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| Analysis: Total CEO safe as investors prioritize profits over Iran bribery case Thursday, May 30, 2013 12:32 PM PDT  By Michel Rose and Muriel Boselli PARIS (Reuters) - The colorful boss of Total is unlikely to be felled by demands he stand trial over alleged bribes to Iran as Christophe de Margerie enters a crucial phase of his high-stakes turnaround plan for the oil firm, with no clear successors. De Margerie, nicknamed "Big Moustache" inside the company which appointed him chief executive six years ago, is deep into an exploration plan to drill more wells in difficult-to-reach African and North Sea frontiers in order that Total meet future output goals - and investors want him to stay and make it work. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japanese drugmakers open 'libraries' in $100 million health project Thursday, May 30, 2013 12:13 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Five top Japanese drug companies are to open their "libraries" of experimental compounds to scrutiny by scientists hunting new treatments for malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases affecting the world's poor. The initiative, announced on Thursday, is the first project under a new $100 million partnership between the drugmakers, the Japanese government and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to fund research into neglected tropical diseases. ... Full Story | Top |
| TSX steady as soaring golds offset RBC dip Thursday, May 30, 2013 08:42 AM PDT  By John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index inched higher on Thursday as a surge in gold mining stocks, which followed bullion prices higher, offset a decline in Royal Bank of Canada after the lender reported quarterly results. Investors were also encouraged as limp U.S. economic data suggested U.S. central bank stimulus measures will likely remain in place for now. A drop in government spending dragged more on the U.S. economy than initially thought in the first three months of the year, and jobless claims rose in the latest week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Henkel boss is possible candidate for ABB CEO: report Thursday, May 30, 2013 08:09 AM PDT ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland's ABB will choose a chief executive by mid-June, with the head of one of its automation units and the boss of German consumer goods group Henkel the front runners, a Swiss magazine reported. The Zurich-based industrial goods group is searching for a new CEO after Joe Hogan announced unexpectedly that he planned to leave the company for private reasons. ... Full Story | Top |
| GSK bets on chimp virus with $321 million vaccines buy Thursday, May 30, 2013 07:54 AM PDT  By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline is betting on a new vaccine technology based on chimpanzee viruses by acquiring Swiss-based Okairos for 250 million euros (321 million U.S. dollars) - 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 |
| Polar bears complicate life for world's northernmost residents Thursday, May 30, 2013 07:46 AM PDT  By Balazs Koranyi OSLO (Reuters) - Ole Oeiseth doesn't like leaving his house without a gun. "A polar bear can come anytime and from anywhere; the hungry young males are especially unpredictable," he said. Oeiseth runs Ny-Aalesund, the world's northernmost permanent settlement in Norway's high Arctic, the launching point for many North Pole expeditions, including Roald Amundsen's 1926 Zeppelin flight, the first undisputed reach for the pole. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iraq says it averted al Qaeda tanker truck attack on major oil site Thursday, May 30, 2013 06:31 AM PDT By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq foiled an al Qaeda plot to use tanker trucks packed with explosives to attack a key Baghdad oil facility, a senior security official and oil sources said. The security official declined to name the facility because the investigation was underway but oil ministry officials said the security forces were on high alert following a spate of attacks on a northern pipeline. Protecting infrastructure for the world's fourth largest oil reserves is crucial for Iraq as it rebuilds an industry battered by years of war following the 2003 U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada current account gap narrows slightly in first quarter Thursday, May 30, 2013 05:41 AM PDT OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's current account deficit narrowed slightly in the first quarter of 2013 on lower shortfalls on trade in goods and services, Statistics Canada said on Thursday. The current account deficit totaled C$14.1 billion ($13.6 billion), less than the C$15.5 billion forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll, and smaller than the revised C$14.6 billion gap in the fourth quarter of 2012. Exports of goods rose 2.4 percent in the period on broad strength in commodities while imports rose by 2.0 percent. As a result, the deficit on trade in goods fell to C$1.7 billion from C$2. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada producer price index down for first time in five months Thursday, May 30, 2013 05:40 AM PDT OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian producer prices dropped for the first time in five months in April, slipping 0.8 percent from March on lower prices for petroleum and coal products, Statistics Canada said on Thursday. The decline, which matched the decline recorded in December 2011, was greater than the 0.3 percent drop forecast by market analysts. Of the 21 major commodity groups, 14 were down, three up, while four were unchanged. The largest contributor to the decline was a 3.0 percent drop in petroleum and coal products. Gasoline prices retreated by 3. ... Full Story | Top |
| Elan says has 'Plan B' if shareholders reject deals Thursday, May 30, 2013 05:36 AM PDT By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish drugmaker Elan will lay out an alternative strategy if shareholders reject a string of planned deals and thereby make a bid from a U.S.-based investment group more likely to succeed. Royalty Pharma last week increased its a hostile cash bid for Elan, conditional on the target's shareholders rejecting a series of planned transactions at a meeting due to be held on June 17. Elan, which rejected Royalty's offer, said on Thursday there were different opinions among shareholders on one of the deals struck earlier this month, with U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chinese media rejects accusation of pressure on EU in solar row Thursday, May 30, 2013 03:29 AM PDT  By Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese state media rejected on Thursday European accusations that China was pressuring the European Union to drop plans to impose import duties on Chinese solar panels, adding EU member states had a right to disagree with the tariff. The EU's trade chief, Karel De Gucht, bluntly told China this week it was wasting its time trying to put pressure on him to drop the duties plans. But in a statement carried by the official Xinhua news agency and posted on the Chinese government's main website (www.gov.cn), China's mission to the EU denied it was doing that. ... Full Story | Top |
| Online college classes, once aimed at advanced students, target the masses Thursday, May 30, 2013 12:05 AM PDT By Stephanie Simon BOSTON (Reuters) - A leading U.S. provider of online college courses on Thursday announced plans to expand into introductory level classes such as algebra and composition, marking a shift for a fledgling industry that has until now focused on specialized material. Coursera, a popular for-profit provider of massive online open courses - known as MOOCs - will host a series of basic general education classes to be developed in partnerships with 10 state university systems across the United States. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thailand's CP Foods says considered bidding for Smithfield Wednesday, May 29, 2013 09:01 PM PDT HONG KONG (Reuters) - Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc, controlled by Thai billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont, said on Thursday it had considered bidding for Smithfield Foods Inc. On Wednesday, China's privately-owned Shuanghui International agreed to buy Smithfield Foods for $4.7 billion in cash to feed growing Chinese appetite for U.S. pork, in a deal that has already stirred concern from U.S. politicians. CP Foods declined to give more details due to a non-disclosure agreement. (Reporting by Denny Thomas and Khettiya Jittapong; Editing by Ryan Woo) Full Story | Top |
| Barbara hits southern Mexico, killing at least two Wednesday, May 29, 2013 07:10 PM PDT  By Jose Cortes SAN PEDRO TAPANATEPEC, Mexico (Reuters) - Hurricane Barbara hit Mexico's southern Pacific coast on Wednesday, flooding roads, toppling trees and killing two men before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved inland. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Barbara, which had earlier moved close to the country's biggest oil refinery, was 50 miles west of the city of Tuxtla Gutierrez in Chiapas state. Winds were blowing at up to 60 miles per hour. The hurricane was churning north-northeast at about 9 mph and should weaken rapidly overnight, the NHC said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Asteroid mining company wants to put your face in space Wednesday, May 29, 2013 06:41 PM PDT  By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A privately owned asteroid mining firm, backed in part by Google Inc's founders, launched a crowd-funding project on Wednesday to gauge public interest in a small space telescope that could serve as a backdrop for personal photographs, officials said. Planetary Resources, based in Bellevue, Washington, plans to build and operate telescopes to hunt for asteroids orbiting near Earth and robotic spacecraft to mine them for precious metals, water and other materials. ... Full Story | Top |
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