| Wall Street little changed on euro zone worries, data Posted: 24 May 2012 08:38 AM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Thursday in volatile trading as ongoing concerns about Greece's possible exit from the euro zone and tepid data on the economy gave investors little reason to take risk. Data showed demand for long-lasting manufactured goods rose less than expected in April while weekly jobless claims dipped modestly for the week ended May 19. "Durables showed the hope in the recovery in manufacturing seems to be stalling, not a lot of excitement there. ...
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| Economy trudges along as others falter Posted: 24 May 2012 08:59 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits dipped last week and factory activity grew but at a slower pace in May, indicating the economy was plodding along despite growing headwinds from Europe. Though Thursday's economic reports were a bit lackluster, they offered no signs of deterioration in the world's largest economy as growth in countries like China slows and the euro zone edges towards a recession. ...
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| Analysts back Hewlett Packard's layoff plans Posted: 24 May 2012 07:18 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Analysts said Hewlett Packard Co's plan to cut jobs was a step in the right direction but the PC maker will have to do more to regain investors' confidence. Shares of the world's No. 1 personal computer maker were up 6 percent at $22.26 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. "While we certainly don't believe HP has resolved all their issues, we do see the company moving in the right direction," RBC Capital Markets LLC analyst Amit Daryanani wrote in a note to clients. ...
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| UK minister leaked information in Sky deal: News Corp Posted: 24 May 2012 08:06 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - The UK minister in charge of approving News Corp's bid for BSkyB passed on information about the process to Murdoch's media empire through his aide, a News Corp lobbyist insisted, brushing off denials by the government. Fred Michel said he had had no inappropriate contact with the minister, Jeremy Hunt, while he was deciding whether the $12 billion bid would impair media plurality in Britain. But he said he believed Hunt's views had been faithfully relayed by his aide. ... |
| Eurozone governments ponder Greek exit contingency Posted: 24 May 2012 08:56 AM PDT ROME/HELSINKI (Reuters) - At least half of euro zone governments as well as banks and large companies are making contingency plans in case Greece decides to leave the single currency area, even though the preferred option is still for Athens to keep the euro. Italy's Deputy Economy Minister Vittorio Grilli said his country was ready for such a possibility, if Greek voters on June 17 give power to parties that reject reforms agreed with the EU and IMF in exchange for emergency loans. ... |
| Dow says wins $2.16 billion in Kuwait arbitration Posted: 24 May 2012 08:54 AM PDT  (Reuters) - An arbitrator ruled Kuwait's state-run chemical company must pay Dow Chemical Co $2.16 billion for wrongly canceling a planned plastics joint venture in 2008, Dow said on Thursday. The International Chamber of Commerce's International Court ruling against Petrochemical Industries Co (PIC) of Kuwait is final and binding and believed to be one of the largest ever arbitration awards, according to Dow's law firm, Shearman and Sterling LLP. Kuwait pulled out of the $17. ...
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| Tiffany lowers profit forecast, blames economy Posted: 24 May 2012 07:35 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Tiffany & Co lowered its fiscal-year sales and profit forecasts on Thursday, citing slowing economic growth in many countries and weakness in its home market, and the upscale jeweler's shares fell almost 7 percent. Rival Signet Jewelers Ltd also issued a disappointing forecast and posted first-quarter results that showed slowing growth in its U.S. sales, particularly at its higher-end Jared chain. Tiffany shares were down 6.7 percent in premarket trading, while Signet was off 11.5 percent. Signet shares fell 4.7 percent in London. ...
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| Four men, five weeks - a plan for Europe's future Posted: 24 May 2012 08:51 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders have given the bloc's four most powerful officials a little over a month to come up with a clearer template for euro zone integration, a pitch to persuade voters and markets that the euro has staying power. The four -- European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy -- have no less a task ahead than spelling out where Europe is actually going. ...
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| Moody's restates French AAA, negative outlook Posted: 24 May 2012 08:44 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - Moody's restated its negative outlook on France's top-notch credit rating on Thursday, saying after Francois Hollande's May 6 presidential election win that it needed more time to assess how France will manage its public finances in a time of anemic growth. Socialist Hollande took over from conservative Nicolas Sarkozy on May 15 and has named an interim government, but ratings agency Moody's said it was waiting to see what happened after June parliamentary elections. ...
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| Exclusive: Fidelity facing "thousands" hit by Facebook woes Posted: 24 May 2012 09:02 AM PDT BOSTON (Reuters) - Fidelity Investments said it was working with "thousands" of brokerage clients affected by trading issues that have engulfed Facebook Inc's much-anticipated initial public offering, according to a source familiar with the situation. The social media site's IPO has been steeped in controversy since it started trading last Friday. Almost a week later, many investors have found that their orders for Facebook were not executed at the prices they thought, said advisers, who declined to be identified because they are not allowed to speak to the press. ... |
| Europe's slump deepens, U.S., China lose momentum Posted: 24 May 2012 06:51 AM PDT  LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The shadows over the global economy darkened this month as the euro zone's private sector contracted, U.S. manufacturing growth slowed and China's once-booming factories faltered, surveys showed on Thursday. In Europe, a downturn that started in smaller states on the euro zone's periphery is now taking root in the core countries of Germany and France, where tepid growth had been the main ballast of support for the euro area economy. "We are very much in a period of weakening global growth. ...
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| EU court to rule on $1.1 billion Microsoft fine on June 27 Posted: 24 May 2012 05:59 AM PDT  LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - Europe's second-highest court will rule on June 27 whether EU regulators were justified in fining Microsoft 899 million euros ($1.1 billion) four years ago for failing to comply with an antitrust ruling intended to make business easier for its rivals. The European Commission imposed the fine - a record at the time - after the U.S. software group failed to provide information to firms with competing products, as had been ordered by the EU watchdog in 2004. The penalty was the first imposed by the EU regulator for non-compliance with an antitrust decision. ...
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| Analysis: Shale energy boom dangles prospect of leap in economic growth Posted: 24 May 2012 08:03 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - America's reliance on fuel imports has sucked vigor from its economy for decades. Now an oil and natural gas boom holds out the prospect for a new era of stronger U.S. economic growth. Vast reserves of natural gas and oil unlocked from underground shale deposits have slashed the price of U.S. natural gas to a fraction of costs in Europe and Asia, making it some of the cheapest energy in the world. That is cutting production costs at U.S. factories, making 'Made in America' a more attractive option and driving investment in everything from foundries to chemical plants. ...
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| MasterCard loses card fee challenge, Visa Europe next Posted: 24 May 2012 07:51 AM PDT  LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - Mastercard lost a challenge to an EU ban on its cross-border card fees in a ruling that puts rival Visa Europe squarely in the sights of European regulators over its charges. Europe's second-highest court on Thursday upheld a 2007 decision by the European Commission which was triggered by retailers' gripes about the world's second-largest credit and debit card network. ...
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| Shareholders sue Facebook, NYSE comes calling Posted: 24 May 2012 07:31 AM PDT  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The fallout from Facebook Inc's messy initial public offering widened on Wednesday as shareholders sued the social network and its bankers while a trading firm revealed a massive loss on the shares and threatened to seek "remedies." The Nasdaq stock exchange also came under further pressure as a source close to the situation told Reuters that NYSE Euronext had opened discussions with Facebook about a potential stock listing there. Nasdaq also faces litigation from angry investors. ...
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| EU urges Greece to stay in euro, plans for possible exit Posted: 24 May 2012 08:19 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders, advised by senior officials to prepare contingency plans in case Greece decides to quit the single currency, urged the country to stay the course on austerity and complete the reforms demanded under its bailout program. After nearly six hours of talks held during an informal dinner, leaders said they were committed to Greece remaining in the euro zone, but it had to stick to its side of the bargain too, a commitment that will mean a heavy cost for Greeks. ...
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| German economy succumbs to euro gloom Posted: 24 May 2012 04:41 AM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - German business sentiment collapsed in May and the manufacturing sector shrank as turmoil in the euro zone unsettled firms, threatening to end the immunity of Europe's largest economy to the troubles surrounding it. Germany's "Teflon economy" has so far avoided the fate of its European peers thanks to strong exports to other parts of the world and healthy domestic demand, and data confirmed on Thursday it grew 0.5 percent in the first quarter. ...
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| Peugeot touts spartan sedan to emerging markets Posted: 24 May 2012 06:31 AM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - PSA Peugeot Citroen unveiled a new sedan for emerging markets and said other pared-down models would follow, as the struggling French automaker seeks to reduce dependence on flagging Western European demand. Through statements and photos published on Thursday, the company offered a glimpse of a compact Peugeot 301 car to be built in Vigo, Spain, and introduced later this year, starting in Turkey. The new car "illustrates the internationalization of the brand", Peugeot said, predicting that it would become one of its global bestsellers. ... |
| April durable goods orders edge up as machinery drags Posted: 24 May 2012 05:37 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Demand for long-lasting manufactured goods rose less than expected in April as companies scaled back plans to add machinery and the military ordered fewer aircraft, suggesting factory activity was losing momentum in the second quarter. New orders for durable goods edged 0.2 percent higher last month, a minimal gain after a revised 3.7 percent drop in March, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. Economists had forecast orders for durable goods, which range from toasters to aircraft, to increase 0.5 percent in April after a previously reported 3.9 percent fall in ... |
| Jobless claims little changed last week Posted: 24 May 2012 05:32 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, government data on Thursday showed, suggesting the labor market continues to expand at a moderate pace. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 370,000, the Labor Department said. The prior week's figure was revised up to 372,000 from the previously reported 370,000. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims unchanged last week. The four-week moving average for new claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends, dropped 5,500 to 370,000. ...
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| China's CIC eyes up to $2 billion stake in Alibaba Group: sources Posted: 24 May 2012 03:58 AM PDT  HONG KONG (Reuters) - Sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp (CIC) is in advanced talks to buy an up to $2 billion stake in Alibaba Group, sources told Reuters, as the Chinese e-commerce powerhouse looks to secure the last of the funding it needs to buy back part of its stake from Yahoo Inc. The involvement of CIC, China's giant sovereign wealth fund which manages around $410 billion in assets, underlines the significance of the deal Alibaba has struck with Yahoo, which returns voting control back to founder Jack Ma. It also emphasises the potential value of the company. ...
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| GM recalls 4,300 cars in U.S. for airbag issue Posted: 24 May 2012 05:08 AM PDT (Reuters) - General Motors Co said on Thursday it is recalling 4,304 Chevrolet Malibu Eco cars sold in the United States to reprogram a module that controls airbag deployments. The U.S. automaker said in what it described as rare cases under extremely aggressive turning, the roof rail airbags in some 2013 model year Malibu Ecos might inflate. It also said in another scenario it described as rarer that the airbags and safety belt pretensioners might not deploy. GM said no crashes or injuries have been reported related to this issue. ... |
| BMW fined for stopping Swiss import cars Posted: 24 May 2012 02:44 AM PDT  ZURICH (Reuters) - BMW , the world's biggest premium carmaker, was fined for preventing Swiss residents from buying its cars abroad in euros after the strong Swiss franc made prices in Switzerland up to a quarter higher. The safe-haven franc has soared since the global financial crisis erupted, prompting many Swiss consumers to cross the border to shop in Germany, France or Italy, importing goods back to Switzerland and hurting the retail sector in the country. ...
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| GM Korea says it won't shift production to Europe Posted: 24 May 2012 04:57 AM PDT BUSAN, South Korea (Reuters) - A top General Motors Co official said on Thursday the automaker has no plans to shift production from its factories in South Korea to Europe, where it recently announced a restructuring at its Opel subsidiary. South Korea's traditionally militant trade unions have threatened "war" with GM if it shifts output of the Chevrolet model from Korea. "Are we looking at (it)? We always do. But do we have anything? No," Sergio Rocha, president and chief executive of GM Korea, told reporters on the sidelines of the Busan International Motor Show in South Korea on Thursday. ... |
| Huawei seeks EU action against InterDigital patent fees Posted: 24 May 2012 04:20 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - World No.2 telecoms equipment maker Huawei has called for EU antitrust regulators to intervene in a dispute with InterDigital, saying the U.S.-based firm is demanding "exploitative" fees for use of its 3G mobile phone patents. Huawei filed a complaint with the European Commission on Wednesday, after failing to reach a deal with the wireless technology patent holder, making it the latest company to take a patent grievance to the EU watchdog. "Huawei ... ...
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| China factory data signals weak first-half growth Posted: 24 May 2012 01:37 AM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's factories faltered in May as export orders fell to two month lows, a private sector survey showed on Thursday, suggesting surprise weakness in April's hard economic data persists even as policymakers seek to shore up growth. The HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index, the earliest indicator of China's industrial sector, retreated to 48.7 in May from a final reading of 49.3 in April. It marked the seventh straight month that the index has been below 50, indicating contracting economic activity. ...
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| Emergency ECB borrowing jumps as mainstream funding cut Posted: 24 May 2012 01:35 AM PDT  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Banks took almost 4 billion euros of overnight ECB loans on Thursday, the highest since a Greek debt restructuring-fuelled jump in mid-March and dovetailing with Greek banks being cut off from mainstream ECB funding. Banks are usually reluctant to use the ECB's instant access facility - also known as its emergency window - because it charges 0.75 percentage points more interest than normal ECB funding. Thursday's uptake of 3. ...
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| Suntech says Europe could deal lethal blow Posted: 24 May 2012 03:18 AM PDT  SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd, the world's biggest solar panel maker, said Europe could follow the United States in levying punitive tariffs on Chinese solar panel imports, dealing a "lethal" blow to the industry. The United States hit Chinese solar companies with anti-dumping tariffs of about 31 percent last week, further denting the outlook for an industry grappling with falling margins, oversupply and subsidy cuts in top European markets. The U.S. ruling stems from a complaint filed last October by the U.S. subsidiary of Germany's SolarWorld AG, and six other U. ...
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| Aviva adds South Korea, Sri Lanka to Asia exit list: sources Posted: 23 May 2012 11:50 PM PDT  HONG KONG (Reuters) - British insurer Aviva plc is putting its South Korean and Sri Lankan businesses on the auction block, sources with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday, as part of a wider retreat from sub-scale Asian markets in a deal that could fetch around $150 million. Britain's second-biggest insurer laid out plans last week to sell underperforming businesses globally, a strategy aimed in part at raising money to protect against its euro zone exposure, which is bigger than that of its rivals. ...
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| MasterCard loses challenge against EU fees ruling Posted: 24 May 2012 12:58 AM PDT  LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - Europe's second-highest court on Thursday threw out MasterCard's challenge against an EU ban on its cross-border credit card fees. The European Commission said in its December 2007 decision that MasterCard's cross-border multilateral interchange fee (MIF) levied on retailers' credit and debit card transactions breached EU antitrust rules and had to be changed. The world's second-largest credit and debit card network then took its case to the Luxembourg-based General Court. ...
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| H-P leads Dow average; indexes waver Posted: 24 May 2012 08:54 AM PDT  Stocks are flipping between slight gains and losses in midday trading.
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| Rich-poor divide reopens at UN climate talks Posted: 24 May 2012 08:49 AM PDT  U.N. climate talks ran into gridlock Thursday as a widening rift between rich and poor countries risked undoing some advances made last year in the decades-long effort to control carbon emissions that scientists say are overheating the planet.
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| German opposition: Merkel embraces growth pact Posted: 24 May 2012 08:49 AM PDT  Germany's opposition leader says Chancellor Angela Merkel has accepted the need to add a separate set of measures promoting growth to the European Union's treaty enshrining fiscal discipline.
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| News Corp. lobbyist testifies on UK govt contacts Posted: 24 May 2012 08:42 AM PDT  A lobbyist for Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. testified Thursday that he thought a U.K. government minister knew that one of his aides was providing Murdoch's company with information on its bid to take over the British Sky Broadcasting satellite network.
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| Italy's Monti sees eurobonds 'not in too long' Posted: 24 May 2012 08:34 AM PDT  Italian Premier Mario Monti says so-called eurobonds, debt issued jointly by countries in the eurozone, should be considered soon to help the region overcome its financial crisis.
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| Auction of Ronald Reagan blood vial canceled Posted: 24 May 2012 08:33 AM PDT  A European auction house Thursday canceled the planned online sale of a vial containing dried blood residue said to be from Ronald Reagan after complaints from the late U.S. president's family and foundation.
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| Weekly US jobless aid applications dip to 370,000 Posted: 24 May 2012 08:28 AM PDT  The number of people seeking unemployment benefits changed little last week, signaling modest job growth.
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| US durable goods orders up 0.2 percent in April Posted: 24 May 2012 08:26 AM PDT  Orders for long-lasting factory goods edged up slightly in April. But a measure of tracks business investment spending fell for a second straight month.
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| Auction of Ronald Reagan blood vial cancelled Posted: 24 May 2012 08:25 AM PDT A European auction house Thursday cancelled the planned online sale of a vial containing dried blood residue said to be from Ronald Reagan after complaints from the late U.S. president's family and foundation. |
| Euro gains vs dollar after hitting 22-month low Posted: 24 May 2012 08:25 AM PDT The euro is recovering slightly against the dollar after falling to a nearly two-year low overnight. |
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