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| Canada, BC and Vancouver port announce plan to end labor dispute Thursday, Mar 13, 2014 09:22 PM PDT TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian and British Columbia governments and Port Metro Vancouver announced late on Thursday a 14-point action plan to end a labor dispute at the country's largest port. The plan ensured fair pay for truck drivers and also included measures to help cut wait times at container terminals, the group said, adding that it expected truck drivers to return to work immediately. (Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Eric Walsh) Full Story | Top |
| Temasek-led group offers $2.1 billion for remaining Olam shares Thursday, Mar 13, 2014 09:06 PM PDT  By Rachel Armstrong and Michael Flaherty SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) - A Temasek-led shareholders group has offered to pay $2.1 billion in cash for shares in Olam International Ltd they don't already own, putting the heft of the Singaporean state investor behind the commodity trading firm's weak balance sheet. The proposal comes after a tumultuous stretch for Olam, one of the world's leading traders in rice, coffee and cocoa, that saw it come under attack from short-seller Muddy Waters in late 2012 for its accounting practices. Olam denied the short-seller's claims, gained financial support from Temasek and drew up a plan to cut capital spending and debt. A deal would also be in keeping with Temasek's recent pattern of increasing the unlisted portion of its $170 billion portfolio of companies. Full Story | Top |
| Asian stocks tumble, yen stands tall as Ukraine crisis darkens mood Thursday, Mar 13, 2014 08:51 PM PDT  By Lisa Twaronite TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares dropped to a one-month low and the yen pushed higher on Friday, as heightened tension in Ukraine ahead of a weekend referendum drove investors out of riskier assets. Solid U.S. retail sales and employment data also reinforced expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will stick to its plan of gradually withdrawing its asset-buying stimulus, while Thursday's disappointing Chinese economic data continued to add to the gloom. "Investors are unwinding their long positions in the Nikkei and short positions in the yen," said Kyoya Okazawa, head of global equities and commodity derivatives at BNP Paribas. Russia launched new military exercises near its border with Ukraine on Thursday, even as the U.S. cautioned that Moscow risked facing serious steps if annexation was the outcome of a referendum planned for Sunday in the Crimea. Full Story | Top |
| China central bank orders halt to online payments using QR codes Thursday, Mar 13, 2014 08:41 PM PDT  HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's central bank has ordered online payment units of dotcom giants Alibaba and Tencent to stop processing online payments using QR codes, the two companies said on Friday. Alipay is the online payment unit of Alibaba Small and Micro Financial Services Group, an affiliate of Alibaba Group Ltd. The online payment unit of Tencent Holdings Ltd is called Caifutong. Alipay and Caifutong confirmed to Reuters that they had received such notice from the central bank. The central bank did not immediately respond to requests for comment. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Korea can't join Pacific trade talks until U.S. issues fixed: official Thursday, Mar 13, 2014 08:07 PM PDT  South Korea will not be welcomed into a planned Pacific free-trade pact until all problems are resolved in carrying out an existing trade deal with the United States, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday. Two years after the agreement came into force, the United States was still trying to make sure promises to ease the path for U.S. exports into South Korea were fully met, the official said, pointing to problems with customs regulations and autos. The South Korea-U.S. agreement (KORUS) was at the time the second-largest U.S. trade pact after the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, but now pales beside massive trade deals being negotiated between the United States and Europe and another with 11 Pacific nations, including Japan. South Korea has flagged its interest in joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but the United States will insist on having the bilateral deal working properly first. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. safety watchdog says 303 deaths linked to recalled GM cars Thursday, Mar 13, 2014 08:04 PM PDT  The new report and higher death toll ratchet up the pressure on GM, which has said it has reports of 12 deaths in 34 crashes in the recalled cars. GM did not recall the cars until February, despite learning of problems with the ignition switch in 2001 and issuing related service bulletins to dealers with suggested remedies in 2005. The auto maker is facing increasing pressure to compensate victims and create a $1 billion fund, even if some would-be plaintiffs are barred from suing under the terms of GM's emergence from bankruptcy in 2009. The Center for Auto Safety said it referenced crash and fatality data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Full Story | Top |
| Toshiba, SanDisk sue Hynix over suspected flash memory technology leak Thursday, Mar 13, 2014 07:40 PM PDT  By Chang-Ran Kim and Miyoung Kim TOKYO (Reuters) - Partners Toshiba Corp of Japan and SanDisk Corp of the United States separately filed civil lawsuits against South Korea's SK Hynix Inc, seeking damages over the suspected theft of data related to their flagship flash memory chip technology used in smartphones and tablet computers. SK Hynix said on Friday it had not yet received the litigation and had no comment to make. Hynix competes with both Toshiba and SanDisk, partners in flash memory technology for nearly 15 years, in supplying chips to device makers. The moves follow the arrest by Tokyo police on Thursday of a former SanDisk engineer suspected of improperly providing technical data to Hynix, where he later worked. Full Story | Top |
| Four feared dead in latest British helicopter crash Thursday, Mar 13, 2014 07:33 PM PDT Four people are feared to have died when a civilian helicopter crashed in eastern England on Thursday evening, emergency services said, in the latest in a series of helicopter crashes in Britain over the past few months. The East of England Ambulance Service said in a statement: "sadly it is believed that four people in the helicopter are believed to have died in the crash." No further details were immediately available. The crash happened some 45 miles (72 km) from where four crew members died when a U.S. military helicopter crashed on a training mission in January. Last November, 10 people died when a helicopter crashed into a crowded bar in Scotland's second city, Glasgow. Full Story | Top |
| Tire blows out on plane about to take off from Philadelphia airport Thursday, Mar 13, 2014 07:17 PM PDT  (Reuters) - A tire blew out on a U.S. Airways plane with 154 passengers and crew on board as it was rolling down the runway at Philadelphia International Airport on Thursday, prompting the pilot to abort the takeoff, an airline spokesman said. There were no reports of serious injuries following the early evening incident, in which the front nose gear of the plane also collapsed, although two passengers requested medical assistance, said U.S. Airways spokesman William McGlashen. The plane was an Airbus A320, airport spokeswoman Victoria Lupica said. "Initial reports indicate Flight 1702 from Philadelphia to Fort Lauderdale (Florida) blew a tire on takeoff and the pilot elected to abort takeoff," McGlashen said. Full Story | Top |
| GM pressured to compensate victims in faulty ignition crashes Thursday, Mar 13, 2014 06:53 PM PDT GM is a different legal entity than the one that filed the 2009 bankruptcy that shook the U.S. economy. But with a massive recall on its hands and accusations the company knew of the defect for a decade, GM is facing pressure from consumer groups that say the arrangement would unfairly bar victims from getting the compensation they deserve. On Wednesday, two prominent consumer advocacy groups called on GM Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra to create a $1 billion trust fund to pay victims. "Don't you think in your heart of hearts that it is cruel and unfair to use those defenses to escape liability for a defect GM concealed and failed to remedy for 10 years?" Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, and Joan Claybrook, president emeritus of Public Citizen, stated in a letter they released to the public. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. contractor pleads guilty to giving Chinese woman secrets Thursday, Mar 13, 2014 06:52 PM PDT A U.S. defense contractor in Hawaii pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges he passed national defense secrets, including classified information on joint training and planning exercises with South Korea, to a Chinese woman with whom he was romantically involved, prosecutors said. Benjamin Pierce Bishop, 60, a former U.S. Army officer, was working as a civilian employee of a defense contractor at U.S. Pacific Command in Oahu when he was arrested last year and charged with one count of communicating national defense information to a person not entitled to receive it and one count of willfully retaining documents related to national defense. "This case once again demonstrates our commitment and unwavering resolve to pursue and prosecute individuals who violate their security oaths and endanger our national security by unlawfully communicating sensitive and damaging classified national defense information to persons who are not entitled to receive it," Nakakuni said. Full Story | Top |
| GM says report of 303 deaths in recalled cars based on 'raw data' Thursday, Mar 13, 2014 06:52 PM PDT DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co said a new report of 303 deaths in 1.6 million recalled GM cars is based on "raw data." GM said new research on crash deaths in the Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion by U.S. watchdog group Center for Auto Safety lacks "rigorous analysis." GM said its investigation into the massive ignition switch recall and the impact of the defective switch is "ongoing." (Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit; Editing by Eric Walsh) Full Story | Top |
| U.S. weighs Ukraine requests for military aid, OKs rations: sources Thursday, Mar 13, 2014 05:42 PM PDT By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is weighing requests for military assistance from Ukraine, including both lethal and non-lethal support, two U.S. officials said on Thursday, as a prominent U.S. senator urged approval of any arms sought by Kiev. The U.S. officials, who asked to speak on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the diplomatic discussions, said the United States had already decided to move ahead with some aid, including military food rations. The U.S. government was still weighing other requests, including for lethal aid, which were made through the U.S. State Department, the officials added, without offering more details. Earlier on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Ukraine's interim government asked for arms, ammunition and intelligence support but the United States had decided against further assistance beyond rations because of concerns about stoking tensions with Russia. Full Story | Top |
| Search for Malaysian plane may extend to Indian Ocean: U.S. Thursday, Mar 13, 2014 05:39 PM PDT  By Anshuman Daga and Mark Hosenball KUALA LUMPUR/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new search area for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 may be opened in the Indian Ocean, the White House said, significantly broadening the potential location of the plane, which disappeared nearly a week ago with 239 people on board. Expanding the search area to the Indian Ocean would be consistent with the theory that the Boeing 777 may have detoured to the west about an hour after take-off from the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing. "It's my understanding that based on some new information that's not necessarily conclusive - but new information - an additional search area may be opened in the Indian Ocean," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters in Washington. The disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines plane is one of the most baffling mysteries in the history of modern aviation. Full Story | Top |
| Disney faces latest investor proposal to nominate directors Thursday, Mar 13, 2014 05:15 PM PDT  Walt Disney Co shareholders are expected to vote at its March 18 annual meeting on a resolution that asks the company to allow large shareholders to nominate board members, the latest bid by investor groups to win "proxy access" rights. The Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds and the California State Teachers Retirement System proposed that the board allow owners of at least 3 percent of the company's stock be empowered to nominate up to 20 percent of the board, according to a regulatory filing from Disney on January 24. "Disney is a bellwether company and the vote will get a lot of attention," said Robert McCormick, chief policy officer of proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis, which has advised its clients to vote for the measure. This year, shareholders at as many as 20 companies will consider proxy access proposals, said Patrick McGurn, special counsel to proxy advisory firm ISS that has advised Disney shareholders to approve the measure. Full Story | Top |
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