| Wall Street flat, trading cautious; Obama to speak on "cliff" Posted: 30 Nov 2012 08:34 AM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Friday as investors were hesitant to make big bets ahead of a statement by President Obama on the progress of budget talks in Washington that have recently driven volatility in financial markets. U.S. President Barack Obama, visiting a factory in Pennsylvania, will press his case on raising taxes on the wealthy to narrow the deficit. He is expected to make a statement around midday that is likely to impact markets. ...
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| Exclusive: Chevron, Transocean back Brazil spill conduct change Posted: 30 Nov 2012 08:29 AM PST  RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Chevron Corp and Transocean Ltd have agreed to change offshore safety and operating procedures as part of a lawsuit seeking nearly $20 billion in damages for a November 2011 oil spill, Brazilian public prosecutors told Reuters on Friday. The agreement, known as a "change-of-conduct accord," was drafted at the companies' request with federal prosecutors who are handling two civil lawsuits against Chevron and Transocean, the prosecutors' press office in Rio de Janeiro said. The lawsuits are the largest-ever environmental prosecutions in Brazil. ...
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| Consumer spending, income stall; Sandy a factor Posted: 30 Nov 2012 08:33 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer spending fell in October for the first time in five months and income growth stalled, leading some economists to cut already weak estimates of fourth-quarter economic growth. Superstorm Sandy was partly to blame for the pullback in spending as the quarter started, but economists said the data on Friday also underscored the economy's fundamental weakness. The Commerce Department said consumer spending fell 0.2 percent after a 0.8 percent increase in September. Income growth was flat as wages and salaries dropped 0. ...
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| Obama takes "fiscal cliff" on the road; Republicans stew Posted: 30 Nov 2012 04:37 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, reapplying his re-election campaign theme of protecting the middle class, heads to Pennsylvania on Friday suggesting that Republicans could spoil Christmas by driving the country over the "fiscal cliff." The president's road trip, visiting a factory that makes Tinkertoys, is infuriating Republicans, with House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner calling it a "victory lap" Thursday as he rejected Obama's proposals to avoid the cliff, which is a combination of tax increases and spending cuts set to start taking effect in January. ...
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| Revived Chrysler rewards hourly workers with early bonus Posted: 30 Nov 2012 08:22 AM PST  (Reuters) - Chrysler group LLC said on Friday it will pay its hourly workers represented by the United Auto Workers union the second half of a $3,500 ratification bonus earlier than required by a labor agreement. The company said the early payment, which will be made on December 21, was to acknowledge the "dedication" of the workers as the U.S. automaker's sales have grown. ...
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| Insight: EBay's double tax base prompts calls for investigation Posted: 30 Nov 2012 07:27 AM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain and Germany may have missed out on a combined $1 billion in sales tax since online marketplace eBay picked a tiny Luxembourg office as its base for EU sales, a shift that lawmakers say should now be investigated. EBay's nomination of Luxembourg unit eBay Europe Sarl - with a staff of nine - as its provider of services to EU clients allows it to charge customers in Europe a low rate of sales tax, often known as Value Added Tax, helping it to compete against rivals. However, the unit doesn't actually receive the money from sales. ...
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| Spain's Caixabank signs insurance deal with Berkshire Posted: 30 Nov 2012 07:18 AM PST  MADRID/BOSTON (Reuters) - Spain's Caixabank said it sealed a reinsurance agreement for the transfer of its life insurance portfolio to Berkshire Hathaway , the conglomerate run by billionaire Warren Buffett. Berkshire will pay Caixabank's insurance unit VidaCaixa a fee of 600 million euros ($779 million) and the Spanish bank will book 524 million euros in capital gains for the deal, the lender said. U.S. ...
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| Brazil economy surprisingly weak, adds to global fears Posted: 30 Nov 2012 08:16 AM PST  SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's economy posted extremely disappointing growth in the third quarter, piling pressure on President Dilma Rousseff to make deeper structural reforms and adding to fears that big emerging markets are getting dragged into the stagnant morass of the global economy. The economy expanded just 0.6 percent in the third quarter from the second quarter, government statistics agency IBGE said on Friday. That was just half the pace expected by financial markets, and below any of the forecasts by 42 analysts in a Reuters poll. ...
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| German lawmakers approve Greek bailout despite qualms Posted: 30 Nov 2012 04:44 AM PST  BERLIN (Reuters) - German lawmakers approved the latest bailout for Greece on Friday by a large majority despite growing unease about the cost to taxpayers less than a year before federal elections. The outcome of the vote in the lower house was never in doubt but it was a test of Angela Merkel's authority over her center-right coalition. She did not manage to draw an absolute majority from her own ranks after 23 of her lawmakers rebelled. But with the main opposition Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens voting in favor with most of Merkel's bloc, the revolt had only symbolic value. ...
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| J&J CEO Gorsky elected chairman, replacing Weldon Posted: 30 Nov 2012 07:45 AM PST (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson has named Chief Executive Alex Gorsky as the chairman of its board of directors, effective December 28, replacing current chairman Bill Weldon, the company said on Friday. Gorsky, a former vice chairman of the diversified healthcare company, became chief executive on April 26, replacing Weldon, who had served as CEO for a decade. But Weldon had retained his role as chairman, as the company continued attempts to fix manufacturing problems that have sparked recalls of Tylenol and many other over-the-counter consumer brands during the past three years. ... |
| VeriSign wins .com renewal, but can't hike prices Posted: 30 Nov 2012 08:51 AM PST The federal government has cleared VeriSign Inc. to run the key directories that keep track of ".com" domain names for another six years, but the company won't be allowed to raise prices without prior approval. |
| Shoppers' habits not changed by garment plant fire Posted: 30 Nov 2012 07:57 AM PST  Before purchasing a shirt, shoppers will run their hands over the fabric, look at the price tag and wonder how it will hold up in the washing machine. Some might even ask if it makes them look fat.
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| Stocks edge lower as investors wait on budget Posted: 30 Nov 2012 08:57 AM PST Stocks are edging down in midday trading on Wall Street as lawmakers seek to thrash out a budget agreement. |
| Sandy slowed US consumer spending and pay in Oct. Posted: 30 Nov 2012 07:33 AM PST  Americans cut back on spending last month while their income remained flat. The weakness in part reflected disruptions from Superstorm Sandy that could slow economic growth for the rest of the year.
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| Pressuring GOP, Obama takes his fiscal plan to Pa. Posted: 30 Nov 2012 07:54 AM PST  President Barack Obama is taking his case for avoiding a potentially unsettling "fiscal cliff" to the Philadelphia suburbs, employing campaign-style tactics in hopes of mobilizing public support for his plan to hike taxes on the wealthy. The trip comes amid signs of impatience in the negotiations between Republican leaders and the White House.
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| Eurozone unemployment hits another record high Posted: 30 Nov 2012 07:59 AM PST  Another month, another record unemployment rate for the economy of the 17 European Union countries that use the euro.
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| AP source: Strauss-Kahn, NY hotel maid to settle Posted: 30 Nov 2012 07:56 AM PST  Word of a settlement agreement between former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and a hotel maid who accused him of trying to rape her could bring an end to a saga that has tarnished Strauss-Kahn's reputation, ended his hopes for the French presidency and renewed a debate about the credibility of sexual assault accusers.
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| Congress looks at doing away with the $1 bill Posted: 30 Nov 2012 08:06 AM PST  American consumers have shown about as much appetite for the $1 coin as kids do their spinach. They may not know what's best for them either. Congressional auditors say doing away with dollar bills entirely and replacing them with dollar coins could save taxpayers some $4.4 billion over the next 30 years.
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| J&J board picks CEO to replace retiring chairman Posted: 30 Nov 2012 07:38 AM PST Johnson & Johnson Chairman Bill Weldon will step down from that post in late December and the world's biggest maker of health products has picked new CEO Alex Gorsky to replace him. |
| Drugmaker Ranbaxy halts generic Lipitor production Posted: 30 Nov 2012 08:42 AM PST Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc. has halted production of generic cholesterol drug Lipitor while it investigates how tiny glass particles got into dozens of batches of the drug that were recalled in November. |
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