Looking for work? There may be an app for that
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Looking for a promising career in a lousy economy? A new study suggests you're apt to find it in the apps built for smartphones, computer tablets and Facebook's online social network. The demand for those applications has created 466,000 jobs in the U.S. since 2007. That's based on an analysis released Tuesday by technology trade group TechNet. The estimate counts 311,000 jobs at companies making the apps and another 155,000 at local merchants that have expanded their payrolls in an economic ripple effect caused by increased spending at their businesses. The study asserts this so-called "app economy" is still in the early stages of a boom driven by the mobile computing and social networking crazes unleashed by Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Facebook's online hangout.
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Posted 3:09 AM EST on February 07, 2012

Merck anti-clot compound again shows bleeding risk
WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. (AP) -- An experimental anti-clotting drug that Merck & Co. is developing increased risk of bleeding internally in a study, the second time it's shown that dangerous side effect. Merck says the top-line results from a study called TRA-2P show vorapaxar, when added to standard anticlotting therapy, reduces risk of heart attack, stroke, death from heart disease or emergency heart surgery. But the company says there was a significant increase in bleeding, including bleeding inside the skull. That intracranial bleeding was less common in patients who had not previously had a stroke. A year ago, Merck halted another study because of the same bleeding problem. Merck says it will present detailed results from the latest study at a March medical conference.
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Posted 3:08 AM EST on February 07, 2012

Oil prices climb as Iran threatens EU supply cut
NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices are rising as Iran again threatens to cut off supplies to Europe. Iranian lawmakers are pushing a plan to stop exporting crude to Europe before the European Union begins an oil embargo this summer. The EU and the U.S. are pressuring Iran because of its nuclear program. Benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.47 to $98.38 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price foreign oil varieties, rose by 71 cents to $116.64 per barrel in London. U.S. oil prices fell Monday as supplies grew at the important Midwest distribution hub in Cushing, Okla. The possibility of Iran stopping crude sales to Europe, creating tighter supplies, boosted prices around the globe on Tuesday. Retail gasoline prices were flat at a national average of $3.48 per gallon.
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Posted 3:06 AM EST on February 07, 2012

Builders step up spending for fifth straight month
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Builders increased their spending in December for the fifth consecutive month, offering more evidence of a turnaround in the battered construction industry. Housing, nonresidential construction and government projects all showed gains. The Commerce Department says spending on construction projects rose 1.5 percent in December after a revised 0.4 percent gain in November. That pushed spending to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $816.4 billion, the highest level in 20 months. Even with the gains, spending is barely half the level that economists consider healthy. Analysts say it could be four years before the industry returns to full health. Residential construction rose 0.8 percent on the strength of single-family homes. Nonresidential building jumped 3.3 percent, led by factory construction. Government spending rose 0.5 percent.
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Posted 3:21 AM EST on February 03, 2012

Mass.: Bone marrow donor recruiting case settled
BOSTON (AP) -- Massachusetts officials have announced an agreement that will require a bone marrow registry and medical laboratory company that used fashion models to recruit donors to pay $520,000. Attorney General Martha Coakley said Caitlin Raymond International Registry and UMass Memorial Health Ventures Inc. engaged in improper marketing by paying models to attract potential donors at malls, festivals and sporting venues. A judgment filed in court by Coakley on Thursday alleges that they also improperly waived copayments and deductible amounts for the testing of potential donors. Under the agreement, they will pay restitution to Massachusetts consumers for out-of-pocket payments made for donor testing. They will also pay the state $500,000 for initiatives to improve health care services and to combat unlawful marketing practices. Officials in New Hampshire, where the models were also used, planned a news conference Thursday afternoon.
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Posted 3:16 AM EST on February 03, 2012