| | |
| Los Angeles Clippers owner Sterling battling cancer: report Friday, May 02, 2014 12:52 AM PDT  Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, newly banned from basketball over racist comments attributed to him, has been battling prostate cancer, sports network ESPN and other media reported on Thursday. The reports come after the National Basketball Association launched a bid on Thursday to oust the 80-year-old as owner of the franchise, as urged by league Commissioner Adam Silver. ESPN, citing unnamed sources, reported that Sterling has cancer. The New York Post, which first reported the news, also cited unnamed sources as saying Sterling has been battling prostate cancer for an extended period of time. Full Story | Top |
| UK government says Pfizer's AstraZeneca bid a decision for shareholders Friday, May 02, 2014 12:48 AM PDT The British government said it had pressed U.S. company Pfizer to commit to British jobs and research in its bid for AstraZeneca, but the decision on whether the British group will be sold was a matter for its shareholders. "This is ultimately going to be a decision for AstraZeneca shareholders," the Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts told BBC Radio on Friday. "We are pressing Pfizer in a very hard-nosed way. Their letter has a set of proposals for research and development and manufacturing in the UK that have moved a long way from where they were a week ago." The U.S. company sent a letter to Prime Minister David Cameron laying out a series of commitments to Britain on Friday, when it also raised its offer for Britain's second biggest pharmaceutical company. Full Story | Top |
| Seoul subway injury toll rises to 170: YTN television Friday, May 02, 2014 12:47 AM PDT SEOUL (Reuters) - The number of people injured in crash between two subway trains in the South Korean capital on Friday has risen to 170, according to YTN television news. Earlier estimates had put the number of injured at over 70 and said that most of the injuries were not serious. (Reporting by David Chance) Full Story | Top |
| African Bank warns of H1 loss of up to $315 mln, shares plunge Friday, May 02, 2014 12:36 AM PDT South African unsecured lender African Bank Investments said on Friday it anticipated to swing to a first-half loss of no more than 3.3 billion rand ($315 million) as non-performing loans ballooned. The bank widely known as Abil said its banking unit would book a loss of up to 2 billion rand, after experiencing higher non-performing loans (NPLs) and increasing provisions for loans. Non-performing loans for business written before July 2013 had ballooned, bringing total NPLs to some 6 billion rand, 600 million rand more than had been anticipated. South African banks have scaled back on the risky yet lucrative unsecured loans that helped them pump up profits in the last few years. Full Story | Top |
| S.Africa's Implats says most miners want to return to work Friday, May 02, 2014 12:33 AM PDT  South African platinum producer Impala Platinum said on Friday that two-thirds of its striking workforce had indicated by text messages and phone calls that they wanted to accept the company's latest wage offer and end a 14-week strike. Implats spokesman Johan Theron told Reuters that workers who were unable to send texts because they have no money for air time were making use of telephones at mine recruitment offices. The strike by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) has also hit Anglo American Platinum and Lonmin, taking out 40 percent of global production of the precious metal. Full Story | Top |
| Pfizer engages AstraZeneca with raised $106 billion offer Friday, May 02, 2014 12:32 AM PDT  By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc has raised its offer for AstraZeneca Plc to 63 billion pounds ($106 billion), it said on Friday, adding that the British drugmaker was reviewing the proposal. Pfizer's pursuit of AstraZeneca to create the world's biggest pharmaceuticals company - and cut its tax bill - comes amid a wave of deal-making in the healthcare sector. The 50 pounds ($84.47) a share indicative offer follows AstraZeneca's decision to rebuff an earlier proposal valuing it at 58.8 billion pounds, or 46.61 pounds per share. "Given where the shares have come from, this doesn't look unreasonable," said one fund manager whose institution is among the top 10 investors in AstraZeneca. Full Story | Top |
| Nigeria's "African Davos" will focus minds on problems, as well as potential Friday, May 02, 2014 12:27 AM PDT By Pascal Fletcher ABUJA (Reuters) - Delegates to the World Economic Forum on Africa next week in the Nigerian capital Abuja will be in the right place to reflect on the rising continent's problems, as well as its undoubted potential. Participants, including Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and African leaders, meet as the continent's largest economy grapples with a surging Islamist revolt and inter-communal clashes that highlight poverty, ethnic and religious schisms, and battles over power and resources in many parts of Africa. "If people want to take a look at a dynamic, high-potential place in Africa, Nigeria is that place, but it also has a whole host of issues that are not going away anytime soon," said Mark Shroeder, head of Sub-Saharan Africa analysis at business and security consultancy STATFOR. Policymakers, entrepreneurs and philanthropists attending the 24th World Economic Forum on Africa (WEFA), a replica of the flagship annual WEF held in Davos, Switzerland, will be ensconced in the concrete fortress of the Abuja Hilton, protected by 6,000 police and soldiers - the largest security operation Nigeria has ever mounted for a summit. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. seeks another extension for Okada payments probe Friday, May 02, 2014 12:22 AM PDT  U.S. prosecutors are seeking to put a civil lawsuit between Wynn Resorts Ltd and Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada on hold for another six months to continue a criminal investigation into Okada and his companies regarding payments in the Philippines, according to a motion filed to a Nevada court. Okada, the founder of Japanese gaming machine maker Universal Entertainment Corp , was a director of Wynn Resorts when the suit was launched in 2012. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for Friday, according to the court's website. The U.S. government said in the motion that its criminal investigation had progressed in the past six months, but that it was still ongoing and that allowing the suit to proceed could lead to the disclosure of government witnesses. Full Story | Top |
| China's hunger for sea cucumbers reaches islands of Sierra Leone Friday, May 02, 2014 12:19 AM PDT  By Tommy Trenchard DUBLIN Sierra Leone (Reuters) - As evening falls over Sierra Leone's Banana Island archipelago, bats stream from their beachside roosts to circle in their thousands over the jungle village of Dublin. Below them a struggle is playing out over an unexpected commodity - the lowly sea cucumber, a fleshy, sausage-shaped creature that scavenges for food on the seabed. It is a struggle that is familiar to many in the West African country. While the Banana Islanders have no use for sea cucumbers, in China they are prized for their medicinal properties and as a natural aphrodisiac. Full Story | Top |
| South Africa's rand holds firm before U.S. jobs data Friday, May 02, 2014 12:12 AM PDT  South Africa's rand held steady against the dollar early on Friday, with investors preferring to wait for key U.S. jobs data before taking clear positions. The rand has been tracking markets in developed economies in the past two weeks, and U.S. non-farm payrolls numbers for April due later in the session should give an important steer as to the future of Federal Reserve's policy. "The rand continues to take most of its direction from off-shore developments, especially with regards to the expected future path of U.S. monetary policy," Barclays Africa said in a note. Full Story | Top |
| AstraZeneca says board will review Pfizer offer Thursday, May 01, 2014 11:44 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca's board will be reviewing a sweetened takeover offer from Pfizer but the company has no further comment at this stage, a spokeswoman for the British drugmaker said on Friday. Earlier the U.S. drugmaker revealed it had raised its offer for the British group to 63 billion pounds ($106 billion). (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; editing by Kate Holton) Full Story | Top |
| Philippines dismantles 'sextortion' groups, arrests 58 people Thursday, May 01, 2014 11:41 PM PDT The Philippine National Police and International Police had dismantled international "sextortion" operations during simultaneous raids in seven areas, arresting 58 people and seizing 250 laptops and computers, officials said on Friday. The Filipino criminal groups prey on foreigners overseas who engage in cybersex activities and extort money from them on threats they will upload their sex videos, said Alan Purisima, the national police chief. Police said the "sextortion" syndicates have collected millions of pesos (thousands of dollars) from hundreds of victims based in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, United States and United Kingdom in the last three to four years. The extortion led to a suicide by a 17 year-old British boy, according to Gary Cunningham of the Scotland Yard at a news conference in Manila, adding there was strong evidence the boy had a chat with somebody from the Philippines. Full Story | Top |
| Pfizer commits to UK research hub in Astra battle Thursday, May 01, 2014 11:38 PM PDT U.S. pharmaceutical group Pfizer Inc has told Prime Minister David Cameron it will retain British jobs and a planned scientific research hub in Cambridge if it succeeds in its bid to take over rival AstraZeneca. Pfizer laid out a number of pledges in a letter to Cameron, including establishing the combined company's corporate and tax residence in England and completing a substantial R&D innovation hub in Cambridge, eastern England. Pfizer also vowed that 20 percent of the combined company's total R&D workforce would be in Britain if the deal goes ahead. "We would like to assure the government of our long term commitment to the UK where Pfizer already employs a significant number of colleagues across Research, Commercial, and Administrative roles," the company said on Friday. Full Story | Top |
| Google faces antitrust lawsuit on US mobile internet search Thursday, May 01, 2014 11:32 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Consumer rights law firm Hagens Berman said it filed a nationwide antitrust class-action lawsuit against Google Inc alleging the company "illegally monopolized" the Internet and mobile search market in the United States. The lawsuit alleges that Google has expanded its monopoly of the internet search market by pre-loading its applications onto Android mobile devices through its Mobile Application Distribution Agreements. ... Full Story | Top |
| Asian shares up before U.S. jobs report, Ukraine eyed Thursday, May 01, 2014 10:41 PM PDT  By Shinichi Saoshiro TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares edged up amid expectations for an upbeat U.S. payrolls report later in the session, while the markets kept an eye on the Ukraine after reports of fresh violence there that could potentially dampen risk appetite. Pro-Russian separatists in Slaviansk in eastern Ukraine said on Friday Ukrainian forces had launched a "large-scale operation" to retake the town. Asian markets showed little immediate reaction to the reports, but they could have greater implications for European markets opening later in the session. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.4 percent. Full Story | Top |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment