News Archive - 23 February 2016

>TOKYO Asian shares were on the back foot on Wednesday as a nascent recovery in the oil market lost momentum after Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi effectively ruled out production cuts by major producers anytime soon.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 0.5 percent, slipping...

>SAN FRANCISCO The legal showdown between Apple Inc (AAPL.O)and U.S. law enforcement over encryption, no matter the outcome, will likely accelerate tech company efforts to engineer safeguards against government intrusion, tech industry executives say.Already, an emerging industry is marketing super-secure phones and mobile applications. An Apple executive...

>The poll suggested that attempts to worry voters into staying in the EU were working and the Britons are becoming more averse to the risks of leaving, the Times reported. (thetim.es/20TT4B5) The newspaper said that the fears have contributed to a 6-point drop, to 31 percent, among those who...

>"We remain concerned that the process is not moving as quickly as it should, and that Company management does not fully support the Board's direction in this regard," said the letter, which was sent to Yahoo's board of directors, its chief financial officer, and CEO Marissa Mayer on Tuesday. Yahoo...

>HOUSTON It is still unclear whether the recent downturn in global financial markets will have any substantial impact on the U.S. economy, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said on Tuesday, suggesting the episode may still pass without much effect on the Fed's plans."If the recent financial market...

>The announcement comes a day after United Tech disclosed merger talks with Honeywell and said a deal would "face insurmountable regulatory obstacles".United Tech, which makes Pratt & Whitney jet engines and Otis elevators, said on Monday that a merger could either be blocked outright or conditioned on significant divestitures...

>AUSTIN, Texas Republican Ted Cruz asked a federal court in Houston to throw out a lawsuit questioning whether he is eligible to be president of the United States because he was born in Canada, saying the case against him "suffers from fatal deficiencies."Lawyers for Cruz contend in the filing...

>SINGAPORE/BEIJING Thousands of apps running code built by Chinese Internet giant Baidu have collected and transmitted users' personal information to the company, much of it easily intercepted, researchers say. The apps have been downloaded hundreds of millions of times. The researchers at Canada-based Citizen Lab said they found the problems...

>One U.S. official, however, said China regularly sends jets to Woody Island, part of the Paracel archipelago controlled by Beijing. The deployment was first reported by Fox News. (Reporting by Phil Stewart, Andrea Shalal and Mark Hosenball; Editing by Eric Beech)...

>Prosecutors took unusual steps in enlisting victims of the San Bernardino attack in the government's heated battle with Apple Inc(AAPL.O) over access to an iPhone belonging to one of the shooters, according to people involved in the effort and legal experts.Family members of at least two victims will...

>A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that U.S. State Department officials and aides to Hillary Clinton should be questioned under oath about whether the former secretary of state's private email system was an effort to skirt open records laws.U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan ordered that the...

>Western Digital Corp (WDC.O) said on Tuesday it cut the price of its planned acquisition of rival U.S. hard-disk maker SanDisk Corp (SNDK.O) by more than $3 billion after losing a big investment from China's Unisplendour Corp Ltd (000938.SZ).Unisplendour, a unit of China's state-backed Tsinghua...

>Viacom Inc (VIAB.O) is considering selling a "significant" minority stake in its Paramount Pictures movie studio, Chief Executive Philippe Dauman said on Tuesday, sparking a brief rally in the media company's shares.Viacom has been approached by several strategic investors and has retained PJT Partners as its financial adviser,...

>"They continue to support the Taliban, the Haqqani network and give safe haven to al Qaeda," Republican Senator Bob Corker said to Secretary of State John Kerry, who was testifying to the committee about the State Department's annual budget request.The U.S. government said on Feb. 12 it had...

>WASHINGTON The U.S. Senate will not confirm a Supreme Court nominee from President Barack Obama during his last year in office, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday.In remarks on the Senate floor, McConnell acknowledged Obama's constitutional right to offer a replacement for late Supreme Court...

>WASHINGTON President Barack Obama launched a final push on Tuesday to persuade Congress to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but lawmakers, opposed to rehousing detainees in the United States, declared his plan a non-starter.In White House remarks, Obama, a Democrat, pleaded with the Republican-led...

>He did not provide details on the risks he sees, although he mentioned uncertainty about China's economic outlook, as well as his faith that if oil prices stay low, "I think we'll start to see people spend more of that money over time." Kashkari, a Republican who helped run...

>BEIRUT Islamic State fighters were reported to have tightened their grip on a Syrian government supply route to Aleppo on Tuesday as the army battled to retake the road as part of its campaign to seize the city.As Damascus accepted a U.S.-Russian plan for a "cessation of...

>WASHINGTON U.S. home resales unexpectedly rose in January, reaching a six-month high, in the latest sign that the economy remains on firmer ground despite slowing global growth and tightening financial market conditions.The housing market strength was echoed by other data on Tuesday showing a solid rise in house...

>A tie-up between the two cooperative lenders would be the first following a reform of the sector last year aimed at spurring consolidation.The two banks started talks at the beginning of this year and BPM's CEO indicated the intention to announce a deal on the weekend of Feb. 27-28.

>Obama, who is scheduled to speak at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT), had pledged to close the facility at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since he took office in 2009.On Monday, the Pentagon said it expected to meet Tuesday's deadline to submit Obama's plan...

>Time Inc has heard a presentation from Citigroup Inc (C.N) bankers on pursuing a deal with Yahoo, the Bloomberg report said, adding that Citigroup had not been retained by Time. (bloom.bg/1mUM7lQ)Yahoo officially launched the sale of its core business, which includes search, mail and news sites, last week.

>The North calls the annual exercises preparations for war and routinely vows to retaliate."All the powerful strategic and tactical strike means of our revolutionary armed forces will go into preemptive and just operation to beat back the enemy forces to the last man if there is a slight sign...

>WASHINGTON Businessman Donald Trump inched closer to becoming the Republican Party’s presidential candidate Tuesday with a victory in the Nevada caucuses, his third win in four early-nominating contests.Trump’s victory, which was quickly called by broadcast networks and later affirmed by the state Republican Party, showed not only that he...

>While the size of the deal was not disclosed, Israeli media reported it was between $400 million and $450 million.Officials at Ravello and Oracle declined to comment.Ravello, which was founded in 2011 and employs about 60 people, has raised $54 million, with its largest shareholders being Norwest Venture...

>KABUL Afghan forces backed by U.S. air strikes have killed dozens of insurgents loyal to Islamic State this week as they continue a push into areas occupied by the radical group, officials said on Tuesday.For months, security forces have been trying to dislodge Islamic State fighters from Achin...

>It said it would coordinate with Russia to decide which groups and areas would be included in the "cessation of hostilities" plan which is due to take effect on Saturday according to the U.S.-Russian plan.In a statement, the government stressed the importance of sealing the borders and...

>LONDON The bosses at more than a third of Britain's biggest companies said on Tuesday leaving the European Union would put the economy at risk, backing Prime Minister David Cameron's call for Britain to vote to stay in the June referendum.The pound posted its biggest one-day loss in almost...

>Mohammed al-Haroub shot at cars near an Israeli settlement bloc in the West Bank on Nov. 20, the military said, killing an Israeli, an American student and a Palestinian.On the same day, Raed Masalmeh stabbed and killed two Israelis in a Tel Aviv office building, according to the military.

>The migrants had squatted on rail lines in the Idomeni area on Monday after attempting to push through the border to Macedonia, angry at delays and additional restrictions in crossing. They were expected to be taken to relocation camps inside Greece. Greek police and empty buses had entered the area...