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| Slow-moving Hurricane Sandy heads toward East Coast Friday, Oct 26, 2012 10:57 PM PDT  MIAMI (Reuters) - Hurricane Sandy pulled away from the Bahamas on Saturday after killing at least 41 people in the Caribbean, beginning a slow march toward the U.S. East Coast where it threatens to hit as one of the worst storms in decades. The late-season storm has been dubbed "Frankenstorm" by some weather watchers because it will combine elements of a tropical cyclone and a winter storm. Forecast models show it will have all the ingredients to morph into a massive and potentially catastrophic "super storm." Governors in states along the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Up to 40 percent may vote early in election; Obama ahead Friday, Oct 26, 2012 06:39 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Early voters could account for up to 40 percent of all ballots cast in the 2012 U.S. presidential election, and polls of people who already voted show President Barack Obama with a comfortable lead over Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Both candidates have been urging supporters not just to vote but to do it early as Republicans and Democrats campaign vigorously - particularly in key battleground states - to lock up as many votes as possible before Election Day on November 6. Polls of people who say they already have voted show Obama with a lead in many of the states. ... Full Story | Top |
| In echoes of Obama, Romney seeks to adopt mantle of change Friday, Oct 26, 2012 01:45 PM PDT  AMES, Iowa (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney attempted to adopt the mantle of change on Friday in an economic speech in which he vowed to bring a fresh start to Washington to generate stronger job growth. Romney's address in the swing state of Iowa was an effort to take on the role President Barack Obama played in 2008, that of an outsider who would represent an abrupt change if he wins the tight 2012 presidential race. ... Full Story | Top |
| Damascus car bomb shatters Syria truce Friday, Oct 26, 2012 10:46 AM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - A powerful car bomb exploded in Damascus on Friday and forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad clashed with rebels across Syria as a truce intended to mark a Muslim religious holiday unraveled and activists reported at least 70 deaths. State television said the "terrorist car bomb" had killed five people and wounded 32, according to "preliminary figures". Opposition activists said the bomb had gone off near a makeshift children's playground built for the Eid al-Adha holiday in the southern Daf al-Shok district of the capital. ... Full Story | Top |
| Al Qaeda's Zawahri calls for kidnap of Westerners Friday, Oct 26, 2012 11:49 PM PDT  DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri has called on Muslims to kidnap Westerners, join Syria's rebellion and ensure Egypt implements sharia, SITE Monitoring reported, citing a two-part film posted on Islamist websites. "We are seeking, by the help of Allah, to capture others and to incite Muslims to capture the citizens of the countries that are fighting Muslims in order to release our captives," he said, praising the kidnapping of Warren Weinstein, a 71-year-old American aid worker in Pakistan last year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Berlusconi sentenced to jail for tax fraud Friday, Oct 26, 2012 10:46 AM PDT  MILAN (Reuters) - Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was sentenced to four years in jail on Friday for tax fraud in connection with the purchase of broadcasting rights by his Mediaset television company. The 76-year-old billionaire media magnate, who was convicted three times during the 1990s in the first degree before being cleared by higher courts, has the right to appeal the ruling two more times before the sentence becomes definitive. That process is likely to be lengthy and he will not be jailed unless he loses the final appeal. ... Full Story | Top |
| Consumers drive growth as businesses hold back Friday, Oct 26, 2012 06:20 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Economic growth accelerated in the third quarter as a last minute spurt in consumer spending and a surprise turnaround in government outlays offset the first cutback in business investment in more than a year. Even so, the stronger pace of expansion fell short of what is needed to make much of a dent in unemployment, and it offered little cheer for the White House ahead of the closely contested November 6 presidential election. ... Full Story | Top |
| New York man who sued Facebook faces criminal charges Friday, Oct 26, 2012 01:43 PM PDT  (Reuters) - A New York man was arrested Friday on charges he forged documents in a multibillion-dollar scheme to defraud Facebook Inc and its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, through a lawsuit claiming a huge ownership stake in the Internet company. Paul Ceglia, 39, a one-time wood pellet salesman from Wellsville, New York, was charged with mail and wire fraud over what federal prosecutors and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said was fabricated evidence to support his claim to a large stake in Facebook through a 2003 deal with Zuckerberg. ... Full Story | Top |
| BP spill trial delayed until February 2013 Friday, Oct 26, 2012 10:00 AM PDT  HOUSTON (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday delayed until February 2013 the start of a massive trial to determine liability from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, citing tourist events that will keep New Orleans' hotels booked. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans, who is presiding over a massive three-part hearing to decide liability for BP Plc.'s 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill, said the trial will begin on February 25, 2013. That trial, which had been delayed by nearly a year already due to a pending $7. ... Full Story | Top |
| China starts formal criminal probe into politician Bo Xilai Friday, Oct 26, 2012 09:59 AM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - China moved quickly on Friday to announce it had formally begun a criminal probe into disgraced former senior politician Bo Xilai, hours after expelling him from the largely rubber stamp parliament and so removing his immunity from prosecution. The announcements pave the way for Bo, once a contender for top leadership in the world's second largest economy, to face trial and likely a long jail sentence on accusations of corruption and abuse of power. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tax gains lift Merck profits, but sales disappoint Friday, Oct 26, 2012 09:53 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit as one-time tax gains helped offset plunging sales of its former flagship product, Singulair, an asthma drug that began facing cheaper generics in August. But overall third-quarter sales came in slightly below Wall Street expectations on Friday, as Singulair's decline outpaced already-grim predictions for it. "There was nothing excellent about the quarter, but nothing scary about it either," said Michael Liss, portfolio manager of American Century Investments, whose mutual funds own Merck shares. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hurricane Sandy slogs toward U.S., 41 killed in Caribbean Friday, Oct 26, 2012 04:54 PM PDT  MIAMI (Reuters) - Hurricane Sandy, a late-season Atlantic cyclone that threatens to be one of the worst storms to hit the Northeast in decades, slogged slowly northward on Friday after killing at least 41 people in the Caribbean. Forecasters said wind damage, widespread and extended power outages and coastal and inland flooding were anticipated across a broad swath of the densely populated U.S. East Coast when Sandy comes ashore early next week. "We're expecting a large, large storm. ... Full Story | Top |
| Consumers drive U.S. growth as businesses hold back Friday, Oct 26, 2012 02:02 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Economic growth accelerated in the third quarter as a last minute spurt in consumer spending and a surprise turnaround in government outlays offset the first cutback in business investment in more than a year. Even so, the stronger pace of expansion fell short of what is needed to make much of a dent in unemployment, and it offered little cheer for the White House ahead of the closely contested November 6 presidential election. ... Full Story | Top |
| Up to 40 percent may vote early in U.S. election; Obama ahead Friday, Oct 26, 2012 04:51 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Early voters could account for up to 40 percent of all voters in the 2012 U.S. presidential election, and polls of people who already have cast ballots show President Barack Obama with a comfortable lead over Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Both candidates have been urging supporters not just to vote but to do it early as Republicans and Democrats campaign vigorously - particularly in key battleground states - to lock up as many votes as possible before Election Day on November 6. ... Full Story | Top |
| SocGen receives Libor probe demand: source Friday, Oct 26, 2012 04:11 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - Societe Generale, France's second-biggest listed bank, has received a new request for information from U.S. authorities investigating the Libor rate-fixing scandal, a banking source told Reuters on Friday. SocGen has already said publicly it is cooperating with probes into whether banks manipulated the Libor rate - the benchmark for $300 trillion of contracts and loans across the world - and is conducting its own internal inquiry. "The request is not a subpoena to appear in a court but a request for more information from U.S. regulators," the source said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Suicide bomber kills 40 at Afghan mosque during Eid Friday, Oct 26, 2012 02:07 AM PDT  MAZAR-E-SHARIF, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed at least 40 people in a mosque in Afghanistan's relatively peaceful north on Friday as worshippers gathered for prayers marking the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, police officials said. The attack in Maimana, capital of Faryab province, also wounded 40, regional police chief General Abdul Khaliq Aqsai said, pinning the blame on the Taliban. A Taliban spokesman said they were investigating to find out who was responsible. ... Full Story | Top |
| Shot Pakistani girl recovering fast in UK: father Friday, Oct 26, 2012 03:08 PM PDT  BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters) - The father of a Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating girls' education said on Friday she would "rise again" to pursue her dreams after hospital treatment. Malala Yousufzai, 15, was flown from Pakistan to Britain for specialist treatment after the October 9 attack, which drew widespread international condemnation. The father Ziauddin Yousufzai and other family members arrived in Britain on Thursday to help her recovery. "They wanted to kill her. But she fell temporarily. She will rise again. ... Full Story | Top |
| Capture of Libyan town smacks of revenge, not reconciliation Friday, Oct 26, 2012 04:21 AM PDT  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Hours after taking control of Bani Walid, a former stronghold of Muammar Gaddafi, Libyan militias from the rival city of Misrata fired ferociously at its empty public buildings. Fighters yelling "Allahu akbar (God is greatest) and "Today Bani Walid is finished" sought to make their mark with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades on a town they say still provides a refuge to many of the overthrown Libyan leader's followers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Belgian prosecutors study murder of Exxon executive Friday, Oct 26, 2012 04:31 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgian prosecutors are investigating the murder of a British oil executive who was shot and killed in unexplained circumstances in front of his wife as they walked to their car after dinner at an Italian restaurant in Brussels. Nicholas Mockford, who worked for U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil, was shot on October 14 after an evening meal, but prosecutors declined to say if they were investigating the case as a possible contract killing. A woman who lived opposite where the couple had parked their car told Reuters she had heard three shots and then called the police. ... Full Story | Top |
| Presidential race remains effectively tied: Reuters/Ipsos poll Friday, Oct 26, 2012 09:56 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama holds a narrow lead of 1 percentage point over Republican Mitt Romney as the race for the White House remains effectively tied less than two weeks before the November 6 election, according to a Reuters/Ipsos daily tracking poll released on Friday. Obama leads Romney among likely voters by 47 percent to 46 percent, well within the online survey's credibility interval. Neither candidate has held a clear lead since shortly after their first presidential debate on October 3. ... Full Story | Top |
| Citi fined $2 million over Facebook IPO, fires two analysts Friday, Oct 26, 2012 03:29 PM PDT  BOSTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Citigroup fired its top Internet analyst, Mark Mahaney, and paid a $2 million fine to a Massachusetts regulator to settle charges that the bank improperly disclosed research on Facebook IPO and information on other tech companies. It was the first formal charge involving an underwriter's disclosure of sensitive financial information ahead of the social media company's $16 billion initial public offering in May. ... Full Story | Top |
| China warns of strong steps in Japan island spat Friday, Oct 26, 2012 09:03 AM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - China reserves the right to take strong countermeasures if Japan "creates incidents" in the waters around a group of disputed uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, a Chinese vice foreign minister said on Friday. "We are watching very closely what action Japan might take regarding the Diaoyu islands and their adjacent waters," Zhang Zhijun said at an unusual late night news briefing. "The action that Japan might take will shape China's countermeasures. ... Full Story | Top |
| Consumer sentiment at highest in five years in October Friday, Oct 26, 2012 06:56 AM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumer sentiment rose to its highest level in five years in October as Americans were more upbeat about prospects for the economy and their own finances, a survey released on Friday showed. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment rose to 82.6 from 78.3 in September. It was at its highest level since September 2007 on a final reading basis. Still, that was slightly below the preliminary reading of 83.1 and shy of economists' expectations for 83. There are also clouds on the horizon. ... Full Story | Top |
| Connecticut Senate race a wrestling match for female votes Friday, Oct 26, 2012 04:08 AM PDT  STAMFORD, Connecticut (Reuters) - Linda McMahon, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Connecticut, seldom mentions World Wrestling Entertainment during campaign stops even though the business made her into a multimillionaire and something of a household name. Instead, McMahon prefers to tell voters how she and her husband, Vince, climbed out of bankruptcy to start a company, or how she struggled to manage a career and a family. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Iran's coal shipping trade booms despite Western heat Friday, Oct 26, 2012 04:13 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Using shadowy middle men, multiple bank accounts and a fleet of ghost ships, Iran's coal trade is quietly booming as the Islamic Republic tries to sidestep Western sanctions and prevent its industrial economy from crashing. Tougher measures imposed by the European Union and the United States have tightened the screws on Tehran, which relies on its shipping trade for many imports including food, consumer and industrial goods. Many foreign companies, including shipping firms, have pulled out for fear of losing business in the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Budget cuts push Spain jobless to 25 percent Friday, Oct 26, 2012 07:20 AM PDT  MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's unemployment rate hit a record high in the third quarter, with one in four out of work and more expected to lose their jobs in 2013 as the next phase of government cutbacks kicks in. At exactly 25 percent, Friday's official number was the highest since the Franco dictatorship ended in the mid-1970s, and gives fresh impetus to calls by labor unions for a general strike next month. ... Full Story | Top |
| Police hope to interview New York nanny in children stabbing Friday, Oct 26, 2012 06:30 AM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York police on Friday are hoping to interview the critically wounded nanny suspected of stabbing to death two children of a CNBC television executive in the family's luxury Manhattan apartment, a police official said. The New York Police Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the nanny, identified as Yoselyn Ortega, remains sedated in critical condition at a Manhattan hospital. Ortega, 50, who police say cut her own throat, has not been charged because police have not been able to interview her. ... Full Story | Top |
| Top court to hear arguments over government spying Friday, Oct 26, 2012 04:10 AM PDT (Reuters) - A debate over how freely the U.S. government can eavesdrop on international communications reaches a climax on Monday in the country's highest court. At issue is a law passed by Congress in 2008 allowing the government to monitor the overseas communications of individuals without obtaining a warrant for each target. The government has said it needs flexible surveillance power to help prevent strikes by foreign militants such as the attacks of September 11, 2001. ... Full Story | Top |
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