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| Gunfire by night becomes new norm in downtown Bangkok Tuesday, Feb 25, 2014 07:48 PM PST  By Pairat Temphairojana and Amy Sawitta Lefevre BANGKOK (Reuters) - Shots fired by unknown gunmen on Wednesday rattled parts of the Thai capital where anti-government protesters have set up camp for weeks, with small but occasionally deadly bombs and gunfire fast becoming the new norm in the city. No one was wounded in the shootings in the central commercial area of Bangkok, although five people were killed in weekend violence in the city and the eastern province of Trat, four of them young children. National security chief Paradorn Pattanathabutr said there had been no reported deaths or injuries in the incidents in the early hours of Wednesday. "Recently we have been seeing more incidents like this happening more frequently ... It is noticeable that there are incidents like this every day." The protesters, whose disruption of a general election this month left polarized Thailand in political paralysis, aim to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and erase the influence of her brother, ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, seen by many as the real power in the country. Full Story | Top |
| China's $12 trillion corporate debt pushes up refunding costs, drives mergers Tuesday, Feb 25, 2014 07:43 PM PST  By Matthew Miller and Umesh Desai BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) - China's corporate debt has hit record levels and is likely to accelerate a wave of domestic restructuring and trigger more defaults, as credit repayment problems rise. A Thomson Reuters analysis of 945 listed medium and large non-financial firms showed total debt soared by more than 260 percent, from 1.82 trillion yuan ($298.4 billion) to 4.74 trillion yuan ($777.3 billion), between December 2008 and September 2013. While a credit crisis isn't expected anytime soon, analysts say companies in China's most leveraged sectors, such as machinery, shipping, construction and steel, are selling assets and undertaking mergers to avoid defaulting on their borrowings. More defaults are expected, said Christopher Lee, managing director for Greater China corporates at Standard and Poor's Rating Services in Hong Kong. Full Story | Top |
| BOJ's Ishida: recovery on track even if GDP falls after tax hike Tuesday, Feb 25, 2014 07:32 PM PST  By Stanley White SAITAMA, Japan (Reuters) - Japan's recovery will remain on track even if the economy contracts in the second quarter after sales tax is raised on April 1, a Bank of Japan board member said on Wednesday. In a sign of reluctance to ease policy further, Koji Ishida said the Bank of Japan (BOJ) should be careful in its economic assessment because data in the first half of fiscal 2014 will be more volatile due to the tax hike itself, suggesting the central bank will not be easily swayed by a temporary slowdown. Ishida's comments, which are in line with the BOJ's standard assessment, may weaken speculation that the central bank will offer additional stimulus this year due to doubts about the economy after the sales tax increase. "We cannot avoid the negative impact that the tax increase will have on real household incomes," Ishida said in a speech to business leaders in Saitama, north of Tokyo. Full Story | Top |
| Japan authorities looking into closure of Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange Tuesday, Feb 25, 2014 07:07 PM PST Japanese authorities are looking into the abrupt closure of Mt. Gox, the top government spokesman said on Wednesday in Tokyo's first official reaction to the turmoil at what was the world's biggest exchange for bitcoin virtual currency. "At this stage the relevant financial authorities, the police, the Finance Ministry and others are gathering information on the case," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a regular news conference when asked about Tuesday's shutdown of the Tokyo-based exchange. Speaking shortly after The Wall Street Journal reported that Mt. Gox had received a subpoena from federal prosecutors in New York, Suga declined further comment. Japan's Financial Services Agency and Finance Ministry told Reuters on Tuesday that they do not have jurisdiction over Mt. Gox after the exchange's website went down and efforts to reach company officials failed. Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon to ask for only 34 Lockheed F-35s in 2015 budget: comptroller Tuesday, Feb 25, 2014 07:06 PM PST By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Department will request 34 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets in its 2015 budget request, eight fewer than initially planned, Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale told an industry conference on Tuesday. Hale said the decision reflected a postponement of some F-35 purchases because of budget pressures, not concerns about the performance of the $392 billion program, the Pentagon's biggest arms project. "It's an affordability issue, not performance," Hale told a conference hosted by McAleese and Associates, a consulting firm, and Credit Suisse. Hale declined to give details about planned purchases in coming years, but said production of the Lockheed fighter jets would be increasing. Full Story | Top |
| Many big U.S. corporations pay very little in taxes: study Tuesday, Feb 25, 2014 07:05 PM PST  By Kevin Drawbaugh and Patrick Temple-West (Reuters) - Many of the most profitable U.S. corporations paid little or no federal income tax from 2008 to 2012, according to a five-year study issued on Tuesday by a left-leaning tax activist group. Citizens for Tax Justice looked at 288 profitable Fortune 500 companies and said that 26 of them - including Boeing Co , General Electric Co and Verizon Communications Inc - paid no federal income tax in the five-year period. The group also said that 111 of the 288 companies paid no federal income tax in at least one of the five years measured. In a reflection of how the tax code's complexity leaves many issues open to question, corporations sometimes dispute the way Citizens for Tax Justice calculates its numbers. Full Story | Top |
| Asia shares sluggish, China policy puzzles Tuesday, Feb 25, 2014 06:57 PM PST  By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian shares were trading sluggishly on Wednesday following a flat finish on Wall Street, while concerns over opaque policy moves in China kept investors on edge amid a drought of major economic data. "For the rest of the week, the Nikkei may see directionless trade and a lack of volume because investors need more catalysts to take positions," said Masashi Oda, chief investment officer at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank. Full Story | Top |
| BOJ Ishida: recovery on track even if GDP falls in April-June after tax hike Tuesday, Feb 25, 2014 06:25 PM PST Japan's economic recovery will remain on track even if the gross domestic product contracts in April-June after an increase in the sales tax, Bank of Japan board member Koji Ishida said on Wednesday. A positive economic cycle, where gains in production feeds into stronger incomes and higher spending will remain intact and support growth, Ishida said in a speech to business leaders in Saitama, north of Tokyo. The BOJ should also be careful when deciding on its economic assessment as data in the first half of fiscal 2014 will be volatile due to the tax hike, he said. Full Story | Top |
| Mt. Gox receives subpoena from federal prosecutor: WSJ Tuesday, Feb 25, 2014 06:21 PM PST (Reuters) - Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox has received a subpoena from federal prosecutors in New York, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, abruptly stopped trading on Tuesday and its chief executive said the business was at "a turning point," sparking concerns about the future of the unregulated virtual currency. The subpoena was sent this month and asked Mt. Gox to preserve certain documents among other things, the Journal said. (http://link.reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Golden Gate Bridge hits milestone in 2013 with 46 suicides Tuesday, Feb 25, 2014 06:15 PM PST  San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge marked a milestone in 2013 as 46 people leaped to their deaths in what appears to be the deadliest year for suicides at the California landmark, a watchdog group said on Tuesday. "I know it won't be built soon, and that's the most frustrating thing about this," said Dayna Whitmer, board member with the organization. "We hate to see any more 17-year-olds jump or 86-year-olds jump, it's just not right." The road surface of the suspension bridge towers more than 220 feet above the entrance to the San Francisco Bay, and the span ranks as one of the world's most frequently chosen sites for public suicides. A spokeswoman for the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District, Mary Currie, confirmed that 46 people had committed suicide at the bridge last year, the highest annual total since at least 2000, when she began keeping an unofficial count. Full Story | Top |
| BOJ Kuroda: Japan getting on track towards reaching price target Tuesday, Feb 25, 2014 05:56 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Wednesday that Japan's economy is getting on track towards achieving a 2 percent inflation target as price hikes spread to a broader range of goods on the back of a narrowing output gap. Kuroda, speaking in parliament, also said that the economy is recovering moderately. (Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Dominic Lau and Edmund Klamann) Full Story | Top |
| BofA under probe over U.S. housing program, forex Tuesday, Feb 25, 2014 05:54 PM PST  Bank of America Corp may have a new mortgage problem on its plate, saying on Tuesday that federal investigators are looking into whether the bank violated requirements of a U.S. government housing program. The second-largest U.S. bank said the civil division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn is investigating Bank of America's compliance with the rules of the Federal Housing Administration's Direct Endorsement Program. Bank of America made the disclosure in its annual report filed on Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Spokesmen for Bank of America and U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch declined to provide additional details on the probe. Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon plans work on new missile defense interceptor Tuesday, Feb 25, 2014 05:48 PM PST  By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The next U.S. military budget will include funds to overhaul Boeing Co's ground-based missile defense system and develop a replacement for an interceptor built by Raytheon Co, the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer said Tuesday, citing "bad engineering" on the existing system. "We've got to get to more reliable systems," Frank Kendall, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, told a conference sponsored by McAleese and Associations and Credit Suisse. Full Story | Top |
| JPMorgan compliance chief leaves firm: WSJ Tuesday, Feb 25, 2014 05:44 PM PST  (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co's compliance chief has quit the largest U.S. bank, roughly a year after being appointed to the position, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Chief Compliance Officer Cindy Armine is expected to take a job at payment processor First Data Corp, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. (http://r.reuters.com/qap27v) JPMorgan could not be immediately reached for comment outside regular U.S. business hours. According to the WSJ report, the bank's Chief Administrative Officer, Lou Rauchenberger, has been appointed as interim chief compliance officer and the company is looking for a permanent replacement. Full Story | Top |
| RBS to pay $920 million in bonuses for 2013: Sky News Tuesday, Feb 25, 2014 05:33 PM PST  (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland has received approval from Treasury agency UK Financial Investments to pay about 550 million pounds ($920 million) in staff bonuses for 2013, Sky News reported late on Tuesday. The news service said the bank is expected to disclose the proposed bonuses when it announces its annual earnings, estimated at a loss of about 8 billion pounds. The bank's Chief Executive Officer, Ross McEwan, is also expected on Thursday to unveil a strategic review of its investment banking and international operations in which the group could shed up to a quarter of its 120,000-member workforce, according to sources who spoke to Reuters. The partially nationalized bank is expected to have reduced the 2013 bonus pool by at least 25 million pounds under a commitment it gave 12 months ago to reduce bonuses in subsequent years, Sky said. Full Story | Top |
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