Saturday, September 1, 2012

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Saturday, September 1, 2012 12:01 AM PDT
Today's Reuters News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
Bernanke says Fed ready to act but short on specifics
Fri,31 Aug 2012 05:50 PM PDT
Reuters -

Ben Bernanke reacts as he testifies before the House Committee on the Financial Services semi-annual monetary policy report on Capitol Hill in WashingtonJACKSON HOLE, Wyoming (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday left the door wide open to a further easing of monetary policy, saying the stagnation in the U.S. labor market was a "grave concern," but he stopped short of providing a clear signal of imminent action. His stark language gave a temporary lift to U.S. stocks, but economists walked away from the Fed chairman's remarks still divided over whether the central bank would launch a fresh round of bond purchases at its upcoming meeting in September. ...


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Apple targets more Samsung products in patent suit
Fri,31 Aug 2012 06:03 PM PDT
Reuters -

An employee poses as he holds Apple's iPhone 4s and Samsung's Galaxy S III at a store in SeoulNEW YORK (Reuters) - Seeking to capitalize on a major legal victory over its rival Samsung Electronics Ltd, Apple Inc has asked a federal court in a separate case to find that four additional Samsung products, including the Galaxy S III, infringe Apple's patents. In February, Apple alleged that at least 17 Samsung products infringe its patents. In a court filing made in San Jose federal court on Friday, Apple added four more products to the list of allegedly infringing products that have been released beginning in August 2011 and continuing through this month. ...


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DOJ targets banks, others in new money laundering offensive
Fri,31 Aug 2012 05:47 PM PDT
Reuters -

The exterior of the U.S. Department of Justice headquarters building in Washington(Reuters) - The Department of Justice is shifting its sights to a new offensive in combating money laundering: bringing criminal charges against banks and other financial institutions for weak compliance systems that fail to catch illicit money flows. Even while the department's money-laundering unit is wrapping up a series of blockbuster cases involving sanctions-busting transactions routed through some of Europe's biggest banks, it has set its sights on the next front. ...


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Egypt says Syria's "oppressive regime" must go
Fri,31 Aug 2012 02:13 PM PDT
Reuters -

Free Syrian Army fighters run for cover after Syrian forces fired a mortar in the El Amreeyeh neighborhood of AleppoDUBAI/AMMAN (Reuters) - Egypt called on Thursday for intervention to halt bloodshed in Syria, telling a meeting of 120 nations it was their duty to stand against the "oppressive regime" of Bashar al-Assad, prompting a Syrian walkout. President Mohamed Mursi, elected two months ago after a popular uprising toppled Egypt's long-standing leader Hosni Mubarak, said Assad had lost legitimacy in his fight to crush a 17-month-old revolt in which 20,000 people have been killed. ...


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Romney appeals to voters disillusioned with Obama
Fri,31 Aug 2012 02:46 PM PDT
Reuters -

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney accepts the nomination during the final session of the Republican National Convention in TampaTAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Republican Mitt Romney urged voters on Thursday to help him rebuild the U.S. economy and create millions of new jobs, asking them to overcome their disappointment in President Barack Obama and join him in restoring the promise of America. In a high-stakes speech accepting the Republican presidential nomination, Romney said he would work to unify a divided country that believed Obama's lofty campaign promises but had lost hope they would be fulfilled. "What is needed in our country today is not complicated or profound. ...


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Isaac remnants dumping heavy rain across Missouri, Illinois
Fri,31 Aug 2012 10:47 PM PDT
Reuters -

A truck is submerged in flood waters after a Hurricane Isaac levee breach in Braithwaite(Reuters) - The remnants of Hurricane Isaac were grinding slowing northward early on Saturday with its center now deep into Missouri and the heavy rain stretching for hundreds of miles east into Illinois amid reports of tornadoes and high winds, meteorologists said. Drought-stricken areas of Missouri and Illinois were easily absorbing the rain Friday and the system was expected to soak the region deep into Sunday, said Jayson Gosselin, meteorologist with the National Weather Service's St. Louis-area office. ...


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Exclusive: Walmart tests iPhone app checkout feature
Fri,31 Aug 2012 02:01 PM PDT
Reuters -

Shopping carts are seen outside a new Walmart Express store in Chicago(Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc is testing a system that would allow shoppers to scan items using their iPhones and then pay at a self-checkout counter, a move that could trim checkout times and slash costs for retailers. If the "Scan & Go" test by the world's largest retailer is successful, it has the potential to change the way people shop and pay, making the process more personal and potentially faster. ...


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Three dead in shooting at New Jersey grocery store
Fri,31 Aug 2012 01:33 PM PDT
Reuters -

Police officers look over a Pathmark supermarket in Old Bridge after a shooting incidentOLD BRIDGE, New Jersey (Reuters) - An employee at a suburban New Jersey supermarket opened fire in the store in the pre-dawn hours on Friday, killing two co-workers and then taking his own life, a prosecutor said. The 23-year-old shooter, identified as Terence S. Tyler by a police source, was on a night shift at the Pathmark grocery when he left the store about 3:30 a.m. EDT. He returned shortly after with an AK-47 automatic rifle and a handgun, Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan told a news conference. ...


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Exclusive: Morgan Stanley Smith Barney rainmakers consider exit
Fri,31 Aug 2012 11:53 AM PDT
Reuters -

The headquarters of Morgan Stanley is pictured in New YorkNEW YORK (Reuters) - Several dozen Morgan Stanley Smith Barney advisers who manage tens of billions of dollars of client money are considering leaving the firm, saying that widespread technology problems have made it very difficult for them to do their jobs, according to people familiar with the matter. The group has hired a lawyer to argue that they should be able to keep lucrative retention payments even if they quit, and they have also drafted a letter to Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman outlining their concerns, though the letter has not yet been sent, the sources said. ...


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Thousands return home after Philippines quake, tsunami warning lifted
Fri,31 Aug 2012 08:19 PM PDT
Reuters -

A science research specialist monitors computer data on the recorded earthquake at the Seismology agency office in Quezon City, Metro ManilaGUIUAN, Philippines (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people on a central Philippine island returned home on Saturday after a tsunami alert was lifted following a 7.6 magnitude undersea quake, as local authorities began work to repair damages to public infrastructure. The earthquake 91 miles off the town of Guiuan on Samar island on Friday killed one person and caused only minor damage, but prompted the U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center to issued a tsunami warning. ...


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Major quake off Philippines causes panic but minor damage
Fri,31 Aug 2012 09:55 AM PDT
Reuters -

A science research specialist monitors computer data on the recorded earthquake at the Seismology agency office in Quezon City, Metro ManilaMANILA (Reuters) - An earthquake of 7.6 magnitude struck off the Philippines on Friday killing one person, damaging roads and bridges and sending people fleeing to higher ground in fear of a tsunami, a politician and authorities said. The quake was centered off the east coast, 91 miles off the town of Guiuan in Samar province at a depth of about 20 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for much of the region, but cancelled it about two hours later. ...


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Consumer confidence rises but outlook still grim
Fri,31 Aug 2012 08:16 AM PDT
Reuters -

File photo of shopper walking down aisle in newly opened Walmart Neighborhood Market in ChicagoNEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumer sentiment hit a three-month high in August as households chipped away at outstanding debt, though Americans were pessimistic about the future, a survey showed on Friday. Separate reports on the manufacturing sector painted a mixed picture, with factory orders rising by more than expected in July but Midwest business activity slipping in August. Manufacturing had been at the vanguard of the country's recovery from the 2007-2009 recession but has lost momentum in recent months as economic difficulty in Europe and beyond has sapped overseas demand for U.S. products. ...


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As Isaac fades, sparring over disaster funding
Fri,31 Aug 2012 02:51 PM PDT
Reuters -

A truck is submerged in flood waters after a Hurricane Isaac levee breach in BraithwaiteNEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - The remnants of Hurricane Isaac brought heavy rainfall and the threat of flash flooding to the Mississippi Valley on Friday as Gulf Coast residents cleaned up and energy facilities prepared to grind back into operation. Major offshore oil drillers returned staff to their platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, although operations were expected to take several days to ramp up. One Louisiana refinery tapped into the U.S. government's emergency crude oil stockpile to speed up its output. ...


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Bernanke says Fed ready to act but short on specifics
Fri,31 Aug 2012 01:27 PM PDT
Reuters -

Ben Bernanke reacts as he testifies before the House Committee on the Financial Services semi-annual monetary policy report on Capitol Hill in WashingtonJACKSON HOLE, Wyoming (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday left the door wide open to a further easing of monetary policy, saying the stagnation in the U.S. labor market was a "grave concern," but he stopped short of providing a clear signal of imminent action. His stark language gave a temporary lift to U.S. stocks, but economists walked away from the Fed chairman's remarks still divided over whether the central bank would launch a fresh round of bond purchases at its upcoming meeting in September. ...


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Two Afghan children beheaded in separate incidents
Fri,31 Aug 2012 11:23 AM PDT
Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - An adolescent boy and a young girl have been beheaded in two separate incidents in Afghanistan, local officials and police said on Friday, in the latest brazen attacks that have raised fresh questions about a splintering Taliban. A 12-year-old boy was kidnapped and killed in southern Kandahar province on Wednesday, his severed head placed near his body to send a warning to police, said provincial governor spokesman Jawid Faisal. The brother of the boy, neither of whom were named by officials, was a member of the Afghan Local Police (ALP), a U.S. ... Full Story
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North Korea makes "significant" nuclear reactor progress: IAEA
Fri,31 Aug 2012 06:21 AM PDT
Reuters -

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the Thrice Three-Revolution Red Flag Kamnamu Company under the Korean People's Army Unit 4302VIENNA (Reuters) - North Korea has made significant progress in the construction of a light water atomic reactor over the past year, a U.N. watchdog report said, a facility that may extend Pyongyang's capacity to produce material for nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), citing satellite images, also said "certain activities" had been observed at locations where the reclusive Asian state "reportedly" conducted nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009. ...


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Exclusive: China's Hu seeks clean power handover with ally's promotion - sources
Fri,31 Aug 2012 01:19 AM PDT
Reuters -

China's President Hu smiles during a meeting with German Chancellor Merkel at the Great Hall of the People in BeijingBEIJING (Reuters) - China's outgoing President Hu Jintao is angling to promote one of his closest allies to the military's decision-making body, sources said, in a move that would allow him to maintain an influence over Beijing's most potent instrument of power. Three sources with ties to the top leadership said Hu hopes to cut all of his direct links to the top echelons of power by early 2013, on the understanding that his protégé, Vice Premier Li Keqiang, is made a vice chairman of the military commission at the party's five-yearly congress later this year. ...


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Insight: Brutality, anger fuel jihad in Russia's Caucasus
Fri,31 Aug 2012 01:14 AM PDT
Reuters -

Men build a new madrassa, a religious school, in the village of GimryGIMRY, Russia (Reuters) - Little girls in hijabs peek out of tin-roof houses and boys play at "cops and insurgents" in the narrow dirt streets. At one end of the village of Gimry men are building a new, red-brick madrassa, one of many religious schools springing up across Dagestan, a region in the high Caucasus mountains on Russia's southern fringe, in the throes of an Islamic revival. More than a dozen young men from the village have "gone to the forest" - the local euphemism for joining insurgents in their hideouts, says village administrator Aliaskhab Magomedov. ...


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Analysis: JPMorgan faces sea of trouble resolving "Whale" probe
Thu,30 Aug 2012 10:02 PM PDT
Reuters -

Man walks past JP Morgan Chase's international headquarters on Park Avenue in New YorkNEW YORK (Reuters) - The fallout from a nearly $6 billion trading loss at JPMorgan Chase & Co looks like it will haunt the big U.S. bank and its high-profile chief executive, Jamie Dimon, for months to come. U.S. authorities are interviewing witnesses in both the United States and Europe to determine if three former London-based traders and others who worked with them at JPMorgan tried to hide some of the mounting losses during the first quarter of this year, said people familiar with the situation. The situation presents several challenges to U.S. ...


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Insight: Does China's next leader have a soft spot for Tibet?
Fri,31 Aug 2012 01:06 AM PDT
Reuters -

China's Vice President Xi Jinping speaks with Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi during a meeting at the Great Hall of the People, in BeijingBEIJING/DHARAMSALA (Reuters) - For decades, Beijing has maintained that the Dalai Lama is a separatist, but Tibet's exiled spiritual leader once had a special relationship with the father of Xi Jinping, the man in line to become China's next president. Few people know what Xi, whose ascent to the leadership is likely to be approved at a Communist Party congress later this year, thinks of Tibet or the Dalai Lama. ...


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WikiLeaks' Assange sees up to a year in Ecuador embassy
Thu,30 Aug 2012 09:10 PM PDT
Reuters -

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange arrives to speak from the balcony of Ecuador's embassy in LondonQUITO (Reuters) - Julian Assange expects to wait six months to a year for a deal to free him from Ecuador's embassy in London, and hopes Sweden will drop its case against him, the WikiLeaks' founder said in an interview broadcast on Thursday. The former computer hacker has been holed up at the embassy for more than two months, seeking to avoid being sent to Sweden for questioning over rape and sexual assault allegations - and triggering a diplomatic spat with Britain. ...


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Barclays picks retail banker to replace Diamond
Thu,30 Aug 2012 11:00 AM PDT
Reuters -

Chief Executive of Barclays global retail banking, Antony Jenkins, leaves after giving evidence to a Treasury select committee hearing at Parliament in LondonLONDON (Reuters) - Barclays named retail banker Antony Jenkins as chief executive on Thursday, signaling a shift from riskier investment banking as it tries to recover from the interest rate-rigging scandal that brought down his predecessor. Criticised by regulators for an aggressive culture under limelight-loving American Bob Diamond, Barclays must now decide how far to curb the investment bank he built and which generates most of the British bank's profits. ...


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Egypt says Syria's "oppressive regime" must go
Thu,30 Aug 2012 11:22 AM PDT
Reuters -

Free Syrian Army fighters run for cover after Syrian forces fired a mortar in the El Amreeyeh neighborhood of AleppoDUBAI/AMMAN (Reuters) - Egypt called on Thursday for intervention to halt bloodshed in Syria, telling a meeting of 120 nations it was their duty to stand against the "oppressive regime" of Bashar al-Assad, prompting a Syrian walkout. President Mohamed Mursi, elected two months ago after a popular uprising toppled Egypt's long-standing leader Hosni Mubarak, said Assad had lost legitimacy in his fight to crush a 17-month-old revolt in which 20,000 people have been killed. ...


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Federal court blocks Texas voter ID law
Thu,30 Aug 2012 04:59 PM PDT
Reuters -

A voter enters a polling station to cast his vote in the Texas Primary in SeguinWASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal court on Thursday blocked a Texas law that would require voters to show photo identification before casting ballots, saying the measure would likely curtail the ability of minorities to vote in the November 6 presidential election. Evidence showed the law did the most harm to African Americans and Hispanics, who are more likely to live in poverty, Circuit Judge David Tatel wrote for a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court in Washington. Those without the underlying documents to obtain ID would have to purchase them, discouraging poor voters, he wrote. ...


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Exclusive: Google, Apple CEOs in secret patent talks
Thu,30 Aug 2012 01:50 PM PDT
Reuters -

A combination photo showing Google CEO Page in New York and Apple CEO Cook in CupertinoSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc Chief Executive Larry Page and Apple CEO Tim Cook have been conducting behind-the-scenes talks about a range of intellectual property matters, including the mobile patent disputes between the companies, people familiar with the matter said. The two executives had a phone conversation last week, the sources said. Discussions involving lower-level officials of the two companies are also ongoing. Page and Cook are expected to talk again in the coming weeks, though no firm date has been set, the sources said on Thursday. ...


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Insight: Does China's next leader have a soft spot for Tibet?
Thu,30 Aug 2012 02:10 PM PDT
Reuters -

China's Vice President Xi Jinping speaks with Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi during a meeting at the Great Hall of the People, in BeijingBEIJING/DHARAMSALA (Reuters) - For decades, Beijing has maintained that the Dalai Lama is a separatist, but Tibet's exiled spiritual leader once had a special relationship with the father of Xi Jinping, the man in line to become China's next president. Few people know what Xi, whose ascent to the leadership is likely to be approved at a Communist Party congress later this year, thinks of Tibet or the Dalai Lama. ...


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Iran doubles underground nuclear capacity: U.N. agency
Thu,30 Aug 2012 01:41 PM PDT
Reuters -

A section of the Parchin military facility in Iran is pictured in this DigitalGlobe handout satellite imageVIENNA (Reuters) - Iran has doubled the number of uranium enrichment centrifuges it has in an underground bunker, a U.N. report said on Thursday, showing Tehran has continued to expand its nuclear program despite Western pressure and the threat of an Israeli attack. As Israeli politicians increased their talk of air strikes on Iran's nuclear sites in recent months, the Islamic Republic was rapidly increasing the enrichment capacity of its Fordow site, buried deep underground to withstand any such hit. The U.N. ...


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Romney takes lead over Obama with convention "bounce": Reuters/Ipsos poll
Thu,30 Aug 2012 01:37 PM PDT
Reuters -

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is shown around the stage during a walk through before the fourth day of the Republican National Convention in TampaTAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Mitt Romney has moved into a narrow lead over U.S. President Barack Obama in a small bounce for him from the Republican National Convention, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found on Thursday. Romney entered the week four points behind Obama in the first installment of a Reuters/Ipsos rolling poll, with Obama leading 46 percent to 42 percent. But the most recent daily rolling poll gave Romney a two-point lead of 44 percent to 42 percent among likely voters. ...


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Consumer spending posts biggest rise in five months
Thu,30 Aug 2012 12:13 PM PDT
Reuters -

Women carry shopping bags through Times Square in New YorkWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer spending got off to a fairly firm start in the third quarter, rising by the most in five months and offering hope economic growth would pick up this quarter. Other data on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits held steady last week. The reports were consistent with only moderate economic and job growth, and they kept alive the prospect of additional monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve. ...


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Romney tells voters to move on from Obama disappointment
Thu,30 Aug 2012 04:19 PM PDT
Reuters -

Republican presidenial nominee Romney and vice presidential nominee Ryan pose with members of their staff for a picture before the fourth session of the 2012 Republican National Convention in TampaTAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Republican Mitt Romney will urge Americans in a major speech on Thursday to leave behind their disappointment in President Barack Obama and join him to rebuild the U.S. economy and generate millions of jobs. Taking center stage with an address to the Republican convention in Tampa, Florida, Romney will vow to be a champion for small business and to restore a sense of innovation in America. "What is needed in our country today is not complicated or profound. It doesn't take a special government commission to tell us what America needs. What America needs is jobs. ...


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Flooding from Isaac forces evacuation of 60,000
Thu,30 Aug 2012 02:13 PM PDT
Reuters -

Henson and Cosse work in water to try to save cattle along Highway 23 after Hurricane ISAAC in Plaquemines ParishNEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Torrential rain dropped by Hurricane Isaac threatened to burst a dam on Thursday, forcing evacuation of up to 60,000 people in Louisiana and Mississippi and leaving large areas of the region flooded and without power. Isaac, which was downgraded to a tropical depression on Thursday after moving in from the Gulf on Tuesday, left little damage in New Orleans, where stronger barriers were installed after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Only one fatality linked to the storm has been confirmed so far. But it left a soggy mess across widespread areas of the U.S. ...


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World food prices jumped 10 percent in July: World Bank
Thu,30 Aug 2012 11:42 AM PDT
Reuters -

A man looks at food at Khartoum's central food marketWASHINGTON (Reuters) - World food prices jumped 10 percent in July as drought parched crop lands in the United States and Eastern Europe, the World Bank said in a statement urging governments to shore up programs that protect their most vulnerable populations. From June to July, corn and wheat prices rose by 25 percent each, soybean prices by 17 percent, and only rice prices went down, by 4 percent, the World Bank said on Thursday. ...


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Exclusive: U.N. patents body roiled by misconduct feud
Thu,30 Aug 2012 07:50 AM PDT
Reuters -

Gurry Director General of the WIPO gestures during a news conference on the International Patent System in 2009 at the UN European headquarters in GenevaGENEVA (Reuters) - Four months after a U.N. agency's decision to send computer equipment to Iran and North Korea first stirred controversy, a feud has erupted between the body's director general and a suspended senior manager over misconduct allegations. In a suit filed with a U.N. tribunal, the manager accuses Francis Gurry, the Australian head of the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization, of pledging the equipment to the two sanctioned countries in exchange for their votes. ...


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Former Murdoch executive held in UK hacking inquiry
Thu,30 Aug 2012 06:16 AM PDT
Reuters -

Former News of the World lawyer Crone speaks at the Leveson Inquiry at the High Court in central LondonLONDON (Reuters) - Tom Crone, a former senior legal executive at Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper business, has been arrested by police investigating allegations of phone-hacking by journalists, media reported on Thursday. London police confirmed they had arrested a 60-year-old man at his home in southwest London on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications, but declined to name him. ...


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Iran's policies attacked by U.N. head, Egyptian leader
Thu,30 Aug 2012 10:48 AM PDT
Reuters -

Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi stands next to Iran's Executive Vice President Hamid Baghai during their meeting at Mehrabad airport in TehranDUBAI (Reuters) - The U.N. chief and Egypt's president delivered stinging speeches at a summit of developing nations in Iran on Thursday, damaging the host country's quest for global prestige and support for its nuclear program and its policy on Syria. The Iranians had to listen while Ban Ki-moon denounced them for calling for Israel's destruction and denying the Holocaust. ...


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Five Australian soldiers killed in Afghan incidents
Wed,29 Aug 2012 11:38 PM PDT
Reuters - KABUL/CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia suffered its worst combat losses since the Vietnam War when five troops were killed in Afghanistan, officials said on Thursday, prompting Prime Minister Julia Gillard to return home early from a regional Pacific leaders' conference. Officials from the Australian Defence Force and the NATO-led coalition said three Australians had been killed in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday by an Afghan wearing a soldier's uniform, bringing to 45 the number of NATO-led coalition troops killed in rogue shootings this year. ... Full Story
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Analysis: Ryan puts down calculator, picks up bullhorn
Wed,29 Aug 2012 10:42 PM PDT
Reuters -

Republican vice presidential nominee Ryan addresses the third session of Republican National Convention in TampaTAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Paul Ryan built his reputation as a fearless wonk who wasn't afraid to put specific numbers on his small-government ideals. Now that he is the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee, the devil lies in the details. In a speech that marked his ascension onto the national stage, Ryan spelled out his conservative vision in the broad brush strokes of the presidential campaign, rather than the pointillistic data sets of the House of Representatives Budget Committee. But the core message at the Republican National Convention was the same. ...


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July consumer spending posts strongest rise in five months
Thu,30 Aug 2012 05:33 AM PDT
Reuters -

Women carry shopping bags through Times Square in New YorkWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer spending got off to a fairly firm start in the third quarter, rising by the most in five months, offering hope economic growth could pick up this quarter. The Commerce Department said on Thursday consumer spending increased 0.4 percent after a flat reading in June. Last month's rise in consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, was in line with economists' expectations. When adjusted for inflation, consumer spending increased 0.4 percent, also the largest increase since February. Real consumer spending dipped 0. ...


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Trayvon Martin shooter wins appeal for new judge
Wed,29 Aug 2012 04:41 PM PDT
Reuters -

Undated handout photo of George ZimmermanMIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida appeals court ruled on Wednesday that George Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, should be granted a new judge in his case. The decision from the three-judge panel came in response to a motion filed by Zimmerman's lawyer asking the court to overturn a ruling by Judge Kenneth Lester refusing to step down from the case. "We direct the trial judge to enter an order of disqualification," the state's Fifth District Court of Appeal wrote in its opinion. One of the judges dissented in the decision. ...


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Jobless claims unchanged last week
Thu,30 Aug 2012 05:33 AM PDT
Reuters -

General Dynamics employees work on an Abrams battle tank during a tour of the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center, Lima Army Tank Plant, in LimaWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits was unchanged last week, pointing to a labor market that was treading water. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits were a seasonally adjusted 374,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior week's figure was revised up to show 2,000 more applications than previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims dipping to 370,000 last week. The four-week moving average for new claims, a better measure of labor market trends, rose 1,500 to 370,250. ...


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