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| Boehner sees no progress in "fiscal cliff" talks Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 04:38 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said on Thursday that "fiscal cliff" talks with the White House had made no substantive progress and criticized President Barack Obama and Democrats for failing to get serious about including spending cuts in a final deal. Boehner said he was "disappointed" after a phone call with Obama on Wednesday night and a meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday moved the two sides no closer to an agreement to avert the tax hikes and spending cuts that will be triggered at the start of 2013 unless Congress ... Full Story | Top |
| Palestinians win de facto U.N. recognition of sovereign state Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 08:29 PM PST  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the world body to issue its long overdue "birth certificate." The U.N. victory for the Palestinians was a diplomatic setback for the United States and Israel, which were joined by only a handful of countries in voting against the move to upgrade the Palestinian Authority's observer status at the United Nations to "non-member state" from "entity," like the Vatican. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt constitution finalized as opposition cries foul Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 09:40 PM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - An Islamist-led assembly finalized a new constitution early on Friday aimed at transforming Egypt and paving the way for an end to a crisis that erupted when President Mohamed Mursi gave himself sweeping new powers last week. Mursi said his decree halting court challenges to his decisions, which provoked protests and violence from Egyptians fearing a new dictator was emerging less than two years after they ousted Hosni Mubarak, was "for an exceptional stage." "It will end as soon as the people vote on a constitution," he told state television on Thursday night. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: How a desperate HP suspended disbelief for Autonomy deal Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 10:36 PM PST  SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - For Leo Apotheker, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO, a July 2011 meeting with Autonomy founder Mike Lynch at a chic seaside resort in France was pivotal to his effort to remake a storied technology giant. In the nine months since taking the helm at HP, Apotheker had tried furiously to find a way to move the lumbering company away from its low-margin computer hardware business and into the lucrative corporate software and services arena. ... Full Story | Top |
| After long jail term, gaming gangster faces less violent but still murky Macau Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 11:25 PM PST  MACAU (Reuters) - Wan "Broken Tooth" Kuok-koi will emerge from jail this weekend into a very different Macau gambling haven than the one he bullied in the late-1990s. Under new leadership, chosen at a Chinese Communist Party Congress this month where corruption was a dominant theme, Beijing is sending strong signals to Macau authorities to tighten regulation and promote responsible gaming in the world's casino capital. It's a far cry from more than a decade ago when Wan and other triad gangsters ran amok during the final days of Portuguese rule of this southern Chinese outcrop. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Lawyers gain from "say-on-pay" suits targeting U.S. firms Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 10:10 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Since the Dodd-Frank law gave shareholders a say in executive pay in 2010, courts have routinely rebuffed efforts by shareholders to force companies to heed their voice. Now, lawyers have found a new way to bring lawsuits over executive pay, resulting in a handful of legal settlements. But the settlements to date have produced no changes in executive compensation and no money for investors. In fact, the main financial beneficiary so far has been a small New York law firm that brought the bulk of the cases. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Philippines fixer paid $30 million by Okada's Universal - sources Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 10:44 PM PST  TOKYO/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada's Universal Entertainment funneled at least $30 million to an ex-consultant for the Philippines gaming authority who is now at the center of a bribery investigation, according to sources and company records. The sum is six times the amount initially confirmed by Reuters and could, if found to be bribery, result in Okada being stripped of his firm's casino license in the Philippines and also jeopardize his gaming license in Las Vegas. ... Full Story | Top |
| Inventories boost economic growth but trend weak Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 01:44 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The economy grew faster than initially thought in the third quarter as restocking by businesses provided a big boost, but consumer and business spending were revised lower in a sobering reminder of the recovery's underlying weakness. Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.7 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Thursday, with export growth also helping to offset the weakest consumer spending and first drop in business investment in more than a year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain's Cameron rejects press law after hacking scandal Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 11:55 AM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron rejected the idea of a law to regulate the British press on Thursday, risking a split in his government after an inquiry advised legal backing for a watchdog to police the sometimes outrageous conduct of newspapers. Opposing an independent regulator enshrined in law will delight the British press ahead of the 2015 election but may raise concern inside the coalition government that Cameron lacks the mettle to stand up to media barons such as Rupert Murdoch. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Democrats' discord undercuts Obama estate tax push Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 10:07 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Divisions among Democrats are undermining President Barack Obama's push to raise the U.S. estate tax on inherited wealth, just weeks before the arrival of the "fiscal cliff" could drive the present estate tax rate even higher than Obama proposes. Action on the estate tax could be postponed. But in his successful re-election campaign, Obama called for wealthy Americans to pay more in taxes - and it is overwhelmingly the wealthy who pay the estate tax. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. gives Iran until March to cooperate with IAEA Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 06:23 PM PST  VIENNA (Reuters) - The United States set a March deadline on Thursday for Iran to start cooperating in substance with a U.N. nuclear agency investigation, warning Tehran the issue may otherwise be referred to the U.N. Security Council. The comments by U.S. diplomat Robert Wood to the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency signaled Washington's growing frustration at a lack of progress in the IAEA's inquiry into possible military dimensions to Tehran's nuclear program. Iran - which was first reported to the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama hosts election rival Romney for lunch Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 02:13 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and his vanquished Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, sat down for lunch at the White House on Thursday as they sought to put their bitterly fought presidential campaign behind them and make a show of political harmony. The two men chewed over the just-ended campaign during a meal of turkey chili and Southwestern grilled chicken salad in the dining room adjacent to the Oval Office. The visit was kept low key as Romney was brought in through a heavily guarded side entryway for a private one-on-one encounter. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fighting cuts access to Damascus airport, flights suspended Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 09:53 PM PST  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels battled forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad just outside Damascus on Thursday, cutting access to its international airport, and Dubai-based Emirates airline and EgyptAir stopped flights to the Syrian capital. The Internet and some telephone lines went down across Syria. Rebels and the government traded blame for the blackout, the worst communications outage in 20 months of conflict. Rebels fighting to topple Assad have been making gains around Syria by overrunning military bases and have been ramping up attacks on Damascus, his seat of power. ... Full Story | Top |
| Former President George H. W. Bush stable in hospital Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 10:04 AM PST  HOUSTON (Reuters) - Former President George H. W. Bush is being treated at a Houston hospital for complications related to bronchitis and is in stable condition, the hospital said on Thursday. "President Bush has been in and out of The Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center being treated for complications related to his bronchitis," Bush's office said in a statement released by the hospital. "He is in stable condition, and is expected to be released within the next 72 hours." The Houston Chronicle reported Thursday that Bush, 88, has been in the hospital for a week. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea pushing ahead with new nuclear reactor: IAEA Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 05:52 AM PST VIENNA (Reuters) - North Korea has made further progress in the construction of a new atomic reactor, the U.N. nuclear chief reported on Thursday, a facility that may extend the country's capacity to produce material for nuclear bombs. Pyongyang "has continued construction of the light water reactor and largely completed work on the exterior of the main buildings," Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said. But, he told the IAEA's 35-nation governing board that the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Palestinians win implicit U.N. recognition of sovereign state Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 03:03 PM PST  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the world body to issue its long overdue "birth certificate." There were 138 votes in favor, nine against and 41 abstentions. Three countries did not take part in the vote to upgrade the Palestinian Authority's observer status at the United Nations to "non-member state" from "entity. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. gives Iran until March to cooperate with IAEA Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 10:39 AM PST  VIENNA (Reuters) - The United States set a March deadline on Thursday for Iran to start cooperating in substance with a U.N. nuclear agency investigation, warning Tehran the issue may otherwise be referred to the U.N. Security Council. The comments by U.S. diplomat Robert Wood to the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency signaled Washington's growing frustration at a lack of progress in the IAEA's inquiry into possible military dimensions to Tehran's nuclear program. Iran - which was first reported to the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boehner sees no progress in fiscal cliff talks Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 02:45 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said on Thursday that "fiscal cliff" talks with the White House had made no substantive progress and criticized President Barack Obama and Democrats for failing to get serious about including spending cuts in a final deal. Boehner said he was "disappointed" after a phone call with Obama on Wednesday night and a meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday moved the two sides no closer to an agreement to avert the tax hikes and spending cuts that will be triggered at the start of 2013 unless Congress ... Full Story | Top |
| Opposition cries foul as Egypt constitution vote proceeds Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 02:18 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Mohamed Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood has begun pushing through a new constitution that will transform Egypt, hoping it will end a crisis which erupted when the Islamist president gave himself sweeping new powers last week. Mursi said his decree halting court challenges to his decisions, which provoked protests and violence from Egyptians fearing the emergence of a new dictator less than two years after they ousted Hosni Mubarak, was "for an exceptional stage". "It will end as soon as the people vote on a constitution," he told state television on Thursday night. ... Full Story | Top |
| No "substantive" progress made on fiscal cliff: Boehner Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 09:02 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House Speaker John Boehner said on Thursday that no substantive progress has been made to avoid the "fiscal cliff" of spending cuts and tax hikes that will start to go into effect early next year if Washington does not act. "Listen, I remain hopeful that productive conversations can be had in the days ahead. But the White House has to get serious," House of Representatives Speaker Boehner told reporters after a meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and the White House's main liaison to Congress. ... Full Story | Top |
| Euro zone economic mood cheers up a little in November Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 03:28 AM PST  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Economic morale in the euro zone improved for the first time in almost a year in November, but industry's reluctance to invest next year bodes poorly for a quick recovery from recession. Sentiment towards the bloc's economy rose 1.4 points to 85.7 beating forecasts and ending an eight-month run of falls, the European Commission's monthly business and consumer survey showed on Thursday, with Germany and France gaining strongly. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bombs kill 30 in Iraq Shi'ite cities Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 03:39 AM PST  HILLA, Iraq (Reuters) - Bombs in two majority Shi'ite Muslim cities in southern Iraq killed 28 people on Thursday, police and hospital sources said, in an attack aimed at spreading sectarian strife in the country. Scores more were wounded in the blasts, which struck during a month that is of special significance to Shi'ite Muslims, who are often targeted by al Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate and other Sunni Muslim insurgents. Nearly 2,000 people have been killed in Iraq so far this year following last December's withdrawl of U.S. troops, who had invaded in 2003 to overthrow Saddam Hussein. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: France's love affair with nuclear energy cools Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 05:55 AM PST  PARIS (Reuters) - For decades, the elite engineers turned out by Paris's grand Corps des Mines academy were faithful followers of the pro-atomic creed that transformed their country into the most nuclear-reliant nation in the world. But a new generation of Mines graduates is starting to question that policy. It is a change of mindset that could aid efforts by President Francois Hollande to cut reliance on nuclear power from 75 percent to 50 percent of the electricity mix by 2025. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pending home sales rise, beating expectations Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 07:10 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Contracts to buy previously owned U.S. homes rose more than expected in October, a sign the housing market recovery advanced into the fourth quarter despite a mammoth storm and concerns over looming tax hikes. The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in October, gained 5.2 percent to 104.8. Economists polled by Reuters had expected signed contracts, which usually become sales after a month or two, to rise 0.8 percent last month. ... Full Story | Top |
| Third-quarter growth raised on strong inventory building Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 05:37 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy grew faster than initially thought in the third quarter, but the momentum is unlikely to be sustained as the nation braces for deep cuts in government spending and tax increases early next year. Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.7 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Thursday, as faster inventory accumulation and export growth offset weak consumer spending and the first drop in business investment in more than a year. While the growth pace was much quicker than the 2. ... Full Story | Top |
| Argentine bonds rally as U.S. ruling quells default fears Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 07:35 AM PST  BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine bond prices rallied on Thursday after fears of an imminent debt default receded when a U.S. appeals court gave the country an unexpected reprieve in a legal battle with holdout creditors. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision to grant an emergency stay order gives Argentina more time to fight a ruling favoring "holdout" investors who rejected two restructurings of defaulted bonds to fight for full repayment in the courts. It delays a ruling on whether Argentina will have to pay $1. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. nuclear chief sees no progress on Iran concerns Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 04:18 AM PST VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear agency made no progress in a year-long push to find out if Iran worked on developing an atomic bomb, its chief said on Thursday, calling for urgent efforts to end Tehran's standoff with the West. Yukiya Amano said he would not give up seeking to end what Western diplomats describe as Iranian stonewalling of the agency's investigation into possible military dimensions to the Islamic state's nuclear program. U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Cash crisis, Arab ferment threaten Jordan's stability Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 01:03 AM PST  AMMAN (Reuters) - Violent protests that shocked Jordan this month have mostly subsided, but unprecedented chants for the "fall of the regime" suggested a deeper malaise in a kingdom so far spared the revolts reshaping the Arab world. Anger over fuel subsidy cuts undoubtedly drove the unrest, in which police shot dead one man during a confrontation at a police station. The government's planned electricity price rises starting next year may well ignite more popular fury. ... Full Story | Top |
| Managers delighted their stores sold winning lottery tickets Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 03:11 PM PST  DEARBORN, Mo./FOUNTAIN HILLS, Arizona (Reuters) - Managers of a Missouri gas station and an Arizona food store said on Thursday they were delighted that they may have handed tickets to the two prospective multi-millionaire winners of a record $587.5 million Powerball lottery jackpot. The two winning tickets were sold at the gas station and sandwich shop in the tiny farming town of Dearborn, Missouri, about 30 miles north of Kansas City, and the food store in Fountain Hills, Arizona, on the outskirts of Phoenix. ... Full Story | Top |
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