Yahoo! News: Health News

Wall Street jumps after payrolls data
Job growth steps up, but jobless rate rises
Procter & Gamble profit tops forecast, plans buybacks
Spain inches towards a full EU bailout
Heineken agrees on Asia Pacific Breweries deal
No escape from slump for Europe's top economies in July
Analysis: Ireland finds sweet spot in euro zone turmoil
Knight Capital gets credit line, but customers stay away
RBS confirms it sacked staff over Libor rigging scandal
Jetliner feud deepens as Boeing grabs key Airbus client
Europeans shun risky investment for safe life insurance
Knight trading loss shows cracks in equity markets
Swiss seek U.S. tax deal by year-end, but not at any price: paper
JPMorgan's "London Whale" was prodded to boost valuations: WSJ
Analysis: ECB's bond incentive carries own risks
Maersk CEO sees better outlook for container shipping arm
Jobs seen weak in July, may help push Fed to act
Europeans shun risky investment for safe life insurance
Lacker says Fed rate hike could come before late 2014
Investors in illiquid ETFs may get hurt by Knight debacle
Mercedes car sales post first monthly drop in 2012
Exclusive: Verizon Wireless spectrum deal in for tough remedy
AIG second-quarter profit rises, insurance units all gain
ECB signals may buy euro zone bonds
Euro, shares recover slightly from ECB disappointment, jobs data awaited
Apple seeks severe punishment for Samsung lawyer's actions
Renault to boost Brazilian motor output, wary of costs
RBS braced for questions on Libor involvement
United, negotiators for pilots agree on labor deal
Oil surges 4 percent on strong jobs growth
News Summary: Procter & Gamble 4Q net income rises
US service firms grew slightly faster in July
US economy adds 163K jobs, rate rises to 8.3 pct.
US stocks soar on surprise July job figures
US jobs data provides boost to markets
US stocks jump on surprise July job figures
Unicredit Q2 profits drop 67 pct
A tale of 2 US employment surveys, at a glance

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 07:31 AM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks rallied on Friday after employers hired more workers than expected last month, putting the S&P 500 on track to recover all of the losses posted during its recent four-day losing streak. Data showed employers in July hired 163,000 workers, the most in five months and above expectations calling for an increase of 100,000 jobs. But an increase in the jobless rate to 8.3 percent clouds the picture of what the Federal Reserve will do about additional monetary stimulus. The S&P 500 index had fallen more than 1. ...

Job growth steps up, but jobless rate rises

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 08:14 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employers in July hired the most workers in five months, but an increase in the jobless rate to 8.3 percent could keep prospects of further monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve on the table. Nonfarm payrolls rose 163,000 last month, the Labor Department said on Friday, snapping three straight months of job gains below 100,000 and offering hope for the ailing economy. But the unemployment rate rose from 8.2 percent in June, even as more people gave up the search for work and a survey of households showed a drop in employment. ...

Procter & Gamble profit tops forecast, plans buybacks

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 06:36 AM PDT

(Reuters) - Procter & Gamble Co posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit despite a drop in sales, just weeks after the world's largest household products maker took the blame for its disappointing performance and said it was focusing on ways to improve. The results, released on Friday, are being watched closely for any early signals of how well P&G and its current leadership can fix a long list of problems, especially after activist investor William Ackman stepped in and bought about $1.8 billion worth of its shares. ...

Spain inches towards a full EU bailout

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 07:33 AM PDT

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy inched closer on Friday to asking for an EU bailout for his country, but said he needed first to know what conditions would be attached and what form the rescue would take. His comments, at his first post-cabinet meeting news conference since taking office last December, came a day after the European Central Bank signaled it was preparing to buy Spanish and Italian bonds but only after EU bailout funds were triggered and countries had asked for help. A source said separately that Spain would not decide whether to apply for several weeks. ...

Heineken agrees on Asia Pacific Breweries deal

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 06:14 AM PDT

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Dutch brewer Heineken said on Friday that it reached an agreement with Singapore's Fraser and Neave to buy the latter's stake in Asia Pacific Breweries for a total of S$5.1 billion ($4.08 billion). Heineken said that Fraser and Neave had recommended its shareholders accept the offer. (Reporting By Robert-Jan Bartunek)

No escape from slump for Europe's top economies in July

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 08:23 AM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - Europe's biggest economies endured another torrid month in July as businesses battled slumping demand, according to surveys on Friday that gave scant hope the region will emerge any time soon from a malaise induced by a paralyzing debt crisis. Purchasing managers indexes (PMIs), which gauge business activity and have a good record of tracking economic growth, showed order books at euro zone companies shriveled last month as a downturn in Germany and France became more entrenched. ...

Analysis: Ireland finds sweet spot in euro zone turmoil

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 07:11 AM PDT

DUBLIN (Reuters) - On Europe's battered bond markets, Ireland has found it doesn't take much to stand out from the crowd. Anaemic growth and slow progress towards stabilizing its debt mountain have been enough to turn the country into the poster child for the periphery, the subject of a stream of praise from euro zone leaders scrambling for a good news story. To maintain the momentum Dublin needs to avoid slippage in growth numbers that are barely skirting recession and hope that European leaders follow through on promises of bold action. ...

Knight Capital gets credit line, but customers stay away

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 08:04 AM PDT

(Reuters) - Embattled Knight Capital Group Inc has obtained a credit line that will allow the brokerage to operate for the day, helping its shares regain some ground, but major customers were still not sending trades to the company on Friday. In morning trading, Knight's shares jumped more than 30 percent to $3.36 after losing 75 percent over the past two days. However, mutual fund giants Vanguard Group and Fidelity Investments were still not routing trades to Knight Capital, the nation's largest market maker. ...

RBS confirms it sacked staff over Libor rigging scandal

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 05:19 AM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - State-controlled Royal Bank of Scotland said on Friday it has dismissed employees over an interest rate rigging scandal, but gave no indication of whether it would reach a settlement soon with investigating authorities. Reporting a drop in first-half operating profit, RBS said it was co-operating with governments and regulators which are investigating the role of a number of banks in the setting of Libor and other inter-bank lending rates. ...

Jetliner feud deepens as Boeing grabs key Airbus client

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 08:21 AM PDT

PARIS/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Planemaker Airbus was left reeling on Friday as a high-profile customer defected to Boeing, prompting European accusations of aggressive tactics amid renewed evidence of a jet price war. Silkair, the regional arm of Singapore Airlines , said it had placed the biggest order in its history with a tentative deal to buy over 50 Boeing 737 jets worth $5 billion. ...

Europeans shun risky investment for safe life insurance

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 07:26 AM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - Europe's two biggest insurers, Allianz and Axa , beat profit forecasts as customers, weary of years of financial market volatility, shunned risky investments for the comparative safety of traditional life insurance. Allianz, Europe's No.1 insurer, made an operating profit of 2.37 billion euros ($2.88 billion) in the second quarter, up 2.8 percent on a year ago, and ahead of the 2.2 billion penciled in by analysts, it said on Friday. Second-ranked Axa also beat expectations with net income of 2. ...

Knight trading loss shows cracks in equity markets

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 02:10 AM PDT

(Reuters) - The software glitch that cost Knight Capital Group $440 million in just 45 minutes reveals the deep fault lines in stock markets that are increasingly dominated by sophisticated high-speed trading systems. But Wall Street firms and regulators have few easy solutions for such problems. Automated trading can handle massive volumes of transactions in milliseconds, something human traders could never do. ...

Swiss seek U.S. tax deal by year-end, but not at any price: paper

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 12:01 AM PDT

ZURICH (Reuters) - The Swiss government still wants to settle a long-simmering dispute with U.S. justice officials over undeclared funds stowed in Swiss offshore funds by year-end, though not "at any price," Switzerland's chief diplomat said on Friday. "Our absolute priority is the best possible solution for Switzerland. We want a U.S. settlement by year-end, but not at any price," Michael Ambuehl, the Swiss government's chief negotiator, said in an interview with Neue Zuercher Zeitung. ...

JPMorgan's "London Whale" was prodded to boost valuations: WSJ

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 10:45 PM PDT

(Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase concluded that a trader nicknamed "London whale" was urged by his boss to put higher values on some positions than they might have fetched in the open market at the time, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the probe. JPMorgan's conclusion is based on a series of emails and voice communications in late March and April, as losses on trader Bruno Iksil's bullish credit-market bet mounted, the Journal said. ...

Analysis: ECB's bond incentive carries own risks

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 06:25 AM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - The European Central Bank has given investors a clear incentive to buy Spanish and Italian bonds that mature sooner rather than later, creating the risk that these countries will struggle to sell longer-dated debt. Such a development would force Spain and Italy to tap the bond markets more frequently for money and make them more vulnerable than they are now to swings in investor sentiment. ...

Maersk CEO sees better outlook for container shipping arm

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 05:38 AM PDT

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The head of Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk said the performance of its container shipping arm had been disappointing but the group's strategy was paying off and the business should be better positioned a year from now. Maersk, which operates the world's biggest container shipping company Maersk Line, has been hit by losses in container shipping, as the global shipping market is now into a fourth year of a slump, though freight rates have risen this year, which analysts say has created prospects of a turnaround. ...

Jobs seen weak in July, may help push Fed to act

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 09:11 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employment probably only inched up in July as the economy struggled to regain momentum, strengthening expectations of additional monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve. Nonfarm payrolls likely rose 100,000 last month, according to a Reuters survey, after gaining 80,000 in June. The closely watched employment report comes two days after the U.S. central bank sent a stronger signal that a new round of major support could be on the way if the faltering recovery does not pick up. ...

Europeans shun risky investment for safe life insurance

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 04:54 AM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - Europe's two biggest insurers, Allianz and Axa , beat profit forecasts on Friday as customers, weary of years of financial market volatility, shunned risky investments for the comparative safety of traditional life insurance. Allianz, Europe's No.1 insurer, made an operating profit of 2.37 billion euros ($2.88 billion) in the second quarter, up 2.8 percent on a year ago, and ahead of the 2.2 billion penciled in by analysts, it said on Friday. Second-ranked Axa also beat forecasts with net income of 2.6 billion euros in the first six months of the year, outstripping the 2. ...

Lacker says Fed rate hike could come before late 2014

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 06:05 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve may need to raise official interest rates before late 2014, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said on Friday, justifying his dissent against the central bank's latest decision. The Fed left its monetary policy on hold this week, but sent a strong signal that it was considering another round of bond purchases if recent economic weakness persists. Policymakers also reiterated their view that the Fed's benchmark overnight interest rate, currently near zero, would stay at those rock bottom lows until at least late 2014. ...

Investors in illiquid ETFs may get hurt by Knight debacle

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 04:13 AM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Retail investors and traders who want to buy and sell small, illiquid exchange-traded funds may be unwittingly losing money in the aftermath of the Knight Capital Group trading disaster Wednesday, according to an analysis by IndexUniverse, a San Francisco-based ETF research provider. Knight Capital is the biggest exchange-traded fund market maker, meaning that usually it steps in to make sure that the ETFs are priced in accordance with demand and provide liquidity. ...

Mercedes car sales post first monthly drop in 2012

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 03:44 AM PDT

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Daimler's luxury car brand Mercedes-Benz suffered its first monthly drop in volumes this year, suggesting a broader economic slowdown in major markets like China and Germany is starting to impact demand for premium cars. Sales of Mercedes-Benz cars fell 3.1 percent to 97,327 vehicles in July, as demand in China slid by nearly one percent. Even in Germany, western Europe's largest, most lucrative car market and long a pillar of stability, sales fell by over 11 percent. Thanks to monthly growth rates ranging from as little as 0.9 percent in June and as much as 20. ...

Exclusive: Verizon Wireless spectrum deal in for tough remedy

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 03:45 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Verizon Wireless may need to agree to tough conditions to win approval for its deals to buy spectrum from cable companies and market each others' products, according to three sources knowledgeable about the negotiations. The Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission are reviewing plans by Verizon Wireless, the biggest U.S. mobile provider, to buy spectrum from a consortium of cable providers, including Comcast and Time Warner Cable , for about $3.9 billion. The transactions were proposed in December. ...

AIG second-quarter profit rises, insurance units all gain

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 01:27 PM PDT

(Reuters) - American International Group Inc reported a larger profit for the second quarter on Thursday, as tax benefits boosted results and operating income grew across the company's varied insurance businesses. The company also reported more than $11 billion in liquidity at the parent company level, a cash pile most people expect it will use to buy down some of the government's remaining stake. Net profit rose to $2.33 billion, or $1.33 per share, from $1.84 billion or $1 a share a year earlier. Operating income was $1.06 per share. ...

ECB signals may buy euro zone bonds

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 08:57 PM PDT

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank indicated on Thursday it may again start buying government bonds to reduce crippling Spanish and Italian borrowing costs but the conditions it set and the dissenting voice of its key German member disappointed markets. In the latest move to contain the euro zone crisis, ECB President Mario Draghi indicated that any intervention would not come before September - and only if governments activated the euro zone's bail-out funds to join the ECB in buying bonds. "The Governing Council ... ...

Euro, shares recover slightly from ECB disappointment, jobs data awaited

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 12:38 AM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - European shares and the euro staged a slight recovery on Friday from a big selloff provoked by the European Central Bank's failure to satisfy investors' hopes of swift action to tackle the debt crisis. The market's attention is likely to switch temporarily from central bank policy to the outlook for growth, with July U.S. non-farm payrolls data, due at 1230 GMT, expected to show job creation running at weak levels. "The European crisis may take a temporary backseat around the U.S. ...

Apple seeks severe punishment for Samsung lawyer's actions

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 07:28 PM PDT

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc asked a U.S. judge on Thursday to punish Samsung Electronics Co Ltd for a Samsung attorney's conduct by ordering that the South Korean company has infringed Apple's phone design patents, according to a court filing. However, Samsung called Apple's demand "frivolous" and "unprecedented" in a legal brief filed later in the day. Trial began this week in a high stakes litigation between the two companies. Apple sued Samsung last year in San Jose, California federal court, accusing Samsung of copying the iPhone and iPad. Samsung has countersued. U.S. ...

Renault to boost Brazilian motor output, wary of costs

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 06:14 PM PDT

SAO JOSE DOS PINHAIS, Brazil (Reuters) - French automaker Renault SA said it plans to expand the capacity of its Brazilian motor plant by 25 percent by 2013, extending a string of recent investments despite concerns about rising costs in Latin America's largest economy. Olivier Murguet, the company's top executive in Brazil, noted that increasing costs were eroding the competitiveness of manufacturing in the country and raising doubts about future investments. ...

RBS braced for questions on Libor involvement

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 04:19 PM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - British bank RBS faces questions over the extent of its involvement in a global interest rate rigging scandal when it publishes first half results on Friday that will detail the cost of a disastrous IT glitch and compensation for mis-selling. New details from court documents and sources suggest that groups of traders working at three major European banks, including RBS, were heavily involved in rigging global benchmark interest rates. ...

United, negotiators for pilots agree on labor deal

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 08:51 AM PDT

United Airlines says it has a deal with union negotiators on a new labor contract with its own pilots and those from the former Continental Airlines.

Oil surges 4 percent on strong jobs growth

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 08:07 AM PDT

The price of oil is up about 4 percent after the government reported a surge in jobs growth last month.

News Summary: Procter & Gamble 4Q net income rises

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 08:02 AM PDT

THE NEWS: Procter & Gamble Co. said Friday that its net income climbed 45 percent in its fiscal fourth quarter, boosted by the sale of its snacks division, and the company said it was making progress with its strategy to reignite growth. Revenue slipped 1 percent.

US service firms grew slightly faster in July

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 07:35 AM PDT

U.S. service companies, which employ 90 percent of Americans, grew at a slightly faster pace in July.

US economy adds 163K jobs, rate rises to 8.3 pct.

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 07:24 AM PDT

U.S. employers added 163,000 jobs in July, a hopeful sign after three months of sluggish hiring.

US stocks soar on surprise July job figures

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 07:07 AM PDT

Stocks are rising sharply on Wall Street after the government reported that employers stepped up hiring in July at the fastest pace in five months.

US jobs data provides boost to markets

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 06:49 AM PDT

Financial markets rose Friday as an increase in U.S. hiring suggested the world's largest economy is not heading for recession but recovering, albeit slowly.