Friday, May 31, 2013
CA-BUSINESS Summary
Soft data, commodity prices take TSX to 1-week low
TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada‘s main stock index slipped on Friday as lower commodity prices triggered a slump in shares of natural resource companies and weak economic data out of Europe and the United States dampened investor sentiment. While almost every major sector declined, the index still looked on track for a gain in May, reversing losses in the previous two months.
Canada GDP jumps to 2.5 percent growth in first quarter on exports
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Rising exports helped rouse the Canadian economy from a sluggish second half of 2012 to grow at an annualized rate of 2.5 percent in the first quarter of this year, the fastest pace in six quarters, Statistics Canada reported on Friday. The real growth rate was well above the Bank of Canada’s forecast in April of 1.5 percent, topped the median projection of 2.3 percent in a Reuters survey and outpaced U.S. growth of 2.4 percent for the quarter. Statscan also revised up fourth-quarter growth to 0.9 percent from 0.6 percent.
China Inc’s Smithfield bid expected to pass Washington test
(Reuters) – Washington may still be digesting news of China Inc’s latest bold move into America with the nearly $ 5 billion takeover of Smithfield Foods Inc , but early indications are the deal will not inflame enough nationalistic opposition to kill it, and success could pave the way for more Chinese purchases. Shuanghui International Holdings‘ agreement to buy Smithfield would be the largest ever acquisition of a U.S. company by a Chinese one. The bid – an effort to feed a growing Chinese appetite for U.S. pork – has stirred some concern among U.S. politicians and will face review by a Treasury committee.
Exclusive: Bain, Advent cancel sale of WorldPay‘s U.S. unit
NEW YORK (Reuters) – WorldPay’s private equity owners, Bain Capital LLC and Advent International Corp, have canceled the auction of the payment processing firm’s U.S. unit, WorldPay told Reuters on Friday. No potential buyer was willing to meet Bain’s and Advent’s price expectations of $ 800 million to $ 1 billion, sources familiar with the matter said.
Ireland rejects U.S. senator claims as tax spat rumbles on
DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ireland has rejected claims by two U.S. senators that Ireland is a tax haven and had handed Apple Inc a special tax deal, a charge the pair stood by on Friday. Ireland’s ambassador to the United States Michael Collins has written to the two senators, Carl Levin and John McCain, arguing Ireland’s tax system is transparent, according to the text released by the finance ministry.
Unlocked engine covers caused BA emergency landing: regulator
LONDON (Reuters) – British air safety regulators ordered Airbus to notify operators of its A320 jets to make specific safety checks after finding unlocked engine covers had forced a jet to make an emergency landing at London’s Heathrow airport last week. An Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report published on Friday said two coverings or cowls on the Airbus A319′s engines were left unlatched after maintenance and this was not noticed before the aircraft departed.
New Scotiabank CEO says to drive international growth
TORONTO (Reuters) – Brian Porter, who will take over as Bank of Nova Scotia’s chief executive in November, said on Friday he plans to continue the bank’s growth in Latin America and Asia, while looking for opportunities to boost its Canadian credit card business. “We’ve got a number of strategic initiatives in Canada … and we’ll look at acquisitions selectively as they come about,” he told Reuters, shortly after being announced on Friday as the replacement for current CEO Rick Waugh.
EU trade chief to protect cultural subsidies in U.S. trade talks
MADRID (Reuters) – Europe will protect its cultural subsidies in a proposed free-trade pact with the United States, the EU trade chief said on Friday. But he called on EU states to allow the inclusion of the movie, television and music industries in negotiations.
Louis Vuitton owner faces maximum fine in luxury row
PARIS (Reuters) – A battle between French luxury handbag makers spilled out into the public eye on Friday with market regulators seeking the maximum fine for Louis Vuitton owner LVMH for failing to disclose moves to build a stake in rival Hermes . The row centers around deals, first disclosed in late 2010, by LVMH owner and France’s wealthiest man Bernard Arnault that have left the firm with a roughly one fifth stake in its biggest rival, the producer of the iconic Kelly and Birkin handbags.
Boeing to open design and support sites away from Seattle
SEATTLE (Reuters) – Boeing Co on Friday began a major move to spread its commercial aircraft engineering talent and aircraft support staff around the U.S., announcing plans for engineering design and airplane-support centers outside of the Seattle area. The Chicago-based company said it will establish engineering design centers in Washington state, South Carolina and Southern California. The centers will compete with each other for work based on their ability to supply skills at the lowest cost, spokesman Doug Alder said.
CA-BUSINESS Summary
Four Years After Murder of Dr. George Tiller, His Wichita Abortion Clinic Reopens Despite Threats
Today marks the fourth anniversary of the murder of Dr. George Tiller, a 67-year-old abortion provider who was shot point blank in the forehead as he attended church services in Wichita, Kansas. Tiller’s clinic was one of a handful in the nation that performed abortions after the 24th week of pregnancy. He faced constant threats and incidents of violence and vandalism in the decades leading up to his death. The man who assassinated him, anti-choice extremist Scott Roeder, is serving a life sentence and was recently reprimanded in prison for making intimidating remarks against other abortion providers. The four years since Tiller was murdered have seen a wave of new abortion restrictions. Eight states now ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Meanwhile, clinics across the country have been threatened by laws aimed at shutting them down. After working with Tiller for eight years, our guest Julie Burkhart joins us from South Wind Women’s Center, the newly reopened abortion clinic where Tiller worked. She is director and founder of the Trust Women Foundation. “We have had approximately 200 patient visits in just the two short months that we’ve been open. We are just so happy to be back in this community,” Burkhart says. On threats made against the clinic and her life she says, “These threats are definitely to be taken seriously and they are chilling. However, women still need abortion care. … I don’t think that the rights of women in this part of the country should be curtailed just because we have extremists.”
Democracy Now!
Four Years After Murder of Dr. George Tiller, His Wichita Abortion Clinic Reopens Despite Threats
Terrorists driven by low self-esteem, Florida high schoolers told
Joshua Rhett Miller
foxnews.com
May 31, 2013
It’s low self-esteem and the need for a “sense of belonging” that drives terrorists to join groups that kill in the name of religion, according to an online lesson plan for Florida high school students.
The world history course on “Invisible Warfare” — offered by the Florida Virtual School, the nation’s first statewide Internet-based public high school — begins by asking students “what comes to mind” when considering the concept of fundamentalism and then prompts them to think of the term in a religious context. It later defines terrorism as the act of using fear or violence to accomplish certain political or religious goals.
“Common traits that psychologists have found in terrorists are that they are often risk-takers and many suffer from low self-esteem,” according to the lesson plan, which was obtained by FoxNews.com. “Sometimes joining a terrorist group provides these individuals with a sense of belonging.”
This article was posted: Friday, May 31, 2013 at 12:06 pm
Tags: terrorism
Terrorists driven by low self-esteem, Florida high schoolers told
Justice Department Says Use of Husband and Wife is Considered Hate Speech
GiGi Erneta
Infowars.com
May 31, 2013
Given the Department of Justice’s current track record – the IRS Scandal, Fast and Furious, subpoenaing the press, and other law bending activities – it is not surprising that it would reach inside its own organization and blatantly overstep the First Amendment rights of employees.