Market Update Close: Stocks fell for the fourth straight day, extending the broader market's longest losing streak since October, as investors were concerned that ongoing strength in the housing market would spur further Fed tightening. Even though a smaller than expected 0.1% rise in core-PPI indicated that higher energy prices have not led to broad inflationary pressures, better than expected housing starts and building permits stole the spotlight. Nov. housing starts checked in above the 2.0 mln annual rate for a seventh straight month while strong permits suggested that builders still expect...
6 Meals a Day? Mom may have taught you to eat 3 square meals, but new research suggests that people who eat 6 smaller meals per day are healthier, and have an easier time maintaining their weight and cholesterol levels.
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JESSICA'S DIVA DEMANDS
Jessica Simpson, 25, likes to act clueless, but she can swing her celebrity weight like a pro. According to a studio source, weeks before the press tour for The Dukes of Hazzard began, "we were bombarded with a six-page pamphlet of demands for Jessica from the office of her dad, Joe Simpson." Among Jessica's requests: paid accommodations for her hairstylist and assistant in the same hotel as Jessica; a wardrobe budget estimated in the thousands of dollars; cases of Evian water; and paid private... JEN FREAKS OVER ANGELINA'S NEW BABY JULIA STILES, GWYNETH PALTROW AND MORE!
Union fined over NY transit strike Transit workers rally outside the Queens subway railyards during the transit strike in New York December 20, 2005. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)
2:06 pm PT Mid-America Aptmt raises 2005 guidance (MAA) 47.96 -0.44:Co announces that it is raising its Q4 guidance for 2005. Co now expects FFO to be in the range of $0.76-$0.81, compared to a prior range of $0.72-$0.77. FFO for the year is projected to be $3.14-$3.19.
2:02 pm PT Pfizer: Spanish court rules in Pfizer's favor on Lipitor patent challenge (PFE) : -Update- Co announces that the Court of First Instance in Madrid has ruled that the claims of Pfizer's patent covering atorvastatin are valid and enforceable. The company was defending a lawsuit brought by Ratiopharm, which can appeal the decision. The patent at issue in the lawsuit expires in July 2010 and is subject to other pending challenges in Spain. Lipitor is sold in Spain under the brand names Zarator and Cardyl.
1:58 pm PT Market Wrap :Stocks fell for the fourth straight day, extending the broader market's longest losing streak since October, as investors were concerned that ongoing strength in the housing market would spur further Fed tightening. More...