Fed should keep paring stimulus even if jobs growth weak: Lockhart
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve should continue to pare its massive bond-buying program even if a key jobs report due out on Friday falls short of expectations, a top Fed official said on Thursday.
Boeing to end pension plans for nonunion employees
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Boeing Co said on Thursday it will end pension plans for 68,000 nonunion employees, including its chief executive, marking the latest step in the company’s shift away from defined-benefit plans.
Privacy groups ask regulators to halt Facebook’s $19 billion WhatsApp deal
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Privacy advocates have asked U.S. regulators to halt Facebook Inc’s $19 billion acquisition of messaging service WhatsApp until there is a clearer understanding of how the company intends to use the personal data of WhatsApp’s…
ECB holds rates, hints at all-or-nothing policy stance
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank left interest rates on hold and unveiled no other measures to bolster a fragile euro zone recovery on Thursday, despite forecasting low inflation for years to come.
Deep discounting eats into Costco’s holiday-quarter profit
(Reuters) – Warehouse retailer Costco Wholesale Corp reported a bigger-than-expected 15 percent fall in quarterly profit as unusually deep discounting in the holiday shopping season hurt margins, sending its shares down as much as 3.6 percent.
Fed may fall ‘behind the curve’ if GDP keeps growing: Plosser
(Reuters) – The Federal Reserve may find its monetary policies quickly becoming overly easy if it sticks to the current pace of reductions to its bond-buying program in the face of a growing U.S. economy, a top Fed official said on Thursday.
China needs to curb risks posed by booming online finance: former ICBC president
BEIJING (Reuters) – China needs to regulate booming online financial services firms to curb the risks they pose to the wider financial sector, the former president of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Yang Kaisheng, said on Thursday.
Apple loses bid for U.S. ban on Samsung smartphone sales
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Thursday rejected Apple’s request for a permanent sales ban in the United States against some older Samsung smartphones, a key setback for the iPhone maker in its global patent battle.
Three-month low in U.S. jobless claims offers hope for labor market
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits hit a three-month low last week, suggesting some strength in a labor market that has been hobbled by severe weather.
Tourism industry emerges from downturn
BERLIN (Reuters) – The outlook for the global travel industry looks brighter for 2014 as European economic recovery and rising consumer confidence are prompting holidaymakers and businesses to loosen their purse strings again.
