| | |
| Former Dewey law firm executives to be criminally charged: source Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 07:15 PM PST By Karen Freifeld NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three former top executives from the bankrupt U.S. law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf are expected to be hit with criminal charges on Thursday related to their alleged misleading of lawyers and banks about the firm's financial straits, according to a person familiar with the matter. Indictments are set to be unsealed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan against former Dewey Chairman Steven Davis, former Executive Director Stephen DiCarmine, and former Chief Financial Officer Joel Sanders, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Manhattan District Attorney has been investigating the executives since around April 2012, when a group of Dewey & LeBoeuf partners asked the prosecutor's office to examine "financial irregularities" at the firm. A spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney did not immediately respond to an email for comment. Full Story | Top |
| Fisher warns Fed's bond buying could be distorting U.S. financial markets Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 06:52 PM PST  A U.S. Federal Reserve policymaker who has long criticized its bond-buying stimulus said on Wednesday the program has lasted too long, and there are signs it is now distorting financial markets and encouraging risk-taking. In a speech in Mexico City, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher amplified some lingering concerns that the central bank's policy stimulus is stoking asset-price bubbles that "may result in tears" for investors acting on bad incentives. Fisher, a voter on U.S. monetary policy this year, also praised Mexico's moves to stimulate growth in the wake of the global recession. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. author George Saunders wins Story Prize for short fiction Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 06:36 PM PST (Reuters) - American author George Saunders on Wednesday won the Story Prize for his best-selling short story collection "Tenth of December," which has been lauded for its formal innovation and keen eye to people's darker aspects. Saunders, 55, topped finalists Andrea Barrett's "Archangel" collection and Rebecca Lee's "Bobcat" for the $20,000 prize, the richest among annual literary fiction honors in the United States. Saunders, who lives in New York and teaches creative writing at Syracuse University, was given the award at a ceremony at the New School in New York. "George Saunders offers a vision and version of our world that takes into account the serious menace all around us without denying the absurd pleasures that punctuate life," the judges said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Obama tells Democrats to focus on November midterms, not 2016 Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 06:00 PM PST  By Roberta Rampton BOSTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama gently chided Democratic donors on Wednesday for paying too much attention to the next presidential race in 2016 and not enough attention to the upcoming midterm elections in 2014. Reminding Democrats at a fundraiser in Boston that "we got whalloped" in the 2010 midterms, when Republicans took control of the U.S. House of Representatives, Obama warned that "it could happen again if we don't fight on behalf of the things we care about in this election." "No one could be more invested than me in having a Democrat succeed me," Obama told about 70 supporters at a dinner where tickets cost $5,000 to $20,000. But he stressed to Democrats they need to invest time, money and energy on the November midterms. Too often, when there's not a presidential election, we don't think it's sexy, we don't think it's interesting, people tune out," Obama said. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: GM ratchets up truck discounts as U.S. sales skid Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 05:57 PM PST  By Paul Lienert and Ben Klayman DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co ratcheted up discounts in February on its full-size pickups, but it is telling Wall Street analysts that it intends to maintain premium pricing and margins on the trucks despite a drop in volume and market share. On Tuesday, Chuck Stevens, GM's new chief financial officer and a key member of CEO Mary Barra's executive team, was dispatched to New York to update Wall Street analysts on the automaker's financial outlook, including the performance of its big trucks. A key message, according to analysts: GM remains focused on maintaining pricing "discipline," especially on the hugely profitable full-size pickups in a highly combustible and fluid U.S. market. GM is "working on marketing strategies to gain traction at the lower end of the (pickup) market without giving up pricing gains at the high end," said UBS Securities in a Wednesday client note. Full Story | Top |
| Canadian police investigating after bitcoin bank Flexcoin folds Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 05:51 PM PST  By Julie Gordon and Leah Schnurr VANCOUVER/TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian police have launched an investigation after online bitcoin bank Flexcoin, which closed its virtual doors this week, said that it had lost about $600,000 worth of the digital currency in a hacker attack. The Edmonton, Alberta-based company reported the theft of 896 bitcoins on its website on Monday and said it "does not have the resources (or) assets ... to come back from this loss." It blamed the attack on hackers who had targeted its online wallet. Bitcoins stored in Flexcoin's cold storage facility, which is basically an offline bank, were not affected by the hack and will be returned to customers, the company said. The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) said on Wednesday they were investigating the issue. Full Story | Top |
| Chesapeake, Encana face criminal antitrust charges in Michigan Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 05:46 PM PST  By Joshua Schneyer, Brian Grow and Anna Driver (Reuters) - Oil and gas giants Chesapeake Energy and Encana Corp were charged on Wednesday with colluding to keep oil and gas lease prices artificially low in Michigan, state Attorney General Bill Schuette said. The criminal charges follow a lengthy investigation by Schuette's office into whether the firms -- the biggest land leasers during a speculative oil and gas leasing boom in Michigan's Collingwood Shale region during 2010 -- colluded to keep prices from rising as they acquired land leases from landowners. Michigan began looking into the companies' activities in 2012 after a Reuters investigation found that executives from the two firms discussed proposals to divide bidding responsibilities in the state for nine private landowners and counties in Michigan. Under Michigan law, an antitrust violation is considered a misdemeanor, which carries penalties that can include fines and prison terms of up to two years for individuals, and up to a $1 million fine for a corporation. Full Story | Top |
| Rise in U.S. auto, home sales show Fed policies are working: Williams Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 05:31 PM PST  Rebounding auto sales and improving home sales and construction are good evidence that the Federal Reserve's super-easy monetary policy is boosting the U.S. economy, a top Fed official told a group of students on Wednesday. "The rebounding sectors are the interest-sensitive ones," San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams said in a speech to students at the University of Seattle that otherwise contained little about the outlook for the economy or monetary policy. The fact that auto sales are nearly back to their pre-crisis levels, and housing sales have much improved, are evidence that the Fed's efforts to push down borrowing costs are working, Williams said. The Fed has kept short-term rates near zero for more than five years and bought trillions of dollars of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities to encourage people and businesses to spend and invest. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: DirecTV in talks with Disney on deal for Internet rights Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 05:27 PM PST  DirecTV is in talks with Walt Disney Co to license the rights to offer Disney's broadcast and cable channels as part of an Internet-based product, DirecTV said on Wednesday. The deal would mirror a first-of-its kind agreement that Disney and satellite rival Dish Network Corp announced earlier this week. The Internet rights being discussed are part of a large-scale programming agreement that would replace a deal between the companies that expires in late December. Disney and Dish are in negotiations but the timing of the new deal could be not be learned. Full Story | Top |
| U.S.-based TV anchor quits Russian station during newscast Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 05:16 PM PST A Washington-based news anchor for the Russia Today television network quit her job on air on Wednesday, telling viewers she could not be part of a Russian government-funded station "that whitewashes the actions of Putin." Citing on-air comments earlier this week by another U.S.-based Russia Today presenter, Abby Martin, that Russian intervention in Ukraine's Crimea region was "wrong," Liz Wahl told viewers that "as a reporter on this network, I face many ethical and moral challenges." "My grandparents came here as refugees during the Hungarian revolution, ironically to escape the Soviet forces," Wahl said, adding she was "very lucky to have grown up here in the United States." Wahl added she was the daughter of a military veteran and her partner was a doctor at a military base "where he sees everyday the first-hand accounts of the ultimate prices that people pay for this country." "And that is why personally I cannot be part of a network funded by the Russian government that whitewashes the actions of Putin," she said. "I'm proud to be an American and believe in disseminating the truth and that is why after this newscast, I'm resigning." Russia Today could not be reached for comment. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. accuses Syria of stonewalling on chemical arms plants Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 04:38 PM PST  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Syria is stonewalling members of the global chemical weapons watchdog and refusing to seriously negotiate on the destruction of its facilities used to produce poison gas, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations said on Wednesday. The sharp criticism of the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad came after the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague said Syria has shipped about a third of its chemical weapons stockpile, including mustard gas, for destruction abroad. "OPCW trying to reach agreement to destroy CW production facilities—#Syria refusing to seriously negotiate & is (about) to miss another deadline," U.S. Ambassador Samantha Powers said on her Twitter feed. Last year Syria had asked the OPCW for permission to convert for peaceful use some of the facilities declared under its weapons program, but Western diplomats said they were loath to accept such a plan as it could leave Syria with a residual chemical weapons capability. Full Story | Top |
| Big power talks on Ukraine crisis make little progress Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 04:35 PM PST  By John Irish and Timothy Heritage PARIS/KIEV (Reuters) - High-level diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in Ukraine made little apparent headway at talks in Paris on Wednesday, with Moscow and Washington at odds and Russia's foreign minister refusing to recognize his Ukrainian counterpart. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said discussions would continue in the coming days in an attempt to stabilize the crisis and he expected to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov again in Rome on Thursday. We have a number of ideas on the table," he said after talks with ministers from Ukraine, Russia, Britain and France. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. businessman convicted in China economic espionage case Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 04:18 PM PST  By Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California businessman was convicted on Wednesday of stealing DuPont trade secrets to help a state-owned Chinese company develop a white pigment used in a wide range of products. In a San Francisco federal court, a jury found Walter Liew guilty on over 20 criminal counts including conspiracy to commit economic espionage and trade secret theft. It also convicted another defendant, former DuPont engineer Robert Maegerle, on multiple counts as well. U.S. prosecutors contended Liew paid former DuPont employees like Maegerle to reveal trade secrets that would help the Chinese company, Pangang Group, develop a white pigment called chloride-route titanium dioxide, also known as TiO2. Full Story | Top |
| UK army cuts may leave army unable to handle threats - MPs Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 04:16 PM PST  By Kylie MacLellan LONDON (Reuters) - Cuts to Britain's army, driven by the need to save money, risk leaving the country unable to respond adequately to future threats, a committee of lawmakers said on Thursday. Last month Britain announced the final part of a plan to help the country tackle its large public debts by shrinking its armed forces by around a sixth. The army will be left with 82,000 soldiers in 2018, down from 102,000 in 2010. The scale of the cuts has fuelled a debate about Britain's diplomatic and military role in the world and its ability to project force globally. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. health plans that don't meet Obamacare rules can renew for two more years Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 04:01 PM PST  By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Wednesday said it would allow health insurers to extend plans that fail to comply with its signature health law for an additional two years, a move Republicans quickly condemned as a politically motivated delay. In a release of new guidelines to insurers and employers for 2015, the administration said it would now allow renewal of noncompliant health plans that begin as late as October 1, 2016. Officials said they believe the change would affect 500,000 to 1.5 million people who hold "transitional policies" that lack consumer protections enshrined in the law known as Obamacare. The policy stems from a wave of insurance plan cancellations last year that sparked a public outcry against President Barack Obama and Democrats, forcing the administration to abruptly allow people to renew noncompliant policies in states where regulators allowed the change. Full Story | Top |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment