Business - Investor's Business Daily

More taxpayer bailouts or increase markets' regulatory uncertainty? That may be the trade-off from legislation dealing with financials deemed "too big to fail."

Kevin Kelley will hit the stores on Friday's holiday shopping kickoff armed with a plan of attack.

Justice: Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to try five 9/11 plotters by a civilian court in New York rather than a military tribunal at Gitmo is already paying dividends -- for the terrorists.

A stringy material inspired by the goo that marine snails use to protect growing embryos may have a range of applications, including replacement ligaments for knees and other joints, says a Discovery Channel report. The substance produced by snails is called mermaid's necklace. It resembles a gooey string of pearls several feet long. Scientists at the Univ. of Calif., Santa Barbara, say a synthetic substitute they are developing could be used for self-healing artificial ligaments, as well as in bungee and parachute cords.

Separate bomb attacks and a firefight killed 4 U.S. servicemen in Afghanistan, the military said Mon. Also, a suicide bomber, targeting a police convoy, killed 2 civilian men and 3 children in northern Kunduz province, the Afghan Interior Ministry said. Five others were wounded in the attack. The deaths bring the number of Americans killed in Afghanistan in Nov. to 15.

Indian PM Manmohan Singh, who will meet with Pres. Obama in Washington on Tue., said that Indian and U.S. officials will sign a memorandum intended to improve cooperation on energy security, clean energy and climate change. Singh did not provide details, but will use the White House visit to ease differences on global warming with the U.S. ahead of an international conference next month.

The Chicago Fed's index of national economic activity fell to -1.08 in Oct. from -1.01 in Sept. The 3-month average fell to -0.91 in Oct. from -0.67, the first drop this year. Readings below -0.7 indicate a growing chance that a recession has begun.

As a wireless price war rages in India, competition has eased in another of the world's fastest-growing markets, nearby Indonesia.

Diversification may be a mantra for many asset managers. For Jim Oelschlager, it's anathema to his entire method of investing.

Cash is king, the saying goes, and for businesses it's cash flow in particular that reigns high.

Brazilian homebuilder Gafisa is in the sixth week of a possible cup base.

Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao has lots of them. With over 1,000 grocery, electronics and drug stores, as well as 78 gas stations, it's the third-largest supermarket chain in its country.

While swimming the backstroke in record time has limited value to society, it has huge value in lessons to achieve a gold medal performance in any field. So says John Naber, who knows about winning in the pool and in business.

When Michael DuCharme decided to join the Army, he was almost too old to make the cut.

One political myth is that the rich are overwhelmingly Republican.

1 Ahead of a planned Sat. vote to start debate on the Dem health care overhaul, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., secured $100 mil in federal aid for her state in the bill, a move critics derided as a blatant bid to buy her support. Dems, who need 60 votes to override a GOP filibuster, were pressing Fri. to assure the backing of moderate Senate Dems like Ark.'s Blanche Lincoln.

General Motors has emerged from bankruptcy. Now it must step out of the long dark shadow of its own reputation.

New electronic record systems installed in thousands of hospitals have done little to rein in rising health care costs, says a Harvard study that looked at 4,000 hospitals from '03-'07. Advocates contend that computerized health records can help prevent costly errors and allow greater coordination among caregivers and patients. Adoption has been slow, spurring Congress to offer $19 bil in incentives as part of a stimulus bill. Pres. Obama has pointed to greater utilization of e-health records to help generate savings.

A missile launched from an unmanned U.S. drone killed 8 Islamist militants in NW Pakistan on Fri., officials said. The attack came shortly before Director Leon Panetta of the CIA, which oversees the drone strikes, met gov't leaders in Islamabad for talks that covered U.S. strategy in neighboring Afghanistan.

The state's House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Harrison said he will appoint a committee this week to consider impeaching Gov. Mark Sanford for dereliction of duty. The panel of 4 Republicans and 3 Dems expects to have an impeachment resolution ready before Christmas. Sanford admitted in June that he secretly flew to Argentina to visit his mistress, leaving state officials in the dark about his whereabouts for 5 days.

The Economic Cycle Research Institute's Weekly Leading Index fell 0.4 point 12ast week to a 9-week low of 127.4. The index's annual growth rate also fell to a 9-week low, dropping 1.1 points to 25%. However, "while WLI growth has eased from the record high set five weeks earlier, it is still pointing unambiguously to a continued economic recovery," ECRI Managing Director Lakshman Achuthan said.

Climate Change: As scientists confirm the earth has not warmed at all in the past decade, others wonder how this could be and what it means for Copenhagen. Maybe Al Gore can Photoshop something before December.

Health Care: Government of, by and for the people has apparently become a quaint concept to the World's Greatest Deliberative Body. Ramming socialized medicine through now comes down to cash payoffs.

What looked like an investment gone sour for Orthofix International now appears to have big potential. And it's helped shares recover from a steep slide that bottomed out a year ago.

Generic and branded drugmaker Par Pharmaceutical notched a 52-week high in mid-October.

When a perching bird sits on a branch, a special tendon on the backside of the ankle triggers its feet to clasp tightly. Thus, the bird can sleep without toppling off its roost.

Whoever says you can't throw money at problems hasn't spent much time following the Big Pharma sector this year.

Nov. 30 is the ceremonial kickoff to the online holiday shopping season this year. That's Cyber Monday.