European stocks lifted by retailers, automakers
LONDON (AP) - European stock markets rose modestly Tuesday despite Wall Street's setback from the day before as some relatively positive corporate news helped offset concerns about the global economy. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 35.76 points, or 0.8 percent, at 4,615.40, while Germany's DAX rose 61.48 points, or 1.2 percent, to 5,045.47. France's CAC-40 rose 38.27 points, or 1.1 percent, to 3.398.19. More »Nation's health spending rises, but not so much
WASHINGTON (AP) - Health care continued to take up a greater share of the economy in 2007, as spending on hospitals, doctors and other services increased 6.1 percent to $2.2 trillion. There was a silver lining in the numbers the government reported Monday: The increase in health spending was the smallest since 1998, thanks largely to the growing use of generic drugs. More »Obama stimulus plan boosts business tax refunds
WASHINGTON (AP) - President-elect Barack Obama's proposed stimulus package would provide businesses with billions of dollars in refunds on taxes they paid several years ago. The refunds are popular among business groups and could increase pressure on Republicans to support Obama's massive stimulus package, even though most of them are wary of government spending increases that could send its total cost to $800 billion or more. More »