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| U.S. finds unapproved genetically modified wheat in Oregon Wednesday, May 29, 2013 12:42 PM PDT By Charles Abbott WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A strain of genetically engineered wheat never approved for sale or consumption by authorities was found sprouting on a farm in Oregon, the Agriculture Department said on Wednesday. The wheat was developed years ago by biotechnology company Monsanto Co but never put into use because of worldwide opposition to genetically engineered wheat. The most recent field test of such wheat was in 2005. Roughly half of the U.S. wheat crop is exported and most of the crop is used in making food such as breads, pastries, cookies and noodles. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wall Street falls, led lower by high dividend-paying shares Wednesday, May 29, 2013 12:37 PM PDT  By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks retreated from record levels on Wednesday, led lower by high-yielding dividend stocks as investors speculated on when the Federal Reserve might begin easing its stimulus of the economy. Consumer staples, healthcare, telecommunications and utilities shares, S&P 500 sectors that include many high dividend-paying stocks, were all down more than 1 percent. Shares of Johnson & Johnson , down 2.1 percent at $85.78, led declines on the index. ... Full Story | Top |
| GSK bets on chimp virus with $321 million vaccines buy Wednesday, May 29, 2013 12:20 PM PDT  By Ben Hirschler LONDON, May 29 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline is betting on a new vaccine technology based on chimpanzee viruses by acquiring Swiss-based Okairos for 250 million euros ($321 million) - the latest bolt-on biotech buy by a big drugmaker. Britain's largest pharmaceuticals group said on Wednesday that the privately owned company's know-how was expected to play an important role in GSK's development of vaccines to both prevent and treat diseases. Okairos was spun out from Merck & Co in 2007 and has laboratories in Rome and Naples, with headquarters in Basel. ... Full Story | Top |
| Total boss may face trial over alleged Iran oil bribes Wednesday, May 29, 2013 11:41 AM PDT By Muriel Boselli and Jonathan Stempel PARIS/NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. and French legal authorities cracked down on Total on Wednesday with $398 million in fines and plans to bring the oil company and its boss to trial for alleged corrupt payments in Iran. Investigations into the affair by the U.S. financial regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) date back to 2003 and relate to oil and gas contracts awarded in the oil-rich Gulf country in the 1990s and early 2000s. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ghana transfixed as court case throws elections into doubt Wednesday, May 29, 2013 10:32 AM PDT By Matthew Mpoke Bigg ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghana's Supreme Court must decide in the coming months whether or not to overturn December elections that handed the presidency to John Mahama, in a rare case of African judicial vigour that has transfixed the country. Proceedings in a packed courtroom, where opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo is challenging the outcome of the 2012 poll, are broadcast live on the radio and blare from cars and buses as the population of 25 million tunes in for the latest developments. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. decries 'hostage-taking' in trade talks, sees hope on IT deal Wednesday, May 29, 2013 09:25 AM PDT  By Leigh Thomas PARIS (Reuters) - A global agreement to cut red tape in world trade, which could be worth hundreds of billions of dollars to the world economy, is being stymied by some countries' "hostage-taking", a top U.S. trade official said on Wednesday. Diplomats at the World Trade Organization have become increasingly pessimistic about striking a global trade deal at a meeting in December in the Indonesian resort of Bali, despite deliberately setting an unambitious target in hopes of reviving confidence in moribund global trade talks. ... Full Story | Top |
| France's Total pays U.S. $398 million to settle Iran case Wednesday, May 29, 2013 08:58 AM PDT PARIS/NEW YORK (Reuters) - French oil company Total has agreed to pay $398 million to settle criminal and civil charges brought by the U.S. government over alleged payments of bribes to Iranian officials in exchange for oil and gas contracts. Separately, the Paris prosecutor said Total and Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie should face trial in the same case. "Total used illicit payments to win business in Iran, and reaped substantial financial benefits as a result," Andrew Calamari, Director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| BMO, stimulus rollback fears fuel TSX retreat Wednesday, May 29, 2013 08:29 AM PDT  By John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on Wednesday, dragged down by a decline in Bank of Montreal after the lender's quarterly profit missed estimates, and by investor worries that the U.S. Federal Reserve might roll back its stimulus program. The Toronto market, which has not shared the strong rallies recorded by U.S. stock indexes this year, joined global markets in pulling back, easing after three sessions of gains. However, a higher bullion price, fueled by a weaker dollar and stronger stocks, led to gains in shares of gold producers and kept losses in check. ... Full Story | Top |
| Total in talks to sell stake in Angolan offshore block Wednesday, May 29, 2013 08:04 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - Total is in talks with Angola's national oil company Sonangol to sell its 15 percent stake in an ENI-operated offshore exploration block, a company spokeswoman said on Wednesday. The French oil major currently produces 713,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) in Angola, a quarter of its African production which in total accounts for a third of its global output. In 2010 it sold a 5 percent stake in a deep exploration offshore block to Sonangol, in a drive to focus on projects where it is the operator. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria says its forces destroy trucks carrying smuggled oil Wednesday, May 29, 2013 07:41 AM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have destroyed several trucks carrying crude oil being smuggled from eastern oil fields to Turkey, state television said on Wednesday. It said the tankers were being taken from Tayem oil field, which rebel sources said earlier this month was partly under the control of rebel forces. Syrian television did not say exactly where the tankers had been hit, but said "terrorists" smuggling the consignment had been killed in the attack. ... Full Story | Top |
| CME Group hires firms to explore sale of NYMEX building Wednesday, May 29, 2013 07:38 AM PDT CHICAGO (Reuters) - CME Group Inc said on Wednesday it had hired firms to explore the sale of the New York Mercantile Exchange building, home to its energy trading floor. CME, the largest U.S. futures exchange operator, will continue to operate the trading floor regardless of whether the 16-story building is sold, the company said in a statement. If it is sold, CME may lease back a portion of the building, including the trading floor, it said. CME also may relocate NYMEX to another building in lower Manhattan. ... Full Story | Top |
| Avatars help schizophrenia patients silence tormenting voices Wednesday, May 29, 2013 06:19 AM PDT By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Psychiatrists are developing a system that can help people with schizophrenia control and sometimes silence the tormenting voices in their heads by confronting a computer avatar of them. In a pilot study of 16 patients who underwent the British experimental treatment, known as "avatar therapy", doctors found almost all of them reported a reduction in how often they heard voices and how severe the distress caused by them was. ... Full Story | Top |
| India, Japan seek early agreement on civil nuclear pact Wednesday, May 29, 2013 05:22 AM PDT  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Indian counterpart agreed on Wednesday to speed up talks on a deal to allow Japan to export nuclear plants and to strengthen security cooperation as both sides keep a wary eye on China's military clout. The Indo-Japanese summit meeting follows Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit last week to India, which has been shaken by a recent border spat with China and is cautious about Beijing's friendship with rival Pakistan. Japan, for its part, has been locked in a territorial dispute with China over a group of East China Sea islets. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran's Khamenei says has no favorite to succeed Ahmadinejad Wednesday, May 29, 2013 04:53 AM PDT  By Yeganeh Torbati DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Wednesday he does not favor any candidate for June's presidential election, although hardliners with outlooks similar to his dominate the field. The field of candidates was narrowed considerably last week when the Guardian Council, a body of clerics and jurists that vets all candidates, disqualified two independent contenders - former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, a close aide of current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. ... Full Story | Top |
| China must strike harder against unapproved construction: official Wednesday, May 29, 2013 04:04 AM PDT By David Stanway BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing needs to toughen up to prevent local authorities and state-owned enterprises breaking the country's laws by building dams and power plants without prior approval, an official with the environment ministry said on Wednesday. Two giant state-owned power firms, the Guodian Group and the Huaneng Group, came under fire earlier this month after state auditors found they had between them invested more than 60 billion yuan ($9.80 billion) in a series of projects that had not been given the go-ahead by the central government. ... Full Story | Top |
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