2 Carbon emissions must peak by 2015: UN climate scientist
by Richard Ingham, AFP
1 hr 28 mins ago
| PARIS (AFP) - The UN's top climate scientist on Thursday urged a key conference on global warming to set tough mid-term goals and warned carbon emissions had to peak by 2015 to meet a widely-shared vision.
Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Nobel-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said the talks in Copenhagen in December must focus on 2020, a far more important target than mid-century.
"Strong, urgent and effective action" is needed, Pachauri told a meeting of ministers of the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris. |
3 Bill Gates pledges 120 million to boost African, Indian farmers
by Karin Zeitvogel, AFP
1 hr 53 mins ago
| WASHINGTON (AFP) - Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist Bill Gates on Thursday announced 120 million dollars in grants to help small-scale farmers in Africa and India improve their lives through sustainable agriculture.
The grants, announced on the eve of World Food Day, are from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the philanthropic organization co-chaired by Gates and his wife.
"Three-quarters of the world's poorest people get their food and income by farming small plots of land," Gates said as he announced grants to nine projects, mostly in Africa, during a speech to the World Food Prize Symposium in Iowa. |
4 Armenian president hears jeers on historic visit to Turkey
by Hande Culpan and Mariam Harutunian
Wed Oct 14, 5:04 pm ET
| BURSA, Turkey (AFP) - Armenia's president paid a landmark visit to Turkey Wednesday, and jeering at the football match he attended showed the difficulty the two nations face in trying to overcome their bloody history.
Serzh Sarkisian and his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul met "in an extremely positive atmosphere" ahead of the game, diplomats said, but there was loud booing of Armenia's national anthem at the stadium.
Sarkisian flew to the northwestern city of Bursa just four days after Turkey and Armenia, backed by world powers, signed historic deals to end decades of hostility, establish formal ties and open their border. |
5 China sentences six more to death for Xinjiang unrest
by Marianne Barriaux, AFP
Thu Oct 15, 6:29 am ET
| BEIJING (AFP) - China on Thursday sentenced six more people to death over bloody ethnic unrest in its far-western Xinjiang region in July, bringing the total to 12 as it delivered tough retribution over the violence.
Three of the six were given the death penalty with a two-year reprieve, a sentence usually commuted to life in prison, over the worst ethnic violence China had seen in decades.
A court in the regional capital Urumqi sentenced three others to life in jail and five people to lesser prison terms for their role in the unrest that rocked the city, according to a Xinjiang government statement faxed to AFP. |
6 Honduran teams agree plan to restore ousted president
AFP
Wed Oct 14, 5:05 pm ET
| TEGUCIGALPA (AFP) - Honduran negotiators reached agreement Wednesday on a plan to restore President Manuel Zelaya to office and end a political crisis triggered by his ouster in a June coup.
"We have agreed in a document on point number six, which relates to the restitution of the powers of state to where they were before June 28, 2009," Victor Meza, Zelaya's representative, told a news conference.
Restoring the country to the situation before the coup would imply Zelaya's return to office, something that had been opposed by Robert Micheletti, the head of the coup-backed interim government. |
7 Honduras de facto leader dampens hope of Zelaya deal
By Frank Jack Daniel, Reuters
Wed Oct 14, 10:44 pm ET
| TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras' de facto leader Roberto Micheletti appeared to back away on Wednesday from a deal to end a political crisis sparked when the army ousted President Manuel Zelaya in a coup.
The central issue in negotiations this week is the return to power of Zelaya, toppled in a June 28 coup. His lead negotiator Victor Meza said the two sides agreed on Wednesday on the wording of a settlement and the army chief said a resolution was near.
But after meeting with the de facto leader in the presidential palace, Micheletti's negotiating team said no deal had been reached on reinstating Zelaya. |
8 Honduran talks advance, but rivals urge caution
By JUAN CARLOS LLORCA, Associated Press Writer
Thu Oct 15, 2:00 am ET
| TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - The rivals for Honduras' presidency toned down hopes for an end to the nation's political standoff despite an apparent breakthrough by negotiators who said they had reached consensus on ousted President Manuel Zelaya's return to office.
Zelaya, who has been holed up in the Brazilian Embassy since sneaking back into Honduras from his forced exile last month, said Wednesday that the final text of a deal is still being worked out. He told a radio station later that he had little confidence in the commitment of interim President Roberto Micheletti to reaching an agreement.
"I don't believe in what the coup leaders say. I think that when it comes to the key point of rejecting the coup - which means my reinstatement to office - Micheletti will give another slap to the world because he will oppose it," Zelaya told Radio Globo, a station that was closed by the interim government two weeks ago but has been broadcasting on the Internet. |
9 Social Security makes it official: No COLA in 2010
By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 17 mins ago
| WASHINGTON - There will be no cost-of-living increase for more than 50 million Social Security recipients next year, the first year without a raise since automatic adjustments were adopted in 1975.
Blame falling consumer prices. By law, cost-of-living adjustments are pegged to inflation, which is negative this year because of lower energy costs. Social Security payments, however, do not go down even when prices drop.
The Obama administration, meanwhile, is pursuing a different way to boost recipients' income. On Wednesday, President Barack Obama called for a second round of $250 stimulus payments for seniors, veterans, retired railroad workers and people with disabilities. |
10 Foreclosures rise 5 percent from summer to fall
By ALAN ZIBEL, AP Real Estate Writer
1 hr 40 mins ago
| WASHINGTON - The number of households caught up in the foreclosure crisis rose more than 5 percent from summer to fall as a federal effort to assist struggling borrowers was overwhelmed by a flood of defaults among people who lost their jobs.
The foreclosure crisis affected nearly 938,000 properties in the July-September quarter, compared with about 890,000 in the prior three months, according to a report released Thursday by RealtyTrac Inc. That puts foreclosure-related filings on a pace to hit about 3.5 million this year, up from more than 2.3 million last year.
Unemployment is the main reason homeowners are falling into trouble. While the economy is likely out of recession, the unemployment rate - now at a 26-year high of 9.8 percent - isn't expected to peak until the middle of next year. |
11 Report: Smoking bans protect nonsmokers' hearts
By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer
2 hrs 26 mins ago
| WASHINGTON - A major report confirms what health officials long have believed: Bans on smoking in restaurants, bars and other gathering spots reduce the risk of heart attacks among nonsmokers.
"If you have heart disease, you really need to stay away from secondhand smoke. It's an immediate threat to your life," declared Dr. Neal Benowitz of the University of California, San Francisco, who co-wrote Thursday's report from the prestigious Institute of Medicine.
More than 126 million nonsmoking people in the U.S. are regularly exposed to someone else's tobacco smoke. The surgeon general in 2006 cited "overwhelming scientific evidence" that tens of thousands die each year as a result, from heart disease, lung cancer and a list of other illnesses. |
12 House banking panel votes to regulate derivatives
By ANNE FLAHERTY and JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer
21 mins ago
| WASHINGTON - A House panel voted Thursday to regulate for the first time privately traded derivatives, the kind of exotic financial instruments that helped bring down Lehman Brothers and nearly toppled American International Group.
The 43-26 vote by the House Financial Services Committee, was a first major step for President Barack Obama's plans to overhaul federal regulations governing the nation's financial institutions.
The mostly party line vote showed that Democrats were prepared to band together to override objections by Republicans and the financial lobby and demand increased oversight of Wall Street. |
13 Goldman Sachs profit tops $3B on strong trading
By STEPHEN BERNARD, AP Business Writer
35 mins ago
| NEW YORK - Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s third-quarter earnings more than tripled from the depths of the financial crisis as income from the company's trading operations offset a drop in its investment banking business.
Goldman's stock fell 2.5 percent Thursday as investors reacted to the slide in investment banking revenue, the result of a general slowdown in takeover activity. Shares fell $4.71 to $187.57 in afternoon trading.
Some profit taking after the better-than-expected results also sent the stock falling, analysts said. |
See, frontrunning works, just like it did in The Sting.
14 Pelosi makes case for government-run health option
By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 34 mins ago
| WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that the case is growing stronger for allowing the government to sell health insurance in competition with private companies, contending recent attacks from the industry should dispel any doubts.
"The need for a public option is very clear," the California Democrat told reporters at her weekly news conference, making the argument as lawmakers on both sides of the Capitol work to finalize sweeping legislation extending coverage to millions of the uninsured.
Whether the Senate bill will include a public plan in any form is a major question mark, but "our House bill will have a public option," the California Democrat declared. |
15 Iraq calls on Turkey to stop cross-border raids
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 41 mins ago
| BAGHDAD - Iraq asked Turkey on Thursday to respect its sovereignty and stop cross-border military operations against Kurdish rebels, a government spokesman said.
The raids have been a sore spot in Turkish-Iraqi relations, which have been warming since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.
Nouri al-Maliki delivered the message to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in Baghdad, where the two were also to sign agreements boosting economic ties, spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said. |
16 Limbaugh: Checketts approached me
By R.B. FALLSTROM, AP Sports Writer
32 mins ago
| ST. LOUIS - Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh blames others for being dropped from the group trying to buy the St. Louis Rams.
On his syndicated show Thursday, Limbaugh said he was approached by St. Louis Blues chairman Dave Checketts earlier this year about participating in a Rams bid. He also said Checketts assured him his involvement as a minority investor had been vetted by the NFL.
"I said to him at this meeting, 'Are you aware of the firestorm?' He said 'We wouldn't have approached you if we hadn't taken care of that,'" Limbaugh said. |
17 Insurers dropping Chinese drywall policies
By BRIAN SKOLOFF, Associated Press Writer
Thu Oct 15, 10:45 am ET
| WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - James and Maria Ivory's dreams of a relaxing retirement on Florida's Gulf Coast were put on hold when they discovered their new home had been built with Chinese drywall that emits sulfuric fumes and corrodes pipes. It got worse when they asked their insurer for help - and not only was their claim denied, but they've been told their entire policy won't be renewed.
Thousands of homeowners nationwide who bought new houses constructed from the defective building materials are finding their hopes dashed, their lives in limbo. And experts warn that cases like the Ivorys', in which insurers drop policies or send notices of non-renewal based on the presence of the Chinese drywall, will become rampant as insurance companies process the hundreds of claims currently in the pipeline.
At least three insurers have already canceled or refused to renew policies after homeowners sought their help replacing the bad wallboard. Because mortgage companies require homeowners to insure their properties, they are then at risk of foreclosure, yet no law prevents the cancellations. |
18 States letting inmates cut even more prison time
By ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press Writer
Thu Oct 15, 8:17 am ET
| PAWTUCKET, R.I. - If the state weren't so pressed for cash, Joshua Gomes might still be behind bars. Instead, he's working temp jobs - at a construction site one week, a recycling plant another - and talks about going to college, teaching or joining the military.
The former cocaine addict and dealer had to prepare for his future sooner than expected: He was released from prison in June after serving a little more than half his two-year sentence, benefiting from a state law that allows certain prisoners to get out early if they commit to rehabilitation programs behind bars.
States under pressure to erase budget deficits and ease prison overcrowding are allowing inmates to shave greater amounts of time off their sentences through good behavior and participation in classes such as job training and substance abuse treatment. |
19 Swamp to sandwich: Fla. gators sliced and diced
By BRIAN SKOLOFF, Associated Press Writer
Thu Oct 15, 5:35 am ET
| HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The knives are sharpened and the shiny steel gurneys bloodied at All American Gator Products, the end of the line for about 1,000 alligators killed during this year's hunting season in Florida.
It's the busiest time of year here at one of the state's largest gator processing plants, where the toothy reptiles make their first stop on a path from the swamp to a hamburger bun, a basket of nuggets or a spot on a shelf full of handbags, wallets and souvenir heads.
Roughly 6,000 alligators are killed each year in Florida during the 11-week public hunting season from August to November. Most end up at one of the state's 34 licensed processors. |
20 CEOs, ag minister call for agricultural investment
By MICHAEL J. CRUMB, The Associated Press
Thu Oct 15, 3:28 am ET
| DES MOINES, Iowa - Greater investment, innovation and improved public-private partnerships are needed to meet the world's growing demand for food, business and government leaders said at the World Food Prize symposium.
The chief executives of DuPont and Archer Daniels Midland Co., two major players in international agriculture, and the agriculture secretary for the Netherlands spoke Wednesday, the first day of the conference in Des Moines.
All three said demand for food worldwide will double by 2050 and agriculture must meet that demand by increasing production on land already in use. |
21 Texas governor: Executed inmate was 'a monster'
By KELLEY SHANNON and MICHAEL GRACZYK, Associated Press Writers
Thu Oct 15, 1:13 am ET
| AUSTIN, Texas - A man put to death in 2004 for killing his three children was "a monster," and suggestions that he may have been innocent are anti-death penalty propaganda, Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday.
Cameron Todd Willingham's convictions were upheld several times before he was put to death, and recent media reports looking into whether Willingham may have been innocent glossed over evidence that showed he murdered his children, Perry told reporters after addressing Texas Association of Realtors members at a luncheon.
"Willingham was a monster. He was a guy who murdered his three children, who tried to beat his wife into an abortion so that he wouldn't have those kids. Person after person has stood up and testified to facts of this case that quite frankly you all aren't covering," Perry said. |
Says Rick Perry, the latest mass murdering Governor in a long line of mass murdering Texas Governors.
Meta Note: The main Christian Science Monitor link is not functioning correctly. This should not present a permanent problem unless it indicates a change in Yahoo policy.
22 Protests turn violent in South Africa
By CELEAN JACOBSON, Associated Press Writer
Thu Oct 15, 10:56 am ET
| STANDERTON, South Africa - Ellen Mgaga's high school final exams start next week, but her school is closed as protests against the government's failure to improve lives of poor South Africans have intensified.
The rioting - with police firing rubber bullets Thursday to disperse rampaging crowds - evokes images of anti-apartheid protests. Some believe such tactics must be jettisoned in a developing democracy.
Over 150 people have been arrested in protests that have spread from Standerton, about 90 miles (150 kilometers) southeast of Johannesburg to at least four other towns in eastern South Africa this week. A police vehicle was set alight by protesters near a stadium that will be used for next year's World Cup in the provincial capital of Nelspruit, the area's police spokeswoman Sibongile Nkosi said. |
23 Afghan runner-up has faith in election fraud panel
By TODD PITMAN, Associated Press Writer
2 hrs 32 mins ago
| KABUL - President Hamid Karzai's top challenger in Afghanistan's intensely contested presidential election said Thursday he had faith that a U.N.-backed commission working to root out fraudulent votes would announce a fair decision within days.
Former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah stopped short of saying he would accept its results, however, and expressed concern over the commission's methodology. But "we have to have faith in something," he said.
The U.N.-backed Electoral Complaints Commission, which is tasked with determining how many fraudulent votes to toss out, could release its finding as early as Saturday. The nation's main electoral body would then announce whether Abdullah will face Karzai in a runoff, which would have to be held within two weeks. |
24 Italy denies paying off Taliban in Afghanistan
By ALESSANDRA RIZZO, Associated Press Writer
12 mins ago
| ROME - Italy and NATO on Thursday denied a newspaper report that Italian intelligence secretly paid the Taliban thousands of dollars to keep the peace in an Afghan area under Italian control.
Premier Silvio Berlusconi's office called the report in the Times of London "completely groundless." The Italian defense minister denounced it as "rubbish" and said he wanted to sue the newspaper.
In Kabul, a U.S. spokesman for NATO forces in Afghanistan denied the allegations. "We don't do bribes," Col. Wayne Shanks said. "We don't pay the insurgents." |
25 Karadzic trial to start October 26: Yugoslavia tribunal
By Reed Stevenson, Reuters
51 mins ago
| AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The war crimes trial of Radovan Karadzic, who led Bosnian Serbs into a 1992-1995 war that killed 100,000 people, will start on October 26 in The Hague, judges ordered on Thursday.
Karadzic, 64, who has unsuccessfully tried to have the trial delayed and have charges against him dropped, faces life in prison on 11 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity, murder, deportation, terror and unlawful attacks on civilians.
The trial will start at 9 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Monday, October 26, judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia said in an order. |
26 Russia's Medvedev snubs opposition in election row
By Denis Dyomkin, Reuters
Thu Oct 15, 8:52 am ET
| MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Thursday said President Dmitry Medvedev backed the ruling party's landslide victory in disputed regional elections, snubbing opposition parties who walked out of parliament alleging vote-rigging.
Kremlin critics say the row over Sunday's regional elections illustrates the gulf between Medvedev's promises of greater pluralism and the reality of a tightly controlled political system crafted by his mentor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Official results gave Putin's United Russia party a landslide victory in the elections, prompting the Communist Party and two other parties normally obedient to the Kremlin to march out of parliament and demand a meeting with Medvedev. |
27 10,000-15,000 more troops needed in Afghan south: ISAF general
by Daphne Benoit, AFP
2 hrs 1 min ago
| KANDAHAR MILITARY BASE, Afghanistan (AFP) - Between 10,000 and 15,000 more troops are needed to maintain security in restive southern Afghanistan, NATO's commander in the region told AFP in an interview Thursday.
"In RC (regional command) south, to really complete the 'shape, clear, hold, build,' we need at least two additional brigades of coalition forces, somewhere between 10,000 or 15,000 troops," said Major General Mart de Kruif.
The additional troops include support units for the brigades, the Dutch officer added. |
28 French military dismisses Taliban payoff report
AFP
Thu Oct 15, 12:27 pm ET
| PARIS (AFP) - The French military Thursday dismissed as "baseless" a British newspaper report that French troops died in Afghanistan because Italy had failed to inform them of a Taliban payoff deal.
The Times of London said 10 French soldiers were killed in Sarobi district east of Kabul in August 2008 because they were not told that Italy had been paying the Taliban not to carry out attacks and failed to properly assess risks.
Admiral Christophe Prazuck, spokesman for the armed forces general staff, said he had "no information enabling us to confirm the reports published in the British press." |
29 Romania names new PM after government collapse
by Mihaela Rodina, AFP
Thu Oct 15, 10:22 am ET
| BUCHAREST (AFP) - Lucian Croitoru, Romania's former representative to the International Monetary Fund, on Thursday became the country's prime minister ahead of key bailout talks with the IMF.
President Traian Basescu named Croitoru to head the government after the collapse of Emil Boc's centre-right administration in a no-confidence vote on Tuesday.
He now has 10 days to form a new government that can secure the approval of parliament, a task that could prove difficult as the two main opposition parties -- which have an absolute majority in parliament -- have already said they will oppose him. |
30 Turkish PM in Baghdad talks amid mounting Israel spat
by Ammar Karim, AFP
Thu Oct 15, 9:09 am ET
| BAGHDAD (AFP) - The Turkish and Iraqi premiers held talks in Baghdad on Thursday on the thorniest disputes between their two countries as Ankara moved to boost its Arab ties amid a growing spat with Israel.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was expected to sign some 20 agreements during the visit, most of them related to Turkey's fast-growing trade with its southeastern neighbour, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told AFP.
In his talks with his Iraqi counterpart Nuri al-Maliki, Erdogan tackled both Ankara's concerns about border security and the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and Baghdad's concerns about how to share the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Dabbagh said. |
31 40 wounded in Moldova blast
by Anatoly Golia, AFP
Thu Oct 15, 7:34 am ET
| CHISINAU (AFP) - A grenade blast in the heart of the Moldovan capital wounded more than 40 people among thousands at a late night outdoor concert, authorities said Thursday.
"There is no doubt that this was a terrorist act whose aim was to frighten the population," Interior Minister Viktor Katan told reporters
He said an investigation had shown that the blast late Wednesday was caused by a grenade of the kind used by the military but did not give further details of the aims of the attack. |
32 China sentences six more to death for Xinjiang unrest
by Marianne Barriaux, AFP
Thu Oct 15, 6:29 am ET
| BEIJING (AFP) - China on Thursday sentenced six more people to death over bloody ethnic unrest in its far-western Xinjiang region in July, bringing the total to 12 as it delivered tough retribution over the violence.
Three of the six were given the death penalty with a two-year reprieve, a sentence usually commuted to life in prison, over the worst ethnic violence China had seen in decades.
A court in the regional capital Urumqi sentenced three others to life in jail and five people to lesser prison terms for their role in the unrest that rocked the city, according to a Xinjiang government statement faxed to AFP. |
33 Japan tells US it will stop Afghan refuelling mission
by Frank Zeller, AFP
Thu Oct 15, 5:49 am ET
| TOKYO (AFP) - Japan has told the United States it will end a naval refuelling mission that supports the war in Afghanistan, a top defence official said Thursday, a month before President Barack Obama visits Tokyo.
The formal confirmation to the White House and Pentagon, days before Defence Secretary Robert Gates visits Japan, is part of efforts by the new centre-left government here to recalibrate security ties with Washington.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who took office last month, has said he wants "more equal" relations with the United States and that he opposes plans to build a new US air base on the southern island of Okinawa. |
34 Taliban strength in Afghanistan nears military proportion
By Jonathan S. Landay and Hal Bernton, McClatchy Newspapers
Wed Oct 14, 8:02 pm ET
| WASHINGTON -- A recent U.S. intelligence assessment has raised the estimated number of full-time Taliban -led insurgents fighting in Afghanistan to at least 25,000, underscoring how the crisis has worsened even as the U.S. and its allies have beefed up their military forces, a U.S. official said Thursday.
The U.S. official, who requested anonymity because the assessment is classified, said the estimate represented an increase of at least 5,000 fighters, or 25 percent, over what an estimate found last year.
On Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry assured Afghans that America would continue to fight until "extremists and insurgents" were defeated in the war-torn nation. |
35 Turkey-Israel Relations Sour Further After War-Games Snub
By PELIN TURGUT / ISTANBUL, Time Magazine
Thu Oct 15, 10:10 am ET
| In the cauldron of Middle East politics, the unlikely alliance between Turkey and Israel often stood out. Seemingly impervious to Arab opposition and the tracts of disputed land lying between them, the two countries had over the past decade traded intelligence, struck billion-dollar arms deals and hosted each other's militaries for training sessions. Even when Turkish leaders occasionally railed against Israel's policies toward the Palestinians, military cooperation continued unhindered behind the scenes, anchored by Washington across the Atlantic. |
| From Yahoo News U.S. News |
36 Swine flu 6 months later: Relief, but winter looms
By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer
1 hr 1 min ago
| ATLANTA - It was six months ago that scientists discovered an ominous new flu virus, touching off fears of a catastrophic global outbreak that could cause people to drop dead in the streets. Doomsday, of course, never came to pass.
Now that the initial scare over the swine flu has subsided, health officials warn we are not out of danger yet.
"We've got many, many months ahead of us where we don't know what will happen and we need to take the best steps we can to protect ourselves," Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said last week. "Our biggest concern is that the virus could change, mutate to become more deadly." |
37 CVS cuts short flu-shot clinics due to shortages
By Ben Klayman, Reuters
59 mins ago
| CHICAGO (Reuters) - CVS Caremark Corp will cut short its flu-shot clinics due to manufacturer delays in delivering influenza vaccine, potentially weighing on hopes that customer flu-shot visits would help sales of other products.
The drugstore chain said its seasonal flu-shot clinics will run through October 22 instead of the end of November. The company had planned about 9,000 scheduled clinics.
CVS's MinuteClinics will continue to offer seasonal vaccines at 500 locations in 25 states throughout the flu season, with the supply of vaccines replenished as frequently as possible. |
38 Wealthy tax cheats caught in government crosshairs
By Kim Dixon, Reuters
2 hrs 40 mins ago
| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the deadline passes on a U.S. tax amnesty program that has lured thousands of wealthy Americans to declare offshore assets, attention now turns to prosecutions of those who kept their holdings hidden.
The Internal Revenue Service's amnesty program, which ends at 5 p.m. EDT on Thursday, has seen 7,500 individuals come forward over six months, getting in before the IRS pursues them. In exchange they get vastly lowered penalties and in most cases protection against criminal prosecution.
For those who failed to turn themselves in, the Justice Department is pursuing criminal cases. |
39 Rescue scams trap ever more desperate homeowners
By Nick Carey, Reuters
Thu Oct 15, 8:42 am ET
| LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - One American industry is booming amid the slump and job losses: mortgage rescue scams that prey on homeowners in financial straits.
The scammers have low start-up costs and expert market knowledge, many of them having learned their predatory tricks in the boom in providing subprime mortgages a few years ago.
Experts say they will thrive as long as the nation remains in the throes of its worst housing crisis since the Depression with millions of Americans unable to pay their mortgages. |
40 At foreclosure auctions, broken dreams on sale
By James B. Kelleher, Reuters
Thu Oct 15, 11:52 am ET
| CHICAGO (Reuters) - The seven-bedroom, three-bath house in this city's West Garfield Park neighborhood had once been someone's American Dream.
But at a recent auction of about 100 foreclosed houses and condos, it was just Property No. 20 -- and drawing no bids from a roomful of buyers despite its bargain-basement price.
"Any interest in this home at $7,000?" fast-talking auctioneer Renee Jones asked the crowd. "If not, we'll move on." |
41 NYC's Stuyvesant Town moves closer to default
By Ilaina Jonas, Reuters
Wed Oct 14, 9:20 pm ET
| NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, a huge Manhattan apartment complex that became the largest residential deal in New York's history, could be headed for default as early as December, according to Trepp, a firm that tracks commercial mortgage securities.
As of September, PVC ST LP, the joint venture between real estate investment company Tishman Speyer and BlackRock Realty, a unit of BlackRock Inc, had $33.65 million left in its interest reserves, according to Trepp, which tracks commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) issues. That's down from $400 million, which was borrowed as part of the $5.4 billion deal that closed in late 2006.
The deal captured the wider U.S. real estate market's attention when the complex's previous owner, MetLife Inc, sold the 56 apartment buildings with more than 11,232 units on 80 acres in Manhattan. |
42 Ex-Bear Stearns manager did not lie: lawyer
By Grant McCool, Reuters
1 hr 55 mins ago
| NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former Bear Stearns hedge fund manager Matthew Tannin, on trial for charges of alleged fraud and lying to investors early in the financial crisis, might have made strategic mistakes but he did not conspire with colleagues to commit a crime, his lawyer said on Thursday.
Fund managers Tannin and Ralph Cioffi have denied charges of securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy in the June 2008 indictment that made them the first high-profile Wall Streeters to face criminal charges stemming from problems with subprime mortgages and overall market liquidity.
Emails written by Cioffi, 53, and Tannin, 48, are key to the government's charges, which were brought months after U.S. law enforcement announced a crackdown on mortgage fraud. |
43 Hedge fund managers lied as Wall St crumbled: prosecutors
by Sebastian Smith, AFP
Wed Oct 14, 7:15 pm ET
| NEW YORK (AFP) - Two US hedge fund managers were accused Wednesday of defrauding investors in a court case seen as putting on trial the risk-taking culture blamed for last year's Wall Street collapse.
Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin are charged with lying to clients ahead of their hedge funds' June 2007 collapse at Bear Stearns bank, which itself imploded a year later, becoming one of the first big victims of the global financial meltdown.
"They decided to lie to their investors to buy themselves time," assistant US attorney Patrick Sinclair told the jury in federal court in Brooklyn, New York. "Time that they needed for the down markets to come up again -- but they (the markets) didn't." |
44 GM expected to sign final Opel deal
by Lenaig Bredoux, AFP
Thu Oct 15, 8:53 am ET
| FRANKFURT (AFP) - US auto giant General Motors was expected later Thursday to ink a final deal to cede control of its loss-making European unit Opel after 80 years in the driving seat.
Press reports said that the final contract would be signed at a lawyers' office in Frankfurt mid-afternoon German time, although there were still several issues to be resolved.
"There are still points to negotiate," Klaus Franz, head of Opel's works committee in Germany, told AFP |
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