Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Yahoo! News: Health News

Yahoo! News: Health News

Apple, Oracle lead Nasdaq lower

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:03 AM PDT

Traders work on floor of the New York Stock ExchangeNEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks extended losses on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq Composite down 1 percent after declines by Apple Inc and Oracle . The Dow Jones industrial average fell 39.08 points, or 0.29 percent, to 13,418.47. The S&P 500 dropped 9.43 points, or 0.65 percent, to 1,432.16. The Nasdaq Composite lost 33.99 points, or 1.09 percent, to 3,083.73. (Editing by Kenneth Barry)

August new home sales dip, but prices scale 5-year high

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 07:03 AM PDT

A U.S. flag decorates a for-sale sign at a home in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - New U.S. single-family home sales eased in August but held near two-year highs and prices vaulted to their highest level in more than five years, adding to signs of a broadening housing market recovery. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday sales slipped 0.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted 373,000-unit annual rate. July's sales pace was revised up to a 374,000-unit pace, the highest level since April 2010, from the previously reported 372,000 units. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales at a 380,000-unit rate last month. ...

Insight: U.S. probe of HSBC tangled up in bureaucracy, infighting

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 06:42 AM PDT

File photo of former HSBC executives Gallagher and Lok before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington(Reuters) - In the second half of 2010, a senior federal prosecutor in West Virginia drafted an impassioned plea to his bosses in Washington to end infighting as multiple government agencies pursued a high-stakes investigation of HSBC Holdings Plc. William Ihlenfeld II had been fighting a losing battle against fellow prosecutors in Washington and Brooklyn, who were jointly conducting a parallel probe into the British bank's controls over illicit transactions. Ihlenfeld, the U.S. ...

American Greetings receives $580 million offer from CEO

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:49 AM PDT

(Reuters) - American Greetings Corp received a go-private offer from a group led by its chief executive and other members of the founding family, valuing the company at about $580 million. American Greetings, whose revenue has shrunk 17 percent in the last 10 years, has been forced to spend more on advertising as it struggles to stay relevant in the Facebook age. The company, whose brands include American Greetings, Carlton Cards and Gibson, has also been hurt by the bankruptcy of its British distributor, Clinton Cards, in June. ...

BAE vulnerable to break-up or U.S. bid if merger fails

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:46 AM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - BAE Systems needs its proposed merger with Airbus parent EADS to succeed if it is to avoid being cast adrift as a company without a clear strategy in a shrinking industry or a takeover target for predatory U.S. rivals. If the planned $45 billion merger between the British defense group and the European aerospace giant does not go ahead, BAE could look to do a deal with a U.S. group, sell off its standalone U.S. business or remain alone trying to squeeze growth from the contracting global defense sector. ...

U.S. CEO confidence tumbles to 3-year low: Roundtable

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:51 AM PDT

(Reuters) - U.S. chief executives' view of the economy deteriorated sharply in the third quarter and is now as bleak as it was in the immediate aftermath of the last recession, with more planning to cut jobs over the next six months, according to a survey released by the Business Roundtable on Wednesday. The group's CEO Economic Outlook Index tumbled to 66 in the third quarter from 89.1 in the second, in the third-sharpest drop recorded in the survey's decade-long history. Confidence fell to its lowest point since the third quarter of 2009, when the U.S. ...

Italy, Albania, Greece to sign TAP pipeline accord Thursday

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:54 AM PDT

ROME (Reuters) - The intergovernmental agreement for building the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) gas project that will link Italy, Greece and Albania will be signed in New York on Thursday, a spokesman for Italy's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Earlier on Wednesday a government source had said the signing would be on Friday. TAP is one of a number of competing projects to carry gas from Azerbaijan's giant Shah Deniz II field to Europe which is keen to reduce its dependence on existing suppliers including Russia. TAP's shareholders are EGL of Switzerland (42.5 percent), Norway's Statoil ...

France wants to maintain influence over EADS: source

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:24 AM PDT

Visitors look at A350 aircraft miniature at EADS booth at the ILA Berlin Air Show in SelchowPARIS (Reuters) - France wants to remain a shareholder in Airbus parent EADS and keep an ability to influence the aerospace group's decision-making in an any merger with BAE Systems , a French government source said on Wednesday. However, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, the source indicated flexibility on the way this is structured. "We can imagine several possible formulas," the source said, referring to both shareholding stake and board composition. France owns 15 percent of EADS. ...

Exclusive: Vitol trades Iranian fuel oil, skirting sanctions

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:46 AM PDT

File photo of the entrance to the Vitol Group trading commodities company building in GenevaSINGAPORE/BEIJING, Sept 26 - Vitol, the world's largest oil trader, is buying and selling Iranian fuel oil, undermining Western efforts to choke the flow of petrodollars to Tehran and put pressure on Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program. Vitol last month bought 2 million barrels of fuel oil, used for power generation, from Iran and offered it to Chinese traders, Reuters established in interviews with 10 oil trading, industry and shipping sources in Southeast Asia, China and the Middle East. ...

Euro zone split over how to interpret bank debt deal

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 07:08 AM PDT

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Efforts by euro zone countries to agree on how to recapitalize struggling banks appeared to be in disarray on Wednesday with conflicting interpretations of what was agreed by EU leaders at a summit barely three months ago. The dispute between four AAA-rated euro zone countries on one hand - German, Finland, the Netherlands and Austria - and indebted states such as Ireland and Spain on the other, threatens to undo or severely set back efforts to allow banks to be directly recapitalized by the euro zone's rescue fund. ...

New US home sales edged down 0.3 percent in August

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:41 AM PDT

FILE - In this Friday, Aug. 17, 2012, file photo, a worker adjusts a scaffold at the site of a new residential construction project in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston. Sales of new homes in the United States dipped slightly in August from July but the median price of homes sold during the month rose by a record amount. New-home sales edged down to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 373,000 in August, a dip of 0.3 percent from July's revised rate of 374,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)Sales of new homes in the United States dipped slightly in August from July but the median price of homes sold during the month rose by a record amount.

Fewer US CEOs planning to expand, hire

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:08 AM PDT

A survey of U.S. chief executives shows a sharp drop in the number of large companies that plan to add jobs or hire more workers.

US stocks down on Europe unrest, weaker home sales

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:31 AM PDT

FILE- In this Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012, file photo, Warren Meyers, center, works with fellow traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. A quiet day on Wall Street turned Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012, into the worst sell-off in three months after a Federal Reserve official said he doubted the bank's effort to boost economic growth would work. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)A mixed report on the U.S. housing market conspired with unrest in Europe to pull U.S. stocks lower Wednesday. Other risky assets, like European stocks and oil, fell more sharply.

RadioShack CEO Gooch steps down

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 07:55 AM PDT

FILE-- An undated file photo provided by RadioShack shows James Gooch. RadioShack CEO James Gooch has agreed to step down immediately and is leaving its board of directors, the struggling consumer electronics company said Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/RadioShack, file)RadioShack CEO James Gooch has agreed to step down immediately and is leaving its board of directors, the struggling consumer electronics company said Wednesday.

American Greetings gets offer to go private

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:32 AM PDT

FILE - In a Feb. 14, 2005 file photo, Zev Weiss speaks to a marketing group in Cleveland. American Greetings Corp. said Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012 that a group led by its CEO and chief operating officer wants to buy the company and take it private in a deal that values it at about $581 million. American Greetings said its board received the proposal from Chief Executive Zev Weiss and President and his brother, Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Weiss, on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan, File)American Greetings Corp. said Wednesday that a group led by its CEO and chief operating officer wants to buy the company and take it private in a deal that values it at about $581 million.

Barnes & Noble launches new Nook HD

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 06:45 AM PDT

This undated image provided by Barnes & Noble shows one of the two new Nook tablets the company will be releasing in the fall of 2012. The company said Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012, that its new Nook HD will come in two sizes, one with a screen 7-inches wide diagonally, the same size as past Nooks, starting at $199, and one with a new 9-inch diagonal screen, called the Nook HD+, starting at $269. In addition to the new HD screen and a lighter body, Barnes & Noble is also increasing the services the Nook offers. It is adding a video purchase and rental service, allowing user profiles and making it easier to browse titles in its book and magazine stores. (AP Photo/Barnes & Noble)Barnes & Noble is rolling out two new versions of its Nook tablet with sleek new hardware and a sharper high-definition screen. The bookseller's move heightens the already intense tablet wars heading into the holiday season.

Glance: A look at how the Nook HD stacks up

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:47 AM PDT

A look at some of the hardware specs for Barnes & Noble's new Nook HD and HD+ tablets, compared with Amazon.com's new Kindle Fire and Apple's iPad3.

Spain counts cost of anti-austerity protest

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 03:27 AM PDT

Demonstrators take part in a march to the Spanish Parliament against the austerity measures announced by the Spanish government in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012. Spain's government was hit hard by the country's financial crisis on multiple fronts Tuesday as protestors enraged with austerity cutbacks and tax hikes clashed with police near Parliament, a separatist-minded region set elections seen as an independence referendum and the nation's high borrowing costs rose again. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa De Olza)The Bank of Spain warned Wednesday that the country is in a deep recession, a day after clashes in Madrid between protesters and the police led to 38 people arrested and 64 injured.

Greek protest turns violent during general strike

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 05:17 AM PDT

Protesters of the Greek Communist party affiliated unions march in front of the Greek Parliament in Athens Wednesday Sept. 26, 2012. Greek workers walked off the job Wednesday for the first general strike since the country's coalition government was formed in June, as the prime minister and finance minister hammered out a package of euros 11.5 billion ($14.87 billion) in spending cuts. (AP Photo/Dimitri Messinis)Police clashed with protesters hurling petrol bombs and bottles in central Athens Wednesday after an anti-government rally called as part of a general strike in Greece turned violent.

Oil drops on questions about Europe's crisis

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:34 AM PDT

The price of oil fell 2 percent Wednesday as protests in Greece and Spain offer visible reminders that Europe is still struggling to resolve its debt crisis.

Italy, Albania, Greece to sign TAP pipeline accord Thursday

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:54 AM PDT

ROME (Reuters) - The intergovernmental agreement for building the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) gas project that will link Italy, Greece and Albania will be signed in New York on Thursday, a spokesman for Italy's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Earlier on Wednesday a government source had said the signing would be on Friday. TAP is one of a number of competing projects to carry gas from Azerbaijan's giant Shah Deniz II field to Europe which is keen to reduce its dependence on existing suppliers including Russia. TAP's shareholders are EGL of Switzerland (42.5 percent), Norway's Statoil ...

Column: Recession unleashes pain on Spanish sport

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:52 AM PDT

FILE - In this Oct. 5, 2011 file photo, golfers tee off on a practice range at the Madrid Open golf tournament in Alcala de Henares on the outskirts of Madrid. With its array of courses and short-sleeves climate, Spain made a natural home for professional golf. In 2011, the land of Seve Ballesteros hosted seven European Tour tournaments, more than any other country. Next year, that could plummet to just one, the Spanish Open. Deep in recession, with unemployment near 25 percent, putting up purses to entice golf's big names is a luxury Spain can ill-afford. Government tourist boards that bankrolled tournaments to sell Spain as a destination and companies that provided sponsorship often no longer have the money or do not want to be seen spending it on golf when Spaniards are so squeezed financially. (AP Photo/Paul White, File)With its array of courses and short-sleeves climate, Spain made a natural home for professional golf. In 2011, the land of Seve Ballesteros hosted seven European Tour tournaments, more than any other country.

U.S. CEO confidence tumbles to 3-year low: Roundtable

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:51 AM PDT

(Reuters) - U.S. chief executives' view of the economy deteriorated sharply in the third quarter and is now as bleak as it was in the immediate aftermath of the last recession, with more planning to cut jobs over the next six months, according to a survey released by the Business Roundtable on Wednesday. The group's CEO Economic Outlook Index tumbled to 66 in the third quarter from 89.1 in the second, in the third-sharpest drop recorded in the survey's decade-long history. Confidence fell to its lowest point since the third quarter of 2009, when the U.S. ...

American Greetings receives $580 million offer from CEO

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:49 AM PDT

(Reuters) - American Greetings Corp received a go-private offer from a group led by its chief executive and other members of the founding family, valuing the company at about $580 million. American Greetings, whose revenue has shrunk 17 percent in the last 10 years, has been forced to spend more on advertising as it struggles to stay relevant in the Facebook age. The company, whose brands include American Greetings, Carlton Cards and Gibson, has also been hurt by the bankruptcy of its British distributor, Clinton Cards, in June. ...

Santander Mexico says no plans to reopen share offer

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:48 AM PDT

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Santander Mexico's more than $4 billion share listing was 4.8 times oversubscribed but the bank has no plans to reopen or extend it, CEO Marcos Martinez said on Wednesday. The dual listing of close to 25 percent of the shares of Banco Santander's Mexican unit was the second largest in the United States this year behind Facebook and the largest ever of a Mexican company. Spain's Santander, seeking extra cash buffers against potential losses from Spain's property crash, priced the dual share offering at 31.25 pesos per share. (Reporting by Tomas Sarmiento and Joan Magee)

CAW chief says Chrysler contract deal possible today

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:48 AM PDT

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's autoworkers could seal a new labor agreement with Chrysler Group LLC on Wednesday night, union president Ken Lewenza said, in a huge shift in the tone of drawn-out, challenging negotiations. Fiat SpA's Chrysler, the last of the Detroit Three automakers without a new contract, submitted a written proposal on Tuesday night that reignited the difficult talks, said Lewenza, who is the national president of the Canadian Autoworkers union (CAW). ...

Glance: A look at how the Nook HD stacks up

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:47 AM PDT

A look at some of the hardware specs for Barnes & Noble's new Nook HD and HD+ tablets, compared with Amazon.com's new Kindle Fire and Apple's iPad3.

Exclusive: Vitol trades Iranian fuel oil, skirting sanctions

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:46 AM PDT

File photo of the entrance to the Vitol Group trading commodities company building in GenevaSINGAPORE/BEIJING, Sept 26 - Vitol, the world's largest oil trader, is buying and selling Iranian fuel oil, undermining Western efforts to choke the flow of petrodollars to Tehran and put pressure on Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program. Vitol last month bought 2 million barrels of fuel oil, used for power generation, from Iran and offered it to Chinese traders, Reuters established in interviews with 10 oil trading, industry and shipping sources in Southeast Asia, China and the Middle East. ...

BAE vulnerable to break-up or U.S. bid if merger fails

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:46 AM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - BAE Systems needs its proposed merger with Airbus parent EADS to succeed if it is to avoid being cast adrift as a company without a clear strategy in a shrinking industry or a takeover target for predatory U.S. rivals. If the planned $45 billion merger between the British defense group and the European aerospace giant does not go ahead, BAE could look to do a deal with a U.S. group, sell off its standalone U.S. business or remain alone trying to squeeze growth from the contracting global defense sector. ...

Altech to sell West Africa unit as profit plunges

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:44 AM PDT

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's Allied Technologies said on Wednesday it had agreed to sell its majority stake in its money-losing Nigerian business, its latest attempt to stem losses from outside its home market. The telecom and IT firm, which also reported a 19 percent fall in first-half profit, has been trying to turn around money-losing business in both East and West Africa. Altech last year replaced the head of its underperforming Kenyan data unit and named a new team to lead its east African operation. Sorting out that business was a "top priority", it said at the time. ...

News Summary: American Greetings gets buyout offer

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:44 AM PDT

THE OFFER: American Greetings Corp. received an offer from a group led by its CEO and chief operating officer to take the company private in a deal valued at about $581 million.

Glencore takeover of Viterra to wait as late as November 15

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:41 AM PDT

The logo of Glencore is seen in front of the company's headquarters in the Swiss town of Baar(Reuters) - Glencore International Plc's takeover of Canada's biggest grain handler, Viterra Inc , may not close until as late as November 15 as a review by China's Ministry of Commerce continues, Viterra said on Wednesday. The C$6.1-billion ($6.2 billion) deal was originally expected to close by late July, pending regulatory approvals. China's MOFCOM is the last regulatory approval required, under the nation's anti-monopoly law. ...

New US home sales edged down 0.3 percent in August

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:41 AM PDT

FILE - In this Friday, Aug. 17, 2012, file photo, a worker adjusts a scaffold at the site of a new residential construction project in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston. Sales of new homes in the United States dipped slightly in August from July but the median price of homes sold during the month rose by a record amount. New-home sales edged down to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 373,000 in August, a dip of 0.3 percent from July's revised rate of 374,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)Sales of new homes in the United States dipped slightly in August from July but the median price of homes sold during the month rose by a record amount.

Stocks lower at midday

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:41 AM PDT

Stocks are lower at midday as unrest simmers in Europe.

Canada says will press China over trade balance, access

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:34 AM PDT

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada must "continue to address very forcefully" its large trade deficit with China and will also press for Canadian companies to be given more access to the Chinese market, Canada's ambassador designate to Beijing said on Wednesday. Guy Saint-Jacques spoke after a meeting with Foreign Minister John Baird. Ottawa is studying a $15.1 billion takeover bid by China's CNOOC Ltd for Canadian oil producer Nexen Inc . Critics say Canada should only approve the proposal if China removes some of the barriers facing Canadian companies. ...

Oil drops on questions about Europe's crisis

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:34 AM PDT

The price of oil fell 2 percent Wednesday as protests in Greece and Spain offer visible reminders that Europe is still struggling to resolve its debt crisis.

American Greetings gets offer to go private

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:32 AM PDT

FILE - In a Feb. 14, 2005 file photo, Zev Weiss speaks to a marketing group in Cleveland. American Greetings Corp. said Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012 that a group led by its CEO and chief operating officer wants to buy the company and take it private in a deal that values it at about $581 million. American Greetings said its board received the proposal from Chief Executive Zev Weiss and President and his brother, Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Weiss, on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan, File)American Greetings Corp. said Wednesday that a group led by its CEO and chief operating officer wants to buy the company and take it private in a deal that values it at about $581 million.

US stocks down on Europe unrest, weaker home sales

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:31 AM PDT

FILE- In this Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012, file photo, Warren Meyers, center, works with fellow traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. A quiet day on Wall Street turned Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012, into the worst sell-off in three months after a Federal Reserve official said he doubted the bank's effort to boost economic growth would work. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)A mixed report on the U.S. housing market conspired with unrest in Europe to pull U.S. stocks lower Wednesday. Other risky assets, like European stocks and oil, fell more sharply.

U.S. Treasury official to visit China in September for economic talks

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:28 AM PDT

Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs Lael Brainard testifies at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on financial regulatory reform on Capitol Hill in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top Obama administration official will travel to Beijing at the end of September to discuss ways to improve opportunities for U.S. businesses in China, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday. Treasury undersecretary Lael Brainard's meetings with Chinese economic officials September 26 and 27 come in the middle of the U.S. presidential campaign in which President Barack Obama's economic policies have dominated the debate. ...

Europe still set on breaking sovereign-bank link: Irish finance minister

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:27 AM PDT

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Europe's determination to break the link between sovereign states and banks remains intact despite a statement from three powerful EU finance ministers on Tuesday that appeared to cast doubt on the idea, Ireland's finance minister said. Germany, the Netherlands and Finland issued a joint statement that appeared to unravel much of what was agreed at a European Union summit in June, when leaders paved the way for the direct recapitalization of problem banks. ...
Posted by Harshad at 9:19 AM

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