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| Japan Air grounds Boeing 787 after battery problem Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 08:03 PM PST  By Tim Kelly and Alwyn Scott TOKYO/SEATTLE (Reuters) - Japan Airlines Co Ltd said it temporarily grounded one of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners at Tokyo's Narita International Airport on Tuesday after white smoke was spotted outside the plane and a battery cell showed clear signs of leaking. The incident raised fresh concerns about the 787's safety and reliability almost exactly one year after the global Dreamliner fleet was grounded by regulators following the overheating of two such batteries, although Boeing said design changes made as a result had worked as planned. Boeing Co said it was "aware of the 787 issue that occurred Tuesday afternoon at Narita, which appears to have involved the venting of a single battery cell." Venting is the process of fumes and heat being channeled outside the battery casing and the aircraft when the battery overheats. "The issue occurred during scheduled maintenance activities with no passengers on board," said Boeing. Full Story | Top |
| Communist Party expels former executive at China Mobile parent Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 08:01 PM PST A former senior executive at China Mobile Ltd's state-owned parent has been expelled from the Communist Party amid a company-wide probe into suspected corruption. China's new leadership has made fighting graft a priority to assuage rising public anger over the scale of corruption in the world's second-biggest economy. Xu Long, who was general manager of China Mobile Communications Corp's Guangdong office, was expelled from the party due to "severe discipline violations," according to a statement posted on Wednesday on the website of Guangdong province's disciplinary committee. "During Xu Long's posting at China Mobile Communications Corp's Guangdong office, he took advantage of his senior position to seek profits for others," the statement said. Full Story | Top |
| Argentine poet, political critic Gelman dies in Mexico Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 07:53 PM PST  Juan Gelman, the celebrated Argentine poet and fierce critic of the South American nation's "dirty war" against leftists, died Tuesday in Mexico City, Mexico's national art council said. Gelman, who was born in Buenos Aires but lived in the Mexican capital for more than 20 years, died after being hospitalized, the council said in a statement. The poet and political analyst's writings won some of the highest awards given to Spanish writers, including the lifetime achievement Miguel de Cervantes Prize. One of Gelman's own sons was kidnapped and murdered during the so-called "dirty war." (Reporting by Miguel Gutierrez; Full Story | Top |
| China December bank lending, money supply growth miss forecasts Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 07:40 PM PST  China's new bank lending slowed more than expected in December while growth of broad money supply also eased, suggesting the central bank's efforts to tap the brakes on credit expansion to contain debt levels is gaining traction. Chinese banks made 482.5 billion yuan ($79.9 billion) worth of new yuan loans in December, lower than a forecast of 600 billion yuan and lower than the previous month's 624.6 billion yuan, central bank data showed on Wednesday. "The slowing M2 growth in December showed central bank's tightening measures had started to bite," said Jiang Chao, economist at Haitong Securities in Shanghai. We expect there will be no big change in central bank's monetary policy in 2014," Jiang said. Full Story | Top |
| Toyota executive calls out Musk as battle for green car future heats up Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 07:23 PM PST  In an escalation of the auto industry's war of words over future green technologies, a senior Toyota Motor Corp executive singled out Elon Musk and other rival executives on Tuesday and made a bold prediction for its hydrogen car. Bob Carter, Toyota's senior vice president for automative operations, said in a speech that he believed a hydrogen fuel cell car it plans to launch next year could eventually be as successful as its pioneering Prius gasoline-electric hybrid. Carter said "naysayers" who have spoken out against the technology would be proven wrong and referred to Elon Musk, founder of electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc, Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Nissan Motor Co, and former Volkswagen executive Jonathan Browning by name. Full Story | Top |
| Investor Khosla: '60 Minutes' cleantech segment full of errors Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 07:19 PM PST  Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla on Tuesday issued a harsh rebuke to "60 Minutes" a week after the news magazine TV show broadcast a report saying that Silicon Valley and Washington have little to show for their investments in clean technology. In an open letter to both "60 Minutes" and its network, CBS, Khosla said a January 5 segment for which he was interviewed "grossly misrepresented the state of the sustainable energy industry." The letter, which was posted on the website of Khosla's Menlo Park, California firm, Khosla Ventures, went on to list what he called "numerous" reporting errors in "60 Minutes." A spokesman for "60 Minutes" responded saying, "While we respect Mr Khosla's views, we are not in agreement with the points he makes about our story." "We began and ended the piece with him, and devoted time to his ideas and to one of the companies he backs." The news magazine's segment on investments in advanced energy, sometimes known as cleantech, characterized Khosla-funded biofuels maker Kior Inc as "riddled with delays." It quoted a biofuels specialist, Robert Rapier, as saying Khosla "overpromised and under-delivered" on his investments. Full Story | Top |
| Thai opposition leader's house attacked, politics in deadlock Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 07:17 PM PST  By Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat BANGKOK (Reuters) - A loud blast shook the house of a senior Thai opposition leader overnight, police said on Wednesday, as protesters trying to oust the government remained camped in central Bangkok with no end to the political deadlock in sight. Some hardline protesters have threatened to blockade the stock exchange and an air traffic communications facility on Wednesday if Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra does not step down. But there were no early signs of trouble at either the bourse or at the central Bangkok offices of AeroThai, which is in charge of air traffic control for planes that use Thai air space. No one was hurt in the blast at the residence of Democrat Party leader and former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Full Story | Top |
| Deutsche suspends trader suspected of forex rigging: paper Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 07:01 PM PST  Deutsche Bank has suspended at least one currency trader on suspicion of manipulating benchmark forex rates, a German paper reported. German daily Die Welt, citing people familiar with the investigations, said the trader worked in New York and traded Argentine pesos. Deutsche Bank said it would not comment on individuals. In a statement, it said it was cooperating with investigations and would take disciplinary measures with regard to individuals if merited. Full Story | Top |
| Japan self-defense ship, fishing boat collide; two in critical condition Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:52 PM PST A Japanese Self-Defence Force ship and a leisure fishing boat collided off the coast of Hiroshima in western Japan, leaving two of the fishing boat's crew in critical condition, the country's defence minister said on Wednesday. The cause of the collision is still being investigated, the Japanese Coast Guard said. "This accident is very regrettable," Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told an emergency news conference after the accident, pledging full cooperation and help with the probe. Japan calls the islands the Senkaku and China calls them the Diaoyu. Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: JPMorgan set to reap rewards of playing it safe on rates Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:49 PM PST  In 2010, senior executives at JPMorgan Chase & Co came to realize that interest rates, already at zero for more than a year, ultimately had only way to go: up. Executives looked at the bank from top to bottom, and took steps ranging from adjusting its investment portfolio to finding ways to hang on to deposits when higher rates give customers an incentive to move money elsewhere. Then JPMorgan waited. "It costs us a significant amount of current income to be positioned this way," JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon wrote in a letter to shareholders in April. Full Story | Top |
| GM executive says South Korea plants may ship more cars to Australia Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:46 PM PST By Hyunjoo Jin DETROIT (Reuters) - A top executive with General Motors said on Tuesday a planned shutdown of the automaker's plants in Australia could allow South Korea to ship more cars to the region. General Motors said last month it would stop making cars in Australia by 2017 due to high costs and a cripplingly strong currency. "We are building our puzzle pieces together for the international markets," Stefan Jacoby, GM's new international operations chief, told reporters on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show. He said the planned shutdown of the Australian plants offers "a lot of opportunity," adding there was a "good likelihood" South Korea would ship more cars to Australia given a bilateral trade deal. Full Story | Top |
| China's Huawei says unaudited 2013 operating profit rose over 40 percent Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:43 PM PST  By Paul Carsten BEIJING (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies Co Ltd posted an over 40 percent rise in annual operating profit as the Chinese telecom equipment maker expanded its presence in emerging markets, countering reduced revenue growth hit by accusations of cyber-espionage. Huawei, the world's No.2 telecom equipment maker, has had a turbulent year in which it was shut out of multi-billion dollar network opportunities in the United States and Australia and drew the scrutiny of British authorities over cyber security issues. To counteract this, the unlisted company has placed its hopes in developing markets and its business in Europe, where it has made headway building fourth-generation mobile networks. Full Story | Top |
| Target data breach could be costly for payment partners Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:33 PM PST  By Ross Kerber BOSTON (Reuters) - Companies that help Target Corp process payments could face millions of dollars in fines and costs resulting from the unprecedented data breach that struck the retailer over the holiday shopping season. Investigators are still sorting through just how thieves compromised about 40 million payment cards and the information of about 70 million Target customers. But people who have reviewed past data breaches believe Target's partners could face consumer lawsuits and fines that payment networks such as Visa Inc and MasterCard Inc often levy after cyber security incidents. Target's partners "have deep pockets and are intimately involved in certain aspects of how Target gets paid," said Jamie Pole, a cyber security consultant in Asheboro, North Carolina, who works for government agencies and the financial industry. Full Story | Top |
| FBI to revisit fatal beating of California transient after police cleared Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:32 PM PST  By Dan Whitcomb and Dana Feldman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The FBI plans to re-examine the beating death of a mentally ill California transient after a jury acquitted two ex-policemen of all charges in connection with the fatal confrontation, which touched off protests and political upheaval in the city of Fullerton. Meanwhile, a lawyer for Jay Cicinelli, one of the two former officers at the center of the case, said his client would seek to be rehired by the Fullerton Police Department now that he had been cleared of involuntary manslaughter and use of excessive force charges in the 2011 death of 37-year-old Kelly Thomas. Defense lawyers won acquittals for Cicinelli and co-defendant Manuel Ramos in the case by arguing at trial that Thomas was dangerous and that the officers responded according to their training. "In 2011, the FBI opened an investigation to determine if Mr. Thomas' civil rights were violated during an altercation with Fullerton police officers," FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said in a statement on Tuesday. Full Story | Top |
| Five hospitalized after chemical device goes off at U.S. school Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:23 PM PST By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - Two boys were arrested late Tuesday in connection with a chemical reaction that caused a container to rupture at a Colorado charter school, sending four students and a teacher to hospital. Law enforcement officials and emergency crews responded to reports that "some kind of chemical device" went off in a classroom at SkyView Academy in the Denver suburb of Highlands Ranch, Douglas County Sheriff's Office spokesman Sergeant Ron Hanavan said. The school, which has 1,200 students and staff members, was evacuated, and the four students and teacher were taken to a hospital with breathing problems, Hanavan said. Hanavan said "a chemical reaction within a container caused the device to rupture," adding that the incident occurred inside a classroom, and not in the school's chemistry lab. Full Story | Top |
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