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Global equity class="mandelbrot_refrag"> markets and the dollar rose on Friday, with U.S. stocks closing at record highs, after data on U.S. jobs creation bolstered risk appetite that was also fed by the European Central Bank's pledge to douse deflation with bundles of cash. The Dow and class="mandelbrot_refrag"> S&P 500 advanced in a broad rally that has spurred repeated records since last week. The CBOE Volatility index VIX, a measure of investor apprehension, tumbled 8.3 percent to its lowest level since February 2007. In Europe, peripheral class="mandelbrot_refrag"> markets outperformed as investors bet that banks in the class="mandelbrot_refrag"> euro zone would benefit the most from the ECB's measures announced on Thursday.   true       The U.S. nonfarm payrolls report showed a solid pace of hiring in May, returning employment to its pre-crisis level. The economy has recouped the 8.7 million jobs lost du

U.S. employment returned to its pre-recession peak in May with a solid pace of hiring that offered confirmation the class="mandelbrot_refrag"> economy has snapped back from a winter slump. Nonfarm payrolls increased 217,000 last month, the Labor Department said on Friday, in line with market expectations. Data for March and April was revised to show 6,000 fewer jobs created than previously reported. "This was a very solid report with no obvious warts to detract from the underlying message of sustained improvement in economic activity," said Millan Mulraine, deputy chief economist at TD Securities in New York. May marked a fourth straight month of job gains above 200,000, a stretch last witnessed in January 2000, even though it also was a slowdown from the 282,000 jobs created in April, when hiring was still bouncing back from a winter lull. The nation finally recouped the 8.7 million jobs lost during the recession, with 8.8 million more people working now

General Motors Co on Friday announced four more recalls covering 105,688 cars and trucks globally, raising the number of recalls to 34 including the high-profile for defective ignition switches linked to at least 13 deaths. _0"> GM's 34 recalls so far this year cover almost 13.9 million vehicles in the United States, including the 2.6 million older cars with the defective ignition switch. Globally, GM has recalled about 15.9 million vehicles. Almost 90,000 of the vehicles recalled on Friday were sold in the United States. The automaker on Thursday released its internal probe detailing how lower-level employees turned a blind eye to the defective switch for 11 years, but cleared top executives of any blame. GM's largest recall on Friday covers 69,552 heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickup trucks from model years 2014 and 2015, as well as Chevy Tahoe and Suburban, and GMC Yukon SUVs from model year 2015. The vehicles are being recalled becaus

class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Wal-Mart Stores Inc appointed Gregory Penner as vice chairman, showing again that the world's largest retailer is looking at younger executives to revive its fortunes. The appointment of 44-year-old Penner puts him in a position to succeed Chairman Rob Walton, his 69-year-old father-in-law. Penner, who has been on Wal-Mart's board since 2008, is a general partner at Madrone Capital Partners, according to Wal-Mart's website. From 2002 to 2005, he was Wal-Mart's senior vice president and the chief financial officer of its class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Japan unit. The announcement, made in Wal-Mart's annual shareholder meeting on Friday, comes at a time when the company's U.S. same-store sales are falling and it struggles to get beyond a bribery scandal at its class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Mexico unit that cost it more than $500 million since 2012. Wal-Mart is also facing increasing dissent fro

Investors have spent several months deciphering the mixed signals from the U.S. class="mandelbrot_refrag"> economy , and yet the class="mandelbrot_refrag"> S&P 500 has kept moving higher, slowly but surely, putting it just shy of the 2,000 mark. With its Friday close, the S&P would need just a 2.5 percent gain to vault the 2K level - something most did not expect during the depths of the Great Recession. The move has been anything but frantic. The class="mandelbrot_refrag"> S&P 500 has not made a 1 percent move in a single session in almost two months, and the CBOE Volatility Index, the market's favored gauge of anxiety, fell below 11 on Friday, for its lowest close since 2007. "That the market is going up in low volatility is good for investor sentiment," said Doug Coté, chief market strategist at Voya class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Investment Management in New York. What's unclear is whether th

Activist investor Carl Icahn has reported a 9.39 percent stake in class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Family Dollar Stores Inc and said he could push for major changes or a sale of the company. _0"> Shares of Family Dollar, struggling under declining sales and profit, rose as much as 10 percent in extended trading on Friday. Icahn, known for taking big stakes in companies and pushing for management change, said in a regulatory filing that he may seek board representation in Family Dollar. ( r.reuters.com/nev89v ) Icahn said in the filing that he plans to talk to the convenience store operator about strategies, which may include the exploration of strategic alternatives. "Disclosed a 9 percent position in Family Dollar today. Hope to continue our streak of value enhancement," Icahn posted on Twitter. Family Dollar Chief Executive Howard Levine had disclosed a 8.18 percent stake in the company last November, according to Thomson Reuters data. Family Dollar

Hedge fund billionaire Carl Icahn became the largest shareholder in class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Family Dollar Stores Inc after reporting a 9.39 percent stake in the company on Friday, and said he may seek representation on its board. Shares of Family Dollar, struggling under declining sales, rose as much as 12 percent in extended trade on Friday. At 10.69 million shares, Icahn becomes the largest shareholder in Family Dollar. Chief Executive Officer Howard Levine disclosed a 8.18 percent stake with 9.31 million shares last November, according to Thomson Reuters data. Activist investor Nelson Peltz-led Trian Partners is the third-largest shareholder with a 7.35 percent stake and 8.37 million shares in Family Dollar, according to a March 31 filing. In 2011, Family Dollar rejected Peltz's bid to buy the company for at least $7 billion. Icahn, known for taking big stakes in companies and pushing for management change, said he plans to talk to the low-cost store ope

Hershey Co has sued a Colorado maker of marijuana edibles, saying the packaging of its products is too similar to those made by the Pennsylvania-based chocolate and candy company. _0"> The trademark infringement lawsuit, filed this week in the U.S. District Court in Denver, says the Ganja Joy bars made by TinctureBelle LLC and TinctureBelle Marijuanka LLC too closely resemble Almond Joy produced by Hershey. It also says three other marijuana edibles - Hasheath, Hashees and Dabby Patty - are knock-offs of Hershey's Heath, Reese's peanut butter cups and York peppermint patty candies.   true       In addition to trademark infringement, the lawsuit said TinctureBelle's behavior "also creates a genuine safety risk with regard to consumers, including children, who may not distinguish between Hershey’s candy products and defendants’ cannabis" and might eat the marijuana edibles by mistake. It was not immediately possible to contact TinctureBelle for comment

class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Euro zone interest rates will diverge from those in the United States and Britain for a number of years, European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Board member Benoit Coeure told class="mandelbrot_refrag"> France Inter radio on Saturday. Speaking after the ECB this week cut rates to record lows, Coeure said they would remain around that level for a long time, whereas central class="mandelbrot_refrag"> banks in the United States and UK would at some point raise rates. "Clearly what we wanted to indicate on Thursday is the fact that monetary conditions will diverge between the class="mandelbrot_refrag"> euro zone on one hand and the United States and the United Kingdom on the other for a long period, which will be several years," he said. "We are going to keep rates close to zero for an extremely long period, whereas the United States and the United Kingdom will at some point return to

Iran's smart set turned out in force for this year's Tehran Art Auction, spending a record amount as the country's modern and contemporary art scene thrives despite economic sanctions. The annual event on Friday was a sell-out, raising $5.1 million from the auction of works by Iranian artists, more than double the amount fetched last year. While Western sanctions since 2010 on Iran's oil and financial sectors have sapped Iranian collectors' purchasing power, and forced them to retreat from international art auctions such as Christie's, they have also been a catalyst to building up the domestic art market. Since its launch three years ago the Tehran Art Auction has gained social cachet and most of the 90 items sold on Friday went for at least two times their predicted values, pushing total sales $2.4 million above forecasts, according to the Tehran Art Auction website. The highest-selling pieces were two works by notable Iranian poet and painter, Sohrab Sep

The improbable tale of three music-loving lawyers linked to class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Ukraine - two of them Jews and one a Hitler aide known as the "Butcher of Poland" - has made it to the stage in a work premiered at the Hay Festival. "The Great Crimes" tells how the lives of Hersch Lauterpecht, who formulated the legal concept of crimes against humanity, Raphael Lemkin, who helped make genocide an international crime, and Hans Frank, World War Two governor of Nazi-occupied Poland, became entwined. "It is about the origins of our modern systems of justice and the role that an individual can play," Philippe Sands, professor of international law at University College, London, told Reuters. Sands, baritone Laurent Naouri and pianist Guillaume de Chassy gave "The Great Crimes" its first public hearing at the Hay festival on May 25. Sands narrates the story, interspersed with music from Naouri and de Chassy. It will performe

Vandals have destroyed prehistoric rock art in lawless southern Libya, endangering a sprawling tableau of paintings and carvings classified by UNESCO as of "outstanding universal value". Located along Libya's southwestern tip bordering Algeria, the Tadrart Acacus mountain massif is famous for thousands of cave paintings and carvings going back up to 14,000 years. The art, painted or carved on rocks sandwiched by spectacular sand dunes, showcase the changing flora and fauna of the Sahara stretching over thousands of years. Highlights include a huge elephant carved on a rock face as well as giraffes, cows and ostriches rendered in caves dating back to an era when the region was not inhospitable desert. But in a visit to Libya's remote far south, Reuters found many paintings destroyed or damaged by graffiti sprayers or people carving in their initials. Tourist officials in Ghat, the nearest large town, said the vandalism started around 2009 when a former Libyan em

An outstretched bronze hand by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti that was cast in 1947 is expected to fetch 10-15 million pounds ($17-25 million) at an auction this month, Christie's said on Thursday. The Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on June 24 of 60 works, including Giacometti's "La Main" (The Hand), follows an auction by Christie's of 65 works in February that set a new record for any London sale of 177 million pounds. "(The June sale) will continue to meet current market tastes with a rich offering of 60 avant-garde and modern works ... many of which are being offered at auction for the first time," Christie's said in a press release. The pre-sale estimate for the June auction is 96.4-141.5 million pounds, the auction house added. "La Main", one of four works by Giacometti on offer from a private collection, helped launch the sculptor's career when it was shown in New York after World War Two, Christie's said

A well-known Chinese-born Australian artist will be deported from class="mandelbrot_refrag"> China , Australian officials said on Friday, for his comments on the 25th anniversary of the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. _0"> Guo Jian, 52, a former Chinese soldier, was detained last week after an interview with the Financial Times regarding his experiences as a protester during the army's violent dispersal of the demonstrators on June 4, 1989. His detention was seen as part of a wider effort by authorities to stifle criticism of the government and remembrance of those who died in connection with the events 25 years ago. "Chinese authorities have advised Mr. Guo was detained on a visa-related matter," an official of Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Reuters in an email. "We understand Mr. Guo will be detained for 15 days and then required to depart class="m

Original manuscripts and drawings by former Beatle John Lennon, produced for two acclaimed books he wrote in the mid-1960s, sold for $2.9 million on Wednesday, more than double the pre-sale estimate, class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Sotheby's auction house said. _0"> All of the 89 lots in the sale, from Lennon's 1964 book "In His Own Write" and 1965's "A Spaniard in the Works," were snapped up by buyers. The highlight of the sale was "The Singularge Experience of Miss Anne Duffield," the manuscript for Lennon's parody of Sherlock Holmes from "A Spaniard in the Works" which fetched $209,000.   true       "The outstanding result, the first white glove sale of 2014 at class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Sotheby's New York, shows that Lennon's nonsense verse, puns, wicked humor and comic drawings continue to resonate 50 years after the publication of 'In His Own Write' and "A Spani

Secretive British street artist Banksy often paints on walls at night and has complained when people remove and re-sell his works, so he is sure to be infuriated by class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Sotheby's offering of about 70 items for "private sale" in London.     Dubbed "The Unauthorised Retrospective" and curated by Steve Lazarides, a street-art promoter and Banksy's former agent, the London show includes sculptures, oils, and prints - all of which are said to have increased enormously in value in a few years. "I think for him it's probably the last thing in the world he'd ever want to see," Lazarides told Reuters at a press preview of the exhibition on Friday. "It's an unauthorised exhibition - he has nothing to do with it apart from the fact he painted all the paintings, of course. For him - I don't know - I think it's interesting to get all the works together. It will probably mean more commercially t

With venues ranging from a 16th-century courtyard house to a converted church, Edinburgh’s annual Fringe Festival has unveiled its 2014 program with productions from 47 countries around the world.     Marking the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War One, veteran actor and Director Guy Masterson will recite the finest writings from both sides in "An Anthem for a Doomed Youth" at the Assembly Roxy performance venue in a former church.     Actor, writer and presenter Stephen Fry will present "Forgotten Voices" at the Pleasance Courtyard, while Hour Lot Theatre tells the intriguing story of an unlikely friendship between the German Kaiser and a British prisoner-of-war in "Dear Mr Kaiser" at theSpace on North Bridge.     The festival covers a huge range of art forms including cabaret, comedy, dance, circus, music, opera and theater.     A record 3,193 shows – an 11-percent increase over 2013 – and nearly 51,000 performances cement the Fringe’s p

A federal appeals court has revived a New York City woman's lawsuit to force a California museum to return two life-size panels by German Renaissance artist Lucas Cranach the Elder that were looted by the Nazis during World War Two. By a 2-1 vote, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday said Marei Von Saher may pursue her case against the Norton Simon Museum of Art in Pasadena, California, over the nearly 500-year-old paintings of Adam and Eve. The panels had been left behind when Von Saher's father-in-law, Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, fled the Netherlands in 1940 as class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Germany invaded. Several hundred works in his gallery, including the Cranachs, were later sold to Nazi Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring at a fraction of their value. "This litigation may provide Von Saher an opportunity to achieve a just and fair outcome to rectify the consequences of the forced transaction with Göring during the war," Judge D

Anyone attending the premiere of Berlioz's rarely seen opera "Benvenuto Cellini", directed by Monty Python alumnus Terry Gilliam at the English National Opera, could be forgiven for thinking it was a preview for the Python reunion show in July. Gilliam, who seems to hate a void, filled the stage of London's enormous Coliseum theater on Thursday with jugglers, trapeze artists, stiltwalkers and tumblers for one of the 19th-century French composer's most troubled works. Huge papier-mache-style masks of a devil and a skull were paraded down the aisles within minutes of the curtain going up and they remained suspended from boxes on either side of the stage for the duration, emphasizing the carnival tone.   true       "Benvenuto Cellini", Berlioz's first opera that was based on the life of the renowned 16th-century Italian sculptor, was a flop when it had its premiere in Paris in 1838 and has been revived only sporadically since. In Gilliam's re-

class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Russia will pull back all forces deployed to regions near its border with class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Ukraine "within a few days," a deputy defence minister said on Friday, a move that if carried out could ease tensions around Ukraine's presidential election on Sunday. Moscow has concentrated tens of thousands of troops across the border from eastern class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Ukraine , where pro-Russian separatists have declared two independent states. The United States said a "very large and very capable" Russian force remained on Friday. Kiev and its Western allies see the Russian troops as a potential invasion force should Moscow choose to back the rebels openly, fuelling pre-election tensions. The United States and European Union hope the vote will strengthen the embattled central government. Asked whether Russia would comply with Western calls for a withdrawal of its troops near the

Bank of class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank still has policy options left if it were to ease monetary policy further to fend off risks that may threaten the achievement of its price target. _0"> Kuroda repeated his view that the world's third-largest class="mandelbrot_refrag"> economy is making steady progress toward meeting the BOJ's 2 percent price target, with core consumer inflation having reached 1.3 percent for four straight months in March. "But we are ready to adjust policy, be it further monetary easing or something else, if changes in economic and financial developments derail the path toward meeting the price target," he said in an interview with the class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Nikkei class="mandelbrot_refrag"> business daily published on Saturday. Kuroda said the BOJ will not ease incrementally in response to temporary fluctuations in the cl

Russian class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said on Saturday he was confident that the European Union would refrain from imposing sanctions that could hit some of the country's major exports. _0"> European Union leaders are to discuss next week a series of steps they could take against class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Russia if there are disruptions to Ukraine's presidential election on Sunday. The measures, including restrictions ranging from luxury goods imports to an oil and gas ban, envisage three scenarios - low-intensity, medium-intensity and high-intensity sanctions. "I sincerely believe that it will not come to the adoption of these measures," Ulyukayev told journalists on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. (Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; Writing by Lidia Kelly)   true      

The European Union should consider the interests of European companies working in Russia when deciding on whether to impose sanctions on Moscow over its involvement in class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Ukraine , President Vladimir Putin's top economic aide said on Saturday. _0"> "I hope very much that when making these decisions ... the dependence and interests of European companies that are working in class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Russia (will be considered)," Andrei Belousov told the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. "These are European companies, which are working here, working for class="mandelbrot_refrag"> European markets for the most part, and which are taking suitcases full of cash to Europe." Belousov also said that Russia may take legal action if sanctions were to restrict the country's foreign trade. (Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; Writing by Lidia Kelly, editing by Jason Bush)

The European Union should consider the interests of European companies working in Russia when deciding on whether to impose sanctions on Moscow over its involvement in class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Ukraine , President Vladimir Putin's top economic aide said on Saturday. The United States and European Union have already hit dozens of officials, lawmakers and companies close to Putin with sanctions and EU leaders are due to discuss next week further steps they could take against class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Russia if there are disruptions to Ukraine's presidential election on Sunday. "I hope very much that when making these decisions ... the dependence and interests of European companies that are working in Russia (will be considered)," Andrei Belousov told reporters on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. "These are European companies, which are working here, working for class="mandelbrot_refrag"&g

Western sanctions will galvanise class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Russia into using the rouble as a currency for international trade, the country's prime minister Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview published on Saturday. _0"> "Trading for roubles - this is a definite priority," Medvedev said. "This, in fact, should ultimately move the rouble from the cohort of freely convertible class="mandelbrot_refrag"> currencies into the ranks of reserve currencies." He was speaking in an interview recorded for the television programme "Vesti on Saturday with Sergey Brilev", shown on the Rossiya channel and published on the government's website. In recent weeks officials have said the government is considering making it obligatory for state-owned companies to receive payment for key exports in roubles, rather than in dollars as at present. EU leaders meet next week to discuss steps that could be taken to target broader se

Investors this week will be watching the results of elections that could deal a blow to political parties that are key to reform efforts in the European Union and could also fan instability in Ukraine. The bonds of some struggling class="mandelbrot_refrag"> euro zone governments sold off last week as investors worried about expected gains for anti-EU parties in European Parliament votes in Greece and Italy. In Greece, a strong showing by parties opposed to the terms of its EU-led bailout may hurt the fragile coalition government, potentially paving the way for a new national vote. In Italy, a poor result for Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's party could undermine his drive for swift reforms, which he promised when he took power in a party coup earlier this year. The rise of anti-EU parties in northern Europe could make it harder for the European Union to deal quickly with any future resurgence of the class="mandelbrot_refrag"> euro zone crisis, analys

Greece's radical leftist Syriza rode a wave of anti-austerity anger to win the country's EU election but failed to deliver a knockout blow against Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's government, the official projection showed on Sunday. In his first electoral test since coming to power two years ago, voters punished Samaras for harsh wage and pension cuts imposed at the behest of EU/IMF lenders bankrolling class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Greece . It was the first time a radical leftist party had won at a national level in modern Greece, though Syriza fell short of a five percentage point victory margin seen as jeopardizing a government clinging to a two-seat majority in parliament. "Europeans are celebrating the defeat of the bailout and austerity in the country the European leadership turned into the guinea pig of the crisis," Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras said, reiterating a call for early elections. "Democracy and respect for democracy demands s