The FDA Wants Women to Take Less Ambien

Women who take sleeping pills have been inadvertently double-dosing, according to a new announcement from the the Federal Drug Administration. Today FDA regulators told the makers of sleep-aid prescriptions such as Ambien, Zolpimist, and Edluar to cut recommended doses for women in half. The order comes after new findings about the different ways men and women respond to zolpidem, the active ingredient...

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Decent jobs report despite slowdown in hiring pace

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pace of U.S. job growth slowed a bit in December, keeping the unemployment rate steady at 7.8 percent, but details of the Labor Department's U.S. employment report were fairly encouraging.* Nonfarm payrolls increased 155,000, but job gains for the previous month were revised up to show 15,0000 more positions created than previously reported.* Construction employment rebounded...

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Bank of America, other banks move closer to ending mortgage mess

CHARLOTTE/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp announced more than $14 billion of legal settlements over bad mortgages it sold to investors and flaws in its foreclosure process, taking the bank a step closer to ending the home loan problems that have dogged it for years.About $3 billion of Bank of America's Monday's settlements were part of a larger $8.5 billion deal between 10 big mortgage...

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Nasdaq CEO says would definitely consider Euronext

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nasdaq OMX Group would definitely consider bidding for Euronext, the operator of the Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and Lisbon stock exchanges, if it were put up for sale, Nasdaq's Chief Executive Robert Greifeld said in an interview."We would have to take a look at it," he said. "I'm not saying we would bid on it, but we would have to take a look."Chatter that Euronext could be...

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Gadget Watch: Electronic fork nags you on eating

LAS VEGAS (AP) — If you've always wanted a fork that spies on your eating habits, you're in luck: A company has developed a utensil that records when you lift it to the mouth.The electronic fork is one of the gadgets getting attention this week at the International CES in Las Vegas, an annual showcase of the latest TVs, computers and other consumer-electronic devices.WHAT IT IS: The HAPIfork is a...

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Wisconsin Assembly's all-nighters targeted

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — To young people, pulling an all-nighter usually involves lots of caffeine and staying up to study.To the Wisconsin state Assembly, it's an all-too-familiar method of doing the state's business.The new Republican speaker of the Assembly has some ideas for ending the all-night sessions, but he refused to announce what any of them were after a private meeting Tuesday with Democratic...

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AIG says obliged to consider joining lawsuit against government

BOSTON (Reuters) - AIG has an obligation to consider a demand by its former chief executive that the company join a lawsuit challenging some of the terms of the insurer's 2008 government rescue, AIG said on Tuesday.In a statement, American International Group said its board expected to make a decision "in the next several weeks...

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U.S. launches review of Shell Arctic drilling program

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Interior Department will review Royal Dutch Shell's 2012 Arctic oil drilling program to assess the challenges the oil company faced and to help guide future permitting in the region.The announcement on Tuesday follows the grounding of one of Shell's rigs off the coast of Alaska last week, the latest mishap the company has encountered as it undertakes an ambitious Arctic...

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Google executive chairman arrives in North Korea

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — Google's chairman wants a firsthand look at North Korea's economy and social media landscape during his private visit Monday to the communist nation, his delegation said, despite misgivings in Washington over the timing of the trip.Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of one of the world's biggest Internet companies, is the highest-profile U.S. executive to visit North Korea...

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U.S. banks to pay $8.5 billion to end foreclosure reviews

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of 10 mortgage servicers agreed on Monday to pay a total of $8.5 billion to end a U.S. government-mandated case-by-case review of housing crisis foreclosures in an acknowledgement the program had proven too cumbersome and expensive.Roughly 3.8 million borrowers whose homes were in foreclosure within the time frame of the review will receive cash compensation ranging...

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