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News Weak U.S. labor market looms ahead of elections Obama fights back after debate setback Greek PM says can't manage beyond November without next aid tranche Romney says his 47 percent comment was "completely wrong" Facebook IPO lawsuits to be heard in New York Analysis: Republicans lead Obama in war for judicial dominance World's fastest radio telescope starts up in Australian outback Exclusive: Credit Suisse probed over mortgages - sources Federal judge approves scaled-down Florida voter purge Turks on Syrian border skeptical after shelling Romney gains ground on Obama after strong debate U.S. investigators visit Libya compound where ambassador was killed U.S. jobless claims point to steady labor market Nuclear operators must act now on safety: EU EADS-BAE merger could be hostage to U.S. politics Feisty Obama says didn't face "real Mitt Romney" in debate Turkey steps up Syria strikes, says will defend borders Romney's strong debate showing puts Europe on edge Facebook IPO lawsuits to be heard in New York Analysis: Big funds seek to rein in pay at Wall Street banks Analysis: Europe braces for return of Germany's "Madame Non" Chicago Teachers Union ratifies deal that ended strike Exclusive: Euro zone considering bond insurance for Spain - sources Merchants bring down shutters in Tehran bazaar after clashes Obama fights back after debate setback U.S. imposes sanctions on Lebanese charities with Hamas ties Analysis: Romney scores in debate, but will it be enough? Poll shows dead heat in Connecticut Senate race Four Qaeda militants killed in U.S. drone strike Factory orders post largest fall since recession Island plans by Tokyo's nationalist governor may stoke fresh China tensions ECB bond-buying conditions need not be painful: Draghi HP's outlook disappoints, shares hit nine-year low Romney stresses he wants bank regulation, but slams Obama reforms Romney: cuts in tax breaks for oil, gas "on the table" Clinton pledges full accounting of deadly Benghazi attack Romney, Obama both like deficit-cutting plan, to a point U.S. companies add jobs in September, service sector expands Florida opens criminal probe into voter registration firm Father of bodyguard injured in Libya questions State Dept. response Weak U.S. labor market looms ahead of elections WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fears of government austerity likely kept U.S. job gains modest and the unemployment rate elevated in September, an outcome that could weigh on President Barack Obama's re-election bid. Employers are expected to have added 113,000 jobs to their payrolls last month, according to a Reuters survey of economists. That would be up from 96,000 in August, but it would still fall short of what is needed to cut the jobless rate. Indeed, economists expect the unemployment rate, a key focus in the race for the White House, to tick up by a tenth of a percentage point to 8. ... Full Story Top Obama fights back after debate setback DENVER (Reuters) - A day after a muted performance in a presidential debate, U.S. President Barack Obama fought back against Republican rival Mitt Romney on Thursday and the Democrat's re-election campaign vowed to learn lessons from the setback. A feisty Obama told a rally of some 12,000 people that the former Massachusetts governor was untruthful during Wednesday's 90-minute debate in Denver, which most observers reckoned the Republican won. "When I got onto the stage, I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney," Obama said. ... Full Story Top Greek PM says can't manage beyond November without next aid tranche BERLIN (Reuters) - Greek leader Antonis Samaras told a German paper in an interview published on Friday his country could not manage beyond November without the next tranche of international aid and suggested the ECB could help by easing the terms of its Greek debt holdings. "The key is liquidity. That is why the next credit tranche is so important for us," Samaras told the business daily Handelsblatt. Asked how long Greece could manage without it, he said: "Until the end of November. Then the cash box is empty. ... Full Story Top Romney says his 47 percent comment was "completely wrong" HARRISONBURG, Virginia (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said on Thursday his comment on a secretly taped video in which he disparaged 47 percent of voters as dependent on government "was just completely wrong," as he attempted to repair the damage from the controversy. Romney's interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity was the first time he completely disavowed remarks he made at a private fundraiser in May and which have emerged as a major stumbling block in his campaign against Democratic President Barack Obama. ... Full Story Top Facebook IPO lawsuits to be heard in New York (Reuters) - Dozens of lawsuits against Facebook Inc, the NASDAQ exchange and various underwriters will be centralized before a federal judge in New York, who must sort through the legal aftermath of Facebook's botched initial public offering. A panel of federal judges on Thursday ordered that cases filed around the United States be transferred to U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet in Manhattan. Facebook had requested the transfer, while some investors sought to keep their cases in California. ... Full Story Top Analysis: Republicans lead Obama in war for judicial dominance WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When Barack Obama was elected president, critics and supporters alike thought the Democrat would move swiftly to appoint strong liberal judges to balance out Republicans' longstanding push for a conservative judiciary. At the nation's 13 powerful U.S. appeals courts, that has not happened. Obama's 30 appointees have generally been moderates who mainly served on lower courts and were often selected in consultation with Republican senators. ... Full Story Top World's fastest radio telescope starts up in Australian outback MURCHISON, Australia (Reuters) - In the remote Australian outback, scientists have launched the world's fastest radio telescope which will exponentially increase astronomers' ability to survey the universe, mapping black holes and shedding new light on the origins of galaxies. The Australia Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), with an array of 36 antennas each 12 meters (40 feet) across, started peering into the universe on Friday from a far-flung cattle station in Western Australia state. The A$152 million ($155. ... Full Story Top Exclusive: Credit Suisse probed over mortgages - sources NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. federal and state authorities are investigating Credit Suisse AG over mortgage-backed securities packaged and sold by the bank, people familiar with the probe said on Thursday. The Justice Department and the New York Attorney General are among those probing Credit Suisse's actions, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. A spokesman for Credit Suisse, Switzerland's second-largest bank, declined to comment. Zurich-based Credit Suisse is the second bank known to be targeted by U.S. ... Full Story Top Federal judge approves scaled-down Florida voter purge TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a challenge to Florida's recent voter purge efforts, clearing the way for the removal of about 200 suspected non-U.S. citizens from state voter rolls before the November 6 presidential election. District Judge William Zloch dismissed the remaining challenges from voter advocacy groups, including the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights and the Florida Immigrant Coalition. ... Full Story Top Turks on Syrian border skeptical after shelling AKCAKALE, Turkey (Reuters) - Frightened residents of a Turkish border town shelled by Syria expressed skepticism on Friday that military and political retaliation by Ankara would succeed in deterring more deadly strikes by Damascus forces. Turkish artillery bombarded Syrian military targets for a second day on Thursday, responding to the mortar fire that killed five people the day before in the southeastern town of Akcakale. ... Full Story Top Romney gains ground on Obama after strong debate WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney gained ground on Democratic President Barack Obama after a strong performance in their first debate heading into the November 6 election, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken after their prime-time face-off. Romney is now viewed positively by 51 percent of voters, the first time he has enjoyed a net positive in the U.S. presidential race, the poll found. Obama's favorability rating remained unchanged at 56 percent, according to the poll. ... Full Story Top U.S. investigators visit Libya compound where ambassador was killed BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - A team of U.S. investigators travelled for the first time to the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Thursday to analyze the crime scene where the U.S. ambassador was killed in an attack last month, Libyan and U.S. sources said. FBI agents were sent to Libya after the September 11 assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission and on another facility in which Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed. ... Full Story Top U.S. jobless claims point to steady labor market WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose only slightly last week after a big drop the week before, a hopeful sign the job market is still on the mend. Other data on Thursday showed a sharp drop in new orders for U.S. factory goods, although orders outside the transportation sector rose for a second straight month, which should calm fears of a rapid loss of momentum in factory activity. ... Full Story Top Nuclear operators must act now on safety: EU BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Regulators and operators should act now to improve safety at nuclear power plants, the EU energy commissioner said on Thursday, following inspections across the European Union. The stress tests, carried out in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster, found safety improvements costing between 10 billion ($12.90 billion) and 25 billion euros were necessary in European plants, a draft seen by Reuters showed this week. "Nearly everywhere there is major potential for improvement," Energy Commission Guenther Oettinger told reporters. ... Full Story Top EADS-BAE merger could be hostage to U.S. politics WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) - To win approval for their planned $45 billion merger, EADS and BAE systems must persuade Washington to let a pan-European behemoth control some of the most sensitive U.S. defense contracts, without triggering a political backlash. Defense industry experts say it should not be difficult for Washington to protect its security interests in allowing the deal to go ahead, but the politics could become complicated if Boeing and other competitors lobby against the deal. ... Full Story Top Feisty Obama says didn't face "real Mitt Romney" in debate DENVER (Reuters) - President Barack Obama came out swinging against Republican rival Mitt Romney on Thursday after a lackluster performance in their first debate forced the Democrat's aides to talk of "adjustments" to his campaign. Dressed casually in khakis and a jacket, Obama told a rally of some 12,000 people the former Massachusetts governor was untruthful during their 90-minute debate, which most observers said the Republican won. "When I got onto the stage, I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney," Obama said. ... Full Story Top Turkey steps up Syria strikes, says will defend borders AKCAKALE, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkey stepped up retaliatory artillery strikes on a Syrian border town on Thursday, killing several Syrian soldiers, while its parliament approved further military action in the event of another spillover of the Syrian conflict. Seeking to unwind the most serious cross-border escalation in its 18-month-old crackdown on dissent, Damascus apologized through the United Nations for shelling which killed five civilians in southeast Turkey on Wednesday and said it would not happen again, Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said. ... Full Story Top Romney's strong debate showing puts Europe on edge BRUSSELS (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's lackluster performance in the first U.S. election debate provoked uneasiness in European capitals on Thursday, where hopes are mostly, if unofficially, pinned on his securing a second term. While a lot can change before the November 6 vote, and Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney will go head to head twice more before then, polling conducted immediately after the debate showed Romney came out overwhelmingly on top. A flash poll by CNN showed 67 percent of viewers thought Romney had 'won', with just 25 percent for Obama. ... Full Story Top Facebook IPO lawsuits to be heard in New York (Reuters) - Dozens of lawsuits against Facebook Inc, the NASDAQ exchange and various underwriters will be consolidated before a federal judge in New York, who must sort through the legal aftermath of Facebook's botched initial public offering. A panel of federal judges on Thursday ordered that cases filed around the United States be transferred to U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet in Manhattan. Facebook had requested the consolidation, while some investors sought to keep their cases in California. ... Full Story Top Analysis: Big funds seek to rein in pay at Wall Street banks (Reuters) - The days when Wall Street banks could blithely hand out half their revenue in compensation to their staff without a murmur from shareholders have come to an end. In an era of leaner times and tighter regulation, big mutual funds and pensions are growing more vocal in pushing executives at investment banks to rein in pay and bonuses and consider more staff cuts. Investors worry that bank employees are getting too big a piece of a shrinking pie, leaving shareholders a much smaller slice. So far, much of the jousting is taking place behind closed doors. ... Full Story Top Analysis: Europe braces for return of Germany's "Madame Non" BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel is hardening her stance on additional help for struggling euro zone economies like Greece and Spain as pressure from parliamentary allies and a looming election campaign shrink her room for maneuver in Europe. At the start of the crisis, Merkel was derided by the French as "Madame Non" for refusing to approve quick aid to southern euro zone stragglers and rebuffing demands for sweeping solutions like common euro zone bonds. Over the last year Merkel has softened that image with concessions and softer rhetoric. ... Full Story Top Chicago Teachers Union ratifies deal that ended strike CHICAGO (Reuters) - Public school teachers in Chicago voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new three-year contract, ending a bitter dispute with Mayor Rahm Emanuel over school reforms that prompted the first strike of city teachers in 25 years. The Chicago Teachers Union said 79.1 percent of its members voted in favor of the deal, which will give teachers an average pay raise of 17.6 percent over four years if the contract is extended an extra year. Ratification required a majority vote in favor. ... Full Story Top Exclusive: Euro zone considering bond insurance for Spain - sources MADRID/PARIS (Reuters) - The euro zone is considering aiding Spain by providing insurance for investors who buy government bonds in a move designed to maintain Spanish access to capital markets and minimize the cost to European taxpayers, European sources said. One senior European source said the plan could cost about 50 billion euros ($64.5 billion) for a year. It would enable Spain to cover its full funding needs and trigger potentially unlimited European Central bank buying of short-term Spanish bonds in the secondary market. If the gamble succeeds, it would achieve two important aims. ... Full Story Top Merchants bring down shutters in Tehran bazaar after clashes DUBAI (Reuters) - Shops in Tehran's Grand Bazaar stayed shut and police patrolled the area on Thursday as authorities struggled to restore normalcy a day after security forces clashed with anti-government protesters angered by the collapse of the currency. Traders from the bazaar, whose merchants supported Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, told Reuters by telephone that most stores were closed because their owners had stayed away for safety reasons. ... Full Story Top Obama fights back after debate setback DENVER (Reuters) - A day after a muted performance in a presidential debate, U.S. President Barack Obama fought back against Republican rival Mitt Romney on Thursday and the Democrat's re-election campaign vowed to learn lessons from the setback. A feisty Obama told a rally of some 12,000 people that the former Massachusetts governor was untruthful during Wednesday's 90-minute debate in Denver, which most observers reckoned the Republican won. "When I got onto the stage, I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney," Obama said. ... Full Story Top U.S. imposes sanctions on Lebanese charities with Hamas ties WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday imposed financial penalties on two Lebanese charities that fundraise for Hamas, an effort by the Obama administration to disrupt the Islamist group's activities. The U.S. Treasury added the two Beruit-based charities, Al-Waqfiya and Al-Quds International Foundation, to its list of entities hit with asset freezes. It is not known whether the two charities hold U.S. assets. The Treasury Department did not provide details on any assets under U.S. jurisdiction and declined to comment when asked. ... Full Story Top Analysis: Romney scores in debate, but will it be enough? WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After several difficult weeks, Republican Mitt Romney found his footing on Wednesday night in a strong debate performance against Democratic President Barack Obama. The question is whether it is too late to make a difference. Romney could see a burst of fundraising, new interest from undecided voters and a wave of support from his fellow Republicans after he appeared to have emerged as a clear victor in his first face-to-face confrontation with Obama. Romney likely will benefit from favorable news coverage as well. ... Full Story Top Poll shows dead heat in Connecticut Senate race NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Connecticut Senate race is essentially tied one month before the November election as Democratic Representative Christopher Murphy tries to fend off former wrestling magnate Linda McMahon, a Quinnipiac University poll showed on Thursday. McMahon, a former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment who lost a Senate race in the state two years ago, has battered Murphy with negative television ads since before the August 14 primaries. The poll showed McMahon leading the three-term congressman 48 percent to 47 percent. ... Full Story Top Four Qaeda militants killed in U.S. drone strike ADEN (Reuters) - Four al Qaeda-linked militants were killed in an apparent U.S. drone strike on Thursday in a remote part of the south of Yemen, a security official and residents said. The security official and residents said the militants were killed in an air strike on their vehicles in the isolated area of Maqbala in Shabwa province. They said it was a drone strike. The militants were heavily armed, carrying weapons and explosives, said the official, who declined to be named. Two militants were wounded and another fled the scene after the strike, the official added. Yemen, a U.S. ... Full Story Top Factory orders post largest fall since recession WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Demand for U.S. factory goods in August fell by the most since January 2009, but the second straight month of gains in orders outside transportation hinted at a less rapid loss of momentum in manufacturing activity. The Commerce Department said new orders for manufactured goods tumbled 5.2 percent - the biggest drop since the recession - dragged down by a slump in demand for transportation equipment that was telegraphed in last week's report on orders for long-lasting manufactured goods. Factory orders had risen 2. ... Full Story Top Island plans by Tokyo's nationalist governor may stoke fresh China tensions 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 ECB bond-buying conditions need not be painful: Draghi BRDO PRI KRANJU, Slovenia (Reuters) - European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Thursday everything was in place for the bank to buy the bonds of troubled euro zone countries such as Spain and that conditions linked to it need not be punitive. At the first ECB meeting since Draghi unveiled his controversial bond-purchase plan a month ago, markets were looking for signs of when Spain might make a formal aid request and trigger the program that some have hailed as a savior for the battered euro zone. ... Full Story Top HP's outlook disappoints, shares hit nine-year low 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 Romney stresses he wants bank regulation, but slams Obama reforms 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 Romney: cuts in tax breaks for oil, gas "on the table" 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 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 Romney, Obama both like deficit-cutting plan, to a point WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney praised the deficit-cutting framework known as Simpson-Bowles in their debate on Wednesday, but neither candidate has embraced the politically unpopular choices put forward in the plan. A bipartisan presidential commission - named after its chairmen, Republican Alan Simpson and Democrat Erskine Bowles - proposed in 2010 a combination of spending cuts and tax increases to reduce the federal debt. ... Full Story Top U.S. companies add jobs in September, service sector expands 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 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 Father of bodyguard injured in Libya questions State Dept. response (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

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