Year: 2014

By John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada's main stock index gained on Monday after the U.S. Federal Reserve's assurance of continued support for the economy lifted sentiment and helped drive up shares of financial and energy companies. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said measures by the central bank to boost the U.S. economy will be necessary for some time to come. The Toronto stock market's benchmark index recorded its ninth straight monthly gain. "It speaks to the fact that the TSX has come back in favor this quarter," said Elvis Picardo, a strategist at Global Securities in Vancouver.

By Lacey Johnson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A prominent Virginia state politician whose mentally ill son attacked him before committing suicide said on Monday that healthcare reforms passed because of the incident would prevent other tragedies. Democratic state Senator and former gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds said his son's death in November 2013 had forced him to confront the shortcomings of a state system he and other lawmakers had created. Deeds' 24-year-old son, Austin "Gus" Deeds, attacked his father with a knife on November 19 at their home in Bath County, Virginia. Only 13 hours before the attack, Gus Deeds had been released from state custody after a mental health evaluation.

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – How parents monitor the television and video game habits of their children is tied to the kids’ performance in school, their relationships with peers and their weight, according to a new study. “It’s a fairly small effect, but what’s interesting about this study is because we tracked these children over time we see these effects build,” lead author Douglas Gentile told Reuters Health. He is a psychologist at Iowa State University in Ames. According to Gentile, the researchers can’t say children will gain one fewer pound or get in one fewer fight for every show parents approve for their kids.

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.