HEALTHCARE

It's been overlooked -- it's received very little coverage by the popular press -- but it's worth repeating: one benefit of the U.S. health care reform legislation will be: enhanced employee mobility.

The top after-market NYSE gainers Thursday were: YPF SA, Old Republic International, Tenet Healthcare, JinkoSolar Holding and Valspar Corp. The top after-market NYSE losers were: SandRidge Mississippian, AAR Corp, Regis Corp, WMS Industries and Standard Pacific Corp.

Among the companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trading Friday are: Molina Healthcare, China TransInfo Technology, Strategic Hotels, France Telecom, Barrick Gold, Rio Tinto, Randgold Resources, Alcoa and Bank of America Corp.

The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Thursday were: Molina Healthcare, Centene Corp, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Ivanhoe Mines and MGIC Investment Corp. The top aftermarket NYSE losers were: Cooper Companies, Ellie Mae, FleetCor Technologies, Flotek Industries and Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.

In addition to sick Americans, more than 80 percent of the general public said health-care costs are exorbitant.

The Obama administration forged ahead with healthcare reforms on Wednesday, announcing a November 16 deadline for state governments to submit proposals showing how they intend to operate health insurance exchanges in 2014.

Republicans on Thursday issued a politically charged report that quoted President Barack Obama's corporate advisers as predicting his 2010 healthcare overhaul would raise - not lower - the cost of care.

Thomson Reuters Corp said on Monday it is selling its Healthcare business to private equity firm Veritas Capital for $1.25 billion in cash.

U.S. courts have authority to decide whether President Barack Obama's healthcare law is valid under the Constitution, his attorney general told a federal court on Thursday in a further bid to defuse a controversy Obama ignited earlier this week.

President Barack Obama took an opening shot at conservative justices on the Supreme Court on Monday, warning that a rejection of his sweeping healthcare law would be an act of judicial activism that Republicans say they abhor.

He didn't mention them by name, but they seemed to be on his mind. President Barack Obama defended his healthcare reform effort on Friday without mentioning the Supreme Court justices who hold the law's fate in their hands.

Australia is looking at recruiting American workforce to solve the acute shortage of skilled labor in the country's civil engineering sector. Australia has been facing severe workforce crunch, but the relatively good economic growth has further increased the demand for the workers.

Even as Americans are divided by partisan lines, more than three-quarters say the Supreme Court justices' political beliefs will influence their decision when ruling on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.

Congressional estimates of the cost of obesity are far too low, according to a new report.

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceutical's Natazia (estradiol valerate and estradiol valerate/dienogest) tablets have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an oral contraceptive (OC) for the treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) that is not caused by any diagnosed condition of the uterus.

GE Healthcare, the healthcare division of General Electric, and Intel Corp said on Wednesday they have established a laboratory in Israel to jointly test new technologies.

The estimated net costs of expanding healthcare coverage under President Barack Obama's landmark restructuring have been reduced by $48 billion through 2021, though fewer people would be covered under private insurance plans, a new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office showed on Tuesday.

Europe is undermining drug innovation by cutting prices, raising barriers to new medicines and freeloading off others in Asia and the United States who are more willing to pay, the boss of Pfizer, the world's largest drugmaker, said.

Is Mississippi, the most conservative and poorest state in America, racist, toothless and idiotic?

Japan's Asahi Kasei Corp will buy U.S. medical equipment maker Zoll Medical Corp for $2.21 billion as it looks to build a globally competitive healthcare business and reduce its reliance on its chemicals and fibers operations.

Asahi Kasei Corp., a Japanese chemical manufacturer, agreed to acquire Massachusetts-based medical device and software maker Zoll Medical Corp. for about $2.21 billion, as it looks to expand its global presence and develop a leading position in the critical care.