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| Four-way talks call for end to Ukraine violence Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 11:39 AM PDT  By Arshad Mohammed and Alexei Anishchuk GENEVA/MOSCOW (Reuters) - The United States, Russia, Ukraine and European Union together called on Thursday for an immediate halt to violence in Ukraine, where Western powers believe Russia is fomenting a pro-Russian separatist movement. Washington immediately warned Moscow that it would face further sanctions if it did not carry out the agreement, reached in four-party crisis talks in Geneva. Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking in Moscow, accused Ukraine's leaders of committing a "grave crime" by using the army to try to quell unrest in the east of the country, and did not rule out sending in Russian troops. Full Story | Top |
| Jobless claims, factory data put some shine on economy Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 10:38 AM PDT  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New claims for jobless benefits hovered near their pre-recession levels last week and manufacturing in the Mid-Atlantic region accelerated in April, suggesting an upswing in economic activity after a brutally cold winter. Coming on the heels of fairly bullish data on retail sales and industrial production, Thursday's reports also hinted job growth may be picking up slightly. "The data add further evidence to the notion that the economy has exerted positive momentum at the start of the second quarter," said Sam Bullard, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits ticked up 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 304,000 for the week ended April 12, the Labor Department said, but stayed close to a 6-1/2 year low touched the prior week. Full Story | Top |
| For Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, boring is beautiful Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 11:31 AM PDT  Investment banks Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Thursday, helped by gains in merger advisory and stock underwriting. The results underscored how businesses viewed as stodgy before the financial crisis are becoming critical drivers of earnings for investment banks now. Goldman's investment management, stock underwriting and merger advisory businesses logged big gains. Morgan Stanley did well in those areas, as well as in wealth management and bond underwriting. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. judge declines to order 'park it now' notices for GM cars Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 12:00 PM PDT  A federal judge on Thursday rejected a bid to compel General Motors Co to tell customers to stop driving millions of cars that have been recalled for defective ignition switches. Attorneys representing Charles and Grace Silvas, the owners of a recalled 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt, had sought an emergency order directing GM to issue "park it now" notices for the 2.6 million vehicles that have been recalled since February over the switches. GM opposed the motion, arguing that the vehicles were safe to drive as long as nothing extra was attached to the key while it was in the ignition. U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos in Corpus Christi, Texas, denied the request in a ruling on Thursday, saying that she would defer to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a federal agency that oversees auto safety. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Syria submits more 'detailed' list of chemical weapons Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 07:33 AM PDT  By Dominic Evans and Anthony Deutsch BEIRUT/THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Syria has submitted a "more specific" list of its chemical weapons to the global regulator overseeing the destruction of its stockpile after discrepancies were reported by inspectors on the ground, officials said. Damascus agreed to give up its chemical arsenal after Washington threatened military action following the death of hundreds of Syrians in a sarin gas attack on the outskirts of Damascus during Syria's civil war last August. A diplomat said questions had been raised by member states at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) about the details of its chemical arsenal submitted by President Bashar al-Assad's government last year. The officials said the original list had been based on estimates, not exact amounts of toxic agents found in storage and production facilities across Syria. Full Story | Top |
| Islamist militants kill 30 in attacks around Iraq Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 11:54 AM PDT By Raheem Salman BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Suspected Sunni Muslim militants killed at least 30 people around Iraq on Thursday including 12 soldiers in an assault on a remote army base in the north, deepening insecurity with a national election just two weeks away. Sectarian bloodshed has increased since the Shi'ite Muslim-led Baghdad government began an offensive against insurgents, some of them affiliated with al Qaeda, dug in around Falluja and Ramadi in the western province of Anbar. Early on Thursday morning, gunmen disguised in Iraqi military uniforms drove armored vehicles, including Iraqi army Humvees, up to a small military base outside Mosul and opened fire, killing 12 soldiers and wounding about a dozen, army and police officers said on condition of anonymity. The region around Mosul has been a stronghold of the al Qaeda-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group. Full Story | Top |
| Divers struggle in search for South Korean ferry survivors Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 07:03 AM PDT  By Jungmin Jang and Narae Kim MOKPO/JINDO, South Korea (Reuters) - Rescuers struggled with strong waves and murky waters on Thursday as they searched for hundreds of people, most of them teenagers from the same school, still missing after a South Korean ferry capsized 36 hours ago. The vessel, carrying 475 passengers and crew, capsized on Wednesday during a journey from the port of Incheon to the holiday island of Jeju. Another 179 passengers have been rescued, leaving 282 unaccounted for and possibly trapped in the vessel. Full Story | Top |
| Google still a top pick for Wall Street, despite mobile ad challenges Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 08:55 AM PDT  Google Inc's disappointing first-quarter results left Wall Street unfazed about the internet giant's ability to come to grips with the shift to the fast-growing mobile advertising market. Google shares were down about 3 percent in early trading on Thursday, and at least 12 brokerages cut their target price on the stock. "Despite an expectations-miss quarter, Google remains one of the best-positioned stocks for many of the secular growth drivers in the Internet space," RBC Capital analyst Mark Mahaney, who kept his "outperform" rating on the stock, said in a note to clients. Of the 46 analysts covering Google, 35 have a "buy" or equivalent rating on the stock. Full Story | Top |
| Iran cuts sensitive nuclear stockpile, key plant delayed: IAEA Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 12:11 PM PDT  By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran has acted to cut its most sensitive nuclear stockpile by nearly 75 percent in implementing a landmark pact with world powers, but a planned facility it will need to fulfill the six-month deal has been delayed, a U.N. report showed on Thursday. The monthly update by the International Atomic Energy Agency , which has a pivotal role in verifying that Iran is living up to its part of the accord, made clear that Iran so far is undertaking the agreed steps to curb its nuclear program. In Washington, the State Department said the United States has taken steps to release a $450 million installment of frozen Iranian funds following the issuance of the report. In addition, Japan has made two more payments totaling $1 billion to Iran for crude imports, two sources with knowledge of the transactions said. Full Story | Top |
| Search for Malaysia jet refocuses on drone scans of sea floor Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 07:20 AM PDT  By Byron Kaye PERTH, Australia (Reuters) - Footage taken by a deep-sea drone should determine sooner than previously thought whether a remote stretch of the Indian Ocean is the final resting place of a missing Malaysian jetliner, Australian search authorities said on Thursday. After the U.S. Navy robot submarine Bluefin-21 completed its first full scan of the seabed some 2,000 km (1,240 miles) west of the Australian city of Perth, authorities said they had reduced the search area based on further analysis of what they believe may be signals from the plane's black box. It came as an air-and-sea search was expected to be scaled down almost six weeks after Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared from radar screens mid-flight with 239 people on board. However, with no pings received in more than a week and the black box's battery now 10 days past its approximate expiry date, authorities are relying on the Bluefin drone. Full Story | Top |
| Pistorius trial adjourns until May, state mauls forensic expert Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 08:12 AM PDT  By Siyabonga Sishi PRETORIA (Reuters) - The murder trial of Olympic and Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius was adjourned on Thursday until May 5 after the state wrapped up three days of punishing cross-examination of a forensic expert brought by the defense. Judge Thokozile Masipa granted the state's request for a postponement to avoid conflicts with other cases. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel - nicknamed "The Pitbull" for his aggressive style - tore into defense witness Roger Dixon, questioning his credibility and expertise. Pistorius, 27, is on trial for the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, whom he shot dead with four rounds from a 9mm pistol on Valentine's Day last year in his plush Pretoria house. Full Story | Top |
| A year after marathon bombs, Boston hospitals apply lessons learned Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 05:03 AM PDT  By Svea Herbst-Bayliss BOSTON (Reuters) - The homemade bombs that ripped through the crowd at the finish line of last year's Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring 264, showcased the city's medical talent but also taught valuable lessons in responding to a mass disaster. By all accounts, Boston's hospitals performed well after the attacks on April 15, 2013. Looking back, a year after their hospitals were packed with blast victims, Boston officials have tweaked how they prepare for a disaster, now requiring city emergency medical personnel to carry tourniquets and developing a standard method for one city agency to track disaster victims in hospitals. Full Story | Top |
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