Yahoo! News: Health News

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• Wall Street pares early gains on Bernanke comments
• Jobless claims fall for first time since April
• Bernanke offers few hints of Fed stimulus
• China surprises with interest rate cut
• Exclusive: Chesapeake documents detail how CEO fuses personal, corporate interests
• Facebook IPO mishandling hurt investor confidence: TD Ameritrade
• Merkel says ready to act; focus on Spain's banks
• Deal or no deal, Morgan Stanley commodity trade shrinks
• China cuts rates as global economic crisis deepens
• JPMorgan media banker moves to private equity role
• Best Buy founder resigns, shares fall 8 percent
• Bear Stearns $275 million settlement reached
• Gazprom to advance Ukraine $2 billion for gas transit
• Sprint's Virgin unit to sell iPhone
• LinkedIn, eHarmony suffer data breaches
• Gazprom to advance Ukraine $2 billion for gas transit
• Analysis: In scare for newspapers, digital ad growth stalls
• Samsung Electronics moves CEO, seen grooming next leader
• Insight: Can Occupy Wall Street survive?
• China vows to speed up tax reform in 2012: Finance minister
• Analysis: Pan-African airline dream faces tough take-off
• Global shares, euro rally after Chinese rate cut
• Chinese investment into Europe set to boom: study
• Yellen argues for more Fed easing amid Europe risk
• Gupta trial defense bids to sow doubt with phone records
• General Dynamics' Novakovic to succeed Johnson as CEO
• Chesapeake in talks to sell pipeline biz: source
• Fed more upbeat on economy in Beige Book
• Merkel urges gradual political union in Europe
• News Summary: Pfizer spinning off animal medicines
• Bernanke signals no imminent steps to aid economy
• Worried Swiss bankers get own advice hotline
• News Summary: US mortgage rates hit record lows
• Stocks helped lift US household wealth in Q1
• Stocks rise on Wall Street after China cuts rate
• US mortgage rates for past 52 weeks at a glance
• How US states fared on jobless aid applications
• News Summary: Fewer Americans seek jobless aid

Wall Street pares early gains on Bernanke comments Posted: 07 Jun 2012 08:22 AM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Thursday after China's central bank cut lending and deposit rates, but indexes were well off their session highs as comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke disappointed hope for further stimulus measures from the central bank. The surprise move by China's central bank to lower benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points in an effort to rejuvenate economic growth came after comments by Federal Reserve officials increased investor expectations for more Fed support. ...

Jobless claims fall for first time since April Posted: 07 Jun 2012 07:33 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans lining up for new jobless benefits fell last week for the first time since April, a hint that a slowdown in hiring last month may only be temporary. The data on state unemployment claims, released by the Labor Department on Thursday, takes some of the edge off a report last week that showed a sharp slowdown in job creation in May. Many economists believe mild weather in the winter led employers to hire more workers at the expense of spring, but that the weather effect should be temporary. Some economists suggested the claims data backed that view. ...

Bernanke offers few hints of Fed stimulus Posted: 07 Jun 2012 07:37 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday the U.S. central bank was ready to shield the economy if financial troubles mount, but offered few hints that further monetary stimulus was imminent. Bernanke told Congress the Fed was monitoring "significant risks" to the U.S. recovery from Europe's debt and banking crisis closely. But for financial markets hungry for clues about the prospect for a third round of Fed bond buys, Bernanke's testimony disappointed. ...

China surprises with interest rate cut Posted: 07 Jun 2012 08:55 AM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - China delivered twin surprises on interest rates on Thursday, cutting borrowing costs to combat faltering growth while giving banks additional flexibility to set competitive lending and deposit rates in a step along the path of liberalization. China's first rate cut since the global financial crisis underlined heightened concern among policymakers worldwide that the euro area's deepening debt problems are threatening economic growth. ...

Exclusive: Chesapeake documents detail how CEO fuses personal, corporate interests Posted: 07 Jun 2012 03:53 AM PDT OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - Aubrey K. McClendon, the chief executive officer of Chesapeake Energy Corp, has intertwined his personal and financial interests with those of the publicly traded company he runs to a far greater degree than shareholders may realize, according to interviews, public records and hundreds of internal Chesapeake documents reviewed by Reuters. The executive has deployed a team of Chesapeake employees to handle his personal business affairs and uses the corporate jet regularly to ferry family members and friends to holiday destinations, the internal records show. ...

Facebook IPO mishandling hurt investor confidence: TD Ameritrade Posted: 07 Jun 2012 07:22 AM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - The mishandling of Facebook's initial public offering in May has rattled the confidence of retail investors, who were already leery of financial markets following a string of crises over the past several years, Fred Tomczyk, chief executive of TD Ameritrade, said on Thursday. ...

Merkel says ready to act; focus on Spain's banks Posted: 07 Jun 2012 08:18 AM PDT MADRID/BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel underlined Germany's readiness to use all instruments to maintain stability in the euro zone on Thursday, fuelling expectations that Spain may soon decide to seek help for its banks beset by bad debts. Speaking after talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron - who called for "urgent action" to tackle the debt crisis - Merkel said Germany stood ready, alongside the other 16 countries in the euro zone, to do whatever was necessary. ...

Deal or no deal, Morgan Stanley commodity trade shrinks Posted: 06 Jun 2012 10:17 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - The hard core of Morgan Stanley's commodities trading empire, once the mightiest on Wall Street famed for its powerful union of paper and physical deals, is shrinking. Even as the bank is reported to be considering selling a stake in its billion-dollar commodities unit, its physical trading activity in key U.S. markets is contracting in the face of abruptly changing market dynamics as well as diminishing risk appetite due to growing regulations and capital constraints. In the power markets, it is trading only one-fifth as much electricity as five years ago. ...

China cuts rates as global economic crisis deepens Posted: 07 Jun 2012 08:52 AM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - China delivered a surprise interest rate cut on Thursday to combat faltering growth, underlining concern among policymakers worldwide that the euro area's deepening crisis is threatening the health of the global economy. The country's first rate cut since the depths of the global financial crisis in 2008/09 came after the Federal Reserve's second-highest official made a case for more policy easing in the United States, and followed an emergency conference call on Tuesday by the financial leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized nations to discuss Europe's debt crisis. ...

JPMorgan media banker moves to private equity role Posted: 07 Jun 2012 06:12 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - JPMorgan's top media sector banker Harry Hampson, who worked on the sale last year of Elisabeth Murdoch's Shine Group to News Corp , is to become head of the bank's Financial Sponsors Group which advises private equity firms, for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to a memo seen by Reuters. Hampson is taking over from Karen Simon, who decided to move back to the United States as vice-chairwoman of investment banking, global oil and gas, an area that she had previously covered earlier in her career with the bank. ...

Best Buy founder resigns, shares fall 8 percent Posted: 07 Jun 2012 07:53 AM PDT (Reuters) - Best Buy Co Inc founder Richard Schulze said on Thursday he is exploring all options for his 20.1 percent stake in the electronics retailer, leading him to immediately relinquish his roles as chairman and a director. Shares of Best Buy, rocked earlier this year by the abrupt departure of its CEO Brian Dunn amid a probe that later found he had had an improper relationship with a female employee, were down 8.3 percent, or $1.66, at $18.23 in morning trading. ...

Bear Stearns $275 million settlement reached Posted: 07 Jun 2012 05:24 AM PDT (Reuters) - A $275 million settlement has been reached in a nationwide shareholder lawsuit stemming from the near-collapse of the former Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns Cos, court papers show. The settlement resolves claims that Bear, and several officials including former Chief Executive James Cayne, misled investors about the company's deteriorating financial health before it was acquired by JPMorgan Chase & Co. The lead plaintiff, the State of Michigan Retirement Systems, filed settlement papers on Wednesday night with the U.S. ...

Gazprom to advance Ukraine $2 billion for gas transit Posted: 07 Jun 2012 06:59 AM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's gas exporting monopoly Gazprom said on Thursday it had agreed to pay $2 billion in advance to Ukraine in order to finance purchases of gas and secure its transit to Europe for the coming winter. Ukraine - the main route for Russian gas to Europe - is struggling with monthly payments for purchases of Russian gas and has asked Moscow to lower its prices. Previous disputes over gas prices between Kiev and Moscow have led to Russian gas supply stoppages to Europe, which is seeking ways to cut its dependence on Russian fuel. ...

Sprint's Virgin unit to sell iPhone Posted: 07 Jun 2012 07:28 AM PDT (Reuters) - Sprint Nextel Corp said on Thursday its Virgin Mobile prepaid business would start selling Apple Inc's iPhone later this month, pitching it against smaller prepaid rival Leap Wireless International Inc. Sprint shares rose about 2 percent after the company said the addition of iPhone to its Virgin brand would not hurt its 2012 earnings and would help it reach its overall $15.5 billion commitment to Apple for a certain phone volume over few years. ...

LinkedIn, eHarmony suffer data breaches Posted: 07 Jun 2012 07:31 AM PDT BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Social networking site LinkedIn and online dating service eHarmony warned that some user passwords had been breached after security experts discovered scrambled files with passwords for millions of online accounts. The two companies declined to say how many accounts had been breached when they disclosed the breaches in statements issued on Wednesday. They only said they were conducting investigations. The breaches are the latest in a string of high-profile attacks around the world that have put personal information of millions at risk. ...

Gazprom to advance Ukraine $2 billion for gas transit Posted: 07 Jun 2012 04:58 AM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's gas exporting monopoly Gazprom said on Thursday it had agreed to pay $2 billion in advance to Ukraine in order to finance purchases of gas and secure its transit to Europe. Ukraine - the main route for Russian gas to Europe - is struggling with monthly payments for purchases of Russian gas and has asked Moscow to lower its prices. Previous disputes over gas prices between Kiev and Moscow have led to Russian gas supply stoppages to Europe, which is seeking ways to cut its dependence on Russian fuel. ...

Analysis: In scare for newspapers, digital ad growth stalls Posted: 06 Jun 2012 09:12 PM PDT (Reuters) - As more newspapers cut back on print to reduce costs and focus on their websites, a troubling trend has emerged: online advertising sales are stalling. In the first quarter, digital advertising revenue at newspapers rose just 1 percent from a year ago, the fifth consecutive quarter that growth has declined, according to the Newspaper Association of America, a trade organization. A flood of excess advertising space, the rise of electronic advertising exchanges that sell ads at cut-rate prices, and the weak U.S. ...

Samsung Electronics moves CEO, seen grooming next leader Posted: 07 Jun 2012 04:41 AM PDT SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co , Asia's technology powerhouse battling Apple for smartphone supremacy, is shifting its CEO to a new role as the family-run parent company prepares to transfer ownership control to a third generation. Choi Gee-sung, 61, will assume the new role of head of corporate strategy at Samsung Group, which presides over some 81 companies including its flagship, Samsung Electronics. ...

Insight: Can Occupy Wall Street survive? Posted: 07 Jun 2012 07:56 AM PDT (Reuters) - More than eight months after Occupy Wall Street burst onto the global stage, decrying income inequality and coining the phrase "We are the 99 percent," the movement's survival and continued relevance is far from assured. Donations to the flagship New York chapter have slowed to a trickle. Polls show that public support is rapidly waning. Media attention has dropped precipitously. Bursts of violence, threats of municipal chaos and two alleged domestic terror plots have put Occupy on a recurring collision course with law enforcement. ...

China vows to speed up tax reform in 2012: Finance minister Posted: 07 Jun 2012 04:37 AM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - China will accelerate tax cuts and reforms for selected industries this year to boost domestic consumption, Finance Minister Xie Xuren said in remarks published on Thursday. The pledge is the latest made by China's policymakers to cushion a slowdown in growth set to extend for a sixth straight quarter and leave the world's second biggest economy on course for its weakest full year of expansion since 1999. ...

Analysis: Pan-African airline dream faces tough take-off Posted: 07 Jun 2012 01:35 AM PDT DAKAR (Reuters) - Gervais Djondo is a man with a dream. The former industry minister of the west African state of Togo has set himself a mission to create a pan-African airline serving the continent, an elusive goal since a previous venture, Air Afrique, collapsed under a pile of debt in 2002. Africa's aviation market is set to soar in the coming years, powered by the resource-rich continent's robust economic growth and burgeoning consumer market, which are multiplying business and leisure travel. ...

Global shares, euro rally after Chinese rate cut Posted: 07 Jun 2012 06:53 AM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global shares rallied to their highest in more than a week and the euro gained on Thursday after China surprisingly cut interest rates to shore up slackening economic growth, fueling hopes other major central banks may follow suit. Brent crude rose above $102 a barrel on expectations that faster growth in the world's largest energy consumer could lead to increasing demand. Commodity-linked currencies such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars jumped. ...

Chinese investment into Europe set to boom: study Posted: 06 Jun 2012 11:04 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Europe is riding a gathering wave of Chinese direct investment that could bring in $250 billion to $500 billion in fresh capital this decade, generating jobs but giving policymakers headaches in return, a report released on Thursday said. China's outbound direct investment (ODI) has failed to keep pace with the blistering growth of its economy, but things are changing as companies seek to acquire the brands and technology that will keep them ahead of cut-throat competitors at home. ...

Yellen argues for more Fed easing amid Europe risk Posted: 06 Jun 2012 07:29 PM PDT BOSTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve's second-highest official on Wednesday laid out the case for the U.S. central bank to provide more support to a fragile economy as financial turmoil in Europe mounts. Janet Yellen, the vice chair of the Fed, cited risks from ongoing housing problems, a weak jobs market and worsening financial conditions in a speech in Boston. Her views carry great weight with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, and her comments suggest that the Fed may be close to easing policy again. Yellen said the U.S. ...

Gupta trial defense bids to sow doubt with phone records Posted: 06 Jun 2012 03:40 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lawyers for former Goldman Sachs Group Inc board member Rajat Gupta on Wednesday tried to use phone records to sow doubt at his insider-trading trial about contact with now-imprisoned hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam. Gupta, 63, a onetime global head of McKinsey & Co management consultancy, is charged with securities fraud and conspiracy in U.S. District Court in New York over allegations he leaked boardroom secrets to Rajaratnam and his Galleon Group between March 2007 and January 2009. ...

General Dynamics' Novakovic to succeed Johnson as CEO Posted: 06 Jun 2012 06:51 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense contractor General Dynamics said on Wednesday that Chief Executive Jay Johnson would retire at the end of the year, to be succeeded by Phebe Novakovic, who took over as president and chief operating officer just last month. Johnson, who celebrated his 66th birthday this week, will receive a bonus of $3.6 million, plus an additional $825,000 for consulting services through the end of June, General Dynamics said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. ...

Chesapeake in talks to sell pipeline biz: source Posted: 06 Jun 2012 12:40 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chesapeake Energy is in late-stage talks to sell nearly all of its pipeline assets for over $4 billion to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), according to a person familiar with the matter, as the company scrambles to close a $9 billion to $10 billion funding shortfall. Infrastructure investment fund GIP is already a partner with Chesapeake in its pipeline company Chesapeake Midstream Partners LP , as well as that firm's general partner. ...

Fed more upbeat on economy in Beige Book Posted: 06 Jun 2012 12:35 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Economic growth in the United States picked up over the last two months and hiring showed signs of a "modest increase," the Federal Reserve said in a report that ran counter to a growing sense of economic gloom. "Overall economic activity expanded at a moderate pace," the central bank said on Wednesday in its latest "Beige Book" summary of business activity covering a period between early April and late May. The Fed's previous Beige Book assessment of the economy, released on April 11, had painted growth in a more timid light. ...

Merkel urges gradual political union in Europe Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:06 AM PDT German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for Europe to take a gradual path towards political union, frustrating the appeals of many of her colleagues for quick, bold moves to fight the continent's raging financial crisis.

News Summary: Pfizer spinning off animal medicines Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:05 AM PDT VETERINARY SPINOFF: Drugmaker Pfizer is readying a regulatory filing for the first step in spinning off its animal health business, a possible IPO of a minority stake in a new company, Zoetis.

Bernanke signals no imminent steps to aid economy Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:04 AM PDT Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Federal Reserve is prepared to take further steps to lift the U.S. economy if it weakens. But he didn't signal any imminent action in testimony before a congressional panel Thursday.

Worried Swiss bankers get own advice hotline Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:05 AM PDT Swiss bankers worried they may be arrested abroad as part of tax evasion probes now have a special number to call for advice.

News Summary: US mortgage rates hit record lows Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:04 AM PDT RATES DROP AGAIN: Average U.S. rates for 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages fell to record lows again this week, according to a survey by mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.

Stocks helped lift US household wealth in Q1 Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:03 AM PDT Americans' wealth rose in the January-March quarter, boosted mainly by the best quarterly gain in stock prices since 1998 and partly by the first rise in home values since 2006.

Stocks rise on Wall Street after China cuts rate Posted: 07 Jun 2012 08:59 AM PDT Stocks are rising on Wall Street after China moved to boost its slowing economy, but an early rally faded after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave no signal of immediate action to prop up the U.S. economy.

US mortgage rates for past 52 weeks at a glance Posted: 07 Jun 2012 08:41 AM PDT Average U.S. rates for 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages dropped to record lows again this week.

How US states fared on jobless aid applications Posted: 07 Jun 2012 08:15 AM PDT Weekly unemployment benefit applications fell last week for the first time in five weeks. The Labor Department said Thursday that applications dropped by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 377,000.

News Summary: Fewer Americans seek jobless aid Posted: 07 Jun 2012 08:06 AM PDT WEEKLY DROP: The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell by 12,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 377,000. It was the first drop in five weeks and down from an upwardly revised 389,000 the previous week.

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