Yahoo! News: Health News

European shares, euro gain as Greek fears ease
Spanish debt costs spiral as crisis deepens
Insight: European firms plan for Greek unrest and euro exit
Insight: Hedge funds find ways to trade euro misery
Hong Kong's Kwok brothers renew bail; bribery case saps confidence
Oil India eyes stakes in overseas assets
Greece's four big banks get recapitalization funds-source
Analysis: With or without euro, Europe must raise its game
WTO's Lamy urges China to free up services sector
Xstrata plans big bonus to retain CEO ahead of Glencore merger: FT
Renesas outsources top-end chips to TSMC as shake-out looms
Spanish debt costs spiral, Rajoy says no outside bailout
Spain may recapitalize Bankia with government debt: source
Analysis: Indian rupee slump costly for $5.5 billion in convertible bonds
JPMorgan injects $400 million into China unit, eyes expansion
Analysis: BOJ gets cold feet after Valentine surprise
Ex-NY Times CEO clashed with chairman's girlfriend: report
China's energy investment push only for the brave
Whistleblower Woodford to tackle Olympus in court
JPMorgan replaces prime brokerage head: source
Hong Kong graft probe takes toll on Sun Hung Kai investors
New York is vying to become global high-tech hub
Smith, Jones' 'MiB3' zaps 'Avengers' out of No. 1
Greek stocks soar on pro-bailout party's poll gain
Tony Blair says he ducked fight with UK media
Russian tycoon unexpectedly quits as CEO of TNK-BP
World stocks inch higher on Greek vote hopes
Fire breaks out at fancy shopping mall in Qatar
Spanish PM insists banks won't need EU rescue
Microsoft appoints first official Iraq distributor
UK police arrest woman over phone hacking

European shares, euro gain as Greek fears ease

Posted: 28 May 2012 05:23 AM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - European stocks rose for a third straight session on Monday and the euro bounced back from two-year lows, as Greek polls showing growing support for pro-bailout parties eased speculation about a disorderly exit by Athens from the single currency. But the gains were seen as vulnerable to developments in Spain, where the government's borrowing costs rose sharply as investors factored in the impact of fixing the troubled banking sector on the government's finances. ...

Spanish debt costs spiral as crisis deepens

Posted: 28 May 2012 07:44 AM PDT

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish 10-year borrowing costs neared the 7 percent danger level and Bankia shares hit record lows on Monday after the government, struggling to sort out its finances, proposed putting sovereign debt into the struggling lender. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy pinned the blame for the rising borrowing costs - the spread over Germany reached the highest since the euro's launch - on concern about the future of the single currency. He again ruled out seeking outside aid to revive a banking sector laid low by a property boom that has long since bust. ...

Insight: European firms plan for Greek unrest and euro exit

Posted: 28 May 2012 04:09 AM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - British electrical retailer Dixons has spent the last few weeks stockpiling security shutters to protect its nearly 100 stores across Greece in case of riot. The planning, says Dixons chief Sebastian James, may look alarmist but it's good to be prepared. Company bosses around Europe agree. As the financial crisis in Greece worsens, companies are getting ready for everything from social unrest to a complete meltdown of the financial system. ...

Insight: Hedge funds find ways to trade euro misery

Posted: 28 May 2012 06:38 AM PDT

BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two decades ago, George Soros rose to fame and fortune on his now-historic trade in which he took on the Bank of England and shrewdly wagered on a devaluation of the British pound. But it's unlikely the current European monetary crisis and worries about Greece's potential exit from the euro zone will give rise to an investing legend like Soros, who made $1 billion in 1992 by betting on a decline in the price of the pound. Instead, there are a multitude of strategies to play Europe's troubles, and many different participants, hedge fund managers say. ...

Hong Kong's Kwok brothers renew bail; bribery case saps confidence

Posted: 28 May 2012 03:51 AM PDT

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The two billionaire Kwok brothers who run Sun Hung Kai Properties and three other men arrested in a bribery scandal involving Asia's biggest developer renewed their bail on Monday as Hong Kong's highest-profile graft investigation saps shareholder confidence in the conglomerate. Thomas and Raymond Kwok, co-chairmen of Sun Hung Kai, which owns the International Commerce Centre (ICC), the city's tallest building, appeared briefly at the Independent Commission Against Corruption's (ICAC) headquarters. ...

Oil India eyes stakes in overseas assets

Posted: 28 May 2012 07:55 AM PDT

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - State-run Oil India is looking to buy stakes in U.S. gas driller Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s Mississippi Lime basin and ConocoPhillips' oil sand assets in Canada, its head of finance said on Monday. The cash-rich Indian explorer, whose assets in India's north-east account for its entire crude oil production and the bulk of gas production, has been aggressively scouting to bolster its overseas assets portfolio. Oil India has earmarked 60-70 billion rupees ($1.3 billion) for overseas acquisition, T.K. ...

Greece's four big banks get recapitalization funds-source

Posted: 28 May 2012 08:28 AM PDT

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's bank support fund on Monday disbursed 18 billion euros to the country's four biggest banks as a part of a long-planned recapitalization effort, a fund official said. "The funds have been disbursed," the official at the Hellenic Financial Stability Facility, who declined to be named, told Reuters. The injection - via bonds from the European Financial Stability Facility rescue fund - will boost the capital base of National Bank , Alpha , Eurobank and Piraeus Bank , allowing them to regain access to European Central Bank funding. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos)

Analysis: With or without euro, Europe must raise its game

Posted: 27 May 2012 10:52 PM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - The opening last week in northeastern Spain of a 37-million-euro stretch of motorway to nowhere is an irresistible metaphor for the euro, an ambitious project conceived in better times that is now seemingly running out of road. With Spain heavily in debt, the authorities could not afford to finish the highway but opened the completed 6 km section near Lleida in any case to deter illegal joy racing. If only the euro were bringing joy. Maybe the road in Spain will be completed one day, but for now it is one more reminder that much of Europe has been living beyond its means. ...

WTO's Lamy urges China to free up services sector

Posted: 28 May 2012 02:39 AM PDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - China should further open its fledgling services sector to foreign investment to help sustain its economic rise, World Trade Organisation Director General Pascal Lamy said on Monday. "The WTO needs China to take the lead in pursuing greater services opening," Lamy said at a services trade fair in Beijing. China's services sector is underdeveloped despite its breakneck economic growth, making up just 43 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), compared with more than 70 percent in Western economies. ...

Xstrata plans big bonus to retain CEO ahead of Glencore merger: FT

Posted: 27 May 2012 06:22 PM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - Xstrata is this week set to reveal a bonus package worth tens of millions of pounds in an effort to retain its chief executive ahead of its merger with Glencore , the Financial Times reported on Monday. The terms must be backed by Xstrata shareholders as part of the proposed merger, the FT said, adding that the deal would be derailed if shareholders fail to back the pay package. Mick Davis is expected to receive is up to 50 million pounds ($78. ...

Renesas outsources top-end chips to TSMC as shake-out looms

Posted: 28 May 2012 02:52 AM PDT

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Renesas Electronics will outsource its top-end chips to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co to survive cut-throat global competition after falling behind in investment and as it grapples with a costly restructuring. Renesas, the world's fifth-largest chipmaker, and the rest of Japan's semiconductor industry face their biggest shake-out in a decade as more nimble rivals such as Samsung Electronics force them to tap the technical prowess of contract manufacturers such as TSMC, the world leader. ...

Spanish debt costs spiral, Rajoy says no outside bailout

Posted: 28 May 2012 05:20 AM PDT

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish debt yields jumped and shares in Bankia SA plunged to record lows on Monday after the government, struggling to sort out its finances, put forward a plan to revive its fourth-largest lender involving more public debt. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy pinned the blame for rising Spanish borrowing costs on concern about the future of the euro zone and again ruled out seeking outside aid to revive a banking sector laid low by a property boom that has long since bust. "There are major doubts over the euro zone and that makes the risk premium for some countries very high. ...

Spain may recapitalize Bankia with government debt: source

Posted: 27 May 2012 02:21 PM PDT

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain may recapitalize Bankia with Spanish government bonds in return for shares in the bank which last week asked for rescue funding of 19 billion euros ($24 billion), a government source said on Sunday. Bankia could use the sovereign paper as collateral to get cash from the European Central Bank, forcing the ECB to get involved with restructuring Spain's banking sector, laid low by lending to property developers in a boom that ended in 2008. ...

Analysis: Indian rupee slump costly for $5.5 billion in convertible bonds

Posted: 28 May 2012 02:36 AM PDT

MUMBAI (Reuters) - When promising tech company Subex sold $180 million in five-year convertible bonds in March 2007 to fund the acquisition of a Canadian technology company, India was at the height of an unprecedented market boom. The economy was growing at more than 9 percent a year, the Indian rupee was rallying towards a record high against the dollar and the Bombay Stock Exchange's main index had surged six-fold in the previous five years, even trumping the performance of China's much vaunted Shanghai stocks. Today, India and Subex face a different reality altogether. ...

JPMorgan injects $400 million into China unit, eyes expansion

Posted: 27 May 2012 09:15 PM PDT

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co has injected 2.5 billion yuan ($394.08 million) into its China unit, the latest foreign bank to beef up its Chinese operations. Foreign banks, including HSBC and Singapore's DBS Group , have either injected or are planning to pump in capital into their China units which are expected to grow rapidly over the coming years even as growth in the world's second-biggest economy comes off the boil. ...

Analysis: BOJ gets cold feet after Valentine surprise

Posted: 27 May 2012 10:38 PM PDT

TOKYO (Reuters) - Hyped up market expectations of more forceful steps by Japan's central bank to beat deflation since its two-punch monetary easing has raised concerns it needs to temper the message, or risk leading investors up a blind alley. The Bank of Japan eased monetary policy in February and set a 1 percent inflation target to show its determination to fix deflation that has plagued the country for more than a decade. The aggressive steps, from out of the blue on Valentine's Day, succeeded in altering market perception of what the authorities would do and how they would do it. ...

Ex-NY Times CEO clashed with chairman's girlfriend: report

Posted: 27 May 2012 02:06 PM PDT

(Reuters) - Arthur Sulzberger Jr.'s new girlfriend and the New York Times Co's declining business led to the ousting of Janet Robinson as the newspaper company's chief executive in December. A New York magazine article published this week reconstructs the events that led to Robinson's departure after 28 years of service, working her way up from advertising sales to the corner office in 2004, becoming Sulzberger's most trusted lieutenant in the process. http://tinyurl. ...

China's energy investment push only for the brave

Posted: 27 May 2012 08:37 PM PDT

HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - Private investors with the money and technology to unlock China's vast pools of shale and coal seam gas will need strong stomachs to brave the unpredictable, unsupported and unregulated sector. China, the world's largest energy user, signaled last week it wanted to draw more private investment into its energy sector as part of a plan to fast-track infrastructure investment to shore up economic growth. ...

Whistleblower Woodford to tackle Olympus in court

Posted: 27 May 2012 04:45 PM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - Michael Woodford, the ousted chief executive of Olympus , will try to persuade a London judge his embattled former employer fired him because he blew the cover off one of Japan's most high-profile corporate frauds. The five-day hearing, which starts on Monday, will throw the spotlight back onto a $1.7 billion accounting scandal that has cost the camera-to-endoscope maker its board and reputation. Woodford, chief executive for just two weeks before being sacked, is expected to seek up to $60 million in compensation from his former employer, according to the Financial Times. ...

JPMorgan replaces prime brokerage head: source

Posted: 27 May 2012 03:52 PM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co has named Teresa Heitsenrether as the new head of its global prime brokerage business, a source familiar with the situation said. Heitsenrether, who had been setting up the business from London in the European, Middle East and Africa region, replaces Lou Lebedin. The firm, which strengthened its competitive position through the 2008 financial crisis, disclosed earlier this month that it had suffered trading losses of more than $2 billion, giving ammunition to proponents of tighter rules on Wall Street. ...

Hong Kong graft probe takes toll on Sun Hung Kai investors

Posted: 27 May 2012 01:40 PM PDT

HONG KONG (Reuters) - More than $7 billion has been wiped off the market value of Sun Hung Kai Properties since the billionaire Kwok brothers who run the Asia's biggest developer were arrested in a corruption investigation in late-March, sapping shareholder confidence in the Hong Kong conglomerate. Five Sun Hung Kai-connected men arrested in the investigation are expected to appear at Hong Kong's anti-corruption agency later on Monday, according to sources involved in the case. Shareholders say the company has lacked transparency and clarity over the probe. ...

New York is vying to become global high-tech hub

Posted: 28 May 2012 08:46 AM PDT

Just as a trench dug in the 1800s created a shortcut to the nation's interior and helped make New York a global trading hub, the city is now hoping for another "Erie Canal moment" with a high-tech research complex to be built on an island in the East River.

Smith, Jones' 'MiB3' zaps 'Avengers' out of No. 1

Posted: 28 May 2012 08:41 AM PDT

The comic action heroes of "Men in Black 3" have taken over the weekend box office from the comic-book superheroes of "The Avengers."

Greek stocks soar on pro-bailout party's poll gain

Posted: 28 May 2012 08:19 AM PDT

Greek stock markets rebounded strongly on Monday from a 22-year low on hopes a pro-bailout party will win crucial national elections next month, which would avoid a catastrophic rift with international creditors and keep the struggling country within the euro currency union.

Tony Blair says he ducked fight with UK media

Posted: 28 May 2012 08:12 AM PDT

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair testified Monday that he never challenged the influential British press because doing so would have plunged his administration into a drawn-out and politically damaging fight.

Russian tycoon unexpectedly quits as CEO of TNK-BP

Posted: 28 May 2012 07:57 AM PDT

Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman on Monday unexpectedly announced his resignation as chief executive of TNK-BP, a sign of rising tensions between shareholders at the Russian venture of British company BP.

World stocks inch higher on Greek vote hopes

Posted: 28 May 2012 07:22 AM PDT

European markets posted modest gains Monday after weekend opinion polls strengthened hopes that Greece might stick with the euro and austerity measures.

Fire breaks out at fancy shopping mall in Qatar

Posted: 28 May 2012 07:14 AM PDT

Qatar's Interior Ministry says a fire has broken out at a large shopping mall in the Gulf state's capital.

Spanish PM insists banks won't need EU rescue

Posted: 28 May 2012 06:33 AM PDT

Conservative Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy insisted Monday that Spain's banking sector would not need an international rescue as concern over the bailout of nationalized lender Bankia sent its stock price plummeting while Spain's borrowing costs soared.