| Yen on defensive on U.S. fiscal worry, helps Nikkei Posted: 24 Dec 2012 09:52 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Uncertainty over whether U.S. lawmakers will strike a deal by an end-of-year deadline to avert a severe fiscal retrenchment undermined the yen and bolstered Japanese shares on Tuesday in low volume, with many participants away on Christmas holiday. The dollar rose to a 20-month high of 84.965 yen early on Tuesday in Asia, as Japanese markets caught up with global investors who had reacted overnight to incoming Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's weekend comments that raised the pressure on the Bank of Japan. ...
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| Japan's incoming PM keeps up pressure on BOJ to attack deflation Posted: 25 Dec 2012 12:54 AM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Incoming Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe kept up his calls on Tuesday for the Bank of Japan to drastically ease monetary policy by setting an inflation target of 2 percent, and repeated that he wants to tame the strong yen to help revive the economy. Abe, a security hardliner who will be sworn in as premier on Wednesday, when he is also expected to appoint his cabinet, is prescribing a mix of aggressive monetary policy easing and big fiscal spending to beat deflation and rein in the strong yen. ...
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| Lawmakers play waiting game with 'fiscal cliff' deadline in sight Posted: 24 Dec 2012 08:11 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With only a week left before a deadline for the United States to go over a "fiscal cliff," lawmakers played a waiting game on Monday in the hope that someone will produce a plan to avoid harsh budget cuts and higher taxes for most Americans from New Year's Day. Though Republicans and Democrats have spent the better part of a year describing a plunge off the cliff as a looming catastrophe, the nation's capital showed no outward signs of worry, let alone impending calamity. The White House has set up shop in Hawaii, where President Barack Obama is vacationing. ...
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| Hitachi CEO: Still in talks on Lithuania nuclear project Posted: 25 Dec 2012 01:31 AM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Hitachi Ltd remains in talks with Lithuania over its plans to build a nuclear plant after the European country's new centre-left government said it could shelve nuclear projects, the company's top executive said on Tuesday. Hitachi, a century-old conglomerate that designs and builds nuclear power plants with General Electric Co in two joint ventures, has shifted its focus overseas as Japan shuns nuclear energy in the wake of the worst radiation crisis in 25 years at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant last year. ...
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| Sony says China business has recovered, foresees growth Posted: 24 Dec 2012 11:45 PM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - Sony Corp's business in China has "more or less" returned to levels seen before recent protests against Japan's actions over a group of disputed islands, the Japanese company's China chief, Nobuki Kurita, told reporters on Tuesday. Calls for boycotts of Japanese products broke out across China in September after Japan nationalized two of a group of disputed East China Sea islands, known as the Diaoyu in Chinese and the Senkaku in Japanese, by purchasing them from their private owners. ...
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| Chevron to buy stake in Kitimat LNG from Encana, EOG Posted: 24 Dec 2012 10:49 AM PST  CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Chevron Corp said on Monday it will enter the Canadian liquefied natural gas business with the acquisition of the 50 percent stake in the Kitimat LNG project held by Encana Corp and EOG Resources Inc. Chevron will take Encana's and EOG's 30 percent stakes in the LNG-export project for an undisclosed price as the No.2 U.S. oil company looks to jumpstart North American natural gas exports. ...
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| Instagram furor triggers first class action lawsuit Posted: 24 Dec 2012 11:45 AM PST  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook's Instagram photo sharing service has been hit with what appears to be the first civil lawsuit to result from changed service terms that prompted howls of protest last week. In a proposed class action lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court on Friday, a California Instagram user leveled breach of contract and other claims against the company. "We believe this complaint is without merit and we will fight it vigorously," Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said in an e-mail. ...
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| New Jersey pension fund sues NYSE Euronext on ICE deal Posted: 24 Dec 2012 02:08 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - A pension fund that holds shares of NYSE Euronext has sued the exchange operator over its proposed $8.2 billion sale to IntercontinentalExchange Inc , saying the deal undervalues the company's stock. The New Jersey Carpenters Pension Fund late on Friday filed a complaint in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan contending that NYSE Euronext breached its duty to maximize returns for shareholders. The lawsuit seeks class action status on behalf of other NYSE Euronext shareholders and aims to block the sale. ...
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| Retailers hope late Christmas shoppers bring good cheer Posted: 24 Dec 2012 12:07 PM PST  CHICAGO/WHITE PLAINS, New York (Reuters) - Retailers limped into Christmas with last-minute blowout deals on everything from TVs to celebrity-branded clothing, after a disappointing few weeks of sales led many analysts to lower their expectations for the holiday season. Some industry watchers said shoppers were making smaller purchases, even though they are still visiting stores and browsing online. Since the holiday quarter can account for about 30 percent of annual sales and half of profit for many chains, such small distinctions can be crucial. ...
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| Shoppers found bigger sales, smaller crowds Posted: 24 Dec 2012 11:34 AM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers who waited until the final days before Christmas were rewarded with big bargains and lighter crowds. But their last-minute deal hunting may hurt stores.
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| Health care tax hikes for 2013 may be just a start Posted: 25 Dec 2012 08:59 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — New taxes are coming Jan. 1 to help finance President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Most people may not notice. But they will pay attention if Congress decides to start taxing employer-sponsored health insurance, one option in play if lawmakers can ever agree on a budget deal to reduce federal deficits.
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| Storms, tornado threats for Christmas around US Posted: 25 Dec 2012 07:45 AM PST  NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Freezing rain and sleet made for a sloppy Christmas morning trek in parts of the nation's midsection on Tuesday, while residents along the Gulf Coast braced for thunderstorms, high winds and the possibility of tornadoes.
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| Over the fiscal cliff: How hard a landing? Posted: 25 Dec 2012 05:55 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Efforts to save the nation from going over a year-end "fiscal cliff" were in disarray as lawmakers fled the Capitol for their Christmas break. "God only knows" how a deal can be reached now, House Speaker John Boehner declared.
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| Netflix says video streaming service hit by outage Posted: 25 Dec 2012 05:58 AM PST SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Families across the United States will have to rely on other sources of entertainment after Netflix's video streaming service was hit by a Christmas Eve outage. |
| Iraqi telecom Asiacell hopes to raise $1.3 billion Posted: 25 Dec 2012 05:51 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — Asiacell, one of Iraq's three mobile service providers, said Tuesday it is looking to raise $1.3 billion through what would be the country's biggest stock offering yet. |
| Iraq's northern Kurdish region stops oil exports Posted: 25 Dec 2012 06:02 AM PST  BAGHDAD (AP) — An Iraqi Kurdish official said on Tuesday that the country's self-ruled northern Kurdish region has suspended oil exports over a payment row with Baghdad, a development that could add to already souring relations between the Kurds and the Arab-led central government.
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| Japan stocks rally as yen continues to weaken Posted: 25 Dec 2012 01:05 AM PST  BANGKOK (AP) — Japan's benchmark stock index jumped Tuesday as a softening yen helped boost the country's powerhouse export sector. The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo rallied 1.4 percent to close at 10,080.12, with export shares leading the way.
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| 'Hobbit' holds on at $36.9M, 'Reacher' does $15.6M Posted: 24 Dec 2012 02:33 PM PST LOS ANGELES (AP) — "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" easily defended its box-office title, remaining the No. 1 film for a second weekend with $36.9 million. |
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