US markets to remain closed on today amid Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy has continued to disrupt business in the US East Coast, including forcing US stock markets to close again on Tuesday.
Sandy has flooded subway and road tunnels in much of Lower Manhattan.
Beyond New York City, public transport has been halted in several eastern US cities, and thousands of flights have been grounded.
The total damage is already estimated at between $10bn and $20bn (£6bn-£12bn).
It is the longest closure since 9/11 and the first time the weather has shut the stock markets for two consecutive days since 1888.
Sandy threatens an 800-mile (1,290-km) swathe of the US, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes in the Mid-West and killed 66 people in the Caribbean last week before pounding the East Coast of the US.
The storm has closed thousands businesses and severely shut down the infrastructure of the nation.
In New York, the US financial capital, an explosion at a sub-station caused power outages and darkened most of downtown Manhattan as well as Westchester County and affected more than 650,000 customers, power company Consolidated Edison said.
"This is the largest storm-related outage in our history," said John Miksad, Con Ed's senior vice president for electric operations.
Both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq exchanges said they would remain closed on Tuesday, but both plan to reopen on Wednesday. NYSE said that its famed trading floor - based close to the major flooding in Lower Manhattan - remained undamaged.
Wednesday is a key trading day because it is the last day of the month, when traders price their portfolios.
Bond trading is also suspended.
In Europe, shares in Swiss Re rose 1.3% and Munich Re shares were also higher. The two companies are reinsurers - they insure insurers, who will have to pay out a large amount to businesses and individuals affected by Sandy.
The continued closure of public transport along the US East Coast means millions of people won't be able to get to work.
Air traffic to and from the region has also been severely disrupted and nearly 14,000 flights were cancelled, potentially hurting airlines that were already struggling in the weak economy.
Amtrak has suspended passenger train services across the north-east.
The UN headquarters in New York is also to stay closed, while public transport was suspended in Washington DC, New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Boston.
Japan boosts stimulus measures to spur growth
The Bank of Japan has boosted its key stimulus measure amid concerns that Japan's economic recovery may be running out of steam.
It has extended its asset purchase programme, under which it buys bonds to keep long-term borrowing costs down, by 11 trillion yen ($138bn; £86bn).
It will also offer unlimited loans to banks to encourage lending and boost domestic demand.
Analysts said the bank may need to take further measures to spur growth.
"The problem is not banks' ability to lend," said Masayuki Kichikawa, chief Japan economist as Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Tokyo.
"The problem is a lack of demand for loans due to deflation and a high exchange rate."
Japan has been fighting deflation, or falling prices, for many years, and the phenomenon has been a big hurdle in its attempts to boost domestic consumption.
While falling prices are good news for consumers, they are not so for the economy, as people tend to push back their purchases in the hope of getting a cheaper deal in the long run.
At the same time, a strong currency has also hurt Japanese manufacturers, making their goods more expensive for foreign buyers and hurting their profits.
The yen has risen by more than 6% against the US dollar since April 2011, despite interventions by Japanese authorities in the currency markets to weaken it.
Analysts said that a strong currency coupled with slowing demand from key markets meant that, despite a push by the central bank to boost lending, businesses were reluctant to borrow and increase their investment.
--BBC
Apple's Scott Forstall and John Browett to leave firm
Apple has announced a major shake-up of its management, with two senior executives to leave the company.
The announcement follows embarrassing problems with its new mapping software and disappointing quarterly results.
Scott Forstall, head of its iOS software, will leave next year. He will serve as an adviser to chief executive Tim Cook in the interim.
Head of retail John Browett, the former Dixons boss, is also leaving after just six months in the job.
Apple said the moves were a way to increase collaboration across its hardware, software and services businesses. No specific reasons were given for either man's departure.
As part of the changes, Sir Jonathan Ive, who runs the team designing Apple's hardware, will also oversee the user experience on its software.
Mapping problems
The company faced a barrage of criticism after its new mapping software, introduced last month, showed inaccuracies and misplaced towns and cities.
The maps debacle led to Mr Cook issuing an apology to customers, while some critics called for Mr Forstall's head as he was the executive behind the panned app.
Mr Forstall joined Apple in 1997 when the technology giant purchased Steve Jobs' start-up Next, and he is credited as one of the original architects of Mac OS X.
A profile in Businessweek called him the " best remaining proxy for the voice of Steve Jobs", the iconic co-founder of Apple, for his strong views on how consumer technology should function and was responsible for the development of iOS, the operating system on iPhones and iPads that bring in most of Apple's money.
But he was reportedly unpopular with the rest of senior management.
There are several reports that he refused to sign the apology that Mr Cook eventually issued for the maps disaster.
Mr Forstall made almost $39m this year from selling shares, and is likely to be in high demand from rival firms in Silicon Valley.
Craig Federighi will lead both iOS and OS X now, while Sir Jonathan will take on responsibility for the design of "human interface" in its software.
One analyst said Sir Jonathan - responsible for much of the look of the iPod, iPhone and other devices - could now help reinvigorate the look of Apple's software, which has been slower to evolve than Google's Android.
BP profits fall but dividend is raised 12.5%
Oil giant BP has reported a fall in profits for the past three months.
Replacement cost profit, which strips out the effect of oil price movements, was $4.69bn (£3bn), down from $5.27bn for the quarter last year.
However, chief executive Bob Dudley said the figures showed "strong progress" at BP, which is raising the quarterly dividend by 12.5%.
Mr Dudley added that BP was "on track with our strategy to 2014" and was laying foundations for growth.
The profit figures were helped by better-than-expected margins in BP's refining operations. Investors sent BP shares up almost 5% in morning trading.
Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers, said: "It has been an immensely complicated time for BP and this update reflects just how much progress has been made."
BP believes it is entering a new era, as it tries to put the turmoil of the last few years behind it.
The company has signed a major deal with Rosneft to sell its stake in TNK-BP, ending the troubled relationship with its Russian partners in the joint venture. It also re-stated on Tuesday its hope that it can settle civil and criminal claims over the Gulf of Mexico oil platform disaster.
However, BP's statement said: "BP is in ongoing discussions with the Department of Justice and other federal agencies regarding a possible settlement of these claims and whilst it is ready to settle on reasonable terms, a number of unresolved issues remain and there is significant uncertainty as to whether an agreement will ultimately be reached.
"BP has repeatedly said that it is willing to settle on reasonable terms but otherwise continues to prepare vigorously for the start of trial."
The company said it would make a final payment of $860m into the $20bn Gulf of Mexico compensation fund by the end of the year.
Mr Hunter said the size of the trust meant that "the Gulf of Mexico liability is well provisioned" and should help remove some of the uncertainty.
He added: "The recently announced agreement with Rosneft leaves BP with exposure to the important Russian region without some of the previous distractions, and the hike in the dividend is proof of management's optimism for prospects."
--BBC
Storm Sandy causes severe flooding in eastern US
"Super-storm" Sandy has swept into the US East Coast with hurricane-force winds, bringing flooding, cutting power and claiming at least 13 lives.
Sandy caused a record surge of seawater in New York City, flooding subway and road tunnels and plunging much of Lower Manhattan into darkness.
President Obama has declared a "major disaster" in New York state, AFP says.
An estimated 50 million people could be affected by the storm, with up to one million ordered to evacuate homes.
At least five million people across several states are without electricity.
The full extent of the damage may not be known until daybreak.
Over the past week Sandy has killed dozens of people as it carved a path of destruction through the Caribbean.
Public transport has been halted in several eastern US cities, and thousands of flights have been grounded.
In other developments:
- More than 200 patients were evacuated from New York University's Tisch Hospital after its power went out and a backup generator failed.
- Fire has destroyed about 50 homes in the New York City borough of Queens.
- America's oldest nuclear power plant, Oyster Creek in New Jersey, was put on alert due to rising water, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.
- The New York Stock Exchange will stay shut on Tuesday - the first time it has closed for two consecutive days due to weather since 1888.
- A crew member from a replica of HMS Bounty has died and the captain is missing after the ship sank in mountainous seas off North Carolina on Monday.
Both President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney cancelled campaign appearances little more than a week before the presidential election.
The storm made landfall close to Atlantic City in New Jersey at about 20:00 local time (midnight GMT), packing winds of more than 80mph (129km/h).
Much of Atlantic City is under water, and 30,000 residents were evacuated.
Sandy threatens an 800-mile (1,290-km) swathe of the US, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes in the Mid-West.
It lost its hurricane status late on Monday as it neared the coast and collided with winter weather systems, but was still packing hurricane-strength winds.
At 05:00 EDT (09:00 GMT) the National Hurricane Center placed the centre of Sandy about 90 miles (145km) west of Philadelphia with maximum sustained winds of 65mph (105km/h) with higher gusts.
In New York, some 375,000 residents were ordered out of Lower Manhattan and other areas, as the Hudson and East rivers began overflowing.
A record storm surge of 13.7ft (4.15m) swept into Lower Manhattan, flooding seven major subway tunnels.
"The New York City subway system is 108 years old, but it has never faced a disaster as devastating as what we experienced last night," city transport director Joseph Lhota said early on Tuesday.
"Lower Manhattan is being covered by seawater," Howard Glaser, director of operations for the New York state government, was quoted as saying. "I am not exaggerating. Seawater is rushing into the Battery Tunnel."
Battery Tunnel links Manhattan with Long Island.
The city's Consolidated Edison utility provider said some 500,000 homes in Manhattan were without power.
There were reports of an explosion at a Con Edison power station on the east side of Manhattan.
Vice president John Miksad said it was caused by flooding or flying debris, and he added it could take a week to restore power completely.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the storm surge was higher than the highest forecast, but he expected the waters to start receding from midnight local time.
Elsewhere in the city, the storm left a construction crane bent double next to a skyscraper and caused the facade off a four-storey building to collapse.
The UN headquarters in New York is also to stay closed.
Officials reported at least 12 deaths in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Connecticut - several due to fallen trees. AP news agency put the death toll at 16.
In addition to the US deaths, a Canadian woman was reported killed by flying debris in Toronto.
Forecasters have said Sandy could linger over as many as 12 states for 24-36 hours.
President Obama declared emergencies in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
In Washington DC, federal government offices are closed until Wednesday.
Public transport was suspended in the US capital, New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Boston.
Amtrak has suspended passenger train services across the north-east, while nearly 14,000 flights were cancelled, according to Flightaware.com.
Up to 3ft (91cm) of snow is expected to fall on the Appalachian mountains in West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky.
The disaster estimating firm Eqecat has forecast that Sandy could cause economic losses to the US of between $10bn and $20bn (£6.2bn-£12.4bn).
Huge Storm Slows US Presidential Campaign
With one week until election day, U.S. President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, are balancing how to make their final pitches to voters while tens of millions of people along the country's east coast deal with a massive storm.
Both candidates have canceled their planned Tuesday appearances, instead focusing their messages on storm victims and calling for donations to relief organizations.
The storm's impact includes several political battleground states that analysts say are key to the outcome of the November 6 election, including Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Ohio.
In some parts of Virginia and North Carolina early voting sites have been closed as the storm moves through, and sites in Washington remain closed Tuesday.
Mr. Obama returned to the White House Monday to oversee the government's response to the storm. Mr. Romney's aides say he may visit areas impacted by the storm later this week.
Afghanistan Sets Date for Presidential Election
Afghan election officials say the country has set a date for its next presidential election.
The country's Independent Election Commission said in a statement Tuesday that the election will be held April 5, 2014. The date was given, according to the Islamic calendar, as “Hamal 16, 1393.”
President Hamid Karzai is serving his second term and is constitutionally barred from running for re-election.
The upcoming vote is seen as a test of Afghanistan's young democracy, after the 2009 election was marred by allegations of voter fraud.
South African Police Fire Rubber Bullets to Disperse Striking Miners
Police in South Africa have fired tear gas and rubber bullets to break up a group of striking miners who are refusing to return to work until their pay demands are met.
The miners are among 12,000 workers that Anglo American Platinum fired earlier this month after they staged a wildcat strike at its Rustenburg mine.
Police also said Tuesday that a power station at the site had been set on fire.
Anglo American Platinum has offered to reinstate the miners if they return to work by Tuesday. As part of the deal, the company is also offering a one-time payment of about $230. But the miners say that is not enough, and are demanding a raise like the one Lonmin gave its platinum miners after they went on strike earlier this year.
Burma Unrest Could Radicalize Rohingya Muslims
The head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is warning that ongoing sectarian violence in western Burma could radicalize minority Rohingya Muslims and threaten the stability of the whole region.
ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan is calling for the international community to intervene in Burma's western Rakhine state, where dozens have been killed and tens of thousands displaced in the latest outbreak of fighting between Buddhists and Muslims. He says his 10-nation bloc is in a position to offer aid to Burma.
Surin says unless the situation is resolved quickly, Burma's 1.5 million Rohingyas could become radicalized, something he says could jeopardize the economic security of South and East Asia.
The United Nations says 22,000 people have been displaced since last week in western Rakhine state. The Burmese government says the fighting has left more than 2,800 houses burned down and 67 people dead.
Human Rights Watch fears the death toll is far higher, based on the accounts of witnesses fleeing the fighting, which it says has disproportionately targeted Muslims.
The U.N. said last week that the violence threatens to undermine the reforms enacted by Burma's new nominally civilian government. It called on Burmese authorities to bring lawlessness and vigilante attacks under control and to put a stop to threats and extremist rhetoric.
Swiss Bank UBS Announces Job Cuts
Swiss bank UBS has announced it is cutting 10,000 jobs worldwide as it tries to cut costs and slims down its investment banking activities.
The jobs will go over the next three years, and amount to 16% of its current workforce of 64,000, the bank said.
The bank would not comment on where the jobs would go.
But a source confirmed that 100 traders in London were sent home after being told that the part of the business they worked for was ceasing operations.
It is understood that they were met at reception by staff from HR who told them they were going to be made redundant.
They will receive full pay and benefits for the next three weeks in lieu of notice.
It is standard practice that bank employees are prevented from trading the moment they are informed that they are losing their jobs and are only able to collect any belongings under supervision.
UBS currently employs just over 6,600 staff in the UK.
UBS lost 39bn Swiss francs (£26bn; $42bn) during the financial crisis and had to be bailed out by the Swiss authorities. The cuts are aimed at saving 3.4bn Swiss francs.
UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti said: "This decision has been a difficult one, particularly in a business such as ours that is all about its people.
"Some reductions will result from natural attrition and we will take whatever measures we can to mitigate the overall effect."
Zurich-based UBS will focus on its private bank and a smaller investment bank, ditching much of the riskier trading business which was responsible for the bulk of its losses.
In a joint letter to shareholders, chairman Axel Weber and chief executive Mr Ermotti said: "We will no longer operate to any significant extent in businesses where risk-adjusted returns cannot meet their cost of capital."
UBS announced its restructuring plans as it reported its results for the third quarter of the year.
The bank reported a net loss of 2.17bn Swiss francs for the July to September period, compared with a profit of 1.02bn Swiss francs a year earlier. The loss was mainly due to an impairment charge of 3.1bn Swiss francs that UBS is taking to cover the cost of the changes to its investment bank.
UBS was one of the banks hardest hit during the global financial crisis.