Month: March 2014

By John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada's main stock index advanced on Monday as the Federal Reserve's reassurance of its support for the U.S. economy built investor confidence and helped push up the market's financial and energy sectors. The Toronto stock market's benchmark index was on track to record its ninth straight monthly gain. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said measures by the U.S. central bank to boost the economy will be necessary for some time to come. "We've got a steady hand on the wheel," said David Cockfield, managing director and portfolio manager at Northland Wealth Management.

By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks rose on Monday, putting the S&P 500 on track for a second straight advance, led by technology and financial shares following comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. Microsoft Corp gained 2.3 percent to $41.22 and JPMorgan Chase & Co rose 1.5 percent to $60.96 as the two biggest boosts to the S&P 500. "I don't think she is going to be pull back on the taper, she is just being realistic in recognizing the fact things are still slow, but they are going to continue down the path," said Ken Polcari, Director of the NYSE floor division at O'Neil Securities in New York.

By Saliou Samb CONAKRY (Reuters) – Guinea faces an Ebola epidemic on an unprecedented scale as it battles to contain confirmed cases now scattered across several locations that are far apart, medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Monday. The warning from an organisation used to tackling Ebola in Central Africa comes after Guinea's president appealed for calm as the number of deaths linked to an outbreak on the border with Liberia and Sierra Leone hit 80. The outbreak of one of the world's most lethal infectious diseases has spooked a number of governments with weak health systems, prompting Senegal to close its border with Guinea and other neighbours to restrict travel and cross-border exchanges. Figures released overnight by Guinea's health ministry showed that there had been 78 deaths from 122 cases of suspected Ebola since January, up from 70.

By Nita Bhalla NEW DELHI, March 31 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – India’s high vulnerability and exposure to climate change will slow its economic growth, impact health and development, make poverty reduction more difficult and erode food security, a new report by scientists said on Monday. The latest report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stresses the risks of global warming and tries to make a stronger case for governments to adopt policy on adaptation and cut greenhouse gas emissions. “This is the most extensive piece of science done on climate adaptation up until now,” Aromar Revi, one of the lead authors of the report, told a news conference. “The key issue as far as India is concerned is vulnerability and exposure.” The report predicts a rise in global temperatures of between 0.3 and 4.8 degrees Celsius (0.5 to 8.6 Fahrenheit) and a rise of up to 82 cm (32 inches) in sea levels by the late 21st century due to melting ice and expansion of water as it warms, threatening coastal cities from Shanghai to San Francisco.

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Beverly Brignoni was a young New Yorker seeking a less expensive way to enhance her appearance and she did what many other people are now doing: travel to the Dominican Republic for cosmetic surgery.

By Mari Saito TAMURA, Japan (Reuters) – For the first time since Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster more than three years ago, residents of a small district 20 km (12 miles) from the wrecked plant are about to be allowed to return home. The Miyakoji area of Tamura, a northeastern city inland from the Fukushima nuclear station, has been off-limits for most residents since March 2011, when the government ordered evacuations after a devastating earthquake and tsunami triggered a triple meltdown at the power plant. Tuesday's reopening of Miyakoji will mark a tiny step for Japan as it seeks to recover from the Fukushima disaster and a major milestone for the 357 registered residents of the district – most of whom the city hopes will go back. "Young people won't return," said Kitaro Saito, a man in his early 60s, who opposed lifting the ban and had no intention of going home yet.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration’s health care website stumbled early Monday , falling out of service for nearly four hours on deadline day for sign-ups. After it was fixed, officials plowed ahead with a nationwide promotional drive, almost like getting out the vote on Election Day.

WASHINGTON (AP) — New research is boosting hopes that weight-loss surgery can put some patients' diabetes into remission for years and perhaps in some cases, for good.

Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline plans to invest up to 130 million pounds ($216 million) in Africa over the next five years as chronic diseases become more common among the continent's swelling urban middle classes. The decision reflects the draw for the pharmaceutical industry of the region's rapid economic growth and rising demand for treatments for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like heart and lung disorders, diabetes and cancer. France's Sanofi has also highlighted Africa as a promising market. Sub-Saharan Africa currently accounts for only around 500 million pounds of GSK's annual sales, which totaled 26.5 billion pounds in 2013, but the group sees potential for much more as African economies grow.