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Staff ReporterBulls will not be tamed by weak profits
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Despite a mediocre earnings season and signs of an overbought market, Wall Street bulls are likely to remain in control this week. So far in this earnings season, 352 companies in the S&P 500 have reported results, of which only 63 percent have beaten Wall Street estimates. This compares to a beat rate of about 70 percent on average for the past four quarters and would be the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2008.
Central Athens burns as lawmakers weigh austerity
ATHENS (Reuters) - Historic cinemas, cafes, shops and banks were set ablaze in central Athens on Sunday as black-masked protesters fought Greek police outside parliament, while inside lawmakers looked set to defy the rage by endorsing a new EU/IMF austerity deal. State television reported violence spread to the islands of Corfu and Crete, the northern city of Thessaloniki and towns in central Greece. Shops were being looted in the capital in the worst breakdown of order since 2008 when violence gripped Greece for weeks after police shot a 15-year-old schoolboy.
Schaeuble warns Greek promises no longer suffice
BERLIN (Reuters) - Greek promises on austerity measures are no longer good enough because so many vows have been broken and the country that has been a "bottomless pit" has to dramatically change its ways, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said. In a hard-hitting interview with the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, Schaeuble also said it is up to Greece whether the country can stay in the euro zone as part of its efforts to restore its competitiveness.
Sun arrests pile pressure on Murdoch media empire
LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch is under pressure over his Sun tabloid after the arrests of several senior staff in a corruption probe, but whistleblowers inside his media empire may pose more of a threat than the public outrage that forced the closure of its sister paper. Murdoch closed his News of the World weekly after allegations last year it hacked the phone of a murdered schoolgirl prompted a public outcry. Advertisers cancelled contracts and Prime Minister David Cameron set up a inquiry into media practices.
Fed minutes to clarify extent of discord on easing
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A number of top Federal Reserve officials likely saw a need for additional monetary easing at the central bank's meeting last month, although there are few signals the central bank will move soon. Minutes from the Fed's January meeting, which will be released on Wednesday, should offer more insight than usual into where officials stand on the question of whether more bond purchases are warranted to help a still-frail economy.
Airlines urge U.N. deal to avert carbon trade war
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Global airlines called on Sunday for a U.N.-brokered deal to prevent a row over aviation emissions between China and the European Union spilling into a damaging trade war. The call by the head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) comes amid signs that the EU may be willing to soften a unilateral stance that also risks souring efforts to resolve Europe's sovereign debt crisis with Chinese support.
SEC looks into private equity industry practices: WSJ
(Reuters) - The Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an inquiry into how the private equity industry values its investments, how those investments are marketed, and other practices, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. Federal regulators sent letters to numerous private equity firms in December in an "informal inquiry" into the $1.2 trillion industry, which historically has not been a major focus of scrutiny by the SEC, the newspaper said.
Tom Storrs, CEO who helped build Bank of America, dies
(Reuters) - Tom Storrs, who set a small North Carolina bank on the path to becoming one of the largest U.S. financial institutions, died Friday at age 93. Storrs was chairman and chief executive officer of North Carolina National Bank from 1974 to 1983, leading the company through volatile economic times and the first wave of out-of-state acquisitions that eventually led to the creation of today's Bank of America Corp <BAC.N>.
U.S. gasoline price rises to $3.51/gallon: survey
(Reuters) - The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States rose nearly 12 cents in the past three weeks to about $3.51, due in part to higher prices for North Sea crude oil, according to the nationwide Lundberg Survey. The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline rose 11.57 cents to $3.5101 as of February 10, the survey of about 2,500 gasoline stations in the continental United States found.
Wing cracks could cost Airbus 100 million euros: report
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Dealing with the wing cracks found in Airbus A380 superjumbos could cost the European plane maker up to 100 million euros ($132 million), a German magazine reported. Checking and repairing the wings of the 69 aircraft already in service could cost about 70 million euros, weekly Der Spiegel said on Sunday, citing unidentified industry experts and people at Airbus.