authors list | date_download timestamp[s] | date_modify null | date_publish timestamp[s] | description stringlengths 1 5.93k ⌀ | filename stringlengths 33 1.45k | image_url stringlengths 23 353 | language stringclasses 21
values | localpath null | title stringlengths 2 200 ⌀ | title_page null | title_rss null | source_domain stringlengths 6 40 | maintext stringlengths 68 80.7k ⌀ | url stringlengths 20 1.44k | fasttext_language stringclasses 1
value | date_publish_final timestamp[s] | path stringlengths 76 110 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-29T08:59:56 | null | 2016-08-29T07:36:55 | Track cyclist Anna Meares praised the efforts of the Australian Olympic team during a welcome home ceremony at the Sydney Opera House on Monday, despite a disappointing overall showing in Brazil. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-olympics-rio-australia-athletes-idUSKCN1140KB%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DsportsNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FsportsNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BSports%2BNews%2529.json | http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160829&t=2&i=1151415392&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7S0A0 | en | null | Meares lauds Australian Olympians at home-coming event | null | null | www.reuters.com | Australia's modern pentathlete gold medallist Chloe Esposito prepares to sign autographs for fans during an official welcome home for Australia's Olympic athletes back returning from Rio at the Sydney Opera House in Australia, August 29, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Reed
Sydney's Lord Mayor Clover Moore (C) waves with Australia's Olympic athletes returning from Rio during an official welcome ceremony at the Sydney Opera House in Australia, August 29, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Reed
Sydney's Lord Mayor Clover Moore (C) poses for a picture with Australia's Olympic athletes returning from Rio during an official welcome ceremony at the Sydney Opera House in Australia, August 29, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Reed
SYDNEY Track cyclist Anna Meares praised the efforts of the Australian Olympic team during a welcome home ceremony at the Sydney Opera House on Monday, despite a disappointing overall showing in Brazil.
Australia's 422 athletes amassed 29 medals in Rio, their lowest total since the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, with Meares claiming bronze in the keirin after failing to add a third gold to those she won in Athens in 2004 and London four years ago.
"For some, we came home with personal bests and for some, we fell agonizingly short. But for all who arrived in Rio, we reached to achieve something great," said Meares, Australian team captain and flag-bearer in Rio.
The ceremony ended with a performance by a Japanese drumming group to set the tone for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
(Reporting by Jill Gralow; Editing by Patrick Johnston/John O'Brien) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-rio-australia-athletes-idUSKCN1140KB?feedType=RSS&feedName=sportsNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FsportsNews+%28Reuters+Sports+News%29 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/833c9d3af3374a24f32d35f99edc9bf12d3d5ef10f32dd4882ca05678fa75120.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-27T00:51:01 | null | 2016-08-26T22:32:22 | Impax Laboratories Inc : | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2FidUSFWN1B70OG%3Ftype%3DcompanyNews%26feedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DcompanyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FcompanyNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BCompany%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | BRIEF-Impax Laboratories issues nationwide recall for one lot of ODT | null | null | www.reuters.com | Aug 26 Impax Laboratories Inc :
* Impax laboratories Inc issues voluntary, nationwide recall for one lot of Lamotrigine Orally Disintegrating Tablet 200 mg due to the potential for 100 mg blister cards being packaged in 200 mg containers
* Affected lot was distributed between June 13, 2016 and August 10, 2016 to wholesale distributors and retail pharmacies nationwide Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: | http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1B70OG?type=companyNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=companyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FcompanyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Company+News%29 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/cd4508754b5594bc66ca9bfd9d9c6a79363ec1578b41807285b036fddca3c497.json |
[
"Gerauds Wilfried Obangome"
] | 2016-08-27T11:04:28 | null | 2016-08-27T09:52:58 | Voters in Gabon turned out for an election on Saturday that could mark the greatest challenge yet to President Ali Bongo, whose family has controlled the oil-producing central African nation for nearly half a century. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-gabon-election-idUSKCN112096%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DworldNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2BReuters%252FworldNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BWorld%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160827&t=2&i=1151260933&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7Q05R | en | null | Bongo seeks to prolong 50-year family rule in Gabon vote | null | null | www.reuters.com | Gabon's incumbent President Ali Bongo Ondimba speaks ahead of the August 27 election at a campaign rally in Libreville, Gabon, July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer
LIBREVILLE Voters in Gabon turned out for an election on Saturday that could mark the greatest challenge yet to President Ali Bongo, whose family has controlled the oil-producing central African nation for nearly half a century.
Bongo, 57, took over in 2009 when his father Omar died after 42 years in power, and he won a poll in the same year. With state machinery and entrenched patronage networks behind him, both lubricated by oil largesse, he is likely to win again this time.
Polls close at 6 p.m. (1300 ET) but results aren't expected until Monday or Tuesday. Land and sea borders were shut at midnight on Friday and will remain so until midnight on Saturday.
Bongo faces nine other candidates - compared with 22 in the last election - but his main rival is veteran diplomat Jean Ping. The ballot paper actually showed 11 names, but one of those, Roland Desire Aba'a, withdrew from the race two days ago.
Ping, 73, has harnessed discontent over a perceived failure to raise living standards, despite vast oil wealth spread over a population of less than two million.
"The Gabonese are suffering. We are not well paid, our children don't live in good conditions. That's why I voted for change," said Marie Ange N'no, 40, a civil servant outside a polling station in the capital Libreville, but she declined to say who she'd voted for.
Gabon, which has just rejoined OPEC after two decades, has a GDP per capita of $10,000 a year, making it one of the continent's richest countries, yet nearly a third of people live below its national poverty line.
"I want to launch a merciless fight against poverty," Bongo said on the outskirts of Libreville on Thursday.
"It must disappear from our country and I will not stop until we have achieved this."
But the country faces worsening fiscal woes owing to a long-term decline in oil output and a sharp fall in the price of crude over the past two years. Efforts to diversify into agriculture and tourism have yet to bear much fruit.
Oil wealth has flowed mostly to the elite -- for a period Gabon was the world's top per capita champagne importer -- trickling down only via its bloated civil service.
During his father's rule, Gabon was a pillar of "La Francafrique", an intricate, shadowy web of diplomacy, commerce and French military might that kept African autocrats in power and gave French companies privileged access to them.
Bongo has tried to shake off this legacy by presenting a modern face with a development program run by technocrats.
"As his son, it is difficult to present yourself as something new and technocratic when the whiff of corruption hangs over from the last administration," said Anthony Goldman, head of West Africa-focused PM Consulting.
Yet the opposition has focused on peddling slurs about whether Bongo is Gabonese or an adopted child from eastern Nigeria, a charge he denies. Tensions between the two camps could yet boil over into unrest.
The mixed-race son of a wealthy Chinese trader, Ping is a former foreign minister and African Union Commission chairman who was once close to Omar Bongo and even had a relationship with his daughter, Pascaline, fathering two children by her.
But he fell out with "Bongo Junior", as Gabonese call the president, leaving the ruling party in 2014 to become an outspoken critic.
Ping faces an uphill struggle, not least because Gabon's one-round system means the winner doesn't need a majority as long as he gets more votes than any others.
Last time Bongo won with just 41.73 percent of the vote.
(Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Susan Fenton) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-gabon-election-idUSKCN112096?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29 | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/2bb51a78b0f9deee60e029e409656301492d90801da7fa3629d059dcc96d9819.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-28T05:04:28 | null | 2016-08-28T03:29:28 | Suspected Kurdish militants fired rockets at the airport in Turkey's main southeastern city of Diyarbakir on Saturday, sending passengers and staff scrambling for shelter, Dogan news agency said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-turkey-security-kurds-airport-idUSKCN1120TS%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DworldNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2BReuters%252FworldNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BWorld%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | Suspected Kurdish militants fire rockets at Turkey's Diyarbakir airport: media | null | null | www.reuters.com | ISTANBUL Suspected Kurdish militants fired rockets at the airport in Turkey's main southeastern city of Diyarbakir on Saturday, sending passengers and staff scrambling for shelter, Dogan news agency said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Four rockets were fired at a police checkpoint outside the VIP lounge, and passengers and staff were taken inside the terminal building for safety, the private news agency said. The attack happened not long before midnight (5.00 p.m. ET) on Saturday.
Broadcaster NTV said the rockets landed on wasteland nearby. There were no casualties and no disruption to flights, Diyarbakir governor Huseyin Aksoy told the news channel.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Diyarbakir is the main city in Turkey's largely Kurdish southeast, where Kurdish militants have waged a three-decade insurgency. The attack comes days after Turkey launched a military incursion into Syria aimed at driving back Islamic State and preventing territorial gains by Kurdish fighters.
Rebels supported by Turkey fought Kurdish-backed forces in northern Syria on Saturday, and Ankara said it had launched air strikes against both Kurdish militia fighters and Islamic State.
Turkey fears Kurdish militia fighters will fill the void as Islamic State is pushed back. It wants to stop Kurdish forces gaining control of a continuous stretch of Syrian territory on its frontier, which it fears could deepen the insurgency by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants on its own soil.
Diyarbakir airport largely handles domestic flights and is served by carriers including Turkish Airlines.
The PKK, which first took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984, is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara, the United States and the European Union. A ceasefire collapsed just over a year ago, and violence has since surged.
(Reporting by Yesim Dikmen; Writing by Nick Tattersall) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-kurds-airport-idUSKCN1120TS?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29 | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/f91d356125a81cefb09cf9531e57fdb2644cc3be3a0de041e2c0e2240a1da70c.json |
[
"Canice Leung"
] | 2016-08-26T13:21:37 | null | 2016-08-23T02:40:04 | A staff lies in a casket next an altar decorated with flowers and balloons as she demonstrates Okuribito funeral's funeral service at the Life Ending Industry Expo in Tokyo, Japan, August 22, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Fnews%2Fpicture%2Feditors-choice%3FarticleId%3DUSRTX2MJ9P.json | http://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160823&t=2&i=1150682180&w=&fh=545&fw=810&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=2016-08-23T024004Z_23849_S1BETWXCLQAA_RTRMADP_0_JAPAN-FUNERAL-EXPO | en | null | Editor's choice | null | null | www.reuters.com | A Canadian Coast Guard ship tows floatation devices used by U.S. partiers to the Canadian side of the St. Clair River between Michigan and Ontario on August 21, 2016. About 1,500 Americans ended up in Canada after getting hit by strong wind and rain. Canadian Coast Guard/Handout via Reuter | http://www.reuters.com/news/picture/editors-choice?articleId=USRTX2MJ9P | en | 2016-08-23T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/b8fc0092ea9ff46b4e99b92bd2f988e7ede133db99aa21fab55f91e8b14e77cd.json |
[
"Ross Kerber",
"Jessica Toonkel"
] | 2016-08-26T18:51:10 | null | 2016-08-26T17:56:41 | A Massachusetts judge on Friday told attorneys to see if they could agree to resolve at least parts of a lingering family dispute over the fate of the empire built by Sumner Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Viacom Inc (VIAB.O). | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-viacom-redstone-idUSKCN11122K.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160826&t=2&i=1151203011&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7P1B3 | en | null | Judge in Redstone hearing urges attorneys to reach agreements | null | null | www.reuters.com | FILE PHOTO: Sumner Redstone, executive chairman of CBS Corp. and Viacom, arrives at the premiere of 'The Guilt Trip' in Los Angeles December 11, 2012. REUTERS/Fred Prouser/File Photo
CANTON, Mass. A Massachusetts judge on Friday told attorneys to see if they could agree to resolve at least parts of a lingering family dispute over the fate of the empire built by Sumner Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Viacom Inc (VIAB.O).
Judge George Phelan gave the instruction before declaring a break in a hearing on Friday that is part of the ongoing legal saga over whether Redstone was mentally competent when he removed former Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman and board member George Abrams from a trust that will determine the fate of his media empire.
The proceedings likely will not affect the removal of Dauman and Abrams from Viacom and Redstone's trust, according to people familiar with the situation.
On Saturday, Viacom announced that it had come to an agreement with Redstone, and his privately-held National Amusements Inc, which owns 80 percent of the voting shares of Viacom and CBS Corp (CBS.N)
Dauman has stepped down as CEO and will receive as much as $90 million in cash and stock-based compensation, according to the agreement.
But Keryn Redstone, who is Shari Redstone's niece and was replaced as a trustee in 2012, is challenging the validity of the settlement agreement because she believes her grandfather is being manipulated by his daughter Shari.
Under the settlement, the board of Viacom added the five directors that National Amusements put forward in June, bringing the board to 15 directors after Dauman departs. Three of those directors are expected to step down after Viacom's annual meeting next year, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters last week.
Despite that settlement, Redstone's granddaughter Keryn Redstone has filed a cross-complaint in connection to Dauman's lawsuit. In a filing on Thursday she also questioned if Dauman's side did enough to assure themselves that Redstone had the mental capacity to understand the terms.
At the hearing on Friday in Norfolk County Probate and Family Court in Canton, Massachusetts, Judge Phelan said that he has "some concerns about what information was being given to Sumner."
Phelan urged attorneys for the various sides to see if they could resolve some of Keryn Redstone's concerns, such as by amending trust documents or arranging for her to speak with her grandfather via a video link.
(Reporting by Ross Kerber; Editing by Nick Zieminski) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-viacom-redstone-idUSKCN11122K | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/408a4b831f4fb2b64dd8210ee19cac369d397512f20318253bbe8135fb72ecf9.json |
[
"Steve Scherer",
"Gabriele Pileri"
] | 2016-08-26T13:21:27 | null | 2016-08-26T12:51:08 | Hopes of finding more survivors faded on Friday three days after a powerful earthquake hit central Italy, with the death toll rising to 267 and the rescue operation in some of the stricken areas called off. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-italy-quake-toll-idUSKCN1110FV%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DworldNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2BReuters%252FworldNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BWorld%2BNews%2529.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160826&t=2&i=1151153598&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7P0KC | en | null | Italy quake death toll hits 267, state funeral planned | null | null | www.reuters.com | A drone photo shows the damages following an earthquake in Pescara del Tronto, central Italy, August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano De Nicolo
Members of a Chinese rescue team are seen following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
A collapsed house is seen following an earthquake at Pescara del Tronto, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
A coffee toy kit is seen on debris outside a damaged house, following an earthquake in Pescara del Tronto, central Italy August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
A woman stands next to a firefighter as he takes out belongings from her house following an earthquake in Pescara del Tronto, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
The interior of a damaged house is seen following an earthquake at Pescara del Tronto, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
A man sits on the rubble of a collapsed building following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
The interior of a damaged house is seen following an earthquake in Pescara del Tronto, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
Rescue workers take a rest following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
A car covered by debris is seen near a collapsed house following an earthquake in Pescara del Tronto, central Italy August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
A car covered by debris is seen following an earthquake at Pescara del Tronto, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
The partially collapsed school is seen following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
A road sign is seen in front of a collapsed house following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
Friars talk with a survivor in a tent camp set up as temporary shelter following an earthquake at Pescara del Tronto, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
Collapsed houses are seen following an earthquake in Pescara del Tronto, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
Two survivors hug at a tent camp set up as temporary shelter following an earthquake in Pescara del Tronto, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
The interior of a damaged house is seen following an earthquake at Pescara del Tronto, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
PESCARA DEL TRONTO, Italy Hopes of finding more survivors faded on Friday three days after a powerful earthquake hit central Italy, with the death toll rising to 267 and the rescue operation in some of the stricken areas called off.
Sniffer dogs and emergency crews continued to scour piles of rubble in Amatrice, a picturesque town popular with tourists which was leveled by Wednesday's quake and where 207 bodies have been retrieved so far.
But in nearby villages, such as Pescara del Tronto, rescuers pulled out after all the missing had been accounted for.
Italy plans to hold a state funeral for around 40 of the victims on Saturday, which will be held in the nearby city of Ascoli Piceno.
A day of national mourning was announced, with flags due to fly at half mast around the country for the dead, who include a number of foreigners.
The civil protection department in Rome said nearly 400 people were being treated for injuries in hospitals, 40 of them in critical condition. An estimated 2,500 people were left homeless by the most deadly quake in Italy since 2009.
Survivors with nowhere else to go are sleeping in neat rows of blue tents set up by emergency services close to their flattened communities.
"It was quite a tough night because you have a significant change in temperature here. During the day, it is very, very hot and at night it is very, very cold," said Anna Maria Ciuccarelli of Arquata del Tronto.
"There are still aftershocks preceded by booms and, for those of us who have just lived through an earthquake, it has a great effect, particularly psychologically," she said.
More than 920 aftershocks have hit the area since the original 6.2 magnitude quake struck early Wednesday.
"We have removed the last bodies that we knew about," said Paolo Cortelli, a member of the Alpine Rescue national service who helped to recover about 30 bodies from Pescara del Tronto.
"We don't know, and we might never know, if the number of missing that we knew about actually corresponds to the people who were actually under the rubble."
The foreigners who died in the disaster included six Romanians, a Spanish woman, a Canadian and an Albanian. The British embassy in Rome declined to comment on reports that three Britons, including a 14-year-old boy had died.
The area is popular with holidaymakers and local authorities were struggling to pin down how many visitors were present when the quake hit. The Romanian Foreign Ministry said 17 Romanians were still missing.
Italy has a large Romanian community, and some of the victims were resident in the country.
FUNERAL
The first funeral of a victim was held in Rome on Friday, for Marco Santarelli, the 28-year-old son of a senior state official, who died in the family's holiday home in Amatrice.
"I cannot find the words to describe the grief of a father who outlives his own children. Perhaps there are no words," Marco's father, Filippo Santarelli, told Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Hardly a single building was left unscathed in Amatrice, which was last year voted one of the most beautiful old towns in Italy and is famous for its local cuisine.
"Amatrice will have to be razed to the ground," said mayor Sergio Pirozzi.
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has declared a state of emergency for the region, allowing the government to release an immediate 50 million euros ($56 million) for the relief work.
He has promised to rebuild the shattered homes and said he would also renew efforts to bolster Italy's flimsy defenses against earthquakes that regularly batter the country.
"We want those communities to have the chance of a future and not just memories," he told reporters in Rome on Thursday.
Italy has a poor record of rebuilding after quakes. About 8,300 people who were forced to leave their homes after a deadly earthquake in L'Aquila in 2009 are still living in temporary accommodation.
Renzi declined to predict when the homeless might be rehoused. "This is not about setting challenges and making promises. We need the pace of a marathon runner," he said.
Most of the buildings in the area were built hundreds of years ago, long before any anti-seismic building norms were introduced, helping to explain the widespread destruction.
Cultural Minister Dario Franceschini said all 293 culturally important sites, many of them churches, had either collapsed or been seriously damaged.
Italy sits on two fault lines, making it one of the most seismically active countries in Europe. Almost 30 people died in earthquakes in northern Italy in 2012 while more than 300 died in the L'Aquila disaster.
($1 = 0.8857 euros)
(This version of the story has been refiled to edit headline)
(Writing by Crispian Balmer and Philip Pullella, editing by David Stamp) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-quake-toll-idUSKCN1110FV?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/241faf9de8203d2ac83579b30c12fc50adec6b31da61c5df055c1a3cf8fc1976.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-29T06:52:11 | null | 2016-08-29T06:26:28 | Woolworths Ltd (WOW.AX) said on Monday the U.S. company with which it had a hardware retail joint venture had started legal proceedings, five days after Australia's No.1 grocery chain said it was exiting the business. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-woolworths-ltd-lowes-court-idUSKCN1140FK.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160829&t=2&i=1151409638&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7S07F | en | null | Australia's Woolworths says hardware JV partner Lowe's takes it to court | null | null | www.reuters.com | A shopper walks out of a Woolworths store in Sydney, Australia, May 12, 2016. Picture taken May 12, 2016. REUTERS/David Gray
SYDNEY Woolworths Ltd (WOW.AX) said on Monday the U.S. company with which it had a hardware retail joint venture had started legal proceedings, five days after Australia's No.1 grocery chain said it was exiting the business.
Woolworths's joint venture partner, Lowe's Companies Inc (LOW.N), has filed a court application in relation to their hardware chain, the company said in a statement.
The Australian company did not give details of the court application but said it "is yet to be served with documents relating to this application".
In a statement, Lowe's said "Woolworths has engaged in oppressive conduct, including by invalidly and in bad faith attempting to terminate" the joint venture.
Woolworths said last week its three-way plan to shut down and sell parts of its home wares business will proceed as planned.
(Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-woolworths-ltd-lowes-court-idUSKCN1140FK | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/6a5ba669a57559f829ab79cb001a9150af4a79020d55f6588430071fa2181172.json |
[
"Steve Gorman"
] | 2016-08-28T14:51:39 | null | 2016-08-28T14:35:29 | Actor-director Nate Parker says he never gave another thought to his trial and acquittal on rape charges in 2001 until forced to confront the issue again as the promotion for his film "Birth of a Nation" was gaining steam this month. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-film-birthofanation-idUSKCN1130N9%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DentertainmentNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252Fentertainment%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BEntertainment%2529.json | http://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160828&t=2&i=1151352553&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7R0DJ | en | null | 'Birth of a Nation' filmmaker reflects on his 2001 rape trial, acquittal | null | null | www.reuters.com | Actor Nate Parker poses at the premiere of his new film ''Non-Stop'' in Los Angeles, California, U.S. February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Fred Prouser/File Photo
LOS ANGELES Actor-director Nate Parker says he never gave another thought to his trial and acquittal on rape charges in 2001 until forced to confront the issue again as the promotion for his film "Birth of a Nation" was gaining steam this month.
In an interview with Ebony magazine published on Saturday, his first since learning in recent weeks that the women who accused him of rape in 1999 had committed suicide, Parker also acknowledged his previous comments to the media about the case were "insensitive."
"When I was first met with the news that this part of my past had come up, my knee-jerk reaction was selfish," he told the magazine. "My only thought was I'm innocent and everyone needs to know."
Parker, 36, whose film about an 1831 Virginia slave revolt is set for commercial release in October, said he was only now coming to terms with issues of "toxic masculinity" and "male privilege" that influenced his "disrespectful" behavior toward women as a younger man.
Parker, who was little known before "Birth of a Nation" made a splash at the Sundance Film Festival in January, has been at the center of a controversy since the 17-year-old rape case involving him came to wide public attention earlier this month.
A debate over whether the artist can be separated from the art has gripped Hollywood, the black community and women's groups, while some civil rights leaders have suggested the media was dredging up the rape case to discredit a powerful story about slave resistance.
An 18-year-old fellow Penn State University student accused Parker, then 19, and his friend, Jean Celestin, of raping her while she was unconscious from heavy drinking.
A jury acquitted Parker in 2001. Celestin, now credited as a co-writer on "Birth of a Nation," was found guilty of sexual assault, but the verdict was overturned on appeal.
Initially addressing the case two weeks ago in interviews with Hollywood publications Variety and Deadline, Parker told Variety, that the case was litigated and, "I was cleared of it. That's that. Seventeen years later, I'm a filmmaker."
His remarks struck many as callous, especially when it surfaced days later that the woman had taken her own life in 2012 at age 30.
Parker wrote in a subsequent Facebook post that he was devastated by news of her death, while reasserting that their encounter had been "unambiguously consensual."
(Reporting by Steve Gorman; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-film-birthofanation-idUSKCN1130N9?feedType=RSS&feedName=entertainmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fentertainment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Entertainment%29 | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/9dadbcb3ec31c41e921a5aca105a460ac3a1eff3af684c338dceb4f2a8d65b1a.json |
[
"Nichola Saminather"
] | 2016-08-29T00:51:56 | null | 2016-08-29T00:46:31 | Most Asian share markets slipped on Monday while the U.S. dollar held firm on Monday after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen indicated an interest rate increase remains on the cards for this year. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-global-markets-idUSKCN11402C.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160829&t=2&i=1151386900&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7S00X | en | null | Most Asia stocks slide on Fed officials' rate comments, dollar firms | null | null | www.reuters.com | SINGAPORE Most Asian share markets slipped on Monday while the U.S. dollar held firm on Monday after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen indicated an interest rate increase remains on the cards for this year.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS slid 0.7 percent.
Japan's Nikkei .N225, bucked the trend and climbed 2.2 percent as the yen weakened against the resurgent dollar.
The case for a rate hike has strengthened in recent months, with a lot of new jobs being created, and economic growth is looking likely to continue at a moderate pace, Yellen said in a speech at the Fed's annual monetary policy conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday.
While Yellen did not give guidance on what the central bank needs to see before raising rates, she said the Fed already thinks it is close to meeting its goals of maximum employment and stable prices. She described consumer spending as "solid" but noted that business investment was weak and exports hurt by a strong dollar.
Comments by the Fed's No. 2 policymaker, Vice Chair Stanley Fischer, following Yellen's speech also bolstered the case for a hike this year.
Asked on CNBC whether a rate hike in September and more than one policy tightening before year end should be expected, Fischer said Yellen's comments were "consistent with answering yes" to both questions, albeit still data-dependent.
Traders remained cautious, however. The odds of a hike in September rose to 30 percent following the comments from 21 percent on Thursday, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool. Traders were pricing in a 60.2 percent chance of a hike in December, up from 51.8 percent on Thursday.
"While the move towards another Fed rate hike will likely cause bouts of consternation in investment markets I don’t see the same degree of uncertainty that we saw around last year’s Fed rate hike," Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital in Sydney, wrote in a note.
"It’s clear from the Fed’s actions this year that it is aware of global risks, the impact of its own actions on those risks and any potential blow back to the U.S. economy and of the impact of a rising U.S. dollar in doing some of its work for it."
The comments from Yellen and Fischer dragged Wall Street lower at the close.
But they proved a boon for the U.S. currency, with the dollar index .DXY, which tracks the greenback against six global peers, jumping 0.8 percent on Friday. It held steady at 95.561 in early trading on Monday.
The dollar surged 1.3 percent against the yen JPY=D4 on Friday to a two-week high, its biggest one-day advance in almost seven weeks. It extended those gains by 0.1 percent to 101.99 yen early on Monday.
The euro EUR=EBS was little changed at $1.1194 after tumbling 0.8 percent on Friday, its biggest one-day slide since July 15.
In commodities, the rally in the dollar drove crude lower. U.S. crude futures CLc1 fell 0.9 percent to $47.22 in early Asian trade.
Investors will be looking to Japan household spending and retail sales on Tuesday, global factory activity readings on Thursday and the U.S. non-farm payrolls report on Friday.
(Editing by Kim Coghill) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUSKCN11402C | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/197ff97e840f8010d0d03f4268978172de5e097a00be560ed3ef0c63e7da5864.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-30T08:51:18 | null | 2016-08-30T08:03:53 | Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) is reviewing its supplier and procurement strategy to avoid another crippling dispute like the one that caused production slowdowns and even stoppages at six plants this month, Chief Executive Matthias Mueller said. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-volkswagen-suppliers-idUSKCN1150OG%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DbusinessNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FbusinessNews%2B%2528Business%2BNews%2529.json | http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160830&t=2&i=1151543678&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7T0B0 | en | null | VW reviews its procurement strategy in wake of supplier dispute | null | null | www.reuters.com | Emblems of VW Golf VII car are pictured in a production line at the plant of German carmaker Volkswagen in Wolfsburg, February 25, 2013. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo
HAMBURG Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) is reviewing its supplier and procurement strategy to avoid another crippling dispute like the one that caused production slowdowns and even stoppages at six plants this month, Chief Executive Matthias Mueller said.
VW suppliers Car Trim and ES Automobilguss, both part of Bosnia's Prevent Group, triggered the disruptions earlier this month by halting deliveries of seat covers and cast iron parts for gear boxes.
"We will of course look into questions such as multi-sourcing, single-sourcing. And we will look at our procurement contracts and try to optimize matters with all suppliers," Mueller told the Hamburg Business Journalists' Club in remarks embargoed for Tuesday.
"One could discuss at length who is to blame for the fact that this situation went belly up, but I will not discuss it any further," Mueller said, referring to the dispute with Prevent Group.
A similar escalation of disputes with other suppliers is less likely since VW's partners tend to be members of VDA, Germany's Auto Industry Association, and follow an agreed code of conduct for resolving disagreements.
Prevent Group, was not a member of the VDA, Mueller said.
(Reporting by Jan Schwartz; Writing by Edward Taylor; Editing by Maria Sheahan) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-suppliers-idUSKCN1150OG?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FbusinessNews+%28Business+News%29 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/d9de22026ddea26e03816e8b020dbdc356f23a07fa91bac1e1e86946bb12013f.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-27T23:02:36 | null | 2016-08-27T22:18:11 | The head of Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) told a German newspaper that he expected a maximum of 300,000 refugees to arrive in Germany this year. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-europe-migrants-germany-number-idUSKCN1120T8%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DtopNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FtopNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BTop%2BNews%2529.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160827&t=2&i=1151304068&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7Q0ME | en | null | Up to 300,000 refugees to come to Germany this year: migration office head | null | null | www.reuters.com | A migrant boy with a shirt that reads ''Germany'' plays with others in a childrens room at a refugee shelter which focuses on women and families, in Berlin, Germany March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Stefanie Loos
BERLIN The head of Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) told a German newspaper that he expected a maximum of 300,000 refugees to arrive in Germany this year.
"We're preparing for 250,000 to 300,000 refugees this year," BAMF head Frank-Juergen Weise told Bild am Sonntag newspaper in comments due to be published on Sunday.
Germans tend to use the word "refugee" to refer to both refugees and migrants who are seeking protection but do not have refugee status.
Weise added that if more people were to come than estimated, his office would come under pressure but suggested he was not worried about such a scenario, saying it was instead likely that fewer than 300,000 would come this year.
Weise said Germany took in fewer migrants in 2015 than previously thought because some were registered twice and others had moved on to other destinations.
"We'll present the exact number soon but it's certain that less than one million people came to Germany last year," he said.
It had widely been believed that 1.1 million migrants entered Europe's biggest economy in 2015 after fleeing war and poverty in their home countries.
Weise said it would take a long time and a lot of money to integrate the newcomers into the labor market.
He said 70 percent of the migrants who had already arrived were fit for employment but added that the majority of them would be dependent on basic social security provision before they manage to get jobs.
He estimated that around 10 percent of the new arrivals had university degrees while around 40 percent do not have formal vocational training but do have practical work experience, he said.
(Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Matthew Lewis, Bernard Orr) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-germany-number-idUSKCN1120T8?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29 | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/55006d63f6aed0b0819b466769903b4dfcbba7f155d73e8db91c18a7c1a09076.json |
[
"Timothy Aeppel"
] | 2016-08-30T14:59:46 | null | 2016-08-30T13:30:28 | One night a month, retired auto workers shuffle into a former elementary school classroom here to discuss their legal fight against the company that cancelled their health care benefits seven years ago. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-usa-insecurity-muncie-specialreport-idUSKCN1151ML%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DpoliticsNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2BReuters%252FPoliticsNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BPolitics%2BNews%2529.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160830&t=2&i=1151581260&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7T0WH | en | null | Special Report: Why an emblematic American city has turned to Trump | null | null | www.reuters.com | Gerald Poor (L) and long time friend and former co-worker Larry Terrell look at the now shuttered BorgWarner factory in Muncie, Indiana, U.S., August 13, 2016. Poor worked at the factory for over 40 years. REUTERS/Chris Bergin
Bruce Reynolds (C) with sons Robert (L) and Bruce Jr., who were once all employed by the now shuttered BorgWarner factory, stand in front of Bruce Reynolds Senior's home in Muncie Indiana, U.S., August 13, 2016. REUTERS/Chris Bergin
Gerald Poor (L) and long time friend and former co-worker Larry Terrell look at the now shuttered BorgWarner factory in Muncie, Indiana, U.S., August 13, 2016. Poor worked at the factory for over 40 years. REUTERS/Chris Bergin
Gerald Poor stands in front of the now shuttered BorgWarner factory, where he worked for over 40 years, in Muncie, Indiana, U.S., August 13, 2016. REUTERS/Chris Bergin
Bruce Reynolds (C) with sons Robert (L) and Bruce Jr., who were once all employed by the now shuttered BorgWarner factory, stand in front of Bruce Reynolds Senior's home in Muncie Indiana, U.S., August 13, 2016. REUTERS/Chris Bergin
Bruce Reynolds (C) with sons Robert (L) and Bruce Jr., who were once all employed by the now shuttered BorgWarner factory, stand in front of Bruce Reynolds Senior's home in Muncie Indiana, U.S., August 13, 2016. REUTERS/Chris Bergin
Gerald Poor (L) talks to long time friend and former co-worker Larry Terrell in front of the now shuttered BorgWarner factory in Muncie, Indiana, U.S., August 13, 2016. Poor worked at the factory for over 40 years. REUTERS/Chris Bergin
MUNCIE, Indiana One night a month, retired auto workers shuffle into a former elementary school classroom here to discuss their legal fight against the company that cancelled their health care benefits seven years ago.
But the conversation often turns quickly to presidential politics.
"It can get pretty heated,” says Gerald Poor, the group’s 77-year-old president, of their political discussions. “I call it to order if it gets out of hand.”
Their anger is understandable. The group is a remnant of a once-powerful United Auto Workers union local, which at its peak in the 1960s represented over 5,000 workers who made transmissions in Muncie for BorgWarner Inc, the global auto parts maker. An American flag drapes the wall at one end of the room, portraits of former labor bosses line the other, salvaged from a union hall that had its own baseball field.
For this group of mostly white, working-class men, the last two decades have brought much loss. In this election – with the victory of the populist Donald Trump as the Republican Party nominee and the strong run by the populist Bernie Sanders for the Democratic Party crown – many say they feel they’re finally being heard again.
Working-class white men were once a force to be reckoned with in American politics. Many here speak wistfully of how John F. Kennedy stopped at BorgWarner to talk to workers when he campaigned in 1960. For these men, this year’s election is a rare taste of the clout they once took for granted.
In the primary, Trump received the most votes of any candidate in either party in Delaware County, which encompasses Muncie. Just over 52 percent of Republican voters went for Trump. Democrats picked Sanders over Hillary Clinton by an even wider margin.
“Candidates in the past made a lot of promises to the working class in this country and failed to follow through with it,” says 66-year-old Bruce Reynolds, who followed his father and grandfather into a career at BorgWarner.
Gazing through the rusted chain link fence that encircles the sprawling, abandoned factory, where he notes with precision that he worked for “32 and a half years,” he says he’s still skeptical of both side’s promises.
THE WHITE SLIDE
Neither Trump nor Clinton was his first choice. Reynolds and his wife voted for Sanders in the primary, he says. Among other things, they couldn’t support Clinton: She’s the wife of former President Bill Clinton, who signed the North American Free Trade Agreement, which many here blame for Muncie’s economic decline. They were uneasy with the often fiery rhetoric of Trump, the other side’s top candidate.
Yet both plan to vote for Trump in November, and Reynolds says they’ve grown comfortable with the choice.
“I know, it sounds like we’re confused,” he says. But they’re not.
Like many Trump supporters, he glides over the unappealing aspects of the candidate’s message to lock onto those that he likes. For Reynolds, it’s the hope of bringing back jobs for his children, some of whom still struggle to find decent work.
Trump’s gloomy world view is often dismissed as hyperbole, such as when he described crime and collapsed economies in America’s cities at the Republican National Convention. But for someone in Muncie, that’s not far off reality.
An analysis by Reuters found Delaware County is an extreme example of the declining fortunes of America’s white working-class men.
In 2000, white men with less than a college degree accounted for about three-quarters of all white men living in the county. By 2014, their proportion had dropped by about 5 percentage points, according to the US Census Bureau. But while this group’s share of the population held relatively steady, the earnings of white men with full-time jobs had fallen dramatically.
In 2000, 47 percent of white men working full time were in the bottom third of earners, with incomes of $50,000 or less, based on 2015 dollars. By 2014, 60 percent of them were in the bottom third.
Meanwhile, the percentage of white men in full-time jobs making between $50,000 and $100,000 dropped from 43 percent to 32 percent. And the percentage in the ranks of earners above $100,000 slipped from 11 percent to 8 percent.
In essence, white men in Muncie have slid down from every rung of the economic ladder. They have clustered at the bottom, poorer and more isolated than ever before, even as the overall U.S. economy has grown and globalized.
MUNCIE AS "MIDDLETOWN"
The same trend is visible in faded industrial pockets from New Jersey and upstate New York to Alabama and Kentucky.
According to the data, in about 1,800 counties across the United States—nearly 60 percent of those where data is available—the share of white men in the lowest group of earners has grown over this period. The trend is particularly pronounced in the Rust Belt states of Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.
Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist at New York University’s Stern School of Business, studies how people adopt their political beliefs. “Trump is the first candidate to speak to—and speak for—working-class white men in a long time,” Haidt says. That separates him from the last two Republican nominees. Mitt Romney, who lost in 2012, didn’t do that, “and John McCain didn’t particularly reach out to that constituency” in 2008.
As for Trump’s extreme positions and outright falsehoods, Haidt notes, “If your hero says things that are untrue, you’ll cut him slack.”
Muncie was once the epitome of America’s muscular manufacturing economy. After natural gas was discovered here late in the 19th century, the city attracted dozens of energy-intensive glass manufacturers, most notably Ball Corp, which built sprawling factories that churned out millions of mason jars.
The auto industry followed, and Muncie became a hub for transmission making. The term “Muncie transmission” is still used by hot rod enthusiasts when talking about gearboxes produced here by General Motors Corp in the 1960s. One particularly powerful version is the “rock crusher,” used in Corvettes and other muscle cars.
BorgWarner, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, has even deeper roots in Muncie than GM. Warner Gear was founded here in 1901 and merged with other businesses to create what became BorgWarner in the late 1920s. Many former workers here still call it Warner Gear.
In the 1920s, a husband-and-wife team of sociologists picked the city to study the values in a typical American community. They called it “Middletown,” to conceal the identity of a place they felt was emblematic of the country as a whole. Muncie residents soon figured out it was all about them.
The Center for Middletown Studies—at Ball State University—has continued the work, compiling oral histories and, in recent years, focused on the devastation of deindustrialization. James Connolly, a history professor who runs the center, says that more than anything else, Muncie’s working-class white men feel a loss of power. When the big factories were humming, the unions were an unstoppable force—not just for getting good paychecks and lush benefits, but a voice in almost everything else.
UNION POWER
To illustrate this power, he cites a locally famous episode from the 1960s, when waitresses at a big downtown hotel went on strike for higher wages.
“A group of police got rough and tried to break up the pickets,” says Connolly. A local union leader—who had nothing to do with the waitresses, other than knowing about them through community connections—called the then-mayor, who was visiting Washington, and “ordered him home” to intervene. The mayor returned and the police backed off.
“The strikers weren’t union members—but there was a system of connections that gave them a sense of control,” says Connolly. With the decline of the unions, working-class people “feel like they’ve been robbed of that voice.”
And yet unions, which were unable to prevent the factory closures that ravaged the city, are often viewed just as suspiciously here as most national politicians are. That tension is visible at the old school where the BorgWarner retirees meet.
The Muncie Delaware County Senior Center was created to give retirees from the big factories--particularly men--a place to go for companionship and activities. One recent day, the room the BorgWarner retirees use was filled with seniors learning line dancing.
“Some people don’t like the photos” of the union leaders, says Jim Shields, a janitor, motioning toward the 10 portraits that adorn the front of the room. They feel the images carry an implicitly political, pro-union message. So, there was a fuss the last time the building was used as a polling station, he said. “We had complaints.” Now, when the BorgWarner retiree group isn’t meeting, Shields carefully drapes a long bolt of fabric over the pictures to conceal them.
Michael Hicks, a Ball State economist who studies manufacturing, says a mix of exasperation with unions and the political elite created the perfect opening for Trump. “It’s always easier to blame a larger force for your problems, whether that’s Mexicans or greedy factory owners,” he says. “But these people aren’t stupid. They know the jobs aren’t coming back.” The bigger concern for many of them, he says, is what will happen to their children.
The Reynolds family is a good example. Bruce Reynolds’s oldest son, Bruce Jr, is a Baptist pastor and is supporting Trump, albeit reluctantly. “I don’t think any of them can fix it,” Bruce Jr says of the fallout he sees from economic hardship in his congregation, from growing drug addiction to broken families.
FROM FACTORY TO WAREHOUSE
Reynolds’s second son, Robert, followed his father into BorgWarner after high school. That job didn’t last. After just four years, he was laid off in 1994 during a wave of downsizing. He and his father say it was a trauma from which he never fully recovered.
“I make $8 an hour less now than I made 21 years ago,” says Robert, who enthusiastically backs Trump. After a series of low-paying jobs, including a stint at Wal-Mart and as a manager of a video store, he now works overnight shifts at a warehouse for $18 an hour. He likes the job, he says, although the company recently cut three paid holidays, including the Fourth of July.
Robert concedes that he finds the Republican candidate’s approach to foreign policy worrisome. “You wonder if something will upset him and he’ll declare war,” he says. “That would be awful.” He also doesn’t like how race and immigration has become a theme in the campaign. “This country was built on bring us your tired, your poor--I think we should honor what our forefathers built,” he says.
But he also doesn’t believe Trump’s message is racist. “I think he’s looking at all the illegal activity going on in the U.S. and how it affects the job market,” he says. “He’s just not very tactful” in how he expresses this. Meanwhile, Trump’s promise to restore the economy is the draw.
To be sure, Muncie has retained some of its smaller factories, and other jobs have come in, including a call center that tracks down delinquent student loans and a Caterpillar Inc locomotive factory that moved into an old plant. But none of these are unionized, and the wages and benefits aren’t as high as the old places offered.
One frustration for locals is that the statistical measures of the economy don’t seem to reflect what they see around them. Muncie’s jobless rate is 5.7 percent, less than one percentage point higher than the national rate of 4.9 percent or Indiana’s 4.6 percent.
But the impact of deindustrialization—including the exodus of over 10,000 factory jobs since 1970 in a city of only 70,000 people—is visible almost everywhere.
Most of the departing companies tore down their factories, leaving lots strewn with weeds and rubble. BorgWarner left a handful of structures—including a 1.2 million-square-foot sprawl of red brick and steel near the edge of town.
The city, especially the once-thriving white working-class neighborhoods on the south side, is now dotted with over 2,000 abandoned houses. Some can’t be occupied because they were contaminated by chemicals left behind by meth labs.
PHOTOGRAPH FROM A HAPPIER TIME
Meanwhile, the FBI recently opened a probe of the city government, which appears to be focused on possible corruption in its blight clearing program and the sanitation district. The FBI wouldn’t comment on the investigation, and Mayor Dennis Tyler said he can’t talk about it. There have been no indictments in the case, and it’s possible no charges will result.
Mayor Tyler, a Democrat, notes the jobless rate stood just under 10 percent four years ago, when he took office, so there’s been improvement. But he understands working-class frustration.
“They feel they’ve intentionally been left behind by trade agreements this country imposed on them over the last 25 years,” says Tyler.
Trump’s appeal here isn’t restricted to working-class white men. Another local supporter is Todd Murray, president and CEO of family-owned Mursix Corp, which makes auto parts including tiny switches that go inside door locks and interior lights. His company has grown rapidly in recent years and now employs over 300 people.
Murray says he knows some of Trump’s trade proposals—such as putting hefty tariffs on goods from Mexico and China—could hit his own business. He exports 60 percent of his output, mostly to Mexico, and operates his own small plant in China. But he insists he’s “not smart enough to know how that would all shake out.” He still strongly favors the Republican standard bearer, who he sees as more pro-business.
But the economy alone doesn’t explain Trump’s appeal. Another family with deep roots at BorgWarner is the Lephart clan. At one point in the 1950s and 1960s, the patriarch and nine of his sons worked there, a fact immortalized in the company magazine by a photo of the group posed on a tall step ladder, each holding a lunch bucket, except for the brother at the top, who holds the family dog.
David Lephart, whose father is one of the nine brothers, avoided the decline entirely through shrewd job-hopping and retraining—but he’s still a Trump supporter. He commutes to a UAW job as a pipefitter at a GM plant in Marion, Indiana. He earns about $100,000 a year, with overtime, he says, and has put both of his children through college.
The 58-year-old says one thing that influenced his transition from Democrat to Republican was talking to his children, whom he describes as part of the “business world.” His son is now a stockbroker in Indianapolis.
“For the first half of my life, I thought Democrat was the only way to be,” Lephart says. “There’s this belief that you can’t be Republican and union—but I don’t believe that any more.”
(Data reporting by Maurice Tamman. Edited by Michael Williams) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-insecurity-muncie-specialreport-idUSKCN1151ML?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FPoliticsNews+%28Reuters+Politics+News%29 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/03495a2f37932d75b5bda67fe21bc82dfb9b966d0d3c4646ee062353579bab83.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-28T23:04:36 | null | 2016-08-28T22:29:35 | About 1,100 migrants were rescued from boats in the Strait of Sicily on Sunday as they tried to reach Europe, Italy's coastguard said. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-europe-migrants-italy-idUSKCN1130VQ%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DworldNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2BReuters%252FworldNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BWorld%2BNews%2529.json | http://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160828&t=2&i=1151379183&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7R0KQ | en | null | Italy rescues around 1,100 migrants in Mediterranean | null | null | www.reuters.com | Migrants walk after they disembarked from Italian Navy ship Sirio in the Sicilian harbour of Augusta, Italy, August 21, 2016. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello
MILAN About 1,100 migrants were rescued from boats in the Strait of Sicily on Sunday as they tried to reach Europe, Italy's coastguard said.
The migrants were picked up from eight rubber dinghies, one large boat and two punts through 11 rescue operations in the Mediterranean, the coastguard said in a statement. It did not mention the migrants' country of origin.
Latest data from the International Organization for Migration, released on Friday, said some 105,342 migrants have reached Italy by boat this year, many of them setting sail from Libya. An estimated 2,726 men, women and children have died over the same period trying to make the journey, often dangerously packed into small vessels unsuitable for the voyage.
Italy has been on the front line of Europe's migrant crisis for three years, and more than 400,000 have successfully made the voyage to Italy from North Africa since the beginning of 2014, fleeing violence and poverty.
(Reporting by Agnieszka Flak; Editing by Bill Trott) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-italy-idUSKCN1130VQ?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29 | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/d66da63930246e51808f82a9eb283c6de281ea36e932102ab5e978c85451bbf6.json |
[
"Heather Somerville"
] | 2016-08-29T03:02:17 | null | 2016-08-29T01:25:13 | High-tech computing company Nutanix has acquired two startups to enhance its data and storage services, as the firm continues to grow its business despite a protracted delay in its initial public offering. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-nutanix-acquisition-idUSKCN11403U%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DtechnologyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FtechnologyNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BTechnology%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | Nutanix acquires two startups amid IPO delay | null | null | www.reuters.com | SAN FRANCISCO High-tech computing company Nutanix has acquired two startups to enhance its data and storage services, as the firm continues to grow its business despite a protracted delay in its initial public offering.
San Jose, California-based Nutanix said on Sunday it bought PernixData, a software company that facilitates data storage, and Calm.io, a development and automation startup, both also located in California.
Nutanix declined to disclose the price of the acquisition.
Adding the new technologies will enable Nutanix to improve the speed of its cloud computing platform and enhance or create new software products, the company said.
The chief executives of both acquired companies said their company culture and technology were complementary with Nutanix's.
"One thing that keeps both these companies going is innovation," PernixData CEO and Co-founder Poojan Kumar said on a call with reporters.
The deal is a move to grow Nutanix's business while remaining in the private market, despite the company filing for an IPO in December. At the time, the company estimated raising $200 million in the deal, but has not yet priced shares.
Investors expected Nutanix - valued at $2 billion after its last financing round - to be among the first companies out in January, but a volatile market battered public technology stocks and put the IPO market into a deep freeze. The market remains challenging, with just 59 deals pricing this year, down 55 percent from the same time last year, according to Renaissance Capital, a manager of IPO-focused funds.
Technology IPOs have been particularly difficult, as buyers are reluctant about valuations. There were no technology IPOs this year until April, and there have been only seven since.
Some experts say the acquisitions will further kick out Nutanix's IPO, as the companies will need time to integrate their employees and technology.
"Larger transactions ... push out IPOs as integration and other aspects of a deal can create one more thing for investors to understand and management teams to articulate," said Kapil Venkatachalam, principal at Technology Crossover Ventures, who was not part of the Nutanix deal.
"The acquisitions of Calm.io and PernixData are completely independent of any IPO process and have no impact on any plans," a Nutanix spokesman said.
Nutanix posted revenue of $114.7 million for the three-month period ending in April, a 12 percent jump over the previous quarter and its strongest quarterly revenue to date. The company, however, is not profitable.
(Reporting by Heather Somerville; Editing by Andrea Ricci) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nutanix-acquisition-idUSKCN11403U?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtechnologyNews+%28Reuters+Technology+News%29 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/db64489426fda2c2048cd2aeeb41889004ea7557a291daa580b2c1bacfed53e7.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-26T18:51:39 | null | 2016-08-26T18:13:08 | A weak area of low pressure located between the northeastern coast of Cuba and the central Bahamas has a 30 percent chance of developing into a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Friday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-storm-atlantic-nhc-idUSKCN111265%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DenvironmentNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252Fenvironment%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BEnvironment%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | NHC says 30 percent chance of cyclone between Cuba, central Bahamas | null | null | www.reuters.com | A weak area of low pressure located between the northeastern coast of Cuba and the central Bahamas has a 30 percent chance of developing into a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Friday.
Environmental conditions could become more conducive for storm development early next week when the system approaches the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Miami-based weather forecaster said.
Another system currently located over the north-central Gulf of Mexico has a 10 percent chance of developing into a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours, the NHC added.
(Reporting by Harshith Aranya in Bengaluru) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-atlantic-nhc-idUSKCN111265?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/c98bdef341eb412b733ad4d34c8185f53f4a0fbb043a64fd047ac37145679e8c.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-27T15:04:31 | null | 2016-08-27T14:00:57 | The Vatican is hopeful it can improve ties with China after decades of tension, the Roman Catholic Church's highest-ranking diplomat said on Saturday, adding that warmer relations would benefit the whole world. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-pope-china-idUSKCN1120HG%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DworldNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2BReuters%252FworldNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BWorld%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160827&t=2&i=1151275367&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7Q0C8 | en | null | Vatican says it has high hopes of better ties with China | null | null | www.reuters.com | Cardinal Secretary of State of the Holy See Pietro Parolin gestures as he speaks during a news conference in Riga, Latvia, May 12, 2016. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
Pope Francis waves as he leads the Angelus prayer in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican August 14, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
VATICAN CITY The Vatican is hopeful it can improve ties with China after decades of tension, the Roman Catholic Church's highest-ranking diplomat said on Saturday, adding that warmer relations would benefit the whole world.
Beijing severed links with the Vatican in 1951 shortly after the Communist Party took power and launched a crackdown on organized religion, with China's new rulers setting up their own church and appointing bishops without the pope's backing.
After decades of mistrust, Pope Francis is pushing to improve relations and his secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, sounded upbeat about the chances of success.
"There is much hope and expectation that there will be new developments and a new season in relations between the Holy Sea and China," he said in a speech in the northern Italian city of Pordenone, which was released to reporters in the Vatican.
"(This) will benefit not just Catholics in the land of Confucius, but the whole country, which boasts one of the greatest civilisations on the planet," he said.
"Dare I say, it would also be of benefit to an ordered, peaceful and fruitful cohabitation of peoples of all nations in a world, such as ours, which is lacerated by so many tensions and so many conflicts."
For the Vatican, a thaw in relations with China would offer the prospect of easing the plight of Christians on the mainland, who have often been persecuted by the authorities.
For China, good relations could burnish its international image and soften criticism of its human rights record.
The Vatican is the only Western state that does not have diplomatic ties with Beijing, maintaining instead formal relations with the Republic of China, Taiwan, which Beijing views as a renegade province.
Parolin made clear the Vatican wanted formal ties. "The new and hoped-for good relations with China, including diplomatic relations, God willing, are not an end in themselves," he said, reiterating that they would be good for world peace.
A Reuters investigation this year suggested the Vatican and China were working on a deal that would fall short of full diplomatic ties but would address key issues at the heart of the divide between the two sides.
"One has to be realistic and accept that there are a number of problems that need resolving between the Holy See and China and that often, because of their complexity, they can generate different points of view," Parolin said.
(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; editing by Andrew Roche) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-china-idUSKCN1120HG?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29 | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/76f3b2e4dc261f5ee25864338efaacd3625e04ed2969df3b837ff9068fdb56de.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-27T15:04:30 | null | 2016-08-27T13:44:38 | Members of the far-right Identitarian Movement scaled Berlin's Brandenburg Gate on Saturday and unfurled a banner to protest against the "Islamisation" of Germany via mass immigration. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-europe-migrants-germany-farright-idUSKCN1120H1%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DworldNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2BReuters%252FworldNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BWorld%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160827&t=2&i=1151274218&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7Q0BV | en | null | German rightists scale Brandenburg Gate to protest immigration | null | null | www.reuters.com | A German police officer searches a member of far right Identitarian movement (Identitaere Bewegung) after the activists staged a demonstration on top of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Stefanie Loos
A German police officer looks at a banner belonging to members of far right Identitarian movement (Identitaere Bewegung) after the activists staged a demonstration on top of Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Stefanie Loos
A German police officer searches the pockets of a member of far right Identitarian movement (Identitaere Bewegung) after the activists staged a demonstration on top of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Stefanie Loos
BERLIN Members of the far-right Identitarian Movement scaled Berlin's Brandenburg Gate on Saturday and unfurled a banner to protest against the "Islamisation" of Germany via mass immigration.
More than a million people, many of them Muslims, flocked to Germany last year from the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere. The IAB German labor office research institute says around 16,000 are still arriving per month.
Around 15 protesters spent about 50 minutes on top of the Brandenburg Gate, a short walk from the German parliament, before coming down, a spokesman for Berlin's police force said.
They hung a banner calling for "secure borders - secure future" from the structure and waved flags bearing the Identitarian Movement's black and yellow logo.
Flyers from the movement said Germans were "becoming a minority" due to immigration and urged people to take action against "Islamisation".
A poll this month showed just over half of Germans thought Chancellor Angela Merkel's migrant policy was bad.
Support for anti-immigrant groups has risen and the right-wing Alternative for Germany is expected to do well in regional elections in Berlin and the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in September.
The Identitarian Movement is being monitored by the Germany's domestic intelligence agency. A spokesman for the agency said this month there were indications the group's activities went "against the free democratic order".
(Reporting by Reuters TV; Writing by Michelle Martin; Editing by Andrew Roche) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-germany-farright-idUSKCN1120H1?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29 | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/e76df8d2f1fff2b26104031d0aa53d239501d5cf4ca50d5d038960c1ceff24dd.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-26T13:19:13 | null | 2016-08-25T16:01:20 | Jetpack pilot Eric Scott shot out of the water and navigated his jet pack above a remote Colorado lake before landing safely, all the while strapped to an 800-horsepower rocket. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-usa-jetpack-idUSKCN1101X9%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DlifestyleMolt.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | Jetpack pilot rockets out of Colorado Lake in stunt | null | null | www.reuters.com | LAKE SAN CRISTOBAL, COLORADO Jetpack pilot Eric Scott shot out of the water and navigated his jet pack above a remote Colorado lake before landing safely, all the while strapped to an 800-horsepower rocket.
Scott, also known as "Rocket Man," performed the 21-second-long feat at Lake San Cristobal in southern Colorado on Tuesday.
Although jet packs have existed for decades now, Scott's stunt highlights how the gadget's technology has evolved.
In 2011, Scott used a rocket pack powered by hydrogen peroxide to deliver the game ball at a University of Michigan football game in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Scott labeled his most recent stunt as the "coolest thing" he has ever experienced.
"The best way I can describe it is to imagine the dramatic change in environment - from water, to air, to land, all while strapped to an insanely powerful machine," said Scott. "It was awesome."
(Reporting by Reuters TV) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-jetpack-idUSKCN1101X9?feedType=RSS&feedName=lifestyleMolt | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/71c7ce29ed8f3671f9621e3a5d7ddd4a03d61369698cb50cfa053cbaf5ad077b.json |
[
"Dave Mckinney"
] | 2016-08-27T00:59:08 | null | 2016-08-26T23:39:55 | Illinois Republican Governor Bruce Rauner urged lawmakers on Friday to allow voters in 2018 to decide whether to change how political boundaries are drawn after the state's Supreme Court a day earlier declared a petition-driven redistricting initiative for this fall's statewide ballot unconstitutional. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-illinois-politics-idUSKCN1112HQ%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DpoliticsNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2BReuters%252FPoliticsNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BPolitics%2BNews%2529.json | http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160826&t=2&i=1151234510&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7P1HA | en | null | Illinois governor urges 2018 vote on 'rigged' political mapmaking | null | null | www.reuters.com | Illinois Gov-elect Bruce Rauner talks to the media after a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington December 5, 2014. REUTERS/Larry Downing/File Photo
CHICAGO Illinois Republican Governor Bruce Rauner urged lawmakers on Friday to allow voters in 2018 to decide whether to change how political boundaries are drawn after the state's Supreme Court a day earlier declared a petition-driven redistricting initiative for this fall's statewide ballot unconstitutional.
Rauner called Illinois' existing political maps, which are drawn by Democrats who control the General Assembly, "rigged and gerrymandered" because they have left a majority of legislative races this fall without challengers to incumbent legislators.
"Our system of government is broken," Rauner told reporters during a stop in Marion, in far southern Illinois. "Two-thirds of our general elections don't have opponents, and we've got to change the system."
The next opportunity for state legislators to put a constitutional amendment before voters comes in two years, when the first-term governor is expected to be in the midst of a re-election campaign.
"Our system has been run by a broken, powerful political machine in Chicago that looks out for itself, not for the people of Illinois, and certainly not for the people of southern Illinois," Rauner said. "We've got to get the power away from that machine, and we can do it with political reform."
Rauner's comments came less than 24 hours after the Illinois Supreme Court ruled 4-3 to uphold a lower court ruling that would keep in place the once-a-decade, partisan-controlled political mapmaking process that has allowed for Democratic majorities in the state legislature and on the elected Supreme Court.
The amendment, if it was placed on November's ballot and passed by a majority of Illinois voters, would have transferred the power of re-drawing legislative districts to a bipartisan commission. More than 563,000 Illinois voters signed petitions backing the amendment.
There were 12 redistricting amendments filed in both chambers during the current legislative session though none won approval in both chambers.
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled the ballot initiative fell outside the scope of permissible ballot initiatives, which may only be used for amendments directed at "structural and procedural subjects" in the constitution pertaining to Illinois's legislative branch.
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Robert Thomas wrote: "Today a muzzle has been placed on the people of this State, and their voices supplanted by judicial fiat."
(Reporting by Dave McKinney in Chicago; Additional reporting by Kim Palmer in Cleveland, Ohio, and Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Eric M. Johnson, Bernard Orr) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-illinois-politics-idUSKCN1112HQ?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FPoliticsNews+%28Reuters+Politics+News%29 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/b38a499bf46822477a7f246a6b73cc114cfb455da50c2211b137d403da56664b.json |
[
"Heather Somerville",
"Subrat Patnaik"
] | 2016-08-30T19:02:38 | null | 2016-08-30T18:39:27 | Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] has plucked a top executive from retail giant Target to help lead the growing ride services company and reshape its image. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-uber-tech-moves-target-idUSKCN1152FB%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DtechnologyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FtechnologyNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BTechnology%2BNews%2529.json | http://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160830&t=2&i=1151620623&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7T1FO | en | null | Uber hires senior Target executive to lead global operations | null | null | www.reuters.com | A photo illustration shows the Uber app logo displayed on a mobile telephone, as it is held up for a posed photograph in central London, Britain August 17, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall/Illustration
Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] has plucked a top executive from retail giant Target to help lead the growing ride services company and reshape its image.
Uber said on Tuesday it hired Jeff Jones, chief marketing officer for Target Corp, to oversee the bulk its global operations. Jones will be president of ride-sharing at Uber, running local Uber services in every city, as well as marketing efforts and customer support.
Target said Jones would leave his current post on Sept. 9.
The hire marks a move by Uber, which has become the dominant on-demand ride service, to bolster its reputation and brand. The company has since 2009 expanded to more than 450 cities, often by steamrolling regulators and launching campaigns against lawmakers until local officials relented.
Jones joined Target in 2012 to help rejuvenate the retailer's brand and is credited with creating more innovative digital ad campaigns. Prior to that, he led marketing for Gap Inc and worked for Coca-Cola and advertising firm McKinney.
Uber Chief Executive Travis Kalanick said in a blog post that he and Jones met in February and "within minutes we were debating how Uber could improve its reputation." (ubr.to/2cclIj5)
Kalanick said he wants to align Uber's marketing functions more closely with individual city operations and put more focus on customer service. Uber has local offices in most of the regions where it operates.
Uber's global operations spans dozens of countries and about 1.5 million drivers. The company has completed more than 2 billion rides and raised more than $13 billion. It is valued in the private market at $68 billion.
Jones' hire marks a change for Ryan Graves, who has been at Uber since 2010 and ran the company's operations and global expansion. Graves will give up some of those responsibilities but will continue to work on Uber's delivery businesses, including UberEats and UberRush, as well as other projects, Kalanick said.
The addition of Jones comes a day after Uber announced the departure of Alphabet executive David Drummond from its board of directors. Drummond had been on the board since 2013, after Alphabet's venture capital arm GV invested about $250 million in Uber.
(Reporting by Heather Somerville in San Francisco and Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Dan Grebler) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-tech-moves-target-idUSKCN1152FB?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtechnologyNews+%28Reuters+Technology+News%29 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/9b1aa703bfe02a2a6eefa2c023acb21bf5da3bf3ebf1985cfb365e0b03b6a90b.json |
[
"Paul Carrel"
] | 2016-08-29T09:04:47 | null | 2016-08-29T08:01:54 | Triggering the procedure for Britain to exit the European Union is like turning off the engines on an airplane, a top European diplomat says: best only do it if you can see a landing strip. Otherwise, all parties risk a messy outcome. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-britain-eu-germany-idUSKCN1140MC%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DworldNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2BReuters%252FworldNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BWorld%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160829&t=2&i=1151417285&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7S0B8 | en | null | Options sought as Merkel's radio silence complicates path to soft Brexit landing | null | null | www.reuters.com | BERLIN Triggering the procedure for Britain to exit the European Union is like turning off the engines on an airplane, a top European diplomat says: best only do it if you can see a landing strip. Otherwise, all parties risk a messy outcome.
When Britain makes its exit move - by invoking Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty - it will set the clock running on a two-year deadline to leave the EU. Keen to avoid a crash landing, officials on both sides are scoping out how to proceed.
Options include the 'neverland' possibility of simply not invoking Article 50, trying back channel talks to sharpen Britain's sense of what scenarios are possible, and hopping from an interim outcome to a more permanent post-Brexit landing site.
The first option is a non-starter for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Europe's most powerful leader and the first one Theresa May met after becoming British prime minister last month.
"The EU can't accept that," said a source close to Merkel, who has no desire to see Britain leave but has a pragmatic focus on holding the rest of bloc together, and does not believe Britain will hold a second referendum on its EU membership.
Even if the British economy's resilience in the immediate aftermath of the country's June 23 vote to leave the EU eases the economic pressure on Britain to press ahead with Brexit, May herself has said "Brexit means Brexit".
She has, however, said Britain will not trigger the exit procedure this year.
For the British government, the dilemma of when and how to make a Brexit landing is complicated by a refusal on the part of EU leaders, led by Merkel, to discuss potential outcomes until Britain invokes the exit procedure.
"We won't talk beforehand," said the source close to Merkel, speaking on condition of anonymity. Another German government official stressed the strict ban in Berlin on any pre-negotiating: "We won't talk about substance."
In the absence of formal pre-negotiations, the British government must work through the second option: peering through gaps in the clouds of European officialdom to try to work out what its post-Brexit 'landing' options are.
Such back channeling could help the British work out what is realistic in order to avoid EU negotiators balking at their position, and the clock running down on the two-year deadline.
"You can only nail it down if you are in the realm of the possible," said one European official.
'SPECIAL STATUS'
A likely trade-off between EU market access (which Britain would prefer) and the free movement of people (which is does not want) will probably leave a few achievable 'landing points', leaving British officials to try to identify these in informal meetings with cagey counterparts.
Here, they may yet find a way forward. There have been indications from at least one government that there may be room for discussions, rather than negotiations, in advance of Britain triggering Article 50.
German officials have also signaled they are ready to make some concessions to strike a deal with Britain. European Affairs Minister Michael Roth has held out the possibility of London achieving "special status" in its ties with the EU after Brexit.
But European leaders do not want Britain to hold the bloc hostage by horse trading on the terms of an exit before it commits to leave. So even if British officials sharpen their sense of the kind of deal they can strike, they still face a tight timeframe to clinch a post-Brexit settlement with the EU.
Behind the scenes, there has been a growing realization in Europe's capitals that the two-year window for negotiating Brexit is far too short.
This raises the third option being mooted by some European officials: an interim framework for Britain's ties with the EU, based on an existing model similar to that of Norway or Switzerland.
"That might be a temporary solution," said one.
Further talks could then result in another landing spot beyond the two-year negotiating window offered by Article 50.
A spokeswoman for May said the prime minister and her government were going for a "British deal", to get the best for the country.
The trickiest area is the crunch trade-off between market access and the free movement of people, which is sacrosanct to EU leaders. "The price on free movement for prosperity is high," the European official said.
One option to reduce the flow of people to Britain is for it to firm up rules around benefits such that only people from other EU countries with a firm job offer can move to the UK.
Merkel has cut May some breathing space to work out her negotiating position, resisting calls from Paris and Brussels - in the days immediately after the Brexit vote - for Britain to leave the EU "as soon as possible".
"There was a lot of testosterone flying around in the days after the referendum. That's when Merkel is at her best," said one British official. "She pulled it all back and said 'it's okay to take your time'."
But there is a limit to Merkel's patience. The source close to her said: "It's in everyone's interests to have clarity.
(Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper in London Editing by Jeremy Gaunt.) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-germany-idUSKCN1140MC?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/79058ee80e48c5ec316593809fd4189f046ef18880ac2e678bc8f695eaa80107.json |
[
"Jonathan Stempel"
] | 2016-08-29T17:02:54 | null | 2016-08-29T15:44:05 | Apple Inc (AAPL.O) has been sued by owners of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones who say a design defect causes the phones' touchscreens to become unresponsive, making them unusable. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-apple-lawsuit-touchscreens-idUSKCN1141OJ%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DtopNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FtopNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BTop%2BNews%2529.json | http://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160829&t=2&i=1151460502&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7S0WL | en | null | Apple is sued over unresponsive iPhone 6 touchscreens | null | null | www.reuters.com | A man holds an iPhone 6 in a mobile phone shop in Moscow, Russia, September 26, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
Apple Inc (AAPL.O) has been sued by owners of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones who say a design defect causes the phones' touchscreens to become unresponsive, making them unusable.
According to a proposed nationwide class-action lawsuit filed on Saturday, Apple has long been aware of the defect, which often surfaces after a flickering gray bar appears atop the touchscreens, but has refused to fix it.
The plaintiffs linked the problem to Apple's decision not to use a metal "shield" or "underfill" to protect the relevant parts, as it did on versions of the iPhone 5.
"The iPhones are not fit for the purpose of use as smartphones because of the touchscreen defect," according to the complaint filed in federal court in San Jose, California.
Todd Cleary of California, Jun Bai of Delaware and Thomas Davidson of Pennsylvania are the named plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which accuses Apple of fraud and violating California consumer protection laws. They seek unspecified damages.
Apple did not immediately respond on Monday to a request for comment.
Problems with iPhone 6 touchscreens were described online last week by iFixit, which labeled the issue "Touch Disease."
That company sells repair parts and has previously analyzed other Apple products.
Apple, based in Cupertino, California, sold 166.4 million iPhones, generating $108.5 billion of net sales, in the first nine months of its current fiscal year.
The case is Davidson et al v. Apple Inc, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 16-04942.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-lawsuit-touchscreens-idUSKCN1141OJ?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/02fec3e9ca1e857c8227f4a0a168450d8c6e06a8612e29daf41b2c3d373416ac.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-29T18:50:49 | null | 2016-08-29T17:37:02 | Facebook Inc. will not become a media company, its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Monday, telling students the firm would remain a technology platform. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-facebook-zuckerberg-idUSKCN1141WN%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DbusinessNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FbusinessNews%2B%2528Business%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160829&t=2&i=1151473992&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7S129 | en | null | Facebook CEO says group will not become a media company | null | null | www.reuters.com | Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is seen on stage during a town hall at Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, California September 27, 2015. Picture taken February 27, 2015. REUTERS/Stephen Lam/File Photo
ROME Facebook Inc. will not become a media company, its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Monday, telling students the firm would remain a technology platform.
An increasing number of users are turning to social media networks, such as Facebook (FB.O) and Twitter (TWTR.N), to find their news, but Zuckerberg said his firm had no ambitions to become a content provider.
"No, we are a tech company, not a media company," said Zuckerberg, after a young Italian asked him whether Facebook intended to become a news editor.
While acknowledging the role Facebook has in supplying users with news through their connections and stressing the advantages of obtaining information from different parts of the world, Zuckerberg said Facebook was "a technology company, we build the tools, we do not produce any content".
"The world needs news companies, but also technology platforms, like what we do, and we take our role in this very seriously," he said, speaking from Rome's Luiss university.
Earlier on Monday, Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan had a private audience with Pope Francis. It was the latest in a string of meetings the pontiff has held with Silicon Valley leaders, including Apple (AAPL.O) CEO Tim Cook and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) boss Eric Schmidt.
Zuckerberg said he gave the Argentine pontiff a model of Aquila, Facebook's lightweight solar-powered drone aimed at beaming lasers to extend internet access to places that have yet to be connected.
"We ... discussed the importance of connecting people, especially in parts of the world without internet access," Zuckerberg posted on his personal Facebook profile after the meeting.
Zuckerberg also on Monday met Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who is pushing to upgrade Italy's limited internet infrastructure.
(Reporting by Giulia Segreti; Editing by Ruth Pitchford) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-zuckerberg-idUSKCN1141WN?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FbusinessNews+%28Business+News%29 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/d98213d440c80f9c676eb1d9db886140b20fe7edb97608385ace5ba13ed652da.json |
[
"Canice Leung"
] | 2016-08-26T13:21:45 | null | 2016-08-25T03:30:10 | People swim during the annual public Lake Zurich crossing swimming event over a distance of 1,500 meters (4,921 ft) in Zurich, Switzerland, August 24, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Fnews%2Fpicture%2Feditors-choice%3FarticleId%3DUSRTX2MTYR.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160825&t=2&i=1150960670&w=&fh=545&fw=810&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=2016-08-25T033010Z_23901_S1BETXHKRJAB_RTRMADP_0_SWISS-SPORTS | en | null | Editor's choice | null | null | www.reuters.com | Police detain women during a protest organized by the main opposition Congress party and people of India's low-caste Dalit community against what they say are increasing atrocities against the Dalit community, in Gandhinagar, India. REUTERS/Amit Dave
Police detain women during a protest organized by the main opposition Congress party and people of India's low-caste Dalit community against what they say are increasing atrocities against the Dalit community, in Gandhinagar, India. REUTERS/Amit Dave
Close | http://www.reuters.com/news/picture/editors-choice?articleId=USRTX2MTYR | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/95473b7602640fdaad0b0ca9127517fcb7f8c69a5bb69ef25c103d13ab7a0869.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-31T03:02:11 | null | 2016-08-31T02:15:25 | Florida health officials on Tuesday said they were investigating three new Zika virus cases likely stemming from local mosquito bites in Miami-Dade County, including two cases outside of the known areas of active transmission. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-health-zika-florida-idUSKCN11605O%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DdomesticNews.json | http://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160831&t=2&i=1151662857&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7U02P | en | null | Three new cases of local Zika transmission in Florida: officials | null | null | www.reuters.com | A woman looks at a Center for Disease Control (CDC) health advisory sign about the dangers of the Zika virus as she lines up for a security screening at Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida, U.S., May 23, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Florida health officials on Tuesday said they were investigating three new Zika virus cases likely stemming from local mosquito bites in Miami-Dade County, including two cases outside of the known areas of active transmission.
The new infections bring the state's total of non-travel-related cases to 46, according to the Florida Department of Health. Only one of Tuesday's three new cases was linked to Miami Beach, which is known to be an active area for local Zika transmission.
The health department said it was investigating the other two cases to determine where they occurred, but cautioned, "One case does not mean ongoing active transmission is taking place."
The department said it believes ongoing transmission is only taking place in parts of Miami Beach and the trendy Miami neighborhood of Wynwood, the site of the first local Zika transmission in the United States.
Zika infections have been mounting in popular tourist areas and may have caused concern among wary vacationers. Travelers have booked fewer hotel rooms in downtown Miami, and leisure airfares to the greater Miami area have inched down in the weeks since the Zika virus was detected there.
Florida health department workers have been going door-to-door in Pinellas, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade Counties to talk to residents about the virus and offer voluntary tests.
The Zika virus was first detected in Brazil last year and has since spread across the Americas. The virus poses a risk to pregnant women because it can cause severe birth defects, including microcephaly. It has been linked to more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly in Brazil.
(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Leslie Adler) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-zika-florida-idUSKCN11605O?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/6970cc202c959af938e6c0d09928a6257cd67bc755feb5bf77fb5ddb3b475ea4.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-29T02:51:41 | null | 2016-08-29T02:15:06 | (Repeats story that ran on Aug. 28 with no change in text.)* Laos to host Asian summit next week* Obama first sitting president to visit Laos | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Flaos-china-vietnam-idUSL3N1BA1CZ%3Ftype%3DcompanyNews%26feedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DcompanyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FcompanyNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BCompany%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | RPT-As Obama heads to Laos, signs of a tilt away from China | null | null | www.reuters.com | (Repeats story that ran on Aug. 28 with no change in text.)
* Laos to host Asian summit next week
* Obama first sitting president to visit Laos
* Laos more nuanced on S.China Sea
* New leaders more friendly to neigbouring Vietnam
* But China still dominates business scene in Laos
By Marius Zaharia
VIENTIANE, Aug 28 The secretive communist government of Laos, a country with a population of less than 7 million, rarely causes a ripple on the diplomatic circuit. And yet its sleepy capital will spring to life next week when global leaders arrive for an Asian summit.
Barack Obama will be among them, making the last push of his presidency to 'rebalance' Washington's foreign policy towards Asia, a strategy widely seen as a response to China's economic and military muscle-flexing across the region.
The might of Laos' giant neighbour to the north is hard to miss in Vientiane: wealthy Chinese driving SUVs overtake tuk-tuks sputtering along the roads and Chinese-backed hotels sprout from noisy construction sites in one of Asia's most low-rise cities.
But diplomats say Obama could be pushing on an open door in Laos, thanks to a change of government there in April.
They say the country's new leaders appear ready to tilt away from Beijing and lean more closely towards another neighbour, Vietnam, whose dispute with China over the South China Sea has pushed it into a deepening alliance with the United States.
"The new government is more influenced by the Vietnamese than the Chinese," said a Western diplomat in Southeast Asia." "It's never too late for a U.S. president to visit."
Obama will become the first sitting U.S. president to visit landlocked Laos, where the United States waged a "secret war" while fighting in Vietnam, dropping an estimated two million tonnes of bombs on the country. About 30 percent of the ordnance failed to explode, leaving a dangerous and costly legacy.
Laos has strategic importance to both Vietnam and China. Vietnam has a long land border with Laos that gives it access to markets in Thailand and beyond. For China, Laos is a key gateway to Southeast Asia in its "new Silk Road" trade strategy.
Laos, which is developing a series of hydropower plants along one of the world's longest rivers, the Mekong, aims to become "the battery of Asia" by selling power to its neighbours.
SHIFTING POLICY
It is difficult to read policy in Laos because its leaders are so uncommunicative, but Western diplomats have detected some shifts.
First, deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad - who ran the steering panel for a $7 billion Chinese rail project - retired. The project is now believed to be on hold because Laos is unhappy with the terms of the deal.
Officials of Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith's new government, many of them educated in Vietnam, have visited Hanoi en masse in recent weeks, their first foreign trip.
At two of the past meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which is currently chaired by Laos, Vientiane has taken a more nuanced stance on Beijing than neighbouring Cambodia, which is increasingly seen as a Chinese satellite.
"The U.S. strategic interest in Laos is to see the country be able to exert a certain degree of strategic autonomy because you don't want ... (to) have something akin to the relationship between China and Cambodia," said Phuong Nguyen of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank.
A defence official in Washington did not comment on wider strategic issues but described Laos as "an important partner."
A China foreign ministry spokesman said "we welcome any country, including those inside and outside this region, developing constructive relations, as long as these ties are really beneficial to regional peace, stability and prosperity."
LONG-TERM BATTLE
Beijing has invested around $1 billion annually in Laos in 2014 and 2015, a step up from the $4.5 billion invested historically before 2014, according to figures from China's Ministry of Commerce and state-run media.
For the United States, impoverished Laos is not a strong investment draw.
"In Laos, we bring 7-8 companies to the table compared with 30-40 companies that Vietnam brings. But China- that's a totally different ball game," said Anthony Nelson, director of the U.S.-ASEAN business council.
"So there's no coincidence that the countries with the lowest levels of development, Laos and Cambodia, are the most willing to advocate for China's position in international discussions."
But the Lao are closer culturally to Vietnam than they are to China. Their businesses use Lao language signs and mixed Lao-Vietnamese families incorporate local customs, while Lao-Chinese families tend to be isolated.
"We are a bit frustrated with (China). They create their own eco-system," a Lao businessman said. (Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed, Idrees Ali, Michael Martina and Ben Blanchard.; Editing by John Chalmers and Bill Tarrant) | http://www.reuters.com/article/laos-china-vietnam-idUSL3N1BA1CZ?type=companyNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=companyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FcompanyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Company+News%29 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/5d7fd904c7d7e987397b67c6d61926ed8d864b098207aaf1bfca5da121203830.json |
[
"Steve Holland"
] | 2016-08-27T22:59:16 | null | 2016-08-27T22:03:47 | U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump offered fresh details of how he would tackle illegal immigration on Saturday, saying he would crack down on those who overstay their visas as he sought to quiet criticism from conservatives. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-usa-election-trump-idUSKCN1120SF%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DpoliticsNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2BReuters%252FPoliticsNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BPolitics%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160827&t=2&i=1151301826&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7Q0LV | en | null | Trump vows crackdown on immigrants who overstay visas if elected | null | null | www.reuters.com | DES MOINES, Iowa U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump offered fresh details of how he would tackle illegal immigration on Saturday, saying he would crack down on those who overstay their visas as he sought to quiet criticism from conservatives.
In a campaign speech in Des Moines, Iowa, Trump also cited the shooting death of a cousin of NBA star Dwyane Wade to urge African-American voters to rally behind him, calling it an example of violence that has to be addressed.
Trump, speaking on the Iowa State Fairgrounds with hay bales stacked behind him, sought to clarify his views on how to overhaul the U.S. immigration system after saying earlier in the week that he was softening on his plan to deport all 11 million illegal immigrants.
That stance drew fire from conservatives who wanted him to stand fast after he won the Republican presidential nomination in large part by a hardline stance that would include building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.
In his speech, Trump said he would seek to institute a tracking system to ensure illegal immigrants who overstay their visas are quickly removed, and would propose an e-verify system to prevent the illegal community from gaining access to welfare and other benefits.
"If we don’t enforce visa expiration dates, then we have an open border – it’s as simple as that," he said.
In outlining his views, Trump said addressing illegal immigration is important to helping Americans find jobs.
"Every time an African-American citizen, or any citizen, loses their job to an illegal immigrant, the rights of that American citizen have been violated," he said. "Equal protection under the law must include the consistent application of our immigration laws."
Trump said his first priority upon taking office next January would be the immediate deportation of thousands of illegal immigrants who remain in the United States despite having committed crimes.
"These international gangs and cartels will be a thing of the past. Their reign of terror will be over. In this task, we will always err on the side of protecting the American people – we will use immigration law to prevent crimes, and will not wait until some innocent American has been harmed or killed before taking action," he said.
He did not explain how his plan would affect many of the illegal community who have been in the United States for decades and obeyed U.S. laws.
Trump said the death in Chicago of Wade cousin Nykea Aldridge, 32, a mother of four, was an example of turmoil in U.S. inner cities. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a former chief of staff to Democratic President Barack Obama, has struggled in particular to contain violence in his city.
The incident permitted Trump to bring up again his desire to be a "law and order" president and underscore his drive to appeal to African-American voters who traditionally vote Democratic and overwhelmingly support Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
"It breaks all of our hearts to see it, it’s horrible," Trump said. "And it's only getting worse. This shouldn’t happen in our country. This shouldn’t happen in America. We send our thoughts and our prayers to the family, and we also promise to fight for a much, much better tomorrow."
Trump raised the subject after sending out tweets earlier in the day that prompted charges of insensitivity to the death and accusations he sought to exploit it for political purposes.
The New York businessman was the headline speaker at "Joni Ernst's Roast and Ride," a charity event for military veterans run by U.S. Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican.
Ernst and most other speakers offered praise for Trump, a rarity at a time when many Republican political leaders have distanced themselves from his candidacy due to his incendiary rhetoric. Trump is running neck and neck with Clinton in polls in the state with 72 days until the Nov. 8 election.
(Editing by Matthew Lewis) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-idUSKCN1120SF?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FPoliticsNews+%28Reuters+Politics+News%29 | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/ff432ad4442d89916fa391c3646aaa660f589aadad5efa1ee246dedc024e33f5.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-30T08:52:16 | null | 2016-08-30T07:57:52 | A major aluminum producer has offered Japanese buyers a premium of $82 per ton for October-December primary metal shipments, down 9-12 percent from the previous quarter, three sources directly involved in pricing talks said on Tuesday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-japan-aluminium-premiums-idUSKCN1150O5.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | Aluminum producer seeks fourth quarter premium of $82 per ton from Japan buyers: sources | null | null | www.reuters.com | TOKYO A major aluminum producer has offered Japanese buyers a premium of $82 per ton for October-December primary metal shipments, down 9-12 percent from the previous quarter, three sources directly involved in pricing talks said on Tuesday.
Japan is Asia's biggest importer of the metal and the premiums for primary metal shipments it agrees to pay each quarter over the London Metal Exchange (LME) cash price set the benchmark for the region.
For the July-September quarter, Japanese buyers agreed to pay a premium of $90-93, down 19-23 percent from the prior quarter, on weaker spot premiums.
The latest quarterly pricing negotiations began this week between Japanese buyers and miners, including Rio Tinto Ltd, Alcoa Inc and South32 Ltd, and are expected to continue until next month.
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Himani Sarkar) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-aluminium-premiums-idUSKCN1150O5 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/467b5ae579404ce4b70e3e6af01d21850432e8baa0f2966f619efb9751a8711b.json |
[
"David Henry"
] | 2016-08-26T13:19:18 | null | 2016-08-25T22:27:10 | A consortium of banks holding the majority of U.S. consumer accounts plans to launch its instant, person-to-person payments brand Zelle in the first half of 2017, a spokesman said on Thursday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-banks-payment-usa-idUSKCN1102MX%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DPersonalFinance%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Bnews%252Fwealth%2B%2528Reuters%2BWealth%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | U.S. bank group to launch Zelle instant payments brand in 2017 | null | null | www.reuters.com | NEW YORK A consortium of banks holding the majority of U.S. consumer accounts plans to launch its instant, person-to-person payments brand Zelle in the first half of 2017, a spokesman said on Thursday.
The group has posted its logo - which includes a vertical line bisecting the letter "Z" like a backwards dollar sign - on (www.zellepay.com), said Andrew Tilbury, a branding consultant and spokesman hired by the bank consortium, Early Warning Services.
Early Warning operates clearXchange, which earlier this year began connecting banks to allow individuals to send money by email and text message to people with accounts at other banks for their immediate use. In the meantime, the group has been working on its marketing plan.
Zelle is the consortium's response to challenges from Silicon Valley, such as Venmo, a payments app run by PayPal Holdings Inc. Venmo has become popular with young adults making payments to one another for shared expenses, such as rent and lunch tabs.
Banks that are part of clearXchange include Bank of America Corp, Capital One Financial Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co, U.S. Bancorp and Wells Fargo & Co.
Tilbury said the brand name Zelle was chosen after considering several names. The banks selected it because it "feels more personal than product-like." He said it has an "approachable personality" that "will help financial institutions create and build relationships."
The choice of the name Zelle was first reported on Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal.
(Editing by Matthew Lewis) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-banks-payment-usa-idUSKCN1102MX?feedType=RSS&feedName=PersonalFinance&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+news%2Fwealth+%28Reuters+Wealth+News%29 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/246b973f6ffcaf4f2ca9861ede0f251dda7fe7528e8ece6bbbd0c74fb9aadce2.json |
[
"Padraic Halpin"
] | 2016-08-31T11:03:18 | null | 2016-08-31T09:50:51 | Ireland's cabinet may be given more time to decide on whether to back the finance minister's recommendation that Dublin appeal the European Commission's ruling against its tax dealings with Apple (AAPL.O), another minister said on Wednesday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-eu-apple-ireland-idUSKCN116136%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DtopNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FtopNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BTop%2BNews%2529.json | http://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160831&t=2&i=1151700997&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7U0JO | en | null | Irish cabinet may need more time to decide on Apple appeal: minister | null | null | www.reuters.com | A man looks at his phone as he walks past an authorised apple reseller store in Galway, Ireland August 30, 2016. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
DUBLIN Ireland's cabinet may be given more time to decide on whether to back the finance minister's recommendation that Dublin appeal the European Commission's ruling against its tax dealings with Apple (AAPL.O), another minister said on Wednesday.
Finance Minister Michael Noonan said on Tuesday he "disagreed profoundly" with the Commission's order that Apple should hand over to Ireland unpaid taxes of up to 13 billion euros ruled to be illegal state aid. He will seek approval for an appeal from cabinet at 1030 GMT.
The minority government led by Noonan's Fine Gael is reliant on the support of a number of independent lawmakers, a group of whom, the Independent Alliance, said on Tuesday that they were reviewing the decision and would need to further consult with Noonan, tax officials and independent experts.
If the Independent Alliance refused to back an appeal and pulled out of government, Fine Gael would no longer have sufficient support in parliament to pass legislation and the government could collapse.
"I'm sure, if people need time to understand this matter, that we will create the time and space to do this properly," Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe of Fine Gael told national broadcaster RTE when asked if Prime Minister Enda Kenny would allow the Alliance more time if they ask for it.
"We will be able to make a decision but it is appropriate that we give this the time it needs. I am very confident that this government will work its way through this issue and continue with the mandate the Irish people have given us."
Fine Gael is also reliant on an agreement with its biggest rival, Fianna Fail, to abstain on key votes to facilitate the minority government. Fianna Fail said on Tuesday it would back an appeal through the European Courts.
Both parties were criticized by left-wing Sinn Fein, the country's third largest party. It said the government should accept the Commission's ruling and impose the tax bill on the iPhone maker, which says it will also appeal.
"It is important that Irish taxpayers are represented at today's cabinet meeting. The Independent Alliance have an opportunity to do that. They should oppose any appeal and insist that the correct tax bill is paid by Apple," Sinn Fein's David Cullinane said in a statement.
(Editing by Andrew Roche) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-apple-ireland-idUSKCN116136?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29 | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/e98e4f05e39fec736b794ac0b4d91e384a1b920286fa2368992b8a73199ee19d.json |
[
"Chris Prentice"
] | 2016-08-26T20:59:08 | null | 2016-08-26T20:42:49 | Maine Governor Paul LePage apologized on Friday for an obscenity-laced voicemail he left for a lawmaker who he believed had called him a racist for remarks he made about drug dealers. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-maine-lepage-idUSKCN1112CT%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DpoliticsNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2BReuters%252FPoliticsNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BPolitics%2BNews%2529.json | http://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160826&t=2&i=1151220389&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7P1FJ | en | null | Maine governor apologizes for obscenity-laced voicemail | null | null | www.reuters.com | Maine Governor Paul LePage apologized on Friday for an obscenity-laced voicemail he left for a lawmaker who he believed had called him a racist for remarks he made about drug dealers.
The incident followed a town hall meeting on Wednesday during which LePage said he kept a binder with photographs of drug dealers arrested in Maine and more than 90 percent of them were black or Hispanic, the Portland Press Herald reported.
The governor's remarks triggered a barrage of criticism from political figures and the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine.
LePage left the voicemail message for State Representative Drew Gattine after a television reporter said the lawmaker was among several people who had called the governor a racist.
According to a recording of the message obtained by the Portland Press Herald, LePage said in the message, “Mr. Gattine, this is Gov. Paul Richard LePage. I would like to talk to you about your comments about my being a racist, you cocksucker. I want to talk to you. I want you to prove that I’m a racist.
“I’ve spent my life helping black people and you little son-of-a-bitch, socialist cocksucker. You … I need you to, just friggin. I want you to record this and make it public because I am after you. Thank you.”
The governor later told local reporters that he wished he could settle the dispute with Gattine by means of an armed duel.
Gattine did not respond immediately to calls for comment. He told the Press Herald that LePage's voicemail was "uncalled for" and that he never said the governor was a racist.
An editorial in the Press Herald, speaking for the state's voters, said Maine apologized to America for electing, then re-electing a "governor who is unfit for high office."
After the voicemail became public, LePage issued a statement apologizing to Maine citizens for calling Gattine "the worst word [he] could think of" in the voicemail.
The governor defended his choice of language by saying the remarks were "simply a metaphor" that harkens back to the 1820s when political opponents "used to call each other out."
"I meant no physical harm to Gattine," LePage said in the statement.
It is not the first time LePage has found himself the subject of controversy.
Earlier this year, he said that drug dealers "come up here, they sell their heroin and they go home. Incidentally, half the time, they impregnate a young white girl before they leave."
He later said the comment was a "slip-up" and that he meant to say that drug traffickers get "young Maine girls" pregnant and that most residents of Maine are white.
Also in January, LePage told Maine gun owners they should "load up and get rid of the drug dealers."
(Reporting by Chris Prentice; Editing by Andrew Hay) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-maine-lepage-idUSKCN1112CT?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FPoliticsNews+%28Reuters+Politics+News%29 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/5df76a957fcc9bfccc69802f7f65327c32d9eac060a3fd0efc689bc504b4244a.json |
[
"Kathryn Doyle"
] | 2016-08-26T13:18:49 | null | 2016-08-25T20:27:03 | By Kathryn Doyle(Reuters Health) - For years following the events of September 11, 2001 in lower Manhattan, the disaster and its aftermath may have a | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-health-september11-exposure-births-idUSKCN1102H8%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DhealthNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FhealthNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BHealth%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | Exposure to 9/11 disaster tied to low birthweight, preterm delivery | null | null | www.reuters.com | (Reuters Health) - For years following the events of September 11, 2001 in lower Manhattan, the disaster and its aftermath may have affected women and their babies who were not even conceived yet, according to a new study.
Researchers found that among women who were rescue or recovery workers responding to the events of 9/11, or women who resided below Canal Street in the World Trade Center’s neighborhood, those with the most intense exposures to the disaster had doubled rates of preterm delivery and low birthweight babies over the next few years.
“Associations between disaster exposure and adverse birth outcomes have been demonstrated repeatedly in the past,” said lead author Carey Maslow, deputy director of research for the World Trade Center Health Registry. “What is surprising is that these associations persisted among infants conceived up to three years after 9/11.”
The researchers matched birth certificates for infants born in New York City between September 11, 2001 and the end of 2010 to disaster exposure data on women who were enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry.
In that time there were 3,360 babies born in the city to women enrolled in the registry. Less than 10 percent of babies were born to women pregnant on 9/11.
Almost 7 percent of the babies were delivered preterm, meaning before 37 weeks of pregnancy, and 6 percent had low birthweight, meaning they weighed less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces.
The average newborn in the U.S. weighs about 8 pounds, and about 8 percent of all babies are low birthweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The researchers also looked at the mothers’ level of exposure to the disaster and its aftermath - for example, whether they were injured, witnessed traumatic scenes, were evacuated from a residence in the neighborhood, performed rescue or recovery work “on the pile” (of smoldering wreckage), and other types of exposure.
The study team found that through the end of December 2003, women with at least two out of four exposures were 2.3 times more likely than women with less exposure to have a low-birthweight baby and 2.1 times more likely to have a preterm delivery.
Infants whose mothers performed rescue or recovery work were 1.9 times more likely to be born preterm in the first couple of years.
Later in the 10-year study period, differences started to diminish, the researchers note in American Journal of Public Health.
And throughout the study period, babies of mothers with high exposure were not more likely to be small for their gestational age, which was surprising, the authors write.
Physical contaminants and psychological trauma tend to occur simultaneously in a disaster setting, and disentangling their relative effects is very difficult, Maslow told Reuters Health by email.
“Whether the important exposure is posttraumatic stress or components of the toxic dust themselves, the eggs were exposed to it,” since reproductive effects appear to persist even for women who were not pregnant at the time of the disaster but conceived in the following year or so, said Dr. Iris Udasin, medical director of the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute Clinical Center at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
“The good news is, even though these numbers are higher than we would like them to be, they’re not overwhelmingly large,” Udasin, who was not part of the new study, told Reuters Health.
It may never be clear exactly how these interactions work, she said.
“Adverse reproductive outcomes have been associated with other terrorist attacks, with environmental disasters, chemical disasters, and even with natural disasters, like hurricanes and earthquakes,” Maslow said.
“The real message is, increasing attention to mental health care,” Udasin said. “We can’t prevent the disaster but we can do a better job of responding to it.”
She wouldn’t tell women to delay pregnancy after a disaster, but to do everything possible to make themselves healthy, mentally and physically, she said.
“Women who have been exposed to a disaster, including those involved in disaster response, should inform the prenatal care provider of the nature and extent of their exposure,” Maslow said. | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-september11-exposure-births-idUSKCN1102H8?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FhealthNews+%28Reuters+Health+News%29 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/c6ff2ecdc84dbea0ea19cd413066fdb79ca73dc2ed8c250c617958c0df3f69dc.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-26T13:17:55 | null | 2016-08-26T12:40:42 | U.S. economic growth was a bit more sluggish than initially thought in the second quarter as businesses aggressively ran down stocks of unsold goods, offsetting a spurt in consumer spending. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-usa-economy-idUSKCN1111FM%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DbusinessNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FbusinessNews%2B%2528Business%2BNews%2529.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160826&t=2&i=1151167976&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7P0TI | en | null | U.S. second-quarter growth trimmed to 1.1 percent; consumer spending raised | null | null | www.reuters.com | A man pushes his shopping cart down an aisle at a Home Depot store in New York, July 29, 2010. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
WASHINGTON, U.S. economic growth was a bit more sluggish than initially thought in the second quarter as businesses aggressively ran down stocks of unsold goods, offsetting a spurt in consumer spending.
Gross domestic product expanded at a 1.1 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Friday in its second estimate of GDP. That was slightly down from the 1.2 percent rate reported last month.
The revision also reflected more imports than previously estimated as well as weak spending by state and local governments. The economy grew at a 0.8 percent pace in the first quarter. It grew 1.0 percent in the first half of 2016.
The revision to second-quarter GDP growth was in line with economists' expectations. The economy has struggled to regain momentum since output started slowing in the last six months of 2015, which puts it in danger of stalling.
While data so far for the third quarter has been mixed, a strong labor market should continue to support consumer spending and underpin growth in the coming quarters. Output will also likely get a boost as businesses restock warehouses after liquidating inventories in the second quarter.
The government also reported that after-tax corporate profits fell at a 2.4 percent rate last quarter after increasing at an 8.1 percent pace in the first quarter. Weak profits could limit an anticipated rebound in business spending.
With profits declining, an alternative measure of growth, gross domestic income, or GDI, increased at only a 0.2 percent rate in the second quarter, the weakest since the first quarter of 2013. GDI measures the economy's performance from the income side. It increased at a 0.8 percent pace in the first quarter.
Business inventories fell $12.4 billion in the second quarter, the first drop since the third quarter of 2011, instead
of the $8.1 billion reported last month.
As a result inventories sliced off 1.26 percentage points from GDP growth, the largest drag in more than two years, and up from the 1.16 percentage points subtraction in last month's estimate.
It was the fifth straight quarter that inventories weighed on output. Economists say some of the inventory drawdown could partially be attributed to robust consumption.
Consumer spending, which makes up more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, was revised up to show it increased at a 4.4 percent rate -- the fastest since the fourth quarter of 2014. Consumer spending, which was previously reported to have
advanced at a 4.2 percent rate, accounted for the bulk of the rise in output last quarter.
With consumption accelerating, imports were revised to show them growing at a 0.3 percent rate instead of declining at a 0.4 percent rate. There was also a modest downward revision to export growth. As a result, trade contributed one-tenth of a percentage point to GDP growth in the second quarter instead of 0.23 percentage point as reported last month.
Business spending on equipment fell at a 3.7 percent rate and not the 3.5 percent pace reported last month. Business spending on equipment contracted for a third consecutive quarter, the longest stretch since the 2007-2009 recession, though the pace of decline slowed.
Business spending has been hurt by cheap oil, which has squeezed profits in the energy sector, forcing companies to cut capital spending budgets. There are signs that the worst of the decline is probably over, with a report on Thursday showing demand for manufactured capital goods rising in July for a second straight month.
There were also downward revisions to investment in nonresidential structures, which include oil and gas wells.
Residential construction spending estimates were also trimmed.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-idUSKCN1111FM?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FbusinessNews+%28Business+News%29 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/e99b61e455df11b33e514da5338b57351d8613583273fa2d40e141f0a4c0741d.json |
[
"Lesley Wroughton",
"Stephanie Nebehay"
] | 2016-08-26T13:21:21 | null | 2016-08-26T12:12:56 | U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov met in Geneva on Friday to try to hammer out final details of a cooperation agreement on fighting Islamist militants in Syria. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-mideast-crisis-kerry-lavrov-idUSKCN11102B%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DworldNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2BReuters%252FworldNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BWorld%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160826&t=2&i=1151165347&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7P0M8 | en | null | Kerry, Lavrov meet to finalize details of Syria cooperation deal | null | null | www.reuters.com | Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov before a bilateral meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (not pictured) in Geneva, Switzerland August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Martial Trezzini/Pool
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) during a bilateral meeting focused on the Syrian crisis in Geneva, Switzerland August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Martial Trezzini/Pool
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) before a bilateral meeting focused on the Syrian crisis in Geneva, Switzerland August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Martial Trezzini/Pool
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) shake hands during a bilateral meeting focused on the Syrian crisis in Geneva, Switzerland August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Martial Trezzini/Pool
GENEVA U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov met in Geneva on Friday to try to hammer out final details of a cooperation agreement on fighting Islamist militants in Syria.
The hope is that a deal on fighting jihadists in Syria will help lead to a cessation of hostilities between the army and its militia allies on one side and non-jihadist rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad, as a step towards relaunching talks on a political transition to end the five-year Syrian conflict.
The meeting between Lavrov and Kerry at a luxury hotel on Lake Geneva began shortly after 10 am (0800 GMT). Asked what the main impediment was to a nationwide ceasefire, Lavrov quipped: "I don't want to spoil the atmosphere for the negotiations."
While Kerry said this week that technical teams from both sides were close to the end of their discussions, U.S. officials indicated it was too early to say whether an agreement was likely.
"There are still issues that need to be ironed out," a senior State Department official said as the talks began.
"We're hopeful that today could see resolution on at least some of them, and that we can move this plan forward," the official said, "But we're mindful of the challenges."
When Kerry launched the Syrian cooperation talks in July during a visit to Moscow, the proposal involved Washington and Moscow sharing military intelligence to coordinate air strikes against Islamic State and grounding the Syrian air force to stop it from attacking moderate rebel groups.
Kerry believes the plan is the best chance to limit the fighting that is driving thousands of Syrians into exile in Europe and preventing humanitarian aid from reaching tens of thousands more, as well as preserving a political track.
The talks take place just days after Syrian rebels backed by Turkish special forces, tanks and warplanes entered Jarablus, one of Islamic State's last strongholds on the Turkish-Syrian border.
The advance westward in the next phase of their Turkey-backed operation could take weeks or months to complete, a rebel commander told Reuters.
Turkish military shelled the Kurdish militia, the People's Protection Units, or YPG, south of Jarablus and demanded that the YPG retreat to the east side of the Euphrates River within a week.
The YPG had moved west of the river earlier this month as part of a U.S.-backed operation, now completed, to capture the city of Manbij from Islamic State.
Turkey's stance puts it at odds with Washington, which sees the YPG as a rare reliable ally on the ground in Syria.
By reaching a deal with Russia, which supports Syrian Assad, Washington hopes that it will help launch talks on a political transition in Syria.
On Thursday, the U.N. said Russia had agreed to a 48-hour humanitarian ceasefire in the divided Syrian city of Aleppo to allow aid deliveries, although U.N. officials said they were waiting for security guarantees from parties on the ground before moving forward.
The United Nations has pushed for a weekly pause in the fighting in Aleppo to deliver food, water and medicine to civilians caught in the fighting.
Separately, Syrian rebels and government forces agreed in a deal on Thursday to evacuate all residents and insurgents from the besieged Damascus suburb of Daraya, ending one of the longest standoffs in the five-year conflict.
(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Peter Cooney and Dominic Evans) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-kerry-lavrov-idUSKCN11102B?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/fec7651347b132076d9ac7cb5576dd46b46b6bba719dab3c58ecf4499285773e.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-26T13:20:21 | null | 2016-08-25T23:32:01 | New Zealand's Lydia Ko, seeking her fourth Canadian Women's Open title before the age of 20, made a promising start when she carded a five-under-par 67 in the first round in Alberta on Thursday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-golf-lpga-idUSKCN1102OS%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DsportsNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FsportsNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BSports%2BNews%2529.json | http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160825&t=2&i=1151100372&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7O1O2 | en | null | Ko starts strongly in quest for fourth Canadian Open title | null | null | www.reuters.com | Aug 25, 2016; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Lydia Ko of New Zealand hits her drive off the tenth tee box during the first round of the Canadian Pacific Women's Open golf tournament at Priddis Greens Golf Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
New Zealand's Lydia Ko, seeking her fourth Canadian Women's Open title before the age of 20, made a promising start when she carded a five-under-par 67 in the first round in Alberta on Thursday.
The Korean-born teenager, four days after her silver medal- winning performance at the Rio Olympics, wasted no time getting back into the bread-and-butter swing of regular LPGA competition.
She completed her round in style by sinking a tricky five-foot par putt with her assured cross-handed putting stroke at the scenic Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club in Calgary.
Ko made the Canadian Women's Open her first LPGA victory when she triumphed in 2012 at the age of 15. She added further wins at the tournament in 2013 and again last year.
"The course and the environment really remind me of New Zealand," world number one Ko, 19, told Golf Channel after a round that included six birdies and one bogey.
She conceded it was a challenge to stay mentally sharp after the enjoyable but draining experience in Rio, where she finished five strokes behind golf medallist Park In-bee as golf returned to the Olympics for the first time in more than a century.
"The Olympics was surreal, a week like I've never experienced before," Ko said.
"Coming into a big week where I'm also defending, it is tough because you're coming in with so much adrenaline and because I've played well a little bit more added pressure, but I love being here."
Ko was one stroke behind English leader Stephanie Meadow with half the field back in the clubhouse.
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-golf-lpga-idUSKCN1102OS?feedType=RSS&feedName=sportsNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FsportsNews+%28Reuters+Sports+News%29 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/83731e5d3f12f34a0854a3bdc3a7f0e866befd5d6b508ef677da3d72f47749f3.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-26T13:18:21 | null | 2016-08-26T12:09:18 | Vítor Sarquis Hallack hasstepped down as chairman of Brazil's Camargo Correa SA as the Brazilian engineering company involved in thecountry's worst corruption scandal moves to transform itselfinto an investment holding firm, O Estado de S. Paulo newspaperreported on Friday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fcamargo-correa-moves-hallack-idUSL1N1B70C5%3Ftype%3DcompanyNews%26feedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DcompanyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FcompanyNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BCompany%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | Brazil's Camargo Correa chairman Hallack quits, Estado says | null | null | www.reuters.com | SAO PAULO Aug 26 Vítor Sarquis Hallack has stepped down as chairman of Brazil's Camargo Correa SA as the Brazilian engineering company involved in the country's worst corruption scandal moves to transform itself into an investment holding firm, O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper reported on Friday.
According to Estado, Camargo Correa, which was founded in 1939 as a civil construction company, is intensifying the search for a replacement for Hallack, who was chairman for about 10 years. The grandchildren of founder Sebastião Camargo occupy most of its board seats.
"The integration of the controlling family's third generation into the command of the holding company is the natural path and the result of long-term planning," Hallack said in a statement sent to Estado.
A spokesman for São Paulo-based Camargo Correa did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Hallack's departure comes a year after Camargo Correa agreed to pay 800 million reais ($249 million) in damages from a corruption scheme at state companies. Its executives were the first to admit taking part in the scheme, which has also accelerated the downfall of President Dilma Rousseff's government.
Camargo Correa is Brazil's No. 2 construction company after Odebrecht SA, which is also involved in the "Car Wash" scandal.
Under Hallack, Camargo Correa diversified from the core construction business further into cement, toll roads, fashion and electricity. A former Vale SA senior executive, he could not immediately be reached for comment.
The youngest Camargos, however, have pushed to sell some of those businesses if bids look attractive, leading Camargo Correa to divest stakes in power holding company CPFL Energia SA and apparel maker Alpargatas SA in recent months, Estado said.
($1 = 3.2297 Brazilian reais) (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) | http://www.reuters.com/article/camargo-correa-moves-hallack-idUSL1N1B70C5?type=companyNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=companyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FcompanyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Company+News%29 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/dc2461a69d02cdf1f6518f93dc00d331e808280de02c1519621a2e82a0cf7a1d.json |
[
"Colleen Jenkins"
] | 2016-08-26T23:01:36 | null | 2016-08-26T21:40:59 | SALEM, N.C. (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday blocked the University of North Carolina from enforcing a state law requiring transgender people to use single-sex restrooms and locker rooms that correspond to the gender on their birth certificate. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-usa-lgbt-idUSKCN1112F1%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DdomesticNews.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160826&t=2&i=1151226060&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7P1GC | en | null | Relief granted to transgender students fighting North Carolina's bathroom law | null | null | www.reuters.com | A sign protesting a recent North Carolina law restricting transgender bathroom access is seen in the bathroom stalls at the 21C Museum Hotel in Durham, North Carolina May 3, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake/File Photo
A gender-neutral bathroom is seen at the University of California, Irvine in Irvine, California September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. A U.S. judge on Friday blocked the University of North Carolina from enforcing a state law requiring transgender people to use single-sex restrooms and locker rooms that correspond to the gender on their birth certificate.
U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Schroeder's order granting a preliminary injunction applies only to the three transgender plaintiffs named in a lawsuit challenging the measure, known as House Bill 2 or HB 2. North Carolina in March became the first U.S. state to bar people from using restrooms in government buildings and public schools consistent with their gender identity.
“In short, UNC may not apply HB2’s one-size-fits-all approach to what must be a case-by-case inquiry,” wrote Schroeder, noting that his order effectively returned all involved to the status quo before the new law passed “wherein public agencies accommodated the individual transgender Plaintiffs on a case-by-case basis, rather than applying a blanket rule to all people in all facilities under all circumstances.”
The judge, an appointee of Republican former President George W. Bush, heard oral arguments in the case on Aug. 1 in Winston-Salem.
Lawyers for Republican Governor Pat McCrory and other Republican lawmakers who support the measure said it offered common-sense protection of state residents' privacy and safety, even though it included no specific language for enforcement.
The U.S. Justice Department and the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued the state on behalf of three transgender people, called the law stigmatizing and unconstitutional.
Bathroom access has become a flashpoint in the legal and cultural battle over transgender rights in the United States. An estimated 0.6 percent of U.S. adults identify as transgender, according to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law. Debates about which public restroom facilities they and transgender children should use have divided courts, state legislatures and schools.
(Additional reporting by Letitia Stein; Editing by Sandra Maler and Andrew Hay) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-lgbt-idUSKCN1112F1?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/5a7ac322627ab1c227ac61f2b69896951a4d8bf42734db6bcfa2390277e95e11.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-31T12:52:47 | null | 2016-08-31T12:18:11 | National Commerce Corp | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2FidUSFWN1BC096%3Ftype%3DcompanyNews%26feedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DcompanyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FcompanyNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BCompany%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | BRIEF-National Commerce Corp to merge with Private Bancshares Inc | null | null | www.reuters.com | Aug 31 National Commerce Corp
* Private Bancshares Inc enters into definitive agreement to join National Commerce Corporation
* National Commerce Corp says definitive agreement providing for merger of private bancshares with and into NCC
* Boards of directors of NCC, NBC, Private Bancshares and PBB have unanimously approved transaction
* Each share of stock of private bancshares will be converted into right to receive either 0.85417 shares of NCC common stock or cash of $20.50
* Total amount of cash payable in merger will in no event exceed $8.3 million Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: | http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1BC096?type=companyNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=companyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FcompanyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Company+News%29 | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/8fd3edf67df9958b173352159174ec3fd83fc3d527e0952acd2556cd6f55a1ae.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-26T13:21:02 | null | 2016-08-26T08:16:18 | A Chinese citizen has been arrested in Hong Kong in connection with a cyber attack that cost Austrian aerospace parts maker FACC 42 million euros ($47.39 million), Austrian police said on Friday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-facc-cyber-arrest-china-idUSKCN1110PR%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DtechnologyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FtechnologyNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BTechnology%2BNews%2529.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160826&t=2&i=1151138997&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7P0CG | en | null | Chinese man arrested in Hong Kong over FACC cyber attack in Austria | null | null | www.reuters.com | An illustration picture shows a projection of binary code on a man holding a laptop computer, in an office in Warsaw June 24, 2013. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
VIENNA A Chinese citizen has been arrested in Hong Kong in connection with a cyber attack that cost Austrian aerospace parts maker FACC 42 million euros ($47.39 million), Austrian police said on Friday.
FACC fired its chief executive and chief financial officer after the attack, which involved hoax emails asking an employee to transfer money for a fake acquisition project - a kind of scam known as a "fake president incident".
FACC's customers include Airbus and Boeing.
A 32-year-old man, who was an authorized signatory of a Hong Kong-based firm that received around 4 million euros from FACC, was arrested on July 1 on suspicion of money laundering, a spokesman for Austria's Federal Office for Crime said.
Such attacks, also known as "business email compromise", involve thieves gaining access to legitimate email accounts inside a company – often those of top executives – to carry out unauthorized transfers of funds.
The technique, which relies on simple trickery or more sophisticated computer intrusions, typically targets businesses working with international suppliers that regularly perform wire transfers.
A spokesman for FACC said the company was working on getting back 10 million euros which had been found and frozen on accounts in different countries around the world. These 10 million euros are not included in the 42 million euro hit the group has already booked.
The spokesman declined to give details on the arrest or the location of the accounts.
In June, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said identified losses from this scam totaled $3.1 billion and had risen by 1,300 percent in the past 18 months.
Such scams have been reported by 22,143 victims in all 50 U.S. states and in 100 countries around the world.
The FBI said reports indicate that fraudulent transfers have been made to 79 countries with the majority going to Asian banks located in China and Hong Kong.
Another tool for fraud, "ransomware", which has received much media attention over the past year, refers to malicious software that thieves use to blocks access to a computer until a ransom is paid.
Security experts say the two trends are the fastest growing cyber security threats to businesses worldwide.
FBI report: here
(Reporting By Shadia Nasralla and Eric Auchard in Frankfurt; editing by Ralph Boulton) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-facc-cyber-arrest-china-idUSKCN1110PR?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtechnologyNews+%28Reuters+Technology+News%29 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/caa922b7efc4bb98b3c423184ff7342169d89e548cb167eff1bf300311888598.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-26T20:50:57 | null | 2016-08-26T20:27:41 | Rightside Group | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2FidUSFWN1B70L4%3Ftype%3DcompanyNews%26feedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DcompanyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FcompanyNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BCompany%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | BRIEF-Rightside Group signs deal with Google | null | null | www.reuters.com | Aug 26 Rightside Group
* On august 22, 2016, co and Google entered into Google services agreement effective as of August 1, 2016
* Co may implement advertising links provided by Google's adsense for domains service on domain names owned by co or certain of its customers
* Pursuant to terms, will generate revenues when consumers click through listings to or otherwise view Google advertisers' advertisements Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: | http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1B70L4?type=companyNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=companyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FcompanyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Company+News%29 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/1de3d7d0a211e4e3d25fb7ce2e4c5f13880eec37d6aa2ebde3b0b894f8077eff.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-29T12:53:39 | null | 2016-08-29T12:15:05 | Residents of the Umbrian town of Perugia gathered on Sunday (August 28) evening in the main square to eat pasta all'Amatriciana in support of the earthquake | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-italy-quake-pasta-idUSKCN11418C%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DlifestyleMolt.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160829&t=2&i=1151439634&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7S0LR | en | null | Pasta all'Amatriciana served with 'lots of love' for Italy's quake victims | null | null | www.reuters.com | Volunteers prepare 'Amatriciana', a type of pasta dish created in Amatrice, at a tent camp in Sant'Angelo, following an earthquake in central Italy, August 28, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
A volunteer prepares 'Amatriciana', a type of pasta dish created in Amatrice, at a tent camp in Sant'Angelo, following an earthquake in central Italy, August 28, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
Volunteers prepare 'Amatriciana', a type of pasta dish created in Amatrice, at a tent camp in Sant'Angelo, following an earthquake in central Italy, August 28, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
Volunteers prepare 'Amatriciana', a type of pasta dish created in Amatrice, at a tent camp in Sant'Angelo, following an earthquake in central Italy, August 28, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
Volunteers prepare 'Amatriciana', a type of pasta dish created in Amatrice, at a tent camp in Sant'Angelo, following an earthquake in central Italy, August 28, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
Volunteers prepare 'Amatriciana', a type of pasta dish created in Amatrice, at a tent camp in Sant'Angelo, following an earthquake in central Italy, August 28, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
People stand in line for 'Amatriciana', a type of pasta dish created in Amatrice, at a tent camp in Sant'Angelo, following an earthquake in central Italy, August 28, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
Residents of the Umbrian town of Perugia gathered on Sunday (August 28) evening in the main square to eat pasta all'Amatriciana in support of the earthquake victims from neighboring communities.
At least 290 people died in Wednesday's (August 24) 6.2 magnitude earthquake which hit the regions of Lazio and Le Marche bordering Umbria.
Some 500 people took part in the initiative which served up the local speciality pasta and sauce, which hails from the town of Amatrice badly hit by the quake.
The "Amatriciana" sauce is made from tomatoes and bacon and a hearty sprinkling of pecorino cheese.
All donations were made at the discretion of the pasta eaters and the collected money will be used to provide essentials such as food and drinks to the quake victims.
Towns all over Italy have taken part in the event collecting money for the quake victims.
The central Umbria region also experienced a magnitude 6.1 earthquake in 1997 which brought devastation to the region with parts of the ceiling of the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi collapsing. | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-quake-pasta-idUSKCN11418C?feedType=RSS&feedName=lifestyleMolt | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/2d39a96195c18da2f37f55c09f3ef4db5837d86d489a157a76d89973b7de67c3.json |
[
"Jessica Resnick-Ault"
] | 2016-08-30T18:52:26 | null | 2016-08-30T18:12:00 | Ault | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-refinery-sale-exxon-mobil-idUSKCN1152FR.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160830&t=2&i=1151621381&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7T1FV | en | null | Exxon Mobil preparing to put Montana refinery on block: sources | null | null | www.reuters.com | The logo of Exxon Mobil Corporation is shown on a monitor above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, December 30, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo
NEW YORK Exxon Mobil Corp is in the first stages of seeking a potential buyer for its Billings, Montana, refinery, one of the company's only U.S. plants that is not integrated with its chemical operations, according to people familiar with the plans.
At least one potential bidder has already visited the 60,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) plant, according to two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The refinery could fetch $500 million to $700 million, according to a person familiar with refinery valuations.
Exxon said it did not comment on rumors or speculation, adding it "regularly evaluates its global portfolio of businesses and opportunities for growth, restructuring or divestment, in accordance with the company’s overall strategic business objectives."
They added that the company "remains committed to conducting business in Montana, as it has for more than 40 years."
Majors, including Chevron Corp and Exxon, have been shedding smaller refineries that are not integrated with their production or chemicals systems.
The Billings refinery does not have chemical units, but processes oil into products such as gasoline and diesel. It is one of Exxon's two remaining U.S. refineries that does not have an adjacent chemical facility.
As refining margins have narrowed, plants that do not produce chemicals may have a less predictable profit stream, making them candidates for majors to sell off.
Exxon sold its Torrance, California, refinery to PBF Energy last month. Last year, PBF bought the Chalmette, Louisiana refinery from Exxon Mobil and Petroleos de Venezuela, which had owned it jointly.
Chemicals can provide another revenue stream when refining margins narrow, according to Jeff Quigley, director of energy markets at Stratas Advisors.
"The thinking has always been that integration gives more value chain flexibility," he said. "Gasoline margins won't be doing much for them for awhile because the market is heavily oversupplied," he said.
Refineries integrated with chemical plants can produce very light fuels, known as lighter-ends, to support more profitable petrochemical facilities, he said.
Potential buyers including PBF Energy Inc have visited the plant to review it this summer, according to people familiar with the process. PBF did not reply to telephone calls or emails.
The plant could also attract interest from other independent refiners, as well as Canadian oil producers who want additional processing capacity, according to people familiar with refining deals.
Exxon does not usually negotiate directly with a single bidder for an asset, but prefers to run an auction process, according to people familiar with past deals.
The refinery is one of the highest quality plants in the Rocky Mountains, with a fluidized coking unit for refining heavy oil, according to people familiar with the region's infrastructure.
The plant primarily processes crude either imported from Canada or transported from nearby Wyoming. The proximity to Wyoming's discounted crude makes it particularly desirable, people said. It, along with Chevron Corp's Salt Lake City, Utah, refinery, is viewed as a top asset in the Rocky Mountains, according to Matthew Blair, an equity researcher at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co.
"Every inland refiner would be interested," Blair said. "They're small for the majors, but the rate of return on them is going to be good."
(Reporting by Jessica Resnick-Ault; Editing by Alan Crosby) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-refinery-sale-exxon-mobil-idUSKCN1152FR | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/152be0dea2c315daf34eb36c21e6d5495e335a713241c00db7187955fefbd3c4.json |
[
"Jill Serjeant"
] | 2016-08-26T18:57:25 | null | 2016-08-26T16:47:09 | Britney Spears is hitting up pop culture one more time, releasing a new album, singing retro karaoke hits and about to take the MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) stage for the first time since 2007. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-people-britneyspears-idUSKCN111210%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DpeopleNews.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160826&t=2&i=1151197934&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7P19X | en | null | Oops! Britney Spears does it again in latest pop culture comeback | null | null | www.reuters.com | Millennium Award recipient Britney Spears performs a medley of songs at the 2016 Billboard Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., May 22, 2016. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
NEW YORK Britney Spears is hitting up pop culture one more time, releasing a new album, singing retro karaoke hits and about to take the MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) stage for the first time since 2007.
Spears, 34, who became a teen pop phenomenon with breathy, sexually-charged hits like "Toxic" and "Oops!.. I Did it Again," released new album "Glory" on Friday ahead of a much anticipated return to the VMA show on Sunday in New York.
She also became the latest superstar to ride, sing and chat with U.S. talk show host James Corden for his viral "Carpool Karaoke" segment, where both donned the schoolgirl uniforms that shot her to fame as a 16-year old in the 1998 music video for "... Baby One More Time."
Spears dominated pop music before undergoing a personal and career meltdown in 2006-2007 that included shaving her signature blonde locks, losing custody of her two children and being placed under a court-ordered conservatorship.
She made a comeback in late 2008 and for the past three years has been performing a nightly show in Las Vegas. But the new album and the anticipation surrounding her VMA performance have thrust her back in the national spotlight.
Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield said "Glory" was "another fantastic comeback" for Spears, in which she "goes back to the fizzy electro-stomp mode she does best."
"Glory" was top of the iTunes charts in more than 40 nations on Friday, including Saudi Arabia, Chile and Russia.
Billboard's Jennifer Keishin Armstrong said that with the single and music video for "Make Me", Spear had "reclaimed her standout talent, a distinctive dance style that combines cheerleader precision with slinky bits of burlesque."
Spears will perform "Make Me," with rapper G-Eazy, at the live VMA show, her first appearance there since her halting performance of "Gimme More" in 2007 when her career hit a low.
"She has had such a huge impact on this show throughout her career, so for us to have her back is a no-brainer," said Garrett English, executive producer of the VMA show.
"She embodies what the VMAs is to a large extent and she has had some of the biggest moments on this stage, and I think Sunday night will be the same," English added.
Spears is also to be the subject of a 2017 TV biopic for the Lifetime cable channel that will chart her rise to fame along with her stumbles, and her romances with Justin Timberlake and ex-husbands Jason Alexander and Kevin Federline.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Alistair Bell) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-britneyspears-idUSKCN111210?feedType=RSS&feedName=peopleNews | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/34f30a6a61e2e1fed558de30bf42734ff23d0d4dba278d571b8c9aac4a51cfbc.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-29T06:52:03 | null | 2016-08-29T05:30:47 | Swiss drugmaker Roche (ROG.S) said on Monday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for its test for the Zika virus. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-roche-zika-idUSKCN1140BL.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160829&t=2&i=1151405355&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7S05G | en | null | Roche says U.S. FDA issues Emergency Use Authorization for Zika test | null | null | www.reuters.com | Swiss drugmaker Roche's logo is seen at their headquarters in Basel, Switzerland January 28, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
ZURICH Swiss drugmaker Roche (ROG.S) said on Monday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for its test for the Zika virus.
"The LightMix Zika test is an easy-to-use molecular diagnostic test that enables healthcare professionals to quickly detect the virus," said Uwe Oberlaender, the head of molecular diagnostics at Basel-based Roche.
The virus has been associated with microcephaly, a birth defect characterized by an unusually small head and potential developmental problems.
(Reporting by Joshua Franklin; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-roche-zika-idUSKCN1140BL | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/f280ff40963372a04384232e949c75f1c4508e0e7ebe7248014d6eecca1d7bea.json |
[
"Chris Kahn"
] | 2016-08-26T21:02:25 | null | 2016-08-26T19:33:58 | U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton leads her Republican rival Donald Trump by 5 percentage points among likely voters, down from a peak this month of 12 points, according to the Reuters/Ipsos daily tracking poll released on Friday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-usa-election-poll-idUSKCN11128U%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DtopNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FtopNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BTop%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160826&t=2&i=1151214378&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7P1DS | en | null | Clinton leads Trump by 5 points in Reuters/Ipsos poll | null | null | www.reuters.com | NEW YORK U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton leads her Republican rival Donald Trump by 5 percentage points among likely voters, down from a peak this month of 12 points, according to the Reuters/Ipsos daily tracking poll released on Friday.
The Aug. 22-25 opinion poll found that 41 percent of likely voters supported Clinton ahead of the Nov. 8 presidential election, while 36 percent supported Trump. Some 23 percent would not pick either candidate and answered "refused," "other" or "wouldn't vote."
Clinton, a former secretary of state, has led real estate developer Trump in the poll since Democrats and Republicans ended their national conventions and formally nominated their presidential candidates in July. Her level of support has varied between 41 and 45 percent during that period, and her lead over Trump in the tracking poll peaked this month at 12 percentage points on Tuesday.
During the past week, Clinton has been dogged by accusations by Trump, which she has denied, that donations to her family's charitable foundation influenced her actions while she was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. Questions have also surfaced again about her use of a private email server and address rather than a government one during her period at the State Department.
Meanwhile, Trump and Clinton also sparred over who would be a better advocate for African Americans and other minorities, and Trump hinted he could soften his hard-line stance on immigration. [nL1N1B714Z]
In a separate Reuters/Ipsos poll that includes candidates from small, alternative parties, Clinton leads the field by a smaller margin. Some 39 percent of likely voters supported Clinton in the four-way poll, compared with 36 percent for Trump, 7 percent for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and 3 percent for Green Party nominee Jill Stein.
Both polls were conducted online in English in all 50 states. They included 1,154 likely voters and have a credibility interval of 3 percentage points.
The results may differ from the Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation project, which includes a separate weekly tracking poll that measures support for the major party candidates in every state and Washington D.C.
The States of the Nation, released on Wednesday, estimated that if the election were held now Clinton would have a 95 percent chance of winning by a margin of about 108 votes in the Electoral College, the body that decides the election through a count of the candidates' wins in each state.
(Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Frances Kerry) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-poll-idUSKCN11128U?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/e95a7a189378acb9a5a51bc40e04e0420e2fe88f3412c9e9b677bd612eb4a876.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-30T21:02:42 | null | 2016-08-30T19:58:01 | Germany's Defence Ministry on Tuesday informed lawmakers that its plan to lease armed Heron TP drones from Israel Aerospace Industries [ISRAI.UL] will be delayed by months given a fresh legal challenge filed by U.S. weapons maker General Atomics. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-germany-drones-idUSKCN1152M0%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DtechnologyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FtechnologyNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BTechnology%2BNews%2529.json | http://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160830&t=2&i=1151631381&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7T1IP | en | null | General Atomics lawsuit to delay Heron drone program: Germany | null | null | www.reuters.com | Visitors walk past a surveillance unmanned air vehicle (UAV) 'Heron TP' by IAI and Airbus Defence at the ILA Berlin Air Show in Schoenefeld, south of Berlin, Germany, May 31, 2016. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
BERLIN Germany's Defence Ministry on Tuesday informed lawmakers that its plan to lease armed Heron TP drones from Israel Aerospace Industries [ISRAI.UL] will be delayed by months given a fresh legal challenge filed by U.S. weapons maker General Atomics.
Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen in January announced the army would lease the Heron drones for about 580 million euros instead of buying Predator B drones from the privately held U.S. firm or Switzerland's RUAG, prompting protests by both firms which were denied in May.
"This move by General Atomics is very unfortunate and frustrating, especially since our legal position was upheld by the (cartel office) with very clear words," a senior ministry acquisition official told lawmakers in a letter seen by Reuters.
The ministry did not disclose General Atomics' arguments. No comment from General Atomics was immediately available.
It was the latest setback for the minister's efforts to rebuild the German military after years of declining military budgets and reports of ill-equipped troops.
Germany's air force is facing growing problems due to delays in deliveries of the Airbus A400M military transport, and a $4 billion air defense system to be built by Lockheed Martin Corp and MBDA is also facing possible delays. MBDA is jointly owned by Airbus, Britain's BAE Systems Plc and Italy's Leonardo Finmeccanica SpA.
General Atomics had in June asked the German cartel office to review a decision rejecting its protest of the contract decision, but the agency rejected that bid on Aug. 17, according to the ministry letter, which was first reported by Spiegel Online.
In response, the company on Monday filed a lawsuit with the German higher court in Duesseldorf, the final arbiter in the case, the ministry official said.
RUAG did not pursue its case with the cartel office.
The ministry official said the latest legal process could take three to nine months to resolve, which meant the Heron project could be delayed by months.
Tobis Lindner, a Green party member of the parliamentary budget committee, said critics had long questioned whether von der Leyen's decision to lease the Israeli drones was the economically and technologically least risky option.
"It now appears that the Defence Ministry's plans are now falling apart. Ursula von der Leyen's ambitious drone plans are over for this legislative period," he said in a statement.
The leasing plan was intended as an interim measure until the EU has developed its own drone. Germany, France, Italy and Spain plan to jointly develop a drone by 2025.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Alison Williams) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-drones-idUSKCN1152M0?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtechnologyNews+%28Reuters+Technology+News%29 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/eaae14c515a35ce52b1ed28fcd1a24c11d39d86a67bc699ceaa71a639e2d25d5.json |
[
"Jatindra Dash"
] | 2016-08-26T13:18:43 | null | 2016-08-25T14:40:31 | By Jatindra DashBHUBANESWAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Authorities in eastern India are struggling to evacuate more than 100,000 people stranded | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-india-floods-idUSKCN11016H%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DenvironmentNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252Fenvironment%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BEnvironment%2529.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160825&t=2&i=1151018379&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7O0VE | en | null | Eastern India struggles to evacuate reluctant villagers as floods wreak havoc | null | null | www.reuters.com | A boy climbs a partially submerged electric pole as he plays with others on the flooded banks of Ganga river, in Allahabad, India, August 21, 2016. REUTERS/Jitendra Prakash
Boys put broken bamboo hut sticks onto a partially submerged temple in the flooded banks of the river Ganga in Allahabad, India, August 11, 2016. REUTERS/Jitendra Prakash
Rescue workers lift a boat with the help of a crane at the Sabarmati river after a flood alert in Ahmedabad, India, August 22, 2016. REUTERS/Amit Dave
Boys stand on the roof of a partially submerged cremation ground on the flooded banks of river Ganga, in Allahabad, India, August 18, 2016. REUTERS/Jitendra Prakash
A man unloads relief food material from an Indian Air Force helicopter to be distributed among the flood victims, on the outskirts of Allahabad, India, August 24, 2016. REUTERS/Jitendra Prakash
People unload relief food material from an Indian Air Force helicopter to be distributed among the flood victims, on the outskirts of Allahabad, India, August 24, 2016. REUTERS/Jitendra Prakash
People affected by flooding run to receive emergency food parcels delivered by an Indian Air Force helicopter on the outskirts of Allahabad, India, August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Jitendra Prakash
An aerial view of a flooded village on the outskirts of Allahabad, India. REUTERS/Jitendra Prakash
Food parcels are unloaded from an Indian Air Force helicopter to be distributed among those affected by flooding on the outskirts of Allahabad, India, August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Jitendra Prakash
People affected by flooding stand on a partially submerged house as they wait to receive food parcels being distributed by a Indian Air Force helicopter on the outskirts of Allahabad, India, August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Jitendra Prakash
BHUBANESWAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Authorities in eastern India are struggling to evacuate more than 100,000 people stranded in villages after floods intensified, killing more than 300 and driving hundreds of thousands from their homes, officials said on Thursday.
The heavy monsoon rains have caused rivers including the Ganges and its tributaries to burst their banks forcing over 200,000 people into relief camps in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.
The deluge has submerged thousands of villages, washed away crops, destroyed homes and roads and disrupted power and phone lines, affecting millions of people across the five states.
In India's eastern Bihar state, one of the worst-hit regions, disaster management officials said villagers in some areas were not willing to be evacuated, reluctant to leave their homes, possessions and livestock for fear of looting.
"We are asking them with folded hands, please come to the relief centers. Those who do not want to leave homes, their number is very large, probably more than 100,000 people," said Bihar's Principal Secretary for Disaster Management Vyas Ji.
"The water is rising downstream and we do not want people in those areas to stay in their houses," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Since the monsoons began in June, more than five million people across 26 out of Bihar's 38 districts have been affected and at least 127 people have died, mostly due to drowning.
In the past week, 2.3 million people have had their lives disrupted and the death toll has reached 28. At least 107,000 people have taken refuge in government relief camps.
News reports said one person died and nine others were missing in Aurangabad district after a boat carrying 18 people who were trying to flee the disaster sank in the Punpun river, a tributary of the Ganges, on Tuesday.
In neighboring Uttar Pradesh state, at least 53 people have died and more than 1.8 million people across 29 out of total of 75 districts have been hit by the disaster.
Television pictures showed people wading neck-high in water in Ballia district, while others took shelter on roof tops of multi-storey buildings.
Uttar Pradesh's Relief Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Singh said rescue and relief teams from the National Disaster Response Forces had evacuated thousands of people in boats and the Indian Air Force was airdropping food packets from helicopters.
"More than 90,000 people have been displaced from their homes and about 60,000 of them have taken shelter in relief camps," Singh told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
"The good thing is there has been no rain over the last three days."
India usually experiences monsoon rains from June to September, which are vital for its agriculture -- making up 18 percent of its gross domestic product and providing employment for almost half of its 1.3 billion population.
But in many states the rains frequently cause landslides and flooding that devastate crops, destroy homes and expose people to diseases such as diarrhea.
Authorities said there was no problem in reaching flood-hit areas, but television pictures on Wednesday showed crowds of people in Bihar's Patna district blocking roads and complaining of a lack of aid.
"We are in difficulty. We are not getting food," a middle-aged woman standing on an embankment told Kashish News, a local Hindi station.
(Reporting by Jatindra Dash. Editing by Nita Bhalla and Astrid Zweynert. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-floods-idUSKCN11016H?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/35fb96b39330cc0b61ff5642ad026a7d8da7aa81e94198b49df4e9a3bfbcca76.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-29T20:52:09 | null | 2016-08-29T20:26:20 | Mondelez International Inc, themaker of Oreo cookies and Cadbury chocolates, said on Monday itwas "no longer pursuing" a merger with Hershey Co. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fhershey-ma-mondelez-intl-idUSL3N1BA4FW%3Ftype%3DcompanyNews%26feedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DcompanyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FcompanyNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BCompany%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | Mondelez no longer pursuing merger with Hershey | null | null | www.reuters.com | Aug 29 Mondelez International Inc, the maker of Oreo cookies and Cadbury chocolates, said on Monday it was "no longer pursuing" a merger with Hershey Co.
The news comes a month after the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office unveiled the terms of a reform agreement with the charitable trust that controls Hershey.
Hershey said in July it had rejected a $23 billion takeover bid by Mondelez.
"Following additional discussions, and taking into account recent shareholder developments at Hershey, we determined that there is no actionable path forward toward an agreement," Mondelez Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld said in a statement on Monday. (Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirti Pandey) | http://www.reuters.com/article/hershey-ma-mondelez-intl-idUSL3N1BA4FW?type=companyNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=companyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FcompanyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Company+News%29 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/7fbb5eb9ef3a9de6c688bebfb0a8a4f8f9332afd602774899a2ad7b8068b7c66.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-26T13:18:36 | null | 2016-08-25T15:30:33 | Wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson topped a Forbes magazine list of the world's highest paid actors on Thursday with an estimated 2016 payday of $64.5 million. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-people-actors-highestpaid-idUSKCN1101H0%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DentertainmentNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252Fentertainment%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BEntertainment%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160825&t=2&i=1151039414&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7O168 | en | null | Dwayne Johnson dethrones Robert Downey Jr. as highest paid actor | null | null | www.reuters.com | Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters at Madame Tussauds in London, Britain April 13, 2016. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
1. Dwayne Johnson is the world's highest paid actor this year with $64 million in earnings. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
NEW YORK Wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson topped a Forbes magazine list of the world's highest paid actors on Thursday with an estimated 2016 payday of $64.5 million.
Johnson, 44, knocked Robert Downey Jr. off the top spot and more than doubled his 2015 earnings, largely thanks to his action comedy "Central Intelligence." Johnson, known as "The Rock" during his wrestling career, also collected advance fees from the eighth installment of the popular "Fast and Furious" racing movie franchise.
The Forbes annual list again highlighted the pay gap between men and women in Hollywood. Earlier this week the magazine named "Hunger Games" star Jennifer Lawrence the world's highest paid actress for a second straight year, with an estimated 2016 take of $46 million.
Forbes said 18 actors banked more than $20 million in its June 2015-June 2016 scoring period, compared with four actresses.
Jackie Chan, who has not had a big U.S. box office hit for years but is a prolific actor and producer in the burgeoning Chinese entertainment market, was second on the list with $61 million. Matt Damon came in third with $55 million, largely due to the success of his 2015 space film "The Martian."
"Iron Man" Downey fell from top spot, despite reprising his comic book hero role in "Captain America: Civil War." He ranked eighth, tied with Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, with $33 million.
Harrison Ford crept onto the list for the first time since 2009 thanks to his return as Han Solo in the blockbuster new "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" movie and video game. Ford, who also is to reprise his role as adventurer Indiana Jones in 2019, ranked 20th with earnings of about $15 million.
Forbes estimates earnings, before taxes and management fees, from movies, TV and commercial endorsements.
The rest of the Top 10 were:
4. Tom Cruise $53 million
5. Johnny Depp $48 million
6. Ben Affleck $43 million
7. Vin Diesel $35 million
8. Shah Rukh Khan $33 million
8. Robert Downey Jr. $33 million
10. Kumar Akshay $31 million
The full list can be seen at //www.forbes.com/sites/natalierobehmed/2016/08/25/the-worlds-highest-paid-actors-2016-the-rock-leads-with-knockout-64-5-million-year/#29ed7c5645da
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bill Trott) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-actors-highestpaid-idUSKCN1101H0?feedType=RSS&feedName=entertainmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fentertainment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Entertainment%29 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/45f51585ef237022dc9767648bcdd7d1ae627a2111175ab8b2f2c9c49b2831f9.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-30T18:52:21 | null | 2016-08-30T17:56:52 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2FidUSASC094D6%3Ftype%3DcompanyNews%26feedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DcompanyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FcompanyNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BCompany%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | SpartanNash appoints Tammy Hurley CEO | null | null | www.reuters.com | Uber hires senior Target executive
Aug 30 Global ride-hailing service Uber Technologies Inc said it had hired Jeff Jones, chief marketing officer at Target Corp, to be president of its flagship ride-sharing business. | http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASC094D6?type=companyNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=companyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FcompanyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Company+News%29 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/a5185337c0954219d1d04efe8da13fa5152f531ed6288a8ea5cf0f53c060264f.json |
[
"Yashaswini Swamynathan"
] | 2016-08-26T14:50:26 | null | 2016-08-26T14:31:32 | Wall Street was higher on Friday morning after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the case for raising U.S. interest rates has strengthened in recent months. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-usa-stocks-idUSKCN1111KW%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DbusinessNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FbusinessNews%2B%2528Business%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160826&t=2&i=1151175997&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7P0WT | en | null | Wall Street rises as Yellen says case for rate hike stronger | null | null | www.reuters.com | Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Wall Street was higher on Friday morning after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the case for raising U.S. interest rates has strengthened in recent months.
Yellen, speaking before a gathering of global central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, did not indicate when the Fed would raise rates, but said the central bank thinks future hikes should be "gradual".
"In light of the continued solid performance of the labor market and our outlook for economic activity and inflation, I believe the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has strengthened in recent months," Yellen said in prepared remarks.
All 10 major S&P 500 sectors were higher. Financials .SPSY, which stand to gain the most if rates are raised, jumped 0.78 percent.
Bank of America (BAC.N), JPMorgan (JPM.N), Goldman Sachs' (GS.N), Citigroup (C.N) and Wells Fargo (WFC.N) rose between 0.9 percent and 2 percent.
At 10:24 a.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 104.33 points, or 0.57 percent, at 18,552.74.
The S&P 500 .SPX was up 13.91 points, or 0.64 percent, at 2,186.38 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 37.84 points, or 0.73 percent, at 5,250.04.
The dollar index .DXY pared losses to trade largely flat.
"Yellen wants to set the table for a September hike, but perhaps only deliver the hike in November or December," said Brian Jacobsen, chief portfolio strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management, in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.
The markets have been on tenterhooks all of this week in the run-up to Yellen's speech. Wall Street has dropped about 0.5 percent from Monday through Thursday.
A report on Friday showed the U.S. economy grew at a slower pace than previously estimated for the second quarter. However, consumer spending, which makes up more than two-thirds of economic activity, was revised up to show it increased at the fastest rate since the fourth quarter of 2014.
Shares of Herbalife (HLF.N) fell 5.8 percent after a report said Carl Icahn, the nutritional supplement maker's top shareholder, was looking to sell his stake.
GameStop (GME.N) dropped 8 percent after quarterly revenue at the world's largest retailer of video games missed analysts' estimates.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 2,254 to 511. On the Nasdaq, 1,918 issues rose and 596 fell.
The S&P 500 index showed 27 new 52-week highs and 1 new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 86 new highs and 10 new lows.
(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idUSKCN1111KW?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FbusinessNews+%28Business+News%29 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/e0ebe4fe644879d0c1c5b0311f4ab538022bc9f8e3575f99333f5e70aac07850.json |
[
"Jason Lange",
"Ann Saphir"
] | 2016-08-26T14:50:15 | null | 2016-08-26T14:05:29 | The case for raising U.S. interest rates has strengthened in recent months because of improvements in the labor market and expectations for moderate economic growth, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Friday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-usa-fed-yellen-idUSKCN1111ND%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DbusinessNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FbusinessNews%2B%2528Business%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160826&t=2&i=1151177890&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7P0XX | en | null | Fed's Yellen says case for interest rate hike has strengthened | null | null | www.reuters.com | Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen attends a news conference after chairing the second day of a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee to set interest rates in Washington, DC, U.S. on June 17, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. The case for raising U.S. interest rates has strengthened in recent months because of improvements in the labor market and expectations for moderate economic growth, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Friday.
Yellen did not indicate when the U.S. central bank might raise rates, but her comments reinforced the view that such a move could come later this year. The Fed has policy meetings scheduled in September, November and December.
Speaking at a three-day international gathering of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Yellen said the "U.S. economy was nearing the Federal Reserve's statutory goals of maximum employment and price stability."
"In light of the continued solid performance of the labor market and our outlook for economic activity and inflation, I believe the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has strengthened in recent months," Yellen said in prepared remarks.
She added that the Fed still thinks future rate increases should be "gradual."
The Fed raised rates in December, its first hike in nearly a decade, but it has held off further increases so far this year due to a global growth slowdown, financial market volatility and generally tepid U.S. inflation data.
Investors currently see an 18 percent probability the Fed will raise rates at its September policy meeting and a 53 percent chance of an increase in December, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.
Yellen's comments, by failing to lay out a clear roadmap for what the Fed needs to see to raise rates, will likely not convince some investors that a rate increase is imminent, in part because Fed policymakers are seen as sharply divided over whether to increase rates soon or take a more cautious approach.
Yellen was speaking on Friday at a Fed conference on designing new monetary policy frameworks, with central bankers eager to find new ways to stimulate economies even after they have cut rates to near zero and flooded banks with money.
She devoted much of her speech to outlining how the Fed may deal with future recessions now that many economists and Fed officials believe that an aging population and other dynamics appear to be slowing U.S. economic growth over the long term.
Because slower growth means future U.S. interest rates will likely also need to be lower on average, some analysts have suggested that the Fed will have less room to fight future recessions because there will be less room to cut rates.
Such a view is "exaggerated," Yellen said, because the Fed will be able to use bond purchases and forward guidance to ease conditions. It may also want to explore other options, including broadening the range of assets it can purchase, raising the inflation target, or targeting nominal GDP, she said.
(Reporting by Jason Lange and Ann Saphir; Additional reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir in Washington; Editing by Paul Simao) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-yellen-idUSKCN1111ND?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FbusinessNews+%28Business+News%29 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/10c2105a559af867b70cc379935654ebe197a72f501f8c8f8930d7f3e9b39cf2.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-27T11:01:33 | null | 2016-08-27T09:53:47 | The cousin of NBA star Dwyane Wade was killed in a shooting while she pushed her child in a stroller on the South Side of Chicago on Friday, local media reported. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-chicago-crime-wade-idUSKCN11209O%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DdomesticNews.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | Cousin of NBA star Wade killed in Chicago shooting: media | null | null | www.reuters.com | The cousin of NBA star Dwyane Wade was killed in a shooting while she pushed her child in a stroller on the South Side of Chicago on Friday, local media reported.
Nykea Aldridge, 32, a mother of four, was shot in the head and arm by crossfire at about 3:30 p.m. local time on Friday in Chicago's Parkway Gardens neighborhood near a school where she had gone to register her children, the Chicago Tribune reported on Saturday.
She was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead, the paper reported.
“My cousin was killed today in Chicago. Another act of senseless gun violence. Four kids lost their mom for no reason. Unreal," Wade said in a post on Twitter.
Aldridge was the daughter of Wade's mother's sister, according to the Tribune.
Wade and his mother, Jolinda Wade, just this week spoke on an ESPN panel about gun violence in the United States and its effect on poverty-ridden places like the South Side of Chicago, where the majority of residents are black.
"We're still going to try and help these people to transform their minds and give them a different direction, so this thing won't keep happening," Jolinda Wade said outside of the hospital, according to ESPN.
In a city with as many as 90 shootings a week, homicides this year are on track to hit their highest level since 1997. Police were questioning a number of people in connection with Friday's incident, the Tribune reported.
Wade, a 12-time NBA All-Star, signed a two-year, $47.5 million deal this summer with the Chicago Bulls, to live out his childhood dream to play for his hometown team.
Wade's nephew Darin Johnson was one of six people shot by two gunmen in a South Side convenience store in 2012. The shooting left one dead, the Chicago Tribune said.
The three-time NBA world champion established the Dwyane Wade's World Foundation, that supports children in at-risk situations.
(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Susan Fenton) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-chicago-crime-wade-idUSKCN11209O?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/6ec92a70260a1ee330d24d9fb9c1de60c3fa357cf3f84c2660edcb22581cd6d7.json |
[
"Loucoumane Coulibaly"
] | 2016-08-29T12:52:27 | null | 2016-08-29T12:17:42 | Abundant rainfall last week in most of Ivory Coast's principal cocoa regions could boost the forthcoming October-to-March main crop but more sunshine is needed to accelerate the growth of small pods, farmers said on Monday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-cocoa-ivorycoast-weather-idUSKCN11418J%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DenvironmentNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252Fenvironment%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BEnvironment%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | Ivory Coast rain to boost cocoa crop but more sun needed: farmers | null | null | www.reuters.com | ABIDJAN Abundant rainfall last week in most of Ivory Coast's principal cocoa regions could boost the forthcoming October-to-March main crop but more sunshine is needed to accelerate the growth of small pods, farmers said on Monday.
Getting the right mix of rain and sunny spells during July and August is crucial for strengthening the development cocoa pods and avoiding rot and disease ahead of the main crop in the world's leading cocoa producer.
In the eastern region of Abengourou, known for the high quality of its beans, farmers reported abundant rainfall last week after dry spells earlier in the summer.
"We don't have enough large pods for the October harvest because there have not been regular rains in the area since July," N'Dri Kouao, a cocoa farmer in Niable, near the Ghanaian border, said.
"At this point, we have lots of cherelles and small pods on the trees. If it rains regularly in September and October we will have lots of large pods in November and December," Kouao said.
In the western region of Soubre, at the heart of the cocoa belt, farmers reported two good downpours during the past week.
"The rain is no longer a problem. We need lots of sun for a good development of the pods and to avoid disease," said Salame Kone, who farms on the outskirts of Soubre.
"The cocoa is developing well. We will have lots of beans this year during the main season if the rains alternate with the sun in the coming months," he said.
Farmers reported similar growing conditions in the southern regions of Aboisso, Agboville, Divo and Tiassale, and in the western region of Duekoue and Gagnoa.
In the center-western region of Daloa, which accounts for a quarter of Ivory Coast's output, farmers reported several large downpours and average sunshine last week.
"The weather is good in the bush. But we need more sunshine in the coming weeks to keep the pods from darkening due to the strong humidity and reducing the harvests at the start of the main season," said Albert N'Zue, who farms near Daloa.
"There are plantations where the harvests will easily begin near the end of September because there are large pods that are almost ripe," said N'Zue.
(Editing by Aaron Ross and David Clarke) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cocoa-ivorycoast-weather-idUSKCN11418J?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/a0db81bd7de7658cc879a0e1c4a66b87e678288f473ae870e379026200fdf06a.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-26T13:20:51 | null | 2016-08-25T17:31:35 | U.S. President Barack Obama is still committed to closing the U.S. prison for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and his administration expects to complete the task, White House said on Thursday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-usa-guantanamo-idUSKCN1101E8%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DdomesticNews.json | http://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160825&t=2&i=1151013665&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7O0RM | en | null | Obama administration expects to close Guantanamo prison: White House | null | null | www.reuters.com | WASHINGTON U.S. President Barack Obama is still committed to closing the U.S. prison for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and his administration expects to complete the task, White House said on Thursday.
"We're going to do our best to try to get this closed and it's our expectation that that's what we'll do," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a news briefing.
(Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Writing by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-guantanamo-idUSKCN1101E8?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/b0eca2ddb6db2d73db4bf4436c6a55201897f171e09950c1595cee89845ed7b9.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-30T15:03:03 | null | 2016-08-30T14:57:52 | Disgraced Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte is joining the "Dancing With the Stars" cast, ABC television announced on Tuesday, as the gold medalist said he thought reaction to his tale about being held up at a Rio de Janeiro gas station had been blown out of proportion. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-people-ryanlochte-idUSKCN1151X6%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DtopNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FtopNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BTop%2BNews%2529.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160830&t=2&i=1151592979&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7T13D | en | null | Ryan Lochte to dance with stars, says Rio scandal overblown | null | null | www.reuters.com | In this still image from video Olympic gold medallist swimmer Ryan Lochte of the U.S. gives an interview to Globo TV at their studios in New York City, August 20, 2016. Courtesy Globo TV via REUTERS
NEW YORK Disgraced Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte is joining the "Dancing With the Stars" cast, ABC television announced on Tuesday, as the gold medalist said he thought reaction to his tale about being held up at a Rio de Janeiro gas station had been blown out of proportion.
Lochte, 32, was dropped by four of his major sponsors after admitting he "overexaggerated" a tale about being robbed and held at gunpoint with three other swimmers after a party during the Rio Olympics. Brazilian authorities say the group destroyed a bathroom and urinated in public, and have recommended that Lochte be charged with falsely reporting a crime.
The swimmer, who was also vilified in the media over the incident, did not say whether he planned to return to Brazil to face the charges.
"I think it’s everyone blowing this way out of proportion. I think that’s what happened," Lochte told ABC television's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday, when asked whether he had embarrassed the United States with his actions.
"Like I said, I did lie about that one part," said Lochte, referring to his claim that a gun was held to his head. "I take full responsibility. I’m human. I made a mistake. A very big mistake."
"Everyone has got to be sick and tired about hearing about this. I just want to move forward," added Lochte, his silver-dyed hair now returned to a more natural brown.
The 12-time Olympic medalist said his appearance on the 23rd season of "Dancing With the Stars," was under discussion before he went to the Rio games. After the London Olympics in 2012 he was given his own, short-lived, TV reality show "What Would Ryan Lochte Do?"
Other "Dancing With the Stars" contestants in the season starting on Sept. 12 will include 16 year-old U.S. Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez, former Texas governor Rick Perry, and rapper Vanilla Ice.
"Dancing With the Stars," in which celebrities are paired with professional ballroom dancers and voted off by the public, has been a popular venue for those seeking a comeback or trying to change their public image. Past contestants have included Bristol Palin, daughter of the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, singer Donny Osmond, and retired Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-ryanlochte-idUSKCN1151X6?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/d58875614b6d2cba215d99924486f8354c1f81c15efa514dc3c5524932a37e17.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-26T13:18:07 | null | 2016-08-15T17:18:32 | A Russian performance artist on Monday gave his Vaclav Havel Prize to a businessman who promised to fund a Russian group whose members have been convicted of killing policemen. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-russia-artist-idUSKCN10Q1N1%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DartsNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Bnews%252Fartsculture%2B%2528Reuters%2BArts%2B%2526%2BCulture%2B%2529.json | http://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160815&t=2&i=1149760511&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7E0YP | en | null | Russian artist gives his Havel prize to group accused of killing police | null | null | www.reuters.com | Russian businessman Yevgeni Chichvarkin holds the Vaclav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent that was handed over to him by Russian artist Peter Pavlensky in Prague, Czech Republic, August 15, 2016. REUTERS/David W Cerny
Russian performance artist Peter Pavlensky (R) hands over the Vaclav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent to Russian businessman Yevgeni Chichvarkin in Prague, Czech Republic, August 15, 2016. REUTERS/David W Cerny
Russian artist Peter Pavlensky (R) hands over the Vaclav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent to Russian businessman Yevgeni Chichvarkin in Prague, Czech Republic, August 15, 2016. REUTERS/David W Cerny
PRAGUE A Russian performance artist on Monday gave his Vaclav Havel Prize to a businessman who promised to fund a Russian group whose members have been convicted of killing policemen.
Peter Pavlensky was awarded the Havel Prize for Creative Dissent by the New York-based Human Rights Foundation in May, for a performance in which he set fire to the main entrance to the headquarters of Russia's FSB security service, successor to the Soviet-era KGB.
The prize, named after the late president of the Czech Republic, "celebrates those who, with bravery and ingenuity, unmask the lie of dictatorship by living in truth," according to the foundation's website.
But the foundation later rescinded the prize and refused to pay out the accompanying $42,000, when the artist pledged to donate the money to attorneys of the group called Primorsky Partisans.
The group says it fights against police corruption and lawlessness. But some of its members have been convicted of killing several policemen, who they said were Russia's real criminals.
Pavlensky said on Sunday he considered the Partizans worthy of the prize because they were opposing oppressive rule in Russia.
"I can give the award to people who I think deserve it, those who are struggling with police terror," he told Reuters.
Radio Free Europe reported last month that a Vladivostok court acquitted five members of the Partisans who have been in jail since 2010, accused of killing police officers. But three of the five remain in jail for other crimes, including the murder of two other police officers.
Pavlensky's earlier performances include sewing his lips together to protest against the jailing of anti-Kremlin punk band Pussy Riot in 2012. He also nailed his scrotum to Red Square in 2013, a gesture he described as a metaphor for the political apathy of Russian society.
Yevgeni Chichvarkin, a Russian millionaire currently living in a self-imposed exile in London, pledged to donate $42,000 for legal aid for the Partisans after Pavlensky handed him the prize, a statue of a woman holding a torch, at a brief ceremony on Prague's Wenceslas Square on Monday.
(Reporting by Robert Muller, editing by Larry King) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-artist-idUSKCN10Q1N1?feedType=RSS&feedName=artsNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+news%2Fartsculture+%28Reuters+Arts+%26+Culture+%29 | en | 2016-08-15T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/8fd71cfbd9187139fe92b30adcef68f2a148379054c356a6fa19f04d5ce23e81.json |
[
"Susan Cornwell"
] | 2016-08-30T21:03:11 | null | 2016-08-30T20:49:41 | U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley opened the door to holding a hearing on President Obama's Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland if a majority of senators wish to do so after the Nov. 8 election, in comments posted online Tuesday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-usa-court-garland-idUSKCN1152OK%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DtopNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FtopNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BTop%2BNews%2529.json | http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160830&t=2&i=1151636422&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7T1K0 | en | null | Senator Grassley could be persuaded to hold hearing on Garland | null | null | www.reuters.com | U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) speaks before Republican nominee Donald Trump arrives at 'Joni's Roast and Ride' in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo AllegriU.
WASHINGTON U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley opened the door to holding a hearing on President Obama's Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland if a majority of senators wish to do so after the Nov. 8 election, in comments posted online Tuesday.
Grassley, an Iowa Republican, vowed months ago that the Senate Judiciary Committee he chairs would not act this year to consider Garland's nomination, saying the Republican-majority Senate should not act on a Court nominee until after the new president takes office early next year.
But in a town hall meeting Monday in Cherokee, Iowa, Grassley indicated he could be persuaded by a large number of senators to take action in a "lame duck" session between the Nov. 8 election and the inauguration of the new president in January.
"If we have the election, and there was a majority of the Senate changed their mind about doing it in the lame duck, as opposed to January 20, I don't feel that I could stand in the way of that. But I don't think I can promote that idea," he said in a video of his remarks posted online by the American Bridge 21st Century website, which says it is committed to "holding Republicans accountable."
Grassley made a similar point at the Sioux City Iowa Rotary Club, Iowa's Globe Gazette reported.
Garland, a federal appeals court judge, was nominated by Obama, a Democrat, on March 16 to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the Feb. 13 death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia.
Republicans insist that the next president should fill the vacancy, hoping a Republican will win the White House and choose a conservative rather than the centrist Garland. But such an outcome is not assured, with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton currently leading Republican candidate Donald Trump in public opinion polls.
A spokeswoman for Grassley, Beth Levine, denied he was shifting his position. She said that in Sioux City Grassley reiterated his stance "that a Supreme Court nominee wouldn’t be considered until after the next president is sworn in so the American people have an opportunity to weigh in on this important issue."
Senate Republican leaders have vowed not to hold confirmation hearings or an up-or-down vote on any Supreme Court nominee put forward by Obama. "The Leader has been clear: the next president will make this nomination," Don Stewart, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, said in an email Tuesday.
(Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Julia Edwards and Andrew Hay) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-garland-idUSKCN1152OK?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/9a8d3291e74d75ee7b2390f0b539adf6efcd34917c89d2f44f82a83770f2e6c8.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-29T00:50:24 | null | 2016-08-28T23:54:40 | The union representing most Canadian autoworkers has voted for a strike mandate, it said on Sunday, bolstering its position in contract negotiations with the Big Three U.S. carmakers. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-autos-labor-canada-idUSKCN1130YC%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DbusinessNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FbusinessNews%2B%2528Business%2BNews%2529.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160828&t=2&i=1151383323&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7R0M3 | en | null | Union votes for strike mandate in Canadian auto talks | null | null | www.reuters.com | General Motors auto workers prepare rows of the new Chevrolet Camaro for delivery, at the company's Oshawa Ontario facility April 8, 2009. REUTERS/Fred Thornhill/File Photo
TORONTO The union representing most Canadian autoworkers has voted for a strike mandate, it said on Sunday, bolstering its position in contract negotiations with the Big Three U.S. carmakers.
Unifor, which represents more than 20,000 autoworkers, is pushing General Motors Co (GM.N), Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCHA.MI) and Ford Motor Co (F.N) to invest further in the province of Ontario, home to nearly all of Canada's auto industry, in talks that began this month.
Members voted close to 100 percent in favor of granting Unifor a mandate to strike, according to a statement from the union.
That means workers are in a position to walk off the job if the parties cannot come to terms. The union's current four-year contract with automakers expires on Sept. 19.
Unifor President Jerry Dias has said the union is asking for higher wages and would not agree to a deal unless GM commits to building new vehicles in Oshawa, and Ford decides to keep its engine plant operating in Windsor.
GM's Oshawa plant could shut one of its two assembly lines, with several vehicles already produced elsewhere or expected to move in 2017.
Between 2001 and 2013, some 14,300 jobs were lost in vehicle manufacturing in Canada, according to Hamilton's Automotive Policy Research Center. Some automakers have found cheaper labor in places such as the southern United States and Mexico.
GM Canada has said the negotiations are separate from the carmaker's future investments because labor is not the only cost it considers when deciding where to make new products.
GM said it will make future product decisions for Oshawa only after a labor agreement.
Automakers, however, had agreed to make investments during bargaining with the United Auto Workers in the United States. GM's 2015 deal with the UAW generated $1.9 billion in additional investment in U.S. plants.
GM, Fiat Chrysler and Ford did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Ethan Lou in Toronto; Editing by Bill Trott) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-labor-canada-idUSKCN1130YC?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FbusinessNews+%28Business+News%29 | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/348a6c34e81e33877050822ce0667d6a8a85a65b6ed33df6eb42129802e6455d.json |
[
"Yasmeen Abutaleb"
] | 2016-08-26T23:01:57 | null | 2016-08-26T22:34:37 | Facebook Inc (FB.O) changed its popular "Trending" feature, which shows users the most-talked about topics of the day, to make it more automated and further eliminate the potential for human bias, the company wrote in a blog post on Friday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-facebook-trending-idUSKCN1112ER%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DtechnologyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FtechnologyNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BTechnology%2BNews%2529.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160826&t=2&i=1151230434&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7P1GB | en | null | Facebook changes 'Trending' feature to rely less on human editors | null | null | www.reuters.com | SAN FRANCISCO Facebook Inc (FB.O) changed its popular "Trending" feature, which shows users the most-talked about topics of the day, to make it more automated and further eliminate the potential for human bias, the company wrote in a blog post on Friday.
The update is Facebook's latest attempt in recent months to stress its neutrality as its influence grows.
The feature came under scrutiny in May after a news report alleged it suppressed conservative news, which prompted a demand from Republican members of the U.S. Congress for more transparency. Facebook said an internal probe found no evidence of bias.
The Trending feature shows users the most-talked about stories and topics on the top right-hand corner of Facebook's home page with one-sentence descriptions. To eliminate the potential for bias, Facebook said it would no longer rely on editors to write descriptions for the topics and would instead show users the topic and how many people are discussing it.
Facebook said in an e-mailed statement that the composition of its Trending team would focus more on technical expertise since it no longer needed editors to write descriptions. The company did not say whether it was laying off employees.
Facebook maintains it is a neutral platform, but its political influence has come under scrutiny, especially as its user base swells. It has 1.7 billion people on its social network, and studies have shown it has the power to influence people's behavior, ranging from registering as organ donors to registering to vote.
After the May news report first surfaced, Facebook penned a lengthy blog post explaining how the Trending feature works, the first time it had done so. Less than two weeks later, the company said it changed some procedures and outlined those changes in an effort to be more transparent.
(Reporting by Yasmeen Abutaleb; Editing by Dan Grebler) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-trending-idUSKCN1112ER?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtechnologyNews+%28Reuters+Technology+News%29 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/1aabb069ac46951ce34562d47976fa3893798dd890ce33dbf32563a0d6371737.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-29T22:52:15 | null | 2016-08-29T21:51:59 | Summit Industrial Income Reit : | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2FidUSASC094RC%3Ftype%3DcompanyNews%26feedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DcompanyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FcompanyNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BCompany%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | BRIEF-Summit Industrial Income Reit announces London, Ontario acquisition for about $16.6 mln | null | null | www.reuters.com | Aug 29 Summit Industrial Income Reit :
* Summit Industrial Income Reit announces London, Ontario acquisition and accretive financing for Calgary, Alberta property purchase
* Deal for $16.6 million
* Acquisition will be financed with a new $10.4 million seven-year mortgage bearing an interest rate of 3.04%
* Property also includes land available for future potential expansion of approximately 100,000 square feet
* Arranged accretive financing for acquisition of light industrial property in Calgary, Alberta Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: | http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASC094RC?type=companyNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=companyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FcompanyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Company+News%29 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/1c12574eb25ec5becc359f8dd26f52ecc5794c6474a4d30748001c54b2f8e994.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-30T04:52:02 | null | 2016-08-30T03:18:17 | Kkr & Co Lp : | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2FidUSFWN1BA0GG%3Ftype%3DcompanyNews%26feedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DcompanyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FcompanyNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BCompany%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | BRIEF-KKR expands Asia Pacific leadership team | null | null | www.reuters.com | Aug 29 Kkr & Co Lp :
* Kkr expands asia pacific leadership team with new appointments in china, korea, and singapore
* Says ming lu has been named sole head of asia private equity
* Says david liu and julian wolhardt are leaving kkr at end of this year to form a new china-focused investment firm
* Ming lu will serve as interim head of china until firm appoints a successor Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: | http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1BA0GG?type=companyNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=companyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FcompanyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Company+News%29 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/eda3e8f6af1716fef2a5d9f28d33415d8a0c94bd36d7e67c6374539dc12b4082.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-26T20:59:34 | null | 2016-08-26T18:59:23 | FedExCup champion Jordan Spieth rebounded from a double-bogey on his opening hole in Friday's second round to claw his way back into contention at The Barclays in Farmingdale, New York. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-golf-pga-idUSKCN11127U%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DsportsNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FsportsNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BSports%2BNews%2529.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160826&t=2&i=1151211608&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7P1DG | en | null | Spieth in contention at Barclays despite poor start | null | null | www.reuters.com | Aug 26, 2016; Farmingdale, NY, USA; Jordan Spieth hits his second shot on the 13th hole during the second round of The Barclays golf tournament at Bethpage State Park - Black Course. Eric Sucar-USA TODAY Sports
FedExCup champion Jordan Spieth rebounded from a double-bogey on his opening hole in Friday's second round to claw his way back into contention at The Barclays in Farmingdale, New York.
Stung after running up an ugly six at the par-four 10th, the world number three was calmed down by his caddie, Michael Greller, and went on to card a four-under-par 67 on the challenging layout at Bethpage Black.
That left Spieth at four-under 138, one stroke off the early clubhouse lead posted by fellow American Ryan Moore (68) in the first of the PGA Tour's four lucrative FedExCup playoff events.
"It's moments like 11 tee box where I really credit Michael a lot for stepping in, being a real positive voice," Spieth said of his caddie's influence, having taken four shots to complete the 10th after finding a greenside bunker with his approach.
"Resetting a goal there was really key for me to get my mind away from what happened and look forward. We started getting some momentum. Obviously the eagle jumps you up there a bit."
Spieth eagled the par-five fourth after hitting his second shot to two feet. He also pocketed four birdies over his final 10 holes to surge up the leaderboard.
"It's such a tough golf course, it's rare when we play tournaments on courses this challenging," said Spieth. "Normally they are majors. But four-under makes up a lot of ground."
Moore, who two weeks ago clinched his fifth career victory on the PGA Tour at the John Deere Classic, again produced stellar form off the tee as he mixed five birdies with two bogeys.
"I've hit the ball really well these first two rounds," the 33-year-old American told reporters. "I really controlled it. I hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens, gave myself some great opportunities.
"The putter hasn't been great through these first couple of rounds but I finally made a couple more today. I'm excited about going into the weekend and trying to shoot a good one tomorrow to get into contention on Sunday."
Scotland's Martin Laird and American Patrick Reed, co-leaders on Thursday after carding five-under 66s, and Australian world number one Jason Day, who opened with a 68, were among the late starters on Friday.
(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes; Editing by Tony Jimenez) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-golf-pga-idUSKCN11127U?feedType=RSS&feedName=sportsNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FsportsNews+%28Reuters+Sports+News%29 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/ff0cd91ab5ef73f17a2037b696e42177c90e3dbf894aeb77d67f4d23aa380513.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-29T23:00:02 | null | 2016-08-29T21:50:54 | Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney will stay on as England skipper under new manager Sam Allardyce. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-soccer-england-rooney-idUSKCN1142DE%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DsportsNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FsportsNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BSports%2BNews%2529.json | http://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160829&t=2&i=1151499431&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7S1C6 | en | null | Rooney will remain England captain, Allardyce says | null | null | www.reuters.com | LONDON Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney will stay on as England skipper under new manager Sam Allardyce.
"Wayne has been an excellent captain for England and the manner in which he has fulfilled the role made it an easy decision for me to ask him to continue," Allardyce told the FA website (www.thefa.com) on Monday.
Rooney, 30, took over as captain from Steven Gerrard in 2014 and is on course to become England's most-capped outfield player.
If he plays in the World Cup qualifier against Slovakia on Sunday, the forward will be making his 116th international appearance, overtaking David Beckham.
Only former goalkeeper Peter Shilton (125) won more England caps.
"Wayne's record speaks for itself," said Allardyce who took over last month after England crashed out of the European Championship in the round of 16. "He is the most senior member of the squad and is hugely respected by his peers.
"All of these factors point toward him being the right choice to lead the team."
Rooney said earlier this month that he would make himself available for England through to the 2018 World Cup in Russia and would then decide on his international future.
(Writing by Clare Fallon; Editing by Tony Jimenez) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-england-rooney-idUSKCN1142DE?feedType=RSS&feedName=sportsNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FsportsNews+%28Reuters+Sports+News%29 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/b1d62e8e1dda9017c7d6b22be20a8ef5cd1d3f97b08ca835613a7891234224d4.json |
[
"Padraic Halpin"
] | 2016-08-29T18:50:46 | null | 2016-08-29T18:35:43 | The European Commission will rule against Ireland's tax dealings with Apple (AAPL.O) on Tuesday, two source familiar with the decision told Reuters, one of whom said Dublin would be told to recoup over 1 billion euros in back taxes. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-eu-apple-taxavoidance-idUSKCN114211%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DbusinessNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FbusinessNews%2B%2528Business%2BNews%2529.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160829&t=2&i=1151475823&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7S15H | en | null | EU to hand Apple Irish tax bill of over 1 billion euro, source says | null | null | www.reuters.com | A customer enters the new Apple store, which is the world's largest, on its opening day at Covent Garden in London August 7, 2010. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo
DUBLIN The European Commission will rule against Ireland's tax dealings with Apple (AAPL.O) on Tuesday, two source familiar with the decision told Reuters, one of whom said Dublin would be told to recoup over 1 billion euros in back taxes.
The Commission declined to comment on Monday.
The European Commission accused Ireland in 2014 of dodging international tax rules by letting Apple shelter profits worth tens of billions of dollars from tax collectors in return for maintaining jobs. Apple and Ireland rejected the accusation; both have said they will appeal any adverse ruling.
The source said the Commission will recommend a figure in back taxes that it expects to be collected, but it will be up to Irish authorities to calculate exactly what is owed.
A bill in excess of 1 billion euros ($1.12 billion) would be far more than the 30 million euros each the European Commission previously ordered Dutch authorities to recover from U.S. coffee chain Starbucks (SBUX.O) and Luxembourg from Fiat Chrysler (FCHA.MI) for their tax deals.
Both companies and countries have appealed those decisions.
When it opened the Apple investigation in 2014, the Commission told the Irish government that tax rulings it agreed in 1991 and 2007 with the iPhone maker amounted to state aid and might have broken EU laws.
The Commission said the rulings were "reverse engineered" to ensure that Apple had a minimal Irish bill and that minutes of meetings between Apple representatives and Irish tax officials showed the company's tax treatment had been "motivated by employment considerations."
Apple employs 5,500 workers, or about a quarter of its European-based staff in the Irish city of Cork, where it is the largest private sector employer. It has said it paid Ireland's 12.5 percent rate on all the income that it generates in the country.
Ireland's low corporate tax rate has been a cornerstone of economic policy for 20 years, drawing investors from major multinational companies whose staff account for almost one in 10 workers in Ireland.
Some opposition Irish lawmakers have urged Dublin to collect whatever tax the Commission orders it to. But the main opposition party Fianna Fail, whose support the minority administration relies on to pass laws, said it would support an appeal based on the reassurances it had been given by the government to date.
The U.S. Treasury Department published a white paper last week that said the EU executive's tax investigations departed from international taxation norms and would have an outsized impact on U.S. companies. The Commission said it treated all companies equally.
($1 = 0.8938 euros)
(Additional reporting by Robin Emmott in Brussels; editing by Ralph Boulton, Larry King) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-apple-taxavoidance-idUSKCN114211?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FbusinessNews+%28Business+News%29 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/15eb6baa5ff9449de1c7c20493ca103ae1a18b0a6187a69b813aeca09bbf1466.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-28T00:59:40 | null | 2016-08-28T00:13:54 | Ariya Jutanugarn threatened to run away with the Canadian Women's Open before stubbing her metaphorical toe late in the third round to end the day with a two-stroke lead in Alberta on Saturday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-golf-lpga-idUSKCN113005%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DsportsNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FsportsNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BSports%2BNews%2529.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160828&t=2&i=1151310959&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7R004 | en | null | Ariya two ahead in Canada after late stumble cuts lead | null | null | www.reuters.com | Aug 27, 2016; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand waits to putt on the 17th green during the third round of the Canadian Pacific Women's Open at Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
Ariya Jutanugarn threatened to run away with the Canadian Women's Open before stubbing her metaphorical toe late in the third round to end the day with a two-stroke lead in Alberta on Saturday.
Seeking her fifth win in a breakout season, the Thai built a five-stroke lead with three holes remaining, only to bogey the 16th and 18th after missing 10-foot putts on both greens at Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club in Calgary.
Those blemishes, along with a birdie at the 17th by Chun In-gee, left world number two Ariya with a tenuous lead over her South Korean rival.
Ariya carded 67 for a 17-under-par 199 total, with Chun (66) alone in second place on 15-under.
Sunday's final round appears likely to be a two-woman race with Northern Ireland's Stephanie Meadow and South Korean Kim Sei-young five strokes off the lead in a tie for third.
New Zealand's world number one Lydia Ko fired a two-under 70 but slipped seven strokes behind Ariya in her quest to post a fourth victory in the event before reaching the age of 20.
Ariya, 20, had squandered several golden opportunities before breaking through for her maiden LPGA success in May and followed up by winning her next two starts before adding the Women's British Open last month.
With so much recent success, she was not ready to dwell on her late stumble, instead opting to focus on the positive aspects of her round.
"After I won my first tournament, I kind of know how I play under pressure, so I know when I get really excited what I have to do," she told reporters.
"(I am) feeling good. I mean, I had two bogeys the last three holes but I still shot five-under, so it's still good."
Meanwhile, Chun, the 2015 U.S. Women's Open champion, signaled her intentions for the final round.
"I'm going to just focus on my game against the golf course and see where I am later," she said.
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by John O'Brien) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-golf-lpga-idUSKCN113005?feedType=RSS&feedName=sportsNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FsportsNews+%28Reuters+Sports+News%29 | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/ae3aa56a4c3d0845ae06e81e52dfa7222a80e9059e62f69687ce6c63780f0992.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-31T02:52:25 | null | 2016-08-31T00:29:10 | The following are the top stories in theFinancial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and doesnot vouch for their accuracy. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fbritain-press-ft-idUSL1N1BC00R%3Ftype%3DcompanyNews%26feedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DcompanyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FcompanyNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BCompany%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Aug 31 | null | null | www.reuters.com | Aug 31 The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
Headlines
*EU orders Apple to pay Ireland 13 billion euros in unpaid taxes (on.ft.com/2bPzW5m)
*France requests EU to halt TTIP talks (on.ft.com/2bPA2dp)
*BHP cuts CEO's incentive after Brazilian mine accident (on.ft.com/2bPAd8l)
*Berkeley Group to drop out of FTSE 100 on UK property fears (on.ft.com/2bPAx77)
Overview
*The European Commission ordered Ireland to collect a tax bill of 13 billion euros ($14.49 billion) from Apple after finding that the U.S. company enjoyed a quarter of a century of illegal state support.
*France has urged the European Commission to end talks on a transatlantic trade deal, amid mounting frustration over the United States' demands and growing popular disenchantment with free trade.
* BHP Billiton's CEO will not get a short-term incentive this year after an accident at a Brazilian mine which left 19 people dead.
*Berkeley Group will be replaced by gold miner Polymetal International in the FTSE 100 after negativity about the U.K. property market affected the home builder's shares. FTSE is expected to confirm the changes on Wednesday. ($1 = 0.8973 euros) (Compiled by Bhanu Pratap in Bengaluru) | http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft-idUSL1N1BC00R?type=companyNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=companyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FcompanyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Company+News%29 | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/469c8eb753c91dce682e19fba0dd6aee867fad8eb32c4312f95aa756e91df606.json |
[
"James Saft"
] | 2016-08-26T13:19:21 | null | 2016-08-24T21:47:31 | Trendiness might be a good way to gain popularity in high school but it is a terrible way to pick a mutual fund, particularly a newly launched one. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-markets-saft-idUSKCN10Z2SI%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DPersonalFinance%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Bnews%252Fwealth%2B%2528Reuters%2BWealth%2BNews%2529.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160824&t=2&i=1150933611&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7N1M4 | en | null | That trendy new mutual fund is not your friend: James Saft | null | null | www.reuters.com | A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, New York, June 25, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
Trendiness might be a good way to gain popularity in high school but it is a terrible way to pick a mutual fund, particularly a newly launched one.
Like in every area of human activity, fashion plays a role in investment management, both in terms of where people choose to put their money, and, in consequence, in what kinds of products the industry creates.
Mutual fund companies, ever alert to a new way to attract investors, try to ride the waves of trends. This has been going on for a long time, in varying guises, from the large-cap funds of the early 1970s “Nifty Fifty” boom to the technology and internet funds of the late 1990s right through to today’s “low-volatility” offerings.
And while there is nothing wrong with fund companies wanting to make profits, the question for investors is how well they will do out of the deal.
On the evidence of a new study, following the creation of more than 6,000 mutual funds over more than 20 years, not so well at all.
“The incentives to launch trendy funds exist regardless of whether the fund sponsor is skilled or expects future outperformance. Newly launched trendy funds generate significant additional inflows in their first twelve months, yet underperform over their first five years compared to non-trendy funds,” Jason Greene of the University of Alabama Huntsville and Jeffrey Stark of Bridgewater State University write. (here)
“Our results suggest that mutual fund launches appear to be motivated by considerations other than skill.”
There are two broad motivations for launching a fund, the authors posit. The first is skill, the belief that the manager has a particular skill or advantage which will create good results and thus attracts funds.
The second, and here we enter the realm of the trendy, is demand-motivated funds: those which are created because the manager thinks there is an appetite for a particular strategy.
The authors sort funds by trendiness, using fund names as a proxy and grouping them by how often descriptive words in a name are used in new funds. So, a fund with the word “Internet” in its name launched in a year with many other similarly named funds gets a higher score. So with “dividend” or “cautious” or any other given term.
A GOOD BUSINESS, BUT WHERE ARE THE CUSTOMERS’ YACHTS?
What they found was firstly that the business of launching trendy mutual funds is a good one. The trendiest new funds reap additional inflows of $180.25 million, equal to almost 75 percent of net assets, over their first year.
Interestingly, it is only the trendiest names which get much by way of extra flows.
Sadly, however, starting a fund in a hot or trendy area seems to be a recipe for underperformance. Looked at over the first five years after launch, the trendiest funds lag the least trendy by 1.03 percentage points annually on a standard measure of alpha, or outperformance. In raw terms, the least trendy fifth of funds make 6.85 percent a year while the most trendy return only 5.28 percent. In fact, using various measures of alpha, only the funds in the least trendy quintile show a positive alpha.
And guess what? The trendiest funds also carry higher fees. Annual expense ratios for trendy funds are 20 basis points per year higher than those which are not trendy, a difference which is as much as the entire expense ratio of some passive mutual funds.
Two questions arise: why does this happen; and what should an investor do?
The study proposes that fund firms which lack a skill advantage are drawn to areas which are sexy and therefore will help to attract flows. That’s certainly possible and is very likely part of the story.
There is also the fact that trendy areas go hand in hand with high valuations and the creation of not just sub-par investment vehicles but sub-par financial assets. Part of what we are seeing here may simply be that if you buy into an internet fund in 1999 you are not just getting a mediocre manager but asking him to buy you expensive and doubtful assets.
Or take the current vogue for low-volatility stocks and funds. Demand has been so great that low-vol stocks are now as richly priced compared to high-volatility ones as they have been since the 1990s.
In other words, the study may partly simply show a weakness in momentum investment - buying what has just gone up - as a long-term strategy.
As for what one should do? That seems simple. Give trendy new funds a miss and go for the ones with out-of-fashion names and approaches.
Their fees are lower, and their results are better.
James Saft is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own
(At the time of publication James Saft did not own any direct investments in securities mentioned in this article. He may be an owner indirectly as an investor in a fund. You can email him at jamessaft@jamessaft.com and find more columns at blogs.reuters.com/james-saft)
(Editing by James Dalgleish) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-markets-saft-idUSKCN10Z2SI?feedType=RSS&feedName=PersonalFinance&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+news%2Fwealth+%28Reuters+Wealth+News%29 | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/3b914116bd9422db57b4898a166a7874ae0f7581f14dbe4870f70a97ab5e6c47.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-29T06:52:08 | null | 2016-08-29T05:31:49 | Data transmission problems that caused the delay or cancellation of dozens of flights on Sunday have been resolved, Vienna Airport said, with its flight schedule having returned to normal. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-austria-flughafen-wien-idUSKCN1140BX.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160829&t=2&i=1151405392&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7S05H | en | null | Vienna Airport says glitch that disrupted dozens of flights resolved | null | null | www.reuters.com | Planes are waiting next to Vienna's International Airport in Schwechat, Austria, March 1, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
VIENNA Data transmission problems that caused the delay or cancellation of dozens of flights on Sunday have been resolved, Vienna Airport said, with its flight schedule having returned to normal.
"Austrian air traffic control has solved the issue," the airport said on its website early on Monday. "At the moment there are no delayed or canceled flights. We advise passengers to contact their airline."
The automated transfer of flight planning data between air traffic control centers in Brussels and Vienna collapsed completely for a while on Sunday afternoon, said a spokesman for Austro Control, which monitors Austrian air space.
On Sunday afternoon, Vienna Airport said it had canceled or delayed 113 flights to or from Vienna because of problems with automated flight data transmission, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.
No other airport was affected, the Austro Control spokesman has said, adding there was no indication of a hacker attack.
Airlines affected included Lufthansa, British Airways, Polish airline LOT, Finnair and Turkish Airlines.
(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-austria-flughafen-wien-idUSKCN1140BX | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/8d19ec8f3dee303f9440a3abb771a8c3080264e8bb3dd3e1b06e80d1a65af1ec.json |
[
"Charlotte Greenfield"
] | 2016-08-30T07:02:30 | null | 2016-08-30T05:15:11 | A New Zealand judge gave permission on Tuesday for the hearing of German tech entrepreneur Kim Dotcom's appeal against his extradition to be streamed on YouTube, making it the country's first court case to be broadcast on the Internet. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-newzealand-internet-dotcom-idUSKCN1150BP%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DtechnologyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FtechnologyNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BTechnology%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160830&t=2&i=1151529991&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7T04Y | en | null | Livestream of Kim Dotcom extradition hearing a first for New Zealand | null | null | www.reuters.com | WELLINGTON A New Zealand judge gave permission on Tuesday for the hearing of German tech entrepreneur Kim Dotcom's appeal against his extradition to be streamed on YouTube, making it the country's first court case to be broadcast on the Internet.
The six-week hearing opened in Auckland this week, nine months after a lower court ruled Kim Dotcom could be sent to the United States to face copyright infringement and money-laundering charges over the filesharing website Megaupload.
The case has been closely watched by the media industry and developers in the file-sharing business for signs of how far the United States is willing to go to protect U.S. copyright holders.
"It's very important that the entire world gets to see the courtroom," said Dotcom's lawyer, Ira Rothken. "The Internet isn't run by any one nation, so we thought the solution itself would come from the Internet."
Dotcom was arranging for a videographer to start recording the proceedings from Wednesday, the lawyer added. They will appear on Youtube with a 20-minute time lag to ensure removal of any material suppressed by the court.
The judge ordered the stream to be taken down at the end of the hearing.
New Zealand government prosecutors, who are representing the United States, had argued against the live streaming.
The government law office did not immediately respond to a request for comment but a spokeswoman on Monday said it was not appropriate to comment while the matter was before the courts.
Media reported that the lawyers had argued on behalf of the U.S. that live streaming could be prejudicial, as submissions made in the New Zealand court could be inadmissible in a future trial in the United States.
Legal experts believe the live streaming of an entire hearing will be a first in New Zealand, although domestic media sometimes film brief snatches of courtroom argument.
"The New Zealand judiciary have been very cautious about letting cameras into the courtroom," said Bill Hodge, a criminal law professor at Auckland University, adding that the exceptional nature of the case could have contributed to the decision.
Years of legal wrangling followed Dotcom's arrest during a raid by New Zealand police working in cooperation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2012.
It later emerged that the Government Communications Security Bureau had illegally spied on him before the raid.
U.S. authorities say Dotcom and three co-accused Megaupload executives cost film studios and record companies more than $500 million and generated more than $175 million by encouraging paying users to store and share copyrighted material.
(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-newzealand-internet-dotcom-idUSKCN1150BP?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtechnologyNews+%28Reuters+Technology+News%29 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/8a5a854b11a462bb96638481e203380ba2eaa8a32aaea5182205deec7a496971.json |
[
"Sophie Louet",
"Philip Blenkinsop"
] | 2016-08-30T18:59:44 | null | 2016-08-30T18:18:32 | France cast serious doubt on Tuesday on the prospects of an EU free trade deal with the United States, adding to opposition within Germany just two months after their countries' leaders reaffirmed support for an accord. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-eu-usa-ttip-france-idUSKCN1150H2%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DpoliticsNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2BReuters%252FPoliticsNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BPolitics%2BNews%2529.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160830&t=2&i=1151621725&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7T074 | en | null | EU-U.S. trade deal in doubt as France urges end to talks | null | null | www.reuters.com | PARIS/BRUSSELS France cast serious doubt on Tuesday on the prospects of an EU free trade deal with the United States, adding to opposition within Germany just two months after their countries' leaders reaffirmed support for an accord.
Washington and Brussels are officially committed to sealing the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) before U.S. President Barack Obama leaves office in January, but their chances of doing so are being eroded by approaching elections and Britain's vote in June to leave the European Union.
"Everything is moving. In this situation it's just not going to happen," said Peter van Ham, senior research fellow at Dutch think tank Clingendael and author of a paper on Tuesday called "TTIP is dead, long live transatlantic trade".
French Trade Minister Matthias Fekl said he would request a halt to TTIP talks at next month's EU trade ministers' meeting in Bratislava after German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel declared at the weekend that talks were "de facto dead".
Observers say both are responding to public mistrust of a deal that critics say would lower environmental and food standards and allow foreign multinationals to challenge government policies.
Stop TTIP campaigns have been particularly vocal in Germany and Austria, which supporters of TTIP say are among the countries most likely to benefit from increased U.S. trade.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, of Gabriel's Social Democratic Party (SPD), urged diplomats and business chiefs on Tuesday to counter anti-globalisation sentiments that are fuelling opposition to free trade deals.
Ahead of elections in France and Germany next year, politicians are keenly aware that TTIP is not a vote winner.
The Bertelsmann Foundation poll showed only 17 percent of Germans saw TTIP as a good thing in April, down from 55 percent two years earlier.
"There may be an economic rationale, but everyone is scrapping for votes and you lose votes if you support TTIP," Van Ham said, adding that any credit from potential free trade gains would be two to three years away.
Supporters say TTIP could boost each economy by $100 billion, creating jobs at a time of economic uncertainty as growth and consumption slow in China and emerging markets. EU leaders backed TTIP talks at a summit in June.
Speaking to reporters in Washington, White House spokesman Josh Earnest admitted "significant aspects" of the deal were unresolved, but said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman would travel to Europe in an effort to push the talks forward.
"I anticipate that when he travels to Europe in mid-September that they'll be engaged in substantive discussions and hopefully will be able to make some additional progress," Earnest said.
Three years of negotiations have failed to resolve multiple differences, however, including over public procurement and rules to protect foods from particular regions, such as Parma ham, which the EU wants, and greater access to services and for its agricultural products, as demanded by the United States.
"Practically there's no real change. It's been stuck for the better part of two years," said Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, director of Brussels-based think tank ECIPE.
EU trade chief Cecelia Malmstrom told journalists negotiations had not failed and that many EU countries had said they still backed TTIP.
They included Italy, whose trade and industry minister said it was essential for Italian exporters that the negotiations bore fruit.
Germany's Gabriel is the chairman of the SPD who share power with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives. Merkel backs the talks and her spokesman insisted on Monday that they should continue.
Malmstrom added that it made no sense to suspend talks in September because the two sides could still make advances in regulatory cooperation, agreeing standards that are important to industries such as the auto sector, and that could be picked up by Obama's successor even a deal was not sealed this year.
"The more work we have done, the easier it is to resume," she said before a planned video conference with Froman.
Froman has said Britain's EU exit will affect TTIP because Britain consumes about a quarter of U.S. exports to the bloc.
Trade analysts say that Washington may be preparing for the end of trade talks, which typically conclude with each side holding the other responsible for failure.
President Francois Hollande told ambassadors on Tuesday that talks were "bogged down" and "unbalanced" and it was an illusion to imagine that a deal could be sealed during Obama's term.
"Very soon you end in a blame game," said Lee-Makiyama. "But trade negotiations never really die. They just go into a stock-taking phase."
(Reporting by Sophie Louet and John Irish in Paris, Crispian Balmer in Rome, Madeline Chambers, Andrea Shalal in Berlin; Writing by Andrew Callus and Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Catherine Evans) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-usa-ttip-france-idUSKCN1150H2?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FPoliticsNews+%28Reuters+Politics+News%29 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/535f3cdd2b7fa8f0b1e9f8c238fa36ec4b81aa53156cda109dbf633ae4c65c05.json |
[
"Harry Pearl"
] | 2016-08-27T12:53:18 | null | 2016-08-27T11:12:48 | An Australian teenager made history on Saturday by becoming the youngest person to complete a solo circumnavigation of the world in a single engine aircraft. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-australia-airplane-solo-idUSKCN11203V%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DlifestyleMolt.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | Australian teen completes record round world solo flight | null | null | www.reuters.com | SYDNEY An Australian teenager made history on Saturday by becoming the youngest person to complete a solo circumnavigation of the world in a single engine aircraft.
Lachlan Smart, from Queensland, touched down at Maroochydore Airport on the Sunshine Coast, where he had first taken off from on July 24.
At 18 years, 7 months and 21 days, Smart is a year younger than the previous record holder, American Matt Guthmiller.
“What a welcome,” Smart said after landing to cheers from supporters. “To actually be here, having flown around the world, for over 24,000 nautical miles is just a great relief.”
The teenager stopped in 24 locations and 15 countries during his seven-week trip. He said the weather and communicating with foreign air traffic controllers were his biggest challenges.
(Reporting by Harry Pearl; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-airplane-solo-idUSKCN11203V?feedType=RSS&feedName=lifestyleMolt | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/fb4c783a4203eee2abd02825014a1a3223ae2d53f2782ddebe9d7ac15fd46c90.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-30T17:03:02 | null | 2016-08-30T16:36:10 | U.S. consumer confidence rose to an 11-month high in August, with households more upbeat about the labor market, in a further sign that the economy was regaining steam after faltering in the first half of the year. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-usa-economy-homes-index-idUSKCN1151OA%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DtopNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FtopNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BTop%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160830&t=2&i=1151609135&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7T0XY | en | null | U.S. consumer confidence hits 11-month high; house prices gain | null | null | www.reuters.com | A real estate sign advertising a new home for sale is pictured in Vienna, Virginia, outside of Washington, October 20, 2014. REUTERS/Larry Downing/File Photo
NEW YORK U.S. consumer confidence rose to an 11-month high in August, with households more upbeat about the labor market, in a further sign that the economy was regaining steam after faltering in the first half of the year.
While other data on Tuesday showed a moderation in house prices in June, the gains probably remain sufficient to boost household wealth and continue to support consumer spending, as well as make home purchasing affordable for first-time buyers.
"This will likely be interpreted as more evidence that the U.S. economic recovery is back on track following the missteps earlier this year," said Millan Mulraine, deputy chief economist at TD Securities in New York.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index increased 4.4 points to 101.1 this month, the highest reading since September 2015. Consumers' assessment of both current business and labor market conditions improved significantly in August.
The survey's so-called labor market differential, derived from data about respondents who think jobs are hard to get and those who think jobs are plentiful, was the most favorable since January 2008. This piece of data, which closely correlates to the unemployment rate in the Labor Department's employment report, is pointing to further declines in the jobless rate and labor market slack.
There was a rise in the share of consumers expecting an increase in incomes and fewer anticipated a decline.
The dollar rose to a session high against a basket of currencies after the confidence data, while prices for U.S. government debt fell. U.S. stocks were trading marginally lower.
STREAM OF UPBEAT DATA
The consumer confidence report added to strong data on consumer spending, residential construction, durable goods orders and industrial production that have suggested an acceleration in economic growth after output expanded at 1.0 percent in the first half of the year.
The steady stream of bullish economic reports could give the Federal Reserve ammunition to raise interest rates this year, even as inflation pressures remain benign.
"We advise Fed officials to throw their caution to the wind just like the American consumer is. It is time for Fed officials to get back on track and move rates up at a gradual pace," said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG Union Bank in New York.
Separately, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller composite home price index of 20 U.S. metropolitan areas rose 5.1 percent in June from a year ago after increasing 5.3 percent in May.
"Overall, residential real estate and housing is in good shape," said David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Prices in the 20 cities fell 0.1 percent in June from May on a seasonally adjusted basis, the survey showed, matching expectations for a decline of 0.1 percent.
On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, prices increased 0.8 percent from May. Home prices in three U.S. cities - Denver, Seattle and Portland, Oregon - showed the highest year-over-year gains, the survey showed.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani and Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-homes-index-idUSKCN1151OA?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/9ad16af9386cbbd8b69db0a4afc2ab26394c908526a3e06cb8b2df588cd5828a.json |
[
"Padraic Halpin"
] | 2016-08-31T10:51:31 | null | 2016-08-31T09:50:51 | Ireland's cabinet may be given more time to decide on whether to back the finance minister's recommendation that Dublin appeal the European Commission's ruling against its tax dealings with Apple (AAPL.O), another minister said on Wednesday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-eu-apple-ireland-idUSKCN116136%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DbusinessNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FbusinessNews%2B%2528Business%2BNews%2529.json | http://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160831&t=2&i=1151700997&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7U0JO | en | null | Irish cabinet may need more time to decide on Apple appeal: minister | null | null | www.reuters.com | A man looks at his phone as he walks past an authorised apple reseller store in Galway, Ireland August 30, 2016. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
DUBLIN Ireland's cabinet may be given more time to decide on whether to back the finance minister's recommendation that Dublin appeal the European Commission's ruling against its tax dealings with Apple (AAPL.O), another minister said on Wednesday.
Finance Minister Michael Noonan said on Tuesday he "disagreed profoundly" with the Commission's order that Apple should hand over to Ireland unpaid taxes of up to 13 billion euros ruled to be illegal state aid. He will seek approval for an appeal from cabinet at 1030 GMT.
The minority government led by Noonan's Fine Gael is reliant on the support of a number of independent lawmakers, a group of whom, the Independent Alliance, said on Tuesday that they were reviewing the decision and would need to further consult with Noonan, tax officials and independent experts.
If the Independent Alliance refused to back an appeal and pulled out of government, Fine Gael would no longer have sufficient support in parliament to pass legislation and the government could collapse.
"I'm sure, if people need time to understand this matter, that we will create the time and space to do this properly," Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe of Fine Gael told national broadcaster RTE when asked if Prime Minister Enda Kenny would allow the Alliance more time if they ask for it.
"We will be able to make a decision but it is appropriate that we give this the time it needs. I am very confident that this government will work its way through this issue and continue with the mandate the Irish people have given us."
Fine Gael is also reliant on an agreement with its biggest rival, Fianna Fail, to abstain on key votes to facilitate the minority government. Fianna Fail said on Tuesday it would back an appeal through the European Courts.
Both parties were criticized by left-wing Sinn Fein, the country's third largest party. It said the government should accept the Commission's ruling and impose the tax bill on the iPhone maker, which says it will also appeal.
"It is important that Irish taxpayers are represented at today's cabinet meeting. The Independent Alliance have an opportunity to do that. They should oppose any appeal and insist that the correct tax bill is paid by Apple," Sinn Fein's David Cullinane said in a statement.
(Editing by Andrew Roche) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-apple-ireland-idUSKCN116136?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FbusinessNews+%28Business+News%29 | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/043b0ad9647cb36d6475701c96e4c96623ad7bea41590db7db53156c1cee4e59.json |
[
"Jonathan Gould"
] | 2016-08-30T16:52:17 | null | 2016-08-30T16:33:09 | European Central Bank money-printing has exposed the fault lines in Germany's banking system, forcing its sprawling network of lenders to rethink their business models and slash costs. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-germany-banks-insight-idUSKCN115276.json | http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160830&t=2&i=1151608846&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7T1A0 | en | null | Cheap money exposes weakness of German banks | null | null | www.reuters.com | FRANKFURT European Central Bank money-printing has exposed the fault lines in Germany's banking system, forcing its sprawling network of lenders to rethink their business models and slash costs.
Profits at one-time flagship banks of Europe's largest economy are near the bottom of the pile among their regional peers. Germany's nearly 2000 commercial, mutual and government-owned lenders have some of the thinnest margins in the region.
For years, most German banks' strategy was based around winning new business by offering fee-free accounts and cash bonuses for switching lenders. They used the margins on their lending businesses to subsidize the cost of their retail operations and payment systems.
When rates were higher that model covered up inefficiencies in their businesses. German banks' costs ate up around 73 percent of their earnings compared with 64 percent in the rest of the euro area in 2015, according to credit ratings agency Moody's. This cost-to-income ratio has been above the bloc's average for the last five years, the data show.
But negative ECB interest rates have exposed a dependence on interest margins and throttled earnings needed to invest in improvements and make sure they have the required amount of capital to protect the bank on a rainy day.
The pressure is expected to lead to mergers and closures over time but in the meantime, banks are trying new strategies.
Earlier this month Bavarian bank Raiffeisen Gmund - one of more than 1,000 German co-operative lenders - broke a long-held taboo. It said it saw no alternative but to start charging wealthy clients to deposit their money, as it did not want to cut back services or merge with other lenders. [nL8N1AT1RY]
"The only way we could really save on costs would be to reduce our presence in the market," the bank's head Josef Paul said.
Postbank, one of the pioneers of free customer accounts, this month introduced a 3.90 euro monthly fee for the "vast majority" of its 5.3 million current account holders. [nL8N1B01CA]
Other banks are investing more in their digital offerings, but are still reluctant to give up their labor-intensive bricks-and-mortar branches.
Michael Kemmer, head of German banking association BDB, said such steps makes sense but the number of lenders in the fragmented market means ones that take the lead on fees and charges may end up losing business without reaping the benefits.
"The question is whether competition will allow it," he said.
Online bank ING-Diba says it tends to see an uptick in regional demand for its free account when local rivals increase fees.
"Fees can go up somewhat but you cannot completely offset the negative margin," ING Vice-Chairman Koos Timmermans told Reuters, adding that the German ING unit had no plans to scrap cost-free status for its accounts.
BERLIN HELPLESS
The German government is aware of the banking sector's steady decline in earnings. But the decentralized political and economic structure, which gives a strong role to federal state governments, means Berlin is unable to force through wholesale reform of the financial sector.
"We see it but what are we supposed to do?" asked a high-ranking government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Regional politicians enjoy the prestige and power to influence the local economy through public-sector savings banks and the landesbanks that provide them with wholesale funding.
"Politicians have traditionally looked at the German banking system as a utility to serve retail, and more importantly, SME and corporate clients to support the German economy," said Katharina Barten, bank analyst at Moody's.
The financial crisis that started nearly a decade ago saw No. 2 lender Commerzbank, a clutch of state-owned landesbanks and property lenders rack up billions of euros in losses. The government bailed them out, upsetting taxpayers and briefly raising pressure for reform.
Over the last five years, however, the banks have shaken off state support and largely put their finances in order, removing urgent pressure for consolidation and leaving the fragmented and low-margin market little changed.
The finance ministry says that the mix of international and regional lenders of different sizes proved its worth in the financial crisis. Smaller banks played a major role in ensuring unfettered lending to local businesses.
"German banks must find their own way to surmount the challenges facing them," a ministry spokeswoman said.
FRAGILE FUTURE
There is no letup to competition on the horizon, regardless of whether banks are successful in making account charges stick.
"Each bank is pursuing some growth strategy but considering the saturation of the market and low demand, this is not something that would point to any recovery of margins; that's going to remain a problem," Moody's Barten said.
Slashing costs - branches, staff and product offerings - is the main lever banks still have at their disposal but using it requires skill. UniCredit's HVB has closed about half its branches and Deutsche Bank is pruning rapidly.
Total bank branches fell by about 1,300 last year to 34,000, Bundesbank data show.
But severance payments boost upfront costs and branch closures can poison relations with employees and clients.
Mergers and controlled closures of failed banks are expected to winnow down the players in the German market over the next few years.
The ranks of public sector savings banks have fallen by a few a year but still number more than 400. The co-operative bank network is making faster progress - shrinking by around 50 banks per year - and is expected to fall below 1,000 this year.
Local shareholders of four cooperative banks in a region north of Stuttgart voted in June to create VR-Bank Neckar-Enz to better face mounting regulatory and digital costs.
"At the same time, we predict a prolonged period of low interest rates that will successively reduce our most important source of revenue: net interest income," the banks said in explaining the need for the four-way merger.
($1 = 0.8856 euros)
(Additional reporting by Gernot Heller, Reinhard Becker, Alexander Huebner, Arno Schuetze, Andreas Kroener and Frank Siebelt; editing by Anna Willard) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-banks-insight-idUSKCN115276 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/541761c6882ed21dda38d07885904a0bde3df40adeaa13fac17d025f1c2e450d.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-29T12:52:25 | null | 2016-08-29T12:07:49 | China's parliament has proposed increasing tax benefits for companies that cut pollution by more than the national standard, state media reported on Monday, the first details of a much-anticipated new code aimed at curbing the country's emissions. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-china-tax-environment-idUSKCN11413L%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DenvironmentNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252Fenvironment%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BEnvironment%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | China's parliament proposes new environmental tax benefits: state media | null | null | www.reuters.com | BEIJING China's parliament has proposed increasing tax benefits for companies that cut pollution by more than the national standard, state media reported on Monday, the first details of a much-anticipated new code aimed at curbing the country's emissions.
If the plan is passed by the National People's Congress, China's top legislator, companies that reduce emissions to half of the national requirement would only pay half the taxes levied for air, water and soil pollution, Xinhua said.
Companies in the agricultural and transport sectors would be excluded from the new tax law, state radio said. Those industries are much smaller polluters than sectors like steel, coal and oil.
The government won't tax companies for their carbon emissions as that is essentially already done by China's carbon market, which gives companies an incentive to limit their emissions by issuing emissions permits.
No other details on the proposal were disclosed.
The government has been discussing the new tax law for years, which is aimed at cutting pollution, particularly from heavy industry.
(Reporting by Beijing newsroom, Josephine Mason and Kathy Chen; Editing by Susan Fenton) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-tax-environment-idUSKCN11413L?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/2b883f7f5a34e0dc24018477f44e58fa08af93309acd782cbf407d4bdb2c9402.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-30T07:04:51 | null | 2016-08-30T05:56:15 | A second British backpacker died on Tuesday a week after he was stabbed trying to protect a fellow traveler during an attack at a hostel in northern Australia, police said. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-australia-security-idUSKCN1150EQ%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DworldNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2BReuters%252FworldNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BWorld%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | Second British backpacker dies week after attack at Australian hostel | null | null | www.reuters.com | SYDNEY A second British backpacker died on Tuesday a week after he was stabbed trying to protect a fellow traveler during an attack at a hostel in northern Australia, police said.
A 21-year-old woman, Mia Ayliffe-Chung, was killed last Tuesday when she was attacked by a 29-year-old Frenchman who shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) as he stabbed her at the hostel in Townsville in the state of Queensland.
Thomas Jackson, 30, was stabbed in the face, head and body while trying to protect Ayliffe-Chung.
Queensland police said they would charge the Frenchman with two counts of murder.
(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Nick Macfie) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-security-idUSKCN1150EQ?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/1ae0e7707c3fd1f625f3c841808dd3f0859175846b46c762fa2f51123763f22a.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-26T20:51:01 | null | 2016-08-26T20:25:45 | Protagonist Therapeutics Inc : | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2FidUSFWN1B70NR%3Ftype%3DcompanyNews%26feedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DcompanyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FcompanyNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BCompany%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | BRIEF-Lilly Ventures Fund I reports 12.9 percent stake in Protagonist Therapeutics Inc as of Aug. 16 | null | null | www.reuters.com | Aug 26 Protagonist Therapeutics Inc :
* Lilly Ventures Fund I LLC reports 12.9 pct stake in Protagonist Therapeutics Inc as of August 16- Sec filing
* Lilly Ventures Fund I LLC reports 12.9 pct stake in Protagonist Therapeutics Inc as of August 16 -Sec filing Source text (bit.ly/2bp0KNU) Further company coverage: | http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1B70NR?type=companyNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=companyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FcompanyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Company+News%29 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/e1d68a3d465e3b24671eedbd7f56f765df162c15bfae3eb95136b5221f04f84f.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-30T20:52:17 | null | 2016-08-30T20:44:44 | Carmanah Technologies Corp | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2FidUSASC094WY%3Ftype%3DcompanyNews%26feedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DcompanyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FcompanyNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BCompany%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | BRIEF-Globalstar and Carmanah sign strategic agreement | null | null | www.reuters.com | Aug 30 Carmanah Technologies Corp
* Globalstar and Carmanah sign strategic agreement
* Collaboration is being initiated immediately and first products are expected to be ready for market in mid-2017 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: | http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASC094WY?type=companyNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=companyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FcompanyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Company+News%29 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/46ff29caf4c2faf44ac7d203f754357e41a8bdfbc60fdde11c9ed391f4efc57b.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-26T13:19:59 | null | 2016-08-22T16:19:35 | While Amazon and the British government are looking into how to use drones to deliver parcels to customers, criminals are already exploiting the technology to send drugs to accomplices in prison. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-britain-drones-idUSKCN10X13C%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DoddlyEnoughNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FoddlyEnoughNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BOddly%2BEnough%2529.json | http://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160822&t=2&i=1150631189&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7L0TN | en | null | Need drugs in jail? Try using a drone | null | null | www.reuters.com | A drone intercepted by police as it was being flown near a north London prison is seen in this handout photograph released on August 22, 2016, in London, Britain. Metropolitan Police/Handout via REUTERS
LONDON While Amazon and the British government are looking into how to use drones to deliver parcels to customers, criminals are already exploiting the technology to send drugs to accomplices in prison.
Police said on Monday they recovered two drones carrying mobile phones and drugs near London's Pentonville prison and have set up a special task force - Operation Airborne - to catch offenders trying to get contraband into the jail.
In the early hours of Saturday, police saw a man acting suspiciously near the prison. He ran away, dropping two bags containing drugs and mobile phones and managed to evade arrest, according to a police statement.
Next day, police found a drone that had crashed after being tracked flying over Pentonville.
They were later alerted to another drone being flown at low altitude toward the prison. The unmanned aircraft was stopped in mid-flight by a police officer and a package containing large amounts of drugs and two mobile phones was recovered from it.
Appealing for witnesses, Detective Chief Inspector Steve Heatley said: "These recovered drones carried a substantial amount of Class B drugs, legal highs and a large quantity of mobile phones."
Last month, Amazon announced a partnership with the British government "to explore the steps needed to make the delivery of parcels by small drones a reality, allowing Amazon to trial new methods of testing its delivery systems".
But while the U.S. giant is looking into how to use drones safely and reliably, criminals are pushing ahead with the technology.
British media reported in February that there were more than 30 incidents last year in which drones were found in or around prisons and items such as drugs, phones and USB drives recovered.
(Reporting by Giles Elgood; editing by Stephen Addison) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-drones-idUSKCN10X13C?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FoddlyEnoughNews+%28Reuters+Oddly+Enough%29 | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/7ed48fa0b32e1ee902767347a0bd30f78d018305f1a121e3c2f15deddd809cf0.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-29T18:59:38 | null | 2016-08-29T18:12:36 | U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to meet with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, Sept. 6, while he is in Laos for a summit of Pacific Rim leaders, the White House said. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-laos-obama-philippines-idUSKCN11422C%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DpoliticsNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2BReuters%252FPoliticsNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BPolitics%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160829&t=2&i=1151477617&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7S169 | en | null | Obama expected to meet with Philippines' Duterte on September 6: White House | null | null | www.reuters.com | Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte speaks during a National Heroes Day commemoration at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes' Cemetery) in Taguig city, Metro Manila in the Philippines August 29, 2016. REUTERS/Erik De Castro
WASHINGTON U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to meet with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, Sept. 6, while he is in Laos for a summit of Pacific Rim leaders, the White House said.
White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said the meeting would take place following a speech by Obama that would touch on the importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.
(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Tim Ahmann; Editing by Chris Reese) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-laos-obama-philippines-idUSKCN11422C?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FPoliticsNews+%28Reuters+Politics+News%29 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/0ef83cb3735a23e3cf154aa578223b00fcf4ddfc0acf7708c8d981cc53be4368.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-26T20:50:58 | null | 2016-08-26T20:28:35 | Energous Corp : | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2FidUSFWN1B70L8%3Ftype%3DcompanyNews%26feedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DcompanyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FcompanyNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BCompany%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | BRIEF-Energous Corp sold upto $57.2 mln in equity and other financing | null | null | www.reuters.com | Wall St Weekahead-Jobs data to be a big deal for record-high stocks
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 26 Wall Street will fixate on a wave of U.S. economic data next week, crested by payrolls data on Friday that could sway expectations about the timing of future interest rate hikes and spark volatility in record-high stock prices. | http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1B70L8?type=companyNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=companyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FcompanyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Company+News%29 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/087deaa601e036cdb49c77ef2760b32b7f15775f315dbe1d3a589ef712cac34d.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-29T18:52:02 | null | 2016-08-29T17:53:42 | Mexico's government willnext week propose that Congress bring forward one year, toJanuary 2017, the planned liberalization of gasoline prices, thefinance ministry said on Monday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fmexico-oil-gasoline-idUSL1N1BA137%3Ftype%3DcompanyNews%26feedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DcompanyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FcompanyNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BCompany%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | Mexico gov't to propose liberalizing gas prices from Jan 2017 | null | null | www.reuters.com | MEXICO CITY Aug 29 Mexico's government will next week propose that Congress bring forward one year, to January 2017, the planned liberalization of gasoline prices, the finance ministry said on Monday.
The measure aims to foster competition in the retail gasoline market, which is currently in the hands of state oil company Pemex.
The state giant produces and imports gasoline consumed within Mexico. Private companies are already allowed to enter the gasoline market under a landmark energy sector opening, but no one has done so as the government continues to fix gasoline prices.
Miguel Messmacher, a deputy finance minister, told local radio the government would make its proposal by Sept. 8 at the latest, the deadline for it to submit its 2017 budget.
A sweeping energy sector reform the government is implementing is unraveling the decades-long monopoly Pemex enjoyed, including allowing private companies to import gasoline and compete with Pemex, which has 11,000 gas stations. (Reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) | http://www.reuters.com/article/mexico-oil-gasoline-idUSL1N1BA137?type=companyNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=companyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FcompanyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Company+News%29 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/83258788f19511681643caed0a8d58a7784c14e59785ccd4ff47c52492bff90a.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-26T13:20:17 | null | 2016-08-26T04:47:33 | Petra Kvitova moved closer to a third straight Connecticut Open crown after defeating Ekaterina Makarova 6-3 6-1 to reach the semi-finals on Thursday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-tennis-women-connecticut-idUSKCN1110A3%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DsportsNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FsportsNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BSports%2BNews%2529.json | http://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160826&t=2&i=1151122037&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7P05O | en | null | Kvitova advances, Vinci ousted in Connecticut Open | null | null | www.reuters.com | 2016 Rio Olympics - Tennis - Final - Women's Singles Bronze Medal Match - Olympic Tennis Centre - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 13/08/2016. Petra Kvitova (CZE) of Czech Republic celebrates after winning match against Madison Keys (USA) of USA. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Petra Kvitova moved closer to a third straight Connecticut Open crown after defeating Ekaterina Makarova 6-3 6-1 to reach the semi-finals on Thursday.
Kvitova, who won this event the last two years as well as in 2012, stormed past her Russian opponent as she looks to join Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki as a four-time winner in the tournament. To do that she will have to take down top seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who had little trouble winning her quarter-final match, topping Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens 6-1, 6-4.
Swedish qualifier Johanna Larsson pulled off an upset when she beat second-seed Roberta Vinci 7-6 (9) 6-1.
Larsson had lost in the final round of qualifying for the tournament, and only made the draw when other players withdrew.
"It always helps to play many matches and to play good tennis," Larsson said. "It helps keep you calm and you know when you go out there on court, you're going to be a tough cookie to beat."
Larsson, who is ranked 62nd in the world, now has a semi-final matchup with Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. Svitolina, the 10th seed, defeated Russia's Elena Vesnina 6-3, 6-1.
(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; editing by Amlan Chakraborty) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-tennis-women-connecticut-idUSKCN1110A3?feedType=RSS&feedName=sportsNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FsportsNews+%28Reuters+Sports+News%29 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/288c4376d48675650f69998c6a022b9bdb4216b3a3bd578922601c7d5c9369f1.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-26T13:21:13 | null | 2016-08-26T12:07:31 | Israeli soldiers on Friday shot and killed an apparently unarmed Palestinian who ran toward their position in a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, and the incident was under review, a military spokeswoman said. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-israel-palestinians-idUSKCN1111AP%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DtopNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FtopNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BTop%2BNews%2529.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160826&t=2&i=1151164598&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7P0RI | en | null | Israeli troops kill Palestinian who ran toward them, army says | null | null | www.reuters.com | Israeli border policemen stand guard at the scene where a Palestinian was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank village of Silwad near Ramallah August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
Israeli soldiers inspect the scene where a Palestinian was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank village of Silwad near Ramallah August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
Israeli border policemen stand guard at the scene where a Palestinian was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank village of Silwad near Ramallah August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
Israeli troops gather at the scene where a Palestinian was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank village of Silwad near Ramallah August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
JERUSALEM Israeli soldiers on Friday shot and killed an apparently unarmed Palestinian who ran toward their position in a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, and the incident was under review, a military spokeswoman said.
A Palestinian official said the 38-year-old man suffered from mental illness, and several unsourced Israeli news websites reported that no weapons were found on his body.
"(Israeli) forces identified a suspect running toward an IDF (Israel Defence Forces) post in Silwad," the military spokeswoman said. "Upon the suspect's advance, the forces shot the suspect, resulting in his death. The incident is currently being reviewed."
Asked whether the Palestinian had been armed, she said that "the details are still being checked."
Since October, Palestinians, many of them acting alone and with rudimentary weapons, have killed at least 33 Israelis and two visiting Americans. At least 209 Palestinians have been killed, 141 of whom Israel said were assailants. Others died during clashes and protests.
Palestinian leaders say assailants have acted out of desperation over the collapse of peace talks in 2014 and Israeli settlement expansion in Israeli-occupied territory that Palestinians seek for an independent state. Most countries view the settlements as illegal. Israel disputes this.
Israel says incitement in the Palestinian media and personal problems at home have been important factors that have spurred assailants, often teenagers, to carry out attacks.
On Wednesday, an Israeli soldier fatally shot a Palestinian motorist who the army said had stabbed him and thrown rocks from his car at a military vehicle in the West Bank.
(Reporting by Jeffrey Heller and Ali Sawafta; Writing by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Larry King) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-idUSKCN1111AP?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/6240db3b8a504b9b72e4ce54e45418ea50cd5cf8c3c1936fa841e14ad1ed6766.json |
[
"James Saft"
] | 2016-08-30T04:52:04 | null | 2016-08-30T04:05:36 | The great stock buyback boom may be on the wane, undermined by falling company earnings. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-markets-saft-idUSKCN115093.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | Kiss it goodbye, the great buyback boom is on the wane: James Saft | null | null | www.reuters.com | The great stock buyback boom may be on the wane, undermined by falling company earnings.
U.S. company stock buybacks are down 21 percent in the first seven months of 2016 compared to the same period a year earlier, according to TrimTabs Investment Research, a fall driven in part by five consecutive quarters of year-over-year earnings declines among S&P 500 stocks.
Buybacks, which cancel shares and thus increase per-share earnings, have played a crucial role in supporting the stock market since the financial crisis, flattering earnings even for companies with static or falling revenues.
They, along with dividends, return cash to shareholders, a process often facilitated by borrowed money.
“My biggest concern, which I voiced at the start of the year and continue to worry about, is the sustainability of cash flows. Put bluntly, U.S. companies cannot keep returning cash at the rate at which they are today,” Aswath Damodaran, a professor of finance at New York University, writes in his blog.
(here)
Over the first six months of the year S&P 500 companies paid out 112 percent of their earnings in the form of either dividends or share buybacks. That, Damodaran argues, is the kind of figure you might expect to see when a recession had suddenly crimped company cashflows, not during a very long-running, if tepid, expansion.
The last time companies were paying out this much more than they are taking in was in 2008, when the financial crisis hammered revenues faster than companies could cut buybacks and dividends.
“Unless earnings show a dramatic growth (and there is no reason to believe that they will), companies will start revving down (or be forced to) their buyback engines and that will put the market under pressure,” according to Damodaran.
Facing difficulty in growing top-line revenues, companies have been able to fund outsized cash distributions and buybacks by selling bonds to a market hungry for an alternative to Treasury bonds and their extremely low yields. That same hunger, which has as its underlying cause extraordinary monetary policy, has also driven appetite for equities, as investors felt forced to take on more risk to gain even a modicum of reward.
RISING DEBT BUT FALLING ENTHUSIASM
Companies have issued debt in such size that net debt compared to a standard measure of earnings is now at an all-time high for non-financial companies in the S&P 500, according to data from FactSet, having almost doubled in about five years.
Yet investors seem less enthusiastic about company buyback plans. A Goldman Sachs basket of companies with the highest share repurchases has underperformed the broader market this year.
Certainly the very idea of buybacks has come under increasing scrutiny. While a share buyback improves per share earnings performance, it is a piece of financial engineering which increases leverage but does nothing to improve a company’s product offerings or market position, much less its long-term prospects. Indeed, the vogue for buybacks has happened at the same time as an otherwise puzzling lack of corporate investment, especially given that corporate profit margins are still high by historic standards.
For the buyback boom to truly end, one of two things must happen: companies must think better of it as a strategy, or funds must run short or become difficult to obtain. Even more likely, if money becomes more difficult to come by, the strategy rethink will become more urgent.
Corporate profits are still pretty high as a percentage of gross domestic product, but the trend, at least among the largest companies, is downward. If that carries on, and it clearly can even without the impetus of a recession, payouts must be cut or even more debt will be required.
As of yet, demand for corporate bonds remains strong. Yields on investment-grade U.S. corporate bonds are not far off all-time lows, driven by falling government debt interest rates. Volumes of bonds issued have been healthy too, though this year may see less issuance of corporate debt than last.
One potential problem for the corporate debt boom, and the accompanying buyback binge, would be rising interest rates.
While a return to historically normal rates seems far off, markets are now betting that the Fed makes its second interest rate hike in this tightening campaign in December, the anniversary of its first last year. As interest rates for safer instruments like Treasury bonds rise, the relative attractions of corporate debt and corporate leverage will fall.
Stocks won’t enjoy this process but long-term investors, who depend on company dynamism and on overall economic growth, should.
(Editing by James Dalgleish) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-markets-saft-idUSKCN115093 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/1229fce436b806a200f5106dfb89e26e2205c44bd7355c4144fb41bf38d7d72e.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-30T02:50:51 | null | 2016-08-30T00:59:06 | Mitsubishi Motors Corp (7211.T) overstated the fuel economy on eight of its vehicle models, in addition to four others the embattled Japanese automaker admitted to earlier this year, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Tuesday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-mitsubishimotors-scandal-idUSKCN11502P%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DbusinessNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FbusinessNews%2B%2528Business%2BNews%2529.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160830&t=2&i=1151513173&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7T013 | en | null | Mitsubishi Motors overstated fuel economy on eight more models: Nikkei | null | null | www.reuters.com | The company logo of Mitsubishi Motors is seen at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, August 2, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
TOKYO Mitsubishi Motors Corp (7211.T) overstated the fuel economy on eight of its vehicle models, in addition to four others the embattled Japanese automaker admitted to earlier this year, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Japan's transport ministry, which had been investigating the fuel economy on Mitsubishi models including the Pajero SUV, would report its findings as early as Tuesday, the Nikkei said, citing an unnamed source.
The Nikkei said the company would likely withdraw the affected vehicles from the market to revise its catalogs, a process which could take about two to three weeks. Compensation to customers was a possibility, it added.
Both Mitsubishi and the transport ministry declined to comment on the report. Shares in the automaker slipped 0.8 percent in early trade.
Japan's sixth-largest automaker has been struggling to recover after admitting in April that it had falsified the fuel economy on two of its minivehicle models, along with two similar models produced for Nissan Motor Co (7201.T).
The scandal led to a suspension of sales for nearly three months, and prompted a slump in Mitsubishi's market value. The company sought financial assistance from Nissan, which agreed to buy a controlling one-third stake for $2.2 billion.
An internal investigation has uncovered poor communication, slack governance and pressure on resource-starved engineers at the root of Mitsubishi's problems.
Mitsubishi said last month that the resulting slump in domestic sales led to a 75 percent plunge in first-quarter operating profit, while the company said it booked an extraordinary loss of 125.9 billion yen ($1.24 billion) in the first quarter as a result of the cheating.
($1 = 101.8600 yen)
(Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Stephen Coates) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mitsubishimotors-scandal-idUSKCN11502P?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FbusinessNews+%28Business+News%29 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/a6a4e0cd522e8427286491c025c463e4deb0542b30e61a7a430dbf78314ecf1b.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-30T13:03:06 | null | 2016-08-30T11:07:35 | The U.S. job market is nearly at full strength and the pace of interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve will depend on how well the economy is doing, Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said on Tuesday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-usa-fed-fischer-idUSKCN11518K%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DtopNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FtopNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BTop%2BNews%2529.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160830&t=2&i=1151563056&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7T0LC | en | null | Fed's Fischer says U.S. job market 'very close' to full strength | null | null | www.reuters.com | U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Stanley Fischer addresses The Economic Club of New York in New York March 23, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/Files
WASHINGTON The U.S. job market is nearly at full strength and the pace of interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve will depend on how well the economy is doing, Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said on Tuesday.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Fischer did not comment on the timing of the next Fed rate hike but said "we choose the pace on basis of data," and that U.S. "employment is very close to full employment."
Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Friday she thought the case had grown stronger in recent months for an interest rate increase, remarks that Fischer later that day said were consistent with a view that the U.S. central bank might raise rates at its next policy meeting in September.
Asked about the dollar on Tuesday, Fischer said the currency's strength affected U.S. inflation and company profits but improvements in the labor market showed the economy had withstood this headwind.
The Fed has signaled since March it would lift rates twice this year, but investors have been skeptical.
Prices for Fed funds futures on Tuesday suggested they expect about a 20 percent chance of a hike next month and just over even odds for such a move in December <0#FF:> FFZ6. The Fed also has a policy meeting scheduled for early November.
The U.S. Labor Department's monthly employment report on Friday is expected to show the economy added 180,000 jobs in August, according to the median forecast in a Reuters poll.
(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Bernadette Baum) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-fischer-idUSKCN11518K?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/f399c525849744a8d66d7478bdf452819c5901e5454a2f18419f10995a7c1db6.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-31T00:52:19 | null | 2016-08-30T23:24:03 | Aug 30 (Reuters) -* Boeing Commercial Airplanes announces passing of JoeSutter, known as the 'father of the 747', earlier on tuesday atthe age of 9 | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2FidUSFWN1BB0KS%3Ftype%3DcompanyNews%26feedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DcompanyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FcompanyNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BCompany%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | BRIEF-Boeing Commercial Airplanes announces passing of Joe Sutter on Tuesday | null | null | www.reuters.com | PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Aug 31
The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. | http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1BB0KS?type=companyNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=companyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FcompanyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Company+News%29 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/98bbcd023e601daf835a8b412c01a8e4e54206f81089770436a2ebd4e80154c6.json |
[
"Ruma Paul"
] | 2016-08-30T05:04:52 | null | 2016-08-30T04:08:33 | Bangladesh's top court on Tuesday rejected a final appeal by the leader of an Islamist party against a death sentence for atrocities committed during the 1971 war of independence, lawyers said, meaning he could be hanged at any time. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-bangladesh-warcrimes-idUSKCN11507J%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DworldNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2BReuters%252FworldNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BWorld%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | Bangladesh Islamist leader loses final appeal against execution for war crimes | null | null | www.reuters.com | DHAKA Bangladesh's top court on Tuesday rejected a final appeal by the leader of an Islamist party against a death sentence for atrocities committed during the 1971 war of independence, lawyers said, meaning he could be hanged at any time.
The verdict comes as the Muslim-majority nation suffers a series of militant attacks, the most serious on July 1, when gunmen stormed a cafe in the capital, Dhaka, and killed 20 hostages, most of them foreigners.
In March, the Supreme Court had upheld the death penalty for Mir Quasem Ali, 63, a media tycoon and key financier of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, for murder, confinement, torture and incitement to religious hatred during the war to leave Pakistan.
"Now it is only a matter of time to execute the verdict, unless he seeks clemency from the president," Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told reporters after a panel of five judges headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha rejected the appeal.
Lawyers for Ali could not be reached immediately for comment on whether the party leader would seek clemency.
The war crimes tribunal set up by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2010 has sparked violence and drawn criticism from opposition politicians, who say it is victimising her political opponents. The government denies the accusations.
Human rights groups say the tribunal's procedures fall short of international standards, but the government rejects that assertion, and the trials are supported by many Bangladeshis.
Authorities have deployed additional security forces in the capital, Dhaka, and elsewhere, as similar previous judgments triggered violence that killed around 200, mainly Jamaat activists and police.
Since December 2013, four Jamaat leaders, including former top leader Motiur Rahman Nizami, and a leader of the main opposition party, led by former premier Khaleda Zia, have been executed for war crimes.
Official figures show about 3 million people were killed and thousands of women raped during the nine-month war, in which some factions, including the Jamaat-e-Islami, opposed the break from what was then called West Pakistan.
But the party denies its leaders committed any atrocities.
(Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bangladesh-warcrimes-idUSKCN11507J?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/e1484c182a97e72a32105090f410896ef3681e94e03e2f3dc2ea81ffbb83924a.json |
[
"Irene Klotz"
] | 2016-08-26T13:20:47 | null | 2016-08-24T19:30:43 | Scientists have discovered a planet that appears to be similar to Earth circling the star closest to the sun, potentially a major step in the quest to find out if life exists elsewhere in the universe, research published on Wednesday showed. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-space-planet-idUSKCN10Z28P%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DscienceNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FscienceNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BScience%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160824&t=2&i=1150901752&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7N1CU | en | null | Scientists find Earth-like planet circling sun's nearest neighbor | null | null | www.reuters.com | A view of the southern skies over the European Southern Observatory (ESO) 3.6-metre (11.8 foot) telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile with images of the stars Proxima Centauri (lower-right) and the double star Alpha Centauri AB (lower-left) from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope as seen in an undated image released by the European Southern Observatory August 24, 2016. Y. Beletsky/LCO/ESO/ESA/NASA/M. Zamani/Handout via Reuters
A view of the surface of the planet Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our Solar System, is seen in an undated artist's impression released by the European Southern Observatory August 24, 2016. ESO/M. Kornmesser/Handout via Reuters
The planet Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our Solar System, is seen in an undated artist's impression released by the European Southern Observatory August 24, 2016. ESO/M. Kornmesser/Handout via Reuters
Scientists have discovered a planet that appears to be similar to Earth circling the star closest to the sun, potentially a major step in the quest to find out if life exists elsewhere in the universe, research published on Wednesday showed.
The relative proximity of the planet, known as Proxima b, gives scientists a better chance to eventually capture an image of it, to help them establish whether it has an atmosphere and water, which is believed to be necessary for life.
Future studies may reveal if any atmosphere contains tell-tale chemicals of biological life, such as methane, according to a paper published in this week's issue of the journal Nature.
"The key question of our initiative was whether there were potentially life-bearing planets orbiting these stars. We know now there is at least one planet with some characteristics similar to the Earth," said Pete Worden, a former top NASA manager, who was speaking at a European Southern Observatory webcast news conference to announce the find.
The planet, located about 4.2 light-years from Earth, or 25 trillion miles (40 trillion km), is the closest of some 3,500 planets that have been discovered beyond the solar system since 1995, according to the paper.
"This planetary system is much closer than any other that we know so detailed investigation is easier," astronomer Ansgar Reiners, with the University of Gottingen in Germany, told reporters on a conference call.
Astronomers got their first hint of a planet circling the sun's small dim neighbor star in 2013. But they needed additional observations, using more precise instruments, to make a definitive call.
An international team of 31 scientists found the planet after careful and repeated measurements of slight shifts in the color of the light coming from its host star, Proxima Centauri, which is a small, dim star in the Alpha Centauri system.
The shifts, which astronomers call "wobbles," are caused by the gravitational tugging of a planet roughly 1.3 times the size of Earth on the parent star. Based on the timing of wobbles, scientists determined that the planet circles its host star in just 11 days, compared to Earth's 365-day orbit around the sun.
That puts the planet far closer to its parent star than Earth orbits the sun. However, Proxima Centauri is so much smaller and dimmer than the sun that its planet's orbit is suitably positioned for liquid water despite being just 4.4 million miles away.
EARTH-LIKE PLANET
"Chances are good that it's a viable, Earth-like planet today," said astronomer Pedro Amado, with the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía in Granada, Spain.
But scientists are unsure if red dwarf stars like Proxima Centauri are good hosts for life. Planets orbiting close enough to keep water liquid would be blasted with 100 times more high-energy radiation than Earth receives from the sun, though what impact that would have on life is a matter of scientific debate.
"We don't think it's a show-stopper," Amado said.
Magnetic fields and an atmosphere offer a planet some protection. It is unknown if Proxima b has either.
Before the discovery of Proxima b, the nearest Earth-like planet to the sun was circling a star known as Wolf 1061, located about 14 light-years away.
Proxima b may not be flying solo. "We have some suspicions that there is another signal around the star," Reiners said.
More research is needed to determine if there are multiple planets circling Proxima Centauri.
The discovery announced on Wednesday is expected to bolster a $100 million project unveiled in April and backed by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner to develop a miniature laser-powered spacecraft that can make the trip to the Alpha Centauri system in about 20 years.
"We hope to build a whole system that will send nanocraft to Proxima Centauri and Alpha Centauri within a generation," said Worden, the executive director of Breakthrough Starshot, an initiative that aims to deploy thousands of tiny spacecraft to travel to our nearest neighboring star system and send back pictures.
(Reporting by Irene Klotz in Sydney, Australia; Additional reporting by Rosalba O'Brien in Santiago; Editing by Bill Rigby and Alistair Bell) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-planet-idUSKCN10Z28P?feedType=RSS&feedName=scienceNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FscienceNews+%28Reuters+Science+News%29 | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/cbef7b7dcd2d92e6050f0a992d24b4d454b68ae0ab7b9634059048c82b3ee918.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-28T08:51:21 | null | 2016-08-28T08:01:40 | China has set up a state-owned aircraft engine maker with registered capital of 50 billion yuan ($7.50 billion), state television said on Sunday, in the latest bid to develop home-grown, high-tech capacities to compete in international markets. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-china-aviation-engines-idUSKCN11305R.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | China launches state-owned aircraft engine maker: state media | null | null | www.reuters.com | BEIJING China has set up a state-owned aircraft engine maker with registered capital of 50 billion yuan ($7.50 billion), state television said on Sunday, in the latest bid to develop home-grown, high-tech capacities to compete in international markets.
The government has been overhauling its state-owned sector to push Chinese products and services up the value chain. Under that drive, it has prioritized aircraft engines, high-speed rail and nuclear power as areas it wants China to excel.
China's cabinet, Beijing municipal government, the Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC) and Commercial Aircraft Corp of China are investors of the new company, it said.
The new company, called China Aero-Engine Group and with 96,000 employees, will focus on designing, manufacturing and testing of aircraft engines, the report said, adding that it will be of "great significant for the future development of China's aviation industry".
In March, state-owned AVIC said it was finalizing a 129 billion yuan merger of its aircraft engine businesses, in a move to create a giant that could eventually compete with the likes of United Technologies Corp's (UTX.N) aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney.
(Reporting by Kevin Yao; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-aviation-engines-idUSKCN11305R | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/aaa537e830b64255a1264fbd322c7e1a52f253a466c2cf4e9985c3bcfbf9b512.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-26T13:19:36 | null | 2016-03-31T16:10:02 | The Kremlin said on Thursday that a report by the al-Hayat newspaper on an agreement between Russia and the United States on the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was not true. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-mideast-crisis-russia-syria-assad-idUSKCN0WX133%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DwtMostRead%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FMostRead%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BMost%2BRead%2BArticles%2529.json | http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160331&t=2&i=1129119859&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC2U0PA | en | null | Kremlin denies report of Russia-U.S. deal on Assad's future | null | null | www.reuters.com | Syria's President Bashar al-Assad attends an interview with Russia's RIA news agency, in Damascus, Syria in this handout picture provided by SANA on March 30, 2016. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters
REFILE - ADDING DROPPED LETTERSyria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during an interview with Russia's RIA news agency, in Damascus, Syria in this handout picture provided by SANA on March 30, 2016. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters
MOSCOW The Kremlin said on Thursday that a report by the al-Hayat newspaper on an agreement between Russia and the United States on the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was not true.
The newspaper reported that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had told several Arab countries that Russia and the U.S. reached an understanding on the future of Syria's peace process, including Assad's departure to another country at some unspecified stage.
"Al-Hayat published information which does not correspond to reality," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with journalists.
"Russia is advantageously different from other nations because it does not discuss the issue of the self-determination of third countries either through diplomatic or other channels."
(Reporting by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Christian Lowe) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-russia-syria-assad-idUSKCN0WX133?feedType=RSS&feedName=wtMostRead&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FMostRead+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Most+Read+Articles%29 | en | 2016-03-31T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/9aea89fa651b8cafec36e89459d5a890092f66f1291c3f0110ba83ed4e579486.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-27T09:04:26 | null | 2016-08-27T08:04:03 | The number of people killed in an earthquake that has wrecked parts of central Italy rose to 284 on Saturday, as the country started a day of mourning and prepared for a mass funeral for some of the victims. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-italy-quake-idUSKCN112066%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DworldNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2BReuters%252FworldNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BWorld%2BNews%2529.json | http://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160827&t=2&i=1151256021&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7Q02L | en | null | Italy quake death toll hits 284 on day of mass funeral | null | null | www.reuters.com | Firefighters and rescuers work following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
Firefighters and rescuers work following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
Firefighters and rescuers work following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
Italian President Sergio Mattarella (C) is seen with Amatrice mayor Sergio Pirozzi (L) during his visit to Amatrice after the earthquake in central Italy August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
A firefighter stands in front of Sant'Agostino church following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
Coffins of some of the victims of the earthquake in central Italy are seen inside a gym before the funeral in Ascoli Piceno August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Adamo Di Loreto
Mourners pay their respects as they attend a funeral for the earthquake victims inside a gym in Ascoli Piceno August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Adamo Di Loreto
A picture of San Francesco church hangs on the wall of a damaged house following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
Mourners pay their respects as they attend a funeral for the earthquake victims inside a gym in Ascoli Piceno August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Adamo Di Loreto
A woman sits next to a coffin to pay her respects as she attends a funeral for the earthquake victims inside a gym in Ascoli Piceno August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Adamo Di Loreto
A friar pays his respects as he attends a funeral for the earthquake victims inside a gym in Ascoli Piceno August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Adamo Di Loreto
ASCOLI PICENO, Italy The number of people killed in an earthquake that has wrecked parts of central Italy rose to 284 on Saturday, as the country started a day of mourning and prepared for a mass funeral for some of the victims.
A further two bodies were found overnight in the worst-hit town, Amatrice, which was flattened by Wednesday's powerful quake causing the deaths of at least 224 residents and tourists.
Although rescuers continued to scour the mounds of rubble -- all that remains of most buildings -- there was little hope of finding survivors.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella flew to Amatrice by helicopter on Saturday to see the damage first hand before traveling on later in the morning to the nearby city of Ascoli Piceno for the funeral of up to 40 of the victims.
Mourners gathered at a sports center in the city, where 35 coffins were lined up by early Saturday.
"Even if I didn't know them my heart broke for them. My thoughts are with them because there are people who have lost everything, homes, loved ones and the sacrifices made in life," said local resident, Luciana Cavicchiuni.
"These things should not happen," she said.
Aftershocks continued to rattle the area overnight, the strongest measuring 4.2. The Italian geological institute said some 1,332 aftershocks have hit Italy's central mountains since Wednesday's predawn 6.2 magnitude quake.
(Additional reporting by Iona Serrapica; Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Susan Fenton) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-quake-idUSKCN112066?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29 | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/13268f4468f3ca08c2473b866034f66a98f0ab1efa28f1cf563a0f60a69c5659.json |
[
"Amanda Becker",
"Steve Holland"
] | 2016-08-26T13:20:09 | null | 2016-08-25T22:11:42 | Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton accused Donald Trump on Thursday of fuelling America's "radical fringe" with racist rhetoric, even as her Republican rival sought to soften his image with an appeal to minorities. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-usa-election-idUSKCN1101ZR%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DpoliticsNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2BReuters%252FPoliticsNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BPolitics%2BNews%2529.json | http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160825&t=2&i=1151051638&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7O1CC | en | null | Clinton, Trump clash over who is best for U.S. minorities | null | null | www.reuters.com | Jason Miller, Senior Communications Advisor to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks with media following a round table meeting with the Republican Leadership Initiative at Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York,, U.S., August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway walks out of the Trump Tower following a round table meeting in the Manhattan borough of borough of New York, U.S., August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Stephen Bannon CEO of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign is pictured during a round table with the Republican Leadership Initiative at Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Dr. Ben Carson (L) and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speak during a round table with the Republican Leadership Initiative at Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks during a round table with the Republican Leadership Initiative at Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks next to Dr. Ben Carson (L) during a round table with the Republican Leadership Initiative at Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks during a round table with the Republican Leadership Initiative at Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
A worker closes the door of a freight elevator, with an image of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on the wall, at the basement of Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Former U.S. Secretaries of State Colin Powell (L) and Hillary Clinton (R) listen to remarks at a groundbreaking ceremony for the U.S. Diplomacy Center at the State Department in Washington September 3, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
Dr. Ben Carson (L) and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump (C) and Pierry Benjamin (R) attend a round table with the Republican Leadership Initiative at Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York,, U.S., August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
RENO, Nev./MANCHESTER, N.H. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton accused Donald Trump on Thursday of fuelling America's "radical fringe" with racist rhetoric, even as her Republican rival sought to soften his image with an appeal to minorities.
Clinton needs to retain support from black and Latino voters to win the Nov. 8 election, the same coalition that helped propel Democrat Barack Obama to the White House in 2008. Trump, whose support comes mainly from whites, is unlikely to be victorious unless he can cut into that support.
"Donald Trump has built his campaign on prejudice and paranoia," Clinton said in a scathing speech in Nevada. "He’s taking hate groups mainstream and helping a radical fringe take over one of America’s two major political parties."
"This is a moment of reckoning for every Republican dismayed that the Party of Lincoln has become the Party of Trump," Clinton said, referring to Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation and championed the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution during the Civil War that led to the abolition of slavery in 1865.
Trump, who trails Clinton in national opinion polls, has polled poorly with minorities and has been criticized for his proposals on immigration, which include deporting millions of undocumented foreigners, building a wall along the Mexican border, and suspending Muslim immigration to shore up national security.
He described some Mexican immigrants as "criminals and rapists" in a 2015 speech launching his candidacy and more recently questioned the impartiality of an American-born judge of Mexican heritage.
On Thursday, the New York real estate mogul-turned-politician criticized Clinton before her speech, saying she and her party had let black Americans down with failed economic policies and were falsely labeling Republicans as bigoted.
"When Democratic policies fail, they are left with only this one tired argument: You're racist, you're racist, you're racist," Trump told a crowd in Manchester, New Hampshire. "It’s a tired, disgusted argument and is so totally predictable.”
At a Mississippi rally on Wednesday, Trump called Clinton a "bigot who sees people of color only as votes, not as human beings."
'SHAME ON YOU'
He argued on Thursday that Clinton's opposition to charter schools and vouchers locked minority students in failing jobs, that her tax policies would hurt black-owned businesses and that she would allow immigrants to take jobs from minorities.
Trump said the Clinton attacks were not only an assault on him, but on all his supporters - people, he said, who want strong borders and security.
“To Hillary Clinton, and to her donors and advisers, pushing her to spread smears and her lies about decent people, I have three words ... shame on you.”
A Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation poll for the week beginning Aug. 15 found Clinton beating Trump among Hispanic voters by 15 percentage points, and by 57 percentage points among black voters.
Trump has tried recently to broaden his appeal to them, hinting at a softening of his hardline position on immigration.
In comments broadcast on Fox News on Wednesday night, Trump said he would be willing to work with immigrants who have abided by U.S. laws while living in the country, backing away from his insistence during the primaries that he would try to deport all 11 million illegal immigrants.
Trump also met with black and Latino Republican leaders at his headquarters in New York City on Thursday morning.
Trump's efforts were unlikely to draw out minorities in his favor but could reassure some moderate Republicans worried about his views on race, said Bernard Fraga, a political science professor at Indiana University.
"I don’t think these efforts will do a lot to help him in minority communities," Fraga said.
An association of 40 Latino organizations sent a letter on Thursday calling on him to "cease" his rhetoric and meet with their leadership to discuss ways he could improve his outreach to Hispanics.
"As we have expressed numerous times, your rhetoric of relentless attacks against our community is an issue of serious concern and has had a significant impact, fuelling an alarming trend in our nation," the letter reads.
CLINTON VIDEO
Clinton released a video on Thursday ahead of her Nevada speech tying Trump to white supremacist groups. The video shows a Ku Klux Klan member praising Trump and plays a recording of former leader Klan leader David Duke calling on white people to vote for Trump.
The video also shows newly appointed Trump campaign chairman Steve Bannon, who ran the website Breitbart.com, which has been accused of stoking online racists.
Bannon told the magazine Mother Jones during the Republican National Convention last month that the website was "the platform for the alt-right," a brand of U.S. political conservatism associated with white nationalism.
Trump's campaign called for the Clinton campaign to withdraw the video.
"This type of rhetoric and repulsive advertising is revolting and completely beyond the pale," Mark Burns, an African-American pastor who supports Trump, said in a statement. "I call on Hillary Clinton to disavow this video and her campaign for this sickening act that has no place in our world."
(Reporting by Amanda Becker in Palo Alto, Calif. and Steve Holland in Manchester, N.H.; Writing by Ginger Gibson; Editing by Bill Trott and Peter Cooney) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-idUSKCN1101ZR?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FPoliticsNews+%28Reuters+Politics+News%29 | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/efd880dd8426f5ef9a6d8f6d3b32971c1c1c06369aacaf5e99e3f2b7e2396885.json |
[
"Aidan Lewis"
] | 2016-08-29T21:04:48 | null | 2016-08-29T20:18:33 | Libyan forces said they captured a residential neighborhood in central Sirte from Islamic State on Monday, leaving just one district of the city still occupied by the militants. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-libya-security-idUSKCN114278%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DworldNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2BReuters%252FworldNews%2B%2528Reuters%2BWorld%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160829&t=2&i=1151489868&w=&fh=545px&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC7S18S | en | null | Libyan forces say Islamic State beaten back in Sirte | null | null | www.reuters.com | Libyan forces take up new positions as they prepare for next advance against Islamic State holdouts in Sirte, Libya August 29, 2016. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny
Libyan forces take up new positions as they prepare for next advance against Islamic State holdouts in Sirte, Libya August 29, 2016. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny
Donated tea and other drinks are distributed among Libyan forces as they prepare for next advance against Islamic State holdouts in Sirte, Libya August 29, 2016. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny
Libyan forces sit atop a tank after taking up new positions as they prepare for next advance against Islamic State holdouts in Sirte, Libya August 29, 2016. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny
Libyan forces take up new positions as they prepare for next advance against Islamic State holdouts in Sirte, Libya August 29, 2016. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny
Libyan forces sit atop a tank after taking up new positions as they prepare for next advance against Islamic State holdouts in Sirte, Libya August 29, 2016. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny
Libyan forces ride a military vehicle as they prepare for next advance against Islamic State holdouts in Sirte, Libya August 29, 2016. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny
SIRTE, Libya Libyan forces said they captured a residential neighborhood in central Sirte from Islamic State on Monday, leaving just one district of the city still occupied by the militants.
Spokesman Rida Issa said Sirte's neighborhood Number One was "completely liberated", but added that the brigades, backed by U.S. air strikes, were "in the process of clearing any remnants of Daesh (Islamic State)" from the area.
For more than three months, brigades aligned with Libya's U.N.-backed government have been battling to oust Islamic State from Sirte, a coastal city that the militant group turned into a regional stronghold last year.
The United States began an air campaign over Sirte on Aug. 1, and had by Sunday carried out 92 strikes against Islamic State.
Militants have defended themselves with suicide bombers, snipers and mines, inflicting heavy casualties on brigade fighters. At least six brigade members were killed and 12 wounded on Monday, according to hospital officials.
The latest gains came after the brigades made significant advances on Sunday in which 35 of their men were killed and more than 200 wounded.
Many of the latest casualties were caused by mines, car bombs or artillery fire, according to hospital officials and brigade fighters.
On Monday, the brigades could be seen moving tanks and other vehicles toward forward positions.
There was a pause in fighting last week as the brigades said they were giving a chance to the wives and children of Islamic State fighters to leave the battle zone ahead of a final push.
Most brigade fighters are from the city of Misrata, about 230 km (140 miles) northwest of Sirte. They counter-attacked after Islamic State advanced toward Misrata at the beginning of May.
(Additional reporting by Ahmed Elumami; Editing by Andrew Roche) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-libya-security-idUSKCN114278?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/6ebe8290ac6f9f0667726c3760ff8088472b45f94c6050ed65ea33ee92196f41.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-31T04:52:13 | null | 2016-08-31T04:10:36 | Lakes Oil, a junioroil and gas explorer in Australia, is considering the grounds itmay have for suing Victoria state, after the government therepermanently banned fracking and extended a ban on onshoreconventional gas drilling to 2020. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Faustralia-gas-lakes-oil-idUSL3N1BC1EV%3Ftype%3DcompanyNews%26feedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DcompanyNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252FcompanyNews%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BCompany%2BNews%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | Australian explorer looking at grounds for lawsuit over fracking ban | null | null | www.reuters.com | MELBOURNE Aug 31 Lakes Oil, a junior oil and gas explorer in Australia, is considering the grounds it may have for suing Victoria state, after the government there permanently banned fracking and extended a ban on onshore conventional gas drilling to 2020.
Lakes Oil shares sank as much as 50 percent on Wednesday in their first trading since the fracking ban was announced, and the stock was the fourth most active on the Australian exchange.
The move by the state in the country's southeast means Lakes will not be able to go ahead with two tentative deals lined up in 2014 to supply gas from its Wombat onshore conventional gas field to U.S. giant Dow Chemical Co and Australian food manufacturer Simplot.
"What the government's done is just unbelievable. It's unprecedented," Lakes Oil Chief Executive Roland Sleeman told Reuters in an interview.
Sleeman would not say whether his company would seek compensation from Victoria, but said it was a "really relevant question".
"I invite you to have a look at what has happened elsewhere. The key example is Metgasco in New South Wales - not exactly the same situation - but ultimately it was compensated by government," he said.
New South Wales agreed last year to pay Metgasco A$25 million ($19 million) to buy back three exploration licenses after suspending approval for drilling at a promising coal seam gas site due to public protests.
Victoria-focused Lakes was also considering a range of commercial options, Sleeman said, including expanding into South Australia state, which is eager to promote gas development.
Lakes could merge with another company, buy assets that larger players are spinning off, or in an extreme case, fold, he also said.
Lakes Oil has spent at least A$80 million to prove up gas resources on its Victorian acreage, Sleeman said.
($1 = 1.3298 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Tom Hogue) | http://www.reuters.com/article/australia-gas-lakes-oil-idUSL3N1BC1EV?type=companyNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=companyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FcompanyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Company+News%29 | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/9fcf2463b030e364c86d60808dca07ddae5e2a5b5f2e9b9f37b4079128009ccf.json |
[
"Canice Leung"
] | 2016-08-27T00:56:35 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | The Wadi al-Salam cemetery, Arabic for | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Fnews%2Fpicture%2Fphotos-of-the-week%3FarticleId%3DUSRTX2N837.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160826&t=2&i=1151229239&w=&fh=545&fw=810&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=2016-08-26T221502Z_23953_S1BETXBZVTAA_RTRMADP_0_MIDEAST-CRISIS-IRAQ-CEMETERY | en | null | Photos of the week | null | null | www.reuters.com | The Wadi al-Salam cemetery, Arabic for "Peace Valley", is seen in Najaf, south of Baghdad, Iraq August 3, 2016. The world's largest cemetery, in Iraq's Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, is expanding at double its usual rate as Shi'ite militias bury their dead from the war against Islamic State. The Wadi al-Salam cemetery, Arabic for "Peace Valley," has a special place in the hearts of Shi'ite Muslims as it surrounds the Mausoleum of...more
The Wadi al-Salam cemetery, Arabic for "Peace Valley", is seen in Najaf, south of Baghdad, Iraq August 3, 2016. The world's largest cemetery, in Iraq's Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, is expanding at double its usual rate as Shi'ite militias bury their dead from the war against Islamic State. The Wadi al-Salam cemetery, Arabic for "Peace Valley," has a special place in the hearts of Shi'ite Muslims as it surrounds the Mausoleum of their first imam, Ali Bin Abi Talib, a cousin and son-in-law of Prophet Mohammad. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani
Close | http://www.reuters.com/news/picture/photos-of-the-week?articleId=USRTX2N837 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/3cb1f3ef6810636949b8a5f017c76775aa8f1a485f56f57de19912e1ec4c5e27.json |
[
"Reuters Editorial"
] | 2016-08-29T16:52:38 | null | 2016-08-29T15:10:22 | Gaston, the first major Atlantic hurricane of the season, is forecast to remain a powerful system for the next several days, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Monday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-storm-gaston-nhc-idUSKCN1141N7%3FfeedType%3DRSS%26feedName%3DenvironmentNews%26utm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Breuters%252Fenvironment%2B%2528News%2B%252F%2BUS%2B%252F%2BEnvironment%2529.json | http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources_v2/images/rcom-default.png | en | null | Gaston to remain a powerful hurricane for several days: NHC | null | null | www.reuters.com | Gaston, the first major Atlantic hurricane of the season, is forecast to remain a powerful system for the next several days, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Monday.
The hurricane, now a Category 2 system, is located about 1,680 miles (2,705 km) west of the Azores, and moving with maximum sustained winds of 110 miles per hour (175 kph), the Miami-based weather forecaster added.
There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect for the storm, the NHC said.
The NHC said on Saturday evening the system had achieved hurricane strength and upgraded it on Sunday afternoon to Category 3 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity.
(Reporting by Swati Verma and Vijaykumar Vedala in Bengaluru; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) | http://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-gaston-nhc-idUSKCN1141N7?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.reuters.com/f674ceb52b94284426a3acf7001dec030c7bc2a44d878b0cadb907066053b547.json |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.