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| U.S. charges SAC Capital with insider trading crimes Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:50 AM PDT  By Emily Flitter, Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors came down hard on billionaire hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen on Thursday, unveiling criminal fraud charges against his SAC Capital Advisors LP that could end the career of one of Wall Street's most successful investors. Cohen stands accused of presiding over a broken business where employees were encouraged to push the envelope to get that extra investing edge, with little regard for whether they were acting honestly and within the law. ... Full Story | Top |
| At least 78 killed, 131 injured, in Spain train disaster Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:25 AM PDT  By Teresa Medrano and Miguel Vidal SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain (Reuters) - A train derailed outside the ancient northwestern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela on Wednesday night, on the eve of a major religious festival, killing at least 78 people and injuring up to 131 in one of Europe's worst rail disasters. In what one local official described as a scene from hell, bodies covered in blankets lay next to the overturned carriages as smoke billowed from the wreckage after the disaster. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. charges six in major credit card, Nasdaq hacking cases Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:36 AM PDT  By David Jones and Jim Finkle NEWARK, N.J./BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors charged six foreign nationals with hacking crimes, including credit and debit card thefts that authorities say cost U.S. and European companies more than $300 million in losses, and charged one of them with breaching Nasdaq computers. Prosecutors said the indictments unsealed on Thursday for the payment card hacking were the biggest cyber fraud case filed in U.S. history. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt army issues threats ahead of street confrontation Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 12:00 PM PDT By Yasmine Saleh and Asma Alsharif CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's army threatened on Thursday to turn its guns on those who use violence, its starkest warning yet ahead of what both sides expect will be a bloody showdown in the streets between supporters and opponents of deposed president Mohamed Mursi. An army official said the military had issued an ultimatum to Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, giving the Islamist group until Saturday to sign up to a plan for political reconciliation which it has so far spurned. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turmoil hits Tunisia after secular politician slain Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:28 AM PDT By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi was shot dead on Thursday in the second such assassination this year, setting off violent protests against the Islamist-led government in the capital and elsewhere. "This criminal gang has killed the free voice of Brahmi," his widow Mbarka Brahmi told Reuters, without specifying who she thought was behind the shooting outside their home in Tunis. Brahmi's sister later accused the main Islamist Ennahda party of being behind the killing. "Ennahda killed my brother," Souhiba Brahmi said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Businesses set to step up capital goods spending Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 09:17 AM PDT  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A gauge of planned business spending on capital goods rose in June, buoying hopes of an acceleration in economic growth in the second half of 2013. The data on Thursday was the latest to suggest factory activity was regaining some momentum after hitting a soft patch earlier this year and it fit in with views that the drag on the economy from tighter fiscal policy was ebbing. A separate report showed new claims for jobless benefits edged higher last week, but remained within a range that suggests the labor market's recovery is on track. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama administration declares new voter rights strategy Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 12:23 PM PDT  By David Ingram and Dave Warner WASHINGTON/PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The Obama administration embarked on a new strategy on Thursday to challenge voting laws it says discriminate by race, an effort to counter a Supreme Court ruling last month that freed states from the strictest federal oversight. Attorney General Eric Holder vowed to start in Texas, a conservative stronghold where his Justice Department will ask a federal court for renewed power to block new election laws it says illegally discriminate against blacks and other minorities. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. lawmakers want sanctions on any country taking in Snowden Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 12:18 PM PDT  By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate panel voted unanimously on Thursday to seek trade or other sanctions against Russia or any other country that offers asylum to former spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, who has been holed up for weeks at a Moscow airport. The 30-member Senate Appropriations Committee adopted by consensus an amendment to a spending bill that would direct Secretary of State John Kerry to meet with congressional committees to come up with sanctions against any country that takes Snowden in. ... Full Story | Top |
| GSK replaces China chief amid corruption scandal Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 10:57 AM PDT  By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline has appointed one of its top European executives as the new head of operations in China, amid a corruption scandal there that has rocked Britain's biggest drug maker. Herve Gisserot, senior vice president for Europe, will take over as general manager from Mark Reilly, who will remain with the company as a senior member of the management team, a spokesman said on Thursday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Prosecutors say U.S. WikiLeaks soldier was seeking notoriety Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:14 AM PDT  By Medina Roshan FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - Military prosecutors said the U.S. soldier accused of the largest leak of classified information in the nation's history was hoping to make a name for himself by releasing documents on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. As the court-martial of Private First Class Bradley Manning winds down, prosecutors in closing arguments on Thursday said that the 25-year-old intelligence analyst had betrayed the trust his nation put in him. "The only human PFC Manning ever cared about was himself," said Major Ashden Fein, the lead prosecuting attorney. ... Full Story | Top |
| Car bomb in Damascus suburb kills seven: state media Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:34 AM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - A car bomb killed at least 10 people and wounded around 62 on Thursday when it exploded on the edge of the Syrian capital Damascus, state media said. State news agency SANA said the bomb hit the al-Siyouf Square in Jaramanah. It blamed the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham, an al Qaeda-linked group fighting alongside rebels in the two-year-old civil war against President Bashar al-Assad. Bombs have previously hit Jaramanah, a religiously mixed area that houses supporters and opponents of Assad but which is under army control. ... Full Story | Top |
| White House urges restraint by Egyptian military Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 10:24 AM PDT  ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - The White House on Thursday urged the Egyptian military to exercise "maximum restraint" and to do its utmost to prevent clashes between rival protesters. White House spokesman Josh Earnest also said Washington was concerned about "any rhetoric that inflames tension" after Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on Egyptians to take to the streets to show their support. ... Full Story | Top |
| New York's Weiner chatted with more women since scandal: report Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 10:18 AM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner may have exchanged sexually-charged messages with as many as three women in the two years since he resigned from Congress amid revelations of similar behavior, press reports said on Thursday. "I don't believe I had any more than three," Weiner told reporters on Thursday, according to the news site Politico Weiner, 48, resigned from the U.S. Congress in June 2011 after admitting he used Twitter and other social media to send lewd pictures of himself to women he met online. ... Full Story | Top |
| Irish watchdog won't probe U.S. firms over Prism Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 07:08 AM PDT  By Georgina Prodhan VIENNA (Reuters) - A watchdog in Ireland, home to the European headquarters of Apple and Facebook, says it will not investigate them for transferring personal data to a U.S. spy agency because they have signed up to EU privacy principles. The Irish Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC), had been challenged by an Austrian student activist group to investigate allegations that the U.S. National Security Agency harvests emails and other private data from the companies in a mass electronic surveillance program known as Prism. ... Full Story | Top |
| FAA to airlines: remove or inspect Boeing 787 beacons Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 07:28 AM PDT  (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday instructed airlines to remove or inspect emergency beacons in Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliners, following a fire earlier this month that was traced to one of the units, made by Honeywell International Inc. The airworthiness directive goes farther than the guidance from the FAA last week, when it said airlines should inspect the units on 787s for pinched wires in the casing and evidence of heat or moisture. ... Full Story | Top |
| American detained in China is wife of British risk consultant: sources Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 06:02 AM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - A U.S. citizen held in China amid an investigation into the country's pharmaceutical industry is the wife and business partner of a detained British national, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday. The sources said Yu Yingzeng, general manager at the ChinaWhys business risk advisory firm, and her husband Peter Humphrey, the company's managing director, were detained by Chinese authorities in Shanghai on July 10. ... Full Story | Top |
| China charges Bo Xilai with corruption, paves way for trial Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 04:35 AM PDT  By Megha Rajagopalan JINAN, China (Reuters) - China charged disgraced senior politician Bo Xilai with bribery, abuse of power and corruption on Thursday, paving the way for a potentially divisive trial that President Xi Jinping will want smoothly handled as he pushes major economic reforms. Bo, 64, could appear in a court in the eastern city of Jinan in Shandong province within weeks, capping the country's biggest political scandal since the 1976 downfall of the Gang of Four at the end of the Cultural Revolution. He has not been seen in public for 17 months. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israeli minister sees possible Palestine talks next week Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 06:38 AM PDT  By Hamuda Hassan JERICHO, West Bank (Reuters) - An Israeli cabinet minister said on Thursday that U.S.-sponsored peace negotiations with the Palestinians could begin next week. The assessment was not immediately confirmed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who disagree on the terms for reviving direct diplomacy which stalled almost three years ago. After months of intensive and discreet mediation, U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Port of Tampa reopens after ethanol train derailment: Port Authority Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 06:28 AM PDT (Reuters) - Florida's Port of Tampa has reopened after an ethanol train derailment early Thursday, the Tampa Port Authority said. No injuries were associated with the incident, although delays were expected for traffic in and out of Hookers Point, near where the derailment occurred, the Port Authority said in a note. The derailment occurred around 1:00 a.m. EDT (0500 GMT). Tampa Fire Rescue officials told a local NBC affiliate 15 train cars derailed and three spilled ethanol. That report added that cleanup could take longer than 24 hours. ... Full Story | Top |
| Spanish unemployment drops after two year rise as business looks up Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 04:50 AM PDT  By Paul Day and Sarah White MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's unemployment rate fell for the first time in two years and some of the country's biggest firms said on Thursday business was looking up, boosting the government's claim the economy is climbing out of recession. The dip in the jobless figures - to 26.3 percent in the second quarter from 27.2 percent in the first - nonetheless highlighted how far the country still needs to travel on the road to full recovery. Economy Minister Luis de Guindos called the size of the figures "totally unacceptable". ... Full Story | Top |
| Kuwait's ruling emir puts diplomacy first Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 05:05 AM PDT  By Sylvia Westall KUWAIT (Reuters) - Hours after Qatar's emir abdicated in favor of his son, Kuwait's ruler jumped on a plane to Doha to embrace the new young emir in person rather than sending a congratulatory cable as other Gulf Arab leaders did. The direct diplomatic gesture was a classic move for Kuwait's 84-year-old hereditary emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. Sheikh Sabah has been dubbed the "dean of Arab diplomacy" for his efforts to strengthen Kuwait's relations in the Middle East after Iraq's 1990 invasion of his country. ... Full Story | Top |
| Penguin promises EU regulator to scrap Apple ebook deals Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 02:55 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU regulators accepted on Thursday a pledge by British media group Pearson's Penguin unit to scrap its ebook deals with Apple which set price curbs on Amazon and other retailers, closing an antitrust case against the company. Penguin offered in April to end "most-favored nation" contracts for five years. Such clauses bar rival retailers from selling e-books more cheaply than Apple. It also proposed to let retailers set prices or discounts for a period of two years. The concessions are similar to those offered by four other publishers last year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Detroit area's battle with blight may be key to survival Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 09:17 PM PDT  By Nick Carey DETROIT (Reuters) - If you want to tackle Detroit's thousands of abandoned homes and trash-strewn and overgrown lots, there are few better places to start than in Brightmoor in the northwestern corner of the city. "Brightmoor is arguably one of the most blighted areas in Detroit, which makes it one of the most blighted areas in the country," said Kirk Mayes, executive director of community group the Brightmoor Alliance. "If you can tackle blight in Brightmoor, you can do it anywhere. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Missing red diary at heart of Italy's dark history Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 11:00 PM PDT  By Barry Moody PALERMO, Sicily (Reuters) - More than 20 years after anti-mafia hero Paolo Borsellino was killed by a huge bomb, his missing diary is still at the heart of one of Italy's murkiest and most enduring mysteries. Borsellino kept the red police diary always at his side, even in bed, and used it for jotting down evidence after another powerful bomb killed his friend and fellow magistrate Giovanni Falcone in May 1992, 57 days before his own death at age 52. The two men are Italy's biggest modern heroes, a picture of them together often seen on posters on city streets. ... Full Story | Top |
| Weiner defiant amid calls to quit New York mayoral race Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 09:19 AM PDT  By Jonathan Allen and Edith Honan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Anthony Weiner resisted mounting calls to bow out of the New York City mayoral race on Wednesday, a day after admitting he had continued the sexually charged online chats that led him to resign from Congress in disgrace two years ago. Weiner, who took the lead in several polls soon after announcing his political comeback in May, said in an email to supporters that he should have been clearer about how long the behavior had persisted but that he hoped voters would give him another chance. ... Full Story | Top |
| House rejects bid to curb spy agency data collection Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 06:05 PM PDT  By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. spy program that sweeps up vast amounts of electronic communications survived a legislative challenge in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, the first attempt to curb the data gathering since former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed details of its scope. The House of Representatives voted 217-205 to defeat an amendment to the defense appropriations bill that would have limited the National Security Agency's ability to collect electronic information, including phone call records. ... Full Story | Top |
| Facebook shares jump 28 percent, Wall Street sees more ad growth Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 12:03 PM PDT  By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed and Sruthi Ramakrishnan (Reuters) - Facebook Inc shares opened 28 percent higher on Thursday after the company reported a huge jump in mobile advertising revenue, and analysts pointed to further growth from new advertising on Instagram and 15-second videos. While still short of their IPO price of $38, the shares hit $34 -- a price not seen since their second day of trading in May last year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: History offers few happy endings for Detroit to follow Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 09:01 PM PDT  By Michael Connor and Tiziana Barghini MIAMI/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Detroit officials hope the bruising bankruptcy battle ahead of them will be rewarded with the birth of a leaner, more efficient and ultimately prosperous Motown. History, however, has few story book endings to offer as a guide when it comes to U.S. municipal bankruptcies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fugitive Snowden's hopes of leaving Moscow airport dashed Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 04:44 PM PDT  By Lidia Kelly MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fugitive U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden's hopes of leaving Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport for the first time in a month on Wednesday were dashed when he failed to secure permission from Russia to leave. An airport source said Snowden, who is wanted by the United States on espionage charges for revealing details of government intelligence programs, was handed documents by his lawyer that were expected to include a pass to leave the transit area. ... Full Story | Top |
| Dell founder ups takeover bid based on voting rule change Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 05:11 PM PDT  By Poornima Gupta, Soyoung Kim and Greg Roumeliotis (Reuters) - Dell Inc founder Michael Dell raised his $24.4 billion bid by less than 1 percent just hours before it was to be put to a vote, tacking on a controversial demand to change voting rules to make it easier for him to buy and take the No. 3 personal computer maker private. A special board committee on Wednesday was reviewing the CEO's sweetened $13.75 offer and requirement that a majority of votes cast be enough to seal the deal, an easier threshold for him to meet. ... Full Story | Top |
| Detroit manager scores first win over unions in bankruptcy bid Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 03:57 PM PDT By Bernie Woodall and Joseph Lichterman DETROIT (Reuters) - A U.S. bankruptcy court judge on Wednesday dealt a blow to Detroit's public employee unions and pension funds opposed to the city's historic bankruptcy filing by suspending legal challenges in Michigan state courts while he reviews the city's petition for protection from creditors. Judge Steven Rhodes ordered three lawsuits filed by city workers, retirees and pension funds be halted and extended that stay to suits against Michigan's governor, treasurer and Detroit's emergency manager. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama seeks second-term jolt with economic speech Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 03:52 PM PDT  By Roberta Rampton GALESBURG, Illinois (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama sought to inject momentum into his economic and domestic policy agenda on Wednesday with a speech designed to clarify his vision for his second term and hammer Republicans in the House of Representatives for getting in his way. Obama defended his government's record managing the economy through the recession in his first term and said new spending on infrastructure and education were needed now to grow the middle class, which he argued would boost the nation's economy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate approves deal to reverse spike in student loan rates Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 04:41 PM PDT  By Elvina Nawaguna WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Wednesday approved a bipartisan deal to reverse a recent spike in interest rates on millions of new federal student loans. The legislation now moves to the House of Representatives, which is hoping to approve the deal before lawmakers leave Washington for a recess in early August. The Senate voted 81-18 in favor of the deal. The bill has the support of President Barack Obama, who was involved in negotiating a compromise, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan who said on Tuesday that the deal would be a win for students. ... Full Story | Top |
| DOJ expects to charge SAC Capital on Thursday: source Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 02:10 PM PDT  By Matthew Goldstein and Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors are continuing to look for ways to build a criminal case against billionaire trader Steven A. Cohen at the same time as they prepare to announce criminal charges against his hedge fund, said people familiar with the investigation. Charges of securities fraud and wire fraud expected to be filed against the company on Thursday, according to a source familiar with the investigation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Weiner defiant amid calls to quit New York mayoral bid Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 04:35 PM PDT  By Jonathan Allen and Edith Honan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Anthony Weiner resisted mounting calls to bow out of the New York City mayoral race on Wednesday, a day after admitting he had continued the sexually charged online chats that led him to resign from Congress in disgrace two years ago. Weiner, who took the lead in several polls soon after announcing his political comeback in May, said in an email to supporters that he should have been clearer about how long the behavior had persisted but that he hoped voters would give him another chance. ... Full Story | Top |
| Facebook shares soar as users, mobile ads climb Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 02:52 PM PDT  By Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc delivered strong evidence it can thrive on smartphones and tablets on Wednesday, reporting a much better-than-anticipated surge in mobile advertising revenue in the second quarter that ignited a 20 percent share rally. The world's No. 1 social network, which is battling increasingly aggressive upstarts like WhatsApp for users' time, grew mobile advertising revenue 76 percent to $656 million from the previous quarter. ... Full Story | Top |
| William and Kate name Britain's new royal heir George Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 04:13 PM PDT  By Costas Pitas LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate have chosen three traditional royal names by calling their new-born baby boy George Alexander Louis, William's office said on Wednesday. The baby, born on Monday to global media frenzy and third in line to the British throne, will be known as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge, Kensington Palace said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| At least 45 killed as train derails in Spain Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 04:58 PM PDT MADRID (Reuters) - At least 20 people were killed when a train derailed outside the northern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela on Wednesday, state media and witnesses said. Train wagons lay on their sides with smoke billowing from the wreckage, photographs published on the Voz de Galicia newspaper website showed. "It was going so quickly ... It seems that on a curve the train started to twist, and the wagons piled up one on top of the other," passenger Ricardo Montesco told Cadena Ser radio station. "A lot of people were squashed on the bottom. ... Full Story | Top |
| Dell founder ups takeover bid based on voting rule change Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 01:08 PM PDT  By Poornima Gupta, Soyoung Kim and Greg Roumeliotis (Reuters) - Dell Inc founder Michael Dell raised his $24.4 billion bid by less than 1 percent just hours before it was to be put to a vote, tacking on a controversial demand to change voting rules to make it easier for him to buy and take the No. 3 personal computer maker private. A special board committee on Wednesday was reviewing the CEO's sweetened $13.75 offer and requirement that a majority of votes cast be enough to seal the deal, an easier threshold for him to meet. ... Full Story | Top |
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