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Good, Bad, and Ugly

Reader reaction to Reuters news

November 6th, 2009

The word is buy…

Posted by: Robert Basler

Brussels set to complain over Oracle’s deal to by Sun-FT

I am sure someone has made you aware of this ERROR…. The word you want is BUY.

Kelly

Yes. Readers did, as you say, make us aware of this one: GBU Editor

REUTERS photo Robert Galbraith

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October 13th, 2009

Treble without a cause?

Posted by: Robert Basler

Microsoft launches new phone software

The market for phones is set to treble or quadruple in the next few years, Ballmer said, and Microsoft is ready to challenge other phone makers for market share.

The following quote: “The market for phones is set to treble or quadruple in the next few years, Ballmer said, and Microsoft is ready to challenge other phone makers for market share.” was on your site today.

While I do have trouble getting decent bass on my cellphone, the treble is quite good.

T.A.

Ballmer used the word correctly. You may wish to check a dictionary:

Treble: verb (used with object), verb (used without object) to make or become three times as much or as many; triple. GBU Editor

Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft Corporation Steve Ballmer gestures during a news conference in Munich, October 7, 2009. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle

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August 28th, 2009

Not much of a salary…

Posted by: Robert Basler

AIG CEO defends holiday, slams “lynch mob” attacks

The new AIG CEO is being paid more than his predecessor, Ed Liddy, who made just $1 a year. AIG said it will pay Benmosche $3 million in cash and $4 million in fully-vested stock. He also could receive a bonus valued as high as $3.5 million.

I presume you meant $1 million a year? I mean I know it’s a crisis but I hope Ed got paid a little more than that…

Martin

Nope, $1 a year was the correct figure for Liddy: GBU Editor

AIG CEO Edward Liddy gestures as he testifies before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises on Capitol Hill in Washington in this March 18, 2009 file photo. REUTERS/Mike Theiler/Files

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July 27th, 2009

Loonie headline?

Posted by: Robert Basler

Canada economy stabilizing, lonnie a concern: Flaherty

That should be “Loonie a concern.” The nickname for the canadian dollar is loonie. The origin comes from the image of the loon on the coin.

L.R.G.

Yes. We fixed it, thanks: GBU Editor

A Canadian one dollar coin, also known as a loonie, in a 2006 file photo. REUTERS/ Shaun Best

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July 9th, 2009

Sloppy mistakes…

Posted by: Robert Basler

Democrats expand Senate control, yet splits remain

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats achieved their biggest majority in the U.S. Senate in decades on Tuesday as Al Franken of Minnesota finally took his seat — but President Barak Obama will still have to fight hard to muster the votes to pass healthcare reform and other major initiatives.

This article has Obama’s first name spelled wrong in the first paragraph. Boo!

D.W.

We corrected, but not before readers noticed. Which brings us to this next item.

Wall Street hits 10-week low amid talk of new stimulus

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Socks fell to their lowest level in 10 weeks on Tuesday as talk of a second government stimulus plan heightened fears that the economy is not yet on the path to recovery and that the corporate earnings season starting this week will be weak.

Really? SOCKS fell?
Rickard
Ouch: GBU Editor
U.S. President Barack Obama stands near an Italian presidential guard as he listens to Italian President Giorgio Napolitano speak at Quirinale Palace in Rome July 8, 2009.  REUTERS/Chris Helgren
July 6th, 2009

The I stands for Internal…

Posted by: Robert Basler

UBS to restrict U.S. offshore account access-source

But the Swiss giant is still embroiled in a civil lawsuit in which the U.S. Internal Revenue Service is trying to get information about 52,000 U.S. accounts and it faces a first court hearing on July 13.

This article while well written contains a large error, the IRS the United States Federal Government’s Tax Agency is known colloquially and officially as the Internal Revenue Service, not Inland.

This error makes your article look sloppy, and as if no one has proof-read it. The time it takes to do proofreading and fact-checking is a few seconds by typing IRS into Google.

Steven B.

We corrected. Inland Revenue is the name of the tax collection authority in a number of countries, but not, as you point out, in the U.S. GBU Editor

Holding a tax rebate letter from the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. President George W. Bush speaks about the economy during a visit to a small business in Sterling, Virginia March 26, 2006. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

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July 5th, 2009

They aren’t in jail…

Posted by: Robert Basler

Pirate Bay founders get rich in jail

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Swedish software company Global Gaming Factory X AB said on Tuesday it had agreed to buy free file-sharing website The Pirate Bay, and that it would find ways to compensate copyright owners for downloaded material.

The four Swedish men behind the website were sentenced in April to one year in jail and ordered to pay damages of 3.6 million dollars for running the site, which is one of the world’s largest for downloading files on the Internet.

The PirateBay founders are NOT in jail!!! They are free on appeal.

Please get your facts straight and spare us this type of dishonest and sensationalistic headlining. It is sad to see Reuters going down the road of tabloid journalism.

Matt B.

Is this true? In Sweden one does not serve a sentence until the appeals process ends. Their conviction came from the lowest Swedish court and now they are appealing to the district (which will most likely end up being seen before the Supreme court before this is over and done with.

I just think it is unfair to say they are making money while in jail while to the best of my knowledge the verdict is not yet lawful and they are still free men.

John L,

A number of readers noticed this one. The headline was correct on most of our services, but unfortunately was rewritten in the online version: GBU Editor

Pirate Bay co-founders Fredrik Neij (L), Gottfrid Svartholm (C) and Peter Sunde leave the city court after the last day of argument’s in their copyright trial in Stockholm March 3, 2009. REUTERS/Bob Strong

July 3rd, 2009

Madoff’s crime

Posted by: Robert Basler

Madoff can expect de facto life term at sentencing

NEW YORK, June 29 (Reuters) - Admitted thief Bernard Madoff will leave his jail cell and be taken under guard to court on Monday morning to hear his punishment for running Wall Street’s biggest and most brazen investment scheme.

The opening sentence in this article is ignorant. It It is not a crime to run a big or a brazen investment scheme.

C.S.M.
We should have worded it differently. We improved the description in a subsequent update of the story: GBU Editor
Booking mug shot of Bernard Madoff released to Reuters on March 17, 2009. REUTERS/UNITED STATES MARSHALS SERVICE/FOIA/Handout

June 17th, 2009

The Ford family tree

Posted by: Robert Basler

Guests at National Summit sound downbeat theme

Ford, the grandson of the company founder, industry giant Henry Ford, said he expected the U.S. government’s ownership of General Motors Corp would continue for “some time” — suggesting the quick but controversial trip through bankruptcy that Chrysler LLC enjoyed would not be repeated.

Bill Ford, Jr. is the son of Bill Ford, Sr., who is the son of Edsel Ford, who was the son of company founder, Henry Ford. By my reckoning, that makes Bill Ford Jr. Henry’s great-grandson, not his grandson.

J.P.

You’re right. We corrected: GBU Editor

Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford talks with the media during The National Summit at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan June 15, 2009. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

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May 28th, 2009

Moving there for the hospitals?

Posted by: Robert Basler

Accenture to shift incorporation to Ireland

Ireland is expected to benefit along with Switzerland as companies seek more hospital conditions in Europe.

They are moving because of “hospital conditions”? I didn’t realize the health care was a reason to move corporations…perhaps you meant “Hospitable”….

J.K.

Ouch. Yes. We corrected: GBU Editor

Bill Green, the chairman and chief executive of consulting firm Accenture Ltd, speaks during a news conference in Mumbai April 22, 2008. REUTERS/Arko Datta

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