20 Apr
Officials: Passenger jet crashes in Pakistan
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Breaking News- Jobless claims data suggests labor market strengthBy Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, pointing to resilience in the labor market despite belt-tightening by Washington. Still, other data on Thursday suggested the federal austerity drive was combining with weak overseas demand to hold U.S. factory activity in May to its weakest rate of growth in seven months. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped more than expected last week, falling 23,000 to 340,000, the Labor Department said. ...
- EU wants big companies to reveal national tax billsBy John O'Donnell BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe's top regulatory official is seeking to force large companies to disclose how much tax they pay in each country where they operate, a measure some politicians say could curb tax avoidance. Michel Barnier, the European commissioner in charge of drafting business regulation, said in a speech in Amsterdam that rules which will force banks to report their profits, taxes and subsidies by country from 2015 should be extended to cover other companies. "We will expand these reporting obligations to large companies and groups," he said on Thursday. ...
- Wall St. drops on stimulus plan unease, China dataBy Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks dropped on Thursday, with the S&P 500 on pace for its first back-to-back daily drop in a month amid investor concerns the U.S. Federal Reserve's stimulus may be scaled back sooner than hoped and after weak data in China. The S&P 500 had posted its biggest decline in three weeks on Wednesday after minutes from the latest U.S. Federal Reserve meeting showed some officials were open to tapering large-scale asset purchases as early as at the June meeting. ...
- Apple enjoyed Irish tax holiday from the startBy Poornima Gupta and Padraic Halpin SAN FRANCISCO/DUBLIN (Reuters) - Apple has operated almost tax-free in Ireland since 1980, welcomed by a government keen to bring jobs to what was then one of Europe's poorest countries, former company executives and Irish officials have said. Chief Executive Tim Cook faced criticism from a Senate subcommittee in Washington on Tuesday over the iPad and iPhone maker's tax practices, which had been shrouded from full view behind secretive tax-exempt Irish-based corporate entities. ...
- New home sales rise, prices surge to record highs(Reuters) - Sales of new single-family homes rose 2.3 percent in April, and prices climbed to record high levels, offering strong proof the sector's rebound trend is intact. The Commerce Department said on Thursday sales increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 454,000 units. Economists polled by Reuters had expected sales to rise to 425,000-unit rate last month. The median sales price for a new home was $271,600, up 14.9 percent from a year ago, and the highest on record since the Commerce Department began tracking the data in the early 1960s. ...
- Fed not "that close" to winding down stimulus: BullardBy Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) - A senior central banker sought to give reassurance on Thursday that the Fed is in no hurry to start winding down its economic stimulus after comments by chairman Ben Bernanke sent stock markets tumbling. James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, said on Thursday he did not think the Fed was "that close" to starting the process of winding down its support although it was the likely next step if the economy continued to improve and inflation picks up. ...
- Ally to pay $2.1 billion to settle ResCap litigationBy Tom Hals (Reuters) - Ally Financial Inc agreed to pay $2.1 billion to Residential Capital LLC to settle claims that it stripped the bankrupt mortgage subsidiary of choice assets. The deal will allow Ally to put behind it problems tied to mortgage lending so it can focus on its U.S. auto financing business and its online bank. The settlement also paves the way for ResCap to repay its creditors. Under the deal, detailed in a court filing on Thursday, Ally will pay $1.95 billion in cash and expects $150 million more to come from its insurers. ...
- Tesco will not pay executive bonuses without rise in profitsLONDON (Reuters) - Tesco executives will not receive a bonus in the current financial year unless they can reverse a decline in profits at Britain's biggest supermarket operator, the company said in its annual report on Thursday. The report rounds off a torrid year for the company, which announced a withdrawal from the United States and wrote down the value of its global operations by $3.5 billion due to the first fall in profit in two decades. ...
- U.S., Chinese factories struggle, Fed hints at less stimulusBy Andy Bruce and Steven C. Johnson LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chinese factory activity declined in May for the first time in seven months and U.S. manufacturing grew at its slowest clip since October, suggesting it may take a while before the global economy starts to pick up steam. Thursday's downbeat business surveys from the world's top two economies, however, may not assuage some of the market fears stoked this week by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who hinted that the U.S. central bank could soon scale back monthly bond purchases provided the economy maintained recent momentum. ...
- Apax Partners to take rue21 private in $1.1 billion deal(Reuters) - Private equity firm Apax Partners will acquire teen-apparel retailer rue21 Inc in a deal valued at about $1.1 billion, adding to a retail portfolio that includes Cole Haan and Takko Fashion. Rue21 said Apax, which already owns a 30 percent stake in the company, will pay $42.00 per share in cash, representing a premium of 23 percent to its Wednesday close. Shares of the company were up 23.2 percent before the bell, indicating that investors may be expecting a higher bid. ...
- Jobless claims data suggests labor market strength
