HEALTHCARE

Public support for President Barack Obama's handling of healthcare reform, the pillar of his legislative agenda, has fallen below 50 percent for the first time, a Washington Post-ABC News poll released on Monday said.

President Barack Obama appealed to Americans on Saturday to back his ambitious revamp of the U.S. health care system, seeking to regain momentum amid growing worries among lawmakers over how to pay for it.

President Barack Obama knew it was not going to be easy to overhaul U.S. healthcare.

President Barack Obama's far-reaching plan to guarantee all Americans healthcare coverage faced trouble on Friday over its more than $1 trillion price tag, so Democrats looked for ways to reduce healthcare costs as they moved the bill forward.

Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday hailed historic progress on healthcare legislation and pledged to continue momentum to deliver on President Barack Obama's vow of reform.

Congress has picked up the pace of its work on an overhaul of the $2.5 trillion healthcare industry as it tries to pass legislation in each chamber before the August congressional recess.

President Barack Obama on Thursday sought to convince Republicans to support overhaul of the U.S. healthcare industry, his signature domestic policy goal, as the measures moved on a fast-track through congressional committees with only Democratic support.

House Democrats unveiled a 1,000-page proposal to overhaul the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare industry. The ground-breaking bill includes a government-paid insurance option that would compete with private insurers, and tax increases for the wealthy.

Saying it was time to get this done, President Barack Obama pressed on Wednesday for swift congressional action on healthcare after a Senate panel approved a bill to overhaul the $2.5 trillion industry.

U.S. President Barack Obama's plans to overhaul the $2.5 trillion healthcare industry got a boost on Tuesday as Democrats in the House of Representatives offered sweeping legislation and predicted passage on schedule by August.

A combative President Barack Obama on Monday sought to regain the initiative on overhauling the U.S. healthcare system after legislation slowed down in the U.S. Congress while he was abroad last week.

Philips Electronics, Europe's biggest consumer electronics maker, said some of its key markets are primed for an upturn in sales, though any growth this year would likely be driven by government spending programs.

Dutch conglomerate Philips Electronics signaled brighter business prospects for the second half of 2009, helped by cost cuts, as it surprised the market with a return to profit in the second quarter.

U.S. lawmakers on Sunday criticized a plan to raise taxes on the wealthy to pay for a $1 trillion healthcare overhaul and warned Congress was unlikely to meet President Barack Obama's goal of passing the measure by August.

For President Barack Obama, failure on healthcare is not an option.

Cardinal Health Inc said its board of directors approved the spinoff of its medical products company CareFusion.

The United States spends more on healthcare than any other country in the world but has higher rates of infant mortality, diabetes and other ills than many other developed countries.

Stocks edged higher on Thursday as investors bought beaten-down technology and commodity shares, while a positive broker comment on Goldman Sachs boosted the financial sector.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose on Thursday as investors rotated into beaten-down technology and commodity shares from healthcare and consumer staples, while a positive broker comment on Goldman Sachs boosted the financial sector.

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as investors snapped up beaten-down technology and commodity shares, while a positive broker comment on Goldman Sachs boosted the financial sector.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 rose slightly on Thursday as investors unloaded consumer staple and healthcare stocks and bought technology and commodity-related shares.