Business - Investor's Business Daily

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.

A study says that tenants in green buildings enjoy increased productivity and fewer sick days. It also found that such buildings have lower vacancy and higher rental rates.

As a young manager, Leslie Muma learned lessons in leadership from his boss. Unfortunately, they were the wrong lessons.

Three magic words drive entrepreneurial success: Know your customer. But as your business grows, you can't possibly know each customer.

With jobs continuing to vanish and surviving employees nervous about their own future, workplace stress is on the rise.

Good things happen to those who hang tough. That applies to 401(k) plan members too.

Wal-Mart and Sears (NasdaqGS:SHLD - News) recently created their own marketplaces -- places on their Web sites that link to other online sellers.

Fairbank Farms this month had to expand its recall of more than 500,000 pounds of its ground beef, on fears the meat contained E. coli bacteria.

It took more than a small telegram to affect Donald Douglas.

Philanthropy might be down in a squeezed economy, but it's far from out. People are spending more carefully while nonprofits raise the volume of their appeals. Tips for making charitable choices:

On Dec. 27, 1831 -- after waiting for refitting, weather and a drunken crew -- HMS Beagle launched its three-year, global exploration.

1 A record 14.41% of home loans were late or in foreclosure in Q3, up 57 ticks from Q2. The rate of subprime loans entering foreclosure fell for a 2nd straight quarter. Prime and FHA loans are increasingly a problem as job woes drive defaults now. FHA-backed, 3.5%-down loans have surged as reserves dive, raising bailout fears.

Computer maker Dell did nothing to soothe investor concerns about a weakening tech sector Thursday, posting results that badly missed Wall Street's expectations.

Shares of one of China's leading online game sites fell 8.6% to 37.20 on Thursday as investors questioned NetEase's (NasdaqGS:NTES - News) latest results, which missed analyst views, and whether the company will cash in as China's distributor of the hugely popular "World of Warcraft" online game.

To make its budget math add up, the Senate packs bigger health care subsidies into fewer years, sacrificing near-term help for the uninsured and longer-term deficit-reduction.

The vultures are circling commercial real estate. But are they too numerous and too early?