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 ...
Brazilian striker Ronaldo, the all-time leading scorer at World Cup tournaments and three-time Fifa World Player of the Year, is to retire at the age of 34. Ronaldo said he can no longer keep up with the demands of the game ending a brilliant 18-year career in which he scored more than 400 goals including a record 15 at World Cups. “I want to stay but I can’t. I think of a move, but I can’t perform it as I want to. It’s... [more]
Egypt’s military says it will not act as a substitute for a “legitimate” government after President Hosni Mubarak resigned and transferred his power to the armed forces. A military spokesman, in a brief televised statement, said the armed forces would later announce measures and arrangements to introduce the changes Egyptians want. He also praised Mubarak for his contribution to the nation. Fireworks burst over Tahrir... [more]
Hosni Mubarak has stepped down as president of Egypt, prompting scenes of elation in in central Cairo. Roars of joy erupted from tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Cairo as the announcement was made by the leader’s deputy, Omar Suleiman, in a televised address. Mr Mubarak has handed over control to army chiefs, vice-president Suleiman said in a brief speech. The embattled leader’s 30-year reign ended following more than... [more]
Bundesbank boss Axel Weber pulled out of pole position in the race to become the next European Central Bank chief on Friday, dashing Berlin’s hopes of having a German in the post for the first time. After days of speculation, Axel Weber told Chancellor Angela Merkel in a meeting in Berlin that he would quit the German central bank on April 30 “for personal reasons,” the government said. “A successor will be named... [more]
The European Central Bank unveiled Thursday analysts’ forecasts for eurozone inflation and growth rates which suggest its own predictions could be revised upwards. The ECB is to release quarterly forecasts by its own staff next month and the new figures — a survey of professional forecasts — suggest the next set of its data might move upwards. The central bank’s survey of professional forecasters (SPF) for the first... [more]
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev is celebrating his 80th birthday next month with a gala charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall. In a rare interview, Russia’s elder statesman remains passionate about his country which, he believes, is heading in a direction increasingly at odds with his ideals. Speaking to Sky News, Mr Gorbachev says he does not think Vladimir Putin will run for a third term as president, despite the widespread... [more]
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Thursday introduced contentious legislation for a one-off tax to help pay for devastating floods which killed 35 people and swamped thousands of homes. The flood levy, to apply to middle and higher income earners, is expected to raise some Aus$1.8 billion of the Aus$5.6 billion needed for reconstruction after record deluges engulfed vast parts of mining and farming state Queensland. Roads, railways... [more]
Police said they recovered four paintings by 19th-century born French artists that had been stolen from an Argentine collector in 1999. The paintings are “La maison de Yerres” by Claude Monet (1840-1926), “Nu dans un atelier d’ami” by Albert Marquet (1875-1947), “Gelee blanche en Ile de France” by Jean-Baptiste Guillaumin (1841-1927), and “Antibes les fortifications,” by Eugene Boudin... [more]
No sex here please! As Belgium hits eight months without a government this week, a boycott on sex is being suggested as a way out of the nation’s longest political impasse. “When a situation’s dire and nothing’s moving, either you become a cynic or you react with humour,” said Marleen Temmerman, the Belgian senator and gynaecologist who threw up the notion. Speaking in her Ghent office, Temmerman said her call... [more]
Google Inc and Facebook Inc, plus others, have held low level takeover talks with Twitter that give the Internet sensation a value as high as $10 billion (6 billion pounds), the Wall Street Journal reported. In December, Twitter raised $200 million in financing in a deal that valued it at $3.7 billion. The company, which allows users to broadcast 140-character messages to groups of followers, had 175 million users as of September. The Wall... [more]
