> International > North America > USA
*TOP NEWS* Front Page
Reuters: [2008-05-07 00:02:00]
For multimedia versions of Reuters Top News visit: * 3000 Xtra: visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com * ReutersStation: view story .134 * Reuters Plus: from your WebDSS screen For more information on Top News, visit http://topnews.reuters.com ............................................................... TOP STORIES > Cisco quarterly results top expectations [nN06305666] > Disney beats Wall Street, movies, parks strong [nN06510312] > Wall St climbs with Fannie and oil; Disney up late[nN06517974] > Fannie Mae posts loss,to cut payout, raise capital[nN06456763] > Myanmar cyclone toll climbs to nearly 22,500 [nSP228208] > Sprint, Clearwire to announce $12 bln JV - source [nN06361536] > Obama, Clinton face new tests in White House duel [nN05551382] > Oil rockets to record $122 on dollar, supply worry[nSIN170894] > UBS axes 5,500 jobs as it sells down subprime [nL06197658] > U.S. factory growth seen "marginal" in 2008 - ISM [nN06486408] > Legg Mason posts first-ever loss, disappoints [nN05415513] > MGM Mirage profit falls 30 pct as economy slides [nN06318528] ................................................................ For latest top breaking news across all markets [NEWS] For top economic analyses [TOP/INSI] ................................................................ TOP NEWS SUMMARIES ON OTHER SUBJECTS | Politics & General [TOP/G]| Global economy [TOP/MACRO] | | U.S. Companies [TOP/EQU]| European Companies [TOP/EQE] | | Asian companies [TOP/EQA]| Banking/Financials [TOP/FIN] | | Forex [TOP/FRX]| FX News <FXNEWS> | | Fixed Income [TOP/DBT]| Credit [TOP/CREDIT] | | Commods & Energy [TOP/CE]| Corporate Finance [TOP/DEALS] | | Fund Management [TOP/FUND]| Financial analyses [TOP/INSI] | | Features/Must reads[TOP/FEA]| Sports [TOP/SPO] | ................................................................ Access to some items may depend on subscription level. ................................................................ UP-TO-THE-MINUTE HEADLINES Company results [RES] Economic indicators [ECI] Mergers & acquisitions [MRG] Interest rates [INT] LIVE PRICES & DATA World Stocks <0#.INDEX> Currency rates <EFX=><NFX=> Dow Jones/NASDAQ <.DJI><.IXIC> Nikkei <.N225> FTSE 100 <.FTSE> Debt <0#USBMK=><EURIBOR> HOW TO FIND INFORMATION YOU NEED |<REUTERS> | <NEWS> | <PHONE/HELP> | |<EQUITY> | <BONDS>| <MONEY> | <COMMODITY> | <ENERGY> | ................................................................ Page Editor: Paul Grant, World Desk, Americas, +1-202-789-8015 ................................................................
UPDATE 2-UN food aid funds growing, but needs growing too
Reuters: [2008-05-06 23:56:00]
(Recasts, adds additional needs, U.S. funding; adds byline)
By Missy Ryan
WASHINGTON, May 6 (Reuters) - The World Food Program, facing an unprecedented surge in the price of food it buys for the world's hungry, has secured about 60 percent of the extra funds it needs to cover planned aid donations this year, the head of the United Nations agency said on Tuesday.
"We put out an extra appeal for $755 million and we're about 60 percent of the way there," WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran said during a speech at a Washington think tank.
But the agency said it already has had to cut some of the food rations it provides, and its $755-million gap does not include new, emerging hunger needs that will require an additional $418 million to $430 million this year.
Sheeran, a former Bush administration official, said the world's food delivery system was "groaning under the strain of sky-rocketing demand, the soaring cost of inputs, depleted stocks, crop loss due to drought, floods and severe weather."
Higher global prices for basic foodstuffs such as bread, rice and milk may have brought on a crisis that could be the first truly globalized humanitarian emergency, she said.
World leaders are calling for urgent steps to ease the soaring costs, to create a larger cushion of food across harvests, and to diffuse the food panic that has triggered protests across the developing world.
"It is said that a hungry man is an angry man," Sheeran said. Global food prices jumped an annual 43 percent through March, according to the U.S. government.
The trend is believed to be deepening poverty, especially for food-importing nations like Nicaragua, pushing more people into hunger as buying power shrinks for food aid budgets.
Donor nations like Canada, Australia and Britain have stepped up pledges to help WFP cope with soaring costs. The United States, the world's largest food aid donor and WFP's top supporter, last month released 260,000 tonnes of wheat from an emergency crop trust.
Last week, President George W. Bush announced plans, which must be approved by Congress, to spend an additional $770 million on food aid and agriculture development in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.
For countries where people spend up to three-quarters of their income on food, experts say time is of the essence.
The Bush administration already has requested $350 million in last-minute food aid funding for this fiscal year, a perennial addition to annual budgeted funds.
On Tuesday, Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives announced that they would try to add another $500 million for emergency food aid.
Rep. David Obey of Wisconsin, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said the money would be attached to a massive Iraq war funding bill that could be debated on the House floor on Thursday.
It was unclear if Bush would veto the spending bill if it contained too much spending that he did not call for.
The Bush administration also is seeking flexibility to buy more food overseas for aid programs, in hopes of making aid dollars go further. (Additional reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by David Gregorio)
((missy.ryan@thomsonreuters.com; + 202-898-8376; Reuters Messaging: missy.ryan.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: USA FOODAID/WFP
*TOP NEWS* Front Page
Reuters: [2008-05-06 23:55:00]
For multimedia versions of Reuters Top News visit: * 3000 Xtra: visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com * ReutersStation: view story .134 * Reuters Plus: from your WebDSS screen For more information on Top News, visit http://topnews.reuters.com ............................................................... TOP STORIES > Cisco quarterly results top expectations [nN06305666] > Disney beats Wall Street, movies, parks strong [nN06510312] > Wall St climbs with Fannie and oil; Disney up late[nN06517974] > Fannie Mae posts loss,to cut payout, raise capital[nN06456763] > Myanmar cyclone toll climbs to nearly 22,500 [nSP228208] > Sprint, Clearwire to announce $12 bln JV - source [nN06361536] > Obama, Clinton face new tests in White House duel [nN05551382] > Oil rockets to record $122 on dollar, supply worry[nSIN170894] > UBS axes 5,500 jobs as it sells down subprime [nL06197658] > U.S. factory growth seen "marginal" in 2008 - ISM [nN06486408] > Legg Mason posts first-ever loss, disappoints [nN05415513] > MGM Mirage profit falls 30 pct as economy slides [nN06318528] ................................................................ For latest top breaking news across all markets [NEWS] For top economic analyses [TOP/INSI] ................................................................ TOP NEWS SUMMARIES ON OTHER SUBJECTS | Politics & General [TOP/G]| Global economy [TOP/MACRO] | | U.S. Companies [TOP/EQU]| European Companies [TOP/EQE] | | Asian companies [TOP/EQA]| Banking/Financials [TOP/FIN] | | Forex [TOP/FRX]| FX News <FXNEWS> | | Fixed Income [TOP/DBT]| Credit [TOP/CREDIT] | | Commods & Energy [TOP/CE]| Corporate Finance [TOP/DEALS] | | Fund Management [TOP/FUND]| Financial analyses [TOP/INSI] | | Features/Must reads[TOP/FEA]| Sports [TOP/SPO] | ................................................................ Access to some items may depend on subscription level. ................................................................ UP-TO-THE-MINUTE HEADLINES Company results [RES] Economic indicators [ECI] Mergers & acquisitions [MRG] Interest rates [INT] LIVE PRICES & DATA World Stocks <0#.INDEX> Currency rates <EFX=><NFX=> Dow Jones/NASDAQ <.DJI><.IXIC> Nikkei <.N225> FTSE 100 <.FTSE> Debt <0#USBMK=><EURIBOR> HOW TO FIND INFORMATION YOU NEED |<REUTERS> | <NEWS> | <PHONE/HELP> | |<EQUITY> | <BONDS>| <MONEY> | <COMMODITY> | <ENERGY> | ................................................................ Page Editor: Paul Grant, World Desk, Americas, +1-202-789-8015 ................................................................
Calls mount for Ohio attorney general to resign
Reuters: [2008-05-06 23:55:00]
CHICAGO, May 6 (Reuters) - Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann, who has been investigating companies involved with subprime mortgages, was under mounting pressure on Tuesday to resign or face possible impeachment in the wake of a sexual harassment probe in the attorney general's office.
Dann released an e-mail on Monday that he sent to his staff saying he intended to stay in office. On Friday, he announced the firing or resignation of three staffers in his office and said he had had a relationship with another staff member.
On Tuesday, the Democrat minority in the House was looking into procedural issues for impeachment, according to Phil Saken, communications director for House Democrats. He said it has been 188 years since Ohio tried to impeach a state official.
"The information we have leads to the conclusion it would be extremely difficult if not impossible for him to continue on as attorney general," Saken said.
Calls for Dann's resignation have come from fellow Democrats, such as Gov. Ted Strickland and State Treasurer Richard Cordray, as well as Republicans, including the heads of the Ohio House and Senate.
In January, Dann filed a lawsuit on behalf of a state pension fund against Freddie Mac <FRE.N>, accusing the mortgage finance company of securities fraud for failing to disclose risks from its subprime mortgage-related investments.
Dann's office has also sent civil investigative subpoenas to a number of subprime mortgage companies as part of a probe of possible anti-trust and civil rights law violations, and violations of Ohio's consumer sales practices. His office has declined to name the companies.
Ohio has been hit hard by the subprime-mortgage crisis, ranking eighth among states in foreclosure rates in the first quarter of 2008, according to RealtyTrac. (Reporting by Karen Pierog; Editing by Toni Reinhold) ((karen.pierog@thomsonreuters.com; +1-312-408-8647; Reuters Messaging: karen.pierog.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: OHIO ATTORNEYGENERAL/IMPEACHMENT
US STOCKS-Wall St climbs with Fannie and oil; Disney up late
Reuters: [2008-05-06 23:53:00]
(Updates close with volume and advance/decline figures)
By Ellis Mnyandu
NEW YORK, May 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as Fannie Mae's <FNM.N> reassuring comments about the credit and housing markets buoyed financial shares, while record crude oil prices lifted shares of energy companies.
Speculation that Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> could resume takeover talks with Yahoo Inc <YHOO.O> fed a rebound in technology shares. Yahoo gained 5.5 percent, while Microsoft rose 2.1 percent, leading the S&P 500's advance.
After an early retreat, the session turned positive when top executives of Fannie Mae, the largest U.S. home finance company, said the worst of the credit market turmoil erupting from the real estate slowdown may have passed. That mitigated earlier concern about its huge quarterly loss, and propelled a broad rally in financial stocks.
Fannie Mae climbed almost 9 percent, and smaller rival Freddie Mac <FRE.N> gained 7.1 percent.
Oil struck above $122 a barrel for the first time, carrying energy shares higher with it and outweighing a retreat in sectors sensitive to high fuel costs, such as airlines and retailers.
"When I came to work today, we thought Fannie Mae's stock will be trading south of $25, but somehow the investing public got news that they had a pretty positive conference call," said Angel Mata, managing director of listed equity trading at Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets in Baltimore, Maryland.
"There's a lot of people that are eyeing the financials right now, so if you're going to play the financials, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have to be among them."
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> finished up 51.29 points, or 0.40 percent, at 13,020.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> ended up 10.77 points, or 0.77 percent, at 1,418.26. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> closed up 19.19 points, or 0.78 percent, at 2,483.31.
Immediately after the closing bell, there was more encouraging news that could help stocks extend their advance. Walt Disney Co <DIS.N> posted a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit, sending its shares up more than 3 percent in after-hours trade from their close at $33.73 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Disney, one of the world's largest media companies and owner of the ABC television network, ESPN all-sports cable TV network and Disney theme parks in Florida and southern California, is seen as a bellwether of consumer spending.
Cisco Systems Inc's <CSCO.O> shares jumped more than 2 percent after the bell from their Nasdaq close of $26.33 as the network equipment maker also posted a profit that topped estimates.
In the regular session, Fannie Mae shares finished at $30.81, while Freddie Mac shares closed at $27.33. Other financial standouts were insurer American International Group Inc <AIG.N>, which rose 2.1 percent to $48.40, and JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N>, the No. 3 U.S. bank, whose stock added 0.4 percent to $48.20.
The optimism from Fannie Mae's comments also contributed to a rise in the shares of home builders, with the Dow Jones home construction index <.DJUSHB> up 2 percent for the day.
Shares of D.R. Horton Inc <DHI.N>, the largest U.S. home builder, jumped 5.5 percent to $16.85 even as the company posted a quarterly loss of $1.3 billion and halved its dividend. For details, see [ID:nN06454667]
Energy shares rose after U.S. crude oil hit a record above $122 a barrel. A stronger-than-expected profit from independent oil and gas company Anadarko Petroleum Corp <APC.N> also buoyed the energy sector.
Exxon Mobil shares rose 0.6 percent to $90.07, while ConocoPhillips <COP.N> climbed 1.8 percent to $88.74 and Chevron Corp's <CVX.N> shares gained 1.3 percent to $96.87, while Anadarko shares climbed 9.4 percent to $74.53.
Shares of oil services company Schlumberger Ltd <SLB.N> jumped 2 percent to $103.58. The oil index <.OIX> shot up 3.3 percent.
Investment bank Goldman Sachs <GS.N> said in a research note that the price of oil could shoot up to $200 a barrel within the next two years as part of a "super-spike" driven by poor growth in oil supplies.
"Energy prices are going to stay high until -- a) we get some production on line, which there's none that I know of -- or b) until we have a serious recession," said Sasha Kostadinov, portfolio manager at Shaker Investments in Cleveland, Ohio.
Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> and Yahoo Inc <YHOO.O> were both among the Nasdaq's top five advancers as speculation continued that pressure from Yahoo's shareholders would revive takeover talks. Shares of Microsoft, which abandoned its bid for Yahoo at the weekend, ended at $29.70, while Yahoo closed at $25.72.
But higher energy costs threatened to crimp consumer spending. Wal-Mart Stores Inc <WMT.N>, the world's biggest retailer, was the top drag on the Dow. Wal-Mart's stock fell1.1 percent to $56.35.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, June crude <CLM8> settled at $121.84 a barrel, up $1.87, or a gain of 1.56 percent for the session. Earlier, NYMEX June crude climbed as high as a record $122.73 a barrel, which eclipsed Monday's intraday record of $120.36.
Compared with a year ago, U.S. crude oil futures prices are up $59.91 a barrel -- or almost 97 percent.
Volume on the New York Stock Exchange was modest, with about 1.23 billion shares changing hands, below last year's estimated daily average of 1.90 billion. On the Nasdaq, about 2.21 billion shares traded, above last year's daily average of 2.17 billion.
Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a ratio of almost 2 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, about three stocks rose for every two that fell. (Editing by Jan Paschal) ((Ellis.Mnyandu@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6085; Reuters Messaging:ellis.mnyandu.reuters.com@reuters.net)) ((Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra: visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com * BridgeStation: view story .134 For more information on Top News: http://topnews.reuters.com)) Keywords: MARKETS STOCKS
Next: UPDATE 6-Tennis-Rome Masters men's singles results