Year: 2014

By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks were set for a lower open on Thursday, weighed by a disappointing outlook from Cisco Systems and weaker-than-expected data on consumer spending and the labor market. Cisco fell 3.3 percent to $22.09 in premarket trading and was poised to weigh on each of the major U.S. indexes after the network-gear maker forecast a drop of 6 to 8 percent in revenue in the current quarter. Futures extended declines after weaker-than-expected labor market and retail sales data. Retail sales fell 0.4 percent in January, against a forecast for sales to be unchanged, while December was revised lower to a 0.1 percent decline.

By Sharon Begley NEW YORK (Reuters) – Twenty-seven countries announced on Thursday the launch of an effort to improve the ability to prevent, detect, respond to and contain outbreaks of dangerous infectious diseases. The Global Health Security Agenda was formed to take on such outbreaks whether they are natural, accidental or intentional, as in the case of a biological weapon. The initiative is a tacit recognition that the vast majority of countries are poorly prepared to detect, let alone contain, disease outbreaks, and that their failure to institute effective disease-surveillance and -control systems poses a global threat.

Avon Products Inc said on Thursday it may cost as much as $132 million to settle a U.S. bribery investigation into the beauty products company's efforts to develop new markets overseas. Avon cautioned there were no assurances it would reach a settlement and if it does, the company could not estimate its timing. The world's largest direct seller of beauty products also reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue, as business fell in emerging markets that had been a source of growth for the beauty company as its North American business waned. During the quarter ended December 31, Avon, a direct seller of beauty products, sold 10 percent fewer items, and the size of its sales force shrank 5 percent after showing signs of stabilizing earlier in 2013.

By Martinne Geller and Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) – Swiss food giant Nestle's deeper dive into healthcare by taking over the dermatology joint venture it had with L'Oreal suggests further deals in the space are likely. The move underscores Nestle's determination to move beyond relatively stagnant traditional food markets into "wellness", where growth prospects and profit margins are more enticing. "It is a major, major platform of growth for the future," Chief Executive Officer Paul Bulcke told analysts on Thursday following the release of the group's 2013 financial results. "It's the core of our strategy." Nestle said this week it would sell an 8 percent stake in L'Oreal back to the French cosmetics company for cash and L'Oreal's half of Galderma, whose portfolio ranges from prescription drugs and injectable wrinkle treatments to over-the-counter products for skin, hair and nails.

By Robert-Jan Bartunek BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Belgium was due to become the first country to allow euthanasia for terminally ill children of any age on Thursday when its lower house of parliament votes on new "right-to-die" legislation. The draft law, which has already cleared the Belgian Senate, goes beyond pioneering Dutch legislation that set a minimum age of 12 for children judged mature enough to decide to end their lives. The bill has popular support in Belgium, where adult euthanasia became legal in 2002. The Christian Democrats, although members of Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo's coalition, oppose the bill.

Dutch police said on Thursday they suspected foul play in the death this week of the former health minister who was behind the law that made the Netherlands the first country to legalize euthanasia, more than a decade ago. Els Borst, 81, was found dead in her home on Monday evening, two days after attending a convention of her political party, the right-of-centre Democrats 66. Borst, a trained doctor who twice served as deputy prime minister, was the architect of the bill in 2002 that gave people suffering from terminal illness the right to end their lives in consultation with a physician. “Based on forensic tests and findings at the scene, the conclusion can be drawn that the most likely cause of death was a crime,” police said in a statement.

German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim said on Thursday it is facing more than 2,000 lawsuits in the United States over claims its blockbuster drug Pradaxa, the first in a new class of stroke prevention pills, caused severe and fatal bleeding. The unlisted company confirmed the number of cases reported on Thursday by German newspaper Handelsblatt, adding the risk of side effects was known and had to be weighed against the drug’s life saving potential. Like other blood thinners, Pradaxa’s benefit of cutting the rate of fatal or debilitating strokes in the elderly comes at the risk of internal bleeding, which can also cost lives. Boehringer cited a recent study by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as showing that Pradaxa users ran a lower risk of severe bleedings than patients on warfarin.

Israel on Thursday allowed the entry of some 35 Palestinian medical patients from the Gaza Strip after initially barring them because "State of Palestine" had appeared on the letterhead of their application. A Palestinian official said Israel relented and permitted their entry without any change to the logo. An Israeli official said the letterhead had been changed to the "Palestinian Authority". Israel does not recognize a Palestinian state, whose creation it says should stem from peace negotiations.

Comatose student may be sent home after his visa expires.