Today's Reuters News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
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Greece averts immediate default with bond success
Thu,8 Mar 2012 11:49 PM PST
Reuters -  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece averted on Friday the immediate risk of an uncontrolled default, winning strong acceptance from its private creditors for a bond swap deal which will ease its massive public debt and clear the way for a new international bailout. The finance ministry said creditors had tendered 85.8 percent of the 177 billion euros in bonds regulated under Greek law. That rate would reach 95.7 percent of all Greek debt with the use of "collective action clauses" to enforce the deal on creditors who refused to take part voluntarily. ...
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Deal not sealed, Romney hits Santorum with big ad buys
Thu,8 Mar 2012 09:11 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mitt Romney's presidential campaign would like to be focusing its attacks on Democratic President Barack Obama around now. But after failing to seize control of the Republican nomination race on "Super Tuesday," Romney cannot shake off rival Rick Santorum, whom he criticized on Thursday as a political insider. Opening up a new front against Santorum, the Romney campaign accused him of being a lobbyist in his home state of Pennsylvania even before he went to Washington in 1991. ...
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February jobs gains seen strong, keeping Fed at bay
Thu,8 Mar 2012 10:22 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Employment likely grew solidly for a third straight month in February, a sign the economic recovery is becoming more durable and in less need of further monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve. The economy probably created 210,000 jobs last month, according to a Reuters survey, following January's tally of 243,000. The unemployment rate is expected to have held at a three-year low of 8.3 percent. ...
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Syrian rebels reject Annan's call for dialogue
Thu,8 Mar 2012 08:44 PM PST
Reuters -  CAIRO/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Kofi Annan, the U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria, said he would urge President Bashar al-Assad and his foes to stop fighting and seek a political solution, drawing angry rebukes from dissidents. "The killing has to stop and we need to find a way of putting in the appropriate reforms and moving forward," Annan said on Thursday in Cairo ahead of his trip to Damascus on Saturday. Syrian dissidents reacted with dismay and said government repression had destroyed prospects of a negotiated deal. ...
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Afghanistan, U.S. to sign prison transfer deal: officials
Thu,8 Mar 2012 11:29 PM PST
Reuters -  KABUL (Reuters) - An agreement on the transfer of U.S.-run detention centers to Afghan authorities is expected to be signed on Friday, two Afghan officials said, improving the prospects of a strategic partnership deal allowing for long-term U.S. involvement in the country. The officials said a memorandum of understanding would be signed at the foreign ministry. (Reporting by Hamid Shalizi; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
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Keystone oil pipeline bill fails in Senate
Thu,8 Mar 2012 05:25 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democrats on Thursday defeated a Republican proposal to give a permit to the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline in a vote that will give Republicans more ammunition to criticize President Barack Obama's energy policies on the campaign trail. Republicans argue the pipeline, which would ship oil from Canada and northern states to Texas, would create jobs and improve energy security at a time of surging gasoline prices. Obama put TransCanada's $7 billion project on hold earlier this year pending further environmental review. ...
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BofA in side deal with government on mortgage foreclosures: WSJ
Thu,8 Mar 2012 09:19 PM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - Bank of America, one of five banks in $25 billion settlement with the government over foreclosure practices, has struck a side deal that will allow it to reduce penalties in return for bigger cuts to borrowers' mortgage balances, the Wall Street Journal said. Bank of America will make deeper and broader cuts than other banks, which will allow it to avoid as much as $850 million in penalties and give more than 200,000 financially strapped households the opportunity to sharply reduce their mortgage balances, the paper said. ...
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Stanford foreign accounts should be forfeited: jury
Thu,8 Mar 2012 04:25 PM PST
Reuters -  HOUSTON (Reuters) - Convicted swindler Allen Stanford should forfeit some $330 million stashed in foreign bank accounts, a jury found on Thursday. The verdict clears the way for the U.S. government to try to seize the funds and return them to investors. Stanford was convicted on Tuesday in federal court in Houston of running a $7 billion Ponzi scheme. During a six-week trial, prosecutors said Stanford stole the deposits of investors in Stanford International Bank in Antigua to fund a lavish lifestyle of girlfriends, mansions, private jets and yachts. ...
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Greek debt hopes buoy shares, eyes on U.S. jobs
Thu,8 Mar 2012 11:05 PM PST
Reuters -  TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo stocks jumped to a seven-month high on Friday as Asian shares rose on signs that Greece is a step nearer to securing a bailout fund, and on expectations U.S. nonfarm payrolls data due later in the day will confirm a labor market recovery. Financial spreadbetters expected major European markets to open mixed, with Britain's FTSE 100 seen opening 0.1 percent lower but Germany's DAX and France's CAC-40 rising as much as 0.2 percent. Results of Greece's bond swap with private creditors showed that 85.8 percent of private creditors had accepted its bond swap offer. ...
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Murdoch faces investigation over BSkyB ownership
Thu,8 Mar 2012 06:43 PM PST
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - British satellite broadcaster BSkyB, part of Rupert Murdoch's UK media business, is facing an escalating investigation into whether it is a "fit and proper" owner of a broadcasting licence, Britain's telecoms regulator said on Thursday. Ofcom said it set up a dedicated team in January known as 'Project Apple' to investigate material emerging from the Leveson inquiry and the police's investigations into phone hacking and the corrupting of public officials. The investigation is considering the status of both James Murdoch, chairman of BSkyB, and News Corp, which holds a 39. ...
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China cyber capability endangers U.S. forces: report
Thu,8 Mar 2012 09:54 AM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chinese cyberwarfare would pose a genuine risk to the U.S. military in a conflict, for instance over Taiwan or disputes in the South China Sea, according to report for the U.S. Congress. Operations against computer networks have become fundamental to Beijing's military and national development strategies over the past decade, said the 136-page analysis by Northrop Grumman Corp. It was released on Thursday by the congressionally created U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. ...
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Households turn corner as debt burdens fall
Thu,8 Mar 2012 06:01 AM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose last week, a government report showed on Thursday, but not enough to change perceptions that the labor market was strengthening. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 362,000, the Labor Department said. Even with the increase, claims are still near their lowest in four years. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims unchanged at 351,000 last week. ...
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Israel asks U.S. for arms that could aid Iran strike
Thu,8 Mar 2012 04:44 AM PST
Reuters -  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel has asked the United States for advanced "bunker-buster" bombs and refueling planes that could improve its ability to attack Iran's underground nuclear sites, an Israeli official said on Thursday. "Such a request was made" around the time of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington this week, the official said, confirming media reports. ...
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Apple unveils 4G iPad
Thu,8 Mar 2012 10:16 AM PST
Reuters -  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc's latest iPad sports a crisper display and an array of technology advances that, while less than revolutionary, may prove enough for now to keep rivals like Amazon.com Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd at bay. While stopping short of vaulting ahead of Motorola and Samsung, the device -- which comes 4G-ready and boasts a quad-core graphics processor -- is capable enough to help safeguard its two-thirds market share. "The screen is a notable feature for non-techie customers, as is the faster connectivity. ...
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Bin Laden widows charged with illegal stay in Pakistan
Thu,8 Mar 2012 10:56 AM PST
Reuters -  ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities have brought charges against Osama bin Laden's three widows for illegally entering and living in the country, the interior minister said on Thursday. The al Qaeda leader was killed in a secret raid by U.S. Special Forces in the garrison town of Abbottabad in May last year after a decade-long manhunt. His three wives and an undisclosed number of children were among the 16 people detained by Pakistani authorities after the raid. "They (the wives) were presented before the court. ...
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Exclusive: Gaddafi hid arms in Libyan embassies across globe
Thu,8 Mar 2012 09:23 AM PST
Reuters -  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - The administration of ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was running a covert program to conceal weapons in Libyan embassies across the globe, a senior official in the new government said on Thursday. The weapons included handguns, grenades and bomb-making materials and were shipped using the diplomatic bag. They may have been intended for use in assassinations on Libyan dissidents abroad, or for operations against the embassies' host countries. ...
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Four more generals defect from Syrian army: rebels
Thu,8 Mar 2012 12:17 PM PST
Reuters -  BEIRUT/PARIS (Reuters) - Four more high-ranking officers have defected from the Syrian armed forces and joined the year-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's rule, two rebel groups said on Thursday. The men fled over the past three days to a camp for Syrian army deserters in southern Turkey, according to Lieutenant Khaled al-Hamoud, a spokesman for the Free Syrian Army (FSA). He told Reuters by telephone from Turkey the desertions bring to seven the number of brigadier generals who have defected. ...
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Stanford foreign accounts should be forfeited: jury
Thu,8 Mar 2012 01:42 PM PST
Reuters -  HOUSTON (Reuters) - Convicted swindler Allen Stanford should forfeit some $330 million stashed in foreign bank accounts, a jury found on Thursday. The verdict clears the way for the U.S. government to try to seize the funds and return them to investors. Stanford was convicted on Tuesday in federal court in Houston of running a $7 billion Ponzi scheme. During a six-week trial, prosecutors said Stanford stole the deposits of investors in Stanford International Bank in Antigua to fund a lavish lifestyle of girlfriends, mansions, private jets and yachts. ...
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Massive take-up of Greece bond swap offer
Thu,8 Mar 2012 02:18 PM PST
Reuters -  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece secured an overwhelming acceptance of a bond swap offer to private creditors and beat its own most optimistic forecasts, a senior official said on Thursday after the deadline expired on a deal needed to avoid a chaotic debt default. A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said take-up on the offer was around 95 percent an hour before the offer closed at 2000 GMT with responses still coming in. ...
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Keystone oil pipeline bill fails in Senate
Thu,8 Mar 2012 02:29 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democrats on Thursday defeated a Republican proposal to take quick action on the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline, in a vote that will give Republicans more ammunition to criticize President Barack Obama's energy policies on the campaign trail. TransCanada's $7 billion project has been supported by some Democrats in the past, but Obama took the unusual step of calling some senators personally and asking them to vote against the proposal, drawing immediate fire from Republican leaders. The measure needed 60 votes to pass, but fell four short. ...
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Envoy Annan warns against more force in Syria
Thu,8 Mar 2012 04:45 AM PST
Reuters -  CAIRO (Reuters) - Kofi Annan, the U.N.-Arab League special envoy on Syria, said on Thursday any further militarization of the crisis there would only make the situation worse, apparently rejecting any foreign intervention against President Bashar al-Asaad's government. Annan was speaking after talks with League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby, who for his part said no one wanted a repeat of the Libya scenario in which NATO air strikes boosted the rebellion that toppled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. "I hope no one is thinking very seriously of using force in this situation. ...
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Analysis: Question of balance as euro zone crisis mutates
Thu,8 Mar 2012 08:42 AM PST
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - With Greece's second bailout seemingly in the bag at last, Spain is shaping up as the next big test of whether euro zone policymakers can keep striking the right balance between carrot and stick to reconcile the very different interests of lenders, debtors and markets. Fine-tuning incentives and getting policy sequencing right is key to tackling the euro zone's debt and banking crisis. Imposing losses on Greek bondholders before erecting a firewall to shield other vulnerable sovereigns was an example of how not to do it. ...
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ECB fires inflation warning, trumpets success of cash flood
Thu,8 Mar 2012 08:11 AM PST
Reuters -  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank signaled its policy course was slowly turning on Thursday, delivering a surprise warning on inflation and calling governments and banks to build on its recent blitz of radical support measures to foster a full crisis recovery. The ECB kept interest rates at a record of low of 1 percent for a third month running as expected, after completing two monster injections of cheap cash which have flushed over a trillion euros of three-year money into the euro zone. ...
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Egypt judge delays trial of NGO workers
Thu,8 Mar 2012 03:49 AM PST
Reuters -  CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian judge said on Thursday he was delaying until April 10 the trial of civil society activists including 16 Americans accused of receiving illegal foreign funds and pursuing their pro-democracy activities without a license. The case, which targets groups including the U.S.-funded National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute, strained Egypt's U.S. ties and prompted threats from Washington to withdraw $1.3 billion of military aid. ...
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Whistleblower says BofA defrauded mortgage program
Thu,8 Mar 2012 07:20 AM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America NA prevented homeowners from receiving mortgage-loan modifications under a federal program in order to avoid millions of dollars in losses while benefitting from financial incentives for participating in the program, according to a complaint unsealed in federal court Wednesday. The suit is the second whistleblower complaint unsealed so far with apparent ties to the $1 billion False Claims Act settlement announced by Bank of America and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York on February 9. ...
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Romney camp tells rivals: You can't catch him
Thu,8 Mar 2012 05:17 AM PST
Reuters -  BOSTON (Reuters) - Mitt Romney's campaign told his Republican presidential rivals on Wednesday they could not catch him and pushed them to quit the race even though he failed to deliver a knockout blow in the biggest round of nominating contests. Romney won six of the 10 "Super Tuesday" states, including a narrow victory in Ohio's marquee match-up, expanding his lead in delegates and solidifying his front-runner status in the race to find the Republican challenger to President Barack Obama in the November 6 election. ...
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U.S. probes allegations Afghan Air Force involved in drug running
Thu,8 Mar 2012 02:31 AM PST
Reuters -  KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. authorities are looking into allegations that some Afghan Air Force (AAF) officials have been using aircraft to transport narcotics and illegal weapons across the country, a U.S. official said on Thursday. "At this point allegations are being examined," said Lt. Col. Tim Stauffer, spokesman for the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan, which is setting up and financing Afghan security forces, including the Air Force. "Authorities are trying to determine whether the allegations warrant a full investigation. ...
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U.S. to sell $6 billion in AIG stock
Thu,8 Mar 2012 05:28 AM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Treasury Department said on Wednesday it will sell $6 billion worth of American International Group stock and struck another deal for the insurer to pay down $8.5 billion more in obligations, taking a major step forward in an election year to unwind the unpopular crisis-era bailout. AIG said the agreement with the government would allow it to pay down what it owed in a special purpose vehicle, AIA Aurora, and free up the company's collateral against that, including interests in aircraft lessor International Lease Finance Corp and Asian insurer AIA Group Ltd. ...
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Government eyes Summers and Rice for World Bank: sources
Wed,7 Mar 2012 04:43 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former White House adviser Lawrence Summers, diplomat Susan Rice and PepsiCo Inc CEO Indra Nooyi are on a "short list" of possible U.S. candidates to head the World Bank, a person with knowledge of the Obama administration's thinking said on Wednesday. The source and a second person familiar with the administration's thinking said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry was also on the list, although a Kerry spokeswoman said he had not been contacted and was not interested. ...
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Chrysler CEO declines 2011 pay; company now worth $7.5 billion
Wed,7 Mar 2012 09:52 PM PST
Reuters -  DETROIT (Reuters) - Chrysler Group LLC's top executive declined a salary and bonus for a second straight year in 2011, when the Detroit automaker repaid more than $7 billion in government loans from its bankruptcy restructuring nearly three years ago. Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne is still compensated as CEO of Italian automaker Fiat SpA, which owns 58.5 percent of Chrysler and paid him 3.5 million euros ($4.5 million) in 2010. ...
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Israel asks U.S. for arms that could aid Iran strike
Thu,8 Mar 2012 04:20 AM PST
Reuters -  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel has asked the United States for advanced "bunker-buster" bombs and refueling planes that could improve its ability to attack Iran's underground nuclear sites, an Israeli official said on Thursday. "Such a request was made" around the time of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington this week, the official said, confirming media reports. ...
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Labor market shows more signs of life
Wed,7 Mar 2012 02:01 PM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Companies increased their hiring in February, shoring up expectations that the labor market's recovery has moved into a higher gear. Separate data on Wednesday showed wages grew much more quickly at the end of last year than originally estimated, good news for consumers, but a potential inflation problem for the Federal Reserve. The private sector added 216,000 jobs last month, according to the ADP National Employment Report, topping economists' expectations for a gain of 208,000. ...
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Justice Dept warns Apple, publishers over e-books
Thu,8 Mar 2012 12:12 PM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department has warned Apple and five major U.S. publishers that it plans to sue them, accusing them of colluding to raise the prices of electronic books, a person familiar with the probe said on Thursday. Several parties have held talks to settle the potential antitrust case, said the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. It is not yet clear what such a settlement might look like. ...
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Greek bond swap offer "going well": government official
Wed,7 Mar 2012 11:36 PM PST
Reuters -  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece has seen a strong take-up of its bond swap offer to private investors, a government official said on Thursday ahead of a 2000 GMT deadline for accepting the deal, a key element in an 130 billion euro international rescue package. "The pace of responses to the bond offer is good, the percentage of bondholders tendering voluntarily is very high," the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters. ...
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New lawsuit seeks to block Empire State Building IPO
Wed,7 Mar 2012 06:32 PM PST
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - A group of investors is suing to block a proposed initial public offering by the owner of the 102-storey Empire State Building in at least the second lawsuit of its kind, on grounds that it unfairly undervalues their interests. The Malkin family, which controls the company that owns the skyscraper, is trying to engineer a "self-interested and one-sided" transaction that leaves smaller investors in the dark about whether the possible $1 billion IPO is fair, according to a complaint filed on Wednesday with the New York state court in Manhattan. ... Full Story | Top |
Web moguls, Spanx whiz among Forbes billionaires
Wed,7 Mar 2012 03:19 PM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim retained his position atop Forbes magazine's annual list of the world's billionaires on Wednesday with an estimated worth of $69 billion, while his Mexican rival Ricardo Salinas Pliego enjoyed the largest increase in wealth. Microsoft Corp cofounder Bill Gates ranked second at $61 billion and Warren Buffett third at $44 billion. France's Bernard Arnault, the richest person in Europe, repeated at No. 4. They were the same top four as last year. ...
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Murdoch internal watchdog seeks improved security
Wed,7 Mar 2012 04:17 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior member of the unit Rupert Murdoch created to clean up reporting practices at his British newspapers has consulted a private firm about improving the security system at his home, a spokesman for the official said. The spokesman said the security firm had been consulted by Will Lewis, a key member of the Management and Standards Committee (MSC) Murdoch's News Corp created last year to respond to uproar over phone-hacking and other activities by his British newspapers. ...
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U.N. aid chief visits Syria's stricken Baba Amr area
Wed,7 Mar 2012 10:15 AM PST
Reuters -  AMMAN (Reuters) - The U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos accompanied a Syrian Arab Red Crescent team on Wednesday into a former rebel-held district of Homs where dissidents have reported bloody reprisals by President Bashar al-Assad's forces. "She went in with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to Baba Amr," an International Committee of the Red Cross spokesman said. The Red Crescent team found that most residents had fled the district, where rebels had resisted a 26-day army siege until March 1, ICRC spokesman Hicham Hassan said in Geneva. ...
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Greek bond swap prospects lifted by fresh pledges
Wed,7 Mar 2012 01:35 PM PST
Reuters -  ATHENS (Reuters) - Major banks and pension funds threw their weight behind Greece's bond swap offer to private creditors on Wednesday, making it increasingly likely that the deal will pass and clear the way for a bailout package to avert an immediate default on its debt. A group of banks and funds representing 40.8 percent of Greece's 206 billion euros of outstanding debt said they would take part in the deal, joining other Greek and foreign banks and pension funds which have already pledged to accept the offer. ...
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Strong solar storm heading for Earth
Wed,7 Mar 2012 02:24 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A strong geomagnetic storm is racing from the Sun toward Earth, and its expected arrival on Thursday could affect power grids, airplane routes and space-based satellite navigation systems, U.S. space weather experts said. The storm, a big cloud of charged particles flung from the Sun at about 4.5 million miles per hour (7.2 million km per hour), was spawned by a pair of solar flares, scientists said. ...
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