News Archive - 18 January 2017

Iran’s Guardian Council has signaled it may alter a masculine definition of statesmen that impedes presidential campaigns by women for the first time. Marzieh-Vahid-Dastjerdi, the Islamic Republic’s first and only woman minister, is now at the heart of a plethora of speculations that she might be a wild card...

>WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Defense and Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) are close to deal for a contract worth almost $9 billion as negotiations are poised to bring the price per F-35 below $100 million for the first time, people familiar with the talks said Wednesday. The F-35,...

>Shares in Toshiba plunged 15 percent on reports of bigger than expected losses, which come one day after it said it was considering a spin-off of its chip business to cover financial shortfalls. Toshiba declined to comment on the reports.The conglomerate in December revealed cost overruns at the U.

>The Ministry of Commerce said it believes China and the United States can properly resolve any trade problems through dialogue and cooperation, as both sides would be hurt in any U.S.-China trade spat. (Reporting by Elias Glenn; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)...

>Trump, who is sworn into office on Friday, has criticized China's trade practices and threatened to impose punitive tariffs on Chinese imports.Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, Trump's choice for commerce secretary, voiced sharp criticism of China's trade practices on Wednesday, telling senators he would seek new ways of combating them.

>The Tokyo Stock Exchange suspended trading in Takata shares after the report. A spokesman for Takata declined to comment on the report.Takata is in the process of selecting a financial backer as it faces billions of dollars in costs to replace tens of millions of potentially defective air bag...

>Perdue, 70, served on Trump's agricultural advisory committee during his presidential campaign. His nomination, which must be confirmed by the Republican-led Senate, will complete Trump's proposed Cabinet just two days before he is sworn in as president on Friday.During his time as governor, Perdue's key agricultural issues included water...

>WASHINGTON Borrowers who say OneWest Bank refused to help them when they struggled to pay their mortgages appeared Wednesday on Capitol Hill, where they urged the U.S. Senate to vote against confirming the bank's former chief executive, Steven Mnuchin, as Treasury Secretary.The event, organized by Senate Democrats including...

>The Japanese company announced the planned launch on through its Twitter feed. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Michael Perry)...

>SEOUL North Korea may be preparing to test-launch a new, upgraded prototype of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), South Korean media reported on Thursday, citing military sources.In his New Year's speech, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country was close to test launching an ICBM, and state...

>FRANKFURT With euro zone growth and inflation slowly picking up pace, the European Central Bank is set to argue on Thursday that its extra-easy policy stance is still needed to keep the recovery on course.It is all but certain to leave current monetary policy in place and maintain a...

>Sentiment in oil markets has been torn between expectations of a rebound in U.S. shale production and hopes that oversupply may be curbed by output cuts announced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and others. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading...

>NEW DELHI Some Indian officials have baulked at Apple's (AAPL.O) demands for concessions before it assembles iPhones there, raising doubts about a spring deadline to launch a key project in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign to lure foreign investors.The country is still keen for the U.S. tech...

>Streaming video pioneer Netflix Inc added over a third more subscribers than expected in the last quarter of 2016, a sign of success for its ambitious global expansion that sent its shares up 8 percent in extended trading.Netflix signed up 7.1 million new subscribers globally, far more than...

>FRANKFURT Some senior regulators are privately raising doubts over whether politically unpopular European rules seeking to shield taxpayers from bank bailouts will ever be enforced as intended."Bail-ins" were trumpeted as the centerpiece of Europe's response to the financial crisis, but some of the people who will have to apply...

>WASHINGTON President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that former military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning had served a tough prison term and his decision to commute her 35-year sentence to about seven years served would not signal leniency toward leakers of U.S. government secrets.Obama told his final news conference...

>"China and (the) U.S. will never have a trade war. Give Trump some time. He's open minded," Ma told a panel at the meeting of business and political leaders in the Swiss Alps. Ma met U.S. President-elect Donald Trump last week and laid out the Chinese e-commerce giant's...

>WASHINGTON Nearly 80 rights groups on Wednesday accused Facebook (FB.O) of "racially biased censorship" and failing to be more transparent about its removal policies and cooperation with law enforcement, adding to criticism the company has faced in recent months over its management of content on its network of 1.

>SEOUL A South Korean court on Thursday dismissed a warrant to arrest the head of the Samsung Group [SAGR.UL], the country's largest conglomerate, amid a graft scandal that has led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. The pre-dawn decision by the Seoul Central District Court to allow Jay...

>GENEVA China will build a "new model" of relations with the United States, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday in a speech that portrayed China as the leader of a globalized world where only international cooperation could solve the big problems. Two days before the inauguration of Donald Trump who...

>WASHINGTON President Barack Obama urged President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday to keep separate the issue of economic sanctions on Russia from the pursuit of talks to reduce nuclear stockpiles.Trump, who takes office on Friday after winning the Nov. 8 election, said in an interview with the Times of London...

>Manufacturers in "most" of the Federal Reserve System's 12 regions reported increased sales, the Fed reported in the document, a collection of anecdotal information from businesses assembled before each Fed meeting.Fed officials said companies in their districts acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding the change of administrations in Washington, with a...

>DAVOS, Switzerland Brexit should not be viewed in terms of 'hard' or 'soft' but rather as a complicated process of redistributing sovereignty, S&P Global's chief economist said on Wednesday. Speaking in the Global Markets Forum live from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Paul Sheard also said a recent rise...

>SAN FRANCISCO With the U.S. economy close to full employment and inflation headed toward the Federal Reserve's 2 percent goal, it "makes sense" for the U.S. central bank to gradually lift interest rates, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday."Waiting too long to begin moving toward the...

>Eli Lilly and Co (LLY.N) will buy CoLucid Pharmaceuticals Inc (CLCD.O) for about $960 million, bringing back into its fold a promising therapy for migraine and positioning itself to capture a bigger slice of the largely under-treated market.CoLucid's lasmiditan, which has already succeeded in one late-stage trial...

>WASHINGTON Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's choice for commerce secretary, voiced sharp criticism of China's trade practices on Wednesday, telling senators he would seek new ways of combating them.In his confirmation hearing, Ross also said that renegotiating the North American Free Trade agreement with Mexico...

>The deal would resolve charges that accounting control failures at the automaker prevented GM from properly assessing the potential financial impact of the defective ignition switch, which led to vehicle recalls beginning in 2014, the SEC said.The largest U.S. automaker said in a statement it consented to an...

>OTTAWA An interest rate cut remains on the table if the risks facing the country are realized, the Bank of Canada said on Wednesday, warning there would be "material consequences" if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump enacts protectionist policies.Nonetheless, the central bank held rates steady, even as it nudged...

>LONDON OPEC signaled a falling oil supply surplus in 2017 on Wednesday as the exporter group's output slips from a record high ahead of a deal to cut supply and outside producers show positive initial signs of complying with the accord.However, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, in...

>NEW YORK Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) has formally agreed to pay $5.3 billion to settle with U.S. authorities over claims it misled investors in residential mortgage-backed securities it sold in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis.As part of the settlement, announced by the U.S. Department...

>May has said she would trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, the formal means of exiting the bloc, by the end of March and that the government could act without needing lawmakers' approval.However, London's High Court decided last November that it would be unlawful for May to...

>Alaska Air completed its acquisition of Virgin America in December to become the fifth-largest U.S. carrier.The Seattle-based company said it expected unit revenue, a closely watched performance metric, for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, in the range of 11.24 cents to 11.29 cents, including Virgin...

>The top risk to U.S. growth would come if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump keeps his protectionist promises, according to a Reuters poll that shows economists have not joined in the market exuberance since the shock November vote.For most of his campaign and after the election, Trump vowed...

>NewWave is owned by funds affiliated with GTCR LLC, a Chicago-based private equity firm.Cable One, which has 650,000 customers across 19 U.S. states, said it expects to finance the deal with $650 million in secured loans as well as cash on hand.NewWave's services reaches nearly 428,000 homes...

>The committee voted 26-1 to back Mattis' nomination when it is received by the full Senate from Trump after he is sworn in as president. As a result, Mattis' nomination will be sent directly to the Senate for a vote without referral to the committee.The identity of the senator...

>WASHINGTON Senate Democrats are gearing up for a potentially ugly fight over Donald Trump's U.S. Supreme Court pick, with some liberal activists urging them to do everything possible to block any nominee from the Republican president-elect.Democrats are still seething over the Republican-led Senate's decision last year to refuse...

>BARTELLA, Iraq Elite Iraqi forces have driven Islamic State fighters from all districts of eastern Mosul they were tasked with recapturing, their commanding officer said on Wednesday, bringing almost all of the city's eastern half under government control.Lieutenant-General Talib Shaghati said the Counter Terrorism Services (CTS), who have spearheaded...

>ISTANBUL An Uzbek gunman who killed 39 people in an Istanbul nightclub on New Year's Day told police he had to change target at the last minute to avoid heavy security and acted with direct orders from Islamic State in Syria, a newspaper said on Wednesday.The gunman, named by...

>WASHINGTON Early optimism among business lobbyists and executives that Donald Trump's election heralded better days has slowly given way to uncertainty as the president-elect fires off mixed and sometimes confusing messages on healthcare, taxes and trade.An initial euphoria in the business world fueled a powerful post-election stock rally. Some...

>The Labor Department said on Wednesday its Consumer Price Index rose 0.3 percent last month after gaining 0.2 percent in November. In the 12 months through October, the CPI increased 2.1 percent, the biggest year-on-year gain since June 2014. The CPI rose 1.7 percent in the...

>Citi's net income rose to $3.57 billion, or $1.14 per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, from $3.34 billion, or $1.02 per share, a year earlier, topping the average analyst estimate of $1.12 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.Citigroup's revenue from fixed-income...

>Filed in a Manhattan federal court, the government's complaint accused the bank of violating the U.S. Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act by charging thousands of African-American and Hispanic borrowers more than white borrowers with the same credit profile for home loans. (Reporting By Dena Aubin)...

>U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday ahead of another set of big bank earnings and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's speech. * Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Citigroup (C.N) are scheduled to report results before market opens. Goldman, like most of the big U.S.

>Gazprom said on Tuesday it had charged Naftogaz for gas it did not buy under a take-or-pay clause covering the second through fourth quarter of 2016. It said Ukraine was required to pay the bill within 10 days."The applicability of the take-or-pay principle is currently (being) reviewed by the...

>"We will very much like Apple to come and have a base in India," Prasad said.Apple has sent a list of demands to the Indian government, seeking tax concessions and several other policy exemptions, as necessary pre-requisites before it starts production of its iPhones in India.Prasad also said...

>SEOUL South Korea's largest mobile game company, Netmarble Games Corp, is seeking more mergers and acquisitions and intellectual property rights to expand its share of the gaming market in North America and Europe, its founder said. The Tencent-backed (0700.HK) firm - with plans for a public listing estimated at...

>SYDNEY Australia said on Wednesday it was not ruling out a future underwater search for a missing Malaysia Airlines passenger jet as families of those on board criticised the decision to suspend the hunt after three fruitless years.The location of Flight MH370 has become one of the world's greatest...

>The global economic outlook remains shaky, despite recent pockets of resilience, according to the overwhelming majority of economists polled by Reuters who said a rise in protectionist trade policies would hamper growth.With elections due in a number of major euro zone countries, political change in the bloc was picked...

>Bush, 92, was in stable condition and "doing fine," Jean Becker told the television station. Bush is expected to go home in a couple of days, Becker told KHOU.Reuters was not immediately able to reach the family spokesman Jim McGrath or the hospital where Bush was taken.Bush is...

>HONG KONG Hong Kong's leader on Wednesday delivered his last annual policy statement before stepping down, addressing longstanding problems including high property prices and stalled political reform though providing no substantial new measures to tackle them.Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying took office in 2012 pledging to make housing more affordable,...

>Trump broke with decades of precedent last month by taking a congratulatory telephone call from Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, and he has also said the "One China" policy was up for negotiation.A Taiwan delegation, led by former premier and ex-ruling party leader Yu Shyi-Kun, and including a Taiwan national...

>Germany's biggest bank on Tuesday finalised a $7.2 billion settlement with the DoJ over its sale of toxic mortgage securities in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis, which also included $4.1 billion of consumer relief."Given other lawsuits, it is still too early to talk of having...

>TOKYO Toshiba Corp (6502.T) is looking to sell a minority stake in its core semiconductor business to Western Digital Corp (WDC.O), a source said, in a bid to dull the blow from a looming multi-billion-dollar writedown on a U.S. nuclear acquisition.The laptops-to-engineering conglomerate, still recovering from...

>WASHINGTON Donald Trump's pick for U.N. ambassador will echo his condemnation of the world body's treatment of Israel at her Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, although offering some praise for an organization the president-elect has disparaged.Nikki Haley, a rising star in the Republican Party, will face tough questioning...

>BEIJING More than 80 percent of members of a U.S. business lobby in China say foreign companies are less welcome than in the past, a survey released on Wednesday showed, with most saying they have little confidence in China's vows to open its markets.The American Chamber of Commerce...