News Archive - 5 December 2016

Monday, 15th of Azar – December 5th, 2016 HEADLINES OF IRAN’S MORNING PAPERS   KAYHAN   -Rouhani: US Congress’ bill, violation of JCPOA Following the renewal of the Iran Sanctions Act by the US Congress, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran stated that this measure is in...

The majority of observers have viewed OPEC’s recent agreement to cut total output a victory for Iran since it exempts the country from cutting its production and allows Tehran to take back the market share it lost during sanction years. Not surprisingly, reactions in Iran are widely divided between...

On Saturday, Shahrvand Daily, the official organ of Iranian Red Crescent Society, reported that only in two Tehran hospitals, almost 90 patients are annually diagnosed with Anthracosis, a respiratory condition commonly known as black lung disease.   “We have caught the coal worker’s disease in Tehran -- a city...

>WILMINGTON, Del./CHICAGO A leading U.S. subsidiary of Abengoa SA (ABG.MC) heads to court on Tuesday to seek approval for a bankruptcy exit plan that opponents argue violates the law by prioritizing the Spanish parent and its international backers ahead of U.S. creditors.Abeinsa Holding Inc is...

>SAN FRANCISCO Sales of the Apple Watch to consumers set a record during the first week of holiday shopping, and the current quarter is on track to be the best ever for the product, Apple Inc (AAPL.O) Chief Executive Tim Cook told Reuters.Responding to an email from Reuters,...

>WASHINGTON More than 20 U.S. Congress members wrote to U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Monday asking for the acquisition of U.S. chip maker Lattice Semiconductor Corp (LSCC.O) by a fund with ties to China's government to be blocked over security concerns.The letter follows a...

>SACRAMENTO, Calif. Lawmakers in Democrat-controlled California are already laying the groundwork to fight President-elect Donald Trump's conservative populist agenda.On Monday, leaders of both houses of the legislature introduced measures to protect undocumented immigrants in the state from efforts by a Trump administration to deport them once the billionaire businessman...

>Renzi announced on Monday that he would resign after the resounding defeat. The size of the "No" vote at 59.1 percent, was more emphatic than many had forecast.Renzi's resignation could open the door to an early election next year and the possibility of the anti-euro 5-Star Movement gaining...

>WASHINGTON United Technologies Corp (UTX.N), parent company of Carrier Corp, got a "good deal" with President-elect Donald Trump that allowed it to shift most jobs at two Indiana plants to Mexico, its chief executive said on Monday in an interview with CNBC.Greg Hayes, chief executive of UTC, said...

>HONG KONG Fosun International Ltd (0656.HK), China's biggest privately-owned conglomerate, is known globally for its bold dealmaking, including the tenaciously successful pursuit of French resort operator Club Med.What is less known is Fosun's reluctance to use expensive investment banks to advise on such deals. Instead, the Shanghai-based company...

>WASHINGTON U.S.-backed moderate rebels' loss of the eastern half of Syria's largest city Aleppo to Russian-backed government forces would be a defeat for President Barack Obama's efforts to promote democracy and defeat terrorism in the Middle East, U.S. officials conceded on Monday.Their grim assessment reflected the...

>WILMINGTON, Del. The Delaware Supreme Court revived a lawsuit against Zynga Inc's (ZNGA.O) controlling shareholder, Mark Pincus, and fellow board members for allegedly allowing leaders of the social gaming company to act on inside information and dump stock before it crashed in 2012.Delaware's high court ruled that the...

>WASHINGTON U.S. President-elect Donald Trump indicated a tougher U.S. approach to China by speaking to Taiwan's president last week, but how far he will push a risky test of wills to wring concessions from Beijing on issues from trade to North Korea is unclear.The call between Trump...

>HONG KONG Asian stocks posted their biggest rise in two weeks on Tuesday and the euro steadied as investors judged the selloff after Italy's referendum was overdone, with robust U.S. economic data also helping sentiment.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS bounced 0.8 percent, its...

>WASHINGTON U.S. Marine Corps Commandant General Robert Neller, like much of the Pentagon top brass, is pretty happy about President-elect Donald Trump's campaign pledge to rebuild America's military after years of congressionally imposed spending caps.But ask Neller about Trump's main proposal to increase the number of Marine infantry...

>BRUSSELS Web giants YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft will step up efforts to remove extremist content from their websites by creating a common database.The companies will share 'hashes' - unique digital fingerprints they automatically assign to videos or photos - of extremist content they have removed from their websites...

>BOSTON Former hedge fund executive JP Miller launched an app on Monday for his startup news site Empire Report that is modeled on the Drudge Report and chronicles New York, its politicians, financiers and celebrities.With headlines like "Goldman guy sees gold in 'super-cabinet' position," and "Shock Poll: 49 percent...

>NEW YORK Incoming U.S. President Donald Trump could set up an entity similar to Canada's infrastructure bank to help fund his plans to spend $1 trillion on roads and bridges, one of the world's biggest infrastructure investors said.Michael Sabia, chief executive officer of the Caisse [CDPDA.UL], Canada's...

>J&J said last month it was in preliminary talks with Actelion about a potential takeover of Europe's largest biotech firm, which was then valued at about $20 billion. Lung disease specialist Actelion has confirmed the J&J offer but has warned there is no certainty of a deal. Sanofi, J&J and...

>LONDON London could lose its position as the leading destination for start-ups in Europe if it does not remain open to the best talent after the British vote to leave the European Union, investors warned on Monday. Six months after the referendum, tech investors used the TechCrunch Disrupt London conference,...

>NEW YORK/WASHINGTON Former Vice President Al Gore, a leading voice in the fight against climate change, and Donald Trump, who at one point called it a hoax, met on Monday in what Gore called a "productive" session.Gore, a Democrat, spent about 90 minutes in meetings at the president-elect's Trump...

>BRASILIA Brazil President Michel Temer appealed to political leaders on Monday to back his unpopular proposal to reform the country's costly pension system that would force Brazilians to work more years before being eligible for full retirement benefits.The plan, aimed at restoring fiscal discipline to in an effort to...

>NEW YORK British bank Barclays Plc (BARC.L)has joined the list of top banks to exit energy trading, an exodus that analysts say raises concern among oil producers that falling liquidity means they cannot use derivatives for their basic function: to hedge risk by locking in future prices.Wall Street...

>PHOENIX Federal Reserve officials cautioned on Monday that the incoming Trump administration's economic plans should not be cast as if the economy is in crisis, but instead be designed to help the economy's long-run prospects.The comments reflected a developing debate within the Fed over the impact of president-elect Donald...

>NEW YORK U.S. prosecutors on Monday announced the arrest of a New Jersey man accused of engaging in a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme involving bankrupt video technology firm Kit Digital, in the latest case to spill out of the startup's failure.Irfan Amanat, 45, was charged in a complaint filed...

>BEIRUT/MOSCOW The Russian government said on Monday it would start talks with Washington on a rebel withdrawal from Aleppo this week as Russian-backed Syrian forces fought to seize more territory from rebels who are struggling to avoid a major defeat. The latest army attack, which saw fierce clashes around the...

>This U.S. holiday shopping season, wearing the brand is more likely to help get you a job in a store than experience, as retailers look for enthusiasm that will persuade customers to spend and help numb the impact of online rivals like Amazon.com Inc.Hiring managers in the...

>VW will offer on-demand shuttle services next year through the new division, to be called MOIA. That takes Europe's largest carmaker deeper into digital mobility services after investing in ride-hailing business Gett earlier this year."Mid- and long-term MOIA will create the kinds of services that will meet the needs...

>The Republican incumbent said in a video message that despite continued questions about the voting process, he believed the majority of the state's citizens had spoken. (Reporting by Colleen Jenkins)...

>WASHINGTON U.S. services sector activity hit a one-year high in November, with a surge in production boosting hiring, further evidence of strength in the economy that clears the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next week.Monday's bullish report from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM)...

>The deal, announced on Monday by Liberty Mutual, means that Fosun's (0656.HK) $2.3 billion, two-step acquisition of Ironshore [IRNSHU.UL] in 2005 no longer has to clear a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States that prevented Ironshore from launching an initial public offering.

>WASHINGTON U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday said for the first time that he supports the completion of a pipeline project near a North Dakota Indian reservation, which has been the subject of months of protests by tribes and environmentalists. A communications briefing from Trump's transition team said despite...

>WASHINGTON Attorneys for the Justice Department argued to a judge on Monday that health insurer Aetna Inc's planned acquisition of Humana Inc violated antitrust law for its Medicare and Obamacare exchange businesses, kicking off a trial expected to last weeks.The Justice Department filed a lawsuit in July asking the...

>Federal funds futures for 2017 and 2018 were down 1.5 basis points to 4.5 basis points from late on Friday. (Reporting by Richard Leong)...

>The online shopping giant's new 1,800-square-foot (167 square meter) convenience store, Amazon Go, in Seattle uses sensors to detect what shoppers have picked off the shelf and bills it to their Amazon account if they don't put it back.Amazon Go, currently available only for its employees, is expected to...

>NEW DELHI The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries expects oil demand in 2017 to be as robust as this year, the group's secretary general told an energy conference on Monday, though recently agreed production cuts could raise prices for buyers.Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo, briefing reporters on the sidelines of...

>NEW YORK The U.S. election of Donald Trump has created "considerable" uncertainty over the policies he will pursue so it is too soon for the Federal Reserve to judge whether its plan for gradual interest rate hikes needs adjusting, one of the most influential Fed policymakers said on Monday.

>Consolidated's acquisition of FairPoint marks the fifth such deal in the last two months as growing demand for data and video services drives companies to expand their fiber optic networks in newer regions.The deal will help Consolidated expand into northern New England, adding about 17,000 fiber route miles in...

>The Dow set an all-time high on Monday, extending a post-election rally, supported by gains in financial stocks such as Goldman Sachs. The Dow has been enjoying a record-setting rally, largely led by bank and industrial stocks, which are expected to benefit the most from higher spending on infrastructure and...

>WASHINGTON Native American reservations cover just 2 percent of the United States, but they may contain about a fifth of the nation’s oil and gas, along with vast coal reserves.Now, a group of advisors to President-elect Donald Trump on Native American issues wants to free those resources from what...

>"Dr. Carson is a distinguished national leader who overcame his troubled youth in the inner city of Detroit to become a renowned neurosurgeon who served as the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland," Trump's transition team said in a statement announcing the nomination.Carson, who like Trump...

>NEW YORK/WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump will be able to make many of his promised changes in immigration policy unilaterally by exercising the same kind of executive powers he criticized President Barack Obama for using. But while most of the measures laid out in a ten-point immigration policy plan on Trump's...

>Bangladesh has up to now declined to disclose its findings of an inquiry into how the hackers used stolen Bangladesh Bank credentials to try to transfer nearly $1 billion from its U.S. Federal Reserve account in February.Philippine Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, who last week met a Bangladesh delegation...

>TOKYO Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday he will visit Pearl Harbor this month with U.S. President Barack Obama "to console the souls" of victims of Japan's surprise attack on U.S. forces there 75 years ago.Abe, who will be the first serving Japanese prime minister...

>The Frankfurt-based Sentix research group's euro zone index fell to 10.0 points after reaching a year high of 13.1 in November. The December reading undershot the consensus of a stable reading in a Reuters poll of analysts. EUSTCS=ECI"The euro zone is self-absorbed and preoccupied with its own voters.

>The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed last week to reduce oil output by around 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) beginning in January in a bid to reduce global oversupply and prop up prices. (Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, editing by Louise Heavens)...

>Obama's executive order barring China's Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund (FGC) from completing the acquisition of a German company with American assets was one of only a few such instances in which a U.S. president has blocked a transaction due to national security concerns.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu...

>BEIJING/WASHINGTON U.S. President-elect Trump is clear about China's position on the Taiwan issue and China has maintained contacts with his team, the foreign ministry said on Monday, as Trump took to Twitter to complain about Chinese economic and military policy.Trump's unusual call with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on...

>Speaking after a meeting of euro zone finance ministers, the head of the euro zone's ESM bailout fund Klaus Regling told a news conference the implementation of the measures would take a while, but the fund would start the process in the coming weeks. The measures, detailed in an ESM...

Beijing (AFP) - Implementation of the Iran nuclear deal should not be "affected by any changes in the domestic situations" of countries involved, China's foreign minister warned Monday, as US president-elect Donald Trump threatens to abandon it.   The agreement, signed in Vienna in July 2015 and in force...

>UniCredit is exploring asset sales under new Chief Executive Jean Pierre Mustier and is set to unveil a strategic plan on Dec. 13, which sources have said will include a share rights issue for up to 13 billion euros ($13.74 billion).Sources told Reuters on Friday Amundi was in...

>U.S. District Court Judge Mark Goldsmith issued the written order early on Monday after a Sunday night hearing in federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan's Southern Division.Goldsmith ordered that, once started, the recount "must continue until further order of this court." The recount, which will...

>Financial authorities regulate the banking sector by imposing constraints on the balance sheets of commercial banks, including setting capital requirements and liquidity standards.But Kuroda told a seminar that such regulatory tools may not be very effective for regulating fintech firms that specialize in settlement services, or match supply of...

>Prime Minister Matteo Renzi resigned after a crushing defeat in a referendum on constitutional reform. By 0830 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 1.2 percent, quickly recovering from a small dip at the open. The mining sector index .SXPP topped sectoral gainers, up 2.3 percent, on...

>ABOARD A US MILITARY AIRCRAFT While the fight to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic State is going to be difficult, it is "possible" it could be complete before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Monday.Some 100,000 Iraqi government troops,...