News Archive - 24 April 2015

>DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has bombed Yemen for four weeks but may be little closer to imposing influence in its war-torn neighbor. As the kingdom winds down the campaign it led against Yemen's Houthis, a militia allied to its regional rival Iran, Riyadh faces a test of its diplomatic...

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and Japanese negotiators have made "substantial progress" toward a deal on a major Pacific free-trade pact but President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are not expected to announce a final accord during Abe's Washington visit next week, the White House said on Friday.

>ADEN (Reuters) - Fighting between Yemen's warring factions raged in southern and central parts of the country and air strikes hit Houthi militia forces in Aden on Friday, but there were no fresh moves toward dialogue. Saudi Arabia says it is winding down its month-old bombing operation against the Iran-allied...

>The phones, dubbed "Tianyi Taobao Shopping Handsets", will come installed with either an app for easy access to Alibaba's flagship Taobao online shopping platform or its home-grown YunOS mobile operating system, it said in a statement late on Friday. Buyers will be eligible for four months of free 2G data...

>U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, in a speech in Arizona, has outlined Washington's next phase in its Asia "pivot", deploying its most sophisticated destroyers, bombers and fighters to the region.The Asia "pivot" has already seen U.S. Marines rotating through the Australian tropical city of Darwin, the country's...

>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said on Friday he respects Germany just not German politics, nor the way Berlin views Greece's economy, which faces the prospect of running out of money if it cannot agree to new bailout terms with creditors. Kotzias is part of the...

>Expectations for higher sales of display sensors used in mobile phones and the Playstation gaming console were the reason Sony raised its forecast, the Nikkei reported without citing sources. No one from Sony was available to comment.Sony also expected earnings in the fiscal year that ends in March 2016...

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The notion that one man trading from his parents' house in a working class London suburb had a material role in the 2010 Wall Street flash crash has aroused increasing skepticism from investors and traders since charges were brought on Tuesday. The U.S. has asked UK...

>The Canadian smartphone will make a final decision on the planned closure after completing talks with the employees' unions, the Journal reported. (on.wsj.com/1EoSvro)"At this time, we are considering the closure of our offices in Sweden [and] since this may impact approximately 100 employees, we are now initiating consultations...

>Her resignation from New York-based Angelo Gordon & Co, which manages hedge funds and alternative investments, is perhaps the clearest sign yet that Christie is likely to officially announce that he will be a Republican 2016 presidential candidate."Mrs. Christie has decided to take a hiatus from her work in...

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Central Intelligence Agency's Inspector General will conduct what could be the first of several investigations into the CIA drone strikes that killed American and Italian hostages and two U.S.-born al Qaeda militants, U.S. government sources said on Friday. The Senate Intelligence Committee also...

>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Healthcare companies on a seven-year tear have been top performers so far in 2015, helping to push broad stock indexes to record levels, but traders are now looking to protect themselves from a selloff as they await major earnings reports in the sector. Companies reporting first-quarter...

>BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Union's decision to take on Google last week stems from official complaints by 19 companies in Europe and the United States, including Microsoft and a number of small firms, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The list of complainants in the European Commission's...

>UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations aid chief urged the Security Council on Friday to impose an arms embargo and sanctions in Syria for violations of humanitarian law as special envoy Angelina Jolie pleaded with council members to visit millions of Syrian refugees. The aid official, Valerie Amos, also...

>BRUSSELS/SKOPJE (Reuters) - British and German warships made ready to sail for waters off Libya as Europe ramped up rescue operations in the Mediterranean after up to 900 desperate migrants drowned last weekend on a boat heading for Italy. Yet hours after European Union leaders agreed in Brussels on Thursday...

>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries' bid for Mylan NV would create a company controlling nearly 25 percent of the U.S. generics market, including drugs in short supply, according to industry experts and a Reuters review of regulatory filings. Both issues will factor into any antitrust review, they...

>CATANIA, Italy (Reuters) - An Italian judge on Friday ordered that the presumed captain of a migrant boat that sank with the loss of more than 700 lives should remain in custody after prosecutors asked for him to be charged with homicide and people-trafficking. Mohammed Alì Malek, 27, denies that...

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. business investment spending plans fell for a seventh straight month in March, likely weighed down by a strong dollar and lower energy prices, suggesting the economy could struggle to strongly rebound from the first quarter's soft patch. The dour report from the Commerce Department on...

>The transaction is expected to add to Houghton Mifflin's net income and free cash flow in 2016 and save $10 million to $20 million annually, the company said.The deal is expected to close in the second calendar quarter of 2015. (Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by...

>ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The killing of an American who directed al Qaeda's media campaign from his Pakistani hideout is likely to be a big blow for the militants, especially as they wage a propaganda war with Islamic State. American al Qaeda member Adam Gadahn, who faced treason charges in the...

>KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban insurgents shot rockets onto a U.S. base outside Kabul and targeted Afghan government buildings in a provincial capital on Friday, as they officially launched their spring offensive in a year that has already seen fierce fighting. There were no casualties in either rocket attack, officials...

>Earlier Ulyukayev predicted that the economy would decline by 2-3 percent in annual terms in the second quarter. (Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya, writing by Alexander Winning, editing by Jason Bush) Related Coverage › Russia's Economy Minister sees inflation at 12-13 pct toward summer end Trending On Reuters...

>LONDON (Reuters) - The euro hit a two-week high against a soft dollar on Friday, supported by a rise in a key German business sentiment survey and hopes that cash-strapped Greece was making tentative progress toward securing fresh funding. Helping sentiment toward the euro were comments from German Chancellor Angela...

>(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday as strong results from tech behemoths Google, Amazon and Microsoft set the Nasdaq Composite on track to set a record closing high for the second straight day. * The S&P 500 index .SPX touched a record intraday high on Thursday,...

>The British company said on Friday it had received a number of enquiries from potential buyers but there was no certainty a transaction would result from the review.The businesses are part of BAE's Intelligence and Security divisions and mainly serve the U.S. government. The review does not include...

>The Japanese camera maker is aiming to take full control of Axis in its 23.6 billion Swedish crowns ($2.73 billion) takeover, but hedge fund Elliott Management has complicated the bid after it raised its stake in Axis to 10 percent.The fund's stake effectively rules out a standard...

>MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Apple Inc managed to frustrate gadget lovers and investors desperate to find out the components of its new smartwatch on Friday, encasing its chips in tough resin and using rare screws to thwart people trying prise it apart. Gadget repair firm iFixit, which has carried out "teardowns"...

>ROME (Reuters) - Italian police said on Friday they were carrying out a "vast anti-terrorism" operation against an organization inspired by al Qaeda that wanted to support attacks against Pakistan's government and U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Police wiretaps had determined that two people among 18 targeted by arrest warrants...

>SKOPJE (Reuters) - Fourteen migrants were hit by a train and killed in central Macedonia late on Thursday as they walked through a canyon along an increasingly well-trodden Balkan route for migrants trying to reach western Europe. The accident happened at around 10.30 p.m. (4.30 p.m.

>TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's consumer inflation was expected to edge up slightly in March as oil prices stabilized and consumer goods prices stayed steady, calling the Bank of Japan's bullish forecasts into question. Key economic data next week include factory output and consumer spending-related data, which was expected to show...

>BENGALURU (Reuters) - Emerging Asian central banks are expected to cut interest rates again in the coming months, but economists polled by Reuters are doubtful the moves will significantly boost growth or inflation. The findings echo results from earlier this week in Reuters surveys of more than 250 economists in...