News Archive - 21 July 2015

>"I don't know how to interpret it at this point in time, except to take it at face value, that that's his policy," he said in the interview with Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television, parts of which the network quoted on Tuesday. "But I do know that often comments are made...

>SEOUL North Korea is not interested in an Iran-like dialogue with the United States to give up its nuclear capabilities, the isolated country's foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.The statement said North Korea's nuclear program was an "essential deterrence" against U.S. foreign policy toward the reclusive...

>The Japanese computers-to-nuclear conglomerate said it expects to book a pre-tax profit of about 113 billion yen ($912.5 million) from the sale in the current business year to next March. It has not yet provided earnings guidance for this year. Toshiba has been unable to close its books for...

>WASHINGTON Putting U.S. air controllers with Iraqi forces closer to combat areas so they can identify and direct bombing would improve air strikes on Islamic State rebel targets and should be "seriously considered," a top U.S. general told lawmakers on Tuesday.General Mark Milley, nominee for the next...

>In a paper issued on Tuesday, Japan called on China to halt construction of oil and gas exploration platforms close to waters in the East China Sea claimed by both countries. Tokyo is concerned that Chinese drills could tap reservoirs that extend into Japan's territory.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu...

>The 67-metre (220-ft) tower will be able to accommodate the launch of a longer-range missile than the rocket test-fired in December 2012. That launch was widely considered successful in putting an object into space orbit, the Yonhap report said.North Korea is banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions from...

>The ministry also told a press conference that firms in some industries were facing increasing difficulties in making profits. Official data showed China's factory output growth hit a five-month high of 6.8 percent in June compared with a year ago. (Reporting By Shen Yan and Nick Health; Editing by...

>SINGAPORE FedEx Corp (FDX.N), the world's largest cargo firm, has signed a deal to buy 50 additional Boeing Co (BA.N) 767-300 freighters in the biggest order ever for the plane, allowing the aircraft maker to extend its production line well into the next decade.The deal, announced in...

>TOKYO Asian stocks got off to a bumpy start on Wednesday after earnings dragged down U.S. equities, while the dollar edged away from highs hit earlier this week. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was down 0.2 percent in early trading.Japan's Nikkei stock index .

>NEW YORK A federal judge rejected HSBC Holdings Plc's (HSBA.L) bid to dismiss a U.S. lawsuit claiming that its failure to perform its duties as trustee for $2.37 billion of residential mortgage-backed securities contributed to the downfall of five federal credit unions.U.S. District Judge Shira...

>FRANKFURT/BERLIN Germany's premium car makers are close to a deal to buy Nokia's HERE map business for between 2.5 billion and 3 billion euros ($2.74 billion to $3.29 billion), but a final agreement hinges on the question of who owns the patents which help self-driving cars talk...

>WASHINGTON U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler on Tuesday circulated an order to approve, with conditions, AT&T Inc's bid to buy DirecTV for $48.5 billion, according to three people familiar with the matter.The merger, which has been under the FCC's review for months, would combine the...

>WASHINGTON U.S. lawmakers announced a bipartisan Senate transportation bill on Tuesday that would provide three years of funding for America's highways, bridges and rail systems, creating the possibility of the first multi-year highway bill in more than decade.The legislation is expected to dominate Senate deliberations over the next...

>Trump, a real estate mogul and television personality, said in Graham's home state of South Carolina that he had heard the Republican senator call him a "jackass" in a recent interview.Trump claimed Graham, who is also seeking the presidency in the November 2016 election, had called him several years...

>JERUSALEM U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter never expected to win over Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the merits of the nuclear agreement with Iran but tried to put a brave face on their sometimes blunt, closed-door exchange on Tuesday. "We don't agree on everything. And the prime minister...

>SAN FRANCISCO A pair of veteran cybersecurity researchers have shown they can use the Internet to turn off a car's engine as it drives, sharply escalating the stakes in the debate about the safety of increasingly connected cars and trucks.Former National Security Agency hacker Charlie Miller, now at Twitter,...

>NEW YORK Verizon Communications Inc 's upcoming mobile video service will drive revenue with a combination of highly targeted ads, exclusive content and pay-per-view live concerts and sporting events, Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo said in an interview on Tuesday.Most Americans own a mobile phone and Verizon is looking...

>Facebook Inc cannot challenge search warrants New York prosecutors used to get information from its site on hundreds of users suspected of Social Security fraud, a state appeals court said on Tuesday, in a decision likely making it harder for New Yorkers to keep their digital lives private. The warrants,...

>WASHINGTON The U.S. government on Tuesday imposed sanctions on three leaders of the militant group Hezbollah and a businessman in Lebanon, saying they were key players in the group's military operations in Syria.The sanctions were imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department."The United States will continue to...

>DUBAI The United States said on Tuesday it was disturbed by anti-U.S. hostility voiced by Iran's top leader after a nuclear deal, as both countries' top diplomats sought to calm opposition to the accord from hardliners at home.U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said a speech by...

>Under a ceasefire agreement brokered in Minsk, Belarus, in February, weapons of over 100 mm caliber are meant to have already been withdrawn, but both sides accuse the other of continuing to use heavy artillery and casualties are reported almost daily.The latest agreement on lighter weapons was reached at...

>U.S. stocks closed lower on Tuesday as results from IBM and United Technologies dampened early optimism over earnings season and after-the-bell declines in major tech shares suggested losses would continue on Wednesday. The Dow fell 1 percent, with IBM and United Tech contributing around 118 points to the 181-point...

>Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) reported a $3.2 billion quarterly net loss as it wrote down its Nokia phone business and demand fell for its Windows operating system.The company took a charge of $7.5 billion in the fourth quarter related to the restructuring of its Nokia handset business,...

>BENGALURU/SAN FRANCISCO Apple Inc (AAPL.O) shares slumped nearly 7 percent in after-hours trading as its fourth-quarter revenue forecast fell short of estimates and it missed some targets for iPhone sales.The shares dropped to $121 after the company released its results on Tuesday, from $130.75 at the close.

>The country's dominant Houthi militia and its army allies traded artillery fire with Saudi-backed forces in the Dar Saad and al Alam areas, as Arab warplanes bombed the Iran-allied group.Assisted by the air strikes, local anti-Houthi forces broke months of stalemate in Aden last week by suddenly seizing the...

>NEW YORK/WASHINGTON While Wall Street frets over the ability of bond markets to absorb an approaching interest rate rise, the U.S. Federal Reserve has a message for the industry: deal with it.The financial industry worries that when the Fed's tightening plans take hold, a sell-off in the massive...

>LONDON Oil prices steadied on Tuesday, helped by a dip in the dollar, but were on track for their biggest monthly drop since March in the face of a global supply glut.A nuclear deal between Iran and the West that is likely to unleash more oil on a market...

>TOKYO Toshiba Corp's (6502.T) chief executive stepped down on Tuesday after an independent investigation found he had been aware the company had inflated its profits, in the country's biggest corporate scandal in years. CEO and President Hisao Tanaka said he will be temporarily replaced by Chairman Masashi Muromachi, adding...

>Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has until Wednesday night to get those measures adopted in the assembly. A first set of reforms triggered a rebellion in his party last week and passed only thanks to votes from pro-EU opposition parties.The second bill, though less divisive, will still be a test...