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| Shiseido signs deal to sell two skincare brands to L'Oreal Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 06:53 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Shiseido Co Ltd said on Thursday that it has signed a deal to sell skincare brands Decleor and Carita to L'Oreal SA for about 230 million euros ($316.3 million). The two companies had been in exclusive talks for the transaction since last October. ($1 = 0.7271 euros) (Reporting by Dominic Lau; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim) Full Story | Top |
| Toshiba: aims to be in global top three in imaging diagnostics by March 2018 Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 06:14 PM PST  Toshiba Corp President Hisao Tanaka said on Thursday that the Japanese conglomerate aimed to be in the global top three companies making imaging diagnostics for medical use by the business year ending in March 2018. Toshiba, which has positioned healthcare as the third pillar of growth in addition to NAND flash memory chips and power generation, has said it aims to make 600 billion yen ($5.87 billion) in revenue from the sector by the end of its three-year business plan through March 2016, and 1 trillion yen in the year to March 2018. ($1 = 102.2150 Japanese yen) (This version of the story is filed to correct the time frame of goal to be number 3.) (Reporting by Sophie Knight; Full Story | Top |
| Washington state regulators set stricter limits on pot production Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 05:53 PM PST  By Jonathan Kaminsky OLYMPIA, Washington (Reuters) - Washington state marijuana regulators moved on Wednesday to curtail the size and number of pot farms it will allow to serve the state's nascent recreational cannabis market, citing the need to prevent excess supply from illicitly leaving the state. Washington state and Colorado voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in 2012 even as pot remains illegal under federal law, and Washington plans to begin licensing retail pot stores in June. Regulators hope the changes will reduce the projected footprint of pot plantations statewide by two-thirds, to under 300 acres, said Randy Simmons, deputy director of the state's Liquor Control Board. "Some of this will be self-correcting as operators fall out," said Simmons, whose Liquor Control Board has been tasked with regulating the state's marijuana industry. Full Story | Top |
| Biden: 'We may not get to 7 million' by Obamacare deadline Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 05:10 PM PST  Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged on Wednesday that it will be hard to reach the target on the number of people signing up for health insurance by a looming March 31 deadline for Obamacare enrollment. The Congressional Budget Office had originally forecast that 7 million people would sign up for insurance, many with help from subsidies provided under the Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare. Full Story | Top |
| Wall St. falls after Fed minutes; Facebook drops late Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 04:18 PM PST  By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks slid on Wednesday in a late selloff after minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy-setting meeting indicated that the central bank will keep trimming its bond-buying stimulus unless there is a significant economic surprise. The market also faced technical resistance as the S&P 500 earlier traded within a point of its record closing high set last month. Minutes from the January meeting of the Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee showed that several policymakers wanted to hone in on the idea that their asset-purchase program would be trimmed in predictable, $10-billion steps unless there is a big economic surprise this year. The statement doesn't deviate much from previous Fed communications, but market participants have been expecting the Fed to point to recent weakness in the economic data and reinforce their commitment to stimulating the economy. Full Story | Top |
| Florida woman tricked into abortion seeks fetal protection laws Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 04:09 PM PST By Bill Cotterell TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Remee Jo Lee was excited in the winter of 2013 over her pregnancy with a baby she already named Memphis, even though her new boyfriend envisioned a very different future. This winter, John Welden, formerly a pre-med student from a privileged background, sits in prison serving a nearly 14-year federal sentence for tricking Lee into taking an abortion pill. Meanwhile, Lee is in Florida's capital, changing hearts and minds instead of diapers, to pass a new state law that would set criminal penalties for causing a pregnant woman to lose her fetus regardless of how early in the pregnancy. I deal with this every day of my life," Lee told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. Full Story | Top |
| Herbalife lowers forecast range for 2014 sales Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 03:12 PM PST  By Svea Herbst-Bayliss BOSTON (Reuters) - Nutrition and weight loss products company Herbalife Ltd lowered its forecast range for 2014 sales and again defended itself on Wednesday against allegations by billionaire investor William Ackman that its business is a fraud. Herbalife, embroiled in a dispute with Ackman who over the past 14 months has accused the company of being a pyramid scheme, discussed earnings projections and its response to a U.S. lawmaker's inquiry into its business with analysts on a quarterly call. Sales are expected to grow between 7.5 percent and 9.5 percent this year, in part because of strong business in China. Investors said that may have added to pressure on Herbalife's stock price, which closed down nearly 4 percent on Wednesday at $66.18 per share. Full Story | Top |
| Wall St. falls after Fed minutes; technicals weigh Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 02:32 PM PST By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks slid on Wednesday in a late selloff after minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy-setting meeting indicated that the central bank will keep trimming its bond-buying stimulus unless there is a significant economic surprise. The market also faced technical resistance as the S&P 500 earlier traded within a point of its record closing high set last month. Minutes from the January meeting of the Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee showed that several policymakers wanted to hone in on the idea that their asset-purchase program would be trimmed in predictable, $10-billion steps unless there is a big economic surprise this year. The statement doesn't deviate much from previous Fed communications, but market participants have been expecting the Fed to point to recent weakness in the economic data and reinforce their commitment to stimulating the economy. Full Story | Top |
| California ramps up Latino outreach as healthcare deadline nears Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 01:54 PM PST More than 800,000 Californians have enrolled in private health insurance under President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, but that number included fewer Latinos than officials hoped, the head of its state-run marketplace said on Wednesday. California has already exceeded estimates of how many people it would enroll by March 31, signing up 828,638 residents for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, said executive director Peter V. Lee. Officials had hoped more Latinos would enroll, partly because polls have shown Latinos are more supportive of the healthcare reform law. In September, the Pew Research Center found 61 percent of Hispanics viewed it favorably, compared to 29 percent of non-Hispanic whites. Full Story | Top |
| Smoke-free park policies slow to catch on: study Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 01:51 PM PST  By Kathryn Doyle NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Bans on smoking in public parks are still fairly rare in the United States, despite more than half of states having indoor smoking restrictions, researchers say. "Air quality studies have demonstrated that smoking in outdoor areas such as building entrances or city streets is associated with measurable concentrations of secondhand smoke components, including nicotine and particulate matter," said the study's senior author Elizabeth G. Klein. "Secondhand smoke exposure can cause cardiovascular damage in as little as 30 minutes, so even small amounts of exposure, indoor or outdoor, could be a health concern," said Klein, of the Division of Health Behavior and Health Promotion at the College of Public Health at Ohio State University in Columbus. Banning smoking in public parks also helps to "denormalize" smoking, and hopefully leads to fewer young people picking up the habit, she said. Full Story | Top |
| Teens who text about condoms more likely to use them Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 01:36 PM PST By Ronnie Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - High school students who discussed condoms or another form of birth control via text or other technology were almost four times as likely to use condoms when they had sex, a new study shows. "Not all technology use is necessarily harmful," the study's lead author, Laura Widman, told Reuters Health. "Although prior research and media attention has focused on the risks of technology use - like sexting, we found that adolescents might also use electronic tools to communicate about ways they might promote their sexual health," she said. Of the 64 who reported being sexually active, more than half admitted failing to consistently use condoms, the researchers wrote in the Journal of Adolescent Health. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Bayer, Novartis, others eye Merck's consumer health unit - sources Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 01:12 PM PST  By Olivia Oran, Soyoung Kim and Anjuli Davies NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - A handful of consumer and healthcare companies including Bayer AG and Novartis are exploring a deal for Merck & Co Inc's consumer healthcare business, as they seek to gain scale in a fragmented industry, according to several people familiar with the matter. Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC and Procter & Gamble Co are also among the parties that have held discussions with Merck about buying the unit, best known for Coppertone sunscreen and Claritin allergy medicine, the sources said this week. The Merck business, which also includes Dr. Scholl's foot care and other consumer products, could be worth $10 billion to $12 billion in a potential sale, the people said, asking not to be identified because the process is private. Despite the large size of a potential deal and the unit's various product lines, Merck is focused on selling the consumer health business in its entirety, not in parts, the people said. Full Story | Top |
| Can avatars bring out the good in gamers? Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 12:30 PM PST  By Kathleen Raven NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Taking on the role of a game avatar like the benevolent Superman or villainous Voldemort may influence a person's behavior after the game is over, according to a new study. Games might even be designed with "prosocial" behavior modification in mind, the researchers suggest. "The biggest finding of the paper is that virtual representation of your avatar can profoundly affect real world behavior," lead author Gunwoo Yoon told Reuters Health. For the study, Yoon and co-author Patrick Vargas recruited 194 college students to play a game fighting enemies for five minutes. Full Story | Top |
| Philadelphia faith-healer couple sentenced to prison in son's death Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 11:41 AM PST By Dave Warner PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A Philadelphia faith-healing father and mother were sentenced on Wednesday to up to seven years in prison for the death of their infant son, the second of their children to die after an illness. Seven-month-old Brandon Schaible died on April 18 of bacterial pneumonia and dehydration. His parents Herbert and Catherine Schaible were found guilty of third-degree homicide, endangering the welfare of a child and conspiracy. Prosecutors said they did nothing to help the baby when he fell ill and at the sentencing in Common Pleas Court, Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore said the case "haunts" her. Full Story | Top |
| Ranbaxy and Teva settle with NY Attorney General over collusion Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 09:52 AM PST The New York Attorney General and the U.S. units of Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd have settled claims that an agreement between the two drugmakers unlawfully restricted competition. Shares of both companies rose after they agreed to pay $150,000 each to the state of New York and refrain from similar agreements in the future as part of the settlement. The settlement ends an investigation into an agreement the companies signed in 2010 to sell a generic version of Pfizer Inc's cholesterol drug Lipitor in the United States, while not challenging each other's exclusivity rights on other generic drugs. The agreement was drawn up as a contingency plan to allow Israel's Teva to sell the generic Lipitor, or atorvastatin calcium, in case Ranbaxy's version was not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration before Lipitor lost its patent protection on November 30, 2011. Full Story | Top |
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