1. Most popular videos of 2010


    From the iPad to a bus siege in Manila to top model gaffes and bejeweled bras, 2010 was an eventful year. Reuters videographers were on the scene at many of these major stories to bring viewers the latest news, often at great risk to themselves as seen by the tragic death of a Reuters cameraman in Thailand.  Their work, sometimes daring, sometimes fun, prompted our audience to click and share. Here’s a look at the most popular video from each month. JANUARY: Apple ready for big device debut The launch of Apple’s iPad was a highly anticipated event and it propelled this preview video to the most popular for January. FEBRUARY: Luge crash death overshadows Games The Vancouver Winter Olympic Games began with tragedy after Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed while on a training run. The horrific circumstances of the crash and what this meant for the upcoming Games kept viewers clicking on this video. MARCH: A monorail that gets you pedaling Weird and wonderful technological advancements are guaranteed to peak reader attention and this pedal-powered vehicle was no exception. APRIL: Reuters Thai riot video released Reuters cameraman Hiro Muramoto was tragically killed during violent riots in Thailand. Seven minutes of film taken by Muramoto illustrated how the scrappy street protest turned deadly on a balmy Bangkok night. MAY: Spanish bullfighter gored Bullfighting, while often controversial, makes for compelling video footage as the drama is played out in the bullring. Perhaps the bull’s triumph against the bullfighter is what kept viewers watching this video? JUNE: U.S. woman sets world’s fattest goal In a culture that promotes weight-loss through popular culture phenomenons such as the “Biggest Loser”, this New Jersey woman’s attempt to be the world’s fattest woman at 1,000 pounds intrigued viewers. JULY: Bank for India’s sex workers The old adage of adding sex to a headline to catch people’s attention, certainly is true for this video that was released in 2007 but saw a resurgence of traffic this year. AUGUST: Bloody end to Manila hostage drama When a former policeman took a group of tourists hostage in Manila, the bungled police operation to rescue them played out on TV screens across the globe. SEPTEMBER: Soros: Gold “not safe” Whatever billionaire investor George Soros says is golden as this popular clip of his interview with Reuters Global Editor at large Chrystia Freeland shows. OCTOBER: Red faces over top model gaffe The excruciating moment when an Australian top model host realizes she has announced the wrong winner of the contest made for great TV and got our readers sharing this embarrassing video. NOVEMBER: Bejeweled bra exposed in NY The reasons behind the success of this video leave little to the imagination, as does the lingerie it exposes…

  2. UPDATE 1-Italy borrowing costs fall but investors wary


    * First long-term debt sale after Fitch, Moody’s downgradesBy Valentina ZaMILAN, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Italy’s five-year debt costs fell at auction on Thursday helped by a more optimistic outlook for the euro zone debt crisis but there were signs investors are still wary of Italian bonds after two ratings downgrades in less than a week.The country’s towering debt pile and ailing growth rates have made it a focus of the crisis and Moody’s and Fitch cut Italy’s credit-ratings last week following a similar move by Standard & Poor’s in September.Domestic politics has created further uncertainty with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi facing a confidence vote in his government on Friday.Italy sold 6.19 billion euros of debt at the auction, close to the top of its target range.Despite solid demand at the sale, yields remained under pressure in the cast bond market and the European Central Bank stepped into the secondary market after the auction, buying Italian debt to cap rising yields.”Overall, then, a reasonably positive outcome but with the still relatively elevated level of borrowing costs underlining the imperative of continued support from the ECB,” said Richard McGuire, a rate strategist at Rabobank in London.Requests for the four bonds on offer totaled more than 9 billion euros. The auction yield on a five-year BTP bond eased to 5.32 percent from a euro lifetime high of 5.6 percent Italy paid a month ago.Market pressures have pushed Italian bond yields over the summer towards levels that could in the long-term threaten the sustainability of the country’s 1.9 trillion euro debt.In a sign of continued tensions, the yield on the 10-year BTP bond on the secondary market rose to its highest level in over two months ahead of Thursday’s auction.Selling a 15-year bond for the first time since mid-July at Thursday’s auction, Italy tested market appetite for a long maturity which traders say is not covered by the ECB’s bond buying programme.It sold nearly 1 billion euro of an off-the-run 2025 bond.”The bid/cover of the 2025 looks OK,” said David Schnautz, a rate strategist at Commerzbank in London.”But I don’t feel very encouraged looking forward for the ultra-long supply, especially towards year-end from Italy.”ECB’s purchases target mainly the five- to ten-year area, traders say.Italy last sold a 30-year bond in May.Italy plans to issue around 75 billion euros in the last quarter of the year, roughly equally split between short-tem bills and bonds.Rome has raised more than 16 billion euros this week.With a make-or-break summit of European leaders on Oct. 23 at which a comprehensive new Franco-German crisis plan is expected to be discussed, Italian domestic political turmoil has taken less prominence in investors’ minds.Friday’s confidence vote comes after Berlusconi’s centre-right government lost a key vote in parliament.Analysts said the government was unlikely to fall immediately but its ability to take action would be constantly hampered by internal disputes.

  3. Deals of the day — mergers and acquisitions


    ** Tokio Marine Capital, a Japanese private equity firm affiliated with Tokyo Marine Holdings , has launched the sale of drugmaker Showa Yakuhin Kako Co in a deal that could be worth as much as 70 billion yen ($905 million), according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter.** Oil and gas firm Ophir Energy has agreed to buy Dominion Petroleum in a 118 million pound ($186 million) all-share deal that will expand its portfolio of projects in East Africa.

  4. UPDATE 1-China yuan bill risks trade war -US House speaker


    * China denounces protectionist moveWASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Legislation designed to press China to let its currency rise in value poses a “very severe risk” of a trade war and should not be taken up by the U.S. Congress, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said on Wednesday, a day after the bill passed the Senate.Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, has consistently voiced opposition to the measure, which would allow the U.S. government to slap countervailing duties on products from countries found to be subsidizing their exports by undervaluing their currencies.”I think, given the volatility in the world markets, given the uncertainty about the world economy, for the Congress of the United States to be taking this step at this moment in time poses a very severe risk of a trade war and unintended consequences that could come as a result,” he told reporters.”I understand that people are concerned about the value of China’s currency. I’m concerned about it as well,” said Boehner.”What I don’t believe is appropriate is for the Congress of the United States to take this issue up and to do it within a legislative form,” he added.Following a week of debate, the Democratic Party-controlled Senate approved the bill in a 63-35 vote on Tuesday and sent it to House of Representatives, where the traditionally pro-free-trade Republicans hold a majority.Boehner’s opposition could kill the bill before any House debate, but supporters are trying to rally colleagues behind a legislative tactic that would force him to bring up the legislation.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu on Wednesday called the bill a protectionist step that “gravely violates World Trade Organization rules.”“China urges the U.S. government, Congress and all quarters to resolutely oppose using domestic legislation to create a fuss about and put pressure on the renminbi exchange rate,” said Ma in comments on the ministry’s website (www.mfa.gov.cn).Chinese officials and media have warned that the legislation could trigger a “trade war” of escalating protectionist tit-for-tat retaliation.Mostly Democratic supporters of the bill, alarmed at high unemployment a year before congressional and presidential elections expected to focus on the economy, say China’s yuan policy already amounts to a trade war that has decimated the U.S. industrial base with artificially cheap products.Charles Schumer, the No. 3 Democrat in the Senate and a longtime critic of China’s yuan policy, predicted that the House would pass some form of China currency legislation due to pressure from rank-and-file Republican members.”I think there’s going to be huge pressure in the House by House Republicans, many of whom are from the Middle West and the South, to do something on China currency other than do nothing,” said Schumer.A second Republican leader, chairman Dave Camp of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he would hold a hearing on currency, intellectual property rights and other trade issues with China this month.”We have a complex relationship with China, an important relationship with China,” Camp said.Many U.S. economists say China holds down the value of its yuan to give its exporters an edge in global markets. China says it is committed to gradual currency reform and notes that the yuan has risen 30 percent against the dollar since 2005.

  5. UPDATE 1-Industries Qatar Q3 profit jumps


    * Still misses analysts’ estimates* Nine-month net profit 6.25 billion riyalsBy Regan DohertyDOHA, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Third-quarter net profit at petrochemicals and metals company Industries Qatar (IQ) leapt 47.9 percent on Wednesday on strengthening petrochemical prices.The Gulf’s second-largest chemical producer by market value made a third-quarter net profit of 2.07 billion riyals, according to Reuters calculations, compared with 1.4 billion riyals a year earlier.Analysts polled by Reuters on average expected the company to post quarterly profit of 2.2 billion riyals. [IDnLDE79502I]The company made a nine-month net profit of 6.25 billion riyals, it said in a statement without giving further detail.Petrochemical prices have returned to near pre-crisis levels, but worries persist over how a potential double-dip global recession may impact petrochemicals companies’ earnings in the world’s top oil exporting region.IQ shares closed at 125 riyals on Wednesday before the results were announced.