A federal judge in Houston has thrown out a lawsuit accusing UBS Group AG of hiding fraud by its client Enron Corp from retail customers, a decision that may end a 15-year legal battle stemming from the energy company’s December 2001 bankruptcy. In a 228-page decision on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon said UBS PaineWebber brokerage customers failed to show that the Swiss bank intended to […]
The next big Windows 10 release includes welcome changes to Windows Update. [Updated March 1, 2017] The single most common complaint I’ve heard about Windows 10 is its lack of control over update timing. That’s annoying enough for monthly security updates, which typically take just a few minutes to install. But when a feature update (the new name for major version upgrades that now arrive twice a […]
BERLIN // Netflix has previewed the first trailer for a long-awaited war film partially shot in the UAE. The film, War Machine, features Brad Pitt, Ben Kingsley and Will Poulter among its all-star cast. It was shown during its See What’s Next press preview event in Berlin. The online streaming service also revealed that the US$60 million production will be released on the platform worldwide on May […]
Wednesday 16:30 GMT Overview Wall Street surged to another record as comments from Federal Reserve officials caused traders to boost their bets for an increase in US interest rates this month and investors celebrated a more upbeat tone from Donald Trump in his first address to Congress. In keeping with he risk-on mood that washed across financial markets around the globe, the dollar also rose and gold […]
In the early days of his presidency, Donald Trump has called journalists the “enemy of the American people” (twice), assailed unflattering reporting as “fake news” and brought aboard a press secretary who’s shut news organizations out of a briefing. It’s behavior that has press freedom organizations across the United States worried. So, they’re working together to do something about it. Later this year, a coalition of organizations […]
In investment as in life, what goes unsaid is often more important than what is said. Long-term watchers of the Federal Reserve know to look at every last word of every statement from a Fed governor — which is why a succession of Fed speeches and interviews on Monday and Tuesday were taken as doubling the chances that the central bank raises US interest rates at its […]
VILNIUS German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Wednesday there had hardly been any progress in implementing the Minsk peace agreement for eastern Ukraine, which meant no lifting of sanctions against Russia was in sight. Speaking during a joint news conference with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius, Gabriel also said he opposed any move to return the European Union to being just a single market. EU chief […]
When you’re deep in a video game, the last thing you want to do is leave home. If only you could take the game with you for your commute to work or your bus ride to school, or to liven up your lunch hour. Nintendo’s new Switch console tries to address that by letting you play it anywhere. You simply yank the Switch out of its docking […]
By Ben Stupples The chairman of the EU’s Panama Papers inquiry has slammed the U.K. Treasury’s refusal to meet with investigators, raising concern over Britain’s commitment to the high-level investigation. It was “most disappointing and regrettable that no one at the political level at HM Treasury was able or willing to meet” during the trip to London last week from the European Parliament’s Panama Papers inquiry committee, […]
WASHINGTON The Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Interior Department, Rep. Ryan Zinke of coal producing Montana, as the White House takes steps to boost fossil fuel output from federal lands. The Senate voted 68 to 31, with several Democrats joining Republicans in support of Zinke, an hunter and angler, who supported energy development as a one-term congressman. (Reporting by […]
World number three Stan Wawrinka fell at the first hurdle in the Dubai Open on Tuesday, beaten 7-6(4) 6-3 by 77th-ranked Bosnian Damir Dzumhur. “I was not good enough,” Swiss Wawrinka, playing his first match since losing to Roger Federer in the Australian Open semi-finals, said. “I started well but it was a tough match. It was his day,” the defending Dubai champion added. The 24-year-old Dzumhur, […]
In a new poll from CNN/ORC, more than 75% of Americans reacted positively to Trump’s Tuesday night “Presidential” address to Congress. Among those who watched the speech, 57% said they had a “very positive” response, while another 21% described their reaction as “somewhat positive.” President Donald Trump’s first address to Congress received largely positive reviews from viewers, with 57% who tuned in saying they had a very […]
PARIS President Francois Hollande defended France’s judicial system against allegations of bias made by conservative Francois Fillon whose presidential campaign has been undermined by a deepening investigation into a financial scandal. “As guarantor of the independence of the judicial authorities, I want to speak out against any calling into question of the judges,” Hollande said in a statement. “Being a presidential candidate doesn’t authorise you to cast […]
“Why use Facebook for anything,” I tweeted this week. And I mean it. I see no reason to use the ubiquitous social network. I don’t need it for marketing. I don’t need it to find old relatives. I don’t need to keep up with high school classmates or former crushes. I’m not interested in following the life of someone I’m not hanging out with. If […]
A contract arranged at the top According to the investigators’ notes, Wilson wasn’t pressed further by the labs to detail her work because her contract had been blessed by the labs’ top officials. At the time, Los Alamos was reeling from a $300 million budget cut handed down by the Congress that Wilson had just left, a contracting official told investigators during an interview on Oct. 11, […]
WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump plans to finalize a new order limiting travel to the United States in the coming days, his vice president said on Wednesday, after federal courts blocked the administration’s earlier travel ban. A White House source had previously said the new order was likely to be announced on Wednesday. More than two dozen lawsuits were filed in U.S. courts against the Jan. 27 […]
By Lucia Mutikani | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. consumer spending rose less than expected in January as the largest monthly increase in inflation in four years eroded households’ purchasing power, pointing to moderate economic growth in the first quarter. The surge in inflation raises the possibility of an interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve this month. While still below the U.S. central bank’s 2 percent target, inflation […]
The galaxy needs saving again. Good thing the Guardians are back. Again. Marvel Studios has released the latest trailer for the much-anticipated movie Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. True to its form, the trailer featured action scenes of galactic proportions. There are giant tentacle monsters, swarm of spaceships, a golden villainess, a new cast of misfits (Mantis, Nebula), and lots of explosions. And oh, Star-Lord’s dad. Guardians […]
Big reforms to rules for UK initial public offerings have been proposed by the market regulator to give investors better and earlier information, as the watchdog seeks to keep Britain “open for business” after Brexit. The Financial Conduct Authority said on Wednesday that information about a company planning an IPO should be made available sooner, and to a wider range of analysts and investors. The FCA warned that […]
The US dollar and global bond yields rose on Wednesday as investors focused on expectations that the Federal Reserve wants to raise interest rates this month, in the absence of specific policy details from Donald Trump’s first speech to Congress. The dollar index — a measure of the reserve currency against its main peers — rose 0.5 per cent to its highest level in more than a […]
By Stephen Kalin | MOSUL, Iraq MOSUL, Iraq U.S.-backed Iraqi army units on Wednesday took control of the last major road out of western Mosul that had been in Islamic State’s hands, trapping the militants in a shrinking area within the city, a general and residents said. The army’s 9th Armored Division was within a kilometer of Mosul’s Syria Gate, the city’s northwestern entrance, a general from […]
By Gopal Sharma | KATHMANDU KATHMANDU Nepal has forced 2,500 old vehicles off roads in its capital city of Kathmandu, part of a fight against alarming air pollution levels that have hit nine times World Health Organisation (WHO) limits. Air pollution has been a chronic problem in rapidly growing Kathmandu, which sits in a Himalayan valley and is home to more than three million people. Rising public […]
Embedded in a sweatband, a network of sensors devised by Ali Javey can monitor moment-by-moment changes in electrolytes and metabolites, a potential boon to weekend athletes, diabetics and people exposed to heavy metal concentrations. Credit: Roxanne Makasdjian and Stephen McNally Sweating it out on a treadmill, or racing to finish a half marathon, a runner might risk a potentially dangerous buildup of electrolytes in her blood. In […]
01 March 2017 The global Islamic financial community has recognized the innovative and development impact made by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan’s inaugural local currency Sukuk. At a lavish ceremony on February 28 2017 in Dubai, Jordan emerged as the winner of IFN “Sovereign Deal of the Year 2016” award. In addition to this global award, Jordan was a global runner-up for two award categories: “Ijarah & Sukuk […]
