Financial reform deal fails, Dodd to move ahead

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:46:42 -0600

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senator Christopher Dodd said on Thursday that he will present on Monday his own version of a financial reform bill after compromise talks with Senate Republicans broke down.

Jobless claims fall, trade gap narrows on oil

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:30:03 -0600

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell only slightly last week, indicating that rapid job growth would probably continue to elude the economy for a while.

Police clash with protesters as Greeks fight cuts

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:03:33 -0600

ATHENS (Reuters) - Police clashed with stone-throwing youths in Athens on Thursday as tens of thousands protested draconian cutbacks aimed at pulling Greece out of a debt crisis shaking the euro zone.

Biden appeals for Mideast peace talks without delay

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:51:39 -0600

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden called on Thursday for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks to start without delay despite Palestinian insistence that Israel first cancel a settlement project condemned by Washington.

Chile aftershock measured at 7.2 magnitude

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:43:14 -0600

SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - A 7.2 magnitude aftershock struck near Chile's capital Santiago on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

BP to pay Devon $7 billion for oil fields

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:39:07 -0600

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - BP will pay $7 billion to Devon Energy for assets that will extend its reach into Brazil and bulk up its position in the Gulf of Mexico, as the world's top oil companies look to acquisitions to refill depleting reserves.

Obama presses China on currency in trade speech

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:30:07 -0600

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama pressed China on Thursday to move to a "more market-oriented exchange rate" in a speech where he laid out a plan to boost U.S. exports in the coming years.

Secularist list ahead in two Iraqi provinces

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:19:18 -0600

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A cross-sectarian, secularist alliance headed by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi is ahead in two Iraqi provinces north of Baghdad, early results from the country's electoral commission showed Thursday.

Big majority wants Wall Street regulation

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:17:19 -0600

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An overwhelming majority of Americans wants Wall Street subjected to tougher regulation in the aftermath of the bank bailout and the bonus scandals that have rocked the U.S. financial sector, according to a Harris poll released on Thursday.

Ukraine's Yanukovich gets close ally as PM

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:48:41 -0600

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's new prime minister, Mykola Azarov, declaring state coffers were empty, promised on Thursday to meet all obligations to the International Monetary Fund and push through a realistic 2010 budget.