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August 2012
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Jobs, housing data show economy has some muscle

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, pointing to resilience in the labor market despite belt-tightening by Washington. The improving employment picture is helping to prop up housing, with rising home prices keeping domestic consumption supported, limiting the drag from tighter fiscal policy that is dampening factory activity. "All the eggs are in housing and the consumers' baskets this quarter. ...

EU wants big companies to reveal national tax bills

By 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. dips as data, HP offset stimulus fears

By Leah Schnurr NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks slipped on Thursday, recovering from session lows as encouraging domestic economic data and a rally in Hewlett-Packard's shares offset concerns about the timing of any reduction in the Federal Reserve's monetary stimulus. Hewlett-Packard jumped nearly 14 percent and helped support the Dow a day after the world's largest PC maker raised its outlook. HP's sharp gains had briefly helped the Dow edge into positive territory at midday. Signs of improvement in the housing and labor markets also helped indexes come off their lows by midday. ...

Apple enjoyed Irish tax holiday from the start

By 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 car sales seen up 6-8 percent in May: analysts

DETROIT (Reuters) - Auto sales in May are expected to rise 6 percent to 8 percent and the annual sales pace should rebound back above 15 million vehicles after a disappointing result in the prior month, two research reports said on Thursday. Sales of new cars and trucks in May are expected to top 1.43 million vehicles, while the annual sales pace is forecast to hit 15.2 million vehicles, according to a report by J.D. Power and Associates and LMC Automotive, as well as one by TrueCar.com. Kelley Blue Book's forecast is slightly more conservative, as it sees sales rising 6 percent to almost 1. ...

U.S., China factories struggle; Fed hints at less stimulus

By 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 pace 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 two largest economies came a day after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke spooked markets by hinting that the U.S. central bank could soon scale back monthly bond purchases, provided the economy maintained its recent momentum. ...

Glencore says Iran metals swap deals did not violate sanctions

By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Swiss-based commodities giant Glencore Xstrata said on Thursday that it had done nothing wrong when it engaged in metal swaps with Iran, rejecting a suggestion by U.N. experts that such bartering could have been a way of evading sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program. A confidential U.N. Panel of Experts report seen by Reuters on Wednesday said alumina-for-aluminum swap deals with Iran by Switzerland-based commodities giants Glencore and Trafigura could have been a way to bypass international sanctions. ...

Large U.S. retailers sue Visa, MasterCard over card fees

By Jessica Dye (Reuters) - A group of U.S. retailers, including Macy's Inc. and Target Corp. , sued Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. on Thursday, breaking off from a proposed $7.2 billion settlement reached last year over fees to process credit card transactions. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, came ahead of a May 28 deadline for the millions of merchants affected by the settlement to decide whether to forego receiving damages under the pact and pursue their own legal action. ...

Ally to pay $2.1 billion to settle claims tied to ResCap

By Tom Hals (Reuters) - Ally Financial Inc agreed on Thursday to pay $2.1 billion to settle legal claims tied to its bankrupt Residential Capital LLC unit, nearly triple the amount it initially offered to creditors of the subprime mortgage business. Ally hopes the deal will finally end allegations that ResCap was stripped of choice assets such as its online bank, Ally Bank, before being put into bankruptcy, leaving the mortgage unit's creditors empty-handed. Putting the issue behind it will help Ally focus on its core business of auto lending and on repaying the U.S. ...

Ride-share service Lyft raises $60 million from venture capital firm

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Ride-sharing service Lyft said it had raised $60 million from venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, underscoring the growing appeal of services that tap into consumers' willingness to share goods and services for a fee. Lyft allows customers to book rides from a network of screened drivers, who pull up in cars with fluffy pink moustaches attached to the fenders. Payment takes the form of a donation, made via the Lyft smartphone app. The cash will "propel the Lyft movement globally," wrote Andreessen Horowitz partner Scott Weiss in a blog post. ...

Archive for August 21st, 2012

21 Aug

50 buildings destroyed in Northern Calif. fire

Dozens of buildings, many of them likely homes, have been destroyed in a fire burning outside the Northern California community of Manton, fire officials said Tuesday night.

Original post by Associated Press and software by Elliott Back

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Archive for August 21st, 2012

50 buildings destroyed in Northern Calif. fire