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| Amazon.com workers reject unionization in Delaware vote Wednesday, Jan 15, 2014 08:21 PM PST  By Bill Rigby SEATTLE (Reuters) - A small group of Amazon.com Inc technicians at a distribution center in Delaware voted on Wednesday not to join a union, marking a victory for the U.S. online retailer which is strongly opposed to any kind of third-party representation for its employees. The vote was a symbolic test of Amazon's employee relations policies, but did not affect the vast majority of the 1,500 or so packers and shippers who work at the Middletown, Delaware facility, one of more than 40 distribution centers in the United States. "Our employees have made it clear that they prefer a direct connection with Amazon," said Mary Osako, an Amazon spokeswoman, in an emailed statement. John Carr, a representative of the IAM, said Amazon had worked behind the scenes to sway workers. Full Story | Top |
| Canada's Saputo on cusp of control in Australia dairy war Wednesday, Jan 15, 2014 08:21 PM PST Bega Cheese Ltd said on Thursday it would sell its stake in Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory Holdings Co , all but handing victory to Canada's Saputo Inc in the battle for Australia's oldest dairy company. That would allow the Canadian company to claim a win for its base offer of A$515 million ($460 million), ending one of Australia's most competitive takeover battles in recent years. Bega's decision to sell its 18.8 percent stake gives Saputo 45.2 percent of Warrnambool, based on its most recent shareholding disclosure. Murray Goulburn said it would "assess the ramifications" of Bega's move on both its bid and its shareholding. Full Story | Top |
| Citi to replace debit cards involved in Target data breach: NYT Wednesday, Jan 15, 2014 07:21 PM PST  (Reuters) - Citigroup will replace all customer debit cards involved in the data breach at Target Corp, the No.3 U.S. retailer, the New York Times reported quoting a person briefed on the bank's decision. The bank did not replace the debit cards sooner because it wanted to minimize disruptions during the holiday shopping season, the newspaper reported. (http://link.reuters.com/ruv95v) Target said last week an investigation found that hackers stole the personal information of at least 70 million customers, including names, mailing addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses. Previously, the retailer said the hackers stole data from 40 million credit and debit cards. Full Story | Top |
| AT&T ends 'American Idol' sponsorship Wednesday, Jan 15, 2014 07:20 PM PST  (Reuters) - AT&T Inc is no longer an official sponsor of Fox's "American Idol," as the pioneer singing competition's declining viewership appears to be making it less attractive to advertisers. The Fox broadcast TV network confirmed the end of AT&T's sponsorship on Wednesday prior to the premiere episode of the show's 13th season. AT&T could not be immediately reached for comment outside regular U.S. business hours. "Idol" erupted in 2001 as a broadcast TV powerhouse with the biting commentary of one of its original judges, Simon Cowell. Full Story | Top |
| Retired GM chief says 'optimistic' about Opel brand Wednesday, Jan 15, 2014 06:48 PM PST DETROIT (Reuters) - The retired chief executive of General Motors Co said on Wednesday he is "optimistic" about the largest U.S. automaker's struggling European brand, Opel. Opel's market share rose in Europe for the first time in 14 years in 2013, former CEO Dan Akerson said during a question-and-answer session at a conference that coincides with the Detroit auto show. (Reporting by Ben Klayman; Editing by Paul Tait) Full Story | Top |
| Former GM CEO says must have competitive labor cost structure Wednesday, Jan 15, 2014 06:28 PM PST  DETROIT (Reuters) - Dan Akerson, the retired chief executive of General Motors Co, said on Wednesday the largest U.S. automaker needed to have competitive labor costs. Akerson had been asked whether GM needed to retain the two-tier wage structure for its blue-collar workforce. His comments come ahead of 2015 labor contract talks between the United Auto Workers union and the U.S. Detroit automakers. He spoke at a conference that coincides with the Detroit auto show. (Reporting by Ben Klayman; Editing by Paul Tait) Full Story | Top |
| Music takes on different guises at Sundance Film Festival Wednesday, Jan 15, 2014 06:24 PM PST  By Piya Sinha-Roy LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Since the early days of film, music has gone hand in hand with movies, but a new crop of filmmakers is using music to explore existential themes of humanity that will be showcased at the annual Sundance Film Festival. The film, directed by Damien Chazelle, stars rising star Miles Teller as a drummer who enters music school and comes face to face with a teacher who challenges him to pursue perfection, pushing him to the limit. Full Story | Top |
| Thai protesters target revenue offices, PM awaits graft ruling Wednesday, Jan 15, 2014 06:18 PM PST  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat BANGKOK (Reuters) - Protesters in Thailand trying to paralyze ministries to force the government to resign said they would target revenue offices on Thursday, but their numbers appeared to be dwindling and ministers say the movement could be running out of steam. A state anti-corruption panel is due to give a ruling on Thursday on irregularities in a rice-buying scheme, that the government introduced to support farmers, that could give ammunition to opponents of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. ... Full Story | Top |
| Contractor that vetted Snowden hires restructuring advisers: WSJ Wednesday, Jan 15, 2014 06:00 PM PST (Reuters) - U.S. defense contractor Altegrity Inc has hired restructuring advisers as it contends with a debt burden of about $1.8 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Altegrity is the holding company for U.S. Investigations Services (USIS), the nation's largest private provider of federal government background checks that became the focus of congressional scrutiny last year after it was discovered USIS vetted Edward Snowden before he leaked documents about U.S. spying efforts. USIS was also responsible for vetting Aaron Alexis, the technology contractor who killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard in September. Full Story | Top |
| Despite budget surplus, no state bailout in works for Detroit, says top lawmaker Wednesday, Jan 15, 2014 05:53 PM PST  Despite forecasts that Michigan will have a budget surplus, a top state legislator on Wednesday warned that Detroit should not expect a state bailout for the struggling city that has filed the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger, a Republican, wants much of the extra money to go toward tax cuts, according to spokesman Ari Adler. "A direct bailout for the city by the state is not an option Speaker Bolger will consider, but many other options exist that deserve to be explored," Adler said in an email. "It's still too early to say what, if any, legislative action would be needed." Bolger has spoken with U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen, the chief mediator in the bankruptcy, Michigan Republican Governor Rick Snyder and others about "the best way to resolve Detroit's bankruptcy in a way that saves the state money and alleviates future financial liabilities," Adler said. Full Story | Top |
| Microsoft pondering Ericsson CEO for top job: Bloomberg Wednesday, Jan 15, 2014 05:49 PM PST  Microsoft Corp is considering Ericsson AB Chief Executive Hans Vestberg as a possible successor to outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer, Bloomberg cited sources briefed on the software giant's executive search as saying on Wednesday. Bloomberg did not report on whether the company has reached out to Vestberg, who as CEO of the Swedish firm runs one of the world's largest telecommunications equipment makers. Analysts have discussed potential candidates ranging from company insiders Satya Nadella and Tony Bates to several outsiders. But speculation refocused on internal choices this month after leading external candidate, Ford Motor Co CEO Alan Mulally, took himself off the list. Full Story | Top |
| Yahoo COO de Castro departs; no reason given Wednesday, Jan 15, 2014 05:26 PM PST  By Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc chief operating officer Henrique de Castro, the high-profile recruit Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer poached from Google Inc shortly after she took the helm, will leave on Thursday after about a year on the job. Yahoo did not give a reason for his departure in a Wednesday filing, but in an unusually blunt memo to Yahoo staff obtained by the Recode technology blog Mayer said she had fired him. "During my own reflection, I made the difficult decision that our COO, Henrique de Castro, should leave the company," Mayer wrote in the memo. Yahoo declined to comment. Full Story | Top |
| Michael Jackson's estate, Lloyd's of London settle insurance dispute Wednesday, Jan 15, 2014 05:13 PM PST  The insurers of Michael Jackson's ill-fated "This Is It" London comeback concerts on Wednesday have settled out of court with the late King of Pop's estate over a $17.5 million policy, the attorney for Jackson's estate said. The settlement caps three years of litigation between underwriter Lloyd's of London Ltd and Jackson's estate over the insurance policy. "The estate and Lloyd's of London are glad this matter got resolved," Jackson estate attorney Howard Weitzman said in a statement. The insurer had previously asked Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Malcolm Mackey to nullify the policy, saying they were never told that Jackson was taking powerful drugs. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. farm bill deal could be reached this week -senator Wednesday, Jan 15, 2014 05:06 PM PST By Eric Beech WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Negotiations in Congress on the long overdue U.S. farm bill could be completed this week after progress was stalled by a disagreement over a dairy price support program, a senator said on Wednesday. The five-year farm bill, which covers issues from domestic crop subsidies to exports and global food aid, is being held up chiefly by a dispute between Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Democratic Representative Collin Peterson of Minnesota over a program that would cut milk production if prices decline below a certain level. But Republican Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota, who is a member of the House-Senate "conference" panel considering the bill but not among the four lead negotiators, said he thought a compromise could be reached that does not include the supply management element, which Boehner opposes. "Obviously for the speaker, the issue is not having supply management in there. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Labor Department to probe Florida's jobless benefits website Wednesday, Jan 15, 2014 05:03 PM PST By Bill Cotterell TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - U.S. Department of Labor officials will travel to Florida to investigate the state's troubled unemployment compensation website following criticism it is failing to get jobless benefits to laid-off workers, an official said on Wednesday. Florida's economic development chief told a legislative committee on Wednesday that he was "frustrated" by glitches in the $63 million website and related services. He said the state government would consider additional penalties against Deloitte, the website's designer. "The state's unemployment website is a dismal failure, and Governor Rick Scott is responsible," state Senator Geraldine Thompson, a Democrat from Orlando, said at a news conference. Full Story | Top |
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