Obama mulls rental option for homeowners: sources

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:25:39 -0500

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. officials are weighing a plan to let borrowers who have fallen behind on mortgage payments avoid eviction by renting their home instead, sources familiar with the administration's thinking said on Tuesday.

Goldman profit and pay surge in blowout quarter

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:25:38 -0500

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc said quarterly earnings surged 33 percent on blowout trading results, trouncing forecasts and putting the bank on pace for hefty bonuses that could draw unwanted scrutiny.

Sotomayor cool under Republican grilling

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:22:02 -0500

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor fended off Republican attacks on Tuesday, saying "diversity on the bench is good for America" and promising rulings based on law, not racial bias.

Madoff's prison life begins in North Carolina

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:08:51 -0500

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bernard Madoff's prison life began on Tuesday, a long way from the luxury homes, sleek yachts and precious designer watches and clothes he accumulated in the years he ran Wall Street's biggest investment fraud.

House Democrats vow healthcare plan by August

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:32:42 -0500

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama's plans to overhaul the $2.5 trillion healthcare industry got a boost on Tuesday as Democrats in the House of Representatives offered sweeping legislation and predicted passage on schedule by August.

Six die in copter crash, Afghan war toll mounts

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:22:28 -0500

KABUL (Reuters) - Six Ukrainians supplying British troops in Afghanistan were killed in a helicopter crash on Tuesday and two U.S. Marines and an Italian soldier were killed in what could become the bloodiest month in the 8-year-old war.

Khmer Rouge interrogator says "no regrets" about deaths

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:15:49 -0500

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A former interrogator at the Khmer Rouge's notorious S-21 prison on Tuesday expressed no remorse for the deaths of thousands of Cambodians who he said had all committed crimes.

Rudd presses China to release detained Australian

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:26:30 -0500

SYDNEY/BEIJING (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on Tuesday efforts to free an Australian detained in China over claims of spying took precedent over bilateral ties and he was not worried about antagonizing Beijing.

Geithner sees confidence return, supports dollar

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:50:21 -0500

JEDDAH (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday he saw signs of confidence returning to the U.S. financial sector and pledged that the United States would pursue policies that preserve the dollar's value.

Rwanda governor jailed for life for genocide

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:51:47 -0500

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - A U.N. court trying the architects of Rwanda's 1994 genocide jailed a former Kigali governor for life on five counts including ordering the killing of 60 Tutsi boys in a church-run pastoral center.