Yahoo! News: Health News

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• Wall Street sags, "cliff" angst steals retailers' Christmas
• Retailers scramble after lackluster holiday sales
• Home prices rose in ninth straight month: S&P
• China consumers driving economic rebound: survey
• Starbucks to use cups for "fiscal cliff" message to lawmakers
• Covidien to acquire CV Ingenuity
• Samsung Elec seeks U.S. sales ban on some Ericsson products
• Mexican regulator approves $1.6 billion deal for BBVA pension fund
• Yen down on Japan's new government; U.S. shares slip
• Grounded Kingfisher lacks funding plan -India minister
• US storm's toll up to 6 dead as system heads east
• US economy could handle short fall over 'cliff'
• Retailers pull stocks lower on poor holiday sales
• US home prices rise in October from previous year
• Storm delays thousands of fliers; tips to get home
• Shoppers disappoint retailers this holiday season
• Netflix streaming service back online after outage
• Starbucks cups to come with a political message
• Delays litter long road to vehicle rearview rules
• Oil rises on housing data, 'fiscal cliff' talks

Wall Street sags, "cliff" angst steals retailers' Christmas Posted: 26 Dec 2012 09:20 AM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as retailers' shares dropped sharply after a report that showed holiday shoppers were less enthusiastic than last year, with investors saying worries about the "fiscal cliff" may have kept them away from stores. The Morgan Stanley retail index skidded 1.8 percent as holiday-related sales rose 0.7 percent from October 28 through December 24, compared with a 2 percent increase last year, according to data from MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse. The SPDR S&P Retail Trust slipped 1.5 percent to 61.24. ...

Retailers scramble after lackluster holiday sales Posted: 26 Dec 2012 09:21 AM PST (Reuters) - The 2012 holiday season may have been the worst for retailers since the financial crisis, with sales growth far below expectations, forcing many to offer massive post-Christmas discounts in hopes of shedding excess inventory. While chains like Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Gap Inc are thought to have done well, analysts expect much less from the likes of Barnes & Noble Inc and J. C. Penney Co. The latest sign of trouble came from MasterCard Advisors Spending Pulse, which reported holiday-related sales rose 0. ...

Home prices rose in ninth straight month: S&P Posted: 26 Dec 2012 06:50 AM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Single-family home prices rose in October for nine months in a row, reinforcing the view the domestic real estate market is improving and should bolster the economy in 2013, a closely watched survey showed on Wednesday. The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas gained 0.7 percent in October on a seasonally adjusted basis, stronger than the 0.5 percent rise forecast by economists polled by Reuters. ...

China consumers driving economic rebound: survey Posted: 26 Dec 2012 03:05 AM PST BEIJING (Reuters) - China's consumers are leading an uneven recovery in the world's second biggest economy that has retailers expecting stronger sales in six months, early results of a national survey showed on Wednesday. The China Beige Book survey of more than 2,000 executives revealed that the retail sector had the strongest revenue growth and business expectations in the fourth quarter of 2012. The survey broadly detected a mild economic recovery with the hard-hit sectors of real estate, mining and manufacturing - to a lesser extent - joining retail at the head of the upswing. ...

Starbucks to use cups for "fiscal cliff" message to lawmakers Posted: 26 Dec 2012 08:51 AM PST (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp will use its ubiquitous coffee cups to tell U.S. lawmakers to come up with a deal to avoid going over the "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax hikes and government spending cuts. Chief Executive Howard Schultz is urging workers in Starbucks' roughly 120 Washington-area shops to write "come together" on customers' cups on Thursday and Friday, as President Barack Obama and lawmakers return to work and attempt to revive fiscal cliff negotiations that collapsed before the Christmas holiday. Whether members of Congress actually drink in the message is another matter. ...

Covidien to acquire CV Ingenuity Posted: 26 Dec 2012 05:04 AM PST (Reuters) - Medical device and products maker Covidien Plc on Wednesday said it has a definitive agreement to acquire CV Ingenuity, a privately-held company focusing on treatments for peripheral arterial disease. Financial terms of the deal, expected to close in the first quarter of 2013, were not disclosed. Fremont, California-based CV Ingenuity's core technology is a drug-coated balloon system that is still in the investigational phase. Covidien said it does not expect the CV technology to receive U.S. regulatory approval until fiscal 2017. ...

Samsung Elec seeks U.S. sales ban on some Ericsson products Posted: 25 Dec 2012 04:56 PM PST SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday it had filed a complaint against Ericsson with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), requesting a U.S. import ban and sales ban on some of the Swedish telecoms equipment maker's products. The action taken on Friday by the world's top smartphone maker, which accused Ericsson of breaching seven of its patents, came after Ericsson requested an ITC U.S. import ban on Samsung products and sued the South Korean firm for patent infringement. "We have sought to negotiate with Ericsson in good faith. ...

Mexican regulator approves $1.6 billion deal for BBVA pension fund Posted: 26 Dec 2012 06:57 AM PST MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's antitrust agency approved the $1.6 billion acquisition of BBVA's pension fund by Grupo Financiero Banorte and the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), Banorte said on Wednesday. Banorte and the IMSS, a state-run health organization, will operate Mexico's biggest pension fund, with nearly one-third of the total market. The deal, announced late last month and already approved by Mexico's pension fund regulator, has all the necessary authorizations to complete the acquisition, the bank said. Banorte, which runs Mexico's No. ...

Yen down on Japan's new government; U.S. shares slip Posted: 26 Dec 2012 08:34 AM PST NEW YORK/TOKYO (Reuters) - The yen fell to a two-year low against the dollar on Wednesday after Japan swore in a new prime minister who has called for weakening the currency to stimulate inflation, while U.S. stocks slipped in thin trading. The dollar rose as high as 85.74 yen on trading platform EBS, the highest since September 2010, following the swearing-in of Shinzo Abe as premier and was last at 85.65. The euro rose as high as 113.40 yen, a 16-month high, up 1.4 percent. The euro was at $1.3223 against the dollar, up 0.3 percent. ...

Grounded Kingfisher lacks funding plan -India minister Posted: 26 Dec 2012 03:41 AM PST NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Grounded Indian carrier Kingfisher Airlines has failed to present regulators with a clear funding plan under a proposal to get it flying again, the country's aviation minister said on Wednesday. The airline, owned by liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya and suspended in October over unpaid debts and salaries, submitted a plan on Monday to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to resume a limited service. According to local media reports, Kingfisher's parent company, UB Group, offered to inject 6.5 billion rupees ($118. ...

US storm's toll up to 6 dead as system heads east Posted: 26 Dec 2012 09:22 AM PST MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — A powerful storm system that erupted Christmas Day with Gulf Coast tornadoes and snow in the nation's midsection headed for the Northeast on Wednesday, spreading blizzard conditions that slowed holiday travel.

US economy could handle short fall over 'cliff' Posted: 26 Dec 2012 07:08 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The economic threat that's kept many Americans on edge for months is nearing reality — unless the White House and Republicans cut a budget deal by New Year's Day.

Retailers pull stocks lower on poor holiday sales Posted: 26 Dec 2012 09:16 AM PST NEW YORK (AP) — Retailers pulled stocks lower Wednesday as U.S. markets reopened following the Christmas holiday.

US home prices rise in October from previous year Posted: 26 Dec 2012 07:30 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — US home prices rose in most major cities in October compared with a year ago, pushed up by rising sales and a decline in the supply of available homes. Higher prices show the housing market is improving even as it moves into the more dormant fall and winter sales period.

Storm delays thousands of fliers; tips to get home Posted: 26 Dec 2012 08:20 AM PST NEW YORK (AP) — A massive winter storm is disrupting travel plans for tens of thousands of fliers trying to get home after Christmas. Snow, thunderstorms, sleet, tornados and high winds have grounded planes in the nation's midsection and are expected to slow operations on the East Coast.

Shoppers disappoint retailers this holiday season Posted: 25 Dec 2012 11:02 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. shoppers spent cautiously this holiday season, a disappointment for retailers who slashed prices to lure people into stores and now must hope for a post-Christmas burst of spending.

Netflix streaming service back online after outage Posted: 25 Dec 2012 10:25 AM PST Those hoping to spend the holiday watching streaming video from Netflix can now get back in front of their TVs, tablets and PCs after a Christmas Eve outage.

Starbucks cups to come with a political message Posted: 26 Dec 2012 09:00 AM PST NEW YORK (AP) — Starbucks is using its coffee cups to jump into the political fray in Washington.

Delays litter long road to vehicle rearview rules Posted: 26 Dec 2012 02:22 AM PST SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — In the private hell of a mother's grief, the sounds come back to Judy Neiman. The SUV door slamming. The slight bump as she backed up in the bank parking lot. The emergency room doctor's sobs as he said her 9-year-old daughter Sydnee, who previously had survived four open heart surgeries, would not make it this time.

Oil rises on housing data, 'fiscal cliff' talks Posted: 26 Dec 2012 08:11 AM PST NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil is rising sharply on higher U.S. home prices and hopes of a budget deal in Washington.

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