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| Pentagon seeks cuts in overhead, Army, Air Force to trim budgets Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 12:09 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Wednesday pledged to cut the Pentagon's overhead by almost $40 billion over the next decade and chart out ways to cut compensation by $50 billion, regardless of the depth of further cuts in military spending. Hagel told reporters a four-month strategic review of the Pentagon's budget also pointed to possible reductions of up to 70,000 troops from the U.S. Army's active force, and up to 65,000 from the Army reserves, given the drawdown in Afghanistan. ... Full Story | Top |
| Secretary of State Kerry in Pakistan on unannounced visit Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 11:31 AM PDT  By Lesley Wroughton ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry landed in Pakistan late on Wednesday for a day of talks aimed at easing tensions over U.S. drone strikes while putting pressure on the nuclear armed nation to do more to eliminate militant havens on its territory. In Pakistan on an unannounced visit, Kerry is also likely to discuss ways to revive deadlocked talks with the Taliban and broader efforts to stabilize neighboring Afghanistan as U.S.-led forces prepare to pull out most combat troops by late 2014. ... Full Story | Top |
| In raging Middle East, Israel wins time with Palestinian peace talks Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 12:03 PM PDT  By Maayan Lubell JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Pressured by Washington, worried about its international standing and perturbed by Middle East turmoil, Israel had many reasons to return to peace talks with the Palestinians this week after a three year hiatus. On the surface, Israelis saw little reason to jump back into negotiations. The status quo in the occupied Palestinian territories was holding and the question of the so-called peace process had largely fallen off the domestic political agenda. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have realized he could not take the rap for cold shouldering U. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. auto sales set to maintain hot pace in July Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 12:02 PM PDT  By Ben Klayman DETROIT (Reuters) - Long Island car dealer Gary Brown is enjoying the summer heat brought on by consumers' increasing demand for new cars and trucks, and like the rest of the industry, expects sales in July will continue the trend. "We're still on fire," the owner of Brown's Jeep Chrysler in Patchogue, New York, said. "We're going to be up over June and we're going to beat last year by 10, 12 percent or so. There's a lot of demand in the market place." Partly driven by an improving housing market that has boosted demand for full-size pickup trucks, U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Zimbabwe votes in third Mugabe-Tsvangirai showdown Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 11:03 AM PDT  By Cris Chinaka HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabweans voted in large numbers on Wednesday in a fiercely contested election pitting veteran President Robert Mugabe against Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who has vowed to push Africa's oldest leader into retirement after 33 years in power. With no reliable opinion polls and amid allegations of vote-rigging, it is hard to say whether Tsvangirai will succeed in his third attempt to oust 89-year-old Mugabe, who has run the southern African nation since independence from Britain in 1980. ... Full Story | Top |
| Dell's buyout teeters as it rejects voting change Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 11:00 AM PDT  By Greg Roumeliotis NEW YORK (Reuters) - Michael Dell's and Silver Lake's $24.4 billion bid to take Dell Inc private suffered a blow on Wednesday after the company's special committee rejected their request to change the voting rules in exchange for them offering $150 million more. Dell shares fell more than 4 percent to as low as $12.28, their lowest level since news of the takeover broke on January 14, highlighting uncertainty among shareholders about the deal's prospects. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. releases documents on phone surveillance programs Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 10:06 AM PDT  By Deborah Charles and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As Congress increasingly scrutinizes U.S. surveillance programs, the government on Wednesday released declassified documents on the mass collection of telephone data in a rare glimpse into the world of intelligence gathering. The U.S. Director of National Intelligence released three declassified documents that authorized and explained the bulk collection of phone data, one of the secret surveillance programs revealed by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. ... Full Story | Top |
| Manning changed data access protocol, U.S. argues at sentencing Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 10:45 AM PDT  By Tom Ramstack FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - As a military judge considered sentencing for convicted U.S. soldier Bradley Manning, prosecutors argued that his leaks of classified information to the WikiLeaks website changed the way the military allowed intelligence analysts to access data. Manning, 25, on Tuesday escaped a life sentence with no parole at his court-martial when Judge Colonel Denise Lind acquitted him of aiding the enemy, the most serious of 21 criminal counts against him. But he still faces the possibility of 136 years in prison on 19 other charges. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. economy finds momentum in second quarter, eyes further gains Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 09:36 AM PDT  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. economic growth unexpectedly accelerated in the second quarter, laying a firmer foundation for the rest of the year that could bring the Federal Reserve a step closer to cutting back its monetary stimulus. Gross domestic product grew at a 1.7 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday, stepping up from the first quarter's downwardly revised 1.1 percent expansion pace. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's rulers signal move against Brotherhood vigils Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 12:26 PM PDT By Maggie Fick and Asma Alsharif CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's army-backed rulers signaled on Wednesday that they could soon act to end weeks of sit-in protests by supporters of deposed President Mohamed Mursi, setting up a potentially bloody showdown with his Muslim Brotherhood. In a televised statement, the cabinet installed by Egypt's army after it overthrew Mursi on July 3 said two Cairo vigils by thousands of his supporters represented a "threat to Egyptian national security", citing "terrorist acts" and traffic disruption. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama defends Summers on 2009 economic stimulus Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 09:45 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama pushed back on Wednesday against critics who complain that his former top economic adviser, Lawrence Summers, was not aggressive enough in seeking more economic stimulus funds than Congress ultimately approved in 2009. House of Representatives Democrats left a closed-door meeting with Obama saying the president defended the size of his administration's nearly $800 billion stimulus law and said it was all he could get from Congress at the time. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senators question U.S. energy market settlement with JPMorgan Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 10:44 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Democratic Senators on Wednesday asked U.S. energy regulators for more details on how terms of a settlement were reached on alleged power market manipulation in California and the Midwest by a unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co. In a letter to Jon Wellinghoff, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, both of Massachusetts, questioned whether the settlement announced on Tuesday included "adequate refunds to defrauded ratepayers. ... Full Story | Top |
| SEC investigating IBM over cloud revenue Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 09:07 AM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. regulators are investigating how International Business Machines Corp reports revenue from its cloud computing business, the company said on Wednesday. IBM said it learned of the investigation, being conducted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in May. The company made the disclosure in its quarterly report filed with the SEC. It gave no details on the probe. IBM, which does not break out its cloud computing revenue separately, has said it aims to generate $7 billion annually in revenue from cloud services by the end of 2015. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ex-NCAA athletes score court victory over EA video games Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 12:32 PM PDT  By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - A divided U.S. federal appeals court rejected Electronic Arts Inc's effort to throw out a lawsuit by former collegiate athletes who accused the company of using their images in video games without permission. By a 2-1 vote, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said EA's use of the athletes' likenesses in its NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball games did not deserve protection as free expression under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. ... Full Story | Top |
| No one fired at NSA over Snowden Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 07:03 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The deputy director of the U.S. National Security Agency said on Wednesday that no one had been fired and no one had offered to resign over former security contractor Edward Snowden's ability to take large amounts of classified data from agency computers. John Inglis said, "No," when asked at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing if anyone had been fired over the sweeping NSA surveillance programs exposed by Snowden. "No one has offered to resign. Everyone is working hard to understand what happened," Inglis said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel, Palestinians deeply divided despite renewed peace talks Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 10:42 AM PDT  By Allyn Fisher-Ilan and Ali Sawafta JERUSALEM/RAMALLAH (Reuters) - Israel and the Palestinians remain far apart over terms of any peace deal, officials from both sides made clear on Wednesday, a day after talks resumed in Washington for the first time in nearly three years. Israel's lead negotiator, Tzipi Livni, said the parties "need to build confidence" after what she called an encouraging start in Washington, and disputed a Palestinian demand to focus first on agreeing the frontiers of an independent state. "The goal is to end the conflict," Livni said on Israel Radio. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jury begins deliberations in trial of former Goldman trader Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 10:24 AM PDT  By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jurors began deliberating Wednesday over whether to hold former Goldman Sachs Group Inc trader Fabrice Tourre liable for defrauding investors in a complex deal tied to subprime mortgages. A federal judge in New York dispatched the five women and four men on the jury to consider the fate of Tourre, 34, who for more than three years has fought against U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims he misled investors in a deal called Abacus 2007-AC1. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama says several candidates for Fed chair: Rep. Israel Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 09:26 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday told U.S. House of Representatives Democrats that there were many candidates besides Lawrence Summers as his potential nominee for Federal Reserve Board chairman, Representative Steve Israel said. Speaking to reporters following a closed-door meeting of House Democrats and Obama, Israel said Obama was "quite clear" that no decision had been made on a nominee to replace Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke next year. "He did talk about Larry Summers' qualities, but he also said there were many other candidates with their own qualities. ... Full Story | Top |
| JP Morgan under investigation in Monte Paschi probe: document Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 07:07 AM PDT  By Silvia Ognibene and Silvia Aloisi SIENA/MILAN (Reuters) - Italian prosecutors probing Monte dei Paschi's 2007 acquisition of a smaller rival are investigating U.S. investment bank JP Morgan over an alleged crime committed by one of its employees, according to a prosecutors' document. The document, seen by Reuters, said the alleged crime was the obstruction of Italian regulators by an unknown JP Morgan employee relating to a 1 billion euro ($1.3 billion) hybrid financial instrument used to partly fund Monte dei Paschi's purchase of Antonveneta. ... Full Story | Top |
| China's Bo to plead guilty, but maybe not to all charges: sources Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 05:14 AM PDT  By Benjamin Kang Lim and Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - Disgraced Chinese leader Bo Xilai has agreed to plead guilty at a trial likely to be held within weeks, three sources said, in an apparent bid to earn a more lenient sentence and allow authorities to close the door on the country's biggest political scandal in decades. But it was not clear if he would plead guilty to all or only some of the charges of accepting bribes, corruption and abuse of power. ... Full Story | Top |
| Beijing offers growth assurance in its economic balancing act Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 05:56 AM PDT  By Kevin Yao and Aileen Wang BEIJING (Reuters) - China's authorities, mindful of the risk of a sharp economic slowdown that could derail their reform efforts, sent their clearest signal yet that they will safeguard growth and tweak policy when necessary. The message from a meeting of China's top decision-making body, the Politburo, sought on Tuesday to dispel market concerns about China's near-term economic outlook by stressing stability of growth. ... Full Story | Top |
| Changing Florida's Stand Your Ground law a tough hill to climb Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 05:06 AM PDT  By Bill Cotterell TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Every night for the last three weeks about 50 young protesters have slept on the stone floor of Florida's state Capitol building in a bid to change the state's Stand Your Ground self-defense law. Calling themselves "Dream Defenders", and inspired by the 1960s African-American civil rights movement, the protesters want to change a law they blame for the acquittal this month of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Pentagon's chief weapons buyer builds Japan ties as it eyes arms exports Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 03:24 AM PDT  By Tim Kelly TOKYO (Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Department's chief weapons buyer, Frank Kendall, will on Thursday meet officials in Tokyo overseeing Japan's defense contractors, his first visit with industry regulators reviewing the pacifist nation's decades-old ban on overseas arms sales. The under secretary of defense for acquisitions, technology and logistics will meet officials at the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry, a spokesman for the U.S. military said. He will also visit the foreign affairs and defense ministries. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cambodian PM says ready to talk to opposition after disputed polls Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 03:46 AM PDT  By Prak Chan Thul PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia's long-serving leader, Hun Sen, said on Wednesday his party was ready to talk to the opposition after both sides claimed victory in Sunday's general election, talking of the need for compromise but calling himself "prime minister elect". "We open our heart to compromise in order to create a parliamentary leadership," Hun Sen said while on an inspection of a bridge construction site, his first public appearance since the election and his first comments on the deadlock. ... Full Story | Top |
| First fall in euro zone unemployment points to muted recovery Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 05:48 AM PDT  By Robin Emmott BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The number of people out of a job in the euro zone has fallen for the first time in more than two years, the latest sign the bloc may make a muted recovery from recession later this year. Falling spending in June by shoppers in Germany, France and Spain, however, will dampen any early celebrations, but low annual inflation - stable at 1.6 percent in July - means the European Central Bank is able to act if the recovery falters. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. military judge to hear arguments in Manning sentencing Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 02:03 AM PDT  FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - The trial of Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier found guilty on 19 counts of handing over classified data to WikiLeaks, is scheduled to move into the sentencing phase on Wednesday. Manning, 25, escaped a life sentence with no parole when Colonel Denise Lind acquitted him of aiding the enemy, the most serious of 21 criminal counts brought against him in the court-martial. He still faces the possibility of 136 years in prison on the other counts. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Corporate sleuths on edge after China detains foreign consultants Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 03:13 AM PDT  By Alexandra Harney SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The detention by Chinese authorities of a British corporate investigator and his American wife in the wake of a corruption probe into pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has had a chilling effect on other risk consultants working in China. It's unclear why Peter Humphrey and Yu Yingzeng, whose firm ChinaWhys has done work for GSK and other drug makers, were detained. But corporate investigators said they were concerned about the repercussions for the industry. ... Full Story | Top |
| Zawahri vows al Qaeda to free Guantanamo inmates Wednesday, Jul 31, 2013 12:01 AM PDT  DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri slammed U.S. treatment of hunger striking inmates at Guantanamo Bay and said the group would spare no effort to free them, according to an audio recording posted on the Internet on Wednesday. Zawahri also said Shi'ite Hezbollah's intervention in the conflict in Syria was an attempt to promote Iranian hegemony over the country. ... Full Story | Top |
| Panama uncovers fighter jet engines from seized North Korea ship Tuesday, Jul 30, 2013 07:45 PM PDT  COLON, Panama (Reuters) - Panamanian investigators unloading the cargo of a seized North Korean ship carrying arms from Cuba under sacks of brown sugar on Tuesday found 12 engines for MiG-21 fighter jets and five military vehicles that officials said resembled missile control centers. Investigators earlier this month had found two MiG-21 fighter jets and two missile radar systems on board the Chong Chon Gang, which was bound for North Korea when it was stopped by officials. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt allows EU envoy to see deposed president Tuesday, Jul 30, 2013 06:26 PM PDT  By Maggie Fick and Matt Robinson CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt allowed Europe's top diplomat to meet deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on Monday, flying her after dark to Mursi's secret detention facility but ruling out any role for him in ending the turmoil convulsing the country. Catherine Ashton, the European Union's foreign policy chief, became the first outsider to see Mursi since he was deposed by the army on July 3, taken into detention and placed under investigation on charges including murder. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel, Palestinians strive for peace deal within nine months Tuesday, Jul 30, 2013 03:55 PM PDT  By Arshad Mohammed and Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli and Palestinian negotiators on Tuesday gave themselves about nine months to try to reach an agreement on ending their conflict of more than six decades in U.S.-brokered peace talks. The two sides held their first peace negotiations in nearly three years in Washington on Monday and Tuesday, a diplomatic victory for Secretary of State John Kerry, but one that foreign policy analysts believe has low chances of success. ... Full Story | Top |
| Al Qaeda affiliate claims responsibility for Iraq bombings Tuesday, Jul 30, 2013 03:57 PM PDT  By Raheem Salman BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An al Qaeda-affiliated group claimed responsibility for a wave of bombings across Iraq that killed 60 people on Monday and the Interior Ministry said it was facing an "open war" from insurgents bent on plunging the country into sectarian strife. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which was formed earlier this year through a merger between al Qaeda's affiliates in Iraq and Syria, said in a statement posted online it had carefully selected its targets, which were mainly Shi'ites. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama to propose 'grand bargain' Tuesday, Jul 30, 2013 02:39 PM PDT By Steve Holland CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (Reuters) - President Barack Obama proposed a "grand bargain for middle-class jobs" on Tuesday that would cut the U.S. corporate tax rate and use billions of dollars in revenues generated by a business tax overhaul to fund projects aimed at creating jobs. The goal, as outlined in his speech to an enthusiastic audience at an Amazon.com Inc facility in southeastern Tennessee, was to break through partisan gridlock in Congress with a formula that satisfies Republicans and Democrats alike. ... Full Story | Top |
| Manning acquitted of aiding enemy, still may face long jail term Tuesday, Jul 30, 2013 02:59 PM PDT  By Medina Roshan and Scott Malone FORT MEADE, Md./BOSTON (Reuters) - A military judge on Tuesday found U.S. soldier Bradley Manning not guilty of aiding the enemy, the most serious charge he faced for handing over documents to WikiLeaks, but he still likely faces a long jail term after being found guilty of 19 other counts. Colonel Denise Lind ruled the 25-year-old Army private first class was guilty of five espionage charges, among many others, for the largest unauthorized release of classified U.S. data in the nation's history. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ride-sharing companies may lose 'bandit cab' stigma in California Tuesday, Jul 30, 2013 08:58 PM PDT  By Alex Dobuzinskis LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Commercial ride-sharing services offered by moonlighting motorists but frowned on by licensed taxi drivers and some cities as "bandit" cab operations would gain new legitimacy in California under a plan proposed on Tuesday by state regulators. The draft rules to govern companies that already operate under such names as Lyft, SideCar and Uber, allowing passengers to electronically hail rides through smartphone applications, were unveiled by the state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) as taxi drivers continued to lobby against them. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. deepens scrutiny of banks' roles in commodities Tuesday, Jul 30, 2013 03:51 PM PDT  By Douwe Miedema WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wall Street banks face the prospect of increased scrutiny of their commodity businesses as U.S. regulators and lawmakers on Tuesday pressed for a closer look at their roles in owning warehouses and in trading everything from oil to metals Under pressure from a handful of lawmakers to explain why banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs have been allowed to own warehouses and trade physical commodities, regulators have scrambled this month to demonstrate that they are tackling the issue. ... Full Story | Top |
| Facebook stock almost hits IPO price, 14 months after rocky debut Tuesday, Jul 30, 2013 02:36 PM PDT  By Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc's stock on Tuesday came within a hair's breadth of reclaiming its $38 debut price for the first time since going public in 2012, as Wall Street cheered its progress in mobile advertising. The stock has surged more than 40 percent in the past week after the company reported blowout quarterly results, putting to rest investor concerns about its long-term business prospects. Shares of Facebook climbed as much as 7 percent to $37.96 in heavy trading on Tuesday, before settling back to finish the regular session at $37.63. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bloomberg's ban on big sodas is unconstitutional: appeals court Tuesday, Jul 30, 2013 03:58 PM PDT  By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's controversial plan to keep large sugary drinks out of restaurants and other eateries was rejected by a state appeals court on Tuesday, which said he had overstepped his authority in trying to impose the ban. The law, which would have prohibited those businesses from selling sodas and other sugary beverages larger than 16 ounces (473 ml), "violated the state principle of separation of powers," the First Department of the state Supreme Court's Appellate Division said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt allows EU envoy to see deposed president Tuesday, Jul 30, 2013 03:43 PM PDT By Maggie Fick and Matt Robinson CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt allowed Europe's top diplomat to meet deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on Monday, flying her after dark to Mursi's secret detention facility but ruling out any role for him in ending the turmoil convulsing the country. Catherine Ashton, the European Union's foreign policy chief, became the first outsider to see Mursi since he was deposed by the army on July 3, taken into detention and placed under investigation on charges including murder. ... Full Story | Top |
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