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Thursday, October 4, 2012 12:00 AM PDT

Today's Reuters News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Romney goes on offensive in first debate with Obama Romney stresses he wants bank regulation, but slams Obama reforms Island plans by Tokyo's nationalist governor may stoke fresh China tensions Turkey strikes back at Syria after mortar kills five Romney: cuts in tax breaks for oil, gas "on the table" Clinton pledges full accounting of deadly Benghazi attack Trade association condemns Tehran unrest as enemy plot: report Romney, Obama both like Simpson-Bowles plan, to a point U.S. companies add jobs in September, service sector expands Florida opens criminal probe into voter registration firm HP's outlook disappoints, shares hit nine-year low Father of bodyguard injured in Libya questions State Dept. response Mexican troops arrest two in killing of U.S. border agent: officials Palestinian U.N. status likely to be debated in November Record $104 million reward boosts whistleblowing on tax cheats HP's outlook disappoints, driving shares to 9-year low French opposition seeks more savings, less tax in 2013 budget Father of bodyguard injured in Libya questions State Dept. response Presidential debate seen as potential turning point for Romney Turkey strikes back at Syria after mortar kills five Woes deepen in Europe and China; U.S. the bright spot Reuters/Ipsos polls show scope of challenge facing Romney Netanyahu-Barak spat stokes early Israel vote talk Butler stole papers pope wanted destroyed: police HP expects enterprise services revenue to fall in 2013 Turkey strikes targets inside Syria after mortar attack U.S. had early indications Libya attack tied to organized militants Libya PM government line-up omits liberal coalition Spain's tax take tumbles as companies go abroad Exclusive: Best Buy founder presses on with buyout plan Michelle Obama rallies supporters as early voting opens in Ohio Insight: Delays dog U.S. government loans to green energy projects Probe into fatal Hong Kong ferry collision may take six months U.S. companies add 162,000 jobs in September China services PMI falls to lowest in nearly two years Insight: In California, the Mungers haunt Jerry Brown "Critical but stable" world nods at more risk Chinese firm sues Obama for blocking wind farm near drone site "Fiscal cliff" fears may impede faster job growth Pennsylvania judge: Voter ID law a no-go for November 6 Romney goes on offensive in first debate with Obama Wed,3 Oct 2012 10:31 PM PDT Reuters - DENVER (Reuters) - Mitt Romney battled back in his uphill drive to oust President Barack Obama on Wednesday with an aggressive debate performance that put his campaign on a more positive footing after weeks of stumbles and knocked Obama off-stride. In the first of three presidential debates this month, Romney went beyond expectations as the two candidates stood side-by-side for the first time after months of campaigning against each other from long distance. ... Full Story Top Romney stresses he wants bank regulation, but slams Obama reforms Wed,3 Oct 2012 10:17 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Mitt Romney, seeking to counter his image as a billionaire friend of finance, stressed he wanted regulation of banks but blasted President Barack Obama for pursuing excessive reforms that he said were stifling the economy. Speaking during the first presidential debate on Wednesday, Romney reiterated his pledge to repeal the Dodd-Frank bill, a 2010 law that overhauls the oversight of U.S. finance in response to the worst banking crisis since the Great Depression. "Regulation is essential. ... Full Story Top Island plans by Tokyo's nationalist governor may stoke fresh China tensions Wed,3 Oct 2012 08:42 PM PDT Reuters - TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, a fiery nationalist whose failed bid to buy a group of disputed islands ignited a crisis with China, is pushing ahead with a plan to build structures there to hammer home Japan's claim, officials involved told Reuters. Although such a move is not imminent, it would be certain to strain Japan's already shaky relations with China and could prompt a rebuke from the Obama administration, which has urged both sides to ease tensions by setting aside the dispute. ... Full Story Top Turkey strikes back at Syria after mortar kills five Wed,3 Oct 2012 10:35 PM PDT Reuters - AKCAKALE, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish artillery hit targets inside Syria on Wednesday, killing several Syrian soldiers according to activists, after a mortar bomb fired from Syria killed five Turkish civilians and prompted NATO to call for an immediate end to Syria's "aggressive acts." In the most serious cross-border escalation of the 18-month uprising in Syria, Turkey hit back at what it called "the last straw" when a mortar hit a residential neighborhood of the southern border town of Akcakale. ... Full Story Top Romney: cuts in tax breaks for oil, gas "on the table" Wed,3 Oct 2012 09:58 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney hinted he could eliminate billions of dollars in U.S. oil and tax breaks if he were elected, but the reductions would be far less than what President Barack Obama wants. Romney signaled in the first presidential debate in Denver on Wednesday that annual reductions of some $2.8 billion in tax breaks for oil and natural gas companies could be eventually traded for a lower corporate tax rate if he won on November 6. "If we get that tax rate from 35 percent down to 25 percent, why that $2. ... Full Story Top Clinton pledges full accounting of deadly Benghazi attack Wed,3 Oct 2012 07:44 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday vowed to pursue a full accounting of the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi "wherever that leads," but cautioned that it could take time for a complete picture to emerge. "There are continuing questions about what exactly happened in Benghazi on that night three weeks ago. And we will not rest until we answer those questions and until we track down the terrorists who killed our people," Clinton said in an appearance with Kazakhstan's visiting foreign minister. ... Full Story Top Trade association condemns Tehran unrest as enemy plot: report Wed,3 Oct 2012 08:57 PM PDT Reuters - DUBAI (Reuters) - An Islamic trade association in Iran strongly condemned the protests that flared in Tehran's main bazaar as an enemy conspiracy and said traders had dealt with the "treacherous" acts, Iran's state news agency reported late on Wednesday. Riot police clashed with demonstrators and arrested money changers in Tehran on Wednesday afternoon in disturbances over the collapse of the Iranian currency, which has lost 40 percent of its value against the dollar over the last week. ... Full Story Top Romney, Obama both like Simpson-Bowles plan, to a point Wed,3 Oct 2012 09:15 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican hopeful Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama praised the deficit-cutting plan known as Simpson-Bowles at their debate on Wednesday, but neither has made the politically painful choices put forward by that scheme. Both candidates held up the 2010 deficit panel's report as a model at the first debate in Denver, and Romney blasted Obama for not fully embracing the proposal, which seeks to pare the deficit, which has topped $1 trillion in recent years. ... Full Story Top U.S. companies add jobs in September, service sector expands Wed,3 Oct 2012 12:40 PM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. companies added more jobs than expected in September, while activity in the vast services sector picked up, suggesting the economy remained on track for modest growth. The ADP National Employment Report showed private employers added 162,000 jobs in September, more than economists expected, but fewer than the 189,000 hired in August. Separate data from the Institute for Supply Management showed that new orders helped growth in the service sector to pick up to 55.1 in September, the best pace since March, from 53.7 a month earlier. ... Full Story Top Florida opens criminal probe into voter registration firm Wed,3 Oct 2012 05:56 PM PDT Reuters - TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Authorities in Florida opened a criminal probe on Wednesday into the activities of Strategic Allied Consulting, the firm hired by the Republican Party to register new voters in the crucial swing state ahead of next month's presidential election. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said there was enough evidence to warrant a full-blown investigation of Strategic Allied, a Virginia-based voter registration company doing work for the Republican National Committee and the Republican Party of Florida. ... Full Story Top HP's outlook disappoints, shares hit nine-year low Wed,3 Oct 2012 09:30 PM PDT Reuters - SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co's shares plunged to a nine-year low on Wednesday after Chief Executive Meg Whitman warned of an unexpectedly steep earnings slide in 2013, with revenue set to fall in every business division except software. Wall Street had hoped for quicker signs of progress on Whitman's turnaround plan, which centers on transforming the former industry powerhouse into an enterprise computing corporation that can take on IBM and Dell Inc. ... Full Story Top Father of bodyguard injured in Libya questions State Dept. response Wed,3 Oct 2012 06:29 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - The father of an American bodyguard injured in the deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, said on Wednesday the State Department should own up to what he said were its mistakes and release more information about what occurred. David Ubben, a 31-year-old State Department employee, suffered broken bones and other injuries in the September 11 attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans. ... Full Story Top Mexican troops arrest two in killing of U.S. border agent: officials Wed,3 Oct 2012 04:39 PM PDT Reuters - MEXICO CITY/PHOENIX (Reuters) - Mexican troops arrested two men on Wednesday suspected of involvement in the killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent shot dead in Arizona while responding to a tripped ground sensor, Mexican security officials said. The agent who died was among three who were patrolling on foot about 5 miles north of the international border when gunfire erupted well before daybreak on Tuesday. A second agent was also wounded while the third, a woman, was unharmed. ... Full Story Top Palestinian U.N. status likely to be debated in November Wed,3 Oct 2012 04:26 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations is likely to hold a debate on whether to upgrade the Palestinians' U.N. status to a sovereign country in mid-November - after the U.S. election, the president of the 193-member U.N. General Assembly said on Wednesday. Having failed last year to win recognition of full statehood at the United Nations, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said last week he would seek a less-ambitious status upgrade at the world body to make it a "non-member state" like the Vatican. The Palestinians' current U.N. status is an "observer entity. ... Full Story Top Record $104 million reward boosts whistleblowing on tax cheats Wed,3 Oct 2012 01:50 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - Whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld, whose $104 million reward from the Internal Revenue Service set a record three weeks ago, has helped set off a rush of would-be imitators hoping to cash in on a government program to catch tax cheats. Birkenfeld, now living in New Hampshire, helped lead the IRS to collect hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. taxes owed on money stashed in Swiss bank UBS AG, where he once worked. ... Full Story Top HP's outlook disappoints, driving shares to 9-year low Wed,3 Oct 2012 02:59 PM PDT Reuters - SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co's shares plunged to a nine-year low on Wednesday after Chief Executive Meg Whitman warned of an unexpectedly steep earnings slide in 2013, with revenue set to fall in every business division except software. Wall Street had hoped for quicker signs of progress on Whitman's turnaround plan, which centers on transforming the former industry powerhouse into an enterprise computing corporation that can take on IBM and Dell Inc. ... Full Story Top French opposition seeks more savings, less tax in 2013 budget Wed,3 Oct 2012 10:46 AM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - France's opposition UMP party will push to rebalance the Socialist government's 2013 budget more towards spending cuts and away from tax hikes when the bill goes through parliament, a senior party member said on Wednesday. President Francois Hollande's government presented the toughest budget in decades last week, counting mostly on tax increases to raise revenues. Conservative UMP lawmakers want 5-10 billion euros ($6. ... Full Story Top Father of bodyguard injured in Libya questions State Dept. response Wed,3 Oct 2012 04:50 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - The father of an American bodyguard injured in the deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, said on Wednesday the State Department should own up to what he said were its mistakes and release more information about what occurred. David Ubben, 31, suffered broken bones and other injuries in the September 11 attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans. ... Full Story Top Presidential debate seen as potential turning point for Romney Wed,3 Oct 2012 03:25 PM PDT Reuters - DENVER (Reuters) - U.S. Republican candidate Mitt Romney gets his first chance on Wednesday evening to go head-to-head in a debate against President Barack Obama, and potentially turn the tide of a campaign that has seen him trailing for weeks. The 90-minute encounter could reach 60 million people on television, a far bigger audience than watched either candidate speak at the Democratic and Republican conventions. While that could pay dividends in attracting undecided voters, there is also the risk of a major mistake that could overshadow the last five weeks before the November 6 election. ... Full Story Top Turkey strikes back at Syria after mortar kills five Wed,3 Oct 2012 04:50 PM PDT Reuters - AKCAKALE, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish artillery hit targets inside Syria on Wednesday after a mortar bomb fired from Syrian territory killed five Turkish civilians, while NATO called for an immediate end to Syria's "aggressive acts". In the most serious cross-border escalation of the 18-month uprising in Syria, Turkey hit back at what it called "the last straw" when a mortar hit a residential neighborhood of the southern border town of Akcakale. NATO said it stood by member-nation Turkey and urged Syria to put an end to "flagrant violations of international law". The U.S. ... Full Story Top Woes deepen in Europe and China; U.S. the bright spot Wed,3 Oct 2012 12:44 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The euro zone's economic woes accelerated last month and China's slowdown looked likely to extend to a seventh quarter, surveys on Wednesday showed, while the United States proved the bright spot with better-than-expected news on services and jobs. Purchasing managers indexes (PMIs) suggested the aggressive actions taken by the world's central banks over the last two months have yet to convince consumers to start spending again. The chances have dwindled of the euro zone in particular seeing growth again before next year. ... Full Story Top Reuters/Ipsos polls show scope of challenge facing Romney Wed,3 Oct 2012 09:05 AM PDT Reuters - DENVER (Reuters) - Heading into his first debate with Democratic President Barack Obama on Wednesday, Republican Mitt Romney has some convincing to do. During the next five weeks - and three debates - Romney will make an appeal to voters aimed at overcoming an Obama campaign that has outflanked his own for much of the past four months. Romney enters the final sprint to the November 6 election behind in national polls and trailing in most of the nine or so politically divided "swing" states that are likely to decide the election. ... Full Story Top Netanyahu-Barak spat stokes early Israel vote talk Wed,3 Oct 2012 08:07 AM PDT Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Friction between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak over relations with the United States fuelled talk on Wednesday of an early Israeli election. Ministers said the quarrel, Barak's resistance to Defense cuts in coalition budget talks and his dovish comments on peace efforts with the Palestinians were signs of a fraying alliance with Netanyahu and a national ballot as early as February. "It looks like the disputes herald an election," Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon said on Army Radio. ... Full Story Top Butler stole papers pope wanted destroyed: police Wed,3 Oct 2012 06:47 AM PDT Reuters - VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict's former butler stole highly sensitive papers the pontiff had marked "to be destroyed" and compromised Vatican security through his actions, the Holy See's police told his trial on Wednesday. On the third day of Paolo Gabriele's trial, testimony depicted a man fascinated by the occult, Masonic lodges, secret services and past Italian and Vatican scandals. "You can understand our unease when we saw these documents. ... Full Story Top HP expects enterprise services revenue to fall in 2013 Wed,3 Oct 2012 01:34 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co forecast revenue at its enterprise services unit to fall between 11 percent and 13 percent in 2013. The company expects 2013 adjusted earnings per share of $3.40 to $3.60 per share. Shares of the company fell more than 8 percent to $15.75 on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Sayantani Ghosh in Bangalore) Full Story Top Turkey strikes targets inside Syria after mortar attack Wed,3 Oct 2012 12:49 PM PDT Reuters - ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's military struck targets inside Syria on Wednesday in response to a mortar bomb fired from Syrian territory which killed five Turkish civilians, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's office said in a statement. "Our armed forces in the border region responded immediately to this abominable attack in line with their rules of engagement; targets were struck through artillery fire against places in Syria identified by radar," the statement said. "Turkey will never leave unanswered such kinds of provocation by the Syrian regime against our national security. ... Full Story Top U.S. had early indications Libya attack tied to organized militants Tue,2 Oct 2012 10:01 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Within hours of last month's attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya, President Barack Obama's administration received about a dozen intelligence reports suggesting militants connected to al Qaeda were involved, three government sources said. Despite these reports, in public statements and private meetings, top U.S. officials spent nearly two weeks highlighting intelligence suggesting that the attacks were spontaneous protests against an anti-Muslim film, while playing down the involvement of organized militant groups. ... Full Story Top Libya PM government line-up omits liberal coalition Wed,3 Oct 2012 01:21 PM PDT Reuters - TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libyan Prime Minister-elect Mustafa Abushagur nominated his cabinet on Wednesday for approval by the national congress, presenting a line-up that excluded the North African country's leading liberal coalition. Abushagur, elected prime minister by the congress on September 12, has said he wants to build a coalition government with a "geographical balance" in a country where regional rivalries are still rife. ... Full Story Top Spain's tax take tumbles as companies go abroad Wed,3 Oct 2012 09:57 AM PDT Reuters - MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's corporate tax take has tumbled by almost two thirds from pre-crisis levels as small businesses fail and a growing number of big corporations seek profits abroad to compensate for the prolonged downturn at home. Attractive tax benefits can accrue to companies expanding overseas, but for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government, which now seems resigned to accepting a European financial rescue, the income flow is reversed. ... Full Story Top Exclusive: Best Buy founder presses on with buyout plan Wed,3 Oct 2012 05:05 AM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Best Buy Co Inc founder Richard Schulze and at least four private equity firms have started examining the books of the world's largest consumer electronics chain, in early steps toward what could become a potential $11 billion buyout, according to people familiar with the matter. Shares of Best Buy jumped 3.4 percent to $17.55 in premarket trading Wednesday. The stock closed just under $17 on Tuesday, near four-year lows. ... Full Story Top Michelle Obama rallies supporters as early voting opens in Ohio Tue,2 Oct 2012 10:03 PM PDT Reuters - CINCINNATI, Ohio (Reuters) - First lady Michelle Obama rallied supporters to back her husband as early voting began on Tuesday in the key electoral swing state of Ohio where the Democrats hope to take advantage of a lead in opinion polls. "Are we going to just sit back and watch everything we worked for and fought for just slip away?" she asked a boisterous crowd of 6,800 in downtown Cincinnati. ... Full Story Top Insight: Delays dog U.S. government loans to green energy projects Wed,3 Oct 2012 04:41 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A year after the U.S. government raced to meet a deadline to finish loan agreements with dozens of clean energy companies, less than half the total money promised has been handed over. Technical questions and companies' own failures in hitting contractual milestones are behind some of the holdups. But government officials fearful of taking a risk on firms that could collapse may have also caused some of the delays. ... Full Story Top Probe into fatal Hong Kong ferry collision may take six months Wed,3 Oct 2012 01:01 AM PDT Reuters - HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong authorities began inspecting the wreckage of a leisure boat on Wednesday amid questions over how a collision with a commuter ferry in relatively calm weather killed 38 people in one of the city's worst accidents in recent decades. The exact circumstances surrounding the crash remain unclear, but television footage showed the leisure boat suffered a massive hole in its rear hull, which saw it partially sink, and the ferry with a severely damaged bow. ... Full Story Top U.S. companies add 162,000 jobs in September Wed,3 Oct 2012 06:41 AM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. companies added 162,000 jobs in September, more than economists expected but still pointing to slow improvement in the labor market, data from a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the ADP National Employment Report would show a gain of 143,000 jobs. The ADP figures come ahead of the government's much more comprehensive labor market report for September due on Friday, which includes both public and private sector employment. That report is expected to show job growth improved slightly, with employers adding 113,000 jobs. ... Full Story Top China services PMI falls to lowest in nearly two years Tue,2 Oct 2012 09:17 PM PDT Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China's normally robust services sector weakened sharply in September to its lowest point since November 2010, as slow growth in manufacturing finally began to feed through to the rest of the economy, an official survey showed on Wednesday. The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the sector fell to 53.7 in September from 56.3 in August, weighed by weakened construction services and transport as well as lackluster new orders overall, according to the latest survey from the National Bureau of Statistics. ... Full Story Top Insight: In California, the Mungers haunt Jerry Brown Wed,3 Oct 2012 05:52 AM PDT Reuters - SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California Governor Jerry Brown has a problem. Call it the Munger problem. They're scions of a billionaire financier, one a liberal lawyer in Los Angeles and the other a conservative scientist in the Bay Area. Neither claims to enjoy politics. Yet Molly Munger and Charles Munger Jr., children of Warren Buffett's business partner, Charles Munger, Sr., have together become Brown's worst nightmare as the November election approaches. ... Full Story Top "Critical but stable" world nods at more risk Tue,2 Oct 2012 11:10 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Like a patient in a critical but stable condition, the world economy may be in for years of low, spluttering growth and yet a lack of volatility may be acting as a green light for investors. The paralyzing effect of economic uncertainty on investment, business and household planning has been stark over the past five years of credit crisis and the deep and synchronized global recession of 2008/2009 is seared into many minds. Extraordinary monetary and fiscal policy stimuli around the globe look set to continue for the foreseeable future. ... Full Story Top Chinese firm sues Obama for blocking wind farm near drone site Tue,2 Oct 2012 05:42 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A small Chinese firm has sued President Barack Obama for squashing its bid to build wind farms close to a naval training site, but experts say the suit is long shot for a firm that greatly underestimated U.S. suspicions about Chinese intentions. Ralls Corp, which is owned by two Chinese nationals, was installing wind turbines close to the training site in Oregon, which, according to the facility's web site, is used to test unmanned drones - a highly sensitive and prized U.S. technology. The U.S. ... Full Story Top "Fiscal cliff" fears may impede faster job growth Tue,2 Oct 2012 01:36 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. job growth likely improved only slightly in September as businesses remained cautious out of fear a sharp tightening of the government's budget could deliver a big blow to the economic recovery early next year. Employers are expected to have added 113,000 jobs to their payrolls, an increase from 96,000 in August, with the unemployment rate edging up by a tenth of a percentage point to 8.2 percent, according to a Reuters survey of economists. The data, to be released by the Labor Department at 8:30 a.m. (12.30 p.m. ... Full Story Top Pennsylvania judge: Voter ID law a no-go for November 6 Tue,2 Oct 2012 04:04 PM PDT Reuters - HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - A judge on Tuesday blocked Pennsylvania from requiring voters to show photo identification in November's U.S. election, a decision that could influence turnout in a top electoral prize in the presidential race. In a setback for Republican state officials who championed the controversial law and had hoped it would help them deliver Pennsylvania for their party's presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson delayed its implementation until after Election Day, November 6. ... Full Story Top

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