Dollar under pressure in Asia after mixed data

TOKYO: The dollar was mixed in Asian trading on Monday as it faced pressure from data that showed US consumer spending was down in April although shoppers' confidence climbed.

The greenback gained on the yen as Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock index pared back some of its early losses. The index is closely linked with the yen as the currency's value affects the profitability of Japanese exporters.

Credit Agricole said dollar strength was likely to continue.

"We expect USD/JPY downside to be increasingly limited and stick to the view that the pair will ultimately resume its uptrend," it said.

In Tokyo morning trade, the dollar bought 100.67 yen, gaining from 100.37 yen in New York late Friday, while the euro was also stronger against the Japanese currency at 130.89 yen from 130.44 yen last week.

Against the dollar, the European single currency was slightly stronger at $1.3004, from $1.2996 in US trading.

On Friday, the US Commerce Department reported that consumer spending dropped by 0.2 percent in April, the first monthly fall since May 2012 and a signal that growth slowed at the beginning of the second quarter.

View the original article here

Oil turns higher in Asian trade

SINGAPORE: Oil prices rose in Asian trade Thursday, boosted by stronger US demand but caution over a slowing Chinese economy limited gains, analysts said.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light sweet crude for delivery in July, added 30 cents to $94.04 a barrel in the afternoon and Brent North Sea crude for July delivery gained 17 cents to $103.21.

"Prices have bounced up in reaction to a drop in US inventories," Kelly Teoh, market strategist at IG Markets in Singapore, told.

"While the market has been very data-sensitive, the overall tone for commodities still remains soft."

The US Department of Energy on Wednesday said stockpiles in the United States plunged 6.3 million barrels in the week ended May 31, much more than analysts expected, with the average estimate pegged at a 400,000 drop.

A decline in stockpiles supports crude prices as it suggests a pick-up in demand, which traditionally rises during the US summer driving season when Americans take to the roads for their holidays.

View the original article here

Karachi Stock Exchange scales another peak on foreign buying

View the original article here

Egypt sentences five foreigners to death for drug trafficking

View the original article here

Oil down in Asia as OPEC leaves output unchanged

SINGAPORE: Oil prices were lower in Asian trade Monday after OPEC kept its output ceiling unchanged and voiced concerns over weak global economic growth dragging crude demand.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light sweet crude for delivery in July, was down 19 cents to $91.78 a barrel in the morning and Brent North Sea crude for July delivery shed 34 cents to $100.05.

"It is obvious that the OPEC announcement over the weekend has had a negative impact on oil prices," Jason Hughes, head of sales trading in CMC Markets, told.

"The OPEC decision will have a greater downside on Brent than on the WTI in the US because of the supply glut there," he added.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which pumps about 35 percent of global oil supplies, on Friday said it would leave the output ceiling at 30 million barrels per day (mbpd), where it has stood since late 2011, despite actual production exceeding the target.

The cartel, comprising nations from Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, is aware that cutting production could raise oil prices and boost their incomes -- but that this could also hurt the fragile global recovery.

View the original article here

Oil prices down in Asia

SINGAPORE: Oil prices fell in Asian trade Tuesday as data showing weak manufacturing activity in China suggested growth in the world's second largest economy was slowing.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July dropped 34

cents to $93.11 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for July delivery shed four cents to $102.02.

View the original article here

POL price revision notified

ISLAMABAD: A notification has been issued with regard to revision of prices of petroleum products in the country.

The notification was issued after ministry of petroleum approved a summary for the revision of the prices.

New price of petrol will be Rs99.77 per litre after increase of Rs2.18, while diesel price was cut by Rs1.46 per litre and its new price will be Rs104.60.

Similarly, kerosene price down by Paisa 38 will be available at Rs93.79, light diesel oil at Rs89.13, up by Paisa 7 per litre.

News prices will be applicable from 12:00 am June 1.

View the original article here

Building collapse in US leaves 12 hurt, two trapped

PHILADELPHIA: A four-story building being demolished collapsed Wednesday on the edge of downtown, injuring 12 people and trapping two others, the fire commissioner said.

Rescue crews were trying to extricate the two people who were trapped, city Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said. The dozen people who were injured were taken to hospitals with minor injuries, he said.

The collapse involved a building that once housed a first-floor sandwich shop. It collapsed, sending debris onto a Salvation Army corner thrift store next door. The two are adjacent to an adult bookstore and theater that had been taken down earlier.

Rescuers were using buckets and their bare hands to move bricks and rubble to search for survivors.

Witnesses said they heard a loud rumbling sound immediately before the collapse.

Veronica Haynes was on the fifth floor of an apartment building across the street.

"I was standing there looking out my window, watching the men at work on the building, and the next thing I know I heard something go kaboom," she said. "Then you saw the whole side of the wall fall down ... onto the other building."

Roofers Patrick Glynn and Anthony Soli were working atop a nearby building when they heard what sounded like two loud bangs or explosions. They immediately ran down the scaffolding to look for victims, and helped pull out two women and a man.

Glynn said he had been watching workers take down the building next to the Salvation Army building over the past few weeks, and said he suspected a collapse was inevitable because of the methods the workers were using to tear it down.

"For weeks they've been standing on the edge, knocking bricks off," he said. "You could just see it was ready to go at any time. I knew it was going to happen."

Carlton Williams of the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections said there were no existing violations on the building and the demolition company had proper permits for the work they were doing.

Bernie DiTomo was driving past Salvation Army building in his white pickup truck, on his way to an appointment, when the accident happened.

"The next thing you know, I heard a rumble, and a building and a sign fell on my truck," he said.

He said he lay down in the seat of his cab. It was probably over in about 30 seconds, he said. There was a lot of dirt and dust that he breathed in, but he was able to open the door and get out, unhurt. His truck remained nearby, partially covered in debris, as DiTomo watched recovery efforts from across the street.

High school student Jordan McLaughlan said he saw several people on the ground being given oxygen by rescuers after the collapse.

"It was hard to breathe, there was a lot of dust everywhere," McLaughlan said.

The accident happened at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday on the western edge of downtown, between the city's business district and its main train station. (AP)

View the original article here

Dollar firms in Asia as stocks rebound

TOKYO: The dollar firmed against the yen in Asia Friday, shrugging off weak US growth figures as a rebound in Tokyo stocks boosted risk sentiment and pulled investors away from the safe-haven yen.

The greenback fetched 101.05 yen in Tokyo morning trade from 100.74 yen in New York late Thursday, while the euro also strengthened to 131.79 yen from 131.39 yen. The European single currency was flat at $1.3042.

"Previously the yen's weakening raised expectations for an improvement in corporate profits and pushed Japanese stocks higher, but these days gains in stocks are leading to a weaker yen," a senior dealer at a major Japanese trust bank told Dow Jones Newswires.

Yen trading and Japanese stocks are closely interlinked as the value of the unit affects the competitiveness of the country's exporters overseas.

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up about two percent Friday morning on the back of buying on dips after tumbling more than five percent the previous day to a five-week low.

View the original article here

Oil prices up in Asian trade

SINGAPORE: Oil prices rose in Asia on Wednesday, with dealers buying cheaper crude ahead of key economic releases from the United States, analysts said.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light sweet crude

for delivery in July added 43 cents to $93.74 a barrel and Brent North Sea

crude for July increased 13 cents to $103.37.

View the original article here

Petrol price hiked by Rs2.18/litre

ISLAMABAD: The prices of petrol will go up effective June 1 by Rs2.18, while diesel will be cheaper by Rs1.46, as the ministry of petroleum has already approved summary for the revision of prices of petroleum products, Geo News reported Friday.

Sources said that after revision in petroleum products’ prices, petrol effective June 1 will be available at Rs99.77 per litre, up by Rs2.18, while diesel price down by Rs1.46 will be selling at Rs104.60.

Similarly, kerosene price down by Paisa 38 will be available at Rs93.79, light diesel oil at Rs89.13, up by Paisa 7 per litre.

Official notification in this regard would be issued sometime tonight, sources said.

View the original article here

Sandbags and raw nerves as flood peak hits Germany

BITTERFELD: Germany pushed on with frantic efforts to secure saturated river dykes with sandbags Thursday, bracing for a surge of the worst floods in over a decade that have claimed 12 lives and forced mass evacuations across central Europe.

Vast stretches along the Elbe river basin have turned into a sea of brown water in the Czech Republic and downstream in eastern Germany, with only red-tiled roofs sticking out of the muddy water in many abandoned villages and towns.

The picture of devastation was similar along the mighty Danube, which has jumped its banks in Germany's southern Bavaria state and Austria and sparked large-scale disaster preparations in Hungary, where the water was expected to peak in coming days.

In northeast Germany, thousands of volunteers, many organized through social media, firefighters, aid workers and troops have filled millions of sandbags to hold back the torrent, which has risen from two to above eight meters (six to above 26 feet).

Thousands worked through the night or kept a nervous watch on flood barriers while recalling dark memories of the 2002 floods that killed scores across central Europe and caused a clean-up bill running to billions of euros (dollars).

Fears were centered on Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt state where two lakes, one higher than the other, loom dangerously close to a city that during the communist East Germany era became notorious as a heavily polluted industrial centre.

Local officials have warned that a breach in the lake defences could spark a "mini-tsunami" that could engulf the city, and officials have twice attempted to blowholes in the lake dyke away from the city, with limited success.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has promised 100 million euros ($130 million) in immediate flood relief across Germany, and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble promised on Thursday that more money would follow.

Dresden, with more than two million people, said the peak of 8.75 metres was reached on Thursday, with floodwaters lapping through the mud-caked living

rooms and trashed gardens of thousands of outlying homes.

However, flood barriers installed secured the old inner city --dubbed the “Jewel Box” for its baroque and rococo churches, opera and buildings

after the even higher 2002 flood.

People also breathed a cautious sigh of relief as water levels eased in Halle, where Elbe tributary the Saale had reached its highest level in 400 years the day before and authorities have urged 30,000 people to flee.

Upstream in the Czech Republic -- where five days of flooding killed at least eight people and forced some 20,000 evacuations -- rescue workers in rubber dinghies were supplying isolated families who lack drinking water, power or gas.

In the industrial centre of Usti nad Labem near the German border, where 11,000 people were told to evacuate, looters targeted empty homes and businesses, and a waiter at a pub-restaurant told how he came face to face with three robbers at night.

"I entered the corridor and got a blow. They broke my nose, my side is sore and there's something wrong with my ribs," Ladislav Kratochvil told the DNES daily.

The capital Prague held up well thanks to 17 kilometres of temporary aluminum barriers, and city trains were running again, but people in Usti bemoaned their poorer flood defences.

"It's a shame. If they were a meter higher, it would have been enough," a police officer told the DNES. "It went fast, the water rose really quickly."

In Austria, where two people have died in the floods, the Danube town of Korneuburg just north of Vienna reported an all-time record river level of 8.06 meters.

In nearby Nussdorf a river cruise ship with some 120 tourists onboard was stranded in the middle of the river Thursday, an AFP photographer witnessed.

Down the Danube in Hungary, preparations moved into high gear to prepare Budapest for the wall of water coming along one of Europe's longest waterways that empties into the Black Sea in a delta in Romania and Ukraine.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned large-scale evacuations were likely because of "a real threat to human life" but has pledged that "with good cooperation, we can protect everyone".

An "anti-catastrophe team" with 10,000 volunteers and close to 12,000 police and troops was on stand-by, while some 300 people had been evacuated so far. (AFP)

View the original article here

Strong bulls push KSE 100-share Index to another new height

KARACHI: Bull-run continued at the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) on Thursday as further investment mainly in lowest scrips added 150 more points to the benchmark KSE 100-share Index, pushing it further up to hit a new record at 21,591.

The local equities market remained upbeat for the fourth consecutive day today, as the major Index soared to a new height, unprecedented in the capital market history of Pakistan.

The trade volume was registered at 640 million shares, first time in seven years.

View the original article here

Oil up in Asian trade

SINGAPORE: Oil was up in Asia on Friday, with dealers buying up the commodity after a drop in prices over the past few days, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July increased two cents to $93.63 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for July delivery added ten cents to $102.29 in mid-morning trade.

View the original article here

Seven hurt after blast at school in New York

NEW YORK: Seven people, including two students, were injured Tuesday in an apparent accidental gas explosion at a college north of New York City, authorities said.

"There were seven injuries. All of them minor injuries. They were transferred to the hospital to be checked out," a police spokesman told AFP about the blast at Nyack College.

He said the cause of the explosion was unknown but that "they believe there was a natural gas line" problem.

The school said the blast hit at about 1545 GMT "in Sky Island Lodge, a building that houses the School of Business and Leadership, on the Rockland County campus.

There was no fire associated with the explosion." "Five employees and two adult students were in the building at the time and all are accounted for.

There were injuries, but no fatalities. All individuals were taken to the hospital for examination as a precautionary measure."

The school, founded in 1882, is a private Christian institution.

View the original article here

30 lashes, jail for Saudi who slapped wife: report

RIYADH: A Saudi man who slapped his wife has earned himself a flogging and jail sentence, in a rare ruling in the Gulf kingdom that

imposes stiff restrictions on women, a local newspaper reported Wednesday.

A court in the town of Safwa, in the eastern Qatif district, sentenced the man to 10 days in jail and 30 lashes, Al-Sharq daily said.

The judge also allowed the woman to attend the flogging and ordered her

husband to enrol in a course on dealing with partners.

The woman, in her twenties, had lodged a complaint against her husband

after he slapped her during an argument. The man admitted hitting her, saying his wife "was rude to his parents."

The ruling is very uncommon in the ultra-conservative kingdom, where men

usually get the upper hand, while women are dependent on their male guardians in most aspects of their lives.

Women need a close male relative to accompany them if they enter government buildings and courts. Saudi women also are banned from driving and are obliged to cover themselves from head to toe when they are in public.

The King Khalid Foundation, which is a Saudi charity, launched in May the kingdom's first anti-domestic violence advertising campaign.

View the original article here

Fresh violence erupts despite Turkey govt. apology

ISTANBUL: Fresh violence erupted early Wednesday as protesters defied a government plea to end days of deadly unrest, the biggest challenge yet to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's decade-long rule.

Police used tear gas and water cannon on hundreds of protesters, who

ignored warnings to disperse in Istanbul, Ankara and the southeastern city of Hatay, where a young protester died a day earlier.

The violence came after a second major trade union confederation announced it would join protests against the government, calling a strike for Wednesday. In the western city of Izmir, police detained at least 25 people early Wednesday for tweeting "misleading and libellous information", state-run Anatolia news agency reported.

On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc apologised to legitimate

demonstrators injured by the security forces, a gesture welcomed by the United States. But that did not appease outraged protestors.

Thousands gathered at Istanbul's Taksim Square for a sixth day Wednesday, yelling defiance at Erdogan, who earlier had dismissed the protesters as "extremists" and "vandals". He was in Algeria on the second day of a four-day official visit to north Africa.

"The vandals are here! Where is Tayyip?" yelled the crowd. They accuse Erdogan, who has won three successive national elections, of

imposing conservative Islamic reforms on the predominantly Muslim but

constitutionally secular nation.

But the festive atmosphere in the square was a change from the tense

rallies of the previous five days. Turkish pipe music and singing blared over speakers as the crowd clapped along. Even fans from rival football teams Galatasaray, Besiktas and Fenerbahce linked arms, united in protest.

The wave of protests broke out on Friday after police tear-gassed

demonstrators at a peaceful rally against plans to build on an Istanbul park. On Tuesday, Arinc said sorry to those who had been caught up in that initial violence.

"I apologise to those who were subject to violence because of their

sensitivity for the environment," he said, though he added that his apology excluded "the rioters".

"The government has learnt its lesson from what happened," he added. "We do not have the right and cannot afford to ignore people. Democracies cannot exist without opposition." He called on "responsible citizens" to stop the protests.

Two people have been killed in the clashes, officials and medics say, and rights groups say thousands have been injured. The government puts the figure at around 300.

Erdogan, whose Justice and Development Party (AKP) first took power in

2002, has accused the main opposition Republican People's Party of having a hand in the protests.

The Turkish Confederation of Public Workers' Unions (KESK), which

represents 240,000 employees, lent its weight to the protests when it launched a two-day strike on Tuesday.

Spokesman Baki Cinar dismissed Arinc's conciliatory statement.

"The apology is just damage control and only because they know they are

stuck," he told AFP.

On Tuesday, an even bigger union grouping, DISK, which claims 420,000

members, said it would join the strike and demonstrations on Wednesday.

The United Nations joined Turkey's key strategic ally the US and other

Western partners in voicing concern about reports of police violence. It called for an independent investigation into the allegations.

The White House praised Arinc for his statement on Tuesday.

"We welcome the deputy prime minister's comments apologising for excessive force, and we continue to welcome calls for these events to be investigated," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

Turkey, a country of 75 million people, is an important ally of the US in the region and has backed it notably in opposing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's civil war.

Sitting at the crossroads of East and West, Turkey has long aspired to join the European Union, which sets strict requirements on human rights standards for prospective members.

Opponents have accused Erdogan of repressing critics -- including

journalists, minority Kurds and the military -- and of pushing conservative Islamic policies such as religious education reforms and a law curbing the sale of alcohol.

\

Erdogan told protesters they should wait to express their views in

elections next year, when observers expect him to run for president.

"For me, democracy comes from the ballot box," he said, insisting the

disturbances would calm down by the time he had returned to Turkey on Thursday.

Italy said Tuesday that it considered the violence had not undermined

Turkey's chances of joining the EU. "We are confident that Turkey will overcome this difficult moment, proving itself to be a mature democracy," Foreign Minister Emma Bonino said in a statement.

Although the Istanbul stock market had closed 10 percent lower on Monday it recovered by nearly five percent on Tuesday after Arinc's comments.

View the original article here

Turkey protesters defiant after government apology

ISTANBUL: Fresh violence erupted early Wednesday as protesters defied a government plea to end days of deadly unrest, the biggest challenge yet to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's decade-long rule.

Police used tear gas and water cannon on hundreds of protesters, who ignored warnings to disperse in Istanbul, Ankara and the southeastern city of Hatay, where a young protester died a day earlier.

The violence came after a second major trade union confederation announced it would join protests against the government, calling a strike for Wednesday.

In the western city of Izmir, police detained at least 25 people early Wednesday for tweeting "misleading and libellous information", state-run Anatolia news agency reported.

On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc apologised to legitimate demonstrators injured by the security forces, a gesture welcomed by the United States.

But that did not appease outraged protestors.

Thousands gathered at Istanbul's Taksim Square for a sixth day Wednesday, yelling defiance at Erdogan, who earlier had dismissed the protesters as "extremists" and "vandals". He was in Algeria on the second day of a four-day official visit to north Africa.

"The vandals are here! Where is Tayyip?" yelled the crowd.

They accuse Erdogan, who has won three successive national elections, of imposing conservative Islamic reforms on the predominantly Muslim but constitutionally secular nation.

But the festive atmosphere in the square was a change from the tense rallies of the previous five days. Turkish pipe music and singing blared over speakers as the crowd clapped along.

Even fans from rival football teams Galatasaray, Besiktas and Fenerbahce linked arms, united in protest.

The wave of protests broke out on Friday after police tear-gassed demonstrators at a peaceful rally against plans to build on an Istanbul park.

View the original article here

Magnitude 5.6 earthquake strikes near Hawaii

PAHALA, Hawaii : The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude-5.6 earthquake struck off the southeast coast of Hawaii.

Tuesday afternoon's earthquake was centered about 34 miles (55 kilometers) southeast of Pahala on the Big Island, at a depth of about 25 miles (40 kilometers). Officials say it's not expected to generate a tsunami.

Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Darryl Oliveira says there are no immediate reports of damage.

The USGS website says people as far away as Maui and Oahu reported feeling weak shaking. The Oahu Department of Emergency Management says some areas may have experienced strong shaking.

Kevin Dayton, the executive assistant to the mayor, says he felt a large jolt in the county building in Hilo. Tony Andrade, a stock clerk at the Mizuno Superette grocery store in Pahala, says the shelves rocked but nothing fell off.

View the original article here

Thousands evacuated after fire in Moscow metro

MOSCOW: Thousands of commuters were evacuated from the Moscow metro on Wednesday after a high-voltage electric cable caught fire, filling station platforms with smoke at the height of the rush hour, emergency officials said.

The emergencies ministry said around 4,500 people were evacuated after the fire broke out in a tunnel between the Okhotny Ryad and Biblioteka Imeni Lenina (Lenin Library) stations close to the Kremlin at around 8:20 am (0420 GMT).

Russian television showed pictures of smoke filling the Okhotny Ryad station, one of the system's oldest, which has exits close to the Kremlin and the Bolshoi Theatre.

The fire was extinguished in just over 40 minutes. A total of 45 people sought medical attention and seven were hospitalised, a spokesman for the emergencies ministry, Viktor Biryukov, told the RIA Novosti news agency.

The health ministry said that those hospitalised were suffering from smoke inhalation, while some of those who asked for medical help were suffering "from a serious reaction to stress."

The head of the Moscow metro system, Ivan Besedin, told the Interfax news agency that the fire started in a "complicated technical junction linked to the contact rail."

The metro line affected was shut down but was set to reopen by 1:30 pm (0930 GMT).

View the original article here