| | |
| Insurer QBE sets aside immediate needs payouts for Spain train victims Thursday, Aug 01, 2013 12:55 PM PDT  MADRID (Reuters) - Australian insurance group QBE said on Thursday it had set aside 2.75 million euros ($3.64 million) for the immediate needs of those affected by last week's train crash in Galicia in northwest Spain, which left 79 people dead. QBE may have to cover much higher costs of injury to third parties and rail infrastructure, but only if its client, state train operator Renfe, is found to bear responsibility for the accident. The company said the payout announced on Thursday did not mean a recognition of responsibility, which will be decided by a legal process. ... Full Story | Top |
| SEC official says 'gratified' by Tourre trial verdict Thursday, Aug 01, 2013 12:53 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission official said the agency was "gratified" by a jury's finding on Thursday that former Goldman Sachs Inc banker Fabrice Tourre was liable for fraud. "We will continue to vigorously seek to hold accountable, and bring to trial when necessary, those who commit fraud on Wall Street," said Andrew Ceresney, the SEC's co-director of enforcement. Tourre was found liable on six of seven counts by a Manhattan federal jury in a civil case brought by the SEC. ... Full Story | Top |
| Berlusconi ally says court sentence will not hurt government Thursday, Aug 01, 2013 12:52 PM PDT ROME (Reuters) - A decision by Italy's supreme court to uphold a jail sentence against Silvio Berlusconi for tax fraud will not have repercussions for the government, an ally of the former prime minister said on Thursday. After leaving a meeting of Berlusconi's center-right People of Freedom (PDL) party, Nitto Palma, who served as justice minister during Berlusconi's last government, said there was a lot of bitterness about the verdict. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jury rules against ex-Goldman employee Tourre in SEC trial Thursday, Aug 01, 2013 12:43 PM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc vice president Fabrice Tourre was found liable for federal securities law violations on Thursday for his role in a complex mortgage deal that cost investors $1 billion when it failed. Tourre was found liable on six of seven counts by a Manhattan federal jury in a civil case brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the regulator's highest-profile trial to spill out of its investigations into causes of the 2008 financial crisis. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Steve Orlofsky) Full Story | Top |
| Country singer Keith Urban returning as 'American Idol' judge Thursday, Aug 01, 2013 12:42 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Country singer Keith Urban will be returning to "American Idol" as a judge when the Fox singing contest returns for its 13th season next year, Fox Broadcasting Company said on Thursday. "I will confirm one thing, Keith is going to return to the show, you could see how much he loved the show," Kevin Reilly, chairman of entertainment at Fox told reporters at a Television Critics Association meeting. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama picks government trouble-shooter Koskinen to lead IRS Thursday, Aug 01, 2013 12:42 PM PDT  By Kim Dixon and Patrick Temple-West WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Thursday nominated John Koskinen, known as a trouble-shooter of distressed organizations, to lead the Internal Revenue Service amid a controversy over the agency's scrutiny of conservative political groups. If confirmed by the Senate, Koskinen will take over the agency's 90,000 employees responsible for administering the increasingly complex tax code. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Berlusconi's business empire Thursday, Aug 01, 2013 12:27 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was found guilty of tax fraud by Italy's Cassation Court on Thursday, confirming a ruling from a lower court. Judges at Italy's top court, however, ordered further judicial review of a ban on Berlusconi holding public office. The former prime minister has kept control of his media empire, laying himself open to accusations of a conflict between his political and business interests and leaving him vulnerable to numerous corruption investigations into him and his companies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Consumers hungry for trucks in July, but fleet sales weak Thursday, Aug 01, 2013 12:23 PM PDT By Ben Klayman and Deepa Seetharaman DETROIT (Reuters) - Auto sales to individual U.S. consumers beat expectations in July and major automakers reported low inventories for many hot-selling models, such as Ford Motor Co's Fusion mid-size sedan, suggesting that sales would strengthen further this year. Shares of General Motors Co and Ford rose Thursday after analysts and executives disclosed their so-called retail sales, which are considerably more lucrative than fleet sales to rental car agencies, governments and companies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's top court upholds Berlusconi prison sentence Thursday, Aug 01, 2013 12:12 PM PDT  By Roberto Landucci and Barry Moody ROME (Reuters) - Italy's supreme court on Thursday upheld a jail sentence against Silvio Berlusconi for tax fraud in a devastating blow to the former prime minister that could throw the country's fragile coalition government into crisis. The former cruise ship crooner is Italy's most colorful and scandal-prone figure but it was his first definitive conviction in up to 30 court cases on charges ranging from fraud and corruption to having sex with an under aged prostitute. ... Full Story | Top |
| Google bets on custom colors with first flagship Moto X phone Thursday, Aug 01, 2013 12:11 PM PDT  By Sinead Carew and Alexei Oreskovic NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Motorola on Thursday unveiled its highly anticipated Moto X smartphone, which will be customizable with different colors for AT&T customers and marks the cellphone maker's first flagship device since Google Inc bought the company in 2012. The Moto X will go on sale in the United States at the end of August or the beginning of September for a suggested retail price of $199.99 to customers who sign a two-year contract at five of the biggest U.S. mobile network operators. Google, which spent $12. ... Full Story | Top |
| TransCanada ramps up East Coast pipeline plan as Keystone stalls Thursday, Aug 01, 2013 12:09 PM PDT  By Scott Haggett CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - TransCanada Corp on Thursday said it would move ahead with Canada's largest-ever pipeline, expanding the scale of its $12 billion plan to ship oil sands crude in the West to refiners on its east coast and beyond as its U.S.-bound Keystone XL line stalls in Washington. Canada's No. 2 pipeline company said "strong market support" convinced it to build the 1.1-million-barrel-per-day Energy East Pipeline, which will stretch 2,700 miles from Alberta to a new deepwater oil terminal on the Atlantic. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate Republicans block $54 billion transport spending bill Thursday, Aug 01, 2013 11:59 AM PDT  By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the Senate blocked passage of a $54 billion bill to fund transportation and housing projects on Thursday, setting up a major clash over spending levels in September that risks a government shutdown. The Democratic-controlled Senate voted 54-43 to end debate on the measure, failing to achieve the 60 votes needed to advance to a simple up-or-down majority vote, as Republicans complained it spent too much. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wall St. jumps on data; S&P 500 above 1,700 Thursday, Aug 01, 2013 11:58 AM PDT  By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks jumped on Thursday, pushing the S&P 500 above 1,700 for the first time, as data suggested the economy is still improving and as the Federal Reserve kept its stimulus plan in place. Stocks were broadly higher, with all 10 S&P 500 sectors in the black, though growth-sensitive financials, industrials and consumer discretionary shares registered the biggest gains. JPMorgan Chase , Bank of America and Wells Fargo were among the companies giving the greatest boost to the S&P 500. Shares of JPMorgan gained 1.6 percent to $56. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy president, after Berlusconi ruling, says cohesion crucial Thursday, Aug 01, 2013 11:52 AM PDT  ROME (Reuters) - Italy's president Giorgio Napolitano, speaking after a Rome court confirmed a prison sentence against former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, urged the country to maintain its calm. "The country needs to rediscover serenity and cohesion on vitally important institutional matters which have for too long seen it divided and unable to enact reforms," he said in a statement. He said there had so far been a more "respectful and calm" climate than there had been in previous trials involving Berlusconi and added: "I think this is positive for everyone. ... Full Story | Top |
| Costs hit Big Oil; shale surge lifts smaller producers Thursday, Aug 01, 2013 11:41 AM PDT  By Andrew Callus and Anna Driver LONDON/HOUSTON (Reuters) - Some of the western world's top oil companies abandoned output targets and missed profit forecasts on Thursday as they promised to clamp down on rising costs that hurt quarterly results. Costs for workers and materials are climbing as the industry scrambles to bring new wells and pipelines into operation. ... Full Story | Top |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment