On Monday night, the Washington Times announced that it would conduct an inquiry into the work of longtime columnist Arnaud de Borchgrave, following allegations that he’d lifted material from other sources on the Internet. Ed Kelley, the paper’s top editor, said that the allegations about de Borchgrave’s work “require attention.” Not to mention a bit of Internet hiding. Check out the author page for de Borchgrave on the Washington Times site. The links to recent columns by the reporter lead to dead ends: “This story is no longer available on the site.” Older pieces from de Borchgrave’s archive appear active at this writing. A source at the paper indicates that the link deactivating took place yesterday, presumably as a part of the investigation. The story ... Continue reading →

By Rob CoxThe author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own. Facebook has reminded investors of a simple lesson: Avoid companies whose bosses don’t care about you. From the get-go, Mark Zuckerberg, the social network’s not very sociable founder, made clear he had little interest in welcoming public shareholders. That indifference set a tone for his executives, venture capitalists and bankers that arguably contributed to the glaring flaws in Facebook’s initial public offering last week. True, the company’s earlier backers, who were able to unload more than $10 billion of stock at the highest possible price, may consider the deal worthy of high-fives and Cristal. But the combination of a stock already trading well below its offer price, annoyed retail investors ... Continue reading →

By Mike Collett-White CANNES, France | Wed May 23, 2012 11:23am EDT CANNES, France (Reuters) - Brad Pitt's latest movie paints a bleak picture of the broken American dream, blending a violent but comic gangster story with overt criticism of politicians' failure to address the economic crisis. "Killing Them Softly" takes place in an unspecified U.S. city which has borne the brunt of the financial collapse -- houses are abandoned, shops are shuttered and petty criminals and mobsters alike are struggling to get by.The movie, co-produced by Pitt, is in the main competition at the Cannes film festival this year, and has its red carpet world premiere on Tuesday.Pitt plays ruthless hitman Jackie Cogan, brought in by a syndicate of mafia bosses to eliminate a ... Continue reading →

Top News Facebook, banks sued over pre-IPO analyst calls Wed, May 23 09:50 AM EDT (Reuters) - Facebook Inc and banks including Morgan Stanley were sued by the social networking leader's shareholders, who claimed the defendants hid Facebook's weakened growth forecasts ahead of its $16 billion initial public offering. The defendants, who also include Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg, were accused of concealing from investors during the IPO marketing process "a severe and pronounced reduction" in revenue growth forecasts, resulting from increased use of its app or website through mobile devices. Facebook went public last week. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Wednesday, according to a law firm for the plaintiffs. A day earlier, a similar lawsuit by a ... Continue reading →