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UnitedHealth Group Inc said on Thursday implementing Obamacare and private Medicare funding cuts will eat into 2014 profit but the government-paid insurance business will drive growth as more people sign up. UnitedHealth, the largest U.S. health insurer, reported fourth-quarter profit a beat higher than analyst expectations, but its shares and those of major competitors fell anyway as investors focused on costs. "It's rare that United stock doesn't go down on earnings day," said Sheryl Skolnick, an analyst for CRT Capital. "I think what the Street did see was that the medical cost ratio was a bit higher than folks thought." The company said the medical cost ratio, which reflects the percentage of premiums paid out in claims to cover customer procedures and doctor visits, was "well controlled" and within expectations. It rose 1.1 percentage points in the quarter compared with a year earlier to 81.5 percent. UnitedHealth shares fell 2.5 percen

U.S. consumer prices recorded their largest increase in six months in December as gasoline prices rebounded, but there was little to suggest a broader pick-up in prices with underlying inflation muted. _0"> The Labor Department said on Thursday its Consumer Price Index increased 0.3 percent after being flat in November. In the 12 months to December, consumer prices accelerated 1.5 percent after advancing 1.2 percent in November. The increases were in line with economists' expectations. Stripping out the volatile energy and food components, the so-called core CPI rose only 0.1 percent, slowing from a 0.2 percent gain in November. That left its increase over the past 12 months at 1.7 percent, where it has now been for four consecutive months. The Fed targets 2 percent inflation, although it tracks a gauge that tends to run a bit below CPI. The U.S. central bank has started reducing the pace of its monthly bond purchases, but persistently low inflation is expected to s

The president of Germany's Bundesbank said on Thursday there was no reason for "irrational inflationary fears" and dismissed suggestions of a danger of the euro zone falling into deflation, echoing the European Central Bank's outlook. Jens Weidmann also urged France to live up to its function as a role model and show its peers how to restore economic competitiveness, saying it was decisive for the recovery of the whole the euro zone. A member of the ECB's governing council who tends to take a more hawkish view than many of his peers, Weidmann backed the ECB's expansionary policy stance citing subdued price and economic developments in the euro zone. His comments suggest that opinions on the council seem less divergent than for example last year, when Weidmann argued against aggressive interest rate cuts. More harmonized views within the council could bode well for policy decisions as the ECB considers further non-standard measures, having almost deplet

Euro zone inflation slowed in December, the European Union's statistics office confirmed on Thursday, in what the European Central Bank attributed last week to a one-off change in the method of calculating price growth in Germany . Consumer prices in 17 countries sharing the euro last year rose 0.3 percent on the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 0.8 percent, down from 0.9 percent in November, but a tad above 0.7 percent in October. The ECB, which wants to keep inflation below, but close to 2 percent over the medium term, expects a prolonged period of low inflation but sees no immediate risk of deflation. "We were all aware that the decline in the inflation rate in December ... first of all was expected, and it was caused by a technical adjustment in the statistics of the services inflation in Germany," ECB President Mario Draghi said last week. "(This) basically produced a much flatter seasonal adjustment and it meant that the December data came out

Ford Motor Co ( id="symbol_F.N_0"> F.N ) is recalling about 46,000 Edge SUVs from the 2012 and 2013 model years on a fuel system leak that could lead to a fire, the company and U.S. regulators said. _0"> The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported the recall on Wednesday. Ford said on Thursday that no crashes or injuries related to the incident have been reported. There are 27,800 Edge SUVs to be recalled in the United States, 13,500 in the Asia Pacific region, 3,400 in Canada and about 900 spread around the world. They are from the 2012 and 2013 model years and have 2.0-liter engines. "The fuel line pulse damper metal housing may crack as a result of an improper manufacturing process," according to a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This could cause a leak, which in turn could cause a fire if there is an ignition source, NHTSA said. Ford said it is also recalling about 400 Explorer SUVs that may have

Tyson Foods Inc ( id="symbol_TSN.N_0"> TSN.N ) is exploring a bid for Michael Foods Group Inc, a deal that would combine one of the world's largest chicken processors with a large distributor of egg and dairy products, according to three people familiar with the matter. A potential deal for Michael Foods, which is seen worth between $2 billion and $2.5 billion according to the people, would place Tyson, the nation's largest meat producer, into an adjacent category within poultry and protein. Michael Foods, the egg and dairy products producer owned by Goldman Sachs Group Inc's ( id="symbol_GS.N_1"> GS.N ) private equity unit, is in the early stages of finding a buyer, and Tyson may ultimately choose not to move forward with an offer, the people cautioned. Michael Foods is working with Goldman Sachs' investment banking unit and Bank of America Merrill Lynch ( id="symbol_BAC.N_2"> BAC.N ) on a potential sale, Reuters reported in

Dubai Group has signed a $10 billion debt restructuring deal, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, marking the end of a perilous period which saw the emirate risk collapse under a mountain of debt obligations. The unit of Dubai Holding DUBAH.UL, the investment vehicle of Dubai's ruler, was one of a number of state-linked entities which borrowed heavily from banks to fund an acquisitions spree during the boom years of 2006-08. But as credit markets dried up following the global financial crisis and a local real estate bubble burst, they found themselves unable to manage their obligations and were forced to renegotiate tens of billions of dollars of debt. Dubai Group finally brought an end to more than three years of negotiations about its debt pile when it signed the restructuring deal on Wednesday, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the information is not public. Its lenders, which include France's Natixis ( id="symbol_CNAT.PA_1

Bombardier Inc ( id="symbol_BBDb.TO_0"> BBDb.TO ) warned on Thursday it will delay putting its new CSeries jet into commercial use until the last half of 2015, a major setback in its plan to challenge Airbus Group NV ( id="symbol_AIR.PA AIR.PA ) and Boeing Co ( id="symbol_BA.N BA.N ) in the narrow body aircraft market. _1"> A longer-than-expected test phase was the cause for the nine-month delay of the smaller CS100 jet, Bombardier said on Thursday. The news sent shares down more than 6 percent to their lowest level since early May. _2"> The Montreal-based planemaker now sees the larger CS300's entry-into-service about six months after the CS100. The highly anticipated CSeries is built using lightweight composite materials and other technologies designed to make them burn less fuel and lower operating costs for airlines. But at least one airline that has signed up as an early customer said it was talking to Bombardier about the consequen

Citigroup Inc posted weaker-than-expected quarterly results on Thursday, as lackluster bond-trading results weighed on overall revenue. The third-largest U.S. bank said its fixed-income revenue fell 15 percent to $2.33 billion in the fourth quarter from the same quarter last year, in what it called a "challenging trading environment." The bond trading results lagged rivals' including Bank of America Corp and JPMorgan Chase & Co. The bank still posted rising profit, helped by cost-cutting, but the size of the decline in bond trading revenue surprised many analysts. Much of the drop came from falling client activity in corporate bonds and secured debt, said Jon Gerspach, chief financial officer, on a conference call with reporters. Rising bond yields have cut into demand for issuing and trading corporate debt. "We just saw a fall-off in client volumes," Gerspach said. When asked if there was any explanation, he responded, "No, it's just what we s

U.S. securities regulators fear they do not have the full range of enforcement powers to police Wall Street's compliance with the controversial Volcker rule, and told Reuters they are considering new rules to fill the gap. Officials at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission say the rule, which generally bans banks from making speculative bets with their own money, does not currently allow the agency to police brokerages for technical violations. While such violations may seem minor, those types of enforcement actions are an important part of the SEC's mission, and they can deter or prevent more egregious behavior and send markets a strong regulatory warning. "If we want to sanction a firm for not keeping the records or documents they are required to keep or provide reports to us in the form (it is) required, we need to take further action," John Ramsay, acting director of the Trading and Markets Division at the Securities and Exchange Commission, told Reuter

A much better year lies in store for most of the world's major developed economies, although weak inflation will persist, complicating central banks' ability to get interest rates back to normal, Reuters polls forecast on Thursday. As in the last few years, the United States looks set to the lead the way, with growth also quickening in Britain and Germany . However, Japan looks set to disappoint and the euro zone will probably lag again compared with its Western peers. Emerging markets again look a mixed bag. Perhaps the main difference this year is that forecasts from the 300 or so economists polled across the world over the last week at least suggest little prospect of a return to recession in the euro zone , the world's largest trading bloc. Overall, the poll showed the world economy will grow 3.6 percent this year compared with 2.9 percent in 2013. That would snap a three-year stretch of slowing global growth since the world economy first rebounded from the seve

Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim has agreed to consolidate his company and family stakes in Telekom Austria, clarifying his position in the eyes of regulators that monitor when stakeholdings become large enough to trigger takeover bids. Slim's America Movil will own 26.8 percent of Telekom Austria after buying a 3.14 percent stake from a family foundation, enough to veto big decisions at the Austrian firm but below the 30-percent mandatory takeover offer threshold. Telekom Austria shares, which have been buoyed by speculation that Slim will eventually try to take over the rest of the company, closed up 1.3 percent at 6.60 euros on Thursday, the top gainers in Europe's telecoms index. Carso Telecom B.V., America Movil's European holding company, will in future hold the entire 26.8 percent stake that was previously split with the family foundation. The Austrian government owns 28 percent of the former state telecoms provider and has said it is committed to maintainin

Best Buy Co ( id="symbol_BBY.N_0"> BBY.N ) shares tumbled about 30 percent on Thursday after the world's largest consumer electronics chain reported disappointing holiday sales and warned of a bigger-than-expected decline in quarterly operating margins. The company blamed intense discounting by rivals, tight supplies of phones and high-end tablets industrywide, and weak traffic in December. The news, which knocked off almost $4 billion of Best Buy's market value, was the latest evidence that holiday sales at many chains came at the expense of profit. "It just seems that the promotions did not drive incremental sales, that opening on Thanksgiving just added costs," Janney Capital Markets analyst David Strasser said. Adding to the pressure on Best Buy, he said, was the "promotional cadence of troubled retailers" like Sears ( id="symbol_SHLD.O_1"> SHLD.O ), Toys R Us Inc and smaller electronics chains. Best Buy cut prices sharpl

The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday announced plans to sell 410,000 shares in auto lender Ally Financial as part of its effort to unwind its financial bailout fund. _0"> The Treasury said it expected taxpayers to recover about $3 billion from the private offering of Ally common stock at $7,375 per share. The sale would reduce the government's stake to 37 percent, it said. The government pumped $17.2 billion into Ally during the 2007-2009 financial crisis, and the Treasury said taxpayers will have recovered about $15.3 billion once the stock sale was complete. The offering could also leave the Treasury just a few billion short on the investments it made to prop up lenders, automakers and the housing sector from its crisis-era $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. Private market investors appear to be optimistic about Ally's prospects. Ally sold $1.3 billion in unlisted shares to private investors in November for an average price of around $6,000 per shar

Target Corp has agreed to testify before Congress in early February about a data breach that compromised credit and debit card and personal data of millions of customers, a House of Representatives subcommittee said on Thursday. Representative Lee Terry, who chairs the commerce, manufacturing and trade subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, said in a statement that a hearing conducted by his panel would examine such data breaches and their effect on consumers. The subcommittee said it expects to take testimony from law enforcement officials and others, in addition to one or more representatives of Target, the third largest U.S. retailer. Target has said a breach of its networks during the busy holiday shopping period resulted in the theft of about 40 million credit and debit card records and 70 million other records with customer information such as addresses and telephone numbers. "By examining these recent breaches and their consequences on consumers,

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell for the second consecutive week last week, suggesting a sharp step-down in job growth in December was likely to be temporary. The better labor market tone was also captured by a survey on Thursday showing an acceleration in manufacturing activity in the Mid-Atlantic region, accompanied by a rise in factory jobs. "We view the tepid December payroll gain as an aberration and expect job creation to look stronger in January," said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 326,000, the Labor Department said. That compared to economists' expectations for a fall to 328,000. Job growth slowed sharply in December, with employers adding only 74,000 new positions. Nonfarm payrolls increased 241,000 in November and the retreat last month was blamed on cold weather. In a separate report, the Philadelphia

BlackRock Inc, the world's largest money manager, reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday, benefiting from strong markets and a flow of new money into its exchange-traded funds and retail business. The New York-based asset manager ended the fourth quarter through December 31 with $4.3 trillion in assets, including new money and market gains, surpassing the $4 trillion mark for the first time last year. That asset growth - a 14 percent rise from the end of 2012 - helped drive BlackRock's 24-percent jump in quarterly profit to $841 million, or $4.86 per share, up from $690 million, or $3.93 per share, a year earlier. BlackRock and its peers make money by charging fees as a percentage of assets under management. "They are well positioned to generate solid growth almost regardless of the market environment, given that they have a very broad product offering," said Jason Weyeneth, a New York-based analyst with Sterne, Agee & Leach Inc, focusi

Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Citigroup Inc were hit hard by a sharp fall in bond trading revenues in the fourth quarter, a stinging blow for two banks long seen as stalwarts of fixed income markets. The two banks performed worse in fixed income than rivals JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America Corp, showing that even as bond market trading volume suffers from falling prices, some banks will endure more pain than others. Softer markets are only the beginning of the trouble with trading bonds, which include fixed income, currency, and commodities products, at investment banks. Regulators are boosting capital requirements and making many derivatives markets more transparent for investors. The moves are designed to make markets safer after Wall Street's excesses helped bring the financial system to the brink of collapse in 2007 and 2008. But they also cut into profits. Goldman's profit fell 21 percent, as revenue from fixed income trading dropped 11 percent after adjusti

The Dow and S&P 500 dipped on Thursday, led by financial shares after a round of disappointing earnings from the sector. The S&P 500 pulled back from record levels and was nearly flat for the week. Financials were the biggest drag on the market after both Citigroup Inc ( id="symbol_C.N_0"> C.N ) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( id="symbol_GS.N_1"> GS.N ) reported quarterly profits hit by lower bond trading revenue, with Goldman's earnings falling 21 percent and Citigroup's missing expectations. The results followed fairly positive reads on the sector from JPMorgan Chase & Co ( id="symbol_JPM.N_2"> JPM.N ), Bank of America Corp ( id="symbol_BAC.N_3"> BAC.N ) and Wells Fargo & Co ( id="symbol_WFC.N WFC.N ). _4"> Goldman's stock slid 2.1 percent to $175.06, one of the Dow's biggest decliners, while Citigroup dropped 4.1 percent to $52.75. The S&P financial sector index .SPSY fell 0.7

A decade of lawmaking by U.S. states to ensure consumers are told when their data has been hacked still lets companies such as Target Corp wait weeks or even months to disclose security breaches. Forty-six of 50 U.S. states have passed laws requiring disclosure, starting with California in 2002, but the laws vary in terms of when and how notice must be given, and most states allow for delays to investigate the intrusion. Calls for federal action, including by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, have gone unheeded by Congress. And guidelines to safeguard investors in public companies also do not give clear guidance on timing and do not require disclosures that would compromise a company's cyber security. Consumer advocates have criticized Target, where data from 40 million credit and debit cards and 70 million other records containing customer information was stolen. State attorneys general are probing the breach. Target says it acted quickly after taking defensive action. &qu

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 climbing to an all-time closing high after strong earnings from Bank of America and data signaled that the economy was improving. Bank of America Corp ( id="symbol_BAC.N_0"> BAC.N ) climbed 2.3 percent to $17.15 and gave one of the biggest boosts to the S&P 500 after the second-largest U.S. bank said its quarterly profit surged by nearly $3 billion on an increase in revenue. The report came a day after both JPMorgan Chase & Co ( id="symbol_JPM.N_1"> JPM.N ) and Wells Fargo & Co ( id="symbol_WFC.N_2"> WFC.N ) also posted better-than-expected earnings, though Wells Fargo's mortgage lending slowed to the lowest level in five years. "So far so good with bank earnings this season, and it is very positive that we're seeing significant declines in foreclosures, which is very positive for the economy," said David Kelly, chief global strategist for JPMorgan Funds in New

The U.S. economy continued to grow at a moderate pace from late November through the end of 2013, with some regions of the country expecting a pick-up in growth, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday. _0"> In its Beige Book report of anecdotal information on business activity collected from contacts nationwide, the U.S. central bank said two-thirds of the 12 districts reported increases in hiring. "The economic outlook is positive in most districts, with some reports citing expectations for 'more of the same' and some expecting a pick-up in growth," the report said. The findings, compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston from data collected on or before January 6, were broadly in line with economic data ranging from consumer spending to industrial production that have showed a building up of strength in the economy in late 2013. The reports of increased hiring support views that a sharp slowdown in job growth in December was the result of cold weath

A former driver for Osama bin Laden and a witness linked to plots to bomb U.S. airliners may testify by video at the U.S. trial of Suleiman Abu Ghaith, a son-in-law of bin Laden and former al Qaeda spokesman charged with conspiring to kill Americans and providing material support to terrorists. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan on Wednesday granted a defense motion to allow testimony from Salim Hamdan, perhaps best known as the plaintiff in a 2006 U.S. Supreme Court decision that found unconstitutional the military commissions set up for detainees at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba . Hamdan's subsequent conviction was overturned in October 2012. According to Abu Ghaith's lawyers, Hamdan would testify that he never saw the defendant participate in any plotting, and that Abu Ghaith's inclusion on a "brevity card" that contained names of members of al Qaeda's inner circle would not necessarily suggest allegiance to al Qaeda. Prosecutors had argued that te

Bank of America Corp said on Wednesday its quarterly profit surged by nearly $3 billion as revenue increased and mortgage losses plunged, the clearest sign yet the bank was shaking off the impact of the financial crisis. The results for the second largest U.S. bank were strong across most businesses, with consumer banking having its best quarter since 2011 and the wealth management and global banking divisions posting record revenues. "They're showing some positive momentum on growing their customer base and their revenues," said Jonathan Finger of Finger Interests Ltd, a Houston investment firm that owns shares in the bank. "Certainly the stock has been performing very well." Bank of America's shares rose 2.3 percent to $17.15 on Wednesday, after earlier rising to $17.42, the highest level since May 2010. The bank's shares rose 34.6 percent last year, outpacing the broader market, and have risen some 250 percent from their post-crisis nadir in Dece

Northern Irish poet Sinead Morrissey won Britain's prestigious T.S. Eliot prize on Monday for "Parallax", a collection that explores the nature of reality and includes a poem inspired by watching a film while giving birth. Morrissey, who is the first poet laureate of Belfast and had been shortlisted for the prize on three previous occasions, will receive an award of 15,000 pounds ($24,600). "I'm so delighted, it's a dream come true," she told Reuters after the prize was announced at a ceremony held at London's Hertford House, the home of the Wallace Collection of art. Morrissey, whose winning collection examines the difference between perception and reality, said she had no explanation for why Northern Ireland , also the birthplace of late Nobel Prize winner Seamus Heaney, was a fertile breeding ground for poets. "I think there is something distinctive about Northern Ireland and I think the poetry tradition from that very small place with