The board of casino operator Wynn Macau on Friday dumped Japanese gambling tycoon Kazuo Okada as a director over what it called "unacceptable conduct" involving alleged corruption in the Philippines. More »Wynn Macau board ousts Japanese tycoon Okada
TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares crept higher on Friday as solid U.S. data improved sentiment, but gains may be limited by concerns that rising oil prices could deal a further blow to the fragile euro zone economy and moves to take profits after recent rallies. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.4 percent, with the growth-sensitive technology sector among best performers. The broad pan-Asia index was set to end the week nearly flat. Financial spreadbetters expected major European markets to open up 0.3 to 0.6 percent. ... More »Shares inch up but growth worries lurk
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tucked in his left breast-coat pocket where he can pull it out to wave before TV cameras is ammunition that House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner believes his Republicans can use to achieve victory in the November 6 elections. It is a four-by-eight-inch card detailing more than two dozen "jobs bills" passed by the Republican-led House last year. They are now bottled up by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, one of President Barack Obama's top allies on Capitol Hill. ... More »Republicans see "jobs bills" as U.S. election winner
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Kevin Rudd, who stepped down as Australia's foreign minister this week, said on Friday he would contest a leadership vote against Prime Minister Julia Gillard, bringing to a head a bitter leadership fight engulfing the minority government. Rudd, who was ousted as prime minister by Gillard in June 2010, said Australians had lost trust in Gillard and the party was headed to an electoral wipeout at the next elections, due in late 2013, under her leadership. ... More »Australia's Rudd to challenge Prime Minister Gillard
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's credit rating would be reviewed if plans to double its sales tax rate are delayed further, Moody's Investors Service said on Friday, warning weak policy formation threatened efforts to curb the country's massive debt burden. Moody's said it did not plan to change Japan's Aa3 rating with a stable outlook for now, in part because the country's current account surplus helped offset its public debt. ... More »Moody's warns Japan on delay in sales tax bill
(Reuters) - Oceans carry the bulk of the world's trade, are a major source of food and employment and help regulate the planet's climate but they are under threat from pollution, over-fishing and global warming. Governments and businesses are increasingly aware of the value of oceans but are struggling to address the many threats that imperil seas around the globe. The World Bank is steering a new global alliance on the issue. Following are some facts about the world's oceans, the threats they face and some emerging solutions. ... More »Factbox - Why oceans are key to the global economy
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The World Bank announced on Friday a global alliance to better manage and protect the world's oceans, which are under threat from over-fishing, pollution and climate change. Oceans are the lifeblood of the planet and the global economy, World Bank President Robert Zoellick told a conference on ocean conservation in Singapore. Yet the seas have become overexploited, coastlines badly degraded and reefs under threat from pollution and rising temperatures. "We need a new SOS: Save Our Seas," Zoellick said in announcing the alliance. ... More »World Bank issues SOS for oceans, backs alliance
CANBERRA (Reuters) - An inquest began hearing new evidence on Friday into the 1980 death of baby Azaria Chamberlain, a case that has haunted Australia for decades and drew international attention after her parents said she had been killed by a dingo, or wild dog. The coronial inquest into the death in the Australian outback of baby Azaria, the fourth since the infant disappeared, began in Darwin Magistrates Court in the Northern Territory in response to new information provided by the baby's parents. The evidence concerns several dingo attacks on infants and young children since Azaria's ... More »Australia hopes to close 32-year "dingo baby" case
TOKYO (Reuters) - On a hillside in northern Japan, wind turbines slice through the cold air, mocking efforts at a nearby industrial complex to shore up the future of the demoralised nuclear power industry. The wind-power farm at Rokkasho has sprung up close to Japan's first nuclear reprocessing plant, a Lego-like complex of windowless buildings and steel towers, which was supposed to have started up 15 years ago but is only now nearing completion. ... More »Insight -Japan's nuclear crisis goes much further than Fukushima
Australian central bank governor Glenn Stevens said Friday he had no plans to intervene to weaken a soaring Aussie dollar, which has hit some local industries hard, particularly manufacturing. More »Australian central bank says no intervention plans
Asian insurance giant AIA said Friday its new business grew 40 percent year-on-year, a better-than-expected result thanks to strong growth in Singapore, Malaysia and China. More »AIA's new business grows 40 percent
LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England policymaker Paul Fisher said in a newspaper interview published on Friday that the outlook for the economy was still incredibly uncertain and that he was keeping an open mind as to whether more quantitative easing would be required. "I think it continues to be a story where the outlook for the economy is incredibly uncertain," Fisher said in an interview with London financial freesheet City A.M. "If anything I feel slightly more comfortable about the inflation outlook than the outlook for growth. ... More »Bank's Fisher: outlook uncertain, open to QE
Despite suffering a setback in a Shanghai court, a financially-strapped Chinese company has reportedly opened up a US front in its legal war with Apple over the iPad trademark. More »Proview takes Apple legal brawl to US: report
Despite suffering a setback in a Shanghai court on Thursday, a financially-strapped Chinese company has reportedly opened up a US front in its legal war with Apple over the iPad trademark. More »Proview takes Apple legal brawl to US: report
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's economy will grow 0.9 percent this year and more than double that rate in 2013, a government-funded research body said on Friday, weathering austerity at home to track and likely outpace a gradual upturn in the euro zone. The forecast for this year from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) undercut government estimates but was more optimistic than the 0.5 percent projected on Thursday by the European Commission, which said output in the euro zone as a whole would shrink by 0.3 percent. Ireland, which grew 0. ... More »Irish economy to recover gradually in 2012, 2013 - think-tank
LONDON (Reuters) - British households are in danger of overpaying for their energy bills as government policy has ignored the potential emergence of cheap shale gas, a report by the Policy Exchange think-tank said on Friday. Given recent developments in the shale gas sector, which have sharply reduced household energy bills in the United States, the report said gas prices could also fall in Britain. "No one can predict future gas prices, but shale gas developments suggest prices may be lower than previously assumed. ... More »UK could overpay for energy if shale ignored - report
LONDON (Reuters) - Lloyds is set to follow rival Royal Bank of Scotland with a hefty 2011 loss, highlighting the difficulty Britain faces in trying to sell the stakes in the two banks it acquired when it bailed them out more than three years ago. Lloyds, 40 percent owned by the British government, will bear the brunt of writedowns and restructuring costs, as it sells non-core businesses and cuts thousands of jobs. Bank of America Merrill Lynch has forecast a loss of around 2.3 billion pounds ($3.6 billion), while Deutsche Bank has put the figure at 4. ... More »Lloyds set to follow RBS with hefty 2011 loss
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After the red carpet has been walked and Oscars given out on Sunday night, Hollywood's stars will dine to what master chef Wolfgang Puck calls his "greatest hits" of recipes. Puck, who is perhaps more famous than some of the celebrities he will feed, on Thursday unveiled his menu for the annual Governor's Ball following the Academy Awards. He and his staff of 350 will serve some 1500 guests including Hollywood A-listers such as George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. ... More »Wolfgang Puck plans "greatest hits" for Oscar menu
Boeing will try to shave more than $1 billion off production costs of its new 787 Dreamliner plane, a company executive said Thursday, as the firm battles to turn a profit on the much-delayed plane. More »Boeing to shave $1 bn off 787 production costs
NEW YORK (Reuters) - J.K. Rowling, whose "Harry Potter" fantasy book series became a global publishing phenomenon, is writing her first novel for adults but the title and plot are still a closely-guarded secret. The British writer, 46, whose teenage boy wizard tales became international best-sellers and inspired a series of hit films, said on Thursday that her new novel would be "very different" to the "Harry Potter" books that made her a household name and turned her into a billionaire. ... More »"Harry Potter" author JK Rowling writing adult novel
LONDON (Reuters) - The British newspaper arm of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp empire will be spared a potentially embarrassing trial next week after singer Charlotte Church agreed to a settlement over her claim against the company over the phone-hacking scandal. Earlier this month, News Group Newspapers, publisher of some of News Corp's British titles, had agreed deals with other claimants ahead of a civil trial at London's High Court which was due to begin on Monday, but failed to strike a settlement with Church. ... More »News Corp to avoid trial after one hacking case settled
(Reuters) - It could be the ultimate case for passing the buck. A massive trial over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill heads for a New Orleans federal courtroom on Monday, to determine how much BP Plc and others should cough up for the worst U.S. offshore oil spill. The case is perhaps the most complex environmental lawsuit in history, and could leave companies on the hook for tens of billions of dollars in fines and payments to the U.S. government, Gulf Coast states, and tens of thousands of workers and businesses claiming economic damages from the spill. ... More »Gulf oil spill trial - Let the fingerpointing begin
LONDON (Reuters) - The new Sunday edition of Rupert Murdoch's Sun tabloid, to be launched with a huge advertising campaign and a print run of around 3 million this week, is expected to be more family-friendly and less salacious than its predecessor, The News of the World. ... More »Murdoch seeks new start with tamer Sunday tabloid
Google on Thursday named a former Republican congresswoman from New York to head the Internet giant's Washington-based policy and lobbying operation. More »Ex-congresswoman to head Google Washington office
US stocks closed broadly higher Thursday, helped by solid gains from Procter & Gamble over its cost-cutting plan and blue-chip stalwart IBM. More »Blue-chip gains lead US stocks higher