| Wall Street slides; S&P below key level Posted: 31 May 2012 08:17 AM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 was heading for its worst month since September after falling back below 1,300 on Thursday as a slew of economic reports indicated the U.S. economy may have stalled and the euro zone's debt crisis cast doubt on global growth prospects. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 95.32 points, or 0.77 percent, to 12,324.54. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 13.75 points, or 1.05 percent, to 1,299.57. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 33.46 points, or 1.18 percent, to 2,803.90. (Reporting By Edward Krudy, editing by Dave Zimmerman)
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| Jobs data points to loss of momentum in recovery Posted: 31 May 2012 08:55 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Private payroll growth accelerated only slightly last month and claims for jobless benefits rose last week, suggesting the U.S. labor market recovery was stalling after a strong performance early in the year. Other data on Thursday showed factory activity in the Midwest slowed considerably this month and economic growth in the first quarter was a bit softer than initially estimated. Economists said the reports reflected business anxiety amid an uncertain global economic outlook as the euro zone debt crisis escalates and China's economy slows. ...
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| Retailers report strong May same-store sales Posted: 31 May 2012 05:08 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Several top retailers reported stronger-than-expected sales in May, as shoppers overcame growing anxiety about the U.S. economy and the job market. Victoria's Secret parent Limited Brands Inc said on Thursday that sales at stores open at least a year had risen 6 percent in the four weeks ended May 26. The report came the day after department store chain Macy's Inc posted a 4.2 percent increase. Both companies beat Wall Street forecasts, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. ...
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| Facebook shares head south again, set new trough Posted: 31 May 2012 08:53 AM PDT  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares in Facebook Inc kept up their downward march on Thursday, cracking under $27 to set a record low and shedding almost $30 billion in market value since a botched May 18 initial public offering. Facebook, the No. 1 Internet social network and the first U.S. company to debut with a market capitalization of more than $100 billion, slid 3.1 percent to $27.32 at midday after dipping to a low of $26.83. S&P Capital IQ cut its target on the stock to $27 from $30. The company debuted at $38, which many analysts now deem over-priced. It maintained a "sell" rating. ...
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| Wal-Mart ending membership in conservative group Posted: 31 May 2012 06:17 AM PDT  ROGERS, Arkansas (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's No. 1 retailer and the biggest seller of firearms in the United States, is dropping out of a U.S. conservative advocacy group that has been a lightning rod over voting and gun laws. Wal-Mart said late Wednesday it is suspending membership in the American Legislative Council (ALEC), which the retailer joined in 1993. ALEC sparked controversy recently because of its involvement in voting laws and in "stand your ground" gun laws, including the one under scrutiny in the Florida killing of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February. ...
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| Xstrata to vote on July 12 on Glencore deal Posted: 31 May 2012 09:01 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Shareholders in miner Xstrata will vote on July 12 on commodities trader Glencore's $30 billion all-share takeover bid, leaving the companies weeks to woo waverers over to one of the sector's largest ever deals. Shareholders in Glencore, which already owns almost 34 percent of Xstrata, will vote on July 11. The structure of the deal, which requires at least 75 percent of shareholders excluding Glencore to approve it, means opposition from investors representing just over 16.5 percent of Xstrata's total shareholding would be enough to derail it. ...
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| Jamie Dimon to appear before Senate panel on June 13 Posted: 31 May 2012 07:19 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase and Co Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon will testify before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on June 13 to discuss the bank's recent trading losses, the committee said on Thursday. The committee had previously asked Dimon to appear on June 7. "June 13 is the only date in June that works for both the Senate Banking Committee and Mr. Dimon," the committee said in a statement. ...
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| Goldman CEO Blankfein to testify at Gupta trial Posted: 31 May 2012 08:35 AM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein will testify at the insider-trading trial of the investment bank's former director Rajat Gupta, a prosecutor said in court on Thursday. Assistant Attorney Reed Brodsky told the judge in New York during a jury break that Blankfein could be preceded by seven other government witnesses, making it likely he would take the stand sometime next week. ...
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| Money flies out of Spain, regions pressured Posted: 31 May 2012 06:34 AM PDT  MADRID (Reuters) - Spaniards alarmed by the dire state of their banks are squirreling money abroad at the fastest rate since records began, figures showed on Thursday, and the credit ratings of eight regions were cut. Spain is the next country in the firing line of the euro zone's debt crisis, with spendthrift regions and shaky banks threatening to blow a hole in state finances and pushing funding costs towards levels that signal the need for a bailout. ...
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| ECB, EU officials warn euro's survival at risk Posted: 31 May 2012 07:44 AM PDT BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Central Bank stepped up pressure on Thursday for a joint guarantee for bank deposits across the euro zone, saying Europe needed new tools to fight bank runs as the bloc's debt crisis drives investors to flee risk. The European Commission's top economic official, Olli Rehn, warned that the single currency area could disintegrate without stronger crisis-fighting mechanisms and tough fiscal discipline. ... |
| Volkswagen's German workers win 4.3 percent pay rise Posted: 31 May 2012 08:49 AM PDT HANOVER, Germany (Reuters) - Volkswagen will grant workers at its German factories a 4.3 percent pay increase despite difficulties in core western European markets amid the euro zone debt crisis. The 97,000 workers at VW's six western German plants and 5,000 employees at the financial services division will receive the additional pay over 13 months, starting June 1, Europe's largest carmaker said on Thursday. Under the new contract, as many as 3,000 temporary workers will be hired permanently. ... |
| Analysis: SABMiller faces long haul to turn around Foster's Posted: 31 May 2012 07:20 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - World No.2 brewer SABMiller is set for a tough battle to turnaround its Australian Foster's acquisition as its beer volumes sink and it loses key import contracts which will stretch management to meet new aggressive targets. Investors are unconvinced that SABMiller, which has built up its business around fast-growing emerging markets to become the biggest brewer there, made the right move in buying the No.1 player in mature market Australia when its beer volumes, profit and market share were all going south. ...
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| Analysis: Dewey's bankruptcy: Let the rumble begin Posted: 30 May 2012 10:54 PM PDT  (Reuters) - As law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf embarks on the humbling process of working through bankruptcy, creditors and former partners are bracing themselves for a nasty court battle that could drag on for years. Dewey, a storied firm with deep Wall Street connections, filed for Chapter 11 protection on Monday night. The firm had veered toward collapse over the last six months amid revelations of fat salary guarantees, risky loans and a culture of secrecy. Some former partners have hired lawyers in anticipation of clawback suits by the estate. ...
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| Lagardere surprise no-show at EADS election Posted: 31 May 2012 08:07 AM PDT AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - French media magnate Arnaud Lagardere stayed away from his own election as the next chairman of Airbus parent EADS on Thursday, throwing an unexpected false note into a carefully arranged handover of control at Europe's top aerospace group. Lagardere, whose media group owns 7.5 percent of the world's second largest aerospace company, failed to show up at a shareholders' meeting due to confirm his appointment as chairman under a politically sensitive pact between France and Germany. "Mr Lagardere gave his excuses last night and said he had important matters to do. ... |
| Apple assembly plant conditions still harsh in China: activists Posted: 31 May 2012 03:37 AM PDT  HONG KONG (Reuters) - Working conditions at Foxconn's gargantuan Chinese factories that assemble Apple Inc's slick gadgets have barely improved despite pledges this year to halt labor violations, workers' rights activists and employees said on Thursday. Foxconn Technology Group, Apple's main global contract manufacturer run by Taiwanese tycoon Terry Gou and employing 1.2 million workers in China, has come under fire in recent years for running massive "sweatshops" to mass produce high-end iPads and iPhones. ...
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| Private sector adds 133,000 jobs in May: ADP Posted: 31 May 2012 05:44 AM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - The pace of hiring at companies picked up in May, though the 133,000 jobs created this month came in shy of analysts' expectations, data from a payrolls processor showed on Thursday. Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the ADP National Employment Report would show a gain of 148,000 jobs. April's figure was revised down slightly to an increase of 113,000 from the previously reported 119,000. The report is jointly developed with Macroeconomic Advisers LLC. ... |
| Canada's CGI to buy Logica to create global IT firm Posted: 31 May 2012 08:08 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Canada's CGI Group Inc agreed to buy Anglo-Dutch IT services firm Logica for $2.64 billion on Thursday, giving it the scale and geographical presence to meet multinational companies' demands for global IT contracts. CGI Chief Executive Michael Roach said that despite Europe's economic problems, he believed there was still business to be done in the continent. "We have to be here because our clients are here," he told reporters on a call. "Our clients are globalizing; they have a footprint in North America and they have a footprint here. ... |
| Draghi says EU must spell out clear euro vision Posted: 31 May 2012 03:26 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe's leaders must clarify their vision for the euro quickly to dispel doubts about the currency's future, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Thursday, warning that the Central Bank could not fill the policy vacuum. Adding to growing pressure for dramatic policy action at next month's EU leaders' summit, Draghi said the bloc should break away from the incremental approach that has failed to get ahead of the euro zone debt crisis for more than two years. ...
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| Exclusive: GlaxoSmithKline eyes replacing Human Genome board Posted: 30 May 2012 11:22 PM PDT  NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc plans to launch a campaign to replace the entire board of Human Genome Sciences Inc with its own nominees, stepping up its $2.6 billion hostile bid for the U.S. biotech company, sources familiar with the situation said on Wednesday. The British company has started reaching out to executives in the pharmaceutical industry as well as finance and governance experts who could be nominated as independent directors on Human Genome's 12-member board, they said. ...
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| Exclusive: Ford readies first set of landmark pension buyouts Posted: 31 May 2012 03:54 AM PDT  DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co will pursue its boldest attempt yet to tackle a nearly $50 billion risk to its business when it begins offering lump-sum pension payout offers to 98,000 white-collar retirees and former employees this summer. The voluntary buyouts have the potential to lop off one-third of Ford's $49 billion U.S. pension liability, a move that could shore up the company's credit rating and stock price. It is unclear to Ford, retirees and analysts just how many people will gamble on the offer, which pension experts described as unprecedented in its magnitude and scope. ...
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| Volkswagen's German workers win 4.3 percent pay rise Posted: 31 May 2012 02:48 AM PDT  HANOVER, Germany (Reuters) - German car maker Volkswagen agreed with the IG Metall union to raise wages for western German workers by 4.3 percent over 13 months, echoing a pay contract signed by the union for the country's industry-wide engineering staff. The pay rise for 97,000 VW production workers and 5,000 employees at the company's financial services division will take effect June 1, VW said in a statement. The new pay accord also includes provisions to hire 3,000 temporary workers. ...
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| Fed's Bullard says more quantitative easing unlikely for now, warns on Europe Posted: 31 May 2012 12:15 AM PDT  TOKYO (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve could resort to more quantitative easing if the economy deteriorates, but this situation is unlikely as it is on track for a moderate recovery, an official of the central bank said on Thursday. Europe is a potential risk to the global economy and it is up to European governments to follow a plan that reassures financial markets they can repay their debt, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard told reporters in Tokyo. ...
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| BoE's Bean: some UK firms can't pass on higher costs Posted: 30 May 2012 11:29 PM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - A number of regional businesses in Britain are unable to pass on higher costs including from higher energy prices, Bank of England Deputy Governor Charlie Bean said in a newspaper interview published on Thursday. Bean gave the interview during a visit to local business leaders in Norfolk, in eastern England. "A number of them were talking about the extent to which their margins were being squeezed and they are unable to push through price increases despite the rise in costs which often might be reflected in things like higher energy prices," Bean told the Eastern Daily ...
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| Euro fears spur fresh demand for safe assets Posted: 31 May 2012 04:45 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Demand for safe-haven assets kept German and U.S. Treasury debt yields near record lows on Thursday, as worries over Spain and its troubled banks kept markets nervous, although shares and the euro regained some stability. The single currency and world shares are poised for their biggest monthly drops since last September, while the oil price fall in May is set to be the largest for two years, as the escalation in the euro-zone crisis stokes concerns over its impact on the global economic outlook. ...
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| US Airways, TPG weigh joint bid for American's parent: sources Posted: 30 May 2012 09:03 PM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - US Airways Group and private equity firm TPG Capital may team up to bid for American Airlines' parent, AMR Corp , according to people familiar with the discussions. A partnership with TPG could boost a US Airways bid for its larger rival in several ways. It could give the carrier more financial flexibility, including the ability to pay some AMR creditors in cash. The addition of TPG, which has invested in several airlines before, could also serve as third-party validation of the proposed combination. TPG's interest comes as US Airways, the fifth-largest U.S. ...
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| Malaysia launches $3 billion IPO with eye on poll Posted: 30 May 2012 11:12 PM PDT  KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak unveiled on Thursday the $3.3 billion listing of palm oil giant Felda Global, paving the way for Asia's largest initial public offering so far this year that could also lift his chances of winning a national election. The 58-year-old leader released the prospectus for the IPO of Felda Global Ventures Holdings (FGVH) at an event in the capital Kuala Lumpur that was as much political theatre as a financial announcement. The listing is expected to raise 10.5 billion ringgit ($3.3 billion) based on the price for retail investors of 4. ...
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| Rosengren wants more Fed easing; Dudley, Fisher don't Posted: 30 May 2012 06:06 PM PDT  SAN ANTONIO/WORCESTER, Massachusetts (Reuters) - Underscoring the divide at the U.S. Federal Reserve over its next move, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren on Wednesday called further policy easing to bring down high unemployment even as two other top Fed officials said no further action was now needed. "I believe further monetary policy accommodation is both appropriate and necessary," Rosengren told the Worcester Regional Research Bureau's annual meeting. And if Europe's debt crisis worsens or U.S. ...
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| Fracking at top of Chevron, Exxon meetings Posted: 30 May 2012 09:32 PM PDT  SAN RAMON, Calif./DALLAS (Reuters) - Investor concerns about hydraulic fracturing at Chevron have eased, in contrast to a slight rise at rival Exxon, as the two largest U.S. oil companies faced growing pressure at shareholder meetings to name independent chairmen to improve governance. Groups of protesters descended on the respective annual meetings in California and Texas. ...
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| FTC picks legal sharpshooter for U.S. probe of Google Posted: 30 May 2012 10:02 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When the Federal Trade Commission recently intensified its probe of Internet giant Google , it hired the high-powered Washington lawyer who helped send Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh to the death chamber. With little anti-trust experience but a long record of victory, Beth Wilkinson built a reputation as a tough litigator with cases like that of McVeigh and the defense of Big Tobacco against smokers' lawsuits, and her hiring was seen by some as a sign that the FTC was contemplating a suit against Google. ...
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| Volkswagen says agreed with German workers on wage Posted: 30 May 2012 10:43 PM PDT  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen , Europe's largest carmaker, said it struck a pay deal with Germany's engineering union IG Metall for the bulk of its German workers, without disclosing the outcome. Details of the wage agreement will be published at a press conference at 5.00 a.m. EDT in Hanover, VW added. The union also declined to disclose the outcome of wage talks. VW's German staff representatives met company managers on Wednesday for a second round of in-house pay talks affecting about 100,000 workers in Europe's biggest economy. ...
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| US economy appears weaker ahead of jobs report Posted: 31 May 2012 08:59 AM PDT The U.S. economy is looking slightly weaker one day before a critical report on May job growth. |
| Dow, S&P 500 slump on weak economic reports Posted: 31 May 2012 08:56 AM PDT  U.S. stocks are falling at midday, promising another nerve-wracking day for investors who just endured one of the worst losses of the year.
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| Murdoch's News International sells Wapping site Posted: 31 May 2012 08:54 AM PDT Rupert Murdoch's News International has sold its Wapping location in East London for 150 million pounds ($230 million), leaving behind a site that was a 1980s labor flashpoint and a symbol of the media baron's determination to shake up Britain's newspaper industry. |
| What financial reports reveal about entertainment Posted: 31 May 2012 08:38 AM PDT Here is a summary of recent financial reports for selected entertainment companies: |
| Google offers virtual tours of world famous sites Posted: 31 May 2012 08:26 AM PDT A virtual stroll among the ruins of Pompeii or into the temples of Kyoto is available to anyone with an Internet-connected device through Google's new World Wonders project. |
| American Eagle plane slides off runway at O'Hare Posted: 31 May 2012 08:20 AM PDT Chicago Aviation Department officials say a passenger plane slid off the runway at O'Hare International Airport after it returned there because of mechanical problems. |
| US crude oil supplies grew by 2.2 million barrels Posted: 31 May 2012 08:18 AM PDT The nation's crude oil supplies increased last week, the government said Thursday. |
| Oil drops on disappointing US growth data Posted: 31 May 2012 08:11 AM PDT The price of oil is falling again on reports that the U.S. economy isn't growing as expected. |
| Yield on 10-year Treasury sinks to record low Posted: 31 May 2012 08:10 AM PDT The U.S. government's borrowing rate is falling to a record low on fears that the economy might be hitting the skids even as the European debt crisis continues to roil markets. |
| Polish economy grew at lower pace of 3.5 percent Posted: 31 May 2012 08:04 AM PDT  Poland's economy grew 3.5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, a slowdown compared with last year but still one of the strongest rates in the European Union, according to government data released Thursday.
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