WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Booming Middle East purchases of U.S. fighter jets will be a bright spot in what is expected to be a sluggish economy in 2012, possibly paying dividends for President Barack Obama’s bid for a second term. Beneficiaries include Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co, whose respective F-16 and F-15 production lines are being extended by U.S. government sales to Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Oman, among other rich arms deals announced in recent weeks. The foreign sales will [...]
NEW YORK/LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Retailers saw their fair share of last-minute shoppers on Saturday, the day before Christmas, but stores were not super-busy, putting a moderate cap on pre-holiday season that started with a bang and has waned ever since. Industry watchers are forecasting a stronger holiday shopping season than expected, as deep discounts at the start of the season prompted a flurry of purchasing and unusually warm and dry weather has made it easier for people to shop. [...]
CAIRO (Reuters) – Arab states plan to cut commercial ties with Syria’s government and freeze its assets as they step up pressure to end months of political violence in the country, a draft document to be discussed by Arab ministers on Sunday showed. The sanctions would also include a travel ban on senior Syrian officials and a halt to commercial flights to the country, according to the Arab League document seen by Reuters on Saturday. Dealings by Arab states with [...]
TOKYO (Reuters) – Asian shares struggled on Monday, with investors still nervous despite the formation of a new Greek unity government intent on avoiding imminent debt default. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.1 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei stock average (.N225) fell 0.5 percent. U.S. stock index futures opened higher after Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and opposition leader Antonis Samaras agreed on a new coalition government to approve the bailout plan, which requires painful [...]
ATHENS (Reuters) – International lenders told Greece on Monday it must shrink its public sector and improve tax collection to avoid default within weeks as investors spooked by political setbacks in Europe dumped risky euro zone assets. Hours before a telephone conference between the Greek Finance Minister and senior officials of the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, the IMF representative in Greece spelled out steps Athens must take to secure a vital 8 billion euro rescue payment next [...]
Stock futures pointed to sharp falls for equities on Monday after tumbling in the previous session following the resignation of a top official at the European Central Bank, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 down 1.6 to 1.9 percent. The resignation of Juergen Stark from the ECB throws into question policymakers’ ability to deal with Europe’s debt crisis, a problem that could engulf a world economy already teetering on the brink of recession. [...]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Texas Governor Rick Perry, the lead Republican presidential candidate, on Monday tempered earlier comments about Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, but held firm in his opposition to more monetary stimulus from the central bank. Perry, who caused a stir in August when he said “we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas” if Bernanke launched another round of buying government bonds to lower interest rates — known as quantitative easing — rolled back on Monday, criticizing [...]