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| Gertler group loaned Congo's Gecamine $196 mln for mine buyout Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 12:57 AM PDT By Peter Jones KINSHASA (Reuters) - Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler's Fleurette Group loaned Congo's state miner Gecamines $196 million last year to purchase two mines containing some of the country's most promising copper reserves, Fleurette said on Tuesday. Gertler, an influential figure in Democratic Republic of Congo's mining and oil sectors with close links to the Kinshasa government, has been the target of transparency campaigners in the past for a series of large-scale transactions. Fleurette denies any secrecy in its Congo dealings. ... Full Story | Top |
| "We are One!', Clippers ride wave of emotion to victory Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 12:56 AM PDT  By Mark Lamport-Stokes LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Preaching the mantra of unity, the Los Angeles Clippers got back to winning ways against the Golden State Warriors just hours after disgraced team owner Donald Sterling had been banned from the game for life on Tuesday. With the National Basketball Association having also fined Sterling $2.5 million for racist comments that drew outrage from players, fans and commercial sponsors, the Clippers rocked their home Staples Center venue as they beat the Warriors 113-103. Two days after being pounded 97-118 in Oakland, where they were clearly distracted by the first reports of Sterling's divisive comments, the Los Angeles players were energized as they seized a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven playoff series. Chants of "We Are One! We Are One!" echoed around the arena during the fourth quarter as impassioned Clippers fans roared their team on to victory, center DeAndre Jordan pouring in 25 points, a playoff career high, along with 18 rebounds. Full Story | Top |
| France seeks alliance, not 'absorption' of Alstom: Montebourg Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 12:49 AM PDT Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg said on Wednesday that he told General Electric the French government was ready to entertain a solution for Alstom that enabled it to have a future as a French company. We prefer an equal alliance ... not absorptions," Montebourg told a French parliament committee after Alstom said it would review a binding offer from GE for its energy business by end-May. "It will be from the combination of economic and industrial interests, but also of economic and industrial sovereignty, that the right solution will emerge enabling Alstom to have a future in France - because what interests me is France," he said. Full Story | Top |
| Malaysia's Petronas sells stake in Canada gas project to Sinopec Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 12:48 AM PDT  KUALA LUMPUR/VANCOUVER (Reuters) - A plan by Malaysian state-owned oil firm Petronas to build an $11 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal on Canada's Pacific Coast gained momentum on Tuesday with China's Sinopec Group and a Chinese state utility joining the project. Petronas said it will sell state-owned Sinopec Group, formally known as China Petrochemical Corp, a 15 percent stake in its Pacific NorthWest LNG export facility, along with a 15 percent stake in the northern British Columbia shale gas assets that will feed it. As part of the deal, Sinopec, China's largest petrochemical producer, will take 1.8 million metric tons (1 metric ton = 1.1023 tons) of LNG a year, or about 15 percent of the proposed LNG facility's production, for at least 20 years, Petronas said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Germany's Eurofighter jet costs to double to 60 billion euros: auditors Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 12:23 AM PDT  The German defense ministry has no overview of the costs it is incurring for Airbus Group's Eurofighter jets and will spend twice as much as it originally planned on the country's most expensive defense project, federal auditors said. The German Federal Court of Auditors, which oversees the government's financial management, said in a report the costs for the Eurofighter jets over their life cycle would climb to around 60 billion euros ($83 billion) from an originally planned 30 billion, despite the number of jets having been reduced. They also said the budget of 11.8 billion euros the defense ministry had calculated in 1997 for the purchase of 180 Eurofighter jets would only be enough to buy 140 of the planes. Full Story | Top |
| Kenya inflation creeps up to 6.41 pct in year to April Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 12:22 AM PDT  NAIROBI (Reuters) - KenyaN inflation edged up to 6.41 percent in the year to April compared with 6.27 percent in March, the statistics office reported on Wednesday. Consumer prices rose 1.09 percent month-on-month, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said. Inflation was largely driven higher by rising prices for food and non-alcoholic drinks. Full Story | Top |
| Co-op Bank review blames downfall on Britannia takeover Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 12:20 AM PDT An independent review of the problems which led to a 1.5 billion pound ($2.5 billion) funding gap at Britain's Co-operative Bank has concluded the roots of its problems lay in its 2009 takeover of the Britannia Building Society. The report by Christopher Kelly, which was commissioned by the Co-op last year, said the bank's demise reflected a "sorry story of failings in management and governance on many levels". "The roots of the shortfall lie in a merger between the bank and the Britannia Building Society which should probably never have happened. The report said Co-op Bank's board had failed in its oversight of management and to properly manage capital and risk. Full Story | Top |
| Hawaii lawmakers vote to increase hourly minimum wage to $10.10 Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 12:18 AM PDT By Malia Mattoch HONOLULU (Reuters) - Hawaii lawmakers voted late on Tuesday to raise the U.S. state's hourly minimum wage to $10.10 from the federal minimum $7.25 at a time of heated national debate over wages and rising income inequality. The new rate brings the Pacific state into line with the hourly wage U.S. President Barack Obama has pushed at a federal level, where the current rate stands at $7.25. Legislation to raise the national minimum wage has stalled in Congress. In Hawaii, as at the national level, proposed increases have drawn strong opposition from some business owners, lobby groups, and economists, who say it will raise costs and kill jobs. Full Story | Top |
| Alstom says Bouygues to remain shareholder after GE deal Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 12:16 AM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - Alstom Chief Executive Patrick Kron said on Wednesday that Bouygues would remain a long-term shareholder and keep its 29 percent stake if Alstom sold its energy divisions to refocus on its transport business. The transport unit would have a more solid balance sheet if the energy business was sold to General Electric and could make acquisitions, Kron said on a conference call after the U.S. group confirmed its binding offer. (Reporting by Benjamin Mallet; Editing by James Regan) Full Story | Top |
| GE says talks with France on Alstom productive, to boost jobs Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 12:11 AM PDT By Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK (Reuters) - The head of General Electric said on Wednesday talks with the French government on its offer for Alstom's energy assets had been "productive" and expressed confidence that the deal would go through despite a potential rival offer from Germany's Siemens. "We think we've got a good deal and it's going to be executed," Chief Executive Jeff Immelt told reporters. Immelt was speaking from Paris where he held talks earlier this week with French President Francois Hollande, who has said the government will focus on preserving jobs in any deal to prop up the struggling train and turbine maker. "We have had good, productive two-way dialogue this week" with the French government, Immelt said. Full Story | Top |
| Rand vulnerable ahead of South Africa trade data Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 11:58 PM PDT  South Africa's rand held steady against the dollar early on Wednesday but looked vulnerable as investors prepared for domestic trade data due later in the session. The rand achieved a week high in the previous session as emerging markets got a reprieve from Ukraine-related selling, but early on Wednesday investors were worrying about South Africa's trade account, a weak spot for the rand. "Export growth has been improving on last year's numbers, yet recovery will be dependent on recovery in the global economy and external demand, particularly with mining exports to Asia, where there continues to be a clear weakness," said Anisha Arora, emerging market analyst at 4Cast. Full Story | Top |
| Korea ferry disaster exposes cozy industry ties, soft penalties Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 11:56 PM PDT  By Jack Kim and Ju-min Park SEOUL (Reuters) - A culture of cozy personal ties that can blur the lines between businesses and those regulating them, of profit over safety, and soft courts is in focus as South Korea demands answers over the sinking of a ferry with the loss of more than 300 lives, mainly high school students. Prosecutors are investigating two shipping trade organizations responsible for vessel safety checks and for certifying ships that operate in domestic waters. Two officials at the Korea Shipping Association (KSA) have been arrested on charges of obstructing justice for destroying documents related to a probe into lobbying government officials. Prosecutors are also investigating Korean Register (KR), which tests and certifies ships. Full Story | Top |
| NBA bans Los Angeles Clippers owner for life over racist comments Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 11:51 PM PDT  By Scott Malone and Larry Fine NEW YORK (Reuters) - The NBA banned Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling from professional basketball for life on Tuesday and fined him $2.5 million in an unprecedented rebuke for racist comments that drew outrage from players, fans, commercial sponsors and even President Barack Obama. Sterling, 80, the longest-tenured owner of any of the 30 National Basketball Association teams, will be barred from any role in the operations of his franchise or from serving as one of the league's governors, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told a news conference in New York. Silver also urged the other owners to vote to force Sterling to sell the Clippers, a first-time use of such a sanction that would require approval of three-quarters of the current owners. Asked whether Sterling could end up as essentially an absentee owner if the league fails to force a sale of the team, Silver replied: "I fully expect to get the support I need from the other NBA owners to remove him." The drama unfolded as the Clippers, long an NBA doormat overshadowed by the Los Angeles Lakers, were capping off their best season ever in a first-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors of Oakland, California. Full Story | Top |
| Asian shares struggle; yen firms as BOJ stays upbeat Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 11:50 PM PDT  By Lisa Twaronite TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares struggled on Wednesday, while the yen strengthened to session highs after the Bank of Japan's latest upbeat economic projections suggested no additional stimulus was on the near-term horizon. Overall, caution reigned ahead of the outcome of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting later in the session as well as key U.S. jobs data on Friday, and against a backdrop of continuing tension in Ukraine. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.4 percent, erasing early gains but still on track for a monthly rise of around 1 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average ended well off session highs, up 0.1 percent for the day but logging a drop of 3.5 percent in April. Full Story | Top |
| Alstom to review GE offer for energy business Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 11:45 PM PDT  By James Regan PARIS (Reuters) - France's Alstom said on Wednesday it would review a binding offer from General Electric for its energy business by the end of May but left the door open for a competing bid from Germany's Siemens. The decision to give Siemens more time came after President Francois Hollande's government balked at GE's initial overtures last week and insisted any outcome must safeguard jobs at the cash-strapped group, once a champion of French industry, while ensuring France's energy independence. GE said its offer for Alstom's thermal power, renewable power and grid businesses totaled $16.9 billion, including enterprise value of $13.5 billion and $3.4 billion of net cash. "Alstom would use the sale proceeds to strengthen its transport business and give it the means of an ambitious development, pay down its debt and return cash to its shareholders," Alstom said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
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