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Friday, September 28, 2012 12:02 PM PDT

Today's Politics - Bloomberg News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Thousands of German children suffer from vomit outbreak U.S. Rookies shine under Ryder Cup pressure Fisher worried Fed's painting itself into a corner Mosques discourage Libya demos to avert violence Romney campaigns in Pennsylvania despite state slipping away Connecticut man shoots burglar dead, turns out to be own son Pricey gasoline hits U.S. consumers, weighs on growth FDA approves Abbott's Humira for ulcerative colitis Iran will stop at nothing to protect Syria: Clinton Accused Colorado gunman made threats to psychiatrist Obama, Netanyahu united against Iran nuclear drive Italy's Monti pleases investors, but politics to come Fed's Fisher says U.S. is 'drowning' in unemployment For Japan's carmakers, Europe market is worth the struggle New virus not spreading easily between people: WHO Anti-gay activists target PepsiCo's Russian unit Schwarzenegger calls affair with housekeeper "stupidest thing" France unveils tough budget, Spain's Rajoy wins time Spain bank audit paves way for state bailout Spain to decide preference share haircuts bank by bank French guarantees for lender CIF worth 28 billion euros French government proposes law to stem industrial closures Protesters, police clash in Bahrain EU lawmaker calls for tighter data rules after Facebook row Russian punk band supporters expect little of legal appeal Obama, Netanyahu united against Iran nuclear drive: White House IMF's Lagarde welcomes Spanish bank review Kenya troops fight on beaches in assault on Somali rebel city FSA seeks to mend "broken" Libor, not end it Italian prosecutors probe local politicians' expense claims Syria rebels struggle to advance in Aleppo offensive Steinbrueck to challenge Merkel in 2013 U.S. council moves ahead with picking "systemic" nonbank firms ECB says supports Spain's plan to recapitalize banks Spain says to seek 40 billion euro in EU aid for weak banks Spain official says to give bad bank asset values next week Iran says terrorism includes any attack on nuclear facility G4S backs CEO over Olympic fiasco Minneapolis police probe rampage that killed 5, including gunman Eurogroup's Juncker says Spanish banks' capital needs "comforting" Thousands of German children suffer from vomit outbreak Fri,28 Sep 2012 11:25 AM PDT Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - More than 6,500 German children and teenagers have fallen ill with diarrhea and vomiting that health authorities say has likely been caused by a food-borne virus in meals delivered to schools and daycare centers. Regional health ministries and a top health research institute said youngsters from five of Germany's 16 states had been affected by the acute gastroenteritis, with the first cases registered on Tuesday. So far, those affected had not suffered any complications. ... Full Story Top U.S. Rookies shine under Ryder Cup pressure Fri,28 Sep 2012 11:23 AM PDT Reuters - MEDINAH, Illinois (Reuters) - A gamble by United States Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III to send out three of his four rookies for the opening foursomes matches on Friday paid off with the debutants shining in pressure packed conditions. Displaying nerves of steel, first-timers Jason Dufner and Keegan Bradley both dropped winning putts to claim their matches and earn the Americans a 2-2 split with the Europeans after the morning session. ... Full Story Top Fisher worried Fed's painting itself into a corner Fri,28 Sep 2012 11:19 AM PDT Reuters - RICHARDSON, Texas (Reuters) - A top Federal Reserve official who opposed the Fed's two most recent rounds of bond-buying said on Friday some of his concern centered around the difficulties the U.S. central bank could face when it comes time to reverse course. "We've never been here before so none of us know how we're going to navigate out of this particular quadrant of the liquidity pool in this ocean of money. And what I'm concerned about is that we may be painting ourselves into a corner," Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher said after a speech in Richardson, Texas. "We've done a lot. ... ... Full Story Top Mosques discourage Libya demos to avert violence Fri,28 Sep 2012 11:19 AM PDT Reuters - TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Mosque preachers told Libyans on Friday to call off planned demonstrations against militia groups for fear marches could lead to renewed bloodshed. Despite the discouragement, some 400 anti-militia protesters nonetheless gathered in Tripoli's Algeria Square and marched across to the main Martyr's Square, chanting and clapping. The mufti of Libya, Sadeq al-Gharyani, had said in a statement published by LANA news agency that protests called for Friday should be halted. "I call on the people not to participate in this march so that no blood is spilled," he said. ... Full Story Top Romney campaigns in Pennsylvania despite state slipping away Fri,28 Sep 2012 11:16 AM PDT Reuters - PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Republican candidate Mitt Romney raised money and slammed President Barack Obama's Middle East policy on Friday in a rare campaign appearance in Pennsylvania, a former swing state that he admitted was now difficult for him to win on November 6. Once highly competitive, Pennsylvania has been tilting toward Obama for months and he leads polls by around eight percentage points. Romney's campaign is now fighting to make sure battleground states like Ohio and Virginia do not go the way of Pennsylvania, as Obama opens a lead in national and some state polls. ... Full Story Top Connecticut man shoots burglar dead, turns out to be own son Fri,28 Sep 2012 11:11 AM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - A Connecticut man responding to his sister's call for help during an apparent burglary at her home next door, shot and killed a masked intruder who turned out to be his own teenage son, state police said on Friday. Tyler Giuliano, 15, was wearing a ski mask and appeared to be armed when he was shot on Thursday by his father, who authorities declined to identify, said Lieutenant J. Paul Vance, a spokesman for the Connecticut State Police. The father's sister, who lives next door, was home alone before 1 a.m. when she called him to report someone trying to break into her home. ... Full Story Top Pricey gasoline hits U.S. consumers, weighs on growth Fri,28 Sep 2012 11:05 AM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. households stretched to pay for costlier gasoline on meager income growth in August, undercutting spending on other items and pointing to lackluster economic growth. Other data on Friday showed factory activity in the Midwest contracted this month for the first time in three years. The Commerce Department said consumer spending rose 0.5 percent last month after gaining 0.4 percent in July. The increase was the largest in six months, but it reflected a rise in gasoline costs that pushed inflation up by the most in nearly 1-1/2 years. ... Full Story Top FDA approves Abbott's Humira for ulcerative colitis Fri,28 Sep 2012 11:02 AM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators on Friday approved Abbott Laboratories Inc's blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira for the treatment of moderate to severe ulcerative colitis in adults. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Humira to control the chronic inflammatory condition once immunosuppressant medicines, such as corticosteroids, have proved ineffective. Humira, by far Abbott's biggest product with annual sales of about $8 billion and still growing, is already approved to treat a number of inflammatory diseases. ... Full Story Top Iran will stop at nothing to protect Syria: Clinton Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:57 AM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Iran has left no doubt that it will do whatever it takes to protect the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Tehran's staunch ally, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday. Clinton also said the United States was offering the Syrian opposition an additional $45 million in non-lethal and humanitarian aid - $30 million for humanitarian assistance and $15 million for non-lethal help, such as radios and training. "Let's be very frank here - the regime's most important lifeline is Iran. ... Full Story Top Accused Colorado gunman made threats to psychiatrist Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:56 AM PDT Reuters - DENVER (Reuters) - Accused Colorado gunman James Holmes made threats to a university psychiatrist before a July shooting rampage at a suburban Denver screening of a Batman movie that killed 12 people, according to court documents released on Friday. The University of Colorado psychiatrist reported those unspecified threats to campus police before the shooting at a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises," a court document filed a week after the shooting and unsealed on Friday showed. ... Full Story Top Obama, Netanyahu united against Iran nuclear drive Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:52 AM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday expressed solidarity on the goal of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, the White House said, amid signs of easing tensions over their differences on how to confront Tehran. Obama, who opted not to meet Netanyahu on his U.S. visit, spoke by phone to the Israeli leader, who used his U.N. speech on Thursday to keep up pressure on Washington to set a "red line" for Tehran. ... Full Story Top Italy's Monti pleases investors, but politics to come Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:49 AM PDT Reuters - ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti's declaration that he would be willing to serve a second term if asked may have reassured international investors, but there is no way around the treacherous waters of Italian politics. It was no accident that Monti, an economist brought in last year to run an emergency government of technocrats, made his announcement in New York; just a short taxi ride from Wall Street, he was comfortably far from the fevered atmosphere in Rome, where manoeuvring for the 2013 election is in full swing. ... Full Story Top Fed's Fisher says U.S. is 'drowning' in unemployment Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:47 AM PDT Reuters - RICHARDSON, Texas (Reuters) - The United States is "drowning in unemployment" and its economy is running at stall speed but the roots of those problems cannot be solved by easier monetary policy, one of the Federal Reserve's most hawkish policymakers said on Friday. "We've had a recovery that is quite disappointing," Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher said at the University of Texas, adding: "We're cruising along right at stall speed." But without more certainty on tax policy and regulation, he said, "all the monetary accommodation in the world" will not get businesses hiring again. ... Full Story Top For Japan's carmakers, Europe market is worth the struggle Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:47 AM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - Japanese automakers, battered by a strong yen, are hunkering down in a stormy Europe, taking tentative steps to stand up to their aggressive South Korean rivals, in a market they see as challenging, but worth the effort. All Japanese carmakers' sales declined in Western Europe in the eight months to August from a year ago, ranging from Toyota Motor Corp's 0.9 percent dip to Mitsubishi Motors' 34.5 percent tumble. That compares with South Korean Hyundai Motor's 9.3 percent rise and its affiliate Kia Motors' 25. ... Full Story Top New virus not spreading easily between people: WHO Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:44 AM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - A new and potentially fatal virus from the same family as SARS which was discovered in a patient in London last week appears not to spread easily from person to person, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. In an update on the virus, which has so far killed a Saudi man and made a patient from Qatar critically ill, the United Nations health agency said it was working with international partners to understand the public health risk better. ... Full Story Top Anti-gay activists target PepsiCo's Russian unit Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:41 AM PDT Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - An anti-gay activist group said it will picket shops selling milk produced by PepsiCo Inc's Russian subsidiary because they believe that a rainbow on the packaging violates a local law banning homosexual "propaganda". The milk brand is called Vesyoly Molochnik, which translates as Gay Milkman, though in Russian the word vesyoly does not suggest homosexuality. The group said that it was objecting to the rainbow, which it saw as the international symbol for the gay movement. ... Full Story Top Schwarzenegger calls affair with housekeeper "stupidest thing" Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:38 AM PDT Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Arnold Schwarzenegger, talking about his affair with a family housekeeper for the first time in a television interview, said it was "the stupidest thing" he did in his marriage to Maria Shriver and said it "inflicted tremendous pain" on his family. In a "60 Minutes" interview with reporter Leslie Stahl due to air on September 30, Schwarzenegger admitted that he lied to Shriver about the affair. CBS released a clip of the interview on Friday. "I think it was the stupidest thing I've done in the whole relationship. It was terrible. ... Full Story Top France unveils tough budget, Spain's Rajoy wins time Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:37 AM PDT Reuters - PARIS/MADRID (Reuters) - France unveiled an austerity budget that would tax business and the super rich, but a report showing Spain's banks needed a manageable 59 billion euros in new funds bought time for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy as he seeks to avoid a bailout. Socialist President Francois Hollande's 2013 budget amounts to France's toughest belt-tightening for 30 years as the debt crisis takes its toll on the euro zone. The package aims to narrow France's deficit to 3.0 percent of national output next year from 4. ... Full Story Top Spain bank audit paves way for state bailout Fri,28 Sep 2012 11:26 AM PDT Reuters - MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish banks will need a total of 59.3 billion euros ($76.3 billion) in extra capital to ride out a serious economic downturn, an independent report said on Friday, buying time for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy who faces intense pressure to seek a bailout. Spain said around 40 billion euros of the total will come as European aid while the rest could be raised by the banks themselves. ... Full Story Top Spain to decide preference share haircuts bank by bank Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:35 AM PDT Reuters - MADRID (Reuters) - Spain will decide on a bank-by-bank basis how deep a loss will apply to shareholders of complex instruments known as preference shares, Bank of Spain deputy Governor Fernando Restoy said on Friday. (Reporting By Fiona Ortiz; Writing by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Nigel Davies) Full Story Top French guarantees for lender CIF worth 28 billion euros Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:32 AM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - France's 2013 budget foresees guarantees worth up to 28 billion euros ($36.02 billion) for troubled mortgage lender Credit Immobilier de France (CIF), up from 20 billion euros flagged previously, according to budget documents. The government agreed to extend guarantees to the bank earlier this month after it failed to find a buyer and faced an imminent funding crunch that threatened its survival. ... Full Story Top French government proposes law to stem industrial closures Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:32 AM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - The French government aims to pass a law before the end of the year that would force companies intent on closing down industrial plants to sell them to alternative operators, Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg said on Friday. The push comes as the Socialist government is battling to prevent the permanent closure of two idled blast furnaces at a steel mill in northeastern France that symbolize an industrial decline President Francois Hollande has promised to tackle. ... Full Story Top Protesters, police clash in Bahrain Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:30 AM PDT Reuters - ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Around one hundred anti-government protesters threw stones and petrol bombs as riot police tried to disperse them with tear gas and stun grenades in Bahrain on Friday, witnesses said, after an earlier demonstration attended by thousands passed peacefully. At least two protesters were injured in the clashes, the witnesses said, which took place after a march near the capital Manama, which had been called for by main opposition bloc al-Wefaq and was authorized by the Bahraini authorities. Bahrain, headquarters of the U.S. ... Full Story Top EU lawmaker calls for tighter data rules after Facebook row Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:29 AM PDT Reuters - BRUSSELS (Reuters) - An EU lawmaker called for tighter control of on-line social networks under a data protection regulation now being debated after some Facebook users said their personal messages appeared on their public profiles. EU regulators are in the midst of writing new legislation that could give internet users greater control over how their personal data is used by big technology companies. One part of the regulation requires companies to get permission before "processing" people's personal data, although exactly how and when such consent would be needed is still subject to debate. ... Full Story Top Russian punk band supporters expect little of legal appeal Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:27 AM PDT Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian court's decision to hand two-year jail terms to punk band Pussy Riot for performing an anti-Kremlin song in Moscow's main cathedral prompted fury in the West and refocused attention on President Vladimir Putin's rights record. But as a judge prepares to rule on Monday on an appeal filed by the three female jailed band members their legal team and their relatives hold out little hope that the sentences - which they believe were overly harsh - will be quashed or reduced. "Such a decision is impossible," said Mark Feigin, a defense lawyer. ... Full Story Top Obama, Netanyahu united against Iran nuclear drive: White House Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:26 AM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin on Friday expressed solidarity on the goal of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, the White House said on Friday, amid signs of easing tensions over their differences on how to confront Tehran. Obama, who opted not to meet Netanyahu on his U.S. visit, spoke by phone to the Israeli leader, who used his U.N. speech on Thursday to keep up pressure on Washington to set a "red line" for Tehran. ... Full Story Top IMF's Lagarde welcomes Spanish bank review Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:22 AM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the International Monetary Fund on Friday commended Spain's audit of its banking sector, calling it "significant and helpful" to pinpoint the most troubled lenders. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the global lender, also said the stress tests, conducted by an independent auditor, showed the funds Spain needs to recapitalize its banks were "comfortably" below the aid promised by Spain's European partners. An independent audit of Spanish banks by Oliver Wyman on Friday showed the country's banks would need a manageable 59. ... Full Story Top Kenya troops fight on beaches in assault on Somali rebel city Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:16 AM PDT Reuters - MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Kenyan troops attacked the Somali port city of Kismayu on Friday, seeking to drive al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants from their last major stronghold and end a five-year rebellion. The loss of the southern port would deal a huge blow to al Shabaab as it is a lucrative source of revenue and a centre for operations over areas it has controlled in Somalia since 2007, but by nightfall, it was not clear who was in control. Residents said shelling had subsided after earlier fighting near a beach just outside Kismayu. ... Full Story Top FSA seeks to mend "broken" Libor, not end it Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:15 AM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - The Financial Services Authority (FSA) delivered a 10-point plan to overhaul Libor on Friday but stopped short of scrapping the benchmark interest rate discredited by a rigging scandal. The Financial Services Authority's plan marks the first concrete step by regulators to repair a system of interest rates that underpins more than $300 trillion (185.8 trillion pounds) of contracts and loans from U.S. mortgages to Japanese interest-rate swaps. Faith in the system plummeted after Barclays was fined in June for rigging Libor. Other banks are under investigation. ... Full Story Top Italian prosecutors probe local politicians' expense claims Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:14 AM PDT Reuters - MILAN (Reuters) - Financial police seized documents on Friday relating to expense claims made by all the parties represented in the regional government of Piedmont, investigative sources said, in the latest corruption probe to hit Italy's politicians. The Piedmont searches came days after the centre-right regional president of Lazio, an ally of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, resigned following allegations officials had misused party funds to hold dinners and lavish parties, including one where participants wore togas and pig masks. ... Full Story Top Syria rebels struggle to advance in Aleppo offensive Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:12 AM PDT Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels said they were struggling to make headway against a barrage of government jet and artillery attacks in their latest attempt to take control of the country's largest city Aleppo after weeks of deadlock. On the second day of an offensive they had billed as a "decisive battle", rebels also threatened to start fighting local Kurdish militants - a move which would further complicate a war that has already spilled over Syria's borders. ... Full Story Top Steinbrueck to challenge Merkel in 2013 Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:10 AM PDT Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - Peer Steinbrueck, an abrasive former finance minister, will lead the German Social Democrats' challenge to unseat chancellor Angela Merkel in a parliamentary election a year from now. Announcing their "chancellor candidate" some months earlier than expected, the centre-left opposition took Germany by surprise on Friday; Steinbrueck, a combative veteran from the right of the SPD, marked out a campaign theme of tougher rules for banks and a goal of coalition government with the Greens. ... Full Story Top U.S. council moves ahead with picking "systemic" nonbank firms Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:09 AM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department said on Friday that a council tasked with overseeing financial system stability voted to move companies forward in the process of determining which nonbank financial firms are "systemically important." The Financial Stability Oversight Council will notify the companies that moved along in the process but will not announce the names publicly until the council makes its final decision, a Treasury spokesman said. ... Full Story Top ECB says supports Spain's plan to recapitalize banks Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:07 AM PDT Reuters - FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank welcomed the publication an independent audit of Spain's banking sector and said it backs the country's plans to address the banks' capital shortfall. Spain announced on Friday that according to an independent audit of the country's 14 main banks by consultancy Oliver Wyman its banks would need 59.3 billion euros ($76.3 billion) in extra capital to ride out a serious economic downturn. ... Full Story Top Spain says to seek 40 billion euro in EU aid for weak banks Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:07 AM PDT Reuters - MADRID (Reuters) - Spain plans to ask for around 40 billion euros ($51.46 billion)in European aid to recapitalize its weak banks, Bank of Spain deputy Governor Fernando Restoy said on Friday. "The first preliminary estimate of the final amounts we would need to tap from the 100 billion euro (European) lifeline would be one third less than the capital shortfall identified by Oliver Wyman," Restoy told reporters. An independent audit of Spanish banks by Oliver Wyman on Friday showed the country's troubled lenders would need 59. ... Full Story Top Spain official says to give bad bank asset values next week Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:07 AM PDT Reuters - MADRID (Reuters) - Spain will define the value of toxic property assets that will be transferred into a bad bank next week, Secretary of State for the Economy Fernando Jimenez Latorre said on Friday. Speaking to reporters after an independent audit on the health of the country's financial system, Latorre said the bad bank will include loans to property developers. Speaking at the same news conference, Bank of Spain deputy Governor Fernando Restoy said the valuation of the bad bank assets will be close to market value. ... Full Story Top Iran says terrorism includes any attack on nuclear facility Fri,28 Sep 2012 09:55 AM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iran told a U.N. summit on Friday it considers nuclear terrorism to include attacking or sabotaging a nuclear facility and that as a target of such actions it places "a special importance" on preventing them. Along with attacks on nuclear facilities, Iran said the use or threat of nuclear weapons with the intent to cause death, injury or damage to property or the environment was also deemed nuclear terrorism. ... Full Story Top G4S backs CEO over Olympic fiasco Fri,28 Sep 2012 09:51 AM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - G4S stood by its chief executive Nick Buckles but said two other senior executives would go following its probe into an embarrassing Olympic contract blunder. G4S admitted just two weeks before the London Olympics that it could not provide a promised 10,400 guards, forcing troops to step in and make up the shortfall in a contract failure that threatens the security firm's commercial relationship with the British government. ... Full Story Top Minneapolis police probe rampage that killed 5, including gunman Fri,28 Sep 2012 09:42 AM PDT Reuters - MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Minneapolis police on Friday sorted through evidence from a shooting rampage that left at least five people dead, including the founder of a sign company, a UPS driver and the man who opened fire at the business. The suspected gunman in the Thursday shooting had once worked at Accent Signage Systems Inc and police were not searching for other suspects. Police have not officially released a motive for the attack but were treating it as a work-place shooting. The suspected gunman apparently died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. ... Full Story Top Eurogroup's Juncker says Spanish banks' capital needs "comforting" Fri,28 Sep 2012 09:42 AM PDT Reuters - BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Spanish banks' recapitalization needs are well within the amount of money earmarked for that purpose by euro zone countries, which will allow the process to go on smoothly, the chairman of euro zone finance ministers Jean-Claude Juncker said. Spain announced on Friday that according to an independent audit of the country's 14 main banks by consultancy Oliver Wyman its banks would need 59.3 billion euros ($76.3 billion) in extra capital to ride out a serious economic downturn. ... Full Story Top

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