Today's Reuters News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
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Bachmann off, Perry on Republican rollercoaster
Wed,4 Jan 2012 06:07 PM PST
Reuters -  DES MOINES, Iowa/MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Michele Bachmann was out, Rick Perry was back and Rick Santorum was up in the most volatile Republican presidential nominating contest in decades on Wednesday, as conservative Republicans searched for an alternative to frontrunner Mitt Romney. Bachmann, a U.S. congresswoman from Minnesota, stepped down after a dismal sixth place finish in the first Republican nominating contest in Iowa, which was decided by a margin of 8 votes out of the 122,000 cast. ...
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Kodak prepares for Chapter 11 filing: report
Wed,4 Jan 2012 05:51 PM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - Eastman Kodak is preparing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing in case it is unable to sell its digital patents to raise capital, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The once-iconic photographic film pioneer is in talks with potential lenders to secure about $1 billion in debtor-in possession financing to sustain Kodak through bankruptcy proceedings, the Journal reported, citing unidentified sources. The Chapter 11 filing could come as soon as this month or early February, the newspaper said. ...
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Stymied by Congress, Obama to boldly seat nominees
Wed,4 Jan 2012 04:48 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON/CLEVELAND (Reuters) - A defiant President Barack Obama on Wednesday took his boldest action yet to show voters he will confront Republicans, announcing he will bypass Congress and install nominees into politically sensitive jobs overseeing consumer lending and the labor force. Obama will make recess appointments placing Richard Cordray in charge of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and to fill three vacancies on the National Labor Relations Board. The nominees were all facing drawn-out Republican opposition. ...
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Yahoo names PayPal's Thompson as CEO
Wed,4 Jan 2012 04:25 PM PST
Reuters -  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc named PayPal President Scott Thompson as its chief executive on Wednesday, hoping the well-regarded Internet technology and e-commerce expert will replicate his success at eBay Inc and turn around the struggling company. Thompson, credited with driving growth at eBay's online payments division PayPal, joins Yahoo during a period of turmoil, as the company plows ahead with a strategic review in which discussions have included the possibility of being sold, taken private or broken up. ...
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Syrian activists say troop withdrawal is a sham
Wed,4 Jan 2012 05:08 PM PST
Reuters -  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Opposition activists say Syrian authorities are breaking their promises to withdraw troops from the streets of strife-torn towns, contradicting statements by Arab League peace monitors that government forces have pulled back. An Arab League mission arrived in Syria last week to verify whether the government was implementing a peace plan under which it agreed to scale back its military presence and free thousands of prisoners detained since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began last March. ...
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Holy Revenge: Ex Murdoch editor hired by rival NY tabloid
Wed,4 Jan 2012 07:54 PM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - The Daily News of New York has hired former News of the World editor Colin Myler as its editor in chief, an appointment that is certain to add spice to the newspaper's long and heated rivalry with Rupert Murdoch's New York Post. Myler, who replaces Kevin Convey, had long been a close lieutenant of Murdoch, serving as managing editor of the New York Post before he was brought to London in 2007 to clean up the scandal-plagued News of the World. The hiring of Myler, 59, means he will now be in direct competition with Murdoch, whose News Corp. ...
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Family of U.S. soldier held by Taliban hopeful over Qatar deal
Wed,4 Jan 2012 10:43 PM PST
Reuters -  SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - The family of a U.S. soldier held captive by the Taliban for over two years said on Wednesday they were optimistic about the possibility of talks between the Afghan insurgent group and countries including the United States. They expressed hope that Bowe Bergdahl would be freed "as soon as possible" in a statement issued a day after the Taliban said they had reached a preliminary agreement to set up a political office in the Gulf Arab country of Qatar. ...
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US Congress presses rating agencies on MF Global: report
Wed,4 Jan 2012 09:12 PM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - Congressional investigators have stepped up their inquiry into the work of credit rating firms that examined MF Global's overly risky bets on European government bonds and whether they overlooked crucial information in their evaluations, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. ...
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Pakistani Taliban say kill 15 soldiers, vow further "revenge"
Wed,4 Jan 2012 10:23 PM PST
Reuters - PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - The Pakistani Taliban have killed 15 kidnapped troops in revenge for military operations against them near the Afghan border, a Taliban spokesman said Thursday, vowing further such attacks. Pakistani forces have targeted militants in the northwestern Khyber tribal region on and off for more than four years. "This is revenge for the killing of our comrades in Khyber by Pakistani forces," Ehsanullah Ehsan, a spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), told Reuters. "We will soon take revenge for other operations too. ... Full Story | Top |
In final leg of vote, Egypt's Islamists eye majority
Wed,4 Jan 2012 02:45 PM PST
Reuters -  CAIRO (Reuters) - The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood looks set for a dominant role in Egypt's first free parliament in decades and is promising rivals a role in writing a new constitution as military generals face growing pressure to hand power to civilians. Egyptians voted for a second day on Wednesday in the final stage of the lower-house election, the first free legislative vote since army officers overthrew the monarchy in 1952. ...
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Analysis: Doubts over Syria rebel army after escalation threat
Wed,4 Jan 2012 02:47 PM PST
Reuters -  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Threats by Syrian armed insurgents to step up attacks on security forces, just days after their leader announced a truce that was largely ignored, have reinforced doubts over the control top officers exert over rebel fighters on the ground. Colonel Riad al-Asaad, head of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), pledged this week to escalate operations in response to what he said was the unsatisfactory performance of Arab League monitors in halting President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on protests. ...
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Michele Bachmann ends campaign
Wed,4 Jan 2012 10:13 AM PST
Reuters -  DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Representative Michele Bachmann ended her campaign to become the 2012 Republican presidential nominee on Wednesday and called on supporters to rally behind the party's eventual choice. Bachmann ignored shouted questions from reporters on whom she would endorse. "I have decided to stand aside ... I will not be continuing in this race for the presidency," Bachmann told a news conference in Des Moines, Iowa. ...
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Militias may drag Libya into civil war: NTC chief
Wed,4 Jan 2012 02:45 PM PST
Reuters -  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya risks sliding into civil war unless it cracks down on the rival militias which filled the vacuum left by Muammar Gaddafi's downfall, the head of the interim administration said after an outbreak of violence in the capital. Mustafa Abdel Jalil, chairman of the National Transitional Council (NTC), issued the stark warning in response to a gun battle between militias in one of Tripoli's busiest streets which killed four fighters. ...
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Exclusive: EU agrees to embargo on Iranian crude
Wed,4 Jan 2012 11:37 AM PST
Reuters -  BRUSSELS/TEHRAN (Reuters) - European governments have agreed in principle to ban imports of Iranian oil, EU diplomats said on Wednesday, dealing a blow to Tehran that crowns new Western sanctions months before an Iranian election. The prospective embargo by the European Union, along with tough U.S. financial measures signed into law by President Barack Obama on New Year's Eve, form a concerted Western campaign to hold back Iran's nuclear program. Iran says the program is strictly non-military, but Western countries say a November U.N. report shows it has sought to build an atomic bomb. ...
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Wall Street flat as market brushes off Europe concerns
Wed,4 Jan 2012 02:44 PM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Major U.S. stock indexes were little changed in a low-volume session on Wednesday, but some investors were encouraged to see equities avoid a sell-off amid lingering euro zone's debt problems. Indexes held on to the previous day's large gains even as the euro dropped sharply against the dollar. Notably, U.S. banks held up well, even though bad news in Europe centered around the difficulties for some European lenders. Tight credit markets are making it expensive for European banks to raise capital and for euro-zone countries to refinance debt. ...
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Syrian activists say government armor still in cities
Wed,4 Jan 2012 02:43 PM PST
Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - Opposition activists said on Wednesday armored vehicles were still in the streets of Syrian cities ready to act against protesters, contradicting statements by Arab League peace monitors that troops had withdrawn. Opposition groups in the cities of Idlib in the north, central Homs and Deraa in the south said the army had hidden armor in dugouts and replaced tanks with blue armored vehicles said to belong to police forces. ...
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Bachmann off, Perry on the Republican rollercoaster
Wed,4 Jan 2012 03:56 PM PST
Reuters -  DES MOINES, Iowa/PITTSFIELD, New Hampshire (Reuters) - The rough-and-tumble Republican race for the White House became even more entangled on Wednesday when Tea Party favorite Michele Bachmann quit and Rick Perry decided to stay in after all. Bachmann stepped down after a dismal sixth place finish in the Iowa caucuses, which were decided by a difference of only 8 votes out of the 122,000 that were cast. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney won Iowa by the tightest of margins over social conservative Rick Santorum, a former U.S. ...
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Obama defies Republicans with consumer agency pick
Wed,4 Jan 2012 01:39 PM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON/CLEVELAND (Reuters) - A defiant President Barack Obama said he will bypass Congress and install Richard Cordray as head of the country's new consumer financial watchdog, escalating an election-year fight with Republicans, who questioned the legality of the move. The recess appointment, which Obama announced in a campaign-style rally at a high school gym in a Cleveland suburb, is being cheered by Democrats and liberal advocacy groups who want tougher oversight of Wall Street and other financial players. ...
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Yahoo names PayPal's Thompson as CEO
Wed,4 Jan 2012 02:25 PM PST
Reuters - SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Yahoo named PayPal President Scott Thompson as its chief executive on Wednesday, hoping the well-regarded Internet technology and e-commerce expert will replicate his success at eBay Inc and turn around the struggling company. Thompson, credited with driving growth at eBay's online payments division PayPal, joins Yahoo during a period of turmoil, as the company plows ahead with a strategic review in which discussions have included the possibility of being sold, taken private or broken up. ...
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Argentina's Fernandez recovering well after surgery
Wed,4 Jan 2012 02:46 PM PST
Reuters -  PILAR, Argentina (Reuters) - Argentina's popular president, Cristina Fernandez, is recovering well after undergoing surgery for thyroid cancer on Wednesday, setting the stage for her return to work later this month. Fernandez's papillary carcinoma was detected during a routine medical checkup just before Christmas and there was no sign the disease had spread, government officials said. The cancer diagnosis came just months after the center-left leader easily won a second four-year term in office. Doctors have said the 58-year-old president has a better than 90 percent chance of recovery. ...
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Gross's bond fund bleeds $1.4 billion in December: Morningstar
Wed,4 Jan 2012 05:31 AM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - The PIMCO Total Return Fund, the world's largest bond fund, had $1.4 billion in outflows in December, according to fund analytics firm Morningstar. The fund, operated by Bill Gross, co-chief investment officer of Pacific Investment Management Co, suffered total redemptions of $5 billion in 2011, a year in which the fund underperformed benchmarks after betting heavily against U.S. Treasuries, which rallied on the year. The fund, which has about $244 billion in assets under management, has had investor redemptions on and off for more than a year. ...
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Iran says has way to work around EU oil ban threat
Wed,4 Jan 2012 09:31 AM PST
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Iran has alternatives in place to let it cope with a threatened European Union embargo on its oil and increased U.S. pressure, and plans to keep up exports of some 2.3 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, a senior Iranian oil official said. EU governments have reached a preliminary agreement to ban imports of Iranian crude to the European Union but have yet to decide when such an embargo would be put in place, EU diplomats said on Wednesday. Tehran had already considered different routes if that were to happen, S. M. ... Full Story | Top |
Analysis: Nuclear fuel test won't hasten Iran bomb: experts
Wed,4 Jan 2012 08:57 AM PST
Reuters -  VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran's latest claim of a breakthrough in its nuclear program seems unlikely to bring it any closer to having atomic bombs soon, but serves rather as another defiant message to the West. This week's announcement that Iran has successfully made and tested fuel rods for use in nuclear power plants appeared designed to show that sanctions are failing to halt its technical advances and to strengthen its hand in any renewed negotiations with the major powers. ...
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Wegelin braced for U.S. legal fight as staff charged
Wed,4 Jan 2012 04:41 AM PST
Reuters - ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss private bank Wegelin & Co confirmed on Wednesday three employees had been charged by U.S. authorities for helping U.S. taxpayers hide some $1.2 billion in assets from tax authorities. Wegelin said it had prepared its legal assessment of the matter ahead of the expected proceedings. "Although U.S. law has some scope for interpretation in this case, Wegelin & Co is certain that Swiss law was not broken at any point ... The accused employees worked for the bank within the borders of Switzerland," Wegelin said in an emailed statement to Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
NY police say man confesses in firebomb on mosque
Wed,4 Jan 2012 07:36 AM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York City man faces arson and bias charges after confessing on Tuesday to a series of Molotov cocktail attacks that hit a mosque and a Hindu place of worship and unsettled civic leaders concerned the actions might portend violent religious bigotry. The suspect, who has not been identified by name, is a 40-year-old unemployed tow-truck driver who appeared to have been motivated by personal grudges, said a law enforcement familiar with the investigation who was speaking on condition of anonymity. ...
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Analysis: Obama among the winners in Iowa
Wed,4 Jan 2012 04:39 AM PST
Reuters -  DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - After a dramatic, confusing night of suspense in the Republican Party's Iowa caucuses, the big winner may well have been a Democrat: Barack Obama. The president's re-election campaign had reason to smile early Wednesday, as Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum battled to a virtual dead heat in the caucuses that kicked off the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, emerges from Iowa with his front-runner status intact, his well-funded campaign ready for a months-long fight. ...
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Syrian rebel leader threatens to escalate attacks
Tue,3 Jan 2012 06:20 PM PST
Reuters -  BEIRUT (Reuters) - The commander of Syria's armed rebels has threatened to step up attacks on President Bashar al-Assad's forces, saying he was frustrated with Arab League monitors' lack of progress in ending a government crackdown on protests. "If we feel they (the monitors) are still not serious in a few days, or at most within a week, we will take a decision which will surprise the regime and the whole world," the head of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Colonel Riad al-Asaad, told Reuters in an interview. ...
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Iran threatens U.S. Navy as sanctions hit economy
Tue,3 Jan 2012 03:29 PM PST
Reuters -  TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran threatened on Tuesday to take action if the U.S. Navy moves an aircraft carrier into the Gulf, Tehran's most aggressive statement yet after weeks of saber-rattling as new U.S. and EU financial sanctions take a toll on its economy. The United States dismissed the Iranian threat, saying it was proof that sanctions imposed over Iran's nuclear program were working. The Pentagon said it would keep sending carrier strike groups through the Gulf regardless. ...
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Gross's bond fund bleeds $1.4 billion in December: Morningstar
Tue,3 Jan 2012 03:37 PM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - The PIMCO Total Return Fund, the world's largest bond fund, had $1.4 billion in outflows in December, according to fund analytics firm Morningstar. The fund, operated by Bill Gross, co-chief investment officer of Pacific Investment Management Co, suffered total redemptions of $5 billion in 2011, a year in which the fund underperformed benchmarks after betting heavily against U.S. Treasuries, which rallied on the year. The fund, which has about $244 billion in assets under management, has had investor redemptions on and off for more than a year. ...
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Manufacturing index hits six-month high
Tue,3 Jan 2012 11:53 AM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Manufacturing grew at its fastest pace in six months in December, capping a late-year upswing, but a European slump and rising oil prices posed threats to the U.S. economy in the new year. The Institute for Supply Management's index of national factory activity hit its highest level since June, coming in above forecasts at 53.9, more evidence that the U.S. economy picked up steam in the fourth quarter. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. A rise in new orders for manufactured goods suggested momentum going into 2012, Tuesday's report showed. ...
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Fed to publish rate path forecasts in transparency move
Wed,4 Jan 2012 05:48 AM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve, in a move that could push back expectations of when near-zero U.S. interest rates will rise, will begin publishing its policymakers' forecasts for borrowing costs. The step is a significant milestone in Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's push for greater policymaking transparency, and it could offer the economy a bit more of a lift by better aligning financial market bets with the main view at the central bank. The Fed has held the overnight federal funds rate close to zero since December 2008 and has bought $2. ...
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Wall Street starts 2012 higher on signs of global growth
Tue,3 Jan 2012 01:54 PM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hoping for something better than 2011's flat stock market, U.S. investors pushed shares higher on Tuesday to begin the new year, though questions remain about whether a rally can be sustained. The broad S&P 500 index closed at its highest since late October as traders, with cash on hand for the new year, welcomed better-than-expected German and Chinese economic data. The upbeat response was reinforced by U.S. economic reports showing construction spending and factory activity beat economists' forecasts. "There were some good economic numbers from outside the U.S. ...
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Pentagon to unveil revised defense strategy
Tue,3 Jan 2012 04:31 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A review of U.S. strategic interests that will guide Pentagon budget cuts in coming years is expected to propose keeping fewer troops in Europe and abandoning the goal of maintaining a force that can fight and win two wars simultaneously, administration officials say. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will unveil the results of the eight-month strategic review on Thursday at a joint news conference with Army General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. ...
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Santorum, Romney neck and neck with half of Iowa vote in
Tue,3 Jan 2012 07:54 PM PST
Reuters -  DES MOINES (Reuters) - Social conservative Rick Santorum and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney were tied at 24 percent of the vote in the Iowa Republican presidential caucuses on Tuesday after more than half the precincts reported, CNN and Fox News said. The two pulled ever so slightly ahead of libertarian Ron Paul, who was third at 22 percent, while former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich was in fourth at 13 percent. The candidates are seeking the Republican nomination to face Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 6 U.S. presidential election. ...
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Syrian rebel leader threatens to escalate attacks
Tue,3 Jan 2012 03:05 PM PST
Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - The commander of Syria's armed rebels threatened on Tuesday to step up attacks on President Bashar al-Assad's forces, saying he was frustrated with Arab League monitors' lack of progress in ending a government crackdown on protests. "If we feel they (the monitors) are still not serious in a few days, or at most within a week, we will take a decision which will surprise the regime and the whole world," the head of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Colonel Riad al-Asaad, told Reuters in an interview. ...
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NY police say man confesses in firebomb on mosque
Tue,3 Jan 2012 02:42 PM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York City man confessed to a series of Molotov cocktail attacks that hit a mosque and a Hindu place of worship, police said on Tuesday. The case was being investigated as a possible hate crime and drew strong condemnation from religious leaders of various backgrounds throughout the city. Police declined to identify the suspect, who was taken into custody early on Tuesday as a "person of interest" based on eyewitness reports and a surveillance video that may have placed his car at the scene of at least two of the five places that were firebombed on Sunday. ...
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Panetta to unveil review to guide defense cuts
Tue,3 Jan 2012 02:30 PM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will this week unveil the results of a strategic review of security interests which will guide billions of dollars in military spending cuts over the next decade, officials said on Tuesday. The review is expected to include a recommendation that the United States abandon its long-held goal of being able to fight and win two wars simultaneously, an Obama administration official said. ...
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Republican rivals face first test of 2012 in Iowa
Tue,3 Jan 2012 03:24 PM PST
Reuters -  DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Republican candidates criss-crossed Iowa making late appeals to voters, with polls giving at least three - Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul - a shot at winning the first contest of the 2012 presidential campaign on Tuesday. Iowa's quirky caucuses are known more for weeding out candidates than picking the future president. Finishing in a top spot could provide a big boost to any contender in the volatile contest to choose a Republican challenger to President Barack Obama in the November 6 election. ...
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JPMorgan sued for $95 million over mortgage securities
Tue,3 Jan 2012 11:40 AM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co has been sued for $95 million by the trustee for securities marketed in 2005 by the former Bear Stearns Cos over alleged misrepresentations regarding the underlying mortgage loans. US Bank NA wants to force JPMorgan to buy back the mortgage loans because of alleged breaches of representations and warranties regarding the Bear Stearns Asset Backed Securities Trust 2005-4, for which it serves as trustee. It also accused the largest U.S. ...
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Fed to publish rate path forecasts in new transparency move
Tue,3 Jan 2012 02:30 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Tuesday said it would begin publishing forecasts on the path of interest rates later this month, a move that could suggest rates will be on hold for longer than previously expected. The move is meant to better align bets in financial markets with the views of policymakers at the central bank and is a significant milestone in Ben Bernanke's push for greater policymaking transparency. The Fed has held the overnight federal funds rate close to zero since December 2008. ...
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