News Archive - 6 May 2016

>The 38 North website, run by Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, said the images showed vehicle movement at the site "not often seen there except during preparations for a test."There has been intense speculation that communist North Korea may conduct its fifth test of a nuclear...

>A fragile local truce had been in place for Aleppo city since early on Wednesday. In northern Latakia province, it first took effect on April 29, after a wider truce deal in western Syria brokered by Washington and Moscow broke down. (Reporting by John Davison and Ahmed Tolba in Cairo;...

>NEW YORK Options traders are bracing for wild gyrations in the shares of Staples Inc and Office Depot Inc as the companies await a ruling that could scuttle their pending merger.Staples, the largest U.S. office supplies retailer, agreed to buy the second-biggest player, Office Depot, in a $6.

>NEW YORK Would Donald Trump really consider not paying portions of the U.S. debt? The prospect riled economists on Friday as stories in the New York Times and the conservative website The Blaze cast fresh scrutiny on comments Trump made a day earlier.Responding to a question about the...

>In the years before hackers stole $81 million from a Bangladesh central bank account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, senior Fed security officials examined the risk of such an attack - but judged the prospect unlikely, bank sources told Reuters.The Fed managers worried that lax security...

>LONDON Sadiq Khan, the son of a bus driver, became London's first Muslim mayor on Friday, seeing off a Conservative challenger who attempted to link him to extremism and securing a much-needed victory for his opposition Labour Party.As New York mayor Bill de Blasio sent his congratulations, Khan had...

>ISTANBUL Two prominent journalists were sentenced to at least five years in jail for revealing state secrets on Friday, just hours after a gunman tried to shoot one of them outside the Istanbul courthouse.Can Dundar, editor-in-chief of the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper, who was unscathed in the shooting, was given...

>NEW YORK The U.S. stock market could get a shot in the arm next week as consumer-facing companies report earnings in a season in which the sector has so far been the overachiever.First-quarter earnings are winding down and the consumer discretionary components of the S&P 500 are the...

>WASHINGTON The U.S. Federal Communications Commission confirmed on Friday that it had voted to approve Charter Communications Inc's acquisitions of Time Warner Cable Inc and Bright House Networks.The deals, which would create the second-largest U.S. broadband provider and third-largest video provider, now need approval from regulators in...

>By Lisa RichwineLOS ANGELES Sumner Redstone appeared to take the upper hand in defending a lawsuit challenging his mental competency on Friday, as a judge called Redstone's deposition "strong evidence" that the media mogul knew what he was doing when he ejected an ex-girlfriend from his life.The woman, Manuela...

>NEW YORK Health insurer Cigna Corp (CI.N), which announced plans to be bought by larger Anthem Inc (ANTM.N) 10 months ago, on Friday said the deal may close in 2017 rather than 2016 due to the complexity of the regulatory process, according to a filing with the Securities...

>The Democratic president delivered an indirect swipe at the flamboyant, combative Republican primary campaign run by Trump, a former reality television star, and how media have covered it."It's important for us to take seriously the statements he's made in the past," Obama said in remarks to reporters. "I just...

>"Having both said we need to unify the party, Speaker Ryan has invited Donald Trump to meet with members of the House Republican leadership in Washington on Thursday morning to begin a discussion about the kind of Republican principles and ideas that can win the support of the American people...

>AUSTIN, Texas On-demand ride companies have spent millions of dollars ahead of a Saturday vote to overturn a measure mandating fingerprinting for their drivers in Austin, Texas, a sign they are willing to play hardball politics with cities pursuing such requirements.Campaign finance records show that Ridesharing Works for Austin,...

>On balance, the latest figures on trade balance, business activities and spending "had a minimal net effect" the regional Fed's forecast on the gross domestic product in the second quarter, it said on its website. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)...

>The source had never before publicly stated why he leaked the documents, now known as the Panama Papers, said Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), one of Germany's most reputable newspapers. In an 1,800 word manifesto published on the SZ website on Friday, the source, calling himself "John Doe", praised others who have...

>His administration on Friday issued the Customer Due Diligence rule in the works since 2012 and proposed legislation meant to stop prevent criminals from using shell companies to evade taxes, launder money, and finance terror. "These actions are going to make a difference," Obama told reporters. He said they would...

>The Labor Department reported on Friday that 160,000 jobs were added in April, short of the 215,000 expected by economists and below the recent monthly average of 200,000, tempering hopes of a strong economic rebound in the second quarter.Although not a few investors viewed the report as a red...

>FRANKFURT Germany's Evonik Industries AG (EVKn.DE) will buy the specialty and coating additives operations of U.S. industrial gas producer Air Products and Chemicals Inc (APD.N) for $3.8 billion.Evonik has been trying since 2014 to make a big acquisition to bolster growth and reduce dependence on...

>Court documents showed a federal judge ordered the trial to start in San Diego on Nov. 28. This raised the possibility that Trump could take the stand as president-elect but also ensured that he will not have to testify in the case while he campaigns.The presumptive Republican presidential nominee...

>MANILA The Philippines' Rizal Commercial Banking Corp said it has accepted the resignation of its president, Lorenzo Tan, even as it cleared the official of any wrongdoing in connection with a $81 million money laundering scandal.The resignation, which was submitted last week, took effect on Friday.RCBC is at...

>PYONGYANG North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday hailed the country's recent nuclear test and launch of a satellite into space, as he opened the first congress of the country's ruling Workers' Party in 36 years.Wearing a dark western-style suit and grey tie, the 33-year-old was flanked by...

>ISTANBUL President Tayyip Erdogan told the European Union on Friday that Turkey would not make changes to its terrorism laws required under a deal to curb migration, and declared: "we're going our way, you go yours".His fiery speech will be a blow to any hope in European capitals that...

>CONKLIN/LAC LA BICHE Exhausted evacuees stranded north of the fire-ravaged Canadian oil town of Fort McMurray sped through the only route out on Friday, escorted by police, after the out-of-control blaze destroyed entire neighborhoods and forced 88,000 to flee.The fire enveloped Fort McMurray, burning some 210,000 acres (85,000 hectares)...

>LONDON The Federal Reserve's debate over whether to raise U.S. interest rates in June may be decided in the coming week, as investors look for any cracks in China and evidence of a solid start to the second quarter in the United States.A run of Chinese data is...

>The People's Bank of China will stick to its long-standing prudent stance and keep the yuan currency CNY=CFXS basically stable, the bank said in its first-quarter monetary policy implementation report.The central bank said it would create "an appropriate monetary and financial environment for structural adjustments, transformation and upgrading", and...

>U.S. stocks were lower on Friday after April payrolls data showed employment gains hit a seven-month low, casting doubts about the health of the economy and the likelihood of an interest rate hike by the end of the year.Nonfarm payrolls increased by 160,000 last month, far below the...

>A deal could be announced as early as next week, one of the sources said on Friday. The sources did not want to be identified as the information was not public.CWT did not immediately respond to a Reuters query while a spokeswoman at HNA Group declined to comment.CWT's...

>LONDON Excalibur Steel, the management buyout group interested in purchasing Tata Steel's (TISC.NS) assets in Britain, will meet bankers on Friday to seek financing for the deal. Tata UK executive Stuart Wilkie, who leads the group, said that it will hold talks with one British and three international banks...

>CHARLESTON, W.Va. Donald Trump is testing out themes to use against Democrat Hillary Clinton as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee tries to persuade disgruntled party loyalists to get behind his campaign.At a rally in West Virginia on Thursday night, the billionaire businessman criticized Clinton for the vast sums...

>Shares of the company, which also forecast second quarter earnings below estimates, fell about 1 percent in premarket trading."As anticipated, during the first quarter we saw softness in our healthcare segment due to M&A activity, as well as softness in our banking segment due to financial market volatility."...

>The probe follows a complaint filed by Singapore-based Creative Technology Ltd (CREA.SI) and U.S.-based Creative Labs Inc that several handset makers have infringed on their patent, the ITC said in a statement.The accused vendors are ZTE Corp (000063.SZ) (0763.HK), Sony Corp (6758.T), Samsung,...

>TOKYO Japan's Toshiba Corp (6502.T) said it had nominated Satoshi Tsunakawa, a former head of its medical equipment division, to be its next chief executive officer - a move that it hopes will draw a line under a damaging accounting scandal.Sixty-year-old Tsunakawa, who was not embroiled in the...

>Chinese officials have warned against systemic risks as banks struggle to cope with rising bad loans as the economy slows.Some banks have suffered heavy losses due to lax internal controls and other irregularities in bill financing, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in a document jointly issued with...

>BEIJING Apple Inc (AAPL.O) Chief Executive Tim Cook plans to visit Beijing later this month to meet high-level government officials, at a time when it is facing some setbacks in its most important overseas market, a source familiar with the matter said.Cook has frequently traveled to China since...