News Archive - 26 October 2016

Finnish President Sauli Vainamo Niinisto arrived in Tehran on Tuesday, October 25, 2016.  Niinisto, who has been elected to presidential office since 2012, has met Iranian senior officials, including the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani, Expediency Council Head Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Speaker of the Parliament Ali Larijani,...

On Monday, the European Parliament passed a nonbinding resolution on new strategy toward Iran, which sets principles for normalization of EU relations with Iran following the nuclear deal.   The roadmap hails the nuclear deal as an achievement, welcomes economic cooperation with Iran, and recommends the opening of an...

>The company did not specify the reason for the delay."We don't believe in shipping a product before it's ready, and we need a little more time before AirPods are ready for our customers," Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller said in an email to Reuters. Apple unveiled the AirPod at the launch...

>WASHINGTON The United States carried out strikes in Afghanistan on Sunday targeting two of al Qaeda's most senior leaders in the country, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.The U.S. military is still assessing the results of the strikes against the two leaders who were targeted at command-and-control locations in...

>SEOUL Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Thursday said it aims to recover quickly from the disastrous withdrawal of the fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 that dragged third-quarter mobile earnings to their lowest in nearly eight years. The world's top smartphone maker saw its mobile earnings plunge 98 percent from a year...

>TOKYO The dollar edged up against the yen early on Thursday while the euro and sterling held their gains versus the greenback, with a rise in bond yields supporting the currencies. The dollar was up 0.15 percent at 104.640 yen JPY=, inching toward a three-month high of 104.

>SINGAPORE Oil prices were below $50 per barrel on Thursday on doubts OPEC will be able to bring together its members and Russia to organize a coordinated crude production cut.International Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 made a push above $50 per barrel early on Thursday, but had dipped back...

>Besides Apple (AAPL.O), results and forecasts from some other major U.S. companies also weighed on U.S. markets overnight. The S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC both skidded, though a standout performance by Boeing (BA.N) lifted the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI. MSCI's broadest index...

>NEW YORK Chinese package delivery company ZTO Express raised $1.4 billion in the biggest U.S. initial public offering of the year on Wednesday as its backers cashed in on China's booming online-shopping industry, a source familiar with the deal said.The stock market debut, the biggest by a...

>The Democratic National Committee on Wednesday asked a U.S. judge to hold the Republican National Committee in contempt of court over allegations that Donald Trump encouraged his supporters to intimidate minority voters.The DNC accused Republicans in a court filing of violating a longstanding consent decree, which restricts Republicans'...

>Salesforce.com Inc (CRM.N) Chief Executive Marc Benioff spoke on Wednesday about a pair of key acquisitions that got away, suggesting his vision for LinkedIn (LNKD.N) was different from Microsoft's (MSFT.O) and that he would have pursued Twitter (TWTR.N) if shareholders had not learned of his...

>NEW YORK More Republicans now think Democrat Hillary Clinton, rather than Donald Trump, will win the presidency, as their party's candidate struggles with difficulties including allegations of sexual misconduct and his suggestion he may not honor the outcome of the election.A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday and conducted from...

>WASHINGTON A task force of more than 30 major technology and communication companies said they have made progress but have not found a solution to eliminate "robocalls" or automated, prerecorded phone calls, but a top U.S. regulator urged faster action."We are not yet where we want to be,"...

>SAN FRANCISCO Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O) reported its first quarterly net profit in more than three years on Wednesday, buoyed by nearly $139 million in sales of clean car credits, and Chief Executive Elon Musk said the company could also turn a profit in the fourth quarter.The Silicon...

>Under the terms of the proposed consent decree, Wabtec must divest Faiveley's entire U.S. freight brakes business to a single independent buyer approved by the United States, the department said in a news release.Wabtec has proposed that the divestiture be sold to Amsted Rail Company Inc, a unit...

>Double Eagle Acquisition Corp, Sagansky and Sloan's special purpose acquisition company, is negotiating the acquisition of Playboy as part of a portfolio of assets it is seeking to buy from private equity firm Rizvi Traverse Management for between $2 billion and $3 billion, the people said on Wednesday.Rizvi Traverse's...

>CHICAGO The Republican Party's grip on U.S. state legislatures could loosen in next month's election as Democrats seek to link Republican candidates to the sinking fortunes of the party's White House candidate, Donald Trump.Republicans, who have dominated control of legislatures since the mid-term election in 2010, currently hold...

>Investors appear to be giving another look at the beleaguered for-profit education industry as shares of Strayer Education Inc (STRA.O) and Capella Education Co (CPLA.O) rise on improving financial results.Shares of Strayer gained 13.9 percent after it reported quarterly results on Wednesday, and Capella shares were...

>Boeing Co (BA.N) on Wednesday beat profit expectations in the third quarter as cost-cutting offset declining revenue at the world's biggest planemaker. Boeing also said it would deliver more commercial planes than originally planned for the year and that cash flow will keep rising through the end of the...

>The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is looking at the regulatory framework at what would become the world's largest voice broker, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the situation. bloom.bg/2eb9FjkICAP agreed to combine its voice broking businesses with Tullett in a 1.11 billion-pound ($1.68 billion) deal last...

>Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc (DPS.N) is in talks to acquire Bai Brands LLC, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, a move that would break its track record of only investing small stakes in growth drinks brands. The talks come after Reuters reported on Oct. 3 that...

>NEW YORK Hearst said on Wednesday that it is acquiring aviation software firm Camp Systems, in a deal that will boost the storied media firm's investments in the transportation sector. The value of the deal was not disclosed. Sources familiar with the matter said the deal valued the company at...

>WASHINGTON The Republican Party's two-year run in the majority of the U.S. Senate is at serious risk and may well end on Nov. 8, senior congressional aides said on Wednesday, blaming Donald Trump as a drag on down-ballot Republican candidates.With 13 days to go before elections, several Senate...

>A Verizon Communications Inc executive said the acquisition of Yahoo Inc still makes sense, but the telecommunications company needs more information about the email provider's massive breach of accounts.Speaking at a tech conference hosted by the Wall Street Journal in Laguna Beach, California, Marni Walden, an executive vice president...

>BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON A widely expected legal challenge has been filed by an Irish privacy advocacy group to an EU-U.S. commercial data transfer pact underpinning billions of dollars of trade in digital services just two months after it came into force, sources said.The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield was agreed earlier...

>"Low potential growth casts a shadow over the long-run economic prospects for the euro area, creating a negative feedback loop," Praet told a business forum in Brussels. "Because low potential growth dampens expectations of future income, it curbs consumption and investment today, which further lowers rates of potential growth tomorrow.

>The Commission said its approval was conditional on the divestment of Rofin-Sinar's business in Hull, UK, which produces low power CO2 lasers. It added that it had not identified concerns in other markets due to strong alternative suppliers.Coherent's lasers are used in digital imaging, 3-D mapping, engraving and welding,...

>WASHINGTON Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump planned a detour from the campaign trail on Wednesday to formally open a new hotel in what a top aide said would remind voters of his business accomplishments less than two weeks before the election.Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, in several television interviews,...

>The former U.S. secretary of state had the support of 49 percent of likely voters, ahead of Republican rival Donald Trump's 28 percent support, a substantially wider lead than Democratic President Barack Obama had over Republican former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney at the same point in 2012.National polls...

>The Competition & Markets Authority cleared the deal after approving the sale of 360 shops by the two companies to their rivals, Ladbrokes said in a statement on Wednesday.The regulator had, in July, asked the two parties to sell around 350 to 400 shop to obtain clearance. The sale...

>The company's Google Access division, which provides the service, said its chief executive, Craig Barratt, would step down but stay on as an adviser.The division will also lay off some employees in some cities where the service is not fully operational, it said in a blog post on Tuesday,...

>Faye Francy, who most recently was head of the aviation industry's cyber security clearinghouse, known as the Aviation-ISAC, will take over the Automotive Information Sharing and Analysis Center, or Auto-ISAC.Automakers use the Auto-ISAC to share certain information about cyber security threats and countermeasures without compromising competitive information. Francy joins...

>JAKARTA Senior executives from the Asia Pacific headquarters of Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google met Indonesian tax officials on Wednesday to negotiate the internet search company's tax bill, a person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.No agreement has been reached yet, said the person, who declined to be...

>The lender is looking at valuations on a type of derivative known as zero-coupon inflation swaps, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. (bloom.bg/2eRLuHH)After finding valuations that diverged from internal models, Deutsche Bank began questioning traders, according to the report. Zero-coupon inflation swaps are derivatives whose pay-off depends on the rate of...

>NEW YORK Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) on Wednesday announced a free update to its Windows operating system that lets users take photos and edit content in three dimensions, in a bid to raise excitement for its declining computing business.The Windows 10 Creators Update, coming in early 2017, lets users...

>MOSCOW/STOCKHOLM Russia is sharply upgrading the firepower of its Baltic Fleet by adding warships armed with long-range cruise missiles to counter NATO's build-up in the region, Russian media reported on Wednesday.There was no official confirmation from Moscow, but the reports will raise tensions in the Baltic, already heightened since...

>WASHINGTON New U.S. single-family home sales unexpectedly rose in September, pointing to sustained demand for housing even as data for August was revised sharply lower.The Commerce Department said on Wednesday new home sales increased 3.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 593,000 units last month,...

>The deal by the two companies - Cheung Kong Property Holdings (1113.HK) and Li Ka Shing (Overseas) Foundation - both owned by Li Ka-shing, marks another asset sale in China by the tycoon, who has also been increasing the pace of overseas acquisitions - particularly in infrastructure, telecoms and...

>MADRID Russia has withdrawn a request to refuel warships in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta, Madrid said on Wednesday, after NATO allies said their carrier battle group could be used to target civilians in Syria.Britain said earlier it had raised concerns with NATO ally Spain over its decision...

>BEIJING Some Chinese iPhone owners are giving their old models a makeover to look like the latest iPhone 7, rather than buying new - a trend that could dent Apple Inc's efforts to boost sales in what has been its biggest growth driver.Online sites offer shoppers makeover kits, false...

>LONDON As commodity margins flat-line, the number of traders will shrink as existing trading firms consolidate and digital rivals emerge, U.S. consultancy Oliver Wyman said in its annual commodity trading report.With the exception of oil and natural gas boosted by volatility last year, growth across commodities is plateauing...

>QAYYARA/BAGHDAD, Iraq Islamic State fighters on Wednesday kept up their fierce defense of the southern approaches to Mosul which has held up Iraqi troops on the southern front and forced an elite army unit east of the city to put its more rapid advance on hold.Ten days into the...

>TOKYO The Bank of Japan is likely to hold off on expanding stimulus next week despite an expected downgrade in its price forecast that may show Governor Haruhiko Kuroda won't see inflation hit his 2 percent target before his tenure ends in 2018.With policy on hold, the nine-member board...

>The world's largest beverage maker has relied on higher pricing, smaller packs and premium packaging using glass and aluminum to boost margins in developed markets amid slowing sales.Total sales in North America rose 3 percent to $2.66 billion for the third quarter ended Sept. 30. Volume sales of...

>NEW YORK Cable and entertainment company Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) posted higher third-quarter revenue on Wednesday, fueled by video customer additions and sustained growth in its high-speed internet and business services divisions.Pay-TV operators have been competing against streaming video services, such as Netflix Inc (NFLX.O), which have been...

>Wall Street was lower on Wednesday morning as Apple's weak results weighed on technology stocks and oil prices fell amid worries of oversupply. Shares of the world's most valuable public company (AAPL.O) fell 3.7 percent - set for their worst day in six months - after the company...

>Nets, which was floated last month, said the breach was probably linked to transactions with a single internet retailer based abroad.None of the cards had been tampered with yet but might be in the near future, it said, adding that credit card companies including Visa and Mastercard had opened...

>WASHINGTON The U.S. policy of trying to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons "is probably a lost cause" and the best that could be hoped for is a cap on the country's nuclear capability, the Director of U.S. National Intelligence James Clapper said on Tuesday.

>TOKYO Years of heavy money printing by the Bank of Japan has made the bond market dysfunctional and fiscal policy heavily dependent on cheap money offered by the bank, a former BOJ deputy governor said, warning against expanding monetary stimulus further.Toshiro Muto, who retains strong influence among policymakers, also...

>China routinely holds drills in the disputed waterway, and the latest exercises come less than a week after a U.S. navy destroyer sailed near the Paracel Islands, prompting a warning from Chinese warships to leave the area.The maritime administration gave coordinates for an area south of the Chinese...

>The German economy ministry said on Monday it had withdrawn its approval for Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund (FGC) to buy the Aachen-based firm for 670 million euros ($732 million), citing previously unknown security-related information.The ministry declined to comment further in light of the Handelsblatt report on Wednesday.Aixtron...

>BRUSSELS A planned EU-Canada summit to sign a free trade deal was still possible on Thursday, European Council President Donald Tusk said on Wednesday, as Belgian politicians entered a second day of talks on the future of the pact.Prime Minister Charles Michel hosted talks from early on Tuesday of...

>BOSTON U.S. securities regulators on Wednesday will consider allowing investors to pick directors from a single ballot, in what would be the latest move to open up the governance process of large corporations.The rule changes to be considered by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could also...

>The CAAC has said that it would outlaw the use and charging of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones aboard flights from September 14. (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Himani Sarkar)...

>The influential state-run newspaper Global Times said late on Tuesday in its English-language edition that announcement from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security's (MOHRSS) decision to proceed with the plan has triggered concerns over the management of the pension funds. "Managing the pension could be a problem since...

>SINGAPORE Oil prices fell more than one percent on Wednesday as a report showing a surge in U.S. crude stocks, rising production in Nigeria and squabbling among producers about a planned output cut re-ignited concerns about a global supply glut. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down 51 cents, or...

>SAN DIEGO For years, the quiet, winding streets of the Scripps Ranch neighborhood have been pure gold for solar installers. Thanks to its high power prices, hot summers and large homes to cool, a greater share of Scripps Ranch residents have embraced solar power than anywhere else in California, itself...

>The killings followed a militant attack on Tuesday near Feroz Koh, the capital of the central western province. Up until now most Islamic State activity has taken place in the eastern province of Nangarhar."Afghan police killed a Daesh commander in Ghor province during an operation yesterday ,but Daesh fighters...