News Archive - 9 January 2017

Overwhelmed by his mammoth profile, his abundant achievements, and his legendary personal cult as a playmaker, Hashemi Rafsanjani’s friends and foes in Iranian media scene have lamented the loss of a great weight for the Islamic Revolution.   Iran, the mouthpiece of the administration, featured a photo of Hashemi...

Sunday, 19th of Dey – January 8th, 2017 HEADLINES OF IRAN’S MORNING PAPERS   KAYHAN   -Iraq’s victory in military, diplomatic fronts In their latest advancements in Mosul, the Iraqi forces liberated new areas and killed 450 ISIS terrorists.   -Erdogan attempts to form new armed forces A security...

>The European Commission's website showed the companies had submitted "commitments" on Jan. 9, which typically means the parties have proposed remedies such as asset divestment or product pricing commitments.The website did not show any further information on the nature of the commitments. "Details of the remedy proposals are confidential,"...

>WASHINGTON U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and top members of President-elect Donald Trump's transition team on Monday discussed a controversial plan to tax imports during an evening meeting on Capitol Hill, a Trump adviser said.Trump's incoming chief strategist Stephen Bannon said the meeting examined two provisions...

>KABUL A new tax regime aimed at weaning Afghanistan off international aid has boosted government revenues but drawn complaints from some private businesses that it hits them unfairly, dampening hopes of economic recovery after decades of war.Afghanistan's finance ministry says it expects to raise almost $2.5 billion in...

>SACRAMENTO, Calif. A California Republican state lawmaker is challenging the legality of a move by Democrats in the legislature to hire former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to help in any legal battles with President-elect Donald Trump's administration.Assembly member Kevin Kiley has requested a formal ruling from state...

>Alibaba Investment Ltd and Shen Guo Jun have offered HK$10 per Intime share. That would represent 42.25 percent more than the stock's last price of HK$7.03 on Dec. 28 when trading was suspended pending an announcement. The stock price surged 35 percent when trading resumed on Tuesday.The...

>WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump is finding himself caught between his desire to improve relations with Russia and fellow Republicans who are pushing for a harsher response to what American spy agencies say was the Kremlin's meddling in the U.S. presidential election.The tacit acknowledgement on Sunday by his incoming...

>The unexpected move came on the eve of a hearing convened by a U.S. Senate subcommittee at which Backpage executives had been ordered to testify. In a letter to the subcommittee that rejects the legitimacy of the hearing, Backpage attorneys said the executives would appear but would not testify.

>TEGUCIGALPA Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen praised Honduras for its loyalty on Monday at the start of a trip to four Central American nations aimed at strengthening ties, days after she met U.S. lawmakers in Texas on a visit that angered China.Her trip has come under scrutiny since U.

>South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported earlier on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources, that the prosecution would seek to arrest two Samsung executives.However, the prosecutors' office later told Reuters that the two men, Samsung Group Vice Chairman Choi Gee-sung and President Chang Choong-ki, both of whom were summoned for questioning...

>SINGAPORE Oil markets on Tuesday were torn between production cuts by major exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia and reports that supplies from other regions including North America, Iraq, and Iran could offset any restraint aimed at curbing a global glut.Prices for Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for...

>Whether he is talking about a tax or a tariff is unclear, experts said, reacting to Trump's terse warnings to United Technologies Corp (UTX.N), General Motors Co (GM.N), Ford Motor Co (F.N) and Japan's Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T).Trump has said U.S. companies that shut...

>Yahoo has a deal to sell its core internet business, which includes its digital advertising, email and media assets, to Verizon for $4.83 billion.The terms of that deal could be amended - or the transaction may even be called off - after Yahoo last year disclosed two separate...

>The pound added 0.2 percent to $1.2171 GBP=, after sinking as low as $1.2125 on Monday, its lowest since Oct. 28, following British Prime Minister Theresa May's statement that she was not interested in keeping "bits of membership" of the European Union.The dollar inched 0.1...

>SINGAPORE Asian stock markets were on the back foot on Tuesday as risk appetite evaporated overnight after the year's strong start, with equities retreating, oil markets roiled by a supply surge and the pound sliding on renewed concerns about a "hard" Brexit.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .

>The sanctions, announced by the U.S. Treasury Department, are not tied to U.S. hacking allegations against Russia but to the 2012 U.S. Magnitsky Act for human rights abuses, U.S. officials said.However, the move comes on top of a series of measures taken by the Obama...

>Their "Protecting our Democracy Act" would create a 12-member, bipartisan independent panel to interview witnesses, obtain documents, issue subpoenas and receive public testimony to examine attempts by Moscow and any other entities to influence the election.The panel members would not be members of Congress.The legislation is one of...

>New business starts now account for about 10 percent of existing U.S. businesses, down from 15 percent in the late 1970s. Meanwhile productivity growth has dropped to about half a percent a year from about 1.5 percent, and is a main reason that the economy is now expected...

>Lockhart said he felt the economy was entering a "transitional" phase, largely healed from the crisis but in need of fresh policies that could encourage investment, improve productivity, and counter the demographic drag of an aging population.It will fall to the incoming administration of Donald Trump and the Republican...

>DETROIT Global auto executives at the Detroit auto show are highlighting their investments in the United States, mindful of President-elect Donald Trump's attacks on automakers for building vehicles in Mexico. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCHA.MI)(FCAU.N) Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Monday that uncertainty over Trump's trade and tax...

>WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will become a senior White House adviser and work on trade deals and the Middle East, transition officials said on Monday, in a rare case of a close presidential family member taking on a major job.Kushner, 35, who is married to Trump's...

>NEW YORK California-based apparel maker Next Level Apparel has submitted an offer to challenge a $66 million bid from Canadian apparel manufacturer Gildan Activewear Inc (GIL.TO) for bankrupt American Apparel LLC, a person familiar with the matter said Monday.There were also partial bids submitted for the teen retailer,...

>GENEVA The leaders of both sides of ethnically divided Cyprus began new unification talks on Monday but sought to temper hopes of a swift breakthrough, though its U.N. envoy said a deal to resolve one of Europe's most enduring conflicts was within reach.Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci and...

>"The president elect and I had a good meeting about the Senate agenda, which of course includes confirming the Cabinet appointments, getting further down the road toward repealing and replacing Obamacare," McConnell told reporters after the meeting at Trump Tower. Trump's nominees will be properly vetted, he added. (Reporting by...

>Trump vowed during his election campaign to either scrap or renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, saying the two-decade old deal had been bad for American workers. This could have disastrous consequences for Canada, which sends 75 percent of its exports to the United States.

>The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday let stand a lower court's decision that an online advertising site accused by three young women of facilitating child sex trafficking was protected by a federal law that has shielded website operators from liability for content posted by others.The refusal by the...

>LISBON Portugal hopes to broaden the investor base for its debt this year, its finance minister said on Monday, predicting the country's depressed bond market would revive as an economic recovery extended through 2017.In an interview with Reuters, Mario Centeno also said he did not rule out any option...

>Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) expects the initiative to create a million U.S. jobs as each company adds a position, company spokesman Bob Christie said in a phone call.Trump and Ma emerged from their meeting at Trump Tower in New York together. The president-elect told reporters they...

>DETROIT Volkswagen (VW) executives decided to cover up cheating of U.S. emissions tests when they were told about it almost two months before the matter became a public scandal in 2015, according to a court filing by U.S. law enforcers seen by Reuters. Senior VW manager Oliver Schmidt,...

>WASHINGTON The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Dow Chemical Co's (DOW.N) bid to revive its claim to more than $1 billion in tax deductions based on partnerships the company entered into that lower courts said were created primarily to avoid tax liability and had no...

>DETROIT President-elect Donald Trump praised Ford Motor Co (F.N) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCAU.N) on Monday for announcing new investments in the United States after he made U.S. auto production a key part of his campaign.Ford announced last week it would abandon plans to build...

>The Ariad deal, at a 75 percent premium, is the latest example of pharmaceutical companies paying handsomely to snap up promising drugs owned by rivals in a bid to secure revenue growth. Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) agreed in August to pay $14 billion for Medivation Inc, the maker of the...

>NEW YORK A Florida man pleaded guilty on Monday to charges that he conspired to operate an illegal bitcoin exchange, which prosecutors said was owned by an Israeli who oversaw a massive scheme to hack companies, including JPMorgan Chase & Co(JPM.N).Anthony Murgio, 33, entered his plea in federal...

>TEL AVIV The venture arms of Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Qualcomm (QCOM.O) have invested in Team8, an Israeli creator of cybersecurity start-ups, as big multinational companies get behind Israel's burgeoning cyber industry in the face of growing threats.Team8, which also announced on Monday a strategic partnership with Citi...

>The elite counter-terrorism service (CTS) had taken full control of the Baladiyat district and encircled neighbouring Sukkar, Sabah al-Numan told Reuters.The advance also consolidated Iraqi forces' control of several districts close to the ruins of the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh, east of the river. A U.S.-backed...

>WASHINGTON A U.S. Navy destroyer fired three warning shots at four Iranian fast-attack vessels after they closed in at a high rate of speed near the Strait of Hormuz, two U.S. defense officials told Reuters on Monday.The incident, which occurred Sunday and was first reported by Reuters,...

>BERLIN/FRANKFURT Germany is reviewing its powers to block foreign acquisitions after a spate of Chinese takeovers, but the government's commitment to free trade beats its concerns about hemorrhaging strategic technologies and will limit any changes. A more hostile German tone towards Chinese takeovers set in last year when Berlin actively,...

>HARTFORD, Conn. Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren on Monday called for the U.S. central bank to step up its pace of interest rate increases from the once-a-year pattern it has pursued since 2015, warning of inflation risks if it does not. "I expect that appropriate monetary policy will need...

>Candy maker Mars, also the largest pet food manufacturer in the world, said it would offer $93 for every share, a premium of 31.4 percent to VCA's Friday closing price.VCA shares were trading at $91 before the opening bell on Monday.Mars became the No. 1 pet food...

>The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined on Monday, retreating from the historic 20,000 mark, weighed down by banks and energy companies, while a gain in technology stocks kept the Nasdaq afloat.Of its 30 components, 20 of the Dow's stocks were trading lower, led by Goldman Sachs's (GS.N) 1.

>The Egyptian entrepreneur said he plans to turn the company around in one year, repeating what his Orascom TMT Holding SAE (OTMT.CA) group did in 2011 in a merger with Italy's Wind Telecomunicazioni SpA [WINVFT.UL], the report said.Cerberus Capital Management LP and Elliot Management Corp also have...

>Surgical Care and its affiliates, which serve about 1 million patients per year in more than 30 states, operate 205 surgical facilities, including ambulatory surgery centers.The fixed offer of $57 per share, represents a premium of 17 percent to Friday's close.The transaction is expected to be neutral to...

>WASHINGTON Senate confirmation hearings this week for President-elect Donald Trump's nominees for top jobs - from secretary of state to attorney general - should provide a test of his ability to work with fellow Republicans in Congress to enact his agenda.Trump's challenge is to ensure the 100-member Senate's 52...

>DUBAI Iranian lawmakers approved plans on Monday to expand military spending to five percent of the budget, including developing the country's long-range missile program which U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to halt.The vote is a boost to Iran's military establishment – the regular army, the elite Islamic...

>A report by S&P's chief European economist and a colleague said 2017 was likely to mark the return of inflation in the euro zone, though core readings that strip out more volatile goods such as crude oil should remain subdued and give the ECB leeway to maintain support. "The ECB...

>Jaitley said indirect tax receipts grew by an annual 14.2 percent in December, helped by a surge in excise and service tax collections.In the first three quarters of the fiscal year that ends in March, overall indirect tax collections were up 25 percent from a year earlier. Direct...

>Assad also said a ceasefire brokered by Turkey and Russia, his most powerful ally, was being violated and the army would recapture all of Syria including a rebel-held area near Damascus where a vital water supply had been bombed out of service. He made the remarks in comments to French...

>Oliver Schmidt, who headed the company's regulatory compliance office in the U.S. from 2014 to March 2015, was arrested on Saturday by federal investigators in Florida, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter. nyti.ms/2iTA73SVW admitted in September 2015 to installing secret software known as "defeat devices"...

>Two or three gunmen launched the raid on the General Reserve Engineer Force camp in Jourian, close to India's disputed border with Pakistan, after midnight, a police official from Jourian told Reuters by telephone.The army had since cordoned off the camp and launched a search for the gunmen, said...

>HONG KONG McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) has agreed to sell the bulk of its China and Hong Kong business to state-backed conglomerate CITIC Ltd (0267.HK) and Carlyle Group LP (CG.O) for up to $2.1 billion, seeking to expand rapidly without using much of its own capital.The...