0 Obama to face Syria scrutiny in Jordan

A day after challenging Israelis to embrace peace with Palestinians, US President Barack Obama Friday will face scrutiny over his strategy on Syria during an overnight stay in Jordan. Obama will fly to Amman for talks and a private dinner with King Abdullah II, after wrapping up the first visit to the Jewish state of his presidency by paying homage to Israeli heroes Theodor Herzl and Yitzhak Rabin. While the thrust of his visit to Israel was reassurance that the United States would mount an "eternal" defense of the Jewish state amid the Iranian nuclear threat, Obama will turn to the agony of Syria's civil war in Jordan.  Jordan is sheltering...

0 BP says to return $8 bn to shareholders

British energy giant BP on Friday said it would return up to $8.0 billion (6.2 billion euros) to company shareholders by repurchasing shares, a day after completing the sale of its stake in a Russian joint-venture. "BP announced today that it intends to carry out a share repurchase, or buy-back, programme with a total value of up to $8 billion," the group said in a statement.  It added: "Today's decision to buy back shares follows the completion yesterday of the sale of BP's 50 percent interest in TNK-BP to Rosneft. "The programme is expected to return to BP shareholders an amount equivalent to the value of the company's original investment...

0 Rupiah Set for Longest Losing Streak Since November on Outflows

Indonesia’s rupiah was poised for a third weekly decline, the longest losing streak since November, as global funds sold the nation’s assets on concern inflation will accelerate and the fiscal deficit will widen. The currency traded near a seven-week low as the benchmark equity index dropped. Overseas investors have cut Rp 2.1 trillion  ($216 million) from their sovereign debt holdings from a record 284.9 trillion on March 14, according to finance ministry data, The 2013 budget shortfall may exceed 2 percent of gross domestic product due to high subsidy costs, exceeding the 1.65 percent target, Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo said on...

0 Cyprus MPs study bailout 'Plan B' as meltdown looms

Cyprus is scrambling to overhaul its banking sector to avoid financial meltdown, after the European Central Bank threatened to pull the plug on emergency funding for the island's lenders. Cypriot politicians have until Monday to approve a "Plan B" bailout deal with the European Union and International Monetary Fund or face being choked from the ECB funds, which would likely cause teetering banks to collapse. There was also intense pressure for a deal from the EU.  One source warned that Cyprus risked expulsion from the eurozone if parliament failed to approve a workable plan to restructure its outsized banking sector by Tuesday. But...

0 Pleasure in heaven and earth

About 1,000 meters above sea level, Josep Punti passes chocolate bread and Catalan white wine to each of his 11 guests. “Salut!” everybody on board, with glimmering faces, exclaims as they toast. The ritual marks the apex — literally — of the one-hour gas balloon flight over Sallent, some 70 kilometers north of Barcelona. Every bite of the bread and sip of Cava, or Spanish sparkling wine, help passengers stave off the chilling morning breeze.  The temperature on the ground measures 5 degrees Celsius at the end of winter, regardless of the sunlight. For those who are afraid of heights, wine is a remedy, at least according to Chris, a...