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| Blackstone Asia head Chae to oversee Asia ops from NY: memo Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 09:15 PM PDT  By Stephen Aldred and Greg Roumeliotis HONG KONG (Reuters) - Blackstone Group LP's head of private equity for Asia, senior managing director Michael Chae, is returning to New York after three years in Hong Kong, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. Chae arrived in Hong Kong from New York in 2011, with a mandate to rebuild and localize the firm in Asia, taking over from Ben Jenkins who was Asia head at that time. Full Story | Top |
| GM hires crisis manager Jeff Eller: NYT Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 09:09 PM PDT  (Reuters) - General Motors has hired Jeff Eller as a crisis management adviser, the New York Times reported, as the automaker faces investigations over ignition switch defects linked to deadly crashes and mounting recalls. GM Chief Executive Mary Barra on Wednesday endured a withering attack at a U.S. Senate hearing that opened with accusations that the company fostered "a culture of cover-up. The creation of the team of outside advisers stands in marked contrast to GM's early approach to handling the crisis, when it looked primarily inward to set strategy, the newspaper said. (http://link. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fonterra fined by New Zealand court over botulism food scare Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 09:07 PM PDT  Fonterra Ltd has been fined NZ$300,000 ($256,200) for the way it handled the food safety scare last year about potentially contaminated products and the damage the false alarm did to New Zealand's reputation for quality dairy products. Fonterra said in August last year that it had found a bacteria that could cause botulism in a range of products sold by a number of multinational companies. Testing later showed there had been no botulism. The scare prompted the recall of products, including baby formula, from shelves from China to Saudi Arabia, and led several countries to place a temporary ban on some New Zealand products. Full Story | Top |
| Asia pensive before U.S. jobs test, euro nurses losses Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 08:41 PM PDT  By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian markets were settling for a subdued session on Friday as investors counted down the hours to the U.S. jobs report, while the euro nursed a grudge after the European Central Bank opened the door to more aggressive easing, albeit not just yet. With virtually no major data of note due in Asia, moves were minor across the region. Australia's share market dipped 0.1 percent , while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan barely budged. Full Story | Top |
| China regulator to run stress tests on banks: paper Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 08:40 PM PDT  The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) has said it will conduct regional and national stress tests after banks saw a spike in bad loans last year, the Shanghai Securities News reported on Friday, reflecting growing creditworthiness concerns. "All (CBRC) offices, supervisory departments, must organize stress tests of banking institutional organizations in a timely manner so as to analyze the impact of unfavorable situations in individual banks and the banking system and urge banking financial institutions to make emergency plans," the regulator was quoted as saying in guidelines sent to banks in March. Chinese banks' non-performing loan (NPL) ratio rose to its highest level in two years in the last three months of 2013, to 1.0 percent, the CBRC reported in February. "Banks should study the risk situation in key regions, focus on certain industries and on important clients," the paper quoted from the CBRC document. Full Story | Top |
| Jennifer Lopez-backed channel nears deal to buy Fuse TV: Bloomberg Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 08:39 PM PDT (Reuters) - Latino-focused channel NuvoTV is nearing a deal to buy Madison Square Garden Co's Fuse TV and may announce the deal on Friday, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. (http://link.reuters.com/kub38v) Cable channel NuvoTV made an offer last month to buy Fuse TV for more than $200 million in cash and stock. Fuse, an American music television network, reaches about 74 million homes through pay-TV systems including DirecTV and Dish Network Corp. NuvoTV and Madison Square Garden were not available for comment, outside regular U.S. business hours. ... Full Story | Top |
| Soth Korea extending ballistic missile range to counter North's threat Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 08:13 PM PDT  South Korea has test-fired a new ballistic missile with a range of 500 km (310 miles) and will try to extend the range to 800 km so it can strike any site in North Korea, its defense ministry said on Friday, days after Pyongyang fired a mid-range missile. The new missiles are intended to counter the threat from North Korea's missile and nuclear programs, ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said, but the move is likely to rattle the North, hit with U.N. sanctions for its own missile tests. South Korea adopted a voluntary ban on developing ballistic missiles with a range of more than 300 km, under an agreement with the United States, but the allies agreed in 2012 to allow the South to develop 800 km-range missiles. "We test-fired it, and we succeeded," Kim told a briefing, when asked if the military had recently conducted a 500-km missile test. Full Story | Top |
| David Letterman to retire from CBS 'Late Show' in 2015 Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 07:35 PM PDT  By Ronald Grover and Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedian David Letterman, who brought a sardonic, offbeat wit to late-night television, along with bits such as "Stupid Pet Tricks" and his "Top Ten" list, will retire as host of "The Late Show" on CBS in 2015, he said during the taping of his show in New York. Letterman, 66, whose contract expires next year, began hosting the CBS show in August 1993, after leaving the rival NBC network, where he originated his late-night TV persona and much of his program on the "Late Night with David Letterman" show for many years. There was no immediate word on who might succeed Letterman in the key 11:30 p.m. slot on CBS, opposite NBC's top-rated "The Tonight Show." The Emmy-winning host said he had spoken in the past with CBS Corp President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves, "and we agreed that we would work together on this circumstance and the timing of this circumstance. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. lawmakers urge revamp of Army vehicle competition Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 07:07 PM PDT A group of 10 U.S. lawmakers on Thursday urged Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall to revamp the U.S. Army's $5 billion competition for a new armored vehicle to allow both tracked and wheeled vehicles to compete. The letter came a day before the U.S. Army is due to rule on a protest by General Dynamics Corp, which argues that the Army's rules for the competition are skewed to favor BAE Systems Plc's Bradley Fighting Vehicle, while putting General Dynamics' wheeled Stryker vehicles at a disadvantage. Full Story | Top |
| Funnel clouds, large hail and heavy rain pound U.S. Midwest Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 07:07 PM PDT A storm front packing funnel clouds, large hail and heavy rains rolled through the Midwest and southern United States on Thursday, leaving in its path downed trees and damaged homes, according to local media reports and police. Officials in Denton, Texas were assessing the damage after an early evening storm uprooted trees and dropped golf ball to softball size hail, according to Ryan Grelle, spokesman for the city's police department. In an area from the center of Texas to the northeast corner of Missouri, the National Weather Service noted 34 reports of strong winds that peeled off roofs and downed power lines, and 115 reports of hail. Full Story | Top |
| Craft beer distribution battle brews in Florida legislature Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 06:56 PM PDT  By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Beer fans line up every winter at Intuition Ale Works in north Florida for the annual tapping of Underdark, a world-class dark brew aged for a year in bourbon barrels that sells out quickly even at $15 a bottle. But a bill pending in the Florida Senate that would cut into Underdark's profit has craft beer-makers crying foul. The law would force craft brewers to sell their bottled and canned beer directly to a distributor. If they want to sell it in their own tap rooms, they would then have to buy it back at what is typically a 30-40 percent mark-up without the bottles or cans ever leaving the brewery, according to Joshua Aubuchon, a lawyer and lobbyist for the Florida Brewers Guild. Full Story | Top |
| Generic drug maker Mylan may buy Swedish rival Meda: FT Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 06:56 PM PDT (Reuters) - Generic drug maker Mylan Inc is looking to buy Swedish rival Meda AB in a deal that would create a $23 billion pharmaceutical company, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. The exact value of the deal is unknown but Mylan is likely to pay a "significant" premium to Meda's market value, a person familiar with the matter told the Financial Times. Meda's market valuation stood at 29.5 billion Swedish krona ($4.5 billion) at the end of trading on Thursday while Mylan's market value was $18.5 billion. Pennsylvania-based Mylan has appointed advisers to help it put together a deal for Meda, people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times. Full Story | Top |
| Funding gap threatens retirement for California teachers Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 06:55 PM PDT The pension fund for public school teachers in California faces a long-term shortfall of $74 billion, threatening its ability to pay for the retirement of nearly 1 million teachers and administrators in the nation's most populous state, officials said on Thursday. The gap is growing by about $15 million per day, the California State Teachers Retirement System said in a written statement, and the system could run out of money in 32 years. "CalSTRS has slightly less than 67 cents on hand for every dollar it owes its members," CalSTRS spokeswoman Gretchen Zeagler said in a statement. To make up the difference, participants - whether teachers, school districts or the state - will have to contribute more toward members' retirement, said CalSTRS Chief Executive Officer Jack Ehnes. Full Story | Top |
| Cargo ship sinks off South Korea, 11 North Korean crew missing Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 06:47 PM PDT  A Mongolian-flagged cargo ship has sunk off the southern coast of South Korea, with most of the 16 North Korean crew members on board missing, South Korean coast guard officials said on Friday. The Grand Fortune 1 was sailing from the Chongjin region on North Korea's east coast for a Chinese port carrying iron ore, said one official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. The vessel sails regularly between North Korea and China, according to Reuters' ship tracking system. The rescued crew members were taken to a South Korean hospital for treatment, according to the coast guard. Full Story | Top |
| Japan Aso: BOJ's aggressive stimulus should be appreciated Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 06:32 PM PDT  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday that the Bank of Japan's aggressive monetary easing, announced exactly a year ago, should be appreciated as it helped boost consumer inflation and drive economic growth. Aso made the remark when asked about how he would evaluate the central bank's aggressive monetary stimulus unleashed under Governor Haruhiko Kuroda. ... Full Story | Top |
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