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| Beirut bomb kills anti-Syrian intelligence official Friday, Oct 19, 2012 06:08 PM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - A prominent Lebanese intelligence official opposed to President Bashar al-Assad was killed in a huge car bomb in Beirut in another sign that Syria's civil war is dragging its volatile neighbor into the conflict. Wissam al-Hassan, who led an investigation that implicated Syria and Hezbollah in the assassination of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, and seven other people were killed when the bomb exploded in central Beirut on Friday afternoon. ... Full Story | Top |
| As other polls show tight race, Gallup stands apart Friday, Oct 19, 2012 07:08 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The election between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney looks like it will be a knuckle-biter - unless you go by one of the United States' most respected public-opinion polls. As most surveys show Obama and Romney locked in a virtual dead heat, Gallup finds that the Republican would win by a comfortable six percentage points if the election were held today. ... Full Story | Top |
| CEOs' rosy spin whitewashes weak results Friday, Oct 19, 2012 04:35 PM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Corporate America has been talking a good game this earnings season, but a closer look shows the results are not nearly as strong as CEO optimism might lead investors to believe. In fact, a number of companies are coming up short on either earnings or revenue as measured against Wall Street estimates, even as their leaders try to paint a picture of steady returns and solid prospects for 2013. Some investors say earnings expectations have been managed so low they are easy to beat, even if sales come up short. ... Full Story | Top |
| Secret Service chief may have misled on scandal: senator Friday, Oct 19, 2012 04:22 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Republican senator on Friday accused the head of the Secret Service of making potentially misleading statements to Congress about a prostitution scandal involving agency employees before a presidential trip to Colombia in April. Senator Ron Johnson, the senior Republican on the Homeland Security subcommittee on oversight of government management, issued a memo detailing his concerns about Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan's statements to Congress on May 23. ... Full Story | Top |
| Unemployment rates fall in most election swing states Friday, Oct 19, 2012 02:59 PM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The unemployment rate fell last month in most states, including those considered undecided in the presidential election, data from the Labor Department showed on Friday. Stubbornly high unemployment is a key issue in the November 6 election. The contest between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney is heating up in states where polls suggest voters are undecided. Overall, regional and state unemployment rates were generally lower in September. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama accuses Republican rival of suffering "Romnesia" Friday, Oct 19, 2012 07:13 PM PDT  FAIRFAX, Va./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama turned his rival's name into an ailment on Friday, accusing Mitt Romney of suffering from "Romnesia" for emphasizing moderate positions rather than the conservative ones he put forward in the Republican primary race. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, has closed a gap in opinion polls with the Democratic incumbent after giving a strong performance in the first presidential debate on October 3, when he sounded a moderate note on healthcare reform and the need for government regulation - highlights of Obama's platform. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. intended to keep Benghazi mission open through 2012 Friday, Oct 19, 2012 04:33 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Newly released government documents show U.S. officials intended to keep open a mission in Benghazi, Libya, for at least the rest of this year in hopes of having a "calming effect" on the region, before the building was overrun and burned by militants last month. Locals in Benghazi wanted the Americans to stay permanently in the eastern Libyan city, the cradle of last year's revolution against Muammar Gaddafi, according to one memo written by the former top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, Jeffrey Feltman. ... Full Story | Top |
| Meningitis toll rises; pharmacy owners sued Friday, Oct 19, 2012 04:10 PM PDT  BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Executives at the Boston-area pharmacy whose steroid shots have been linked to a deadly U.S. meningitis outbreak have been sued in a bid to freeze their personal assets, while the death toll in the scandal rose to 21, with 268 cases of infection reported. Peter McGrath, a lawyer who is a former federal prosecutor, said he was spearheading a civil case that blames Massachusetts-based NECC and company officers Barry and Lisa Cadden and Greg Conigliaro for the tainted drugs. ... Full Story | Top |
| Peace envoy Brahimi pushes in Syria for ceasefire Friday, Oct 19, 2012 12:56 PM PDT  DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Mediator Lakhdar Brahimi will meet Syrian officials over the next few days in an effort to secure a brief ceasefire in the worsening war between President Bashar al-Assad's government and rebel forces. Brahimi, who arrived in the capital Damascus on Friday afternoon, will meet Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem on Saturday morning, the U.N. spokesman in Damascus, Khaled al-Masri, said. He did not say whether the envoy would meet Assad. "We will talk about the ceasefire and the Syrian issue in general. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bomb threat shuts down Texas A&M University Friday, Oct 19, 2012 03:16 PM PDT (Reuters) - The campus of Texas A&M University, one of the biggest in the United States, was evacuated for several hours on Friday after school officials received a bomb threat, the latest such incident at a U.S. university in recent weeks. The threat came in an anonymous email delivered shortly before noon, Texas A&M spokesman Jason Cook said. All classes were canceled. The sprawling campus reopened five hours later except for buildings that had not yet been searched. High-traffic areas including residence halls, an arena and the football stadium were deemed safe, the university said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama accuses Republican rival of suffering "Romnesia" Friday, Oct 19, 2012 04:56 PM PDT FAIRFAX, Va./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama turned his rival's name into an ailment on Friday, accusing Mitt Romney of suffering from "Romnesia" for emphasizing moderate positions rather than the conservative ones he put forward in the Republican primary race. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, has closed a gap in opinion polls with the Democratic incumbent after giving a strong performance in the first presidential debate on October 3, when he sounded a moderate note on healthcare reform and the need for government regulation - highlights of Obama's platform. ... Full Story | Top |
| Prosecutors seek gag order in Trayvon Martin murder case Friday, Oct 19, 2012 02:45 PM PDT  SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - Prosecutors want a Florida judge to impose a gag order on the Trayvon Martin murder case, saying lawyers for the man charged with murdering the unarmed black teenager threaten to taint the jury pool by trying the case "in the media and not in the courtroom." Judge Debra Nelson scheduled a hearing next week on the motion which was filed by Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda in Seminole County Circuit Court. ... Full Story | Top |
| Beirut bomb kills anti-Syrian intelligence official Friday, Oct 19, 2012 03:10 PM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - A prominent Lebanese intelligence official opposed to President Bashar al-Assad was killed in a huge car bomb in Beirut in another sign that Syria's civil war is dragging its volatile neighbor into the conflict. Wissam al-Hassan, who led an investigation that implicated Syria and Hezbollah in the assassination of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, and seven other people were killed when the bomb exploded in central Beirut on Friday afternoon. ... Full Story | Top |
| Credit-card fee settlement sent for U.S. judge's approval Friday, Oct 19, 2012 02:51 PM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - A proposed $7.2 billion settlement between merchants and Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc over credit-card fees was submitted Friday for approval by a federal judge, setting in motion what will be a contentious and closely watched battle over the fate of the potentially historic pact. If it receives preliminary and then final approval from U.S. District Judge John Gleeson in Brooklyn, it would be the largest federal antitrust settlement in U.S. history, resolving seven years of price-fixing litigation brought on behalf of nearly 8 million merchants. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. Security Council plans sanctions on Congo rebels, others Friday, Oct 19, 2012 01:50 PM PDT  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council intends to impose sanctions on the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo's M23 rebels and others violating an arms embargo on the country, according to a statement the council unanimously adopted on Friday. Rwandan Defense Minister James Kabarebe is commanding the insurgency in eastern Congo that is being armed by Rwanda and Uganda, both of which also sent troops to aid deadly attacks, according to a U.N. experts' confidential report seen by Reuters on Tuesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Firm dollar, weak Europe crimp U.S. industrials' sales Friday, Oct 19, 2012 10:43 AM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - Four top U.S. manufacturers, including General Electric Co and Honeywell International Corp, reported weaker-than-expected sales on Friday, in a fresh warning to investors that demand around the world remains sluggish. The ream of recent results sets the stage for an even heavier week of earnings reports next week, including those of global heavyweights such as Caterpillar Inc, Dupont Co, 3M Co, Boeing Inc, Eli Lilly & Co and Procter & Gamble. GE, Honeywell, Ingersoll Rand Plc and Parker Hannifin Corp all took in less revenue than analysts had expected. ... Full Story | Top |
| Katatni elected as Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood party chief Friday, Oct 19, 2012 04:36 PM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - The Muslim Brotherhood's political party, Egypt's biggest, chose veteran conservative Saad al-Katatni as its new leader on Friday to replace Mohamed Mursi who went on to become his country's first elected president. Katatni, 61, a microbiologist who joined the Islamist movement in 1979, is seen as more conservative than his main challenger for the post, Essam el-Erian, and less ready to compromise with liberals and leftists. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: After House bill, some fear holes in muni protections Friday, Oct 19, 2012 07:40 AM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lobbying campaign by the securities industry threatens to water down a U.S. financial reform measure that was supposed to protect American states, towns and cities from being taken for a ride by financial advisors. One of the main ideas of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law was to defend the finances of U.S. local issuers, which have often been hit by fraud and bid-rigging or simply hurt by bad advice. The solution was to impose a fiduciary duty on financial advisers to make sure they protect the interests of town halls and state capitols around the nation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Complaints rise over complex U.S. stock orders Friday, Oct 19, 2012 12:53 PM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Allegations of abuse over how a stock trade is executed may soon bring a new black eye to Wall Street or amount to little more than another warning about high-frequency trading. The numerous order types - the instructions that govern price and other variables in a trade - and their use by high-frequency traders have sparked a growing debate over the structure of the U.S. marketplace. Order types can reach an estimated 2,000 variations as a fully electronic market and more than 50 trading venues have multiplied the possibilities of how, when and with whom to trade. ... Full Story | Top |
| Myanmar to be invited to major U.S.-Thai military exercise Friday, Oct 19, 2012 10:07 AM PDT  BANGKOK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Myanmar will be invited to a major U.S. and Thai-led multinational military exercise, a powerful symbolic gesture toward a military with a grim human rights record and a milestone in its rapprochement with the West. Officials from participating countries told Reuters Myanmar would be asked to send observers to the annual Kobra Gold exercise, which involves thousands of American and Thai military personnel and participants from other Asian countries. "This appears to be the first step on the part of the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Al Qaeda attack on Yemen army base kills 24 Friday, Oct 19, 2012 09:41 AM PDT ADEN, Yemen (Reuters) - Al Qaeda killed 16 soldiers in an attack on an army base in south Yemen on Friday, medical and military sources said, in a further show of strength by Islamist militants despite a U.S. campaign of drone strikes to neutralize them. Militants tightened their hold on parts of Yemen during an uprising that ousted veteran president Ali Abdullah Saleh in February, raising concern for the security of top oil exporter Saudi Arabia next door and nearby shipping lanes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pakistani girl shot by Taliban "doing well" Friday, Oct 19, 2012 07:08 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - A Pakistani girl shot in the head by Taliban gunmen is "not out of the woods" but is doing well and has been able to stand for the first time, doctors at the British hospital treating her said on Friday. Malala Yousufzai, who was shot for vocally opposing the Taliban, was flown from Pakistan to Birmingham to receive treatment after the attack earlier this month, which drew widespread international condemnation. She has become a symbol of resistance to the Islamist group's effort to deny women education and other rights. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Mortgage demand too much for U.S. banks, who respond slowly Friday, Oct 19, 2012 12:38 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Big U.S. banks are hiring mortgage bankers to meet a surge in demand for home loans and refinancings, but they are still struggling to process applications, which could undermine the Federal Reserve's attempts to stimulate the economy. Since the Fed announced its plan in September to buy up to $40 billion of mortgages a month, consumer mortgage rates have fallen more slowly and by less than they would have done in more normal times. On average, 30-year home loan rates are down just 0. ... Full Story | Top |
| Families of slain British soldiers win right to sue government Friday, Oct 19, 2012 08:28 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Relatives of British troops killed in the war in Iraq will be able to sue the government for negligence and pursue damages if they can prove factors such as inadequate equipment led to the soldiers' deaths, an appeal court ruled on Friday. The court said the British Ministry of Defense (MoD) had a duty of care towards its employees, including soldiers on the battlefield, and had to provide them with the right equipment. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bangladesh quizzes family of alleged U.S. bomb plotter Friday, Oct 19, 2012 08:10 AM PDT  DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladeshi security agents have questioned the family of a man accused of trying to blow up the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to find out if he has any link to militants, the country's foreign minister said on Friday. Bangladeshi national Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, 21, was arrested on Wednesday in New York and charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to al Qaeda. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. wind industry adding record number of turbines Friday, Oct 19, 2012 07:50 AM PDT (Reuters) - U.S. wind power developers are installing record-high numbers of turbines in 2012 but that growth could weaken if a production tax credit expires at the end of this year, an industry group said. The U.S. wind industry in August for the first time surpassed 50,000 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity - enough to power 13 million homes, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) said in a report issued on Thursday. Wind developers have added 4,728 MW of wind power so far in 2012 with another 8,430 MW under construction, a record for this time of year, AWEA said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Merkel raises new hurdles on EU bank union Friday, Oct 19, 2012 06:22 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised new hurdles on Friday to using the euro zone's rescue fund to inject capital directly into ailing banks from next year, dashing Spain's hopes of soon removing the cost from its strained national debt. Merkel's move limited the impact of a key decision by European Union leaders struggling to overcome a three-year-old debt crisis in the 17-nation currency area -- an overnight agreement to establish a single banking supervisor from next year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Home resales slip, housing recovery still eyed Friday, Oct 19, 2012 03:00 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Home resales retreated in September from a two-year high, a reminder that America's housing sector is a long way from a full recovery despite recent signs of improvement. Existing home sales fell 1.7 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.75 million units, matching the median forecast in a Reuters poll, data from the National Association of Realtors showed on Friday. Housing has been a relative bright spot in the U.S. economy this year, and Friday's data did not point to a reversal in that trend. ... Full Story | Top |
| Suicide bomber kills two guards at south Iran mosque Friday, Oct 19, 2012 06:23 AM PDT DUBAI (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed two guards as he blew himself up outside a mosque in a restive southern province of Iran on Friday after being prevented from reaching worshippers inside, Iranian media reported. The bomber set off his explosive belt a few hundred meters (yards) outside the Imam Hossein mosque in the city of Chabahar, killing two members of the Basij militia that were on guard, Fars news agency reported. "Eyewitnesses said the attacker was trying to get inside the mosque but he was identified by members of the Basij," Fars reported. ... Full Story | Top |
| GE cautious on 2013 after sales miss Wall Street target Friday, Oct 19, 2012 10:14 AM PDT  (Reuters) - General Electric Co reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter revenue, hurt by unfavorable exchange rates, and set a cautious tone for 2013, saying it expects the tough economic environment to continue. The largest U.S. conglomerate on Friday reported a 2.8 percent rise in sales, with revenue down at its aviation and healthcare arms, while the stronger U.S. dollar crimped overall results by diminishing the value of its foreign sales. Its shares fell almost 3 percent. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea threatens South over propaganda balloons Friday, Oct 19, 2012 01:36 AM PDT  SEOUL (Reuters) - Impoverished North Korea threatened on Friday to open fire on South Korea if it allows activists to go ahead with plans to drop anti-North leaflets on its territory, its most strident warning against its long-time foe in months. North Korea, which is still technically at war with the South after their 1950-53 conflict ended in merely a truce, often uses shrill rhetoric denouncing its rich, capitalist neighbor and threatening all-out war. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greek PM says sure will get aid before cash runs out November 16 Friday, Oct 19, 2012 07:07 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Debt-laden Greece expects to get the bailout money it needs before its cash runs out in the middle of next month, the prime minister said on Friday. Speaking to reporters at a European Union summit, Antonis Samaras added that the country would go broke if it did not. "I believe that the disbursement will have finished by mid-November. The country's euro cash reserves are running out on November 16," he said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mobile revolution, economy trip up tech giants Thursday, Oct 18, 2012 10:17 PM PDT  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Mobile may be the future for technology, but even with the worldwide proliferation of high-powered devices like smartphones and tablets, some companies are struggling to maintain consistent revenue streams. Earnings disappointments this week from Intel Corp, Microsoft Corp, Google Inc and AMD underscore how Silicon Valley, both the old guard and new, is struggling to profit from consumers' waning love affair with the stalwart PC and infatuation with mobile -- the most significant tectonic shift in the industry since the advent of the Internet. ... Full Story | Top |
| Honeywell's profit rises 10 percent, tops Wall Street view Friday, Oct 19, 2012 04:58 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Diversified U.S. manufacturer Honeywell International Inc reported a 10 percent rise in quarterly earnings as declining natural gas prices helped boost profits at its UOP chemical arm, offsetting weakness in Europe. The maker of aircraft electronics and building control systems said on Friday that third-quarter earnings came to $950 million, or $1.20 per share, compared with $862 million, or $1.10 per share, a year earlier. The results came in 6 cents per share ahead of the analysts' average estimate of $1.14, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: "47 percent" lament belies Republican tax credit support Friday, Oct 19, 2012 06:02 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mitt Romney has distanced himself from his remarks lamenting the nearly 47 percent of Americans who do not owe federal income taxes, but his fellow Republicans helped engineer the very tax breaks that have put many in that category. And little change is expected soon. A key reason: The breaks in question - the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit - are based on core Republican philosophies of encouraging work to lift people out of poverty, Republican aides and many conservatives say. ... Full Story | Top |
| Google results miss; shares dive after premature report Thursday, Oct 18, 2012 09:36 PM PDT  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc's quarterly results fell well short of Wall Street's expectations after its core advertising business slowed, stunning investors accustomed to consistently rapid growth from the Internet giant and wiping more than 9 percent off its market value. The disappointing numbers on Thursday came hours ahead of schedule in a rare instance of premature filing. Google blamed the misfire on an unauthorized filing by its financial printers, RR Donnelley & Sons Co, and later confirmed the numbers' accuracy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Locked in tight race, Obama and Romney trade jokes at dinner Thursday, Oct 18, 2012 09:22 PM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Locked in a tense race with time running out, President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney took time off to exchange light-hearted jabs and make fun of each other on Thursday in a joint appearance at a high-profile charity dinner. Two days after a brutal debate in which they exchanged verbal blows and stalked each other on stage, Obama and Romney greeted each other warmly, dressed formally in white tie and tails. But the combativeness of the campaign trail was ever-present as the two foes gave back-to-back speeches at the 67th annual Alfred E. ... Full Story | Top |
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