that a surge in enrollments on the revamped government-run healthcare website could create more problems for insurance companies already struggling with error-filled applications for coverage three weeks before a sign-up deadline. In what could become the next major headache for President Barack Obama's signature domestic policy, a group representing leading U.S. insurers said on Tuesday that technology fixes that will enable millions of people to sign on to HealthCare.gov have not fully addressed faulty data that the site has been sending these companies about their new enrollees. The problems include enrollment forms with erroneous personal information and duplicate or missing applications. The warning coincided with an effort by Obama to win back support for the healthcare overhaul after the website's disastrous October 1 debut sent his job approval ratings plummeting and threatened to damage fellow Democrats in next year's congressional elections. Full Story | Top |
| Early start hurts Black Friday sales, Cyber Monday hits record Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 03:54 PM PST  U.S. retailers rolled out holiday promotions earlier in November this year, denting sales growth over the Thanksgiving weekend that typically marks the beginning of the holiday spending period, according to data released Tuesday by ShopperTrak. But online, sales grew at a torrid pace, rising 22 percent between Thursday and Cyber Monday, according to data firm comScore. On Cyber Monday, the biggest day of the year for e-commerce in the United States, sales rose 18.4 percent to $1.735 billion, a record for a single day, according to comScore. Cyber Monday fell on December 2 this year. Full Story | Top |
| Obama praises Colombia efforts to seek peace with rebels Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 03:52 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday expressed support for Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos's attempts to reach a peace agreement with Marxist FARC rebels. Obama congratulated Santos on "bold and brave efforts" to bring about peace in Colombia through negotiations with FARC. Meeting in Havana this week, government mediators are working through an agenda with rebel leaders, seeking to stop bloodshed that has killed more than 200,000 people since it began in 1964. "This has been a longstanding conflict within Colombia. It is not easy," the U.S. president said. ... Full Story | Top |
| How about a little George W. Bush for the Christmas tree? Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 03:48 PM PST  The George W. Bush Presidential Center has joined the holiday festivities, offering for sale a Christmas tree ornament that features a painting by the former U.S. head of state. Bush has taken up painting in his retirement, producing still lifes, self portraits and images of animals. Full Story | Top |
| Businesses win in U.S. court ruling on worker arbitration pacts Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 03:41 PM PST  U.S. employers can use arbitration agreements to require employees to resolve disputes on an individual basis, a federal appeals court has ruled, marking a victory for companies and a setback for labor groups In a 2-1 ruling on Tuesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a January 2012 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision that had invalidated such an arbitration agreement used by homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc. . The case had been closely watched by business groups, employment lawyers and labor unions. "It's an important victory not just for D.R. Horton, but for employers across the country who have struggled with this issue and the decisions coming out of the NLRB," said Ron Chapman, an attorney at Ogletree Deakins who represented the homebuilder. Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon says halts ground shipments out of Afghanistan via Pakistan Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 03:39 PM PST  By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military has halted ground shipments of cargo leaving Afghanistan via its key Pakistan supply route to ensure the safety of drivers following protests in Pakistan over American drone strikes, a Pentagon spokesman said on Tuesday. The affected route, which runs from Torkham Gate at the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to the Pakistani port city of Karachi, has been crucial for the United States as it winds down its combat mission in landlocked Afghanistan and moves equipment out of the country. The route accounts for the vast majority of ground traffic of U.S. military cargo through Pakistan and has been targeted by protesters in Pakistan angered by U.S. drone strikes. "We are aware protests have affected one of the primary commercial transit routes between Pakistan and Afghanistan," Pentagon spokesman Mark Wright told Reuters. Full Story | Top |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment