News Archive - 24 September 2015

>WASHINGTON President Barack Obama will host Chinese President Xi Jinping for his first U.S. state visit on Friday, but the pomp and pageantry will not be enough to mask tensions over alleged Chinese cyber spying, Beijing’s economic policies and territorial disputes with its neighbors.U.S. and Chinese officials...

>WASHINGTON A federal court in Ohio refused on Thursday to stop a $1.9 billion purchase by U.S. medical technology provider Steris Corp of British sterilization services provider Synergy Health Plc, despite the objections of U.S. antitrust enforcers.The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit in May aimed...

>NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has been criticized by his rivals over his comments about minority groups, said on Wednesday he is the rare Republican who could win a sizable portion of the black vote.Trump, the Republican front-runner, spoke in South Carolina at a...

>TOKYO Japan's core consumer prices marked the first annual drop since the central bank deployed its massive stimulus program more than two years ago, casting further doubt on whether heavy money printing alone can accelerate inflation to its 2 percent target.While the data will keep alive market expectations of...

>AMHERST, Mass. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen received medical attention on Thursday after coughing, pausing and struggling to finish a speech in which she said the U.S. central bank was on track to raise interest rates this year for the first time in nearly a decade.The 69-year-old Fed...

>WASHINGTON Lockheed Martin Corp said on Thursday that U.S. officials have approved its $9 billion takeover of Black Hawk helicopter maker Sikorsky Aircraft from United Technologies Corp.In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said authorities in Japan and South Korea had also...

>The talks could still fall apart and the size of the deal and nature of assets could change, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the talks. (bloom.bg/1VdtN1O) Both companies declined to comment on the report.Shares in Japan Tobacco closed morning trade up 3.0 percent, while the benchmark...

>NEW YORK Sprint Corp (S.N) could be stronger if merged with a cable company, the U.S wireless company's chief executive said on Thursday, adding that he was not engaged in any such merger talks.Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure made the comments to Reuters when asked about brisk acquisition...

>WASHINGTON Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington on Thursday for a state visit and talks with President Barack Obama expected to be clouded by differences over alleged Chinese cyber spying, Beijing's economic policies and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.Vice President Joe Biden greeted Xi and his...

>WASHINGTON Republican leaders in the U.S. Congress on Thursday began advancing bills urgently needed to avoid federal agency shutdowns on Oct. 1 while navigating conservatives' demands to punish Planned Parenthood over an abortion controversy. The Senate defeated Republican efforts to use a funding extension bill to cut off money...

>The comments by Admiral Mike Rogers were in response to questions during a U.S. Senate hearing about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's use of a private server for email."From a foreign intelligence perspective, that represents opportunity," Rogers told senators.The server has become an issue in Clinton's...

>BOSTON Insurer Ace Ltd plans to start offering cyber security policies providing up to $100 million in coverage at a time when experts say it is hard for businesses to obtain such large coverage following the surge in high-profile breaches.The plan comes with services from firms that help identify...

>Apple Inc (AAPL.O) said the WeChat messaging app and car-hailing app DiDi Taxi were among the 25 most popular apps that were found to be infected with malicious software, the first-ever large-scale attack on its App Store.The company had not previously disclosed which apps had been affected, although...

>SYDNEY/SAN FRANCISCO The new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus hit stores on Friday, with dozens of people - and a robot - queueing in Sydney to kick off a global sales cycle that will be scrutinized for signs of how much juice Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) marquee product has left.

>ZAGREB/BELGRADE Former Yugoslav foes Serbia and Croatia traded embargoes and insults on Thursday in the latest fallout from Europe's failure to agree a comprehensive response to the tide of migrants streaming north through the Balkans.After weeks of recrimination and buck-passing, a summit on Wednesday did produce a glimmer of...

>WASHINGTON/MOSCOW U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in New York next week at a time of high tension in Europe and the Middle East, but the Kremlin and the White House disagreed on Thursday over the top priority for the talks.The White House...

>MINA, Saudi Arabia At least 717 pilgrims from around the world were killed on Thursday in a crush outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi authorities said, in the worst disaster to strike the annual haj pilgrimage for 25 years.At least 863 others were injured. Saudi King Salman...

>Ian McCafferty, currently the only member of the Monetary Policy Committee voting to hike interest rates from their record low 0.5 percent, said the direct impact on Britain from an emerging market slowdown should not be overstated."If we do not act soon, we run the risk of swapping...

>WASHINGTON The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's metrics for computing annual enforcement statistics are "deeply flawed," making the agency falsely appear as though it is getting tougher every year, a new academic study concluded.The draft study by Emory University law professor Urska Velikonja, slated to be published in...

>WASHINGTON U.S. business investment fell slightly in August, excluding spending on aircraft and defense equipment, but new home sales rose, suggesting that global economic headwinds were doing little to impede U.S. growth.The U.S. economy is on track to grow 1.4 percent in the third quarter,...

>TOKYO Asian shares gave up early gains on Friday, while the dollar firmed after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen suggested the central bank is still on track to raise interest rates later this year.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.4 percent, on track for...

>BERLIN Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) will name Matthias Mueller, the head of its Porsche sports car brand, as its chief executive, a source close to the matter said on Thursday, as the fallout from the U.S. vehicle emissions test rigging scandal broadened.Mueller, 62, has been widely tipped to succeed...

>U.S. stocks closed lower on Thursday in a volatile session on uncertainty about U.S. monetary policy and global economic growth, while market heavyweight Caterpillar cut its sales forecast and healthcare investors fled for the exits.After the bell, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said she expects the Fed...