NEW YORK (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell expects "years and years" of production from oil and natural gas acreage it recently bough t from Chesapeake Energy Corp and plans to add more drilling rigs, the head of Shell's Americas operations said on Thursday. Shell paid $1.94 billion last September for 618,000 acres in the Permian Basin, a vast source of oil and natural gas in the western part of Texas. … CMHC losses on insured mortgage portfolio stable, volumes dip
TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada’s government housing agency said on Thursday losses on its insured mortgage portfolio were stable and its arrears rate improving even as a cooling housing market has meant it is insuring fewer home purchases and refinancings. In its third quarter financial report, CMHC said the overall arrears rate was 0.34 percent, while losses on claims were C$19 million ($19.1 million), or 12 percent, lower in the quarter compared with the same period in 2011. The number of claims received were down about 9 percent. ($1 = 0.99 Canadian dollars) (Reporting By Andrea Hopkins)
Quebec corruption inquiry chief says commission work will continue despite break
MONTREAL – The head of Quebec’s corruption inquiry is calling for a go-slow approach in the examination of allegations of wrongdoing in the awarding of public contracts.
Gildan profit rises on higher printwear sales volume
(Reuters) – Canadian clothing maker Gildan Activewear Inc reported an 84 percent jump in quarterly profit on Thursday, raised its dividend and forecast current-quarter earnings above analysts’ expectations, sending its shares up nearly 3 percent. Gildan said earnings in the fourth quarter ended September 30 were boosted in part by lower cotton costs and higher sales of printwear, clothing on which other manufacturers print their own designs. The company said it expected first-quarter earnings of 28 cents to 31 cents per share before special items. …
House prices steady in November - Nationwide
LONDON (Reuters) – British house prices stagnated again in November, as low wage growth stopped price gains while rock-bottom interest rates helped to prevent forced sales, data from mortgage lender Nationwide showed on Thursday. Nationw ide said that house prices were unchanged on the month and 1.2 percent lower than a year ago – in both cases a slightly weaker performance than the previous month and softer than economists had expected. "The predominant theme remains one of stability," said Nationwide's chief economist Robert Gardner. … Will the rush to pass Egypt's constitution render it hollow?
Egypt’s constitution-drafting committee put the document to a vote today in a surprise move that the president’s allies say hastens Egypt’s democratic transition, but which opponents claim undermines its legitimacy.
Disposable diapers or bare bottoms? China frets over potty training
The grandmother and the toddler were huddled in the middle of the sidewalk on Gongtibeilu, not far from Beijing's Workers Stadium. As the child squatted, a small stream of urine appeared out of a slit in the back of the child's pants and puddled on the sidewalk while passersby barely gave them a glance. Beaming with pride, the grandmother carefully wiped the tiny bottom, and the two walked off, hand in hand.
UK inquiry calls for press law after hacking scandal
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain's often outrageously behaved press should be regulated by a watchdog bac ked in law, an inquiry triggered by a phone-hacking scandal said on Thursday, pitching Prime Minister David Cameron into a political dilemma that may split his government. Cameron also risks the wrath of the British press ahead of the 2015 election if he imposes legally backed regulation but faces a split in his coalition government if he tries to water down the main recommendations of the report. … Shifting account of CIA's Libya talking points fuels Rice controversy
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – When U.S. intelligence officials testified behin d closed doors two weeks ago, they were asked point blank whether they had altered the talking points on which U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice based her comments about the Benghazi attacks that have turned into a political firestorm. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, acting CIA Director Michael Morell and National Counterterrorism Center Director Matthew Olsen each said no, according to two congressional sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. … Nationwide Internet blackout in Syria
Two US-based Internet-monitoring companies say Syria has shut off the Internet nationwide. Quebec cabinet minister quits amid widespread controversy
QUEBEC – Quebec’s newly appointed environment minister has abruptly quit, less than two months after taking office.
First Quantum disappointed by Inmet's rejection of bid
(Reuters) – First Quantum Minerals Ltd said on Thursday it is both “surprised and disappointed” that the board of Inmet Mining Corp has decided to reject the takeover proposal that it put forward earlier this month. Toronto-based Inmet, which is building the huge Cobre Panama copper mine in Central America, said on Wednesday it had turned down a C$4.86 billion ($4.89 billion) unsolicited proposal from larger rival First Quantum, stating that the offer was “highly conditional” and not in the best interests of its shareholders. …
Roadside blasts kill at least 12 Afghan civilians
Two roadside bombs exploded on Thursday in eastern and southern Afghanistan, killing at least 12 people and injuring 16 others, officials said.
2 US-based Internet-monitoring companies say Syria has shut off Internet nationwide
2 US-based Internet-monitoring companies say Syria has shut off Internet nationwide. Crown agrees to release redacted versions of warrants in Delisle spy case
HALIFAX – The federal Crown has consented to unsealing redacted versions of three search warrants used to obtain evidence against a navy intelligence officer who pleaded guilty last month to passing military secrets to Russia.
Gold Fields spinoff shows decline of South Africa's gold sector
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Gold Fields , the world’s fourth-largest bullion producer, is spinning off its two oldest South African mines in the latest sign of the country’s once mighty gold industry succumbing to declining output and soaring costs. In a move that nearly severs its ties with South Africa, Gold Fields’ 70-year-old KDC mines near Johannesburg and its Beatrix operations near the central city of Bloemfontein will be renamed Sibanye Gold and floated on the Johannesburg stock exchange in February. …
Internet, phones cut in parts of Syrian capital
Syrian activists say authorities have blocked Internet and cell phone signals in parts of the nation's capital, where rebels and government troops are engaged in fierce clashes. Eyes on Ariz. and Mo. as hunt for winners begins in record $587.5 million Powerball jackpot
and the second-largest top prize in U.S. lottery history -- has been won. The question is: Who are the lucky winners waking up to new lives as multimillionaires?
French court clears Continental of Concorde crash
VERSAILLES, France (Reuters) – A French appeals court on Thursday absolved Continental Airlines of blame for a 2000 Concorde crash that killed 113 people and cleared a mechanic at the U.S. airline of the charge of involuntary manslaughter. The verdict comes over a decade after the accident helped to spell the end of the supersonic airliner. A previous court ruled that a small metal strip that fell onto the runway from a Continental aircraft just before the Concorde took off from Paris, caused the crash. …
Botswana to ban big game hunting by 2014
Botswana says it will ban hunting by 2014 because of fears that the nation is losing its wildlife.
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