News Headlines - 31 October 2014

▽Kuroda Surprises With Stimulus Boost as Japan Struggles - Bloomberg

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda led a divided board to expand what was already an unprecedentedly large monetary-stimulus program, boosting stocks and sending the yen tumbling.

▽U.S. Third-Quarter GDP Expands at 3.5% Rate - WSJ

The economy grew at a solid pace during the third quarter, driven by an uptick in military spending and a drop in imports, showing the U.S. on relatively firm footing as worries mount about a global slowdown.
Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of goods and services produced across the economy, expanded at a 3.5% annual rate from July through September, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

▽Provocateur’s Death Haunts the Dutch - NYTimes.com

Nothing marks the spot on an unremarkable street in east Amsterdam where on Nov. 2, 2004, Mohammed Bouyeri, a 26-year-old Moroccan Dutchman — saying he was acting to defend the name of Allah — shot dead, then slashed the throat of the Dutch filmmaker, television host and provocateur Theo van Gogh. Few events have been planned to mark the 10th anniversary, and many here are weary of the national soul searching the killing prompted. But the day is still seared in people’s minds.

▽One pilot dead as Virgin Galactic spaceship crashes during test flight - Telegraph

The spaceship of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic exploded in mid-air during a test flight over the Mojave desert in California on Friday.
One of the two test pilots died in the disaster and the other was reported to have suffered serious injuries after ejecting by parachute as the spaceship tore apart in mid-air. The injured pilot was taken to a local hospital.

▽BBC Sport - Steven Gerrard open to move from Liverpool if not offered new deal

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has revealed he could join another club if he is not offered a new contract.
The 34-year-old, who joined Liverpool's youth academy at the age of nine, ruled out the possibility of retirement when his current deal expires in May.