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Former Argentine dictator Videla dies in prison at age 87
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Jorge Rafael Videla, an austere former army commander who led Argentina during the bloodiest period of a "dirty war" dictatorship and was unrepentant about kidnappings and murders ordered by the state, died on Friday at age 87. Videla was the first president to head the military junta
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Dollar near 10-month peak on Fed remarks; Asian shares mixed
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The dollar held firm near a 10-month high versus a basket of currencies on Friday after a regional Federal Reserve chief said the U.S. central bank may begin to taper its asset buying this summer, while Asian shares were mixed. European stock index futures pointed to a lower
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IRS chief declines to identify employees involved in scandal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The outgoing head of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service angered Republican lawmakers on Friday by resisting their demands that he identify who at the tax-collection agency had inappropriately targeted conservative groups for extra scrutiny. But during the first hearing into a growing IRS scandal that could preoccupy Washington
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ABN AMRO cuts 400 jobs as prepares for eventual sale
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - State-owned Dutch bank ABN AMRO is to cut 400 jobs, about 2 percent of its workforce, as it prepares for an eventual sale. The bank, which on Friday posted first-quarter results hit by bad loans in its home market, said the cuts are part of a reorganisation of
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Pentagon chief vows to ‘fix’ military’s sexual assault problem
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered top military chiefs on Friday to redouble their effort to address the problem of sexual assault, saying the frequency and perceived tolerance of the crime was eroding the military's ability conduct its mission. "We're going to fix this problem," Hagel told a news
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Dow, S&P end at records, stocks mark 4th week of gains
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks continued their climb into uncharted territory on Friday, racking up the fourth week of gains in a row as encouraging economic data prompted investors to pick up shares of growth companies. The Dow and the S&P 500 finished at fresh record highs, driven by gains
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Change looms for Ethiopia’s ancient salt trade
HAMAD-ILE, Ethiopia (Reuters) - Abdu Ibrahim Mohammed was 15 years old when he began trekking with caravans of camels to collect salt in a sun-blasted desert basin of north Ethiopia that is one of the hottest places on earth. Now 51 and retired, he has passed his camels to his son
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Nikkei hits new 5-1/2 year high
TOKYO (Reuters) - The Nikkei share average rose on Friday with investors snapping up reflationary plays such as real estate stocks on the dips - posting a second week of gains supported by the benign effects of a weak yen. Agriculture-related stocks also lifted the market, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's
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Turkey detains prime suspect in car bombings
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish police have detained a man they believe to be one of the main perpetrators of car bombings that killed more than 50 people near the Syrian border, officials said on Friday. Turkey has accused Syria of involvement in the two bombings last weekend in the town of
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China, India to be biggest investors by 2030: report
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The percentage of global investment that goes to developing countries should triple in the next two decades as emerging economies catch up to richer nations and become more integrated into financial markets, the World Bank predicted in a report on Thursday. These nations and their comparatively younger and