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| North Korea pressures South by halting entry to industrial zone Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 10:29 PM PDT  By Ju-min Park PAJU, South Korea (Reuters) - North Korea on Wednesday closed access to a joint factory zone that earns $2 billion a year in trade for the impoverished state but will allow hundreds of South Koreans to return home, officials said, allaying fears they could have been held hostage. Factories in the Kaesong Industrial Park were still believed to be operating, but North Korea's decision to block entry is a further sign of the growing tensions on the Korean peninsula. On Tuesday, Pyongyang said it would restart a mothballed nuclear reactor. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama launches fund-raising blitz to help Democrats in Congress Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 10:08 PM PDT  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will launch a fund-raising drive for the 2014 mid-term elections on Wednesday with addresses to deep-pocketed donors in California, hoping the Democratic Party can defy the odds and gain congressional seats in the polls. The party in power in the White House usually loses seats in election years in which the presidency is not up for grabs. This means Democrats have their work cut out for them in trying to win a majority in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and add to their majority in the Senate. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Jobless youths could drag on recovery Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 11:03 PM PDT  By Mike Dolan LONDON (Reuters) - The global economy is recovering - although the younger you are and the longer you've been out of work, the less likely it is that you'll have noticed. A modest upturn in the major developed economies flagged last week by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development should be a considerable relief for Western countries still struggling to run down huge debts. But with persistent recession across Europe and high levels of youth unemployment and long-term joblessness, signs that growth is picking up may offer little cheer. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: In Malaysia's election, a focus on rainforest graft Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 10:12 PM PDT  By Niluksi Koswanage KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia (Reuters) - The island of Borneo may be all that stands between Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and an unprecedented election defeat within weeks for his ruling coalition. Borneo's two Malaysian states -- Sabah and Sarawak -- have been a bastion of votes for the National Front coalition headed by Najib's party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). ... Full Story | Top |
| China March services PMIs hit multi-month highs Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 11:36 PM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - Growth in China's services sectors rose to multi-month highs in March as a construction boom and firmer demand lifted business and confidence, auguring well for a modest recovery in the world's second largest economy. The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the non-manufacturing sector climbed to 55.6 in March from February's 54.5, aided by a buoyant construction sector. A PMI reading above 50 indicates accelerating activity. A separate services PMI published by HSBC showed growth rebounding to a six-month high of 54. ... Full Story | Top |
| Arizona city becomes state's first to allow same-sex civil unions Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 12:29 AM PDT By Tim Gaynor BISBEE, Arizona (Reuters) - A former Arizona copper mining town reborn as an artists' community defied the threat of legal action on Tuesday and became the first city in the conservative southwestern state to allow civil unions between same-sex couples. The city council in Bisbee, a city of 5,600 residents in southeast Arizona, voted five to two to pass a measure allowing any couple to join in a civil ceremony, regardless of their sex or sexual orientation. "We're just acknowledging the people that live here. It's a big step in the right direction (and) for a tiny town ... ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. overwhelmingly approves global arms trade treaty Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 07:03 PM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved the first treaty on the global arms trade, which seeks to regulate the $70 billion business in conventional arms and keep weapons out of the hands of human rights abusers. The National Rifle Association (NRA), a powerful U.S. pro-gun lobbying group that has opposed the treaty from the start, said it was a sad day for the United States, which joined the vast majority of U.N. member states by voting for the pact. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran's nuclear program entails huge costs, few benefits: report Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 05:11 PM PDT  By Yeganeh Torbati DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran will pursue its nuclear quest although it has reaped few gains from a totem of national pride that has cost it well over $100 billion in lost oil revenue and foreign investment alone, two think-tanks said on Wednesday. A report by the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Federation of American Scientists said Iran's atomic work could not simply be ended or "bombed away" and that diplomacy was the only way to keep it peaceful. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel launches air strikes on Gaza; first since truce Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 04:59 PM PDT By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA (Reuters) - Israel launched air strikes on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the first such attacks since an eight-day war in November, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that controls the territory, and Israel's military said. "Occupation planes bombarded an open area in northern Gaza, there were no wounded," a statement from the Hamas Interior Ministry said. ... Full Story | Top |
| N.Y. politicians arrested in alleged mayoral race bribe scheme Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 04:25 PM PDT By Edith Honan and Atossa Araxia Abrahamian NEW YORK (Reuters) - A high-ranking Democratic New York State senator was arrested on Tuesday and charged with trying to buy a place on the Republican ticket in the city's mayoral race, in what prosecutors said was part of a bribery scandal that reflected pervasive corruption in New York politics. Five other politicians, three Republicans and two Democrats, were also arrested and charged with collectively accepting more than $100,000 in bribes in meetings that often took place in parked cars, hotel rooms and state offices, according to court papers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Spills flame Canadian oil debate, but won't curb flows to U.S Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 04:43 PM PDT  By Jeffrey Jones CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Two high-profile oil spills won't stem the now-record flow of Canadian oil into the United States, despite the frenzy that the spills triggered among friends and foes of the Keystone XL pipeline to the main U.S. refineries. The fate of Keystone remains undecided, yet Canadian crude will become an increasing part of the U.S. energy mix, despite growing competition from new U.S. production. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Stockton and San Bernardino, a tale of two bankruptcies Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 03:16 PM PDT  By Tim Reid LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Stockton and San Bernardino, the two California cities that have filed for bankruptcy protection, are both considered test cases in the epic battle over whether municipal bondholders or pensioners will absorb most of the pain when a government goes broke. A federal court ruling on Monday that allowed Stockton's bankruptcy case to move forward underscored the huge differences between the two cases and how they are likely to unfold. Stockton, the largest U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| SEC says companies may announce key data on social media Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 03:36 PM PDT  By Emily Stephenson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Regulators said on Tuesday that companies can use Twitter, Facebook and other social media to make key announcements as long as they tell investors which sites they will use, an effort to help companies navigate the new media age. The guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission seeks to clarify disclosure rules after the agency opened an inquiry into a post made last July on the personal Facebook page of Netflix's chief executive, Reed Hastings. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cyprus finance minister quits after bailout concludes, investigation begins Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 10:15 AM PDT  By Michele Kambas NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus's finance minister resigned on Tuesday after concluding a 10 billion euro bailout deal with international lenders in which the country slashed its dominant banking sector and hit depositors with losses. Michael Sarris, a lead player in talks with International Monetary Fund and European Union lenders, said he had completed his task but also that he was likely to come under scrutiny in an investigation into the crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea to restart nuclear reactor in weapons bid Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 03:22 PM PDT By Jack Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Tuesday it would revive a mothballed nuclear reactor able to produce bomb-grade plutonium but stressed it was seeking a deterrent capacity and did not repeat recent threats to attack South Korea and the United States. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the crisis over North Korea had gone too far and he appealed for dialogue and negotiation to resolve the situation. "Nuclear threats are not a game. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: In Malaysia's election, a focus on rainforest graft Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 04:05 PM PDT  By Niluksi Koswanage KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia (Reuters) - The island of Borneo may be all that stands between Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and an unprecedented election defeat within weeks for his ruling coalition. Borneo's two Malaysian states -- Sabah and Sarawak -- have been a bastion of votes for the National Front coalition headed by Najib's party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. overwhelmingly approves global arms trade treaty Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 04:54 PM PDT By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved the first treaty on the global arms trade, which seeks to regulate the $70 billion business in conventional arms and keep weapons out of the hands of human rights abusers. The official U.N. tally showed 154 votes in favor, 3 against and 23 abstentions, though diplomats and U.N. officials said the actual vote was 155-3-22 due to Angola being recorded as having abstained and not voting yes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Nationwide, Reich & Tang to buy HighMark funds -sources Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 02:26 PM PDT By Jessica Toonkel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Columbus, Ohio-based Nationwide Financial and New York-based Reich & Tang are buying UnionBanCal Corp's mutual fund business, three sources told Reuters on Tuesday. San Francisco-based UnionBanCal is expected to announce the sale of its HighMark Funds to the two parties in the next few days, said two of the sources, who wished to remain anonymous because they are not permitted to speak to the media. UnionBanCal is selling 19 of its 24 HighMark Funds to Nationwide Financial, the two sources said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hiring in March could point to firming economy Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 02:24 PM PDT  By Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American employers likely hired at a moderate pace in March, suggesting the economy is gathering momentum despite the onset of the across-the-board federal spending cuts. Companies and governments probably added a net 200,000 workers to their payrolls last month, according to a Reuters survey of economists. That would be below the 236,000 jobs created in February but well above what has passed for normal in recent years. Since the country emerged from a deep recession and payrolls began growing again in 2010, hiring has averaged just 159,000 per month. ... Full Story | Top |
| Credit Suisse says NY mortgage case too little, too late Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 02:13 PM PDT  By Karen Freifeld NEW YORK (Reuters) - Credit Suisse Group AG asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman that accuses the Swiss bank of deceiving investors in mortgage-backed securities that resulted in $11.2 billion of losses. In a Monday filing in the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, Credit Suisse said the attorney general waited too long, was precluded by federal law, and was not specific enough in detailing the alleged wrongdoing to allow the case to go forward. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive - Pfizer, Novartis, Abbott weigh bids for Brazil's Ache - sources Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 12:56 PM PDT  By Jessica Toonkel and Ben Hirschler NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - At least three of the world's top drugmakers are bidding for Brazil's Ache Laboratorios Farmaceuticos in an auction that may value the group at more than $5 billion, people familiar with the matter said. Pfizer Inc, Novartis AG and Abbott Laboratories are all weighing second-round bids to acquire the company, which boasts a strong position in Brazil's fast-growing pharmaceuticals market, the people said. Bids are due in the second half of April, two of the people said, asking not to be identified because the auction is not ... Full Story | Top |
| Six European states take aim at Google privacy policy Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 10:36 AM PDT  By Leila Abboud and Claire Davenport PARIS/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European regulators moved a step closer to penalizing Google for the way it handles user data after the search engine refused to change its privacy policy. France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Britain said on Tuesday they began a process to decide if Google's policy introduced in March 2012 broke national laws. Google consolidated 60 privacy policies into one last year and started combining data collected on individual users across its services, such as YouTube, Gmail and social network Google+. ... Full Story | Top |
| Armed men attack Baghdad newspaper offices over story on cleric Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 11:25 AM PDT  By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Men armed with pistols, knives and steel pipes stormed into three Baghdad newspaper offices, beating employees and smashing computers after publication of an article about a Shi'ite Muslim cleric, police and editors said on Tuesday. Monday's attacks illustrated the stubborn influence of hardline Islamist militias in Iraq, where Sunni and Shi'ite insurgents often imposed their own fundamentalist vision on the streets during the height of sectarian war a few years ago. ... Full Story | Top |
| Parties carp as Italy's "wise men" seek end to political crisis Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 10:15 AM PDT  By Naomi O'Leary and Barry Moody ROME (Reuters) - Italian President Giorgio Napolitano expressed despair on Tuesday at fierce criticism of his latest plan to end a post-election deadlock that has raised fears of months of instability in the euro zone's third largest economy. Two groups of "wise men" appointed by Napolitano to try to forge a policy compromise between squabbling parties to end the impasse since the February 24-25 election started work on Tuesday. Napolitano said they would report back in 8-10 days. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Big Pharma down, not out, after Indian patent blow Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 12:52 PM PDT  By Ben Hirschler and Kaustubh Kulkarni LONDON/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Stung by a landmark patent defeat, Western drugmakers will be wary about launching new products in India, but they cannot afford to quit a country tipped to be the world's eighth largest market for medicines by 2016. Makers of patented drugs will in future have to get more creative about doing business in India, including striking deals with local firms to sell cheaper versions of their drugs, industry experts believe. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Africa's Zuma rejects criticism of Central African mission Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 07:32 AM PDT  PRETORIA (Reuters) - South African President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday defended his decision to send troops to Central African Republic, saying 13 soldiers killed by rebels there had died fighting for Pretoria's foreign policy, not his party's business interests. The South African force was involved in a nine-hour firefight with thousands of rebels who poured into Central African Republic's (CAR) capital Bangui last month and seized control of the country, which has rich deposits of gold, diamonds and uranium. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Pope to review Vatican bureaucracy, scandal-ridden bank Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 06:48 AM PDT  By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, who has said he wants the Catholic Church to be a model of austerity and honesty, could restructure or even close the Vatican's scandal-ridden bank as part of a broad review of its troubled bureaucracy, Vatican sources say. Francis, who inherited a Church mired in scandals over priests' sexual abuse of children and the leak of confidential documents alleging corruption and infighting in the Vatican's central administration, is mulling his options as he sets the tone for a reformed and humbler Holy See. ... Full Story | Top |
| Euro zone jobless rate steady at 12.0 percent Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 04:42 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The euro zone jobless rate was stable at 12.0 percent in February, the European Union statistics office Eurostat said on Tuesday, which could add pressure for an interest rate cut by the European Central Bank. The February number was in line with expectations of economists polled by Reuters, and remained unchanged from January's figure, which Eurostat revised up to 12.0 percent. Data from the bloc of 17 countries using the euro showed another 33,000 people out of work in February, almost 1.8 million more than in the same time last year. Unemployment of under 25s rose to ... Full Story | Top |
| Factory orders rise, boosted by aircraft Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 07:20 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New orders for factory goods rose in February but a gauge of planned business spending slipped, suggesting factory activity continued to expand at a modest pace. The Commerce Department on Tuesday said orders for manufactured goods climbed 3.0 percent. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast orders advancing 2.9 percent. Factory orders were boosted by the aircraft industry, which is prone to sharp swings. Civilian aircraft orders surged 95.1 percent. U.S. manufacturer Boeing had previously reported orders in February for 179 aircraft, up from two a month earlier. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Inside Laiki - Countdown to catastrophe Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 07:44 AM PDT  By Laura Noonan NICOSIA (Reuters) - On the evening of the last Wednesday in March, the directors of Laiki bank, the second largest in Cyprus, gathered in their sixth floor board room for the last time. With the portraits of chairmen past staring down at them, they all resigned, something that had become inevitable earlier in the week when each director received a letter from the Central Bank of Cyprus telling them a special administrator had been appointed to run their bank and the board was suspended. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sorry Apple gets respect in China after tabloid trial Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 02:52 AM PDT  By Melanie Lee SHANGHAI (Reuters) - With its rare apology, Apple Inc went from pariah to praiseworthy in the eyes of China's state-controlled media, a lesson for other foreign firms not to underestimate the speed and power of the government press. After coming under near-daily media assault for the past two weeks and facing the threat of penalties from two Chinese government bureaus, Apple apologized to Chinese consumers on Monday for poor communication over its warranty policy and said it will change the terms for some of its iPhones sold in China. ... Full Story | Top |
| European manufacturing ebbs further in March Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 04:42 AM PDT  By Andy Bruce LONDON (Reuters) - Manufacturing across Europe's major economies endured another month of mostly deep decline in March, dragging down even former bright spots, surveys showed on Tuesday. The slump among British manufacturers eased slightly, but overall purchasing managers indexes (PMIs) made gloomy reading. Factories in Germany and Ireland, the relative stars of February's PMIs, fell back into decline last month. Everywhere else, the industrial rot extended. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: BoJ's Kuroda tested by divided board Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 03:37 AM PDT  By Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda is struggling to build a consensus ahead of his first central bank board meeting this week, risking disappointing markets that expect hefty bond purchases and a radical shift in its policymaking framework. Conversations with sources since last week have thrown up the possibility that Kuroda may not be able to sway a board divided on how much the BOJ should ramp up bond buying and how to convince markets it will not monetize public debt. ... Full Story | Top |
| Slovenia backs Croatia's EU entry after bank dispute set aside Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 06:03 AM PDT  LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Slovenia ratified Croatia's European Union accession bid on Tuesday after the two ex-Yugoslav republics agreed last month to set aside a 20-year old dispute over a shuttered bank that had blocked Zagreb's entry path. Croatia concluded EU accession talks in 2011 but needs all 27 EU members to ratify its entry before it can join the bloc on July 1. With neighboring Slovenia's parliament voting unanimously in favor, 23 member states have done that so far. ... Full Story | Top |
| ANA to put pilots through Dreamliner resumption training: sources Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 01:06 AM PDT  By Yoko Kubota and Maki Shiraki TOKYO (Reuters) - All Nippon Airways, the biggest customer for Boeing Co's grounded 787 Dreamliner, will put its pilots through training to resume flights in June, sources told Reuters, after Boeing completed more than half of its tests to get its new battery system certified. The Japanese carrier, known as ANA, is also likely to use the Dreamliner initially for cargo flights once the new battery system is installed, to reassure the public about safety before restarting passenger flights, one of the sources said. ... Full Story | Top |
| AstraZeneca suffers fresh drug patent setback in U.S. Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 02:50 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca has suffered a fresh patent setback with a U.S. court decision that a patent protecting its Pulmicort Repsules asthma treatment is invalid, clearing the way for a generic copy from Actavis. The ruling comes as AstraZeneca is already facing a big fall in sales due to patent expiries on other medicines, prompting a $2.3 billion restructuring plan and further job losses announced by new CEO Pascal Soriot last month. AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it strongly disagreed with the court's decision and was considering next steps, including lodging an appeal. ... Full Story | Top |
| Indian court lifts ban on Italian envoy leaving country Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 02:18 AM PDT  By Annie Banerji NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's Supreme Court lifted on Tuesday a three-week order banning Italy's ambassador from leaving the country after Italy sent two marines back to India to face trial over the deaths of two Indian fishermen. The court had earlier banned the ambassador, Daniele Mancini, from leaving after Italy announced it would not send the accused marines back after a home visit. But the Italian government changed its mind and sent the two back on March 22. "It's good news," Diljeet Titus, a lawyer representing the Italian marines, said of the court's decision. ... Full Story | Top |
| Like employment, demand for office space improves Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 02:20 AM PDT  By Ilaina Jonas NEW YORK (Reuters) - The office vacancy rate fell only slightly during the first quarter, as a lack of significant job growth continued to impede demand for space, according to a quarterly report released on Tuesday. At the same time, U.S. office construction during the first quarter reached a 14-year low as developers remain spooked by soft demand and meager rent growth, according to real estate research firm Reis Inc. Persistent lackluster U.S. job growth was behind the 0.1 percentage point U.S. office vacancy rate decline. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fire at Islamic school kills 13 boys in Myanmar Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 03:46 AM PDT  By Aung Hla Tun and Min Zayar Oo YANGON (Reuters) - A fire caused by faulty electrical equipment killed 13 boys at an Islamic school in Myanmar on Tuesday, the fire service said, although some Muslims voiced concern since it followed a wave of anti-Muslim violence in the Buddhist-majority country. The boys suffocated after the fire broke out in a dormitory of the school in the central, multi-ethnic Botataung district of the former capital of Yangon at about 2:40 a.m. (2010 GMT on Monday). ... Full Story | Top |
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