FedEx says it can grow by cutting costs

NEW YORK (AP) — FedEx may be pessimistic about the U.S. economy, but it's confident about growing its earnings.The world's second-largest package delivery company, a bellwether for economic health because of the vast number and kinds of shipments it handles, lowered its economic forecast for the U.S., saying there remains a lot of uncertainty for the country.FedEx maintained its earnings forecast...

Read More..

Burundi tea earnings rise 27 pct in November on high prices

BUJUMBURA (Reuters) - Burundi's tea export revenues rose 27 percent in November from the same month last year thanks to a stronger regional market, a tea board official said on Thursday.The state-run tea board (OTB) said it collected $1.80 million from the sale of 589,907 kg, up from $1.42 million earned in November 2011 from the export of 563,140 kg."Supplies of the commodity in the region were...

Read More..

Discover Financial Services 4Q net income rises

 Discover Financial Services on Thursday reported higher earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter, as users of its namesake credit card stepped up purchases and the company wrote off fewer unpaid balances.Even so, the Riverwoods, Ill.-based company's results fell short of Wall Street expectations, and investors sent its shares down over 3 percent Thursday.Discover, the nation's sixth-largest credit...

Read More..

Richardson: NKorea trip is private, humanitarian

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson says the State Department should not be nervous about a visit he's making to North Korea with Google's executive chairman, Eric Schmidt.The State Department has advised against his making the trip. But Richardson says he doesn't work for the U.S. government.Richardson said Friday he's concerned about an American citizen detained in North Korea,...

Read More..

Abbas sees Palestinian unity as Fatah rallies in Gaza

GAZA (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Abbas predicted the end of a five-year split between the two big Palestinian factions as his Fatah movement staged its first mass rally in Gaza with the blessing of Hamas Islamists who rule the enclave."Soon we will regain our unity," Abbas, whose authority has been limited to the Israeli-occupied West Bank since the 2007 civil war between the two factions, said...

Read More..

Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani teen shot by Taliban, is released from UK hospital

A daily summary of global reports on security issues. Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teen who was shot in the head by the Taliban in the fall for promoting girls’ education, was released from a British hospital yesterday. Malala, who will spend the next few weeks with her family in the UKbefore returning to the hospital for more surgery, quickly became an international symbol of...

Read More..

What does Google want with North Korea?

Google chairman Eric Schmidt plans to visit North Korea as early as next week in what analysts see as part of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s drive to give an appearance of closing the vast digital divide between his isolated country and the rest of the world.Although Mr. Schmidt is not expected to reach any real deal with the North, his presence there seems to show a desire in North Korea to improve...

Read More..

France's Bardot threatens exile over elephants

PARIS (AP) — Sex symbol-turned-animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot is threatening to join actor Gerard Depardieu in Russian exile unless France halts the scheduled euthanasia of two sick circus elephants.The 1960s screen diva says authorities have ignored her "numerous proposals" to save Baby and Nepal, a pair of 42-year-old elephants dying of tuberculosis at a Lyon zoo.In a statement on her foundation's...

Read More..

Macy's key revenue figure rises in December

 Macy's said Thursday that revenue in stores open at least one year rose 4.1 in December, edging past Wall Street estimates.But the figure grew less than the company expected during the combined two-month November and December period, the key holiday shopping months, and Macy's lowered its fourth-quarter guidance.The department store chain also said it will close six underperforming stores.Analysts...

Read More..

Stocks sink as Congress heads for another showdown

 The stock market pulled back slightly Thursday, a day after the Dow Jones industrial average posted its strongest gain in more than a year.Retailers reported mixed sales and the prospect of a new budget battle in Congress helped nudge stocks lower.The Dow Jones industrial average was down 25 points to 13,387 an hour after the opening bell. UnitedHealth Group led the Dow lower, sinking $1.65...

Read More..