New York stock markets moved higher Monday after the Commerce Department said retail sales rose 1.1 percent in September over August. The sales bump matched the 1.2 percent increase a month earlier and beat economists' expectations, which called for a 0.8 percent gain in September. A...

Debt loads among U.S. consumers have receded to levels unseen since before the recession, data from private and public sources say. U.S. Federal Reserve records indicate less than 16 percent of the average household's income after taxes is being used to pay debt and rent. That's...

Grain futures closed lower on the Chicago Board of Trade Monday with the dollar flat and equities finding traction on Wall Street. Corn was off 15 1/4 to off 15 1/2, soybeans were off 21 1/2 to off 30 1/4, wheat was off 8 1/4 to off 8 3/4 and oats were off 3 1/4 to off 4. There were no major...

The AFL-CIO Monday called for a boycott of all American Crystal Sugar products to protest its lockout of more than 1,300 workers for 14 months. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, in a release posted on the union's website, deplored American Crystal's refusal to meet the...

Economists say Spain's hesitation to ask for international assistance could make matters worse when the government gets around to asking for help. “If you wait too long, you will be forced into a program that will have much tougher conditions — so better to ask for it...

New York stock markets moved higher Monday after the Commerce Department said retail sales rose 1.1 percent in September over August. The sales bump matched the 1.2 percent increase a month earlier, but beat economists' expectations, which called for a 0.8 percent gain in September. A...

Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, admitted that it had avoided taking some safety measures prior to the March 2011 nuclear accident, a new report reveals. “When looking back on the accident, the problem was that preparations were...

The PARS 3 LR fire-and-forget missile by Europe's MBDA is heading into full production for the German military. Full-rate production for the weapon, the main armament of the German Army's Tiger helicopter, is the result of successful completion last month of system validation...

Future renewable energy exports to Europe could generate revenue for Ireland through the imposition of royalty fees, Irish Energy Minister Pat Rabbitte says. Rabbitte, speaking last week at the LK Shields Energy Conference in Dublin, strongly defended government subsidies for onshore wind...

Escalating wildcat strikes in South Africa's mining industry, a pillar of the continent's largest economy, are scaring off foreign investment that's heading for other African states, such as those riding a wave of major oil and gas discoveries. “After nearly two months...

Researchers from Arizona State University have developed a software system that estimates greenhouse gas emissions in cities. The system, dubbed “Hestia” after the Greek goddess of the hearth and home, provides hourly, building-by-building and street-by-street dynamics of carbon...

Argentina's trade row with Brazil has been averted for now but its deep impact on Brazilian exporters meant losses running into several million dollars. Argentine traders also suffered in the protectionist wrangle. Argentina slapped tough trade curbs, banning most imports, earlier this...

U.S. television network ABC says it plans to air the wedding of “The Bachelorette” stars Ashley Hebert and J.P. Rosenbaum this December. The couple got engaged in Fiji on the dating competition series in August 2010. Chris Harrison will serve as host of “The Bachelorette:...

About 10.9 million viewers tuned in for Sunday night”s Season 3 premiere of the American zombie drama “The Walking Dead,” AMC announced Monday. The cable network called it the “biggest telecast for any drama series in basic cable history among all...

Dustin Hoffman is to be presented with the Hollywood Breakthrough Director Award for his dramedy “Quartet,” organizers of the Hollywood Film Awards said Monday. “It is a great honor to recognize Dustin Hoffman for his directorial debut for the movie ”Quartet.”...

A stockbroker was arrested Monday on federal fraud charges in the ill-fated Broadway musical “Rebecca,” The New York Times said. The show's producers have accused Mark C. Hotton, 46, of fabricating four investors he said pledged $4.5 million for the stage adaptation of Daphne...

Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson has ended her year-long romance with advertising executive Nate Naylor, UsMagazine.com said Monday. The couple broke up within the last week, the celebrity news website said without giving a reason. Johansson divorced actor Ryan Reynolds in late 2011...

British director Joe Wright has directed a new advertising campaign for Chanel No. 5 starring Brad Pitt, the fragrance maker announced Monday. “What”s important to remember about Chanel No. 5 is how revolutionary this fragrance is; when it was introduced, it broke all the...

The American Academy of Dermatology says its new video demonstrates how a U.S. adult can check his or her own skin for skin cancer. Dr. Thomas E. Rohrer, a board-certified dermatologist in Chestnut Hill, Mass., said current estimates show 20 percent of U.S. adults will be diagnosed with skin...

Chronic stress during pregnancy prevents brain benefits of motherhood in rats, a finding that suggests a link to postpartum depression, U.S. researchers say. Lead author Benedetta Leuner of Ohio State University in Columbus said the study showed an increase of dendritic spines in new...

As Halloween approaches, many U.S. parents may wonder if trick-or-treating is safe, but a pediatrician suggests a few precautions can ensure a fun holiday. Dr. Luz Adriana Matiz, a pediatrician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, suggested children limit...

There are lots of hidden health hazards lurking not only in Halloween candy, but costumes, haunted houses and jack-o-lanterns, U.S. allergists say. “Parents that have a child with a food allergy know to carefully inspect Halloween candy, but they may overlook other common holiday items...

Diabetic married women in South Korea say the stress of caring for their families was a factor in their contracting the disease, researchers say. Postdoctoral fellow Hyunjeong Park and Jennifer Wenzel of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing in Baltimore said in a Korean household, it...

The British healthcare system says it's paid about $3.2 million to remove Poly Implant Prothese — silicone — breast implants because private clinics won't. Officials at Britain's Department of Health said 607 women who had operations with private doctors —...

A new kind of state-sponsored malware is loose in the computer wild, apparently designed specifically to spy on its victims, Russian security experts say. Kaspersky Lab says the new malware variety, dubbed “MiniFlame,” is similar to the Flame virus identified last summer as it...

Confidential government files belonging to New Zealand's Ministry for Social Development have been freely accessible on public computers, a blogger says. Blogger Keith Ng says he was able to download 7,000 files from the department's network using a public computer in a Work and...

Two U.S. citizen scientists have discovered a planet in a system with four different suns, the first known of its type, U.S. and British astronomers say. The distant planet orbits one pair of stars while a second pair of stars orbits around it, they said. The planet was discovered by two U.S....

Research that yielded a NASA robot may someday help astronauts stay healthier in space and assist paraplegics walk here on Earth, the space agency said. In a spinoff derived from NASA's Robonaut 2 program that provided a robot assistant on the International Space Station, researchers...

The University of Michigan says it is joining 20 other U.S. and Canadian universities to propose research and policy priorities to help protect the Great Lakes. Dubbed the Great Lakes Futures Project of the Transborder Research University Network, the effort will use a cross-disciplinary,...

Gravitational changes such as astronauts and scientists on the International Space Station experience can affect the immune system, European scientists say. Researchers at the University of Lorraine in France and the University of Luxembourg report stresses felt during launch, in zero gravity...

Veteran linebacker Ray Lewis and cornerback Lardarius Webb of the Baltimore Ravens will each miss the rest the season with injuries, the team said Monday. Lewis, a 17-year pro and and 13-time Pro Bowl selection, will be shelved for the remainder of the season with a complete tear of his...

Sixth-seeded Denis Istomin and No. 8 Tatsuma Ito each advanced Monday with opening-day victories at the Kremlin Cup tennis event. Uzbekistan's Istomin fired 12 aces in rebounding from a dropped first set to overcome Germany's Bjorn Phau 5-7, 7-5, 6-1. Meanwhile, Japan's Ito...

Eighth-seed Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic helped open the 2012 Kremlin Cup Monday with a win over Russian wild card Margarita Gasparyan. Safarova dropped the middle set but went on to outlast Gasparyan 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 indoors at Olympic Stadium in Moscow. Her next opponent will be fellow...

Australian Marinko Matosevic opened the Erste Bank Open in Vienna Monday with a comeback victory over sixth-seeded Robin Haase of the Netherlands. Matosevic fell 1-6 in the first set but then rebounded to win the next two frames 6-3, 6-2 on Day 1 at Wiener Stadthalle. Also rallying for a...

Czech Lucie Hradeca and Slovenia”s Magdalena Rybarikova turned in upset victories over seeded players Monday in the Luxembourg Open tennis tournament. Hradecka took out seventh-seeded Tamira Paszek of Austria 6-3, 7-6 (10-8) and Rybarikova outlasted Spain”s Suarez Navarro, the...

Pittsburgh Steelers lineman Alameda Ta'amu was charged with multiple felony and misdemeanor counts after a wild police chase through Pittsburgh early Sunday. Ta'amu, 22, a rookie defensive lineman was taken into custody early Sunday after he was observed driving recklessly in his...