Court halts lawsuits vs. IBM, Daimler, Ford for apartheid crimes
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that three major companies cannot be held liable in the United States for crimes South Africa’s former apartheid government committed, saying a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision “plainly …
Ottawa watching BlackBerry carefully, wishes firm well
OTTAWA (Reuters) – The Canadian government is watching smartphone maker BlackBerry Ltd carefully as it explores options including sale of the company but will not comment on its affairs, Industry Minister James Moore said on Wednesday.
Disney’s ABC TV unit to lay off two percent of staff: source
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co’s ABC television unit on Wednesday will begin laying off about 175 people, or 2 percent of its workforce, to adjust to changes in technology and viewing habits, a person familiar with the decision said.
Ackman acknowledges retail blunders, digs in on Herbalife
BOSTON (Reuters) – Activist investor William Ackman admitted he made mistakes in bets on retailers, including J.C. Penney where he has lost hundreds of millions of dollars, but is sticking by a wager against Herbalife, where he faces big paper losses.
Fed mulling new reverse repos to reduce liquidity: FOMC minutes
(Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve is considering a new tool to help it drain cash from the banking system and keep short-term interest rates at their targeted level when it decides to shift away from its current ultra-loose monetary policy, minutes …
Analysis: Dollar’s weak trajectory seen holding for now
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The dollar’s perplexing summertime slump could prove tricky to reverse in the near term, given surprising signs of recovery in Europe and nagging questions about the timeline for the end of the Federal Reserve’s stimulus.
Lowe’s narrows sales gap with Home Depot
(Reuters) – Lowe’s Cos Inc reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results as the housing market’s recovery encouraged Americans to spend more on their homes, and the No. 2 home improvement chain narrowed its sales gap against rival Home Depot Inc .
Former Grant Thornton partner pleads guilty to stealing $4 million
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A former partner at Grant Thornton pleaded guilty on Wednesday to stealing nearly $4 million in client payments to the global accounting firm.
U.S. July existing home sales jump to three-year high
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. home resales jumped in July to their highest level in over three years, suggesting a sharp increase in borrowing costs is having only a limited impact on the housing market’s recovery.
ECB and Germany play down talk of third Greek bailout
ATHENS (Reuters) – The European Central Bank joined Germany on Wednesday in playing down talk of a third bailout package for Greece, but reaffirmed the euro zone would help the country trim debt as long as it stuck to its latest aid program.
