Yahoo Inc Chairman Roy Bostock and three other directors will step down as the struggling company ploughs ahead with an internal overhaul, including discussions on dealing with its stakes in China's Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan. The corporation - once a Web powerhouse but now agonizing over a range of options to revive flagging growth - on Tuesday said it appointed former Rovi Corp CEO and International Business Machines Corp veteran Alfred Amoroso and ex-eBay COO Maynard Webb as independent directors. Yahoo's board has come under fire from investors impatient with the company's persistent inability to effect a turnaround, and frustrated with the apparent indecisiveness of stakeholders over ...
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has vowed to fight an "anti-business culture" in Britain, warning that a row overexecutive pay and bonuses threatens the country's fragile economic recovery. "Let me say something about the row over bonuses and pay," Osborne said in a speech to the Federation of Small Businesses. "Of course rewards for failure are unacceptable -- and those who believe in the free market are the first to say so. But a strong, free market economy must be built on rewards for success." The Labour Party has heaped pressure on the ruling coalition to curb excessive pay for top executives, using a House of Commons debate to demand the return ...
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Tuesday he is resolved to settle a longstanding territorial dispute with Russia at an annual rally calling for the return of all four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido in northern Japan, the Kyodo news agency reported. "We'll continue to make steady and determined efforts to move ahead with negotiations," Noda said, stressing the need to sign a peace treaty with Russia. The four islands - which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan calls the Northern Territories - has been the subject of a territorial dispute between the two nations since the end of World War ...
Amanda Knox's Italian lawyer has filed an appeal of her slander conviction in Italy, a Knox family spokesman inSeattle said Monday. In October, an Italian appeals court overturned the young Seattle woman's murder conviction in the 2007 death of her British roommate in Perugia. But the same court upheld Knox's conviction for slander — for falsely accusing bar owner Diya "Patrick" Lumumba of involvement in the slaying. Lumumba was freed after two weeks in prison for lack of evidence. Knox later said she was "manipulated" during her lengthy police interrogation. An appeal of the slander conviction was filed Monday, Knox family spokesman Dave Marriott confirmed. He doesn't know when the Italian ...
The Dutch railway will remain 'vulnerable' during wintry weather but Dutch Rail (NS) and track operator ProRail did not help matters during the current cold snap by the late introduction of schedule adjustments to cope with the conditions, transport minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen told parliament in a briefing on Tuesday. The NS and ProRail assumed on Thursday of last week that there would be three to five centimetres of snow. When the forecast was increased on Friday morning to between 10 and 15 centimetres, it was too late to change the timetables automatically, Schultz van Haegen told parliament. Drivers and conductors ...
Greece can leave the eurozone without damaging monetary union, European digital affairs commissioner Neelie Kroes says in an interview with the Volkskrant on Tuesday. Kroes, a member of the Dutch ruling right-wing Liberal party VVD, is not a supporter of Greece exchanging the euro for the drachma, but says: 'It is absolutely not a case of man overboard if someone leaves the eurozone.' The commissioner is very critical of the new Greek government and says they are not fulfilling their promises. 'Too few spending cuts, too little restructuring,' she says. She says the Greeks should follow the example of Italy where the new ...
Mitt Romney hopes his presidential campaign hasn't ignored Rick Santorum's aggressive attacks for too long, as caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota on Tuesday could reshuffle the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Santorum largely bypassed Florida and Nevada to blanket the two caucus states with criticism of Romney and lay the groundwork among conservatives who have great sway in the process. RivalNewt Gingrich praised Santorum's strategy as shrewd even as he signaled he had no interest in exiting the four-way race, which also includes Ron Paul. "I think that Santorum's going to have a pretty good day," Gingrich told reporters on the eve of the caucuses. "He targeted differently than I ...
Glencore and Xstrata agreed an all-share merger worth $90 billion (56 billion pounds) on Tuesday in the industry's largest ever deal, creating a commodities powerhouse spanning mining, agriculture and trading. Glencore, the world's largest diversified commodities tradinghouse, will issue 2.8 new shares for each Xstrata share in a deal they said was a "merger of equals." The ratio is a 15.2 percent premium to Xstrata shareholders compared with its share price last Wednesday before word leaked out about the merger talks, a joint statement said. "A merger between Glencore and Xstrata offers a unique opportunity to create a new business model in our industry to respond to ...
US White House hopeful Mitt Romney aims for another big caucus win in Colorado on Tuesday, as his well-oiled campaign machine works to cement his position as the Republican front runner in the US presidential race. Polls suggest he should triumph easily in the western US state -- where he scored 60 percent in 2008 -- although there is a tighter race in Minnesota, where last-placed Rick Santorum is hoping to snatch a win. Romney's main rival, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, is battling to stay in the race after two heavy losses in a row to the former Massachusetts governor, who ...
As President Christian Wulff remains mired in allegations of impropriety, anti-corruption group Transparency International (TI) has called for politicians to use the case as a chance to open up German politics. “We are very concerned that people seem to be starting to think that all politicians behave like Wulff, and that would be fatal,” Christian Humborg, TI Germany’s managing director told The Local. “I think the Wulff affair is a wonderful opportunity for German politicians to react to the cynical attitude that this is normal, and improve things,” he said. He said the fact that the authorities were investigating whether Wulff and his ...
Katie Holmes sued the publishers of Star Magazine on Tuesday, accusing them of libel over a magazine cover that insinuated she was a drug addict. The actress filed the lawsuit against American Media Inc. in federal court in Los Angeles. She said a January cover that featured the headline “Katie DRUG SHOCKER!” was false and not supported by the actual story in the magazine. The cover featured a disheveled picture of Holmes, and... [more]
Spain is getting a boost to its hugely important tourist industry as northern European sunseekers shun popular resorts in Egypt and Tunisia because of anti-government uprisings there. The country has struggled in recent years to compete with beach destinations in Egypt’s Red Sea and Tunisia’s Mediterranean coast which are cheaper and of a similar flying distance from its key markets like Germany and Britain. But since the unrest... [more]
Lithuanians voted Sunday in municipal elections, a key test for the Baltic state’s centre-right government after a deep economic slump. Conservative Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius — who won the 2008 general election just as Lithuania slid into economic crisis — has overseen a biting austerity drive and is expected to face a backlash. “Taking into account the unfavourable situation at the national level, the loss... [more]
The ex-husband of actress Sandra Bullock who admitted infidelities caused the collapse of their marriage has signed a deal to pen a memoir, Simon & Schuster’s Gallery Books imprint said on Tuesday. Jesse James, 41, has signed a deal for a tell-all book tentatively titled “American Outlaw,” that will be released later this year. A spokeswoman for Gallery Books would not comment on what the deal was worth. James was vilified... [more]
Gwen Stefani proved it is possible to mix a music career with fashion design, as she took her Autumn 2011 L.A.M.B. collection to New York. The No Doubt singer, who is married to British singer Gavin Rossdale, said she wanted to show a variety of styles during the Mercedes-Benz fashion week. “We divided the collection up into six different categories and had the whole thing be almost like six different little fashion shows. “We... [more]
A Group of 20 meeting on Saturday has a “good chance” of breaking a deadlock over which indicators to use to measure global economic imbalances, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said. Schaeuble also said Germany was backing French proposals to work on increasing transparency in commodity markets and for implementing a financial transaction tax — something they will put again to the group of leading economic powers. “I... [more]
Greece’s top bank NBG on Friday announced a merger proposal with Alpha Bank aiming to build the country’s largest, best capitalised lender, and support the recovery of the beleaguered Greek economy. The announcement on the two leading lenders, which have a total of some 1,000 branches in Greece, pushed up the Athens stock exchange index by 3.16 percent as the finance minister welcomed the move. “The government has repeatedly... [more]
China rejected plans to use real exchange rates and currency reserves to measures global economic imbalances, casting doubt on the ability of Group of 20 major economic powers to reach agreement at a meeting on Friday. Speaking shortly before the start of the two-day meeting of finance ministers and central bankers, Chinese Finance Minister Xie Xuren also said the G20 should use trade figures rather than current account balances to assess... [more]
EU antitrust regulators are keeping tabs on a new media subscription service by Apple Inc. because of concerns voiced by publishers, a European Commission spokeswoman said on Friday. An official investigation appears unlikely, however, as commissioners believe rivalry in the field is increasing, according to their comments to EU legislators. Apple on Tuesday rolled out a subscription service for magazines, newspapers, videos and music which... [more]
Liverpool FC’s former co-owner, Texan Tom Hicks, has been told he is still blocked from pursuing massive damages claims in the US over the sale of the club. Mr Hicks believes he was the victim of an “epic swindle” when Liverpool was sold against his wishes to New England Sports Ventures (NESV) for £300m. He and his former partner George Gillett have been seeking to make a claim against their creditor RBS following the... [more]
